It's Higgins, Sir is a radio comedy program in the United States with Harry McNaughton as the title character.[1] It had a limited run on NBC in 1951[2] as a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show.[3]

It's Higgins, Sir
Genrecomedy
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesNBC
StarringHarry McNaughton
Written byPaul Harrison
Directed byPaul Harrison
Original releaseJuly 3 –
September 25, 1951

The program's premise was that among an American family's bequests from a British relative was a butler, Higgins. Episodes "focused on the attempts of the English butler to adjust to life in America and to his new employers, and of the family to adjust to having a butler."[4]

Others in the cast besides McNaughton were Vinton Hayworth, Peggy Allenby, Charles Nevil, Pat Hosley, Denise Alexander,[1] Ethel Wilson and Adelaide Klein.[4] One website commented, "It's McNaughton that drives the programme with his fantastic comedic timing, and the rest of the cast does an amazing job in helping him to shine."[5]

Although Higgins didn't last beyond the summer of 1951, two subsequent television programs had links to the show. A website pointed out the connections:

A year and a half later in 1953, NBC premiered the family sitcom, My Son Jeep, using the same musical score as Higgins and in one episode, it was mentioned that the Roberts family were neighbors to the Allison Family. More directly, [there was] Our Man Higgins starring Stanley Holloway as the butler to the McRoberts family.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 351. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  2. ^ a b "Radio Review: It's Higgins, Sir". The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Old Time Radio Classics Broadcast Archives". Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Classics. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (1981), Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930–1960. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-498-02393-1. p. 132.
  5. ^ "There's no mister, it's just Higgins, sir!". Claytonology. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.

External links edit