Remembering Names: Father Knows Best (September 10, 1953)

“Remembering Names” is an episode of Father Knows Best, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 10, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Jim Anderson becomes fixated on recalling the name of a man Margaret met downtown, a friend from the cabin next to theirs at Round Lake. Earlier, a newspaper item about a mysterious young star leaving a nightclub has also left his daughter Betty puzzled. The Anderson family is drawn into the search as the household is kept awake through the night. The episode is part of the Father Knows Best series, and it first aired on 1953-09-10 with Robert Young starring as Jim Anderson.

The white frame house on Maple Street in Springfield, Anderson household

Characters: Jim Anderson, Margaret Anderson, Betty Anderson, Bud Anderson, Kathy Anderson, Hector Smith

Listen for: Jim Anderson's repeated attempts to recall a forgotten name and the family's reactions through the night

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.