Life with the Lyons, 1950

Not so much a sitcom as a comedy soap opera, this vintage series started life on the BBC Light Program in 1950, where it ran until 1961.  In 1955 the show made the move to television where it ran until 1960.

The stars, Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels had been leading lights in the early days of Hollywood, appearing separately in many silent and talking feature films.

Life with the Lyons featured a real American family. Ben Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels who had settled in London during the Second World War , it also featured their children Richard and Barbara Lyon.

The stars, Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels had been leading lights in the early days of Hollywood, appearing separately in many silent and talking feature films.

Writers included Bob Block, who created the BBC television series Rentaghost.

The radio series spurned two feature films, before it made it’s move to BBC TV in 1955.  There were forty episodes of the TV series over five series and despite a move to ITV (Associated Rediffusion Televsion) in 1956 where the series stayed until it ended in 1960, the BBC continued to produce episodes of the twice weekly radio show up until 1961 when that came to an end.

Summary

On radio twice a week we were treated to a real life American family sitcom.  Although the show was scripted, it was loosely based around real-life events of the American Lyons Family.  On TV the premise was exactly the same although it came in weekly doses.

Clips

A selection of radio episodes can be found here

Main Cast

Bebe Daniels
Ben Lyon
Barbara Lyon
Richard Lyon

Details

Written By:

Bebe Daniel
Bob Block
Bill Harding (series 1 to 3)
Ronnie Hanbury (series 4 to 9)
Channel:
BBC Light Program (radio)
BBC TV (series 1&2)
ITV (series 3 -5)
Original Transmission Dates:
Radio: 5th November 1950 – 19th May 1961
TV: 11th February 1955 – 1st May 1960