The Grouch Club

The Grouch Club is a talk show broadcast on CBS Radio West Coast on Mondays (later Tuesdays) between October 17, 1938 and April 25, 1939, followed on Sundays at 6:30 PM on NBC Red Network April 16, 1939 through January 21, 1940. Jack Lescoulie hosted as “grouchmaster”, listening to people who wanted to complain about any problem in their life. Among the “grouchies” featured were familiar radio personalities (some also in movies): Jack Albertson, Arthur Q. Bryan (the future voice of Elmer Fudd), Emory Parnell, Ned Sparks, Don Brody, Mary Milford, Phil Kramer and Eric Burtis. Beth Wilson was a key singer and the hosts were Neil Reagan and Jim Barry. A key producer was a top movie screenwriter Owen Crump. Roland Kibbee was among the writers. The show was created by Nat Hiken.

Simultaneous to the show was a series of 9- to 10-minute comedy short films also co-written and co-starring on screen, Jack Lescoulie. These were produced by Warner Bros. through Vitaphone. Arthur Q. Bryan and Nancy Evans often appeared in these, which showcased an unfortunate soul struggling with library book cards, voting trouble, parking problems and other troubles… warranting an entrance in the “Grouch Club”.

Only six films were made in 1938-1939, the first of which eventually made it to DVD as an “extra” with the feature The Roaring Twenties. Lloyd French was key director.


 * The Great Library Misery / September 10, 1938
 * Tax Trouble(s) / March 18, 1939
 * Witness Trouble / July 29, 1939
 * Vote Trouble / September 9, 1939
 * No Parking / December 22, 1939
 * Trouble in Store / December 23, 1939