Showing results by narrator "Frances Langford" in All Categories

1889, Paris. When Charles Zidler's extravagant pleasure palace, the Moulin Rouge, opens in bohemian Montmartre, he commissions local artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to create a series of posters to promote it. The striking lithographs Henri produces will make his name—and launch the careers of the performers he portrayed. This sparkling collection of plays introduces us to eight of those legendary artistes, whose lives were as vivid as Lautrec's paint.

In one corner...we have John Bickerson (played by Don Ameche and Lew Parker), the undisputed snoring champion of the world! In the other corner...we have Blanche Bickerson (played by Frances Langford and Marsha Hunt), radio's most relentless battle ax! Love conquers all? Well, we'll see about that. Listen in as radio's most contentious couple goes to the mat. The sleep-deprived are about to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous matrimony in this cutting comedy.

The Bickersons reigned supreme for five years as America's favorite radio couple. Like their name suggests, they spent many a night bickering, mainly over the fact that Blanche has to suffer through John's buzz saw-like snoring. The interplay between husband and wife, as they sarcastically banter back and forth, is what makes this show so great and why listeners continue to praise this "combative comedy."

Created and written by Philip Rapp, Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson were the first married couple on radio to have a truly adversarial relationship. Scathing, sarcastic and comical, John and Blanche would fight about anything. Although they often argued about Blanche’s good-for-nothing brother, she would certainly insist that the big troubles were caused by John’s snoring and her resulting insomnia. There was nothing sweet or tender about their pillow talk, but it sure was funny!