Podcast Summary: Avalon Time – April Fool’s Day

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio (Del King is primary announcer)
Episode Date: March 17, 2026
Original Air Date: April 1, 1939 (classic radio rebroadcast)

Episode Overview

This episode of Avalon Time is a delightful slice of golden-age radio comedy featuring Red Skelton, Edna Stillwell, Jeanette, Red Foley, the Avalon Chorus, and Bob Strong and his orchestra. The show, sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes, weaves together musical numbers, lively banter, and skits built around April Fool’s Day, public events, and Skelton’s misadventures—culminating in Red entertaining at the Policeman’s Ball.

Key Discussion Points and Segments

1. Opening and Sponsor Message (00:35–03:17)

• Host Intro & Cast: Del King warmly welcomes listeners, listing the evening's talent.
• Sponsor Pitch: Extended humor and rhymes selling Avalon Cigarettes—a classic golden-age radio motif.
• Quote:
  • “You’d never guess, but Avalons cost you less.” (Del King, 00:44)
• Smooth transition to a running comedic introduction for Red Skelton:
  • “The only man in radio who hangs around the navy pier so he can get jokes.” (Del King, 02:56)

2. Red Skelton’s Opening Monologue: Nautical Nonsense (03:17–07:44)

• Skelton recounts an absurd cruise on the “SS Panhandler,” delivers puns and slapstick about seasickness, eccentric captains, and crowded lifeboats.
• Memorable moment:
  • “Captain wanted me to eat at his table, but I refused. Why should I pay for a first class ticket and then eat with the help?” (Red Skelton, 03:49)
• Punchy closing to the bit as he hands over to the orchestra for “Begin the Beguine.”

3. Bandstand Banter & Suit Jokes (07:44–10:01)

• Light verbal sparring among Red, Del King, and Edna Stillwell about Red’s new suit.
• Interstitial jokes about shrinking suits and a fake police call where Skelton is invited to the Policeman’s Ball after a comedic misunderstanding.
• Quote:
  • “Can you send a couple of squad cars over to pick us up?... The chief might send the paddy wagon.” (08:26)
  • “Red Skelton riding a wagon they haul criminals around in.” (08:49)

4. Backstage Skits: Western Film, Boxing Tickets, and Oratory (10:01–15:52)

• Film Spoof: Red Foley rehearses lines for a western, delivering haphazard dialogue.
• Boxing Gag: Edna tricks Red with supposed prize fight tickets—turns out the seats are on a city bus.
  • “These seats are in the fourth row of a Fifth Avenue bus.” (Edna Stillwell, 11:40)
• Public Speaking Lesson: Skelton’s “lesson” with Professor Tommy Mack (Stillwell in another comic turn), descending into wordplay and tongue-twisters.
  • “Do you always talk that way?” “No, only when I speak.” (Red Skelton & Edna Stillwell, 12:45)
  • Hilarious confusion over pronunciation (“teeth,” “denunciation,” “pant”) and a botched recitation of “The Cat and the Fiddle.”

5. Musical Highlight: “I Never Knew Heaven Could Be” (15:52–17:40)

• Jeanette delivers a gentle, romantic number, reinforcing the variety-show nature of the program.
• Memorable lyric:
  • “I never knew heaven could be but now I do—I learned it through a conversation with you.” (Jeanette, 15:52)

6. Policeman’s Ball Sketch – Dancing & Police Parodies (19:58–24:18)

• At the Policeman's Ball, Red and Edna Stillwell banter while dancing, joke about jitterbugging and “heavy trucking” (getting caught by a cop).
• Quote:
  • “Can’t you see that sign there? No heavy trucking on the outer driveway.” (Red Skelton, 20:31)
• Edna as “rookie cop Herky,” proudly showing off handcuffs with rhinestones, lamenting her assignments.
• Red laments performing for police who don’t seem to like him, sets up April Fool’s punchline:
  • “You know how mad bulls get when they see red.” (Red Skelton, 24:04)

7. Musical Interlude: “Roll Along, Prairie Moon” (24:18–26:35)

• Red Foley and the Avalon Chorus perform a wistful, western-flavored song.
• The interlude provides a gentle musical break before the show’s closing minutes.

8. Finale & Closing Banter (28:30–29:58)

• Red, Del, and Edna wrap up with the signature tongue-in-cheek themes about Avalon Cigarettes.
• Joke Exchange: Red imagines himself as the “cultivated” comic public speaker of the future. Del retorts:
  • “Then you can give us cultivated corn.” (Del King, 29:23)
• Preview for next week’s show: special guest, “The Old Old Timer.”

Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• “But Avalons cost you less.” – Del King (00:44)
• “Captain looked at me and he says, my good man, you have a weak stomach.” – Red Skelton (03:40)
• “No heavy trucking on the outer driveway.” – Red Skelton as a cop (20:31)
• “Why not always travel on with Avalon?” – Red Skelton (00:45)
• “You know how mad bulls get when they see red.” – Red Skelton (24:04)
• “Do you always talk that way?” “No, only when I speak.” – Red & Edna (12:45)
• “That was Roger, the fiddle player in the band.” – Del King (08:01)

Tone & Style

The episode bursts with vaudevillian spirit: fast gags, groaner punchlines, light-hearted songs, and gentle lampooning of public services and radio conventions. The warm camaraderie among the cast, Red Skelton’s physical humor, and Edna Stillwell’s quick wit anchor the show in the family-friendly, anything-goes tradition of late-1930s radio entertainment.

Timeline of Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------| | 00:35 | Show and sponsor introduction | | 03:17 | Red Skelton’s cruise monologue | | 07:44 | Suit jokes and police call gag | | 10:01 | Foley’s western, boxing gag, and “public speaking” | | 15:52 | Jeanette sings “I Never Knew Heaven Could Be” | | 19:58 | At the Policeman’s Ball: dance & police parodies | | 24:18 | “Roll Along, Prairie Moon” performance | | 28:30 | Closing Avalon Cigarettes pitch & sign-off |

Summary

This episode of Avalon Time delivers quintessential 1930s comedic radio entertainment. With Red Skelton at the helm, it fuses musical numbers, joke-riddled sketches, character parodies, and sly sponsor pitches. The highlight is Red’s bumbling journey to (and performance at) the Policeman’s Ball, peppered with slapstick, puns, and tongue-in-cheek social commentary.

For listeners craving nostalgia, clever repartee, and the charm of early American radio, this outing is a textbook example—an hour of gentle fun and melody, expertly woven by some of the era’s golden voices.