The Jumbo Fire Chief Program

Robert Farrell

The Jumbo Fire Chief Program is an American old-time radio program starring Jimmy Durante, Donald Novis and Gloria Grafton. The series was broadcast from WEAF radio in New York and syndicated nationally over the Red Network of the National Broadcasting Company. The series was based on Billy Rose's musical circus act Jumbo which premiered on Broadway in November 1935 and a continuation of sponsor Texaco's The Fire Chief , a radio program starring Ed Wynn that ended its three-year run several months before Jumbo' s premiere. The program starred Jimmy Durante as Claudius "Brainy" Bowers, the overzealous circus promoter of the Consodine circus act who usually gets the show in financial crisis due to his over exaggeration of the show's profits, and Donald Novis and Gloria Grafton as young love interests Matt Mulligan, Jr. and Mickey Consodine. Mickey is the daughter of unheard character John Consodine, the owner of the circus act. The radio program broadcast an unknown number of episodes over the NBC from October 22, 1935–January 14, 1936. The series was recorded from the New York Hippodrome before an average crowd of 4500–5000 spectators each week.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

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