Walter Tetley: The kid who stole the show
Born in 1915, Walter Tetley saw radio through its classic era by playing characters in such great broadcasts as The Great Gildersleeve and the Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. He was a familiar voice from the time he was seven years old when he did impersonations of Harry Lauder, through his time on radio and in movies.
Tetley’s high-pitched, childish voice was memorable, but it was actually caused by a hormonal medical condition, even though there were rumors that accused Tetley’s mother of having him castrated so he could continue his successful radio career with a child’s voice.
The American School of the Air, an exceptional educational radio show which premiered in 1930, cast Walter in its series as well as big radio stars like Gene Leonard, Mitzi Gould and Ray Collins. Tetley played one of the children of one of the skits, The Hamilton Family.
One of the most popular radio shows of all time, The Great Gildersleeve, cast Tetley as Leroy, the plucky nephew of Uncle Gildersleeve in the series. Tetley also played a role in the films of Gildersleeve, except he played a bellhop rather than the nephew because he was too tall at the time. The Great Gildersleeve was a spinoff of Fibber McGee And Molly and on 28th March 1944 he appeared in the show when his Great Gildersleeve character Leroy and his Uncle Gildy pay a visit on the McGees.
The Phil Harris/AliceFaye Show featured Tetley as a coarse and intolerable delivery boy from the local grocery. Phil Harris and Alice Faye played themselves, of course. Harris was a self-centered band leader and Alice was a well-known and glamorous movie star. Tetley was referred to by Harris as, The kid who steals the show each week.
Raising Junior was first broadcast in 1930 and was a comedy that dealt with domestic issues. Ray Knight supposedly pulled Tetley (then nine years old) from an elevator and thrust him in front of the microphone to play the part of Bobby when the selected actor didn’t show up.
Tetley also appeared with W.C. Fields on a comedy routine of Your Hit Parade. Tetley was “the brat who pestered” Fields. Other stars on Your Hit Parade included Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Dinah Shore. Your Hit Parade was an influential show in the pop culture of the time.
Walter Tetley can also be heard on RUSC in a classic episode of Suspense entitled Dead Ernest, which aired on 8th August 1946 and an episode of Family Theater in 1948.
Walter Tetley enjoyed an amazing career in radio and progressed easily into such films as Mr. Peabody. In 1971, he was injured in an accident involving a motorcycle and was confined to a wheelchair afterward. He never recovered from the injury and passed away in 1975 at 60 years old.
Happy listening my friends,