{{Short description|American human-interest radio program (1937–1953)}} {{Italics title}}
'''''Good Will Hour''''' was an American human interest radio program that was broadcast primarily on the Mutual Broadcasting System beginning on August 1, 1937, and (after some hiatuses) ending on January 4, 1953. In its later years on the air it was known as '''''The John J. Anthony Program''''',<ref name="dunningota">{{cite book |last1=Dunning |first1=John |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=May 7, 1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977078-6 |pages=288–289 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HqhoAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Goodwill+Hour%22&pg=PA288 |access-date=April 17, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
== Background == After John J. Anthony's first marriage ended in divorce, a dispute regarding alimony resulted in his being sentenced to Alimony Jail. Those experiences led to his founding of the Marital Relations Institute, which "was a marginal operation" until he created the ''Good Will Hour''. Following its radio exposure of his approach to marital problems, fees for his advice in the Institute rose from $5 to $25.<ref name="nytobit" /> Four years before ''Good Will Hour'', Anthony had a similar program on a New York radio station. ''Ask Mr. Anthony'' was "dedicated to helping the sufferers from an antiquated and outmoded domestic relations code".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Jim |title=American Radio Networks: A History |date=September 12, 2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5424-2 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpxGeViyuPwC&dq=%22Goodwill+Hour%22+Mutual&pg=PA83 |access-date=April 19, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
''Good Will Hour'' can be considered to have filled a programming gap created by the departure of ''Goodwill Court'', which ended after the New York Bar Association raised objections about host A. L. Alexander's dispensing of legal advice. Radio executives liked that program's appeal "in its attempt to aid the downtrodden".<ref name="dc">{{cite news |title=What's Happened to Good Will Court? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-good-will-hour/170606490/ |access-date=April 18, 2025 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |agency=Screen & Radio Weekily |date=December 12, 1937 |location=New York, Rochester |page=94|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> When ''Good Will Hour'' debuted locally in New York City prior to its gaining network distribution, the trade publication ''Variety'' said, "WMCA brought back the ''Good Will Court'' idea in a new dressing ..."<ref name=vwmca>{{cite magazine |date=January 27, 1937 |page=30 |title=Good Will Hour |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety125-1937-01/page/n385/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=April 20, 2025 }}</ref>
==Overview== Anthony was the host of the ''Good Will Hour'', and the program's opening line was, "Mr. Anthony, I have a problem."<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |title=John J. Anthony Is Dead at 68; Radio's Marital Problem Solver |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/18/archives/john-j-anthony-is-dead-at-68-radios-marital-problem-solver.html |access-date=April 17, 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=July 18, 1970 |page=19 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He dealt with problems presented by guests in the studio and those sent in by mail. The program received hundreds of letters weekly, with Anthony responding to "several dozen" during the broadcast.<ref name="nytobit" /> Many of the problems addressed on the program related to marriage, either people already married or those thinking about marrying.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Murray |title=Radio Rays |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen/170647507/ |access-date=April 19, 2025 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |date=February 4, 1937 |page=14|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>
Newspaper advertisements for the program invited listeners to tune in for the revelation of people's personal marital problems. One example is an October 23, 1938, ad that began with bold, all-caps type saying, "He can't forget my past!"<ref name="fwst">{{cite news |title=He can't forget my past! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-good-will-hour/170649388/ |access-date=April 19, 2025 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |date=October 23, 1938 |page=3|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> A picture beneath that headline showed Anthony and a woman facing each other on either side of a microphone. Below the picture a block of text said:<blockquote>"If I even look at another man, he goes crazy! I love him — but his jealousy is driving me wild. What can I do?" Listen tonight to a dozen cases as heart-stirring as this, on radio's startling Good Will Hour. Hear real people without rehearsal tell their most intimate personal problems to John J. Anthony, noted radio counselor. His expert advice may help you, too.<ref name=fwst/></blockquote> The rest of the ad invited readers to listen, giving the call letters of the station, the time, and the name of the sponsor.<ref name=fwst/>
Anthony used a brisk, businesslike approach as he gave advice on the air, often urging people who sought help to hurry along with their questions or problems.<ref name="nytobit" /> He described his approach on the program as applying "humane, understanding treatment".<ref name="slst">{{cite news |title='Good Will Hour' adviser man of wide experience |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-louis-star-and-times-good-will/170651478/ |access-date=April 19, 2025 |work=The St. Louis Star and Times |date=January 28, 1939 |page=9|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> The show had no studio audience. Guests were usually overbooked in case some might not show up for the broadcast. As a result, some people who were scheduled for the show did not get on the air because of time limitations. Anthony stayed after each broadcast ended to talk with them and advise them about their problems.<ref name="rm2" /> == Production == The ''Good Will Hour'' had a weekly audience of 20 million people. In 1939 it was carried on more than 700 stations.<ref name="nytobit" /> It originated from station WMCA<ref name=rm2>{{cite magazine |date=December 1939 |page=42 |title=Sunday's Highlights |url=https://archive.org/details/radiotelevisionm00macf/page/n171/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Radio and Television Mirror |access-date=April 19, 2025 }}</ref> in New York City.<ref name="slst" /> Directors included John Loveton.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 3, 1942 |page=26 |title='Have a Thrill' |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety146-1942-06/page/n25/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=April 20, 2025 }}</ref> Announcers included Jack Rourke.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 8, 1943 |page=30 |title=From the Production Centres: In New York City |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety151-1943-09/page/n77/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=April 21, 2025 }}</ref>
==Broadcast schedule== ''Good Will Hour'' debuted locally on WMCA in New York City on January 24, 1937.<ref name="vwmca" /> Its network broadcasts are shown in the table below. {| class="wikitable" |+ Network Broadcast Schedule of ''Good Will Hour'' |- ! Beginning Date !! Ending Date !! Network !! Day || Starting Time !! Length !! Sponsor |- | August 1, 1937 || January 1938 || Mutual|| Sunday || 10 p.m. Eastern Time || 30 minutes || McFadden Publications<ref name="dunningota" /> |- | January 1938 || April 14, 1940 || Mutual|| Sunday || 10 p.m. E. T. || 1 hour || Ironized Yeast<ref name="dunningota" /> |- | April 21, 1940 || October 10, 1943 || Blue|| Sunday || 10 p.m. E. T. || 1 hour || Ironized Yeast<ref name="dunningota" /> |- | December 5, 1943 || November 26, 1944 || Mutual || Sunday || 10:15 p.m. E. T. || 45 minutes || Clark gum<ref name="dunningota" /> |- | March 19, 1945 (''The John J. Anthony Program'') || December 27, 1946 || Mutual || Monday-Friday || 1:45 p.m. E. T. || 15 minutes || Carter products<ref name="dunningota" /> |- | December 9, 1951 (''The John J. Anthony Program'') || January 4, 1953 || Mutual || Sunday || 9:30 p.m. E. T. || 30 minutes || Sterling Drugs<ref name="dunningota" /> |} '''Notes:''' *The program was also broadcast in 1945 and 1947, but details are not available.<ref name="dunningota"/>
*In 1949 the program was broadcast locally on WMGM in New York City.<ref name="stage" />
==Critical response== Jeanne Yount wrote in the ''Oregon Journal'' that the ''Good Will Hour'' might help people who sought advice on it, but the show was "hardly soothing or restful to home listeners".<ref name=oj>{{cite news |last1=Yount |first1=Jeanne |title=Radio News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregon-daily-journal/170599215/ |access-date= |work=Oregon Journal |date=December 5, 1943 |location=Oregon, Portland |page=4 F|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> She felt that the words of Anthony's "message of the week", with which he ended each episode, might be true, but they also were trite.<ref name="oj" />
In February 1943, ''The Bridgeport Herald'' printed what the trade publication ''Billboard'' called "a five-column exposé" of the program.<ref name=bh>{{cite magazine |date=February 20, 1943 |page=7 |title=Bridgeport Herald's 5-Column Debunking of Good Will Hour |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Good+Will+Hour%22+Mutual&pg=PT6 |accessdate=April 18, 2025 }}</ref> The story related the experience of reporter Eugenia Boisseau, who had appeared on the program as Janet Woods with a fabricated problem of being unable to handle a situation of loving two men. Boisseau wrote:<blockquote>Pilgrims to the mecca of marital muddles soon discover they are faced with an ordeal for which they have not bargained, but all exlts are blocked by the subtle strategy ot Mr. A. and his tall, smartly groomed secretary. High Priest Anthony officiates at the final rites, drawing blood, then dealing the death blow with a few swift verbal lashes.<ref name=bh/></blockquote>
==Lawsuit== Lawrence Swors sued Anthony on April 19, 1938, seeking a share of the program's profits. The suit filed in New York Supreme Court said that Swors suggested the show's concept to Anthony in May 1936, and Anthony agreed to share profits. After the show began on WMCA, The Knickerbocker Broadcasting Company (operators of the station) initially paid Swors $25 for each broadcast and later raised the amount to $50 per week. Anthony said that he paid $1,250 to Swors, but that the two men mutually canceled their agreement in July 1937. The suit sought half of Anthony's income from sponsorships by McFadden Publications and Ironized Yeast.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 20, 1938 |page=29 |title=Swor (sic) Sues Anthony over 'Good Will' Show |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety130-1938-04/page/n140/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=April 21, 2025 }}</ref>
==Television== ''What's Your Problem?'', which ''The New York Times'' described as "a video version of ''The Good Will Hour''", debuted on WPIX on July 24, 1949.<ref name=lohman>{{cite news |last1=Lohman |first1=Sidney |title=The Field of Television: News and Notes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/07/24/archives/the-field-of-television-news-and-notes.html |access-date=April 18, 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=July 24, 1949 |page=X 7 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Four or five people appeared in each half-hour episode to "recount their troubles to Mr. Anthony and a jury who will propose possible solutions".<ref name="lohman" /> Those with problems were not identified; cameras focused on the backs of their necks to avoid showing their faces.<ref name="lohman" />
==Adaptations== In 1937 Mateel Farnham wrote the novel ''Ex-Love'' based on Anthony's work on ''Good Will Hour''.<ref>{{cite news |title=If You're Choosy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-washington-herald/170648340/ |access-date=April 19, 2025 |work=Washington Herald |date=September 5, 1937 |page=8 B|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> ''Radio Mirror'' magazine published short stories in 1945 that were adapted from problems presented on ''Good Will Hour''. They included: *"Sixteen" (January 1945)<ref name=rm1>{{cite magazine |date=January 1945 |pages=16-20, 72-75 |title=Sixteen |url=https://archive.org/details/radiomirro00mac/page/n25/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Radio Mirror |access-date=April 19, 2025 }}</ref> *"Second Chance" (February 1945)<ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 1945 |pages=25-27, 81-85 |title=Second Chance |url=https://archive.org/details/radiomirro00mac/page/n124/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Radio Mirror |access-date=April 19, 2025 }}</ref> *"The Right Girl" (March 1945)<ref>{{cite magazine |date=March 1945 |pages=34-37, 77-79 |title=The Right Girl |url=https://archive.org/details/radiomirro00mac/page/n253/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Radio Mirror |access-date=April 19, 2025 }}</ref>
Each story was accompanied by this statement:<blockquote>John J. Anthony symbolizes to those who have problems which seem too great for solution, a kindly, intelligent, sympathetic listener. That is the purpose of the Good Will Hour. Mr. Anthony is an able domestic relations counsellor as well as a humanitarian, so that his advice combines authenticity with common sense. For drama that is exciting and heart-warming because it is true, listen fo the Hour, Sundays at 10:00 P.M. EWT over Mutual.{{r|rm1|page1=73}}</blockquote>
In June 1949 Anthony presented a version of the program in personal appearances in theaters in Brooklyn and Long Island. Unlike the anyonymity of the radio broadcasts, participants were spotlighted on stage.<ref name=stage>{{cite magazine |date=May 25, 1949 |page=3 |title=Agony Heart Hypo |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety174-1949-05/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=April 21, 2025 }}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1937 radio programme debuts Category:1953 radio programme endings Category:1930s American radio programs Category:1940s American radio programs Category:1950s American radio programs Category:American talk radio programs Category:Mutual Broadcasting System programs Category:NBC Blue Network radio programs Category:Radio programs adapted into television shows