Juvenile adventure serial · Syndicated
Jerry of the Circus
June 28, 1937 – December 24, 1937 · 128 broadcasts
Jerry of the Circus is a 1937 syndicated juvenile serial that tells one continuing story across 130 daily fifteen-minute chapters -- 128 of which survive, an unusually intact full season of vintage children's radio. After his father dies in the spring, orphaned boy Jerry Dougan and his dog Rags join the Randall Brothers Circus, and over the run Jerry searches for and finds his long-lost uncle, a big-game-hunter circus performer struggling with amnesia.
The real treat for old-time-radio listeners is the cast, caught years before fame: Howard McNear -- later Doc Adams on the Gunsmoke radio series and Floyd the barber on The Andy Griffith Show -- plays Bumps the clown; the great character actress Elvia Allman is Patsy the trapeze artist; and a young Gale Gordon, the future Mr. Conklin of Our Miss Brooks and Lucille Ball's perennial foil, turns up along the way. Lindsay McHarrie runs the show as circus owner Mr. Randall.
Jerry's adventures continued in a companion 1937 serial, Jerry at Fair Oaks. With no surviving log and a child lead who was never credited, it endures simply as what it is: a near-complete circus story for kids, and a charming time capsule of talent on the rise.
Collection status:
128 of 128 held (100% complete)
◆ ◆ ◆
Episode Spine
1937
June 28, 1937
Letter for Sam Randall
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(MP3)
June 29, 1937
Poisoned Meat Put Out
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(MP3)
June 30, 1937
Rags Is Missing
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(MP3)
July 1, 1937
Jerry in Jail
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(MP3)
July 2, 1937
Jason Pays the Twenty Two Dollars
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(MP3)
July 5, 1937
Rags in Training
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(MP3)
July 6, 1937
Circus Payroll Stolen
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(MP3)
July 7, 1937
Gun Is Jasons
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(MP3)
July 8, 1937
Lorenz Is Suspected
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(MP3)
July 9, 1937
Lorenz And Decker Leave
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(MP3)
July 12, 1937
Both in the Hospital
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(MP3)
July 13, 1937
A Possible Relation
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(MP3)
July 14, 1937
Decker Is Uncle Dan
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(MP3)
July 15, 1937
Uncle Dan Is Cleared
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(MP3)
July 16, 1937
Helping Clara
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(MP3)
July 19, 1937
Night Check
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(MP3)
July 20, 1937
Camera Plan
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(MP3)
July 21, 1937
The Prowler Is Again Around
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(MP3)
July 22, 1937
Showdown with Major Mike
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(MP3)
July 23, 1937
Johnny Bradley Is Ill
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(MP3)
July 26, 1937
The Tent with a Flag
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(MP3)
July 27, 1937
Safe Deposit Box Key
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(MP3)
July 28, 1937
Jerrys Clown Debut
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(MP3)
July 29, 1937
Jerry Stays On The Payroll
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(MP3)
July 30, 1937
Rags Leg Is Clawed by Cub
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(MP3)
August 2, 1937
Jerry Learns To Walk On The High Wire
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(MP3)
August 3, 1937
Get Up Early To Watch The Circus Set Up
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(MP3)
August 4, 1937
High Wire Breaks And Carlos Is Hurt
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(MP3)
August 5, 1937
Railroad Bridge Problems For Circus
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(MP3)
August 6, 1937
Major Mike Locked in Monkey Cage
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(MP3)
August 9, 1937
Learns Location Of Important Bank
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(MP3)
August 10, 1937
Bank Found but Will the Key Work
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(MP3)
August 11, 1937
Jerrys Lawyer Richard Grayson
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(MP3)
August 12, 1937
A Gale Threatens The Circus
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(MP3)
August 13, 1937
Hippo with a Toothache
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(MP3)
August 16, 1937
Jerry Lawyer Invite Johnny To A Party
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(MP3)
August 17, 1937
Richard Grayson Sees His Father
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(MP3)
August 18, 1937
Johnny Decides to Visit His Son
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(MP3)
August 19, 1937
Johnny Visits His Son In His Office
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(MP3)
August 20, 1937
Zeke Causes Trouble with Gertie
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(MP3)
August 23, 1937
Zeke Leaves the Circus Fast
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(MP3)
August 24, 1937
Wanted Poster Spotted In Post Office
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(MP3)
August 25, 1937
Jerry Walks The Wire Lion Gets Loose
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(MP3)
August 26, 1937
Lion Is Finally Cornered
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(MP3)
August 27, 1937
Lion Captured Jerry Hears From Lawyer
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(MP3)
August 30, 1937
Loose Snake And Jerry Rides Splendor
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(MP3)
August 31, 1937
Spike Saves Jerry But Who Is Spike
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(MP3)
September 1, 1937
Jerrys Court Action Is Delayed
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(MP3)
September 2, 1937
Jerry Rescues Splendor
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(MP3)
September 3, 1937
Spike Is Recognized
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(MP3)
September 6, 1937
Spike Is Arrested
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(MP3)
September 7, 1937
A Hospital Show
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(MP3)
September 8, 1937
Major Mike Loses
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(MP3)
September 9, 1937
Fortunes Told
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(MP3)
September 10, 1937
Johnny Will Leave
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(MP3)
September 13, 1937
Fire Breaks Out
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(MP3)
September 14, 1937
Fire Put Out
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(MP3)
September 15, 1937
Trunk Search
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(MP3)
September 16, 1937
A Five Dollar Vest
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(MP3)
September 17, 1937
Caught in the Act
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(MP3)
September 20, 1937
A Search for Platt
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(MP3)
September 21, 1937
Platt Is Arrested
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(MP3)
September 22, 1937
Tom Joins the Circus
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(MP3)
September 23, 1937
Lights Go Off
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(MP3)
September 24, 1937
Threatening Notes
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(MP3)
September 27, 1937
El Mundo Doesn't Obey
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(MP3)
September 28, 1937
Jerry and El Mundo
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(MP3)
September 29, 1937
The Lost Beard
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(MP3)
September 30, 1937
Jerry Won't Tell
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(MP3)
October 1, 1937
Major Mike Confesses
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(MP3)
October 4, 1937
A Wild Ride
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(MP3)
October 5, 1937
Bendinis Get Offer
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(MP3)
October 6, 1937
A Lead for Tom
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(MP3)
October 7, 1937
Colonel Alger Has the Measles
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(MP3)
October 8, 1937
An Exam for All
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(MP3)
October 11, 1937
Strawberry Rash
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(MP3)
October 12, 1937
Tom Finds His Father
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(MP3)
October 13, 1937
Blaze Is Slow
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(MP3)
October 14, 1937
Warren Quits
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(MP3)
October 15, 1937
Race About to Start
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(MP3)
October 18, 1937
Blaze Wins the Race
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(MP3)
October 19, 1937
Spike Rejoins the Circus
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(MP3)
October 20, 1937
An Abandoned Kitten
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(MP3)
October 21, 1937
Counterfeit Money Passed
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(MP3)
October 22, 1937
Forty Ten Dollar Bills Passed
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(MP3)
October 25, 1937
Joe Hadley Hired
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(MP3)
October 26, 1937
Spike Is Suspected
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(MP3)
October 27, 1937
Patsy Accepts a Date
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(MP3)
October 28, 1937
Belco Suspected
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(MP3)
October 29, 1937
Spike Suspected More
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(MP3)
November 1, 1937
Hadley Arrests Spike
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(MP3)
November 2, 1937
Tony Tonetti Spotted
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(MP3)
November 3, 1937
Hadley Arrests Belco
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(MP3)
November 4, 1937
Circus Lot Floods
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(MP3)
November 5, 1937
Fake Invitation Sent to Boris
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(MP3)
November 8, 1937
Boris Gets the Invitation
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(MP3)
November 11, 1937
Fast Landing
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(MP3)
November 12, 1937
A Bet for Dan
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(MP3)
November 15, 1937
Too Many Monkeys
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(MP3)
November 16, 1937
One Hundred Seventeen Dollars Receipt Increase
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(MP3)
November 17, 1937
Restless Animals
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(MP3)
November 18, 1937
Storm Warnings
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(MP3)
November 19, 1937
Circus Hit by Cyclone
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(MP3)
November 22, 1937
Borrowing Twenty Five Thousand Dollars
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(MP3)
November 23, 1937
Patsy Leaves Early
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(MP3)
November 24, 1937
Jerry Inherits Forty Acres
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(MP3)
November 25, 1937
Boris and Jason Fight
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(MP3)
November 26, 1937
Patsy Wins Twenty Five Thousand Dollars
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(MP3)
November 29, 1937
Boris Eyes the Money
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(MP3)
November 30, 1937
Jason Is Clawed by the Cat
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(MP3)
December 1, 1937
Jason Quickly Recovers
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(MP3)
December 2, 1937
Boris Starts Dissension
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(MP3)
December 3, 1937
A Strike Is Possible
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(MP3)
December 6, 1937
The Strike Begins
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(MP3)
December 7, 1937
Strikers Are Worried
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(MP3)
December 8, 1937
The Strike Ends
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(MP3)
December 9, 1937
A New Scheme by Boris
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(MP3)
December 10, 1937
Rex Runs Away
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(MP3)
December 13, 1937
Speed Demonstrates
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(MP3)
December 14, 1937
Advice For Patsy
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(MP3)
December 15, 1937
Speed Is Hired, Boris Has New Plot
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(MP3)
December 16, 1937
Speed's Tricks Fool Jerry
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(MP3)
December 17, 1937
Speed's Bad Trick
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(MP3)
December 20, 1937
Financial Troubles For Mr Randall
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(MP3)
December 21, 1937
Patsy Loans the Circus Twenty Thousand Dollars
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(MP3)
December 22, 1937
Jerry Sells His Land for Seventy Five Hundred Dollars
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(MP3)
December 23, 1937
Jerry Chooses Fair Oaks For His school
Listen
(MP3)
December 24, 1937
Jerry Leaves the Circus
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(MP3)
The Story
Jerry of the Circus is a 1937 syndicated juvenile serial that tells one continuing story across 130 daily fifteen-minute chapters -- 128 of which survive, an unusually intact full season of vintage children's radio. After his father dies in the spring, orphaned boy Jerry Dougan and his dog Rags join the Randall Brothers Circus, and over the run Jerry searches for and finds his long-lost uncle, a big-game-hunter circus performer struggling with amnesia.
The real treat for old-time-radio listeners is the cast, caught years before fame: Howard McNear -- later Doc Adams on the Gunsmoke radio series and Floyd the barber on The Andy Griffith Show -- plays Bumps the clown; the great character actress Elvia Allman is Patsy the trapeze artist; and a young Gale Gordon, the future Mr. Conklin of Our Miss Brooks and Lucille Ball's perennial foil, turns up along the way. Lindsay McHarrie runs the show as circus owner Mr. Randall.
Jerry's adventures continued in a companion 1937 serial, Jerry at Fair Oaks. With no surviving log and a child lead who was never credited, it endures simply as what it is: a near-complete circus story for kids, and a charming time capsule of talent on the rise.
Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
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