Radio Prior to its television run, the show had an initial run on radio from July 4, 1948 until September 24, 1949 on the
Mutual radio network. It also had a second run on radio from October 1, 1952 until May 6, 1953 on ABC radio. Both the radio and the television versions of the show were hosted by
Jack Barry, and consisted of viewers at home writing questions for the octogenarian panel to answer. There were usually four panelists; the two permanent spots on the panel were given to
Broadway actress
Georgiana Carhart, and Fred Stein, cousin of writer and poet
Gertrude Stein.
Television The television version premiered several months after the radio show ended its initial run in 1949. It first aired on
NBC on January 13, 1950, running until August 1950. It then aired on
ABC from October 1950 to March 1952, then on
DuMont from March 21, 1952, to July 24, 1955, and finally back on ABC from August 1955 to February 25, 1956. At the beginning of its Fall 1955 run on ABC,
Life Begins at Eighty was aired opposite two
anthology series,
Appointment with Adventure on
CBS and
The Loretta Young Show on
NBC.
Life Begins at Eighty was a spin-off of the popular panel discussion series
Juvenile Jury, in which young children answered questions from the viewers at home. The series was parodied in a
Sesame Street game show sketch starring
Guy Smiley titled,
Happiness Begins at 40. ==Episode status==