Duffy's Tavern, an
American
radio
situation comedy (CBS,
1941-1942;
NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944;
NBC,
1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always
hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and
romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone,
metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who co-created
the show,
Ed
Gardner.
In the show's familiar opening, "When
Irish Eyes Are Smiling," either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a
larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's
New Yorkese accent as he answered, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet
to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here — oh, hello, Duffy."
Duffy, the owner, was never heard (or seen, when a
film based on
the show was made in 1945 or when a bid to bring the show to
television was tried in 1954). But Archie always was — bantering with
Duffy's man-crazy daughter, Miss Duffy (played by several actresses,
beginning with Gardner's real-life first wife,
Shirley Booth); with Eddie, the waiter/janitor (Eddie Green); and,
especially, with Clifton Finnegan (Charlie Cantor), a likeable soul with
several screws loose and a knack for falling for every other salesman's
scam.
