Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Amos & Andy - Bookends and Babies
Date: March 28, 2026

This classic episode of Amos & Andy centers around the comedic misadventures sparked by a simple gift: a pair of bookends. Through a series of misunderstandings, trades, and rumors, the episode weaves its way through workplace changes, mistaken baby news, and a farcical baby shower. Special guest Ginger Rogers features as a witty department store salesgirl, adding charm and quick banter to the story. The episode is a fine example of the situational humor and character-driven plots that made Amos & Andy a staple of the Golden Age of Radio.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown

1. The Bookends and the Gift Mix-Up

• Setting: Pritchard’s Department Store
• Mrs. Henry Van Porter shops for a tasteful but affordable pair of bookends at the gift counter, where Ms. Ginger Rogers is the salesgirl. (01:36)
• Mrs. Van Porter asks for the bookends to be wrapped and delivered as a thank-you gift to Andy for helping sell an insurance policy.

Notable Quote:
Ms. Ginger Rogers (about the popular picture frames):
"The way the women went for those things, you'd have thought Frank Sinatra came with every frame in person." (02:32)

2. Andy's New Job and Reluctant Acceptance

• Andy tells Kingfish about his new job at Harlem Hospital, secured through Brother Crawford. (02:49)
• Kingfish jokes about the challenges of working life:
  "7 o’clock was never meant for a getting up hour. The only reason they got that number 7 printed on the clock...so there won't be no blank spares between six and eight." (03:37)
• Andy receives the bookends, but confides he dislikes them and plans to exchange them. (04:54)

3. Attempted Exchange and Escalating Confusion

• Andy tries to return the bookends, but runs into Mrs. Van Porter and stumbles through a white lie about wanting more bookends. (05:46)
• The attempt to get a refund fails due to the store’s "all sales are final" policy. (07:01)
• Kingfish helps Andy bring the bookends to a swap shop to try their luck. (07:17)

4. Bartering at the Swap Shop

• At the swap shop, market values shift rapidly:
  Sam (shop owner): “Bookends is pretty hard to get these days...Oh, well, in that case, the market is flooded with them. Tell you what I'll do, I'll give you 10 cents. Par for them.” (07:34, 07:44)
• Andy is talked into swapping the bookends for a baby buggy—with an extra swapping charge. (09:13)

Memorable Moment:
Kingfish and Andy’s exasperation at the swap:
Andy: “Now, listen, Kingfish. What is I gonna do with a baby buggy?” (09:42)

5. The Rumor Mill: Mistaken Baby News

• In a classic radio comedy misunderstanding, Andy and Kingfish ask Brother Crawford to watch the baby buggy while they make a phone call. (10:48)
• News rapidly spreads through Harlem that the Crawfords are expecting, stemming from ambiguous conversation and assumptions.
• By the time it circles back to Kingfish, it’s accepted as fact:
  Kingfish: “The Crawfords is going to have a baby.” (12:15)
• Andy remarks on the coincidence, since he is also starting his new job at the hospital on January 1st. (12:26)

6. Organizing a Baby Shower

• Kingfish proposes throwing the Crawfords a surprise baby shower to show appreciation for Andy’s new job. (13:19)
• Andy agrees, feeling grateful and obligated.

7. Department Store Antics: Ginger Rogers Moves to Baby Clothes

• In a humorous subplot, Ms. Ginger Rogers learns she’s being transferred from “bookends and bric-a-brac” to “baby clothes” due to falling sales. (15:04)
• Mr. Pritchard requests she pretend to be a mother for sales purposes:
  Ms. Ginger Rogers: “Now, wait a minute. Don't you think enough has happened to me for one day?”* (16:09)

8. Clueless Shopping for Babies

• Andy and Kingfish attempt to select a baby gift, revealing their total ignorance.
• Rogers feigns vast maternal experience—escalating from six to seven children, overstating their abilities:
  Ms. Ginger Rogers: “I could still see my little girl, Gwendolyn, when she was only two weeks old, whizzing around the block in one of those kiddie cars.” (18:52)
• Classic humor as they try to deduce newborn sizing:
  Ms. Ginger Rogers: “I weigh 120 and I take a size 36...15 pounds, four and a half... Yep. Think that does it.”* (19:44)
• Eventually, they are convinced to buy another baby buggy, so "one baby won’t have to walk" if there are twins. (21:03)

9. The Baby Shower: The Reveal

• The group plans a surprise baby shower, complete with gifts and the two baby buggies. (22:05)
• The “Surprise!” results in confusion, and Brother Crawford and his wife reveal they are NOT expecting a baby. (22:45)
• Andy laments:
  “You can't do this to us after all the trouble we done gone to. Eyes down, Kingfish. On top of everything else, Brother Crawford doesn't fix it so I won't get that job now neither.” (24:35)

10. Full Circle: The Bookends Return

• Andy returns to the swap shop, attempts a “grab box” trade for the baby buggies—only to receive, once again, the original set of bookends. (25:47)

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Mrs. Van Porter Shops for Bookends: 01:36
• Andy Receives and Dislikes the Bookends: 04:30–05:09
• Attempt to Return Bookends (with Ginger Rogers): 05:46–06:33
• Bartering at the Swap Shop: 07:26–10:03
• Rumor Spreads About the Baby: 11:09–12:26
• Kingfish Starts the Baby Shower Plan: 13:19
• Ginger Rogers’ Department Switch: 15:04–16:18
• Comedic Shopping for Baby Gifts: 16:28–21:53
• Baby Shower and the Truth Revealed: 22:05–24:35
• Bookends Reappear in Grab Box: 25:38–25:47

Notable Quotes

• Andy (on 7 a.m. work):
  "7 o’clock was never meant for a getting up hour..." (03:37)
• Ms. Ginger Rogers:
  "The way the women went for those things, you'd have thought Frank Sinatra came with every frame in person." (02:32)
• Sam, the swap shop owner:
  "Bookends is pretty hard to get these days...Oh, well, in that case, the market is flooded with them." (07:34, 07:44)
• Ms. Ginger Rogers (on sizing):
  "I weigh 120 and I take a size 36...15 pounds, four and a half... Yep. Think that does it." (19:44)
• Andy (the punchline):
  "There's them full pair of bookends again." (25:47)

Episode Tone and Highlights

• Lighthearted banter and classic sitcom misunderstandings drive the episode.
• The interplay between Andy and Kingfish is loaded with one-liners and quick exchanges.
• Ginger Rogers delivers sharp, deadpan comedy as the salesgirl—her sly improvisations about her "children" are a highlight.
• The recurring "bookends" motif—from unwanted gift, to trade, to recurring punchline—exemplifies clever old-time radio plotting.

Conclusion

This episode masterfully blends farce, character interplay, and period humor. With memorable guest Ginger Rogers and a cycle of misunderstandings that lead back to where they started, "Bookends and Babies" is a classic example of the charm and comic rhythm of radio’s golden era.

Listeners new and old will appreciate the intertwining of simple gestures, wild assumptions, and the eternal struggle to rid oneself of a well-intentioned but unwanted gift.