Marian Driscoll

Marian and Jim

Marian Driscoll Jordan was born on April 15, 1898 and was an American actress and radio performer. She was best known for portraying Molly McGee, Fibber McGee's wife, on the NBC radio series Fibber McGee and Molly from 1935 to 1959. She starred alongside her real-life husband, Jim Jordan, on the series.

She was born Marian Irene Driscoll in Peoria, Illinois. She was the twelfth of thirteen children born to Daniel P. Driscoll, (January 10, 1858 – March 25, 1916) and Anna Driscoll Carroll (February 28, 1858 – April 28, 1928). Her paternal great-grandfather, Michael Driscoll, Sr. (1793–1849), had immigrated with his wife and children from his home in Baltimore, Ireland, in 1836 to the Boston area, and then to Bureau County, Illinois, in 1848.

As a teenager and young adult, Driscoll studied music and sang in her church choir. While singing there, she met a choir member, her future husband, Jim Jordan. She married him on August 31, 1918. The couple had a son and a daughter.

Both had meager incomes, so Marian taught piano and Jim had to work as a mailman. Jim also joined the army and was sent to France in 1918 during World War I, where he contracted influenza. After the war, Jim remained in Europe performing vaudeville acts to entertain wounded soldiers.

Jordan's first contact with radio came in 1924 after a bet Jim had made with his brother. The couple's performance was a success, so they began working at WIBO radio station in Chicago, where they earned $10 a week.

Jordan and Jim's second radio show debuted in 1927. The series was titled The Smith Family, and aired on Chicago's WENR. The show gave a major boost to the couple's career, remaining on the air until 1930.

In 1931, while in Chicago, the Jordans met cartoonist Don Quinn. The three created the radio sitcom Smackout, (also known as The Smack-outs). In the series, Jordan was a chatty greengrocer, and her husband was the manager of the grocery store.

The show, for which Quinn was also a writer, was the Jordans' first major hit, broadcast nationwide beginning in 1933. It was also one of the first productions of the sitcom genre.
The show ended in 1935 when it was acquired by Johnson Wax,​ and produced by S.C. Johnson & Son. Johnson reworked the show, which was renamed Fibber McGee and Molly.
On April 16, 1935, created by the Jordans and Quinn, Fibber McGee and Molly premiered on the NBC Blue Network affiliate in Chicago WMAQ (AM).11​12​ The series became a huge success, and marked the birth of the sitcom format. Jordan played Molly McGee, the patient and intelligent wife of Fibber McGee, a character played by her husband.

But in 1938 the show and Jordan underwent major changes. Marian suffered from a drinking problem, so she checked into a rehabilitation center in Chicago. Because of this, Molly was written out of the script, and the show was renamed Fibber McGee and Company. Most people who knew about Marian's problems didn't believe she could return, especially after the show moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in early 1939.

But Marian surprised everyone by returning to the show in March 1939, in better shape than ever, according to some people, and without touching alcohol again.

The show had high ratings from the third season in 1938 until the end of its run. It spawned a spin-off when, in 1941, the antagonistic Fibber McGee character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, played by Harold Peary, was given his own radio show, The Great Gildersleeve. The radio and television series Beulah was another spin-off of Fibber McGee, and premiered in 1945. Beulah was the McGee's maid on the series.

Jordan's health began to deteriorate in the 1950s, marking the beginning of the end for the show. The show officially ended in 1956, but Jordan and Jim continued to play their roles as Fibber and Molly McGee on the NBC radio show Monitor until October 2, 1959.
In the 1920s, Jordan had a radio show in Chicago called Luke and Mirandy. She played Mirandy, and Jim Jordan played Luke.

In addition, Jordan starred in six films based on the Fibber McGee series, in which she also played Molly.

Jordan married Jim Jordan on August 31, 1918, in Peoria, Illinois. They remained together for nearly 43 years, until his death on April 7, 1961. They had a daughter, Kathryn Therese Jordan (1920–2007) and a son, James Carroll "Jim" Jordan (1923–December 23, 1998). Jordan's first serious health problem occurred in 1938 while performing as Fibber McGee. In 1953, her health deteriorated progressively. She was suddenly affected by great fatigue. Although she was advised to rest, she decided to continue with her program, which was recorded at her home in Encino, California. The progress of her illness forced the daily show to end, although she continued the role on the Monitor until 1959.

By 1958 she was becoming increasingly ill, and was eventually diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Marian Jordan died in Encino on April 7, 1961. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1989, and Marian and Jim Jordan were also inducted that year. Jordan was also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street for her radio work.