Beulah is an American sitcom that ran on CBS Radio from 1945 to 1954, and on ABC Television from 1950 to 1953. The show is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African-American actress, for being ABC TV's first hit situation comedy, and the first hit TV sitcom without a laugh track. The show was controversial for its caricatures of African Americans.

Radio

left|thumb|300px|This ad depicts a turning point in media history on November 24, 1947, the first instance of an [[African American woman starring in a network radio program, with ad copy noting that she is "queen of the kitchen" and "manages a household".]]

Originally portrayed by a white male actor, Marlin Hurt, Beulah Brown first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced and played the character on the Hometown Incorporated radio series and in 1940 on NBC radio's Show Boat series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to That's Life and then became a supporting character on the popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio series in March 1944.

On July 2, 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show on CBS, The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show, sponsored by Tums. Hurt was still in the role of Beulah, and also played the voice of Beulah's boyfriend, Bill Jackson. Beulah was employed as a housekeeper and cook for the Henderson family: father Harry, mother Alice and son Donnie. Rounding out the cast was Oriole Winston, the housekeeper for the family next door to the Hendersons.

After Hurt died of a heart attack in 1946, he was replaced by another white actor, Bob Corley, and the series was retitled The Beulah Show, which ran on ABC as a sustaining program from February 24 to August 20, 1947.

When African-American actress Hattie McDaniel took over the role on November 24, 1947, with the program returning to CBS. She earned $1,000 a week for the first season, doubled the ratings of the original series and pleased the NAACP which was elated to see a historic first: a black woman as the star of a network radio program.

McDaniel continued in the role until she became ill in 1952 and was replaced by Lillian Randolph, who was in turn replaced for the 1953–54 radio season by her sister, Amanda Randolph.

From 1947 to 1953, The Beulah Show was sponsored by Procter & Gamble for their Dreft laundry and dishwashing detergents. The show had multiple sponsors for their final 1953–54 season: General Foods, General Motors and Murine.

In the Hurt and Corley eras of the program, the radio program was a 30-minute weekly sitcom. For most of the show's run (1947–54), the series ran as a 15-minute daily sitcom, a format popular among daytime serials.

Television

In 1950, Roland Reed Productions adapted the property into a TV situation comedy for ABC, and the Beulah TV show ran for three seasons, Tuesday nights at 7:30 Eastern Time from October 3, 1950, to September 22, 1953.

Most of the comedy in the series derived from the fact that Beulah, referred to as "the queen of the kitchen", has the ability to solve the problems that her employers cannot figure out. Other characters included Beulah's boyfriend Bill Jackson, a handyman who is constantly proposing marriage, and Oriole, a befuddled maid for the family next door.

For at least the first season, Beulah was filmed at Biograph Studios in the Bronx while Ethel Waters was simultaneously appearing on Broadway in The Member of the Wedding. When production moved to Hollywood, Hattie McDaniel, star of radio's Beulah, was cast in the title role in Summer 1951,

Season 2: April 1952 – August 1952

  • Louise Beavers: Beulah (April–July)
  • Hattie McDaniel: Beulah (July–August; six episodes)
  • David Bruce: Harry Henderson
  • Jane Frazee: Alice Henderson
  • Stuffy Singer: Donnie Henderson
  • Ernest Whitman: Bill Jackson
  • Ruby Dandridge: Oriole

Season 3: September 1952 – September 1953

  • Louise Beavers: Beulah
  • David Bruce: Harry Henderson
  • Jane Frazee: Alice Henderson
  • Stuffy Singer Donnie Henderson
  • Ernest Whitman: Bill Jackson
  • Ruby Dandridge: Oriole

References in other media

Beulah was referenced in the mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America. In order to make the mock documentary more believable, mock commercials for historical goods and services were used such as Darkie Toothpaste and Coon Chicken Inn. Beulah was advertised as being a show (titled Leave It to Beulah, combining the name of the series with that of Leave It to Beaver, and featuring Beulah as a domestic slave) that Confederate families had grown up watching.

Notes

References

  • Bodroghkozy, Aniko. Museum of Broadcast Communications: Beulah
  • The Classic TV Archive

Listen to

  • Jerry Haendiges' Preview Listening Lounge: The Beulah Show (1954)
  • The Beulah Show at Internet Archive – 1946–1954.