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Ruthledge. The former's cynicism often acts as a foil to the latter's optimism. Rev. Ruthledge's daughter Mary also embarked on a secret romance with her foster brother Ned Holden. Ned and Mary would eventually marry in a 1941 episode of the soap with Rev
Ruthledge's blessing, but not before a series of complications arose. One such complication is the return of Ned's parents, Frances and Paul Holden. This storyline results in Frances shooting Paul dead when he makes his plans to extort money from Ned known. Another complication is Ned's marriage to and subsequent divorce from lounge singer Torchy Reynolds (who later ended up in a relationship with Ellis Smith). Storylines in this era also touched on topics rarely discussed up to that point — for example, the character of Rose Kransky had radio's first out-of-wedlock baby.
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The show was canceled by NBC twice, once in 1939 and once in 1946. The first time on
October 13, 1939, it was brought back by the popular demand of the listening audience and began again only four months later, on January 22, 1940. (Although some of the characters, Rose Kransky and part of her
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called Five Points. The townspeople's lives all revolve around him, and the show's title refers to a lamp in his study that family and residents can see as a sign for them to find help when needed. Early ongoing storylines contrasted Ellis Smith (nicknamed Mr. Nobody from
Nowhere) with Rev.
152:, who based it on personal experiences. After giving birth to a still-born baby at age 19, she found spiritual comfort listening to sermons by a preacher of a church centered on the brotherhood of man. These sermons formed the nucleus of the creation of
182:(Dr. John Ruthledge), Mignon Schreiber (Mrs. Kransky), Muriel Bremner (Fredericka Lang), Betty Arnold (Iris Marsh), Back row from left: Bill Bouchey (Charles Cunningham), Paul Barnes (Jack Felzer), Phil Dakin (Ellis Smith), Seymour Young (Jacob Kransky)
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appearances between the three shows, and at one point during this period, Phillips considered the experiment of running the individual program segments longer or shorter than the then-traditional quarter-hour. However, the
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During the radio years, succeeding preachers carried on the work Rev. Ruthledge had started, thus becoming keepers of the "guiding light." The show's setting moved to another fictional suburb in 1947, Selby Flats, in the
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The show started in the locale of Five Points, a fictional enclave neighborhood of
Chicago, but in 1947 when CBS brought back the show, the locale transitioned to the fictional suburb of
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Gertrude "Trudy" Bauer Palmer (Laurette
Fillbrant, September 27, 1948 to September 21, 1949; Charlotte Holland, September 22, 1949 to 1951;
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would pick up the show seven months later, on June 2, 1947. CBS would be where the show would stay until its cancellation on
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show's original storyline centers on a preacher named Rev. John
Ruthledge and all the people of a fictional suburb in
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started sponsorship. Procter & Gamble would again sponsor the show when CBS picked up the show on June 2, 1947.
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Frances Holden AKA Fredericka Lang (Peggy Fuller, 1937 to 1939; Muriel
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Reverend Dr. Paul Keeler (Bernard Lenrow, 1946 and 1949 to 1950; Bill Smith, 1950 to 1952)
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when NBC restarted the show.) The
November 29, 1946, NBC cancellation coincided with the
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Bertha "Bert" Miller Bauer (Ann
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where it remained or was based until the show was canceled in
September 2009.
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was disbanded before Phillips could proceed further with the idea.
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family, briefly transitioned to another Phillips' creation,
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area. The Bauers became central to the storyline in 1948.
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Ellis Smith AKA Gordon Ellis AKA Mr. Nobody From Nowhere (
257:) were aired as a programming block known collectively as
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Cast of the show in December 1940. Front row from left:
648:. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 299โ302.
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acting as master of ceremonies. Major characters made
405:, 1950 to 1951; Herbert "Herb" Nelson, 1951 to 1952)
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342:Torchy Reynolds Holden (Gladys Heen, 1939 to 1941;
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129:(TGL) was an American radio series which became a
501:Julie Barton Collins (Mary Lansing, 1946 to 1947)
193:, with Phillips bringing back the characters to
178:(Rose Kransky), Gladys Heene (Torchy Reynolds),
281:From 1947 to 1949, the show was broadcast from
201:forcing a split of NBC and the creation of the
645:On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
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285:, but in the fall of 1949 the show moved to
428:Charles "Chuckie" White, Ted and Meta's son
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411:Katherine "Kathy" Roberts Lang Grant (
245:and two other Phillips-created soaps (
692:. New York: Checkmate Books. p.
7:
398:, February 3, 1950 to June 27, 1952)
486:Ray Brandon AKA Roger Barton, Sr. (
479:Claire Marshall Lawrence MacNeill (
360:, June 1948 to September 24, 1948;
690:The Encyclopedia of American Radio
468:, 1939 to 1940; Phil Dakin, 1940;
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490:, 1946 to 1947 and 1950 to 1951;
318:, 1939 to 1941 and 1943 to 1944;
199:Federal Communications Commission
457:, 1937 to 1939 and 1940 to 1941)
507:Reverend Dr. Charles Matthews (
425:Bob Lang, Kathy's first husband
418:Dr. Richard "Dick" Grant, Jr. (
627:About the show "Guiding Light"
1:
958:1940s American radio programs
953:1930s American radio programs
303:Reverend Dr. John Ruthledge (
227:until March 16, 1942, when
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978:American radio soap operas
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144:The series was created by
608:List of radio soap operas
351:The Bauers/Roberts/Whites
374:Friedrich "Papa" Bauer (
438:Rose Kransky Greenman (
310:Mary Ruthledge Holden (
462:Raymond Edward Johnson
367:Theodore "Ted" White (
298:The Ruthledges/Holdens
259:The General Mills Hour
190:The Right to Happiness
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830:Recurring characters
564:Peggy Ashley Regan (
453:Charles Cunningham (
312:Mercedes McCambridge
217:Procter & Gamble
847:Alexandra Spaulding
685:"The Guiding Light"
552:Anne Burr McDermott
305:Arthur Peterson Jr.
241:From 1943 to 1946,
213:in September 2009.
180:Arthur Peterson Jr.
968:CBS Radio programs
963:NBC radio programs
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543:Dr. Ross Boling (
536:Dr. Mary Leland (
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455:Willis B. Bouchey
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243:The Guiding Light
225:The Guiding Light
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494:, 1947 to 1949;
492:Willard Waterman
472:, 1940 to 1942;
464:, 1937 to 1939;
448:Charlotte Manson
442:, 1937 to 1941;
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344:Dorothy Reynolds
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821:Ashlee Wolfe
791:Dinah Marler
786:Shayne Lewis
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659:. Retrieved
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531:Lesley Woods
444:Louise Fitch
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403:Larry Haines
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25:Main article
862:Marah Lewis
852:Doris Wolfe
837:Beth Raines
796:Reva Shayne
781:Mindy Lewis
592:Los Angeles
440:Ruth Bailey
369:Arnold Moss
337:Ed Prentiss
327:Ed Prentiss
267:Ed Prentiss
236:Los Angeles
176:Ruth Bailey
85:(2000โ2009)
77:(1990โ1999)
69:(1980โ1989)
61:(1970โ1979)
53:(1960โ1969)
45:(1950โ1959)
37:(1937โ1949)
942:Categories
769:Characters
661:2019-10-13
629:at CBS.Com
614:References
596:California
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211:television
205:network.
167:network.
134:soap opera
131:television
927:2000โ2009
922:1990โ1999
917:1980โ1989
912:1970โ1979
907:1960โ1969
902:1950โ1959
897:1937โ1949
715:Listen to
566:Jane Webb
283:Hollywood
271:crossover
642:(1998).
602:See also
525:, 1947;
446:, 1942;
890:History
583:Chicago
568:, 1951)
561:, 1951)
518:, 1947)
476:, 1942)
346:, 1942)
322:, 1942)
261:, with
221:sponsor
160:on the
158:Chicago
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165:radio
698:ISBN
650:ISBN
577:The
276:Hour
251:and
148:and
123:The
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223:of
207:CBS
203:ABC
162:NBC
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