Ma Perkins

Ma Perkins (sometimes called Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins) is an American radio soap opera that was heard on NBC from 1933 to 1949 and on CBS from 1942 to 1960. It was also broadcast in Canada, and Radio Luxembourg carried it in Europe.

The program began on WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it was broadcast from August 14, 1933 to December 1, 1933. Its network debut occurred on NBC on December 4, 1933. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks. During part of its run on NBC, that network's coverage was augmented by use of transcriptions. Beginning April 1, 1935, nine stations broadcast the transcriptions. Oxydol dropped its sponsorship in 1956. The program continued with various sponsors until 1960.

The series was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert with scripts by Robert Hardy Andrews, Orin Tovrov, and others. (An early scriptwriter was Chicago-based Richard Durham, who was likely the only Negro writing for the radio industry.) Ma Perkins began August 14, 1933, on WLW in Cincinnati. On December 4 of that year, it graduated to the NBC Red network. On NBC and CBS the series ran for a total of 7,065 episodes.

"America’s mother of the air" was portrayed by actress Virginia Payne, who began the role at the age of 19 and never missed a performance during the program's 27-year run. Kindly, trusting widow Ma Perkins had a big heart and a great love of humanity. She always offered her homespun philosophy to troubled souls in need of advice.

Ma Perkins is widely credited with giving birth to storytelling and content-based advertising.