The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope

February 24 was the natal day of William M. Ruthrauff (1881-1969), inventor of Pepsodent.

At least, he’s the inventor according to this excellent article at the Made in Chicago Museum. The article also tells us that he was paid handsomely for his formula, and basically told to kiss off, which is probably why his wikipedia entry describes him only as a football coach, and his FindaGrave page doesn’t even mention that, although it does attach the honorific “Dr” to his name (he possessed no such degree). Ruthrauff only coached one season at the University of Arizona. He went from being an educator to a textbook salesman to…tinkering around with toothpaste. Pepsodent is so called but it contains pepsin, an agent that theoretically breaks down the food on your teeth.

Quack medicine tycoon (and philanthropist) Douglas Smith, previous purveyor of “Liquozone” bought Ruthrauff out and became widely credited as the actual inventor. The company was founded in 1915. Smith and his investors poured mucho dinero into promoting the product, helping to create an international market for toothpaste, then a somewhat novel concept.

They were an industry leader in the early days, but by the late ’20s sales were flagging so Pepsodent took a gamble by buying radio advertising. Their first show was Amos ‘n’ Andy, which they underwrote from 1929 to 1937. More on that problematic program here.

Obviously my real endgame here is to talk about the program the dentifrice sponsored from 1938 to 1948, The Pepsodent Show, starring Bob Hope. Hope was a comedian who conquered every medium, so it is often forgotten today that in the peak days of old time radio, he was neck and neck with guys like Fred Allen and Jack Benny with regard to radio listenership. Allen and Benny tend to be remembered in the context of radio because it was the main arena of their successes. Hope was roughly as successful on radio, but went on to become a major movie and television star, so his radio presence becomes forgotten. Yet it was the radio stardom that led to the screen work of course! Prior to this he had been a star of vaudeville and Broadway.

The format of The Pepsodent Show was very much like that of Hope’s competitors. He had a cast of regulars that included Jerry Colonna, Vera Vague, Frances Langford, Blanche Stewart, and Elvia Allman (who also provided the voice of Disney’s Clarabelle the Cow, and played the shop foreman in Lucy’s “candy factory” episode). Trudy Erwin was The Pepsodent Girl and for brief stretches Judy Garland, Gloria Jean, and Doris Day were the in-house singers. Skinnay Ennis was the bandleader for most of the show’s run, followed by Stan Kenton, Desi Arnaz, and Les Brown. And above all that legendary writing staff, originally assembled for this show, but later retained by Hope for films and television. The pool included Norman Panama, Mel Shavelson, Melvin Frank, Sherwood Schwartz and his brother Al, Milt Josefsberg, Jack Rose, and Wilkie Mahoney.

Though he played a dentist in The Paleface (1948) Hope had no other particular connection to dental hygiene. But it was he who hawked toothpaste to American week after week for a decade. By the end of the stretch, Hope was struggling with ratings, so he and Pepsodent parted ways. Hope’s radio show continued through 1955 with sponsors like Swan Soap, Chesterfield, Jell-O, General Foods, and The American Dairy Association. And Pepsodent continued to sponsor other shows in the radio, such as My Friend Irma, Arthur Godfrey Time, and Art Linkletter’s House Party.

The Pepsodent Show was Bob Hope’s only weekly variety series. When TV arrived, he preferred to produce and host periodic specials, rarely more frequently than once a month. In the early years of television, the toothpaste/ variety show cavity was to be filled by Colgate.

For more on show biz history, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my upcoming Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.