Kitty Foyle (radio and TV series)

Radio program

Kitty Foyle originally began on the radio. The program evolved from a segment on the short-lived radio program Stories America Loves which only ran a year on CBS. The first Kitty Foyle segment was broadcast in June 1942. However, the program had further origin to a 1939 best-selling novel written by Christopher Morley. The novel became the premise for the popular 1940 film of the same name starring Ginger Rogers. The film also resulted in a popular dress of the 1940s.

The program was created by soap opera mogul Irna Phillips and was produced by daytime radio monarchs Frank and Anne Hummert.

The program starred future Helen Trent, (another Hummert production), star Julie Stevens in the title role of Kitty Foyle. Bud Collyer, who was the voice of Superman at the time, portrayed the role of Wyn Strafford, the love interest of Kitty Foyle. Also apart of the Foyle family were Mark Smith and Victor Thorley who portrayed Kitty's father Pop Foyle and her brother Ed Foyle, respectively. Sportscaster Mel Allen served as the announcer.

The soap opera was broadcast from October 5, 1942–June 9, 1944 on CBS Radio. The program was sponsored by General Mills.

Christopher Morley's Kitty Foyle

In 1939, Christopher Morley wrote and published a novel also titled Kitty Foyle. The plot of the novel tells the story of a white-collar girl who falls in love with a young socialite, despite the objections of his family. Contemporary Authors noted: "Central to the story is protagonist Kitty's affair with the affluent Wyn Strafford. Critics heatedly debated Morley's sexual sensationalism," notably her out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion.

The story is told by Kitty in the first person. A sociologist suggests that "Kitty, in her observations of the mores and behavior patterns of the upper class acts as the anthropological alter ego of Morley, viewing the upper class from the outside."

The book was a bestseller in 1939 and 1940.

Formation

Irna Phillips

In 1941, Irna Phillips, creator of the popular soap opera Guiding Light, first proposed the idea of a serialized version of the award-winning film released a year earlier to Lady Esther cosmetics. Unfortunately, Lady Esther rejected but General Mills soon would except.

General Mills, the Hummerts and Stories America Loves

By the early 1940s, General Mills had been looking for a way to break into radio. Their first big break came in 1941 when the company became the official sponsor of The Lone Ranger radio program. But within months after landing sponsorship of The Lone Ranger, the company were approached with the idea of a radio program that took popular novels of the time (past or present) and make serialized productions of them. The program was entitled Stories America Loves.

Stories America Loves premiered on CBS October 6, 1941. The program didn't get very much attention until June 1942 when the program began to broadcast segments of the novel Kitty Foyle. The segments became so popular in fact that the rotating story concept of the program was abandoned and by the fall of 1942, the serial Kitty Foyle took over the daytime timeslot of its predecessor.

Frank and Anne Hummert would become the producers of the new program. Stories ended its run on October 16, 1942. Kitty Foyle made its radio debut on October 5, 1942. The program premiered to relatively good ratings but soon would drop in the ratings. The program lasted two seasons and ended its run on June 9, 1944.

Television serial

On January 13, 1958, Kitty Foyle premiered on NBC Television. Under new direction and an all new cast, the show went underway. When it premiered, Kitty Foyle became the first 30 minutes soap opera broadcast on network television. At the time, 15 minutes was the standard for a televised daytime soap opera.

The televised version of Kitty Foyle starred up-and-coming actress Kathleen Murray in the title role of Irish secretary Kitty Foyle. The program also starred actor William Redfield as Foyle's love interest Wyn Strafford and character actors Bob Hastings and Ralph Dunne in the roles of her brother Ed and father 'Pop' Foyle, respectively. Also in the cast were Judy Lewis, Les Damon and a very young Patty Duke.

The series was produced by Charles Irving. Carlton E. Morse, writer for radio's One Man's Family, served as head writer of the series. Hal Cooper was the director of the series and the series was packaged and distributed by Henry Jaffee Enterprises.

The television version of Kitty Foyle did not go well with viewers. Some sources speculate that part of the reason why the show was not successful was because of the fact that the main character, Kitty Foyle, was not introduced until five weeks into the program.

The serial only lasted five months and ended its network television run on June 27, 1958.

Main cast

Supporting cast

Main

Supporting

Broadcast history

On the radio, Kitty Foyle could be heard every weekday for 15 minutes beginning at 10:15 am over CBS Radio. On television, the program could be seen every weekday for thirty minutes beginning at 2:30 pm on NBC.