Duffy's Tavern is an Americanradiositcom that ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941–42;NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; andNBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast.
The program often featured celebrity guest stars but always hooked them around the misadventures of Archie, the tavern's manager, portrayed byEd Gardner. Archie was prone to involvement inget-rich-quick schemes and romantic missteps, and constantly communicated withmalaprops andmixed metaphors. Gardner had performed the character of Archie, talking about Duffy's Tavern, as early as November 9, 1939, when he appeared on NBC'sGood News of 1940.[1]
In the early 1940s, Gardner worked as a director, writer, and producer for radio programs. In 1941, he created a character forThis Is New York, a program that he was producing. The character, which Gardner played, became Archie ofDuffy's Tavern.[2]
In the familiar opening, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," performed either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, is interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's New Yorkese accent as he answers, "Hello, Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here—oh, hello, Duffy."
Owner Duffy wasnever heard nor seen, either on the radio program or in the 1945 film adaptation or the short-lived 1954 TV series. Archie constantly bantered with Duffy's man-crazy daughter, Miss Duffy, played by several actresses, beginning with Gardner's real-life first wife,Shirley Booth, followed byFlorence Halop and, later, by actressHazel Shermet,[3] and especially with Clifton Finnegan (Charlie Cantor, laterSid Raymond), a likeable soul with several screws loose and a knack for falling for every other salesman's scam. Eddie the Waiter was played byEddie Green. The pianistFats Pichon took over the role after Green's death in 1950.
Hoping to take advantage of the income-tax-free status ofPuerto Rico, Gardner movedDuffy's Tavern there in 1949.[4] Unfortunately, many guest personalities declined to make the journey to appear on the show and it eventually went off the air in 1951.
The series featured many high-profile guest stars, includingFred Allen,Mel Allen,Lucille Ball,Joan Bennett,Nigel Bruce,Billie Burke,Bing Crosby,Gracie Fields,Rex Harrison,Susan Hayward,Bob Hope,Lena Horne,Boris Karloff,Alan Ladd,Veronica Lake,Peggy Lee,Peter Lorre,Tony Martin,Marie McDonald,Vincent Price,Gene Tierney,Arthur Treacher, andShelley Winters. As the series progressed, Archie slipped in and out of a variety ofquixotic, self-imploding plotlines—from writing an opera to faking a fortune to marry an heiress. Such situations mattered less than did the clever depiction of earthbound-but-dreaming New York life and its individualistic, often bizarre characters.
Duffy's Tavern was Gardner's creation, and he oversaw its writing intently enough, drawing also on his earlier experience as a successful radio director. His directing credits included stints forGeorge Burns andGracie Allen,Ripley's Believe It or Not, andTheRudy Vallee Hour. Gardner also brought aboard several keen writing talents, including theatrical humoristAbe Burrows (the show's co-creator and head writer for its first five years), futureM*A*S*H writerLarry Gelbart, andDick Martin, who later was the co-host of television's groundbreakingRowan and Martin's Laugh-In.[5]
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Early in the show's life, however, its name,Duffy's Tavern, was changed—first toDuffy's and then, for four episodes, toDuffy's Variety.[6] An employee forBristol-Myers—whose Ipana toothpaste was the show's early sponsor—persuaded the company's publicity director to demand the name change because the original title promoted "the hobby of drinking" too much for certain sensibilities. Bristol-Myers eventually admitted the employee had little to go on other than a handful of protesting letters, and—to the delight of fans who never stopped using the original name anyway—the original title was restored permanently. The name change was often subverted by theArmed Forces Radio Network. When the AFRN rebroadcast those episodes for U.S. servicemen duringWorld War II, the announcer referred toDuffy's Tavern.
Burrows and Matt Brooks collaborated on the screenplay for the 1945 film,Ed Gardner's Duffy's Tavern, in which Archie (with regulars Eddie and Finnegan) was surrounded by a throng ofParamount Pictures stars playing themselves, includingRobert Benchley,William Bendix,Eddie Bracken,Bing Crosby,Cass Daley,Brian Donlevy,Paulette Goddard,Betty Hutton,Alan Ladd,Veronica Lake andDorothy Lamour. The film's plot involves a war-displaced record manufacturer whose staff—those not sent off to war—drown their sorrows at Duffy's on credit, while the company owner tries to find ways around the price controls and war attrition that threaten to put him out of business. The film was abox office disappointment.[citation needed]
The1954 syndicated TV series, co-produced byHal Roach Jr., lacked leading name guest stars.
Broadcast on theBBC Light Programme from 4 July to 29 August 1956,Finkel's Café was written byDenis Norden andFrank Muir, and produced byPat Dixon. It starredPeter Sellers andSid James.[7]Avril Angers andKenneth Connor were regulars and guest stars includedGilbert Harding.[8]
As a result of the radio program's popularity, dozens of bars and inns across the country adopted the name, such as Duffy's Tavern in Holmes Beach, Florida.[9]
Duffy's Tavern has inspired references in popular culture formats:
