20 January 2025

John Brown: The Voice Behind Broadway
in Damon Runyon Theater

This article is an excerpt
from RUSC Member's Area

John Brown was born on the 4th of April 1904 in Hull, a town in the county of Yorkshire in the north of England. Having moved to America, his career in radio spanned the 1940’s and early 50s and he is probably most famous for his role as Broadway in the Damon Runyon Theater. 

John Brown starred as Broadway, the narrator of Damon Runyon’s dramatic stories of old Manhattan New York and the gangster life in the 1920s and 1930s. The stories could be tragic, and often quite sad, as you become moved by the strength of the characters.  Broadway was a sensitive guy who knew the streets of New York better than any cab driver. A man who brought to life the thugs and touts of Runyon’s world of guys and dolls and in so doing revealed the innermost feelings of these toughies of the underworld.

At the time of being asked to play the role of Broadway Brown was already playing a similar character in the situation comedy My Friend Irma, in the role of Irma’s small-scale hustler boyfriend with no prospects or hope of a job who greeted her affectionately “Hi-ya chicken”.

John Brown’s warm and natural comedy talent led him into many roles in situation comedies, but his other most renowned roles are in the situation comedy, The Life of Riley. In this situation comedy, Brown was cast as Digby “Digger” O’Dell, the friendly undertaker and also as Riley’s co-worker, best friend and neighbor Gillis. No two characters could be further apart and John Brown played them both with great professional talent.

Along with his roles on The Life of Riley radio show, he also appeared in the first Riley TV show in 1949, which starred Jackie Gleason as Riley and only lasted for 26 episodes. He then appeared in the feature film version of Riley that same year, which starred William Bendix as Riley. He was then conspicuously missing from the long-running 1953-1958 Riley TV show, which starred the radio (and the best) Riley, William Bendix. He only portrayed “Digger” O’Dell in the TV and film versions, while other actors portrayed the screen versions of “Jim Gillis”. 

For information on other film and TV roles,  I have listed below in chronological order of John Brown's radio appearances:

  • 1937-1955: Lorenzo Jones comedy soap opera in which John Brown played the part of      Jim Barker, owner of the garage where Lorenzo worked as a car mechanic.
     
  • 1939: Arch Oboler's Plays  Nero's Wife was a comedy in which Brown played the lead role aired on 10th June 1939.
     
  • 1941: Columbia Presents Corwin
     
  • 1942: Tillie The Toiler comedy in which Brown played Tillie Jones’s boss.
     
  • 1942-1955: The Whistler He was considered one of the “Whistler’s children” on account of his frequent appearances on this crime melodrama .  
     
  • 1943: The Busy Mr Bingle from March 18th through June 10th he played the lead role in this situation comedy. J.B. Bingle was the head of the Bingle Pin Company who kept busy getting the firm in to and out of trouble.
     
  • 1943-1944: Fred Allen Show (Texaco Star Theater) John Brown appeared as a character called John Doe.
     
  • 1944-1954: Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet as "Thorny" Thornberry the next door neighbor of Ozzie and Harriett Nelson.
     
  • 1944: The Charlotte Greenwood Show from June 13th through September 5th he appeared in this situation comedy that was the sponsors Pepsodent’s summer substitute for the Bob Hope Show.
     
  • 1944:  A Date With Judy – teenage situation comedy in which John Brown starred as Mr Foster from 1944 until 1950
     
  • 1944-1951: The Life of Riley - Digby “Digger” O’Dell the friendly undertaker and also as Riley’s co-worker, best friend and neighbor Gillis.
     
  • 1945: The Gay Mrs Featherstone situation comedy.
     
  • 1945-1951: The Saint - John Brown was a regular supporting player in this detective drama based on the novels by Leslie Charteris.
     
  • 1945-1953: Beulah frequently featured in the supporting cast of this situation comedy.
     
  • 1946: Mercury Summer Theater  - support cast
     
  • 1946-1951: A Day In The Life of Dennis Day – situation comedy in which John Brown played the part of Mr Willoughby, owner of a store where Dennis worked.
     
  • 1947: Twelve Players John Brown replaced Charlie Lung in this dramatic anthology.
     
  • 1948: The Damon Runyon Theater 52 episodes were transcribed and aired from January 1949 and went on to be aired into the mid-50s.
     
  • 1948-1951: My Friend Irma as Al, Irma’s easygoing hustler boyfriend.
     
  • 1952-1953: December Bride – situation comedy.
     

Apparently, he was blacklisted during the McCarthy Communist witch-hunt and was thought to be involved in the Red Channels controversy. Along with many other Hollywood personalities, his career was thus damaged and he sadly died on 16th May 1957 at the age of 53 of a massive heart attack. His final home was in West Hollywood, California.

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