Fixing The Furnace: The Phil Harris (January 15, 1950)

The Phil Harris, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“Fixing The Furnace” is an episode of The Phil Harris, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 15, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

Phil Harris and his friend Frankie Remley return home very late from a stag party at their American Legion post and try to sneak into the house without waking Phil's wife, Alice Faye. Their attempts to avoid detection lead to a series of mishaps in the cellar. When Phil wakes the next morning, he and Frankie are drawn into a dispute over the household furnace, which has stopped working. The two men attempt to repair the blower, but their efforts only lead to further trouble. Alice, meanwhile, begins to question where her husband spent the night.

Phil Harris's house, the cellar and guest room, and the surrounding neighborhood, on the morning after a stag party.

Characters: Phil Harris, Alice Faye, Frankie Remley, Julius

Listen for: Phil and Frankie's clumsy attempt to sneak back into the house through the cellar window, and the comedy that follows when they try to repair the furnace.

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.