The Gift of the Magi

O Henry's Christmas classic as dramatized by The Coronet Little Show and performed by the Coronet Storytellers on December 19, 1943.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its "twist ending" are well-known, and the ending is generally considered an example of situational irony. It was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City.

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The Great Gildersleeve

The Great Gildersleeve premiered on August 31, 1941. Originally the next door neighbor to Fibber and Molly McGee on Wistful Vista, Gildersleeve moved to Summerfield to take on the rearing his orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie and Leroy Forester, and oversee his late brother-in-law's estate and household that included a simple-minded cook named Birdie. A forerunner to such later television hits as "Bachelor Father" and "Family Affair", both of which are centered on well-to-do uncles taking in their deceased siblings' children. In striking contrast Gildersleeve was a bachelor of limited personal means rearing two children of a rich relative. And this while serving as Summerfield's water commissioner and balancing time with the ladies and nights with the boys. The Great Gildersleeve may have been the first broadcast show to be centered on a single parent attempting to juggle child-rearing, work, and a social life - done with taste and genuine wit, often at the expense of Gildersleeve's slightly understated pomposity.

The episode presented here is from December 24, 1947, and deals with his attempt to find his nephew the perfect present for Christmas all the while dressed as Santa Claus. Things are going south for him when suddenly they take a turn for the better. Or do they? 

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Three Men

We're almost half way through the twelve days of Christmas which lead up to Three Kings Day - the day celebrating the visit of the three men who came from the east to Jerusalem searching for "he that is born King of the Jews." With this in mind I present a Radio City Playhouse  broadcast from December 1948 entitled simply "Three Men".  It is a radio drama in keeping with the tone and tenor of its time. I would encourage you to compare and contrast it to any December episode of "Two and a Half Men" of TV fame... or infamy - your choice. 

As always...

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May We Remember...

The twelve days of Christmas are waning. And so as we approach the close of this joyous season, let me share these thoughts with you: 

Once again were lit the Christmas candles,
Attempting to awake the seasonal joy in mankind's heart.
In this season, dear mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers,
What songs should I sing, what words should I speak?
For I want to wish you, in celebration of these holy days,
The most beautiful of all beauty and the best of all that is good.
To thank you for gifts given this day and all days before,
And for the love I have felt, so may it return tenfold to you.

So may we all remember, that all may have the lyricists hope instilled in our hearts. Hope as was expressed in the words of a once popular Christmas song: "May I suggest the secret of Christmas is not the things you do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things you do all year through."