The Parachute Jump

McGee insists he’s ready to fly solo, despite Molly’s doubts and an instructor who isn’t so sure. At the Wistful Vista Airport, the couple meet a parade of oddball fliers: a Scottish parachutist patching moth-eaten silk, the dizzy airline hostess Liza Muggin, Silly Watson moonlighting as a redcap, and a crop-dusting pilot full of malaprop-laced advice. McGee, impatient to prove himself, straps on a parachute, drags Molly into a plane with no gas, and the two bail out—landing smack in the middle of the State Fair. Colonel Horatio K. Boomer reappears to congratulate them, thinking their parachute stunt was an “ingenious” fair attraction. Johnson’s Wax handles the floor-care pitches while Ted Weems’ orchestra keeps things airborne, including the tune “Dance My Way to Heaven.” A chaotic, sky-high comedy of nerves, knock-knock gags, and parachute pandemonium

Air date: August 17, 1936
Series: Fibber McGee & Molly
Sponsor: Johnson’s Wax (Auto Cleaner & Auto Wax; Johnson’s Wax for floors)
Notables: Colonel Horatio K. Boomer, Liza Muggin (airline hostess), Silly Watson (redcap), crop-dusting pilot, little girl with the “sap head” joke; music by Ted Weems & his Orchestra; announcer Bob Brown

Keywords: aviation comedy, parachute gag, State Fair, Wistful Vista Airport, Colonel Boomer, Johnson’s Wax ads, Silly Watson, knock-knock jokes, 1930s radio humor

Cast: Fibber McGee, Molly McGee, Colonel Horatio K. Boomer, Liza Muggin, Silly Watson, various pilots, Ted Weems & Orchestra, Announcer Bob Brown