What happens
Fred Allen hosts a comedy broadcast in which he and Portland Hoffa trade jokes about the cold, newspapers and radio writers. Allen's characters Senator Claghorn and Mr. Cassidy appear with their own rambling stories. Later, the Quiz Kids visit the studio to promote their new book and talk about their favorite programs. The show closes with a parody mystery, Mayhem in the Penthouse, in which Commissioner Copperman, formerly of Scotland Yard, questions the household of a murdered lumber king. The series, original air date of March 2, 1947, and lead actors Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, Kenny Delmar and Minerva Pious are named in the broadcast's own credits.
A radio studio during a live comedy variety broadcast, with sketches set in Allen's Alley and in the penthouse of a New York millionaire.
Characters: Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, Senator Claghorn, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Moody, Jack Rooney, Naomi Cook, Joe Cupperman
Listen for: The parody mystery sketch, in which Commissioner Copperman interrogates the household after the murder of the lumber king, and the Quiz Kids' comments about Jack Benny.
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.