Customer Reviews

Heavenly Days: The Story of Fibber McGee and Molly

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While "Fibber McGee and Molly" is still beloved by fans of Old Time Radio, for the general public, the names mean nothing. Nor do most people know who Jim and Marian Jordon were.

But for the curious, those who want to know more about the show, this is the book to read. Not only because it is well-researched with interviews with Jim Jordon and others, but also it is full of photographs of Jim and Marian both before and during their years at 79 Wistful Vista.

Listeners to the show know it evolved over the years. The earliest episodes are almost unenjoyable and bear little resemblance to the show at its height. Why did the show evolve? Look here to find out. Favorite characters would come and go. But where do you turn to find out why? This book! And what was behind the "Fibber McGee's closet" routine? How and why did it come about? This will tell you why. How did the show handle the drafting of many of its most important stars during World War Two? Turn to these pages. Why did Johnson Wax end sponsorship? And why did the Jordans decide against playing the roles on television? This is the definitive book to answer those questions.
Easy-to-read type; single space, packs a lot of fact on the page.
This book is invaluable!

Thank goodness that this book is out there so that people won't forget the great comedy team of Jim and Marion Jordan.

With plenty of pictures to put faces to names, the book thorougly recounts the lives of Fibber McGee and Molly and their supporting cast.

It's a quick and easy read, and a great peek inside the lives of one of the great comic duos.

Forget the fact that there is no other book on the subject, Stumpf's Heavenly Days is the most comprehensive work on this classic radio show. Half the book is pictures (yes, one on every other page), though the quality is sometimes less than wonderful. Anyone looking for a detailed log is going to be disappointed, but if you're seeking a historical account, richly detailed, this is exactly what you need. No wonder there's not been another book on Fibber. It's unnecessary.

I am so grateful to have found a copy of the story of "Fibber McGee and Molly" (Jim and Marion Jordan) available in print. This book was published back in the '80s, and this copy was a used one that was, luckily for me, available through amazon.com! I was not content to merely listen to available recordings of the McGees, or to see them portrayed in film, I wanted to know more about the radio show and the protagonists themselves.
The book was not the best-edited or put-together book I have read, but the story is there, and I found it very interesting. My preference for biographies is that they be presented in chronological order, and the chapters tended to move back-and-forth through the time-line, but I had no trouble following the story. I found many typos in the text, and the illustrations, though many, were poorly reproduced, but every one is a treasure, nonetheless, to a lover of Old Time Radio. If you are the type of person who enjoys knowing the people behind the characters, I hope you are as lucky as I was to find a copy of this book. Although it was a used copy, to me it is a keeper!