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The Cinnamon Bear is an old time radio program. According to John Dunning and other radio historians, the series first aired in the fall of 1937. The series was comprised of 26 quarter-hour episodes.
Plot
The story focused on Judy and Jimmy Barton who must venture from their home to the enchanted world of Maybeland to recover their missing Silver Star that belongs on top of their Christmas tree. Helping on this quest for the missing star is The Cinnamon Bear, a stuffed bear with shoe button eyes and a green scarf. They meet other memorable characters on this quest, including the Crazy Quilt Dragon (who repeatedly tries to take the star for himself) , the Wintergreen Witch, Fe Fo the Giant, and even Santa Claus. The episodes would air starting at Thanksgiving and would end at Christmas, with one episode airing each night. The show was created by a group of merchants as an advertising promotion, and was recorded in a hurry in just a few weeks.
Cast and crew
The voice of The Cinnamon Bear was done by Buddy Duncan, a little person, and several other notable radio voices lent their talents. These included Verna Felton (as Jimmy and Judy's mother), Joseph Kearns (as the Crazyquilt Dragon), Lou Merill (as Santa Claus), Howard McNear (as Slim Pickings the Cowboy and Samuel the Seal), Elvia Allman (as Penelope Pelican), Frank Nelson (Captain Tintop), and Gale Gordon (Weary Willie the Stork and Oliver Ostrich). Asian-American actress Barbara Jean Wong played Judy, but the name of the child actor who played Jimmy remains unknown to date. The story and all the songs were written in six weeks time by Glan Heisch, aided by his wife. He was specifically directed to create something in the style of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.
Public reception
The radio show proved to be so popular that it is said to be broadcast by a station somewhere in the world every year during the holidays, even today. In fact, many malls had a Cinnamon Bear that children would tell what they wanted for gifts instead of a Santa, and he would show up in Christmas parades. The Cinnamon Bear remained popular especially in the Northwest, with Portland, OR often cited as a "Cinnamon Bear hotspot." In 1987, upon the 50th anniversary of The Cinnamon Bear, a fan of the show started an annual newsletter called "Bear Facts" and put out by "The Cinnamon Bear Brigade," which ran for 5 years. Individuals can download all 26 episodes of the series in MP3 format from many online sources. There is no copyright on the material as it has since passed into public domain.
Listen to
"The Cinnamon Bear"