What happens
Leroy, the nephew of Gildersleeve the water commissioner, is in a feud with Curly Miller at school. Gildersleeve advises him to say something kind about everyone, but when he tries flattery himself on the school principal Miss Henshaw, the results backfire. Gildersleeve, eager for a seat on the school board, works the same charm on Mrs. Pettibone at the drugstore, then on Miss Henshaw and Baldwin Hogan. The Great Gildersleeve is a radio comedy series, and this episode first aired on NBC on September 30, 1953, starring Harold Peary, with Willard Waterman in the title role.
Springfield, during the school term; the school grounds, the drugstore, and the water department office.
Characters: Gildersleeve, Leroy, Curly Miller, Mrs. Pettibone, Miss Henshaw, Birdie, Phoebe, Baldwin Hogan
Listen for: Gildersleeve's escalating flattery of Mrs. Pettibone and Miss Henshaw, and Leroy's blunt delivery of the same compliments.
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.