History Radio / LumAndAbner

* FiveManBand
** TheHero: Lum
** TheLancer: Abner
** TheBigGuy: Cedric
** TheChick: Mousey
** TheSmartGuy: Granpappy is ultimately a parody of this. He knows a lot thanks to the almanac, but any knowledge he can contribute is useless and irrelevant.
** TheSixthRanger: Doc Withers

In addition to the radio show, seven ''Lum and Abner'' movies were produced by RKO and released in theaters, the first one in 1940 and the final one in 1956.

Although it boasts a rather large fan base, the series never caught on with the general public the way [[Radio/TheJackBennyProgram Jack Benny]] and other radio shows did and is [[SugarWiki/NeedsMoreLove in desperate need of more love]]. That said, the show is (by all appearances) in the public domain and most of the episodes can be listened to for free [[http://www.otr.net/?p=lmab here]].

In addition to the radio show, seven ''Lum and Abner'' movies were released in theaters, the first one in 1940 and the final one in 1956.

Lum and Abner was an American radio comedy that aired from 1931 to 1954[[note]]with a hiatus that lasted from April 1950 until February 1953[[/note]]. It was created by Chester Lauck and Norris "Tuffy" Goff, who also played the main characters (Lauck played Lum; Goff played Abner). The series initially took the form of a comedic soap opera. It was set in the ficitional town of Pine Ridge, Arkansas where the titular Lum and Abner operated the Jot Em Down Store. Plots consisted of various adventures they and other Pine Ridge citizens had in the course of living their day-to-day lives. This could range from trying (and failing) to open up a new bakery to saving the town from hostile visitors.

In addition to the radio show, seven Lum and Abner movies were released in theaters, the first one in 1940 and the final one in 1956.

* LifeImitatesArt: The town of Waters, Arkansas, on which Lauck and Goff based their fictional town, officially changed its name to Pine Ridge after the show became popular.

* RecycledScript: Occasionally Lauck and Goff would recycle plots and scripts years after they were first broadcast. For instance, the story arc where Lum and Abner open a movie theater was used in 1935 and again in 1944, and the radio station plot line was used in 1945 and 1953 (with slight variations).

* TalkingToHimself: This one is a given considering they only had four regular actors and more than four regular characters.
** It was even more prevalent in the pre-1940 shows, when there was just Lauck and Goff. Occasionally one would go on vacation, leaving the other to play several roles in essentially a one-man show.

* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Mousey. In his debut year alone (1942), he worked as a night watchman, a delivery boy, a grocery store clerk, a professional boxer, a private detective, and a travel agent among other things and ''tried'' to get job as a school teacher.

Although it boasts a rather large fan base, the series never caught on with the general public the way JackBenny and other radio shows did and is [[NeedsMoreLove in desperate need of more love]]. That said, the show is (by all appearances) in the public domain and most of the episodes can be listened to for free [[http://www.otr.net/?p=lmab here]].

* BoundAndGagged: In the movie, ''The Bashful Bachellor'', Abner allows Lum to tie him up and pretend to rescue him so that Lum can be a local hero and impress his ladyfriend.