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Colorful Past

Description

A woman arrives in town claiming that Gildersleeve is actually her husband, William Cosgrove. She's convinced that the man everyone knows as Gildersleeve is really Cosgrove. The episode features writing by Andy White and John Elliotte, with announcer Bud Hiestand. The cast includes Willard Waterman, Walter Tetley, Richard LeGrand, Noreen Gammill, Marylee Robb, Lillian Randolph, and Earle Ross. Jack Meakin provides the music.

The Great Gildersleeve is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built around Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a regular character from the radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly. The character was introduced in the October 3, 1939, episode of that series. Actor Harold Peary had played a similarly named character, Dr. Gildersleeve, on earlier episodes. The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 1940s. Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in four feature films released at the height of the show's popularity.

Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Updated Jul 22, 2026.