“Go to sleep-y, little ba-by…”

Singer-comedienne Judy Canova harbored lofty aspirations of a serious musical career, and in my opinion, she certainly had the pipes to pull it off. Unfortunately, she became typecast during the early part of her career as a “hillbilly”—due in large part to the comedy-music act that she had formed with her sister Annie and brother Zeke. “The Three Canovas” were regulars on Paul Whiteman’s Musical Varieties from 1936-37 and The Chase and Sanborn Hour with Edgar Bergen and Company in the fall of 1938.

Canova eventually landed her own starring program over CBS Radio debuting July 6, 1943 (originally titled Rancho Canova); her character—a small town bumpkin who hailed from the mythical hamlet of “Cactus Junction”—had relocated to Hollywood, living with her Aunt Aggie (played by Verna Felton and Ruth Perrott) and maid Geranium (Ruby Dandridge). The Judy Canova Show may not have been the most sophisticated comedy to ever grace the airwaves, but it boasted an impressive roster of radio pros in its supporting cast: Hans Conried (as complaining boarder Mr. Hemingway); Sheldon Leonard (Joe Crunchmiller, Judy’s cabbie boyfriend); and Joseph Kearns (Benchley Botsford), among many, many others.

All-around vocal utility actor Mel Blanc was also a Canova regular; his characters included obnoxious salesman Roscoe Wortle and Sylvester, whose name and voice were identical to the cartoon cat of Warner Brothers fame. But he’s best remembered for Pedro, Judy’s Mexican handyman/gardener/chauffeur, etc. whose “Pardon me for talking in your face, Senorita” became a popular catchphrase. Pedro was not a character that would endear himself to Latino audiences today, by the way—in fact, when Blanc resurrected the characterization as the voice of Frito-Lay’s Frito Bandito in 1970s commercials the ads were quickly pulled due to protests about the stereotyping.

In this Christmas-themed broadcast from December 22, 1945, Judy and Aunt Aggie are throwing an old-fashioned Christmas party for some of their exclusive Brentwood Society friends:

AGGIE: Judy, dear…I’m concerned…it’s getting late and not one of our guests has arrived…

JUDY: Well, maybe they thought we wasn’t swell enough for ‘em, Aunt Aggie…do you s’pose my bad etti-cutie scared them folks away?

AGGIE: It’s possible, Judy…after all, at the DuBrock’s party you did eat your clam chowder through a veil…

JUDY: Can I help it? I like the soup part, but I wanted to strain out the clams…I gotta get me a finer veil, three of the little ones slipped through the dragnet…

AGGIE: Yes, and at Mrs. Del Ridge’s Chinese dinner you made an awful spectacle of yourself using those chopsticks…

JUDY: Well, I tell ya…I didn’t know what them chopsticks was for, and when the spaghetti came along I knitted myself three pairs of socks…

Don’t bother sending cracker jack, ma—we’re getting’ corn by the bushel! The corn harvest continues with the arrival of Roscoe Wortle:

JUDY: Howdy, mister…

ROSCOE: Hello there, girlie…remember me?

JUDY: Why, sure…you’re that travelin’ salesman feller I met in New York…

ROSCOE: That’s right, sister…Roscoe O. Wortle’s the name…

JUDY: What’s the “O” for?

ROSCOE: O.P.A…

JUDY: O.P.A?

ROSCOE: Yeah…when I was born, my father took one look at me and hit the ceiling (laughs hysterically) Ain’t that a lollapalooza? You tell ‘em, postage stamp—I’m licked! Yahoo!

JUDY: Say…

ROSCOE: Yeah?

JUDY: What are you sellin’ this time?

ROSCOE: Well, I’m still sellin’ Christmas cards—five and ten cents a card…

JUDY: What’s the difference?

ROSCOE: The ten-cent ones fit the envelope (continues laughing) You tell ‘em, Wells Fargo—I can’t express myself!

Okay, so The Judy Canova Show isn’t Noel Coward—but as Abbott & Costello often demonstrated, sometimes the jokes with the longest whiskers get the biggest laughs.

Judy Canova’s debut on radio proved so popular that she started a pigtails-and-calico fad on college campuses that same year. She was also successful at the box-office, becoming Republic Studios’ bread-and-butter in films like Joan of Ozark (1942), Sleepy Lagoon (1943) and Oklahoma Annie (1952). Canova later moved her radio program to NBC in January 1945, and was an eight-year-old fixture on the network until May 28, 1953. I’ve noticed that broadcasts of the show are kind of scarce, however (perhaps OTR dealers are a little more discriminating in their tastes than I had previously thought); but I’m hoping that situation will be rectified soon as I’m expecting a shipment of Canova broadcasts from dealer Ed Carr. Who knows? One of these days, I just might manage to finish my thesis—“Mulching the Maze to Monumental Heights: The Bucolic Comedy of Judy Canova.”