Editing Fibber McGee and Molly (section)

==Spin-offs==
''Fibber McGee and Molly'' spun two supporting characters off into their own shows. By far the most successful and popular was Harold Peary's Gildersleeve, spun into ''[[The Great Gildersleeve]]'' in 1941.<ref>{{cite news |first=R.W.|last=Stewart <!-- |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0DE1D81F3CEF33A25750C0A96E9C946093D6CF – but doesn't show the line in question... --> |title=One Thing and Another |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=X10 |date=August 3, 1941 |quote=Gildersleeve has taken leave of his long-time fencing partner[,] Fibber McGee, and will be starred in his own show, "The Great Gildersleeve," beginning Aug. 31 at 6:30 pm on WEAF's hook-up. Harold Peary created the Gildersleeve...}}</ref> This show introduced [[single parent]]hood of a sort to creative broadcasting: the pompous, previously married Gildersleeve now moved to Summerfield, became single (although the missing wife was never explained), and raised his orphaned, spirited niece and nephew, while dividing his time between running his manufacturing business and (eventually) becoming the town water commissioner.<ref name=Air/> In one episode, the McGees arrived in Summerfield for a visit with their old neighbor with hilarious results: McGee inadvertently learns Gildersleeve is engaged, and he practically needs to be chloroformed to perpetuate the secret a little longer.

Peary returned the favor in a memorable 1944 ''Fibber McGee & Molly'' episode in which neither of the title characters appeared: Jim Jordan was recovering from a bout of pneumonia (this would be written into the show the following week, when the Jordans returned), and the story line involved Gildersleeve and nephew Leroy hoping to visit the McGees at home during a train layover in Wistful Vista, but finding Fibber and Molly not at home. At the end of the episode, Gildersleeve discovers the couple had left in a hurry that morning when they received ''Gildy's'' letter saying he would be stopping over in Wistful Vista.

Marlin Hurt's ''[[Beulah (show)|Beulah]]'' was also spun off, leading to both a radio and television show that would eventually star [[Hattie McDaniel]] and [[Ethel Waters]].

Jim and Marian Jordan themselves occasionally appeared on other programs, away from their Fibber and Molly characters.<ref name=Time/> One memorable episode of ''[[Suspense (radio program)|Suspense]]'' ("Backseat Driver", February 3, 1949<!-- ambiguous: 02-03-1949 -->) cast the Jordans as victims of a car-jacking; Jim Jordan's tense, interior monologues were especially dramatic.