of tears, crises, and drama, but with a plotline much slower paced than the average soap opera. In a typical year, no more than three or four major complications were covered --interspersed by long "quiet spells," filled with (brutally) protracted discussions on the meaning of life amid the ever-changing tapestry of family, friends and the small town around them... Early in the drama’s run Ma was portrayed as quite combative and spiteful, but her character soon developed (and softened) into the kindhearted sage and conscience of the entire community. There were various dramas that unfolded over the years, some more far-fetched than others. Two of the more memorable plot stretches involve Ma exposing a black market baby-napping ring, and Ma harboring Soviet political dissidents inside her home. When the show ended on Friday, November 25, 1960, the day after Thanksgiving Day, it was one of only eight entertainment shows still on the CBS radio network. The last episode was the only one in which Virginia Payne's name was mentioned, by Payne herself in a farewell speech. In all other episodes, the announcer at the close of the show would run down the names of all the actors in the cast (but one), and then say, "... and Ma Perkins." Cast Virginia Payne - Ma Perkins Charles Egelston - Shuffle Shober, Ma's best friend (1933-1958) Edwin Wolfe - Shuffle Shober (1958-1960) Dora Johnson - Evey Perkins (1933-1944) Laurette Fillbrandt - Evey Perkins (1944-1945) Kay Campbell - Evey Perkins (1945-1960) Isabelle Krehbiel - Fay Perkins (1933) Rita Ascot - Fay Perkins Margaret Draper - Fay Perkins Gilbert Faust - John Perkins See also List of radio soap operas List of longest-serving soap opera actors References Further reading Andrews, Robert Hardy. A Corner of Chicago. Boston: Little, Brown, 1963. Cox, Jim. The Great Radio Soap Operas. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1999. LaGuardia, Robert. From Ma Perkins to Mary Hartman: The Illustrated History of Soap Operas. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977. Ohmart, Ben. It's That Time Again. Albany: BearManor Media, 2002. Stumpf, Charles. Ma Perkins, Little Orphan Annie and Heigh Ho Silver. Carlton, 1971. Westin, Jeane Eddy. Making Do: How Women Survived the '30s. Follett, 1976. Listen to Ma Perkins radio shows from 1950 (52 episodes) Dick Bertel interview with Virginia Payne on Hartford's WTIC (January, 1973) External links 1933 radio programme debuts 1960 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio