The Lost 1954 Charlotte's Web Radio Plays

Snippet from Scrantonian (PA) Tribune Sun, Mar 07, 1954 Page 28.
Image from Newspapers.com

E. B. White's children's book Charlotte's Web remains a household name and a beloved classic after more than 70 years. Wikipedia and many other sources lists it many adaptations like the 1973 animated film, the recent HBO Max miniseries, and the live action 2006 film. 

Forgotten and lost is the very first media adaptation of the book which was produced less than two years after the book was published. Charlotte's Web was adapted for radio by Joanna Johnstone for the Peabody award winning children's series "Let's Pretend". Let's Pretend (1929-1954) was CBS radio's Saturday morning classic that typically adapted fairy tales with a juvenile cast. It was that rare show that captivated children while also being highly praised by parents and teachers as one of radio's best. Charlotte's Web was broadcast as a two part dramatization on Saturday, March 13 and Saturday March 20, 1954. 

Young stage actress Lynn Thatcher (1938-2015) was cast as Fern according to most press releases. A few clippings claim that she was cast as Charlotte. Articles also claimed that the rights to adapt Charlotte's Web were acquired by CBS with the young actress in mind. She was the recipient of the Nila Mack Award, a tribute to director Nila Mack (1890-1953), who transformed Let's Pretend into such a successful program from 1930 until her death. The cast members were often called the “Let’s Pretenders”. 

Charlotte's Web aired during Let's Pretend's last season. Thatcher was a part of the cast for the last original episode "Jorinda and Joringel" which aired Saturday, October 24, 1954. 

Despite its long run and multiple accolades less than 50 of the original radio broadcasts of Let's Pretend can be heard today. Unfortunately, the audio of the first adaptation of Charlotte's Web is now lost. No audio or scripts are listed in the E. B. White papers at Cornell University. Fortunately the scripts and music conductor's cues exist within the Let's Pretend Collection at Emerson College. So it is possible that these historic broadcasts could be recreated some day. 

Photo illustration montage of Lynn Thatcher as Fern in "Charlotte's Web" in Let's Pretend
March 13 -20, 1954. Photo is partially blocked by a 1952 ticket.

A special acquisition in the Nila Mack Let’s Pretend Collection from my Children's Media Archive, is this original press photo of Lynn Thatcher as Fern. The overlapping ticket is from a 1952 broadcast. An original press text used with the image said:

E. B. WHITE HEROINE - Lynn Thatcher will play the human heroine in "Charlotte's Web," comedy fantasy which will be given a second Saturday broadcast over CBS radio on March 20. CBS.

Additional Reading

Let's Pretend Collection at Emerson College Archives and Special Collections Repository:

Charlotte Part I, 1954-03-13 - https://archivesspace.emerson.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/14951 

Charlotte Part II, 1954-03-20 - https://archivesspace.emerson.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/14952

Newspaper Clippings:

Lynn Thatcher To Be Featured In 'Let's Pretend" Play Series. Scrantonian (PA) Tribune Sun, Mar 07, 1954 Page 28. https://www.newspapers.com/article/scrantonian-tribune-lynn-thatcher-in-cha/198712844/ 

OTR Child Star of the Month April 2025 - Growing Up With Bob Hastings

Screen capture of "Bobby Hastings" in the short film "Toyland Casino" (1938). This short film marked his live-action debut. 

Bob Hastings (April 18, 1925–June 30, 2014) who was born 100 years ago this month was a prolific star of stage, screen, television and radio. His nearly 80 year career began in radio as a child in the late 1930s. 

Young millennials like myself fondly remember him the most for his commanding voice work as Commissioner James Gordon on “Batman: The Animated Series” and related DC Comics based animation and video games from 1992 - 2004. As it has been said before, Hastings was much more than that role, and he is probably more famous for his work in live action television. While he is not primarily thought of as a major figure in children’s media, it can be accurately said that Hastings played memorable roles in children's media across several generations. 

Bob Hastings was born in New York the elder son of Charles and Hazel Hastings. As a boy Hastings began as a singer on radio and would co-star on NBC's hallmark children's series Coast to Coast on a Bus. Under the direction of Milton Cross, young Hastings sang and performed on the “White Rabbit Line Chorus”. It was during the production of that series that he met Joan Rice would become his wife of 66 years. Among many juvenile roles he was also “Jerry”, the young aid to Captain Silver on “The Sea Hound” radio series.

Crop from a widely printed image of Bob Hastings as Archie Andrews and Gloria Mann as Veronica. Image from Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News, June 22, 1949. 

After serving in Workd War II, Bob Hastings was cast as Archie Andrews on radio, the fourth and most famous of several actors to have played the part. The Adventures of Archie Andrews (1943-1953) was a staple of Saturday morning radio for most of its run. Hastings played the part from 1945 to 1953, and to date only Dal McKennon the voice of Filmation's Archie played the part longer in mass media. At least 20 episodes of this series have survived with Hal Stone as Jughead, Rosemary Rice as Betty, and Gloria Mann as Veronica.

Ad from the St. Louis Dispatch, April 28, 1946.

In the Golden Age of Television he appeared on Captain Video and His Video Rangers where his younger brother Don Hastings (1934 -) was the Video Ranger. Bob also co-starred on the now lost sci-fi series Atom Squad (1953-1954). Atom Squad brought young audience the live adventures of a group of scientists working for a secret government agency who fought radiation and nuclear threats to the United States.  

Bob Hastings (left) and Steve Courtleigh on the set of "Atom Squad". Image from Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 28, 1953.

In the 1960s and 1970s Hastings began voice over work in animation. He was notably the voice of Superboy for Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman [The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1966-1970). At the time, Filmation would launch the hit series "The Archie Show" and it was a lost opportunity that Hastings was not considered for the role of Archie again. Filmation notably had Bud Collyer and most of the cast of the Superman radio program return for the "New Adventures of Superman" animated series. 

He had numerous voicing roles on many Saturday Morning cartoons like "Jeanie", “Clue Club” "Superfriends", and  "Fred Flintstone and Friend. He even appeared as a police detective in the ratings winning 1977 live-action Spider-Man TV Movie with Nicholas Hammond.

"Bob Hastings: 45 Songs Children Love to Sing" (1960). Image from Discogs.com

He also released at least 2 albums for children. In my research, a collection of his songs may have also been syndicated to local radio stations. Hastings was one of several former OTR child stars to create or read for children’s albums after radio’s golden age like Rosemary Rice and Gwen Davies. 

One thing that my generation did not realize while hearing Hasting's voice work on "Batman" was that not only were we growing up in the last era of Saturday morning cartoons, but also the last era of working voice actors from the Golden Age of Radio. Generations grew up with the voice work of Lucille Bliss, Alan Young, June Foray, Jackson Beck, Don Messick, Hans Conried, Ginny Tyler, Mel Blanc, Janet Waldo and many others in television animation, audio books, and children's records. In the cases of Alan Young and Janet Waldo young children could hear them in new radio dramas like Adventures in Odyssey. 

We were listening to the greatest talents who were founded on 30 and even 70 years of voice acting expertise from the Golden Age of Radio. Bob Hastings remains one of the most enduring of those legends.