For six years, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve built up a solid fan following as Fibber McGee's comical nemesis and next door neighbor on the radio serial, Fibber McGee and Molly.

But in 1941, writers decided that Gildersleeve was a strong enough co-star to stand alone. So they conveniently moved him away from the slaptstick suburb of Wistful Vista (where Fibber McGee and Molly took place) and settled him in Summerfield, an outlying town where he met and began to raise an orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie and Leroy.

The Great Gildersleeve is counted among the earliest true "sitcoms" and it is considered as one of radios first great spinoff shows. With the addition of Marjorie and Leroy (played by Lurene Turtle and Walter Tetley), a fresh start in a new town, and Gildersleeve's immediate interaction with a bunch of fun townies (The family cook, Birdie Lee Coggins; Judge Horace Hooker; and eligible widow, Leila Ransom name a few.), The Great Gildersleeve managed to establish its independent radio voice early on.

Before long, the Gildersleeve name was golden in Summerfield. In Wistful Vista, Gildy owned a corset company--Gildersleeve Girdleworks. In Summerfield, he became the town Water Commissioner. In Wistful Vista, Gildy passed most of his time arguing with Fibber. In Summerfield, he was a responsible parent, patron, and even patriot.

The show lasted over a decade and spawned three feature films with Harold Peary in the role he originated. In 1950, however, Peary was replaced with Willard Waterman after Peary lost a legal dispute with NBC wherein he fought to retain the rights to the Gildersleeve name and character.