Vic and Sade on the Radio

Vic and Sade, an often absurd situation comedy written by the prolific Paul Rhymer, aired on America’s radios from 1932 to 1944 (with short-lived revivals afterward). The title characters, known as “radio’s home folks,” were a married couple exploring the comedic side of ordinary life along with their adopted son and an eccentric uncle. This book examines the program’s depiction of many aspects of American culture—leisure activities, community groups, education, films—in light of the critiques put forward by the era’s critics such as William Orton. Vic and Sade offered its own subtle cultural critique that reflected how ordinary people experienced mass culture of the time.

John T. Hetherington is a lecturer in communications at SUNY Empire State College. He lives in Delmar, New York.

John T. Hetherington
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6303-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1605-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 3
Part I: The Media Context
Chapter One. Rhymer Is “Outstanding” 9
Chapter Two. The Birth of Vic and Sade 23
Chapter Three. “Something to be interested in”: Daytime Radio 42
Chapter Four. The “ins and outs of modern life”: Mass Culture and Its Critics 62
Part II: Social and Cultural Contexts
Chapter Five. Leisure: “It represents quite a problem” 73
Chapter Six. “Let’s go to the picture show”: Movies 106
Chapter Seven. “Seated on the davenport reading”: The Role of Reading 121
Chapter Eight. “Where’d you copy that from?”: Education 141
Chapter Nine. “Doing exactly the same thing”: The Individual and the Community 160
Conclusion: Saying Goodbye 183
Chapter Notes 191
Selected Bibliography 203
Index 207

• “Recommended…diligent research…a wealth of information about daytime programming of the 1930’s”—Radio Recall