On This Day, August 22: Burns and Allen and Boris Karloff's Creeps by Night
Also featured: FBI in Peace and War.
August 22 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for 6 historical broadcasts transmitting on August 22 across American network broadcasting history (1943–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Eddie Fisher Sings 'It's Crazy, But I'm in Love'" | NBC (WNBC) 1956-08-22 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining RCA Victor Promotion |
Eddie Fisher (Guest Vocal Sensation), NBC Staff Orchestra | NBC Music Production, Radio City New York | ["Music", "Variety", "Talk"] |
Pop sensation Eddie Fisher headlines this mid-century musical broadcast, performing his hit single 'It's Crazy, But I'm in Love' alongside lush romantic standards with the NBC Staff Orchestra while trading lighthearted banter with the master of ceremonies. |
| "Dick Haymes & Georgia Gibbs with Guest Nadine Conner" | Blue / ABC (WJZ) 1943-08-22 6:05 PM EWT |
Bourjois, Inc. Evening in Paris Perfume & Cosmetics |
Dick Haymes (Baritone Host), Georgia Gibbs (Vocalist), Nadine Conner (Guest Soprano), Ray Bloch Orchestra | Frank Fox (Writer), Foote Cone & Belding (Agency), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer) | ["Music", "Romance", "Variety"] |
Dick Haymes and Georgia Gibbs serenade listeners with romantic ballads for Bourjois Perfumes, welcoming guest Metropolitan Opera soprano Nadine Conner to perform Victor Herbert duets and Broadway showtunes backed by Ray Bloch's Orchestra. |
| "Gracie's Summer Victory Garden Zucchini" | CBS (KNX) 1944-08-22 9:00 PM EWT |
Lever Brothers Swan Floating Soap ("Pure & White") |
George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin (Announcer), Mel Blanc (Happy Postman) | Paul Henning, Keith Fowler, Harmon Alexander (Writers), Felix Mills (Music) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Variety"] |
Gracie Allen attempts to cultivate an oversized zucchini for the Beverly Hills Wartime Victory Garden Fair, convincing George that watering the plants with carbonated soda will make the vegetables grow pre-pickled. |
| "The Night Riders (Hijacking Syndicate)" | CBS (WABC) 1946-08-22 8:30 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Lava Soap ("Gets extra dirty hands clean") |
Martin Blaine (Agent Jim Taylor), Donald Gallagher (SAC), Ralph Bell (Frankie Varga), Jackson Beck (Narrator) | Max Marcin (Director), Ray Erlenborn (Sound Effects), Warren Sweeney (Announcer) | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Drama"] |
Returning for a new broadcast season, FBI special agents track an organized gang of armed hijackers targeting interstate liquor transports across state lines, planting an undercover operative inside a roadside truck stop to identify the syndicate's spotter. |
| "The Bogus Government Pension Drafts" | CBS (WABC) 1947-08-22 9:30 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Lava Soap |
Martin Blaine (Agent Taylor), Mandel Kramer, Walter Kinsella (Eddie Moran) | Max Marcin (Director), Ray Erlenborn (Sound Effects), Warren Sweeney (Announcer) | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Drama"] |
Federal agents investigate a ring of ex-convicts stealing blank government treasury checks from veterans' administration mailbags in Philadelphia, using high-speed chemical engraving presses to cash thousands of dollars in fraudulent pension drafts. |
| "The Spectral Avenger (Hosted by Boris Karloff)" | Blue / ABC (WJZ) 1944-08-22 10:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Blue Network Mystery Drama |
Boris Karloff (Host / 'Dr. X'), Everett Sloane (Dr. Julian Reed), Agnes Moorehead (Margaret Reed) | Robert Newman (Writer), Anton M. Leader (Director), Ken Roberts (Announcer) | ["Horror", "Mystery", "Supernatural"] |
Boris Karloff introduces the chilling tale of an arrogant medical researcher who poisons his wealthy mentor to claim credit for a breakthrough neurological serum, only to be tormented by phantom heartbeats and icy apparitions manifesting in his laboratory after midnight. |