Jim Jordan, ‘Fibber McGee’

Though I’m not old enough to remember Fibber McGee and Molly when they were originally broadcasting in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, they have become part of my life and radio show collection in the last 15 years thanks to rebroadcasts of their shows on KCRW, KPFK, KCSN and other Los Angeles stations specializing in the golden age of radio, and thanks to commercial recordings of their shows.

What I will remember most about the humor of Jordan is its earthy lack of pretension, its cornball homeyness, its deep roots in the lighter side of hometown America.

I’ll never forget that impossibly crowded closet of Fibber’s or the crowd of small-town eccentrics who passed through his and Molly’s doorway every episode: pompous Mayor LaTrivia (Gale Gordon), henpecked Wallace Wimple and the cantankerous old-timer (both played by Bill Thompson, the latter with the catch-phrase “That ain’t the way I heerd it, Johnny”), the Great Gildersleeve (Hal Peary), and so many others.

But always, there was Marian Jordan as loving and long-suffering Molly, who kept the Fibber’s grander pretensions in check (“Tain’t funny, McGee”) but adoring him all the more for his native American spunk and flights of fancy. What a team they made.

God bless you, Jim Jordan, for all the love and laughter and sweet fun you gave your fellow countrymen in times of Depression, war and prosperity.

S.P. FRANK

Los Angeles