The Edgar Kennedy Show is currently in development as a one-hour comedy series. Edgar was America’s first sit-com star who played himself in 103 “Average Man” comedy shorts released by RKO Radio Pictures between 1931 and 1948. In each 16-18 minute comedy, Edgar is surrounded by a zany dysfunctional family comprised of dizzy wife, meddling mother-in-law and shiftless brother-in-law. These shorts continue to convulse audiences with laughter while Edgar's average-man persona remains relevant today!
Enjoy Edgar Kennedy in action in this project description video, accompanied by the serie's theme music.
Each RKO comedy short revolves around a typical sit-com plot with Edgar befuddled by circumstances beyond his control, like remodeling the house, buying a used car, settling a gambling debt, promoting a zany invention, or the latest get-rich-quick scheme certain to bankrupt the household -- or put them in jail. The plots, characters and slapstick situations in these shorts inspired early TV sit-coms like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The Beverly Hillbillies.
Each hour-long episode of The Edgar Kennedy Show features a double dose of Edgar shorts presented in their entirety along with a brief, entertaining behind-the-scenes segment associated with each short. Home consumer versions will include an abundance of extras along with trailers cross-promoting the series.
Here are program descriptions for the first two The Edgar Kennedy Show double-feature episodes and their accompanying (3-5 minute) behind-the-scenes (BTS) segments:
EPISODE 101
DUMMY ACHE (1936) The world’s favorite TV sit-com queen, Lucille Ball, guest stars in this wild romp. Edgar thinks his wife Florence is an adulteress and a murderess - not knowing that she’s just rehearsing for a play. This short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject of 1936. Young Lucille Ball plays the part of a gun moll. BTS Segment: How RKO's "Average Man" series came to be and how Edgar's histrionics and hysterics laid the foundation for that of Lucille Ball’s landmark I Love Lucy character and series.
GASOLOONS (1936) On their way to a vacation, the Kennedy family discover a gas station for sale “cheap” and concoct to buy and run it themselves. Of course, the family’s get-rich-quick scheme pumps out more laughs than gasoline, even with “Kennedy’s Super Service” on display. BTS Segment: The Slow Burn. "Gasoloons" is the first RKO short that Edgar concluded with the "Slow-Burn" that became his signature trademark. Many examples are shown including burns from his feature films.
EPISODE 102
ROUGH ON RENTS (1942) To pay off an $80 gambling debt, Ed takes in a boarder. Chaos follows when the new boarder turns out to be a raucous party animal, the police get summoned, and the family suddenly returns from what was to have been a 30-day vacation without Edgar. BTS Segment: A vignette on Bud Jamison, who plays the boarder in this short and was part of the stock players at Columbia Studios throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. Jamison often supported some knuckleheads known as The Three Stooges.
WHAT! NO CIGARETTES? (1945) Rich Uncle Wilbur pays the Kennedy family a visit, and because he might give Brother money to start his own business, they must pamper his every fussy whim. That is, until the family sets out to "roll your own." BTW segment: A whimsical look at how ubiquitous smoking was in silent and early sound films, including examples from three Edgar average man shorts.
Edgar Kennedy began his career in silent films working with Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin. In the 1920s he both acted and directed for Hal Roach with Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chase and the Little Rascals. In the 1930s Edgar developed his signature "Slow Burn" hand-down-face-wipe of resignation to the pressures of life. This symbolic white flag of defeat as featured in these wonderful shorts and in dozens of feature films made Edgar Kennedy one of the most recognizable faces in film history.
Because laughter has universal appeal, The Edgar Kennedy Show is sure to prove popular with all age and income demographics in both domestic and global markets (Edgar has many dedicated fans in the UK). The ever-fresh retro comedy gems in this series, remastered from 35mm original film masters to pristine digital HD quality, will rapidly garner new Edgar Kennedy fans worldwide.
It’s been said that "everything old is new again" and Edgar Kennedy, the Father of the Sit-Com, may well turn out to be America's next hit sit-com star.
Clips from several of Edgar's RKO shorts edited from work prints can be viewed here.
