The Adventures of Frank Merriwell was created by Gilbert Patten who wrote under the name, Burt L. Standish and was first broadcast on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 3 times a week in 15-minute continuation stories.
Donald Briggs originally starred as the fictional character of Frank Merriwell, a juvenile role model who played and excelled at all types of sports at Yale University, including football, baseball, basketball, crew and track.
Besides Frank’s busy sports schedule, he also solved complicated mysteries, always taking the right path and never tired of fighting for the underdog. Merriwell’s creator, Patten, summed up Frank’s character by stating, The name was symbolic of the chief characteristics I desired my hero to have -- Frank for frankness, merry for a happy disposition and well for health and abounding energy.
Indeed, Frank Merriwell was the epitome of the perfect student and person. He didn’t drink or smoke and exercised to keep in great condition. But Frank did show his humanness a few times in the series. Once he let down his perfect façade to play in a poker game and later, Frank confessed his indiscretion to his friend, Bart Hodge, and also revealed that he had an almost uncontrollable weakness for gambling. Frank further confessed that he once stole money from his dear, sweet mother to sustain his gambling habit.
After its 1934 premiere, The Adventures of Frank Merriwell didn’t appear again until October 5, 1946. NBC broadcast the series as a 30-minute Saturday morning show starring Lawson Zerbe. In 1936 a film serial of The Adventures of Frank Merriwell appeared in theaters nationwide.
