Ed Gardner

Ed Gardner could be heard every week as Archie, the manager of Duffy’s Tavern. He was also the creator and head writer of the show. He was born Eddie Poggenburg on June 29, 1905 on Long Island.

He married his wife Shirley Booth in 1929. She was well known in theater circles, but Gardner was still working behind the scenes and wasn’t known well at all. He worked in theater, but doing every job imaginable to stay employed.

He finally found his niche when he became a radio director and worked on Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Burns and Allen, andThis is New York. While working on that show, he was inspired to write Duffy’s Tavern and a legend was created. The first show went on the air in 1940.

While he played Archie, his wife Shirley Booth played Miss Duffy, the daughter of the tavern’s owner. The couple divorced in 1942, but continued on until the end of the season. Florence Halop replaced her in 1943 as Miss Duffy.

The show was broadcast live until 1949.  At that point the entire show moved production to Puerto Rico to avoid the high taxation that existed at the time. They recorded the shows and they didn’t miss a beat.

The show itself was a situation comedy that was based on a tavern located in Manhattan. It had bad food, bad service, and Archie was always ready to hand out an insult or two. While the insults were flying as the celebrity guests came to the establishment, they were received with good sportsmanship and humor.

Still, the most famous actors of the day made appearances at Duffy’s Tavern – “where the elite meet to eat.”  Archie’s boss, Duffy, was never heard on the show, though he was alluded to many times. Each episode would begin with a phone call from Duffy to Archie where you could only hear the manager’s side of the conversation. But, of course, the audience was well aware that Duffy wasn’t a very nice guy.

The show ran until 1952, though it’s name changed to just Duffy’s after a sponsor found that the idea of a bar was too seedy. Still, listeners who had been long time fans never dropped the original name.

Duffy’s Tavern was one of the most successful shows of its time and Gardner had finally found the success he was looking for. 

Ed Gardner also appeared on Command Performance, The Big Show, The Fred Allen Show and Suspense.

Gardner died in 1963 leaving a major radio legacy behind. Listeners today will find it just as humorous as those did in the 1950s. 

Happy listening my friends,