This Is Nora Drake

This Is Nora Drake is an American old-time radio soap opera. It was broadcast from October 27, 1947, to January 2, 1959, first on NBC and later on CBS.^[1] Beginning in May 1948, it was also carried on CFRB in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.^[2]

This Is Nora Drake

Mary Jane Higby, one of the actresses who portrayed the title character
Genre	Soap opera
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Syndicates	NBC CBS
Starring	Charlotte Holland Joan Tompkins Mary Jane Higby
Announcer	Bill Cullen Peter Roberts
Written by	Julian Funt Milton Lewis
Directed by	Dee Engelback Art Hanna Charles Irving
Original release	October 27, 1947 (1947-10-27) – January 2, 1959 (1959-01-02)
Sponsored by	Toni hair care products Bristol-Myers

Format

The opening (read by announcer) called the show "This Is Nora Drake, a modern story seen through the window of a woman's heart".^[3]

Nora Drake was a nurse at Page Memorial Hospital in a medium-sized town.^[4] She was one of several women featured on radio soap operas who "were adept at becoming involved with scoundrels, liars, or, as was most likely, married men."^[5] In Nora's case, she was a nurse in love with Dr. Ken Martinson, who married nurse Peggy King^[5] before he realized that his true love was Nora. Peggy refused to divorce Ken and had a "furious confrontation" with Nora, after which Peggy was crippled in an automobile accident, leaving Ken feeling obligated to remain married.^[6] Among other efforts against Nora, Peggy (whose father was a trustee of the hospital) sought her father's help in getting Nora fired.^[7] After five years of making life difficult for Ken, Peggy was killed, which enabled Nora to pursue her romance.^[5]

Nora's life gained another complication when her long-lost father returned. He proved to be unstable and impulsive, and he went to prison for shooting a gambler.^[6]

A review of the November 12, 1947, episode of the program in the trade publication Billboard indicated that it followed a familiar pattern for radio soap operas: "The stuff shapes up as old hat, but commercial".^[8]

Personnel

Characters in This Is Nora Drake and the actors who portrayed them included those shown in the table below.

Characters and Actors in This Is Nora Drake

Character	Actor(s)
Nora Drake	Charlotte Holland[3] Joan Tompkins[9] Mary Jane Higby[9]
Ken Martinson	Alan Hewitt[9] Leon Janney[4]
Peggy King Martinson	Mercedes McCambridge[3] Joan Alexander[9] Lesley Woods[9]
Arthur Drake	Joseph Conway[10] Ralph Bell[9] Everett Sloane[9]
Charles Dobbs	Grant Richards[9]
Claudia Morgan	Ruby Dee[11]
Vivian Jarrett	Ruth Newton[12]
Irene Maloney	Ann Shepherd[13]
Cass Toderp	Joe Mantell[14]
Doctor Jensen	Arnold Robertson[10]
Suzanne Turrie	Joan Lorring[4]
Gillian Gray	Charlotte Manson[10]
Rose Fuller	Irene Hubbard[4]
Fred Molina	Larry Haines[4]
Andrew King	Roger De Koven[4]

Others often heard on the program included Elspeth Eric, Lucille Wall,^[3] Les Damon, Robert Readick,^[9] and John Sylvester,^[7] Bill Cullen and Peter Roberts were announcers.^[3] Charles Paul was the organist.^[10] Directors included Dee Engelback, Art Hanna, and Charles Irving.^[3] Writers included Julian Funt and Milton Lewis.^[9]

Schedule and sponsors

As of February 9, 1948, This Is Nora Drake was carried on 156 NBC stations.^[15] On April 12, 1948, the show's broadcasts were added to CBS while they continued on NBC. Episodes using the same scripts were heard on NBC at 11 a.m. Eastern Time and on CBS at 2:30 Eastern Time. That plan resulted from discussions that involved representatives of the networks, the sponsor (Toni hair care products) and the Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency.^[16] The show replaced Marriage for Two on CBS.^[17]

Beginning in January 1954, Bristol-Myers took on half-sponsorship of the program, with Toni retaining the other half after having been the sole sponsor. That was the first time Bristol-Myers sponsored a program on CBS.^[18]

Book adaptation

In 1950, Duell, Sloan and Pearce published The Nora Drake Story by Cornelia Blair. The 251-page novel focused on Drake's early life, her nursing education, and her experiences in hospitals through the time when she and her classmates received their caps. A review in The American Journal of Nursing concluded, "Its appeal is primarily to the marriage-minded, for though the author stoutly denies ... that nursing school is a 'glorified matrimonial bureau,' this is the tour de force of the book."^[19]

Cutout doll books

In 1952, variety stores in the United States sold two paper doll cut-out books based on characters in This Is Nora Drake. Six women from the show, including Drake, were featured, with uniforms and off-duty clothes for nurses.^[20]

References

1. Dunning, John (7 May 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 665–666. ISBN 978-0-19-984045-8. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
2. "New Business" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 31, 1948. p. 13. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
3. Lackmann, Ron (9 January 2015). Mercedes McCambridge: A Biography and Career Record. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8382-2. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
4. Dunning, John (1976). Tune in Yesterday : The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976 (PDF). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc. pp. 602–603. ISBN 0-13-932616-2. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
5. Hetherington, John T. (22 April 2014). Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series, 1932-1944. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1605-6. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
6. Reinehr, Robert C.; Swartz, Jon D. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-7616-3. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
7. "This Is Nora Drake Will Be New Serial Over KSCJ". Sioux City Journal. April 11, 1948. p. 10 - Section 2. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Ackerman, Paul (November 22, 1947). "This Is Nora Drake". Billboard. pp. 13, 17. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
9. Cox, Jim (15 November 2005). Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas. Scarecrow Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-0-8108-6523-5. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
10. Terrace, Vincent (1981). Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs, 1930 - 1960 (PDF). A. S. Barnes & Company, Inc. pp. 265–266. ISBN 0-498-023931. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
11. "Ruby Dee Lands Straight Role In Radio Serial". Jet. VIII (5): 42. June 9, 1955. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
12. "Talent Notes on Air and Screen". Billboard. October 24, 1953. p. 4. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
13. "Production Notes and Personnel Intelligence . . ". Billboard. April 7, 1951. p. 9. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
14. "Radio Flashes". The Daily Item. Pennsylvania, Sunbury. July 3, 1953. p. 12. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Toni Adds 12 Outlets" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 2, 1948. p. 20. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
16. "Toni Ends Jam, Spotting 'Nora' On NBC, CBS" (PDF). Billboard. April 10, 1948. p. 5. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
17. "'Nora Drake' Ankles to CBS" (PDF). Billboard. March 13, 1948. p. 6. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
18. "Bristol-Myers Buys 'Nora'" (PDF). Billboard. December 5, 1953. p. 3. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
19. Kelley, Sara W. (June 1951). "Book Reviews: The Nora Drake Story". The American Journal of Nursing. 51 (6): 28. doi:10.1097/00000446-195106000-00077. JSTOR 3459199. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
20. "Nora Drake Inspires Doll Book" (PDF). The 560 News. 6 (11): 8. November 1952. Retrieved October 30, 2021.

External links

Logs

• Partial list of episodes of This Is Nora Drake from Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Streaming

• Episodes of This Is Nora Drake from Old Time Radio Researchers Group