The Beulah Show - Old Time Radio

Marlin Hurt as Beulah

The Beulah Show

The Beulah Show  ran on CBS Radio from 1945 to 1954. The character of Beulah, a Negro maid, was first portrayed by Marlin Hurt, a white man, on Fibber McGee and Molly. One of the peculiarities of radio was that it was possible for such a situation to occur—a white man playing a Negro woman—with no one the wiser among the home audience. As a matter of fact, great use was made of the surprise element on Fibber McGee and Molly since Hurt stood quietly with his back to the mike as Beulah's entrance neared and then suddenly on cue whirled around and screamed out her opening line, "Somebody bawl for Beulah?" The studio audience never failed to register surprise, laughter, and applause.
Later, as a "spin-off," Beulah became the central character on the Beulah Show as a half-hour, once-a-week CBS program sponsored by Tums. It was also know as The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show. Following Hurt's death in 1947, the program was revived on ABC, also in a half-hour, weekly format. Finally, it moved to CBS as a fifteen-minute, three-times-a-week, early evening broadcast with the startling innovation of letting an actual Negro woman play Beulah. Later Beulah came to television on ABC from 1950-52 before finally being canceled during the accusations of racism by the NAACP which also led the protest against Amos 'n' Andy. Ethel Waters starred as Beulah in the first year, then Hattie McDaniel the second year. However Hattie only filmed six shows before falling ill. The McDaniel episodes were shelved pending an improvement of her health, and so the second season began in April 1952 starring the Louise Beavers. Only seven of there rare TV classics are known to exist on DVD. 87 episodes were filmed in 35mm for syndication and have been archived somewhere, probably in an underground bunker so they will never see the light of day since they are not considered totally taboo and politically incorrect. If you'd like to see the seven existing episodes on DVD you can visit MyVideoClassics.com.

Beulah Radio Cast:

Beulah - Marlin Hurt, Bob Corley, Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Lillian Randolph.
Bill Jackson, Beulah's Boyfriend - Marlin Hurt, Ernest Whitman.
Harry Henderson - Hugh Studebaker, Jess Kirkpatrick
Alice Henderson - Mary Jane Croft, Lois Corbett
Donnie Henderson - Henry Blair
Oriole - Ruby Dandridge
Mr. Jenkins - John Brown

Vocalist: Carol Stewart, Penny Piper
Orchestra: Buzz Adlam, Albert Sack
Announcers: Hank Weaver, Ken Niles, Marvin Miller, Johnny Jacobs

Catch-phrases:

BEULAH. Love dat man!
BEULAH. Somebody bawl for Beulah?
BEULAH. On the con-positively-trairy!

The show opening had Beulah singing:
Got the world in a jug, Lawd
Got the stopper in my hand! (Chuckles)