The Genius of Paul Rhymer

Back in the 1930s, there was a radio show called Vic & Sade that was brilliant in depicting the simple humor of everyday life in Anytown USA. The series ran for about ten years and never involved more than just three or four cast members at any one time, most usually Victor and Sadie Gook, their son Rush and good old Uncle Fletcher. But the program was populated by an endless number of other neighbors, classmates, lodge members, and distant relatives all brought to life in the dialog between these main characters as written by the show's creator Paul Rhymer. If anyone ever doubted the capacity of radio to serve as a "theater of the imagination," this show as much as any exemplified the creative, and even moreso, the artistic potential of the medium. There were two books of Rhymer's scripts published back in the 1970s and are well worth hunting up in your local library; there are of course recordings of many of hte shows as well, and can be found via various vendors on the web. But I just stumbled across this video dramatization of one of Rhymer's scripts as performed by a university drama troupe, and they do the source material proud. This is very low-key stuff, but the humor just seeps from its naturalness and familiarity. Enjoy!