December Bride (radio program)

December Bride is an American old-time radio situation comedy. It was broadcast on CBS from June 8, 1952, to September 6, 1953, replacing Jack Benny's program. CBS television broadcast a version of the program 1954–1959.

Format
In On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, John Dunning described Lily Ruskin, the program's main character, as "the precise opposite of the stereotypical mother-in-law. A widow, Lily was a dear lady in every aspect." Other main characters in the program were Ruth Henshaw, Lily's daughter; Matt Henshaw, Ruth's husband; and their next-door neighbor, Pete Porter.

Lily wrote an advice column for a newspaper, and Matt was an architect.

In August 1952, December Bride was one of four sustaining CBS radio programs (along with the Steve Allen Show, Gunsmoke, and Horatio Hornblower) carried over into the fall "to test further their commercial potential."

Personnel
The cast of December Bride is shown in the table below. Source: On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (except as noted)

Johnny Jacobs was the announcer, and Wilbur Hatch provided the music. The program was created and directed by Parke Levy.

Promotion
In December 1952, December Bride held a letter-writing contest with the topic "Why I like my Mother-in-law". The prize was a week's vacation for two to Palm Springs, including being the guests of Spring Byington while there.

Critical response
A review in the trade publication Variety described the show's dialog as "zany" and said that Byington was "her usual delightful self as the mother-in-law". It summarized the permiere episode as "unpretentious hot-weather fare".

Logs

 * Log of December Bride episodes from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
 * Log of December Bride episodes from Old Time Radio Researchers Group
 * Log of December Bride episodes from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

 * Episodes of December Bride from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library