New Henry Aldrich

When America's sensationally popular radio serial, The Aldrich Family, went back on the air last month, Aldrich actors fidgeted nervously while General Foods kept its fingers achingly crossed. Calamity had overtaken Henry Aldrich again. This time the Army had clamped down on Sergeant Ezra Stone's once-a-week performance as The Aldrich Family's Penrodish son. So Henry was being played by another actor: Norman Tokar.

Canny, crack-voiced Ezra Stone, 24, the script's top drawing card, started as Henry Aldrich in the stage play, What a Life, from which the radio serial was concocted. The script was a summer fillin, but Ezra's adolescent croaks and bleats so delighted radio listeners that The Aldrich Family emerged in the fall of 1939 as a full-fledged weekly show, soon had an audience of millions.

The new Henry, short, stocky, pink-eared Norman Tokar, 19, has long played a bit part in the script, long understudied Ezra, sounds enough like him to be his twin. He has played small stage roles in Delicate Story, Lamented Life of Riley, Days of Our Youth, is currently featured in the subway circuit Sailor Beware. He also writes and sells gangster scripts bristling with argot. Knowing the script depends on Henry, Norman does his best to be a businesslike copy of Ezra. House Jameson, who plays Father Aldrich, coaches the new Henry out from behind every eight ball. It is worth it. For in Norman The Aldrich Family has a safely deferred Henry (he supports elderly and semi-invalid parents).

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