Homer was the Jughead to Henry Aldrich's Archie character...only there's some evidence that Homer may have inspired Jughead in part. I played Homer on mike opposite radio's original Henry Aldrich, Ezra Stone. One of my favorite roles and--if I do say so myself--one of my best performances.
I'm sure it was fun playing Homer alongside Ezra Stone! If I recall, Jackie Kelk was the original Homer (he was also Jimmy Olsen in the Superman radio show).
ReplyDeleteI heard a later "Aldrich Family" episode with John Fiedler (Piglet in the Winnie the Pooh cartoons) as Homer, and Bobby Ellis as Henry - I assume the cast change was due to the show moving from New York to L.A.
When the show ended in the summer of '51, everyone assumed that was a wrap after a dozen years on the air. Ezra had picked up his role again after military service but by '51, he was in his mid-30s and anxious to direct! He moved into television directing Olsen and Johnson. When the show was unexpectedly brought back for another season, basically the original cast had moved on. I like those later episodes but they're more sedate and lacking the real sense of casual anarchy of the best of Ezra and Jackie's.
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