Radio's Home Folks

Vic and Sade was a radio program on the air in the '30s and '40s. It was written by a young humorist named Paul Rhymer. The genius of Vic and Sade defies simple description It is humor in the genuine sense, a study of people. It has its comedic moments as well but it is the intimate depiction of the characters that charms and engages. Luckily, some episodes were preserved...

Vic and Sade

On June 29, 1932 midwestern homemakers listening to the Blue Network out of Chicago heard the first episode of a new "soap opera", Vic and Sade, written by a very young Paul Rhymer. The opportunity to write the show was a kind of lark by network management. Everyone, including Rhymer misjudged the reception it would get. It would continue syndication for 15 years, producing over 2000 episodes and appearing on three national networks during its run, sometimes as many as six times a day.

Today, "soap opera" is understood to be an interpersonal drama full of romance and intrigue. In those days that was also generally true but more important to the people in the radio business, a soap opera was a 15 minute ongoing series played during the day. This meant the audience was homemakers, working about the house as they listened. And of course, it was completely ephemeral for them as they had no way to record it. The first few episodes of Vic and Sade were nothing special. Rhymer was finding his literary feet and stumbling along. Initially, Vic (Art Van Harvey) and Sade (Bernadine Flynn) were a childless couple and the stories were about their interaction.

In desperation, Rhymer pulled the classic trick of adding a child, Rush (Billy Idelson). Rush starts off as the child of a friend of Sade's come to live with them. The Great Depression was hitting America hard, and Rush was from a family who couldn't afford to raise him. Vic and Sade took him in, and, eventually, Rush became their son, completely, his origins forgotten. The addition of Rush created an ensemble that transformed the show into a work of art.

One of the most startling things to learn about Vic and Sade, is that it was a "cold read". They often received their scripts at the very last minute and went on the air to read the script for the first time. Billy Idelson (Rush) later wrote that they didn't have a lot of respect for Hollywood actors who had to rehearse. They believed that the pinnacle of the acting art was taking place on the radio, in Chicago.

There are only three actors voicing Vic and Sade, yet we truly believe we know everyone of the oddball folks in their unnamed Illinois town. Rhymer's genius is to use the telephone which is constantly ringing to have one-sided conversations with people we never hear yet learn all about. The conversation is so natural, we believe that we've heard them. Later, Uncle Fletcher (Clarence Hartzell) was added, and it strengthened the cast. As time went on, there was a demand to fit with new sensibilities and more voices were added much to the detriment of the ensemble.

The art of Vic and Sade lies in three areas. One is Rhymer's uncanny ability to craft characters who, while objectively outrageous in various ways seem nonetheless real. We know those people, not only in the context of the show but in our own lives. At the time of airing, you can be sure people called each other by the characters' names as they saw the familiar traits in each other. Another is structural. Episodes of Vic and Sade from the show's prime are like 15 minute musical pieces. Themes are stated, explored, repeated and he even manages to resolve each episode at the end. The final element is the cast. They manage to convince us they are Vic, Sade, Rush and Uncle Fletcher and that all the virtual cast members are real. The combination of the cast's tight ensemble work and Rhymer's clever scripts make for a very enjoyable, very American experience in a uniquely radio form.

While over 2000 disc transcriptions were tragically and short-sightedly destroyed by Crisco, the series longest-lived sponsor, we are fortunate that about 330 episodes survive. Quality varies, but many are in excellent condition. Thanks to the Internet and archive.org, you can listen to Vic and Sade today. The repository or the remaining episodes is here.