BW - EP158—003: Christmas Weekend 1944—Christmas At Duffy's Tavern

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers Originally part of CBS’s experimental pilot summer series Forecast in 1940, Duffy’s Tavern had moved to the Blue Network in October of 1942, and then to NBC’s main network before the Blue Network was sold in September of 1944. Sponsored by Bristol Myers, it starred Ed Gardner as Archie, the manager of Duffy’s Tavern, “the eyesore of the east side, where the elite meet to eat.” Gardner’s heavily New York accented portrayal of Archie has inspired several characters in the years since. On Friday December 22nd, 1944 Monty Wooley guest-starred on the program. The episode pulled a rating of 13.4. Roughly nine million people tuned in.