The Mary Lee Taylor Program

Beginning in 1933, CBS started what was to become "the longest running cooking program on radio" when The Mary Lee Taylor Program debuted. Initially, the show was 15 minutes and was all about providing economic recipes featuring the sponsor's product, PET Milk, and tips for cooking.

At some point during the series run, the format changed from 15 minutes all about cooking and recipes to 30 minutes. After the format change, the first half of the show featured a soap opera called "The Story of the Week". It featured stories about the lives of a young married couple, Jim and Sally Carter.

After the drama, Mary Lee Taylor presented a complete, economical menu featuring recipes made with PET Milk. She also offered free recipe books by mail for the listeners. With a little searching you can find those recipes on the Internet today. In 1948, the program moved to NBC where it stayed until its end in 1954.

Mary Lee Taylor was the pseudonym for Erma Proetz who passed away in 1944. Mrs. Proetz was billed as a "nutritionist and home economist" for the PET Milk Company. Proetz was in actuality an advertising copywriter who became creative vice president and later, executive vice president for the Gardner Advertising Agency in St. Louis. Mrs. Proetz created a test kitchen for developed recipes for her client, the Pet Milk Company, in St Louis.

For more cooking shows, see also: Martha Meade Society Program, Betty Crocker, and The Baker's Theater of Stars. This collection is also part of the Cooking in Old Time Radio Collection.