Joyce Jordan, M.D.

Joyce Jordan, M.D.

Joyce Jordan — Girl Interne actors: Myron McCormick (as Paul Sherwood), Ann Shepherd (as Joyce Jordan), Erik Ralf (as Dr. Hans Simons) and Adelaide Klein (who played a variety of roles) in a photograph from 1940.
Other names Joyce Jordan, Girl Interne
Genre Soap opera
Running time 15 minutes
Country United States
Language(s) English
Syndicates CBS
NBC
ABC
Announcer Ron Rawson
Ken Roberts
Len Sterling
Written by Julian Funt
Produced by Himan Brown
Air dates May 30, 1938 to July 1, 1955

Joyce Jordan, M.D. is a radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC at various times during the era of old-time radio.[1]

Donna Halper, in her book, Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting, cited Jordan as one of the women in soap operas who "had careers ... which, of course, became a struggle as they tried to balance their work with their desire for a family."[2]

Origin

Radio Varieties magazine reported in its September 1940 issue that the concept of the Joyce Jordan storyline originated during a ride on a bus in New York City. Producer Himan Brown and author Julian Funt sat behind a young couple "who were arguing the age-old theory that marriage and a career do not mix."[3] As the two men who developed radio programs overheard the conversation, the storyline of Joyce Jordan emerged in their minds.[3]

Plot

The program's national network debut was May 30, 1938, on CBS as Joyce Jordan, Girl Interne.[4] It had first been test-marketed for 21 weeks in 1937 on three stations in New England. On June 28, 1937, it was moved to WEAF in New York City, New York, to be carried on four stations.[5]

The name changed to Joyce Jordan, M.D. in 1942 after the title character passed her medical exams and became employed at a "large city hospital."[4]

Radio historian John Dunning wrote in his book On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, that despite some changes in plot, "the theme of a woman's difficulty in a man's world remained."[1] In the early episodes, Dr. Jordan had to choose between a variety of suitors.[1] On the February 19, 1940, episode, she married foreign correspondent Paul Sherwood, who was her patient.[6] Later, she had to deal with her husband's "bitter and neurotic sister."[1] She also had to struggle with the demands of being a physician and a wife.[1]

After graduating from her internship, Dr. Jordan was a surgeon at Hotchkiss Memorial Hospital in a mythical place named Preston. Dr. Jordan's motto, as spoken at the beginning of each episode, was "The sick in body, I try to heal; the sick in soul, I try to comfort; For to everyone — rich or poor, young or old — a doctor's hand is a helping hand."[7]

From the beginning, Brown and Funt sought to make the stories in the program more realistic than what listeners might have heard in other medically themed soap operas. Dr. Jordan never performed an operation on the program, never worked with experimental medicine and avoided psychological elements.[3]

As time went on, Dr. Jordan's role morphed from active participant in the episodes to one that Jim Cox, in his book The Great Radio Soap Operas, described as "hostess of her long-running program, merely narrating the stories ..."[7]

Schedule

The program's broadcast schedule is shown in the table below.

Beginning Date Ending Date Network Sponsor
May 30, 1938 March 23, 1945 CBS Calox Tooth Powder (1938-1939)
General Foods (1939-1945)
April 2, 1945 October 8, 1948 NBC Dreft
December 10, 1951 April 11, 1952 ABC Lever Brothers
January 3, 1955 July 1, 1955 NBC NA

Source: John Dunning: On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio[1]

The cancellation on NBC in 1955 was reported to be part of a reshaping of the network's daytime programming, as executives "hoped to stave off TV awhile longer" by replacing its soap operas with "an innovative multihour magazine called Weekday" that was similar in format to its weekend Monitor program.[7]:237

Personnel

Seven actresses — Helen Claire,[8] Rita Johnson, Ann Shepherd, Betty Winkler, Elspeth Eric, Gertrude Warner and Fran Carlon —[4] had the title role at various times. Other characters and the actors and actresses who played them included those shown in the table below.

Character Actor or Actress
Cassie Ethel Owen
Paul Sherwood Myron McCormick
Dr. Hans Simons Eric Rolf
Margot Sherwood Lesley Woods
Dr. Alan Webster Richard Widmark
Dr. Tracy Irene Hubbard
Dr. Molly Hedegrow Ethel Owen
Eda Heinemann
Roger Walton Alan Devitt
Myra Lee Patricia Ryan
Dr. Cliff Reed Raymond Edward Johnson
Dr. Alexander Grey Raymond Edward Johnson
Greg Ogden Boyd Crawford
Gloria Blaine Ethel Blume
Victor Manion Frank Lovejoy
Ada Manion Vera Allen
Mike Malone Charles Webster
Edgar Jarvis James Monks
Hope Allison Charlotte Holland[9]
Dr. Henry Powell Bud Collyer[1]
Dr. Hunt Bill Johnstone[1]
Neil Reynolds George Coulouris[1]
Herbert Yost Stefan Schnabel[1]

Source: Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows,[4] except as noted.

Others who often appeared on the program were Mary Jane Higby, Michael Fitzmaurice,[1] Rex Ingram, Agnes Moorehead and Theodore Newton.[3] Announcers included Ron Rawson,[4] Ken Roberts and Len Sterling.[1] Himan Brown was the producer, and Julian Funt was the writer.

Transition to The Brighter Day

In 1948, Joyce Jordan, M.D. was replaced by a spin-off, The Brighter Day. Jim Cox wrote: "The Brighter Day premiered on the NBC network on October 11, 1948. But it was actually rolled out on another drama some time before that."[7] Dr. Jordan lived near the Dennis family's hometown of Three Rivers, and listeners of the Jordan program became acquainted with the Dennises in 1948. In a seamless transition, Cox wrote, "By the time Dr. Jordan said 'good-by' on her final broadcast on Friday, October 8, 1948, the fans were already acquainted with the family that would replace her. The following Monday listeners could easily connect with the new series growing out of the show they had been hearing for so long."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 376.
  2. ↑ Halper, Donna (2015). Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 9781317520184. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 ""Joyce Jordan" Serial Enters Fourth Year". Radio Varieties. 3 (9): 11. September 1940. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. Pp. 180-181.
  5. ↑ "McKesson on Net" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 1, 1937. p. 31. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. ↑ ""Joyce Jordan" to Marry". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. February 17, 1940. p. 19. Retrieved September 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Cox, Jim (1999). The Great Radio Soap Operas. McFarland. p. 40. ISBN 9780786438655. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Monday Marks First Year For 'Joyce Jordan' Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. September 7, 1940. p. 22. Retrieved September 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "New Character Brings Trouble to "Joyce Jordan"". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. March 16, 1940. p. 23. Retrieved September 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

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