What happens
Al Jolson, the famous entertainer, gives up his career after his lover Julie leaves him, and Steve Martin, his former manager, tries to help him through the difficult period. Jolson, having returned to the stage in New York, eventually receives news of Julie's divorce and questions his work. Later he visits his parents in Washington, where his mother is unwell and his father is still wrapped up in disappointment, and he gets drawn into entertaining servicemen overseas. The story follows Jolson's wartime tour and his return home, where he meets nurse Ellen Clark, whom he eventually marries. This episode of Lux Radio Theatre was broadcast on May 22, 1950, starring Al Jolson and Barbara Hale, with William Demarest and Ludwig Donath.
Hollywood, New York, Washington, the Aleutian Islands, Arkansas, and Los Angeles, during and after World War II
Characters: Al Jolson, Steve Martin, Julie, Ellen Clark, Papa, Mama
Listen for: Jolson's songs performed for the servicemen in the Aleutians and the scene where he tells Ellen he wants to marry her
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.