Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Raymond Knight Cuckoo Program 1937-02-14 Income Taxes
Release Date: September 13, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode from Harold’s Old Time Radio features the 1937 "Cuckoo Program" starring Raymond Knight, well-known for his quick wit and playful absurdity. The central theme of the show is the annual struggle with income taxes—a timely topic in February—delivered with tongue-in-cheek commentary, wacky wordplay, and sketch comedy. The episode highlights the comedic anxiety around tax season, pokes fun at government bureaucracy, and blends zany characters with satirical takes on everyday frustrations.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Opening Skit: The Trouble With Income Taxes

• [03:11] The show begins with Raymond Knight as himself, prepping for income tax season.

• Knight jokes about manipulating his tax return and working with a new lawyer—who is actually from the Internal Revenue Department.

  • Raymond Knight:
    "Boy, have I got it sewed up this year… The government will owe ME money!"
    [03:43]

• He delivers a rapid-fire bit about dependents—listing fake relatives like his “invalid uncle,” “twin sons,” and “married sister”—each played by his cohorts in slapstick fashion.

  • Banter on Dependents:
    "These are my twin sons, Mortimer and Murgatroyd."
    "I only see one."
    "Tell them, Papa. You die."
    [05:16]
  • He reveals the scam: only seeing one son, then calling him back in with a different hat to double his exemptions.

• Notable Quote

  • Raymond Knight:
    "If you were I, you'd pay an income tax. Wait till I get through with this one: the government will owe me money."
    [03:43]

The Big Reveal: The "Lawyer" is from Internal Revenue

• [07:23] The twist: the "lawyer" reveals he’s actually with the Internal Revenue Department.
• Knight feigns ignorance, tries to backpedal:
  • Raymond Knight:
    "The Internal Revenue? Must be something I ate. Well, I hope you enjoyed my little joke. I’m a worse kidder than Elmer here. Boy, am I funny."
    [07:34]

2. Comedy Interlude: Mystic Prediction

• [08:13] Introduction of "Danelle Bangi Koko,” a faux mystic, who pretends to read a crystal ball and predicts happier times ahead, cheekily referencing the popularity of prosperity-themed products and music.
  • Mystic:
    "I see in the latest crystal ball millions of people with something that will make them very happy… 17 million people. It is a magic ward. It is coming clearer. It is—phenomen."
    [08:27]

3. Recurring Bit: The Firing Squad

• [12:00] Ray Knight’s parody segment “the firing squad” nominates someone for a pretend “execution”—this week, the "wife who won't let her husband read."
• Staged Skit: Mr. and Mrs. Whatchamacallit bicker as he attempts to read the newspaper, using yacht analogies to poke fun at his wife’s new dress (full of double entendres).
  • Mrs. Whatchamacallit:
    "You hadn't said anything about my new dress."
    [13:45]
  • Knight (as Ernest):
    "184 feet from stem to stern."
    [14:34]
  • Ends with mock “firing squad”—audience equipped with paper pop guns joins in.

4. Musical Number: “It’s Delightful, It’s Delicious, It’s Delovely”

• [16:11] A mock “lovers’ chorus” delivers a playful take on the classic Cole Porter tune.
• The ensemble riffs on the mechanics of romantic songs with intentionally awkward rhymes and comedic asides.

5. One-Minute Play: "Pocahontas gives a scalp treatment (or the next-to-last of the Mohegans)"

• [19:40] The Super Trooper Stock Company condenses the Pocahontas legend—complete with nine rapid-fire acts—into a minute, highlighting absurd brevity and meta-commentary on historical dramatizations.
  • “Act one finds Pocahontas and her brother Minnetonka in the forest. Pocahontas is a nut brown maiden and Minnetonka is half nut.”
    [19:56]
  • The play rushes through courtship, wedding, family, and divorce all in seconds.
• Memorable Meta-Moment:
  • Ray Knight:
    "Ray Knight presents his weekly full length play, cut down to one minute."
    [19:40]
• Ends with references to contemporary musical themes and closing thanks.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Raymond Knight on Tax Tricks:
  "Boy, did I commit perjury in seven different languages."
  [04:12]

• Lawyer/Revenue Agent:
  "Now, first we have dependents. Wait till you see my dependents—they’ll kill you."
  [04:55]

• Elmer (on voter fraud):
  "I voted six times at the last election."
  [06:24]

  • Raymond Knight:
    "Don't brag. Sometime you might say that before the wrong person."
    [06:29]

• Ray Knight's signoff:
  "This is Ray Knight saying good night."
  [24:18]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:11 – Raymond Knight prepares his income tax with the “lawyer.”
• 05:06 – Comedic rundown of fake dependents.
• 07:23 – The “lawyer” reveals he’s from Internal Revenue.
• 08:13 – Mystic fortune-telling parody.
• 12:00 – “Firing squad” segment; skit about the wife who won’t let her husband read.
• 16:11 – Comedic musical interlude.
• 19:40 – "One minute play": Pocahontas parody.

Overall Tone & Style

The episode is fast-paced, full of wordplay, puns, and self-referential skits. Knight and his cast blend slapstick, absurdist humor, and gentle social satire, all typical of 1930s radio vaudeville. The language is lighthearted, quick-witted, and often borders on the surreal, poking fun at both personal and institutional foibles.

Summary

Raymond Knight’s "Cuckoo Program" takes the stress and absurdity of income taxes as its jumping-off point, using it to launch into a barrage of comic sketches, character bits, and musical parodies. Through exaggerated tax-dodging schemes and ludicrous bureaucratic run-arounds, the show delivers laughter and levity wrapped in the charm of vintage radio comedy.

This episode is a showcase of Knight’s inventive banter and musical interludes, making even the dreaded tax season a source of nostalgia and fun for Golden Age radio fans.