 Original Old Radio on the Web since 1992 Now with over 100,000 CDs and cassettes sold. SHOW HISTORY FOR Archie Andrews  Home - Menu Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation — The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries. Archibald "Archie" Andrews debuted in Pep Comics 22 (December, 1941), and six and a half decades later, he is still a redheaded 17-year-old. Archie lives in Riverdale, attends Riverdale High and is the only son of Mary Andrews and mid-level business executive Fred Andrews. The stories of Little Archie are also published. As Little Archie, he had a dog named Spotty. Archie is a typical small-town teenager. He studies at Riverdale High School, and he is also a lead singer of The Archies band. Generous, well-mannered, but clumsy, he is genuinely liked by many of his friends. As a normal teenager, Archie goes ga-ga over pretty girls, but both Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper try to keep him in check. He is the center of the love triangle between Veronica and Betty. His best friend is Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones, who has been his friend since they were kids. He is an average athlete who always is second to his friend and 'enemy' Reggie Mantle, from whom he never hears the end. Reggie is rich and conceited and contends with Archie for Veronica, with whom he shares an 'upper class' complex. Archie often takes odd jobs to pay for his various projects and his dates. Archie is a good fellow, but he often acts clumsily, coming in conflict with Veronica's father Hiram Lodge and Riverdale High's principal, Waldo Weatherbee. As the lead singer of The Archies, Archie performs with Betty, Veronica, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. A number of stories have revealed the Andrews family's origins in Scotland, with "Andy Andrews" immigrating to the United States and befriending Moose Mason's Russian ancestor, who was immigrating at the same time. Archie has been depicted wearing the traditional kilt of his ancestors and playing bagpipes (but not very well). In addition to having many hobbies, Archie is passionate about his car. For decades, he was shown driving a 1916 Ford Model T jalopy called "Betsy".In Archie double digest #192, it is said to be a model a. In a story where Archie tried to have his jalopy insured, he described it as being a "Ford, Chevy, Plymouth, Pierce-Arrow, Packard, DeSoto, Hudson..." The insurance agent originally thought Archie wanted to insure several cars, but then Archie explained that his jalopy was "a collection of replacement parts from several junkyards", with some parts of the car dating back to 1926. In the newer comics, he drives a car which is more contemporary in appearance, but still unreliable and prone to breakdowns. Archie Digest 239, published in October 2007, contained a new story where Mr. Lodge owned a classic antique car that had a very strong resemblance to Archie's jalopy. In addition, the story had a character referred to as "Grandpa Andrews" who looked and dressed like Archie from the 1940s. Archie often greets his friends at Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe. This soda shop, a frequent hangout of Archie's Gang, was based on real-life locations frequented by teenagers in Haverhill, Massachusetts, during the 1930s — Crown Confectionery and the Chocolate Shop on Merrimack Street and the Tuscarora on Winter Street. Bob Montana went to high school in Haverhill from 1936 to 1939, and his sketchbook, an illustrated diary of life in Haverhill, was the true origin of Archie and his friends. Montana's daughters once made pages from this sketchbook available online. Several real-life residents of Haverhill were drawn into Montana's creation, as was revealed when film critic Gerald Peary interviewed Haverhill's cartoon character prototypes for the Boston Globe in 1980. Arnold Daggett was the model for Moose, and Skinny Linehan (Jughead). At a 1989 reunion of Montana's classmates, Daggett said that he recognized himself in one strip "where I was getting kicked out of class." Miss Grundy was inspired by school librarian Elizabeth Tuck, while Haverhill High School principal Earl McLeod was the basis for Mr. Weatherbee. Montana knew the Massachusetts' Brahmin political family, the Lodges, because he had once painted a mural for them; he combined that name with actress Veronica Lake to create the character of Veronica Lodge. Betty was based on Montana's girlfriend in New York. After four years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Montana returned in 1946 to launch the Archie newspaper comic strip, which he drew until his death in 1975. Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5, 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years. Jughead was portrayed by Harlan Stone and Cameron Andrews as Jughead. Stone later wrote a book about his experiences on the series. (http://en.wikipedia.org).  Original Old Radio P.O. Box 522 Berea, KY 40403-0522 Email: darryl@originaloldradio.com Webpage Design Darryl Hawkins Radio Programs In Public Domain |