What happens
Fred Allen hosts a comedy variety show in which his regulars trade jokes and banter on the air. Kenny Delmar tries to earn more work, Portland Hoffa and Minerva Pious deliver quips, and the show turns to a sleep-themed segment with the Senator Claghorn and Titus Moody characters. Fred then meets his friend Jack Benny, who confides worries about his own program's future in radio. The broadcast closes with a mock quiz show where audience members compete to be king for a day. Fred Allen's series aired on CBS and NBC, and this episode first went out on May 26, 1946.
A radio studio hosting a comedy variety broadcast, with segments set in Alley's sketch scenes and a backstage visit at Radio City.
Characters: Fred Allen, Kenny Delmar, Portland Hoffa, Minerva Pious, Jack Benny, Senator Claghorn, Titus Moody, Mrs. Nussbaum
Listen for: Fred Allen's wry banter with Jack Benny about radio's future, and the mock quiz show where contestants win absurd prizes.
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.