Our Miss Brooks was a hit on radio from the outset; within eight months of its launch as a regular series, the show landed several honors, including four for Eve Arden, who won polls in four individual publications of the time. Arden had actually been the third choice to play the title role. Harry Ackerman, at the time CBS's West Coast director of programming, wanted Shirley Booth for the part, but as he told historian Gerald Nachman many years later, he realized Booth was too focused on the underpaid downside of public school teaching at the time to have fun with the role.
Lucille Ball was believed to be the next choice, but she was already committed to My Favorite Husband and didn't audition. Then CBS chairman Bill Paley, who was friendly with Arden, persuaded her to audition for the part. With a slightly rewritten audition script---Osgood Conklin, for example, was originally written as a school board president but was now written as the incoming new Madison principal---Arden agreed to give the newly-revamped show a try.
Produced by Larry Berns and written by director Al Lewis, Our Miss Brooks premiered on CBS July 19, 1948. According to radio critic John Crosby, her lines were very "feline" in dialogue scenes with principal Conklin and would-be boyfriend Boynton, with sharp, witty comebacks. The interplay between the cast---blustery Conklin, nebbishy Denton, accommodating Harriet, absentminded Mrs. Davis, clueless Boynton, scheming Miss Enright---also received positive reviews.
Arden won a radio listeners' poll by Radio Mirror magazine as the top ranking comedienne of 1948-1949, receiving her award at the end of an Our Miss Brooks broadcast that March. "I'm certainly going to try in the coming months to merit the honor you've bestowed upon me, because I understand that if I win this (award) two years in a row, I get to keep Mr. Boynton," she joked. But she was also a hit with the critics; a winter 1949 poll of newspaper and magazine radio editors taken by Motion Picture Daily named her the year's best radio comedienne.
For its entire radio life, the show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, promoting Palmolive soap, Lustre Creme shampoo and Toni hair care products. The radio series continued until 1957, a year after its television life ended.
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1 49-01-09 Our Miss Brooks Lack of Coal at Madison High - 52:02
2 AIR CHECK - CBS Radio - Our Miss Brooks - Halloween 30 October1949 - 34:10
3 460702 An American Tragedy.mp3 - 17:42
4 Our Miss Brooks 480409 000 Audition Shirley Booth - 30:29
5 480508 Mothers Day.mp3 - 33:03
6 Our Miss Brooks 480623 000 Audition Eve Arden - 30:09
7 Our Miss Brooks 480719 001 First Day - 29:53
8 Our Miss Brooks 480919 007 Weekend At Crystal Lake - 23:40
9 Surprise Party - 29:15
10 Clay City Football Game - 28:57
11 Connie the Workhorse - 30:21
12 Our Miss Brooks 481114 015 Babysitting for Three - 29:31
13 Our Miss Brooks 481121 016 Model School Teacher - 29:56
14 Our Miss Brooks 481128 017 Sunnydale Finishing School - 28:32
15 Our Miss Brooks 481205 018 Weighing Machine - 29:21
16 Magic Christmas Tree - 28:24
17 Old Clothes for Party - 30:25
18 Lack of Coal at Madison - 52:02
19 Student Goverment Day - 26:10
20 Head of English Department - 31:08
21 Student Banking - 29:20
22 Missing Electric Heater (no sponsor) - 26:48
23 Stretch the Basketball Star - 29:57
24 The Frog - 28:41
25 Stretch Has A Problem - 29:47
26 The Hair Do - 28:53
27 Cafeteria Boycott - 30:00
28 Poetry Mix-Up - 29:11
29 Clay City English Teacher - 29:25
30 April Fool's Day - 28:52
31 Easter Outfit (disk damage) - 29:17
32 Our Miss Brooks 490424 038 Dress Code - 29:29
33 Walter vs Stretch Grudge Match - 28:59
34 Our Miss Brooks 490508 040 Mister Boynton s Parents - 29:36
35 Our Miss Brooks 490515 041 Friday the 13th - 29:31
36 Peanuts, the Great Dane - 28:33
37 Why Is Everybody Arguing ? - 28:23
38 Missing Keys - 30:05
39 Wishing Well Dance - 29:11
40 Our Miss Brooks 490619 046 Taxidermist - 29:29
41 Our Miss Brooks 490703 048 July 4th Trip to Eagle Springs - 29:30
42 Telegram For Mrs. Davis - 29:39
43 Our Miss Brooks 490717 050 Carelessness Code - 30:48
44 Pensacola Popovers - 30:06
45 Our Miss Brooks 490731 052 Connie s New Job Offer - 29:30
46 Heat Wave - 29:33
47 The English Test - 26:51
48 Weekend at Crystal Lake - 25:04
49 Head of the Board - 29:28
50 Faculty Cheer Leader - 30:04
51 Taking the Rap for Mr. Boynton - 29:08
52 Our Miss Brooks 491002 060 Rival Football - 29:01
53 Our Miss Brooks 491009 061 Mr Leblanche needs 50 Dollars - 29:30
54 School Safety Advisor - 29:50
55 Exchanging Gifts - 29:08
56 Halloween Party - 26:28
57 School Mascot - 29:08
58 The Party Line - 29:20
59 Our Miss Brooks 491127 068 Thanksgiving Weekend - 29:04
60 Weighing Machine - 29:48
61 Game at Clay City - 30:00
62 Department Store Contest - 28:52
63 Magic Christmas Tree - 30:22
64 Our Miss Brooks 500101 073 Babysitting on New Year s Eve - 29:33
65 Board Of Education Day - 29:38
66 Our Miss Brooks 500115 075 Cure That Habit - 30:04
67 Our Miss Brooks 500122 076 Professorship at State U - 29:30
68 School On Saturday - 29:24
69 Our Miss Brooks 500205 078 Miss Enright s Dinner - 29:31
70 Valentine's Day Date - 28:45
71 Stretch is in Love - 28:36
72 Board of Education Letter - 28:24
73 The Burglar - 29:27
74 The Auction - 29:38
75 Baseball Uniforms - 30:45
76 Our Miss Brooks 500402 086 Free TV from Sherry s - 29:32
77 Easter Egg Dye - 29:54
78 Our Miss Brooks 500423 089 Tape Recorder - 29:33
79 School Band - 30:34
80 Boynton's Barbecue - 30:19
81 Boynton's Parents - 30:04
82 Our Miss Brooks 500521 093 Rare Black Orchid - 29:32
83 Our Miss Brooks 500528 094 Reckless Driving - 30:31
84 Our Miss Brooks 500910 096 Rumors - 30:34
85 Elopement With Walter - 29:05
86 Bronco Dismissed - 29:34
87 Measles - 29:37
88 Walter's Wonderful Radio - 29:45
89 Our Miss Brooks 501015 101 The Bookie - 29:37
90 Our Miss Brooks 501022 102 Stretch Is in Love Again - 28:39
91 The Dancer - 30:00
92 Our Miss Brooks 501105 104 Indian Burial Ground - 29:33
93 Our Miss Brooks 501112 105 Teachers Convention - 29:30
94 Our Miss Brooks 501119 106 Thanksgiving Turkey - 30:38
95 Woman Driver - 28:40
96 Our Miss Brooks 501203 108 Music Festival - 31:01
97 Our Miss Brooks 501217 110 A Suit For Charity - 29:47
98 Our Miss Brooks 501224 111 Magic Christmas Tree - 29:32
99 Our Miss Brooks 501231 112 Christmas Gift Returns - 29:29
100 Our Miss Brooks 510204 117 Puppy Love and Mr Barlow - 29:33
101 Our Miss Brooks 510211 118 Business Course - 29:29
102 Skis in the Classroom - 29:22
103 Our Miss Brooks 510304 121 Overseas Job - 29:31
104 Tex Barton, Basketball Star - 29:42
105 Our Miss Brooks 510318 123 Miss Enright s Birthday Party - 28:06
106 1951-03-25 Boynton's Land Deal - 23:49
107 Our Miss Brooks 510401 125 Another Day Another Dress - 29:30
108 Mr. Conklin's Induction Notice (incomplete) - 13:19
109 Our Miss Brooks 510422 128 New School TV Set - 29:37
110 Bargain Hats For Mother's Day - 30:45
111 Our Miss Brooks 510527 133 The English Test - 26:58
112 Our Miss Brooks 510603 134 The First Aid Course JC - 30:50
113 Connie Tries To Forget Boynton - 25:02
114 Our Miss Brooks 511125 146 Connie Wins a Man s Suit JC - 24:41
115 Our Miss Brooks 520127 155 New School Bus JC - 25:47
116 Our Miss Brooks 520309 161 Minerva s Kittens JC - 26:11
117 Our Miss Brooks 530531 212 Cosmopolitan Magazine - 29:38
118 Our Miss Brooks 531004 217 Poison Ivy - 26:58
119 Our Miss Brooks 531011 218 Plaque for Mr Conklin - 26:02
120 Our Miss Brooks 531018 219 Mr Boynton s Barbecue - 28:09
121 Our Miss Brooks 531025 220 Boynton the Gigolo - 25:39
122 Our Miss Brooks 531101 221 Mr Conklin s Car Pool - 25:46
123 Our Miss Brooks 531108 222 Convict - 27:21
124 Our Miss Brooks 531115 223 The Moving Van - 25:42
125 Our Miss Brooks 531122 224 The Butcher - 25:34
126 Our Miss Brooks 531129 225 Former Student Visits - 25:42
127 Our Miss Brooks 531213 227 Conklin the Bachelor - 20:05
128 Our Miss Brooks 531220 228 Christmas Gift Mix-up - 25:35
129 Our Miss Brooks 531227 229 Miss Brooks Writes about a Hobo - 25:55
130 Our Miss Brooks 540110 231 Hobbies - 23:53
131 Our Miss Brooks 540117 232 Selling the House Next Door - 25:34
132 Our Miss Brooks 540124 233 Foreign Teachers - 25:39
133 Our Miss Brooks 540131 234 Four Fiances - 24:47
134 Our Miss Brooks 540207 235 Foreign Teachers - 25:43
135 540424 Cow In The Closet.mp3 - 18:27
136 Our Miss Brooks 540926 256 Mr Lathrop Returns to School - 26:22
137 Our Miss Brooks 541003 257 Conklin Threatens to Abolish Football - 26:01
138 Our Miss Brooks 541010 258 Bartering with Chief Thundercloud - 24:47
139 Our Miss Brooks 541017 259 Photo Feud - 19:33
140 Our Miss Brooks 541024 260 Stretch is in Love Again - 24:41
141 Our Miss Brooks 541107 262 The Switchboard Operator - 25:23
142 Our Miss Brooks 541114 263 Movies at School - 24:17
143 Our Miss Brooks 55-04-24 286 Take Him or Leave Him - 29:18
144 Our Miss Brooks 55-05-01 287 Miss Brooks Takes over Spring Garden - 23:16
145 Cat Burglars - 55-08-07 - 29:12
146 Our Miss Brooks 550116 272 Male Superiority - 24:29
147 Our Miss Brooks 550123 273 Pen Pal Project - 25:39
148 Our Miss Brooks 550130 274 Mr Travis 3 Acre Lot - 25:34
149 Our Miss Brooks 550306 279 Project X - 22:50
150 Our Miss Brooks 550313 280 The School Board s Psycholoogist - 23:45
151 Our Miss Brooks 550327 282 Mr Boynton s Moustache - 24:34
152 Our Miss Brooks 550403 283 An American Tragedy - 25:21
153 Our Miss Brooks 550410 284 Tears For Mister Boynton - 29:19
154 Our Miss Brooks 550417 285 Magazine Articles - 29:29
155 Our Miss Brooks 550424 286 Cow in the Closet - 29:08
156 Our Miss Brooks 550501 287 Miss Brooks Takes Over Spring Garden - 23:16
157 Our Miss Brooks 550508 288 Orphan Twins - 29:41
158 Our Miss Brooks 550522 290 Stretch is Accused of Professionalism - 25:19
159 Our Miss Brooks 550529 291 Spring Garden - 23:57
160 Our Miss Brooks 550619 294 Taxi Fare - 29:37
161 Our Miss Brooks 550626 295 Marriage By Proxy - 26:04
162 Our Miss Brooks 550703 296 Deacon Jones - 29:20
163 Bye Bye Boynton - 25:02
164 Our Miss Brooks 550717 298 Planning a Trip to Europe - 29:28
165 Our Miss Brooks 550724 299 Non Fraternization Policy - 29:27
166 Our Miss Brooks 550731 300 Marriage Madness - 29:19
167 Cat Burglars - 55-08-07 - 29:12
168 Our Miss Brooks 550814 302 Sneaky Peekers - 29:15
169 Our Miss Brooks 550821 303 Teacher s Convention - 29:28
170 The Audio Visual Experiment - 25:00
171 Summer Vacation - 28:45
172 Rumors - 29:11
173 OMB 550918 House Trailer/NoAds - 25:29
174 Our Miss Brooks 551009 310 Friendship - 19:29
175 Our Miss Brooks 551030 313 French Sadie Hawkins Day - 20:28
176 Our Miss Brooks 551113 315 Outpost Road incomplete - 17:53
177 Our Miss Brooks 551204 318 Saving the School Newspaper - 19:45
178 Our Miss Brooks 551218 320 Christmas Clothing Drive - 19:00
179 Magic Christmas Tree - 24:56
180 Mr. Conklin Loses His Hearing - 22:44
181 Our Miss Brooks 560108 323 School on Saturday - 24:38
182 Our Miss Brooks 560205 327 The Auction - 24:45
183 Our Miss Brooks 560212 328 Mr Conklin s Statue - 24:40
184 Our Miss Brooks 560318 333 Mash Notes to Harriet - 18:27
185 Our Miss Brooks 560506 340 New Girl in Town - 19:45
186 Our Miss Brooks 560603 344 The Dinner Party - 19:27
187 Our Miss Brooks 570113 351 repeat of 25 Head of the English Dept - 29:12
188 Our Miss Brooks 570224 357 repeat of 30 Stretch Has a Problem - 28:07
