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''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel'' is a situation comedy radio show starring two of the Marx Brothers, Groucho and Chico, and written primarily by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The series was originally broadcast in the United States on the National Broadcasting Company's Blue Network beginning November 28, 1932, and ended May 22, 1933. Sponsored by the Standard Oil Companies of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana and the Colonial Beacon Oil Company, it was the Monday night installment of the ''Five-Star Theater'', an old-time radio variety series that offered a different program each weeknight. Episodes were broadcast live from NBC's WJZ station in New York City and later from a sound stage at RKO Pictures in Los Angeles, California, before returning to WJZ for the final episodes. The program depicts the misadventures of a small law firm, with Groucho as attorney Waldorf T. Flywheel and Chico as Flywheel's assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli. The series was originally titled ''Beagle, Shyster, and Beagle'', with Groucho's character named Waldorf T. Beagle, until a lawyer from New York named Beagle contacted NBC and threatened to file a lawsuit unless the name was dropped. Many of the episodes' plots were drawn from Marx Brothers films. The show garnered respectable ratings for its early evening time slot although a second season was not produced. It was thought that, like most radio shows of the time, the episodes had not been recorded. The episodes were thought lost until 1988, when 25 of the 26 scripts were rediscovered in the Library of Congress storage and republished. In 1996, some recordings of the show were discovered, including a complete recording of the last episode to air. Adaptations of the recovered scripts were performed and broadcast in the UK on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. ==Early development== In 1932 Texaco introduced its "Fire Chief" gasoline to the public, so named because its octane rating was 66, higher than the United States government's requirements for fire engines.〔Texaco, 2005〕 To advertise its new premium grade fuel, Texaco approached vaudeville comic Ed Wynn to star in a radio show titled ''Fire Chief''.〔''Time'', 1932〕〔Texaco, 1993〕 Wynn played the fire chief in front of an audience of 700 and the show was aired live over the NBC Red Network, beginning April 24, 1932.〔Dunning, 1998; p. 218〕 It immediately proved popular with over two million regular listeners〔 and a Co-Operative Analysis of Broadcasting (CAB) Rating of 44.8%.〔The Original Old Time Radio, 1994〕 Upon seeing the success of Wynn's ''Fire Chief'', the Standard Oils in New Jersey, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, and Colonial Beacon, decided to sponsor their own radio program to promote Esso Gasoline and Essolube Motor Oil.〔Barson, 1988; p. vii〕 They turned to the advertising agency McCann Erickson, which developed ''Five-Star Theater'', a variety series that offered a different show each night of the week.〔 Groucho and Chico Marx, one half of the popular vaudeville and film stars the Marx Brothers, were approached to appear in a comedy show. Harpo and Zeppo were not required, as their trademark shticks of mute and straight man did not work well on radio.〔Barson, 1988; p. viii〕 Before this decision was officially reached, early drafts of the scripts featured guest appearances written for both absent brothers, with Harpo being represented through honks of his horn and other trademark sound effects.〔Louvish, 2000; p. 253〕 Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman, who had contributed to the scripts of the Marx Brothers' films ''Monkey Business'' (1931) and ''Horse Feathers'' (1932), were enlisted to write the comedy show.〔 It was titled ''Beagle, Shyster, and Beagle'', and its premise involved an unethical lawyer/private detective and his bungling assistant. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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