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'Ethel and Albert' began as radio show

By David Inman, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Monday, July 7, 2008
Question: When I was a kid back in the 1950s, my family and I watched an intelligent, realistic sitcom about a middle-aged couple called "Ethel and Albert." Can you give me the details on this show? I would also like some information on "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet."

Answer: "Ethel and Albert" was created and written by Peg Lynch, who also played Ethel. Albert was played by Alan Bunce. It ran on all three networks as a radio show from 1944-50, and on all three networks as a TV show from 1952 until 1956, including a one-season stint as a regular feature on "The Kate Smith Hour." Critics praised the show's low-key humor and its avoidance of female stereotypes.

After its TV run, Lynch took the concept back to radio as "The Couple Next Door," which ran from 1953 into the mid-1960s, ending as a feature on NBC's weekend radio package "Monitor."

As for "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," it aired on all four networks (including DuMont) between 1950 and 1955. Frankie Thomas Jr. played Corbett, and Jan Merlin was his friend, Roger Manning. Corbett and Manning were students at the space academy who flew around protecting mankind in rocket ships where the controls looked like cardboard boxes with dials stuck on them.

Q:In the mid- to-late 1990s, I remember a TV series set in Lexington, Ky., in the early 1800s about a family in the racehorse business. Can you tell me the title and if it's on DVD?

A: Sounds like "Legacy," a series that ran on UPN, which is now part of CW, in 1998-99.

It dealt with the Logan family, including Ned (Brett Cullen), Sean (Grayson McCouch), Clay (Jeremy Garrett) and Alice (Lea Moreno). They all worked on a dirty, smelly farm, and yet they seemed as fresh as models going to a photo shoot!

"Legacy" isn't on DVD.

Q: What was the name of the program about a doctor and his daughters? I think Kristy McNichol was one of them. Also, 15 to 20 years ago I saw a movie set during World War II where the Japanese marched women from one prison camp to another. Can you tell me the title and if it's on video?

A: These requests seem different, and yet, they are strangely related! Follow me to learn more!

The show with McNichol was "Empty Nest," which ran on NBC from 1988 until 1995. Richard Mulligan played Dr. Harry Weston, a widowed pediatrician whose house was anything but empty because his two daughters -- Barbara (McNichol) and Carol (Dinah Manoff) -- lived with him, and nutty neighbor Charlie (David Leisure) was always dropping in, and the doc had a big dog named Dreyfuss (Bear the dog).

Meanwhile, the movie is "Women of Valor," a 1986 made-for-TV film that stars Susan Sarandon, Valerie Mahaffey and -- wait for it -- Kristy McNichol!

It's on video and DVD.

Write David Inman in care of Living, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, D.L. Clark Building, 503 Martindale St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212, or e-mail tribliving@tribweb.com.


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