Painted Dreams
Irna Phillips
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| Genre | Soap opera |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | WGN |
| Starring | Irna Phillips |
| Created by | Irna Phillips |
| Written by | Irna Phillips |
| Air dates | 1930 to 1943 |
| Audio format | Mono |
Painted Dreams is an American radio soap opera that was the first daytime radio soap opera program in the United States. It was broadcast from Chicago. It premiered October 20, 1930 and last aired in July 1943.
In 1930 radio station WGN asked Irna Phillips, who worked for them as an actress, to create a 15-minute daily show "about a family," to air during the day. Painted Dreams was the result.
Phillips wrote and acted in the show until 1932 when she asked WGN to sell the show to a national broadcaster. When they refused, Phillips sued, claiming the show was her property. The dispute was finally settled in 1938, and the show was acquired by CBS. Meanwhile, Phillips had left WGN in 1932, creating Today's Children for rival station WMAQ with virtually the same plot premises and characters.
Phillips' storyline followed the relationship of Irish-American widow Mother Moynihan and her unmarried daughter. Listeners in 1931 heard this dialogue in episode 25:
Phillips occasionally played the lead of Mother Moynihan, as did Bess Flynn, who was a member of the show's writing team. Flynn, born August 18, 1899 in Tama. Iowa, went on to script for three other soap operas: We, the Abbotts, Bachelor's Children and Martha Webster (originally titled Life Begins). In addition to doing the title role on Martha Webster, she also portrayed the annoying maid Tilda on The Gumps.
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