A Radio Retrospective
By Mike Martini
In many ways, Walter Tetley was the boy who never grew up. Longtime fans of "The Great Gildersleeve"
radio program recognize Walter Tetley as the actor who portrayed Leroy Forrester, nephew of
Throckmorton Gildersleeve. Leroy, the character, was a wise-cracking twelve-year-old who was
constantly getting into trouble, often at the expense of his older sister Marjorie. Leroy affectionately
called Gildersleeve "Unk" and could be found snacking in the kitchen, reading the comics or playing
outside with his best friend "Piggy."
Walter Tetley, the actor, was quite unlike the character he played. Tetley was born in June of 1915 in
New York City and started his career while still in his early teens playing a character named "Wee Sir
Harry Lauder" in vaudeville. It was while in New York in 1903, touring the NBC studios with his parents,
that his radio career began in sudden fashion. Tetley was literally snatched off an elevator by a frantic
producer named Ray Night and thrust in front of a microphone to replace a child-actor who failed to
show up for a performance. Tetley's quick study won him the role of "Bobby" for two seasons on the
radio program "Raising Junior" - his first professional radio acting job. From there, Walter Tetley was
quite busy in radio, working on over 150-different programs during the following decade. By his own
estimates, Tetley made over 2300 radio appearances in the 1930's alone. He was heard on "Grouch
Club," "Let's Pretend," "Coast-to-Coast On a Bus," "Buck Rogers," "The Cuckoo Hour" and other shows.
He also appeared in a couple of films including "Lord Jeff" and "Spirit of Culver."
Walter Tetley was 25 years old when he was cast as Leroy on the "Fibber McGee and Molly" spin-off -
"The Great Gildersleeve." The show premiered in 1941 as perhaps the first true situation comedy.
When the show went off the air in 1957, "little" Leroy as pushing age 42!
Tetley also gained fame as the wisecracking Brooklyn delivery boy Julius Abbruzio on "The Phil
Harris-Alice Faye Show" (1947-1954.) After radio's "golden age," Tetley found television work scarce for
an adult man with unusual vocal talents. He did appear on Stan Freburg's famous "History of the United
States" production and supplied the voice of Sherman opposite Mr. Peabody on the "Rocky and
Bullwinkle" cartoons (1959-1964). Walter Tetley died in Encino, California on September 4, 1975. Hal
Peary, who played Gildersleeve and who was only seven years older than Tetley, died in 1985.
Thanks to : Thomas DeLong's Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary (1996) and John
Dunning's The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio (1998).
Inquiries, comments and suggestions about this series can be directed to Mike Martini at (513)
458-3162 or mmartini@xstarnet.com
By Mike Martini
In many ways, Walter Tetley was the boy who never grew up. Longtime fans of "The Great Gildersleeve"
radio program recognize Walter Tetley as the actor who portrayed Leroy Forrester, nephew of
Throckmorton Gildersleeve. Leroy, the character, was a wise-cracking twelve-year-old who was
constantly getting into trouble, often at the expense of his older sister Marjorie. Leroy affectionately
called Gildersleeve "Unk" and could be found snacking in the kitchen, reading the comics or playing
outside with his best friend "Piggy."
Walter Tetley, the actor, was quite unlike the character he played. Tetley was born in June of 1915 in
New York City and started his career while still in his early teens playing a character named "Wee Sir
Harry Lauder" in vaudeville. It was while in New York in 1903, touring the NBC studios with his parents,
that his radio career began in sudden fashion. Tetley was literally snatched off an elevator by a frantic
producer named Ray Night and thrust in front of a microphone to replace a child-actor who failed to
show up for a performance. Tetley's quick study won him the role of "Bobby" for two seasons on the
radio program "Raising Junior" - his first professional radio acting job. From there, Walter Tetley was
quite busy in radio, working on over 150-different programs during the following decade. By his own
estimates, Tetley made over 2300 radio appearances in the 1930's alone. He was heard on "Grouch
Club," "Let's Pretend," "Coast-to-Coast On a Bus," "Buck Rogers," "The Cuckoo Hour" and other shows.
He also appeared in a couple of films including "Lord Jeff" and "Spirit of Culver."
Walter Tetley was 25 years old when he was cast as Leroy on the "Fibber McGee and Molly" spin-off -
"The Great Gildersleeve." The show premiered in 1941 as perhaps the first true situation comedy.
When the show went off the air in 1957, "little" Leroy as pushing age 42!
Tetley also gained fame as the wisecracking Brooklyn delivery boy Julius Abbruzio on "The Phil
Harris-Alice Faye Show" (1947-1954.) After radio's "golden age," Tetley found television work scarce for
an adult man with unusual vocal talents. He did appear on Stan Freburg's famous "History of the United
States" production and supplied the voice of Sherman opposite Mr. Peabody on the "Rocky and
Bullwinkle" cartoons (1959-1964). Walter Tetley died in Encino, California on September 4, 1975. Hal
Peary, who played Gildersleeve and who was only seven years older than Tetley, died in 1985.
Thanks to : Thomas DeLong's Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary (1996) and John
Dunning's The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio (1998).
Inquiries, comments and suggestions about this series can be directed to Mike Martini at (513)
458-3162 or mmartini@xstarnet.com
This article uses material by permission of Mike Martini.
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information on the golden age of radio.
store specializing in antique reproductions of vintage electronics. Our
old style products include original vintage AM/FM radios, portable
suitcase - styled record players and turntables, record changers,
multi-functional audio cassette/compact disc players, jukeboxes,
telephones, music boxes and more. The rich lines, retro designs and
authentic crafting on these antique replicas provide a delightful dose of
nostalgia. Shop online for our vintage-inspired products, or browse for
information on the golden age of radio.
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