"Mama Bloom's Brood" and "The Goldbergs"

[Espee]

I've heard just a few examples of these two radio serials, and the fact that they sound about the same to me, doesn't mean a lot.
But does anyone know who wrote and performed in "Brood"?
J. David Goldin wrote that it appears to have been syndicated in 1934, when Gertrude Berg's "The Goldbergs" was between network runs. But he only guesses that it MIGHT have been her show.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Bloom's Brood" isn't mentioned in Berg's autobiography, nor is it mentioned in the recent biography of her by Glenn D. Smith Jr, so it's unlikely she had anything to do with it. THe program was recorded in Hollywood by the Radio Transcription Company of America, which is another indication Berg wasn't involved -- she was based in New York.

While I've yet to uncover any details on the cast, most of the Transco dramas used the same pool of people, largely veterans of the KHJ drama department led by Lindsay MacHarrie. Elvia Allman was a member of that troupe, and could do a pretty good Jewish dialect, so I wouldn't be surprised to find that she was Mama Bloom. Just speculation on my part though.

Whoever it was, it's obvious they were doing a surrogate version of The Goldbergs. There was a lot of this sort of thing going on with cheap syndicated shows in the early and mid-thirties -- there were several "Amos 'n' Andy" clones floating around under various names from various companies, and a few "Lum and Abner" imitations as well.