1949: Radio's 'One Man's Family' Goes Primetime
On this day in 1949, the popular radio serial One Man's Family made its television debut.
Both the radio and television show chronicled the day-to-day lives of a wealthy San Franciso family, including patriarch Henry Barbour, a stockbroker; his wife, Fanny; and their five children. The radio version debuted in 1932, and ended in 1959. It earned the distinction of being American radio's longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial.
The 1949 television adaptation aired weekly on NBC. Its core cast featured Bert Lydell, Marjorie Gateson, Russell Thorson and Lillian Schaaf. During its run it also starred then-relatively-unknown actors Eva Marie Saint and Tony Randall, as well as Mercedes McCambridge and former kid star Frankie Thomas, Jr.
Casts for the radio show and television series were different, and the storylines were in different time frames. Youngest son Jack was 10 years old on the TV show's first season. That same year, on radio, he was 32. The prime-time TV version of One Man's Family ran until 1952.
The serial returned to television in 1954, this time as a daytime drama. It ran a little over a year.