July 19, 1948: Our Miss Brooks went on air for the first time on CBS. It featured Gale Gordon and Eve Arden. Our Miss Brooks was a radio sitcom that featured Eve Arden as the title character. The series also had television and film adaptations, which ran from 1952-1956 and in 1956, respectively. Eve Arden was not the original choice for the role of Miss Brooks. CBS' director of programming from the West Coast wanted Shirley Booth to be the show's lead star, but they decided not to proceed with her. Their next choice, Lucille Ball, was already hired to portray the lead female role for the series My Favorite Husband . Bill Paley, the then chairman of the CBS network and a good friend of Eve Arden , encouraged her to audition for that role, which she eventually won. Arden's role in Our Miss Brooks allowed her to win Radio Mirror magazine's poll for the best comedienne of 1948-1949.
Today in Old Radio History...