ARTS 058: Lum and Abner (1939)

Afternoon Radio Theater Sundae

Lum and Abner was an American network radio comedy program created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, that was aired from 1931 to 1954. Modeled on life in the small town of Waters, Arkansas, near where Lauck and Goff grew up, the show proved immensely popular. In 1936, Waters changed its name to "Pine Ridge" after the show's fictional town.

The series was created by co-stars Chester Lauck (who played Columbus "Lum" Edwards) and Norris Goff (Abner Peabody). Lum always pronounced his own name as Ed'erds and was very annoyed if Abner or anyone brought up his full first name. The two characters performed as a double act , with Lum generally playing the straight man to Abner's attempts to break free from Lum's influence. As co-owners of the “Jot 'em Down” Store in the fictional town of “Pine Ridge”, Arkansas, the pair are constantly stumbling upon moneymaking ideas only to find themselves fleeced by nemesis Squire Skimp, before finally finding a way to redeem themselves.

Lum and Abner played the hillbilly theme with deceptive cleverness. In addition to the title characters, Lauck also played Grandpappy Spears and Cedric Weehunt while Goff played Abner, Squire Skimp, Llewelyn "Mousey" Grey, Dick Huddleston, and most of the other characters.

Lum and Abner, like most sitcoms of the era, had a live house band , in this case a string band in keeping with the show's hillbilly humor.

Marshall Jones, before his adoption of the "Grandpa" persona that made him famous years later, was among the band's first members.

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