The Human Cannon Ball

Originally aired June 28, 1937, this episode finds Fibber McGee & Molly presiding over a rousing fundraising carnival for the Wistful Vista Literary, Drama, and Pinochle Club—culminating in Fibber’s bravest (and most harebrained) stunt yet: getting shot out of a cannon. As McGee “checks the concessions,” we meet a parade of midway characters—a gypsy fortune-teller foreseeing “a big explosion,” a breezy Geraldine, a beleaguered balloon man, Mrs. Wearybottom, the ever-slick Harlow Wilcox with his Johnson’s plugs, and Mayor Applepuss, who tries to stop the act just as Fibber wedges himself in the cannon’s muzzle. There’s music from Jimmy Greer’s orchestra (with Tommy Harris crooning “My Last Affair”), sponsor shenanigans, and a net-snapping finale that proves our human cannonball can still stick the landing—after a lot of bluster and a little luck. Complete with Johnson’s Glow Coat ads and remastered for clarity, this sparkling installment of Fibber McGee & Molly fires off peak golden-age radio fun.