On This Day, August 22: Camel Caravan and Benny Goodman
Also featured: Stoopnagle and Budd, Squad Cars.
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 and South African broadcasting history (1934–1980):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Benny Goodman Remote from the Palomar Ballroom" | CBS (WABC / KNX) 1935-08-22 10:00 PM EDT |
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Camel Cigarettes & Prince Albert Tobacco |
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra (featuring Gene Krupa on drums, Bunny Berigan on trumpet, Jess Stacy on piano), Helen Ward (Vocalist) | William Esty Agency (Producers), Jack Johnstone (Announcer), Palomar Ballroom LA | ["Music", "Jazz", "Big Band"] |
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra perform their historic Palomar Ballroom engagement in Los Angeles, igniting the Swing Era with electrifying arrangements of 'King Porter Stomp', 'Down South Camp Meetin'', and 'Sometimes I'm Happy' featuring drummer Gene Krupa and trumpeter Bunny Berigan. |
| "Archie's Antique Golf Clubs" | KNX Los Angeles 1934-08-22 (Pacific Coast) |
Regional Sponsors Union Oil & Local Dairies |
Eddie Holden (Frank Watanabe), Reginald Sharland (Archie Higginbotham) | Eddie Holden & Reginald Sharland (Writers & Producers) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Dialect"] |
Well-meaning Japanese houseboy Frank Watanabe attempts to polish Archie's antique Scottish golf clubs with corrosive silver dip, creating comedic panic when Archie discovers his prized clubs warped on the morning of an important club championship match. |
| "Inventions for Useless Occasions" | CBS (WABC) 1934-08-22 9:30 PM EDT |
General Motors Pontiac Motor Division ("Silver Streak") |
F. Chase Taylor (Col. Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle), Budd Hulick (Budd), Victor Arden Orchestra | F. Chase Taylor (Writer), Al Scott (Sound Effects), Louis Dean (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Satire", "Variety"] |
Colonel Stoopnagle demonstrates his latest absurd inventions—including a glass flyswatter for seeing what you missed and a square bathtub to prevent ring-around-the-tub—while trading surreal non-sequiturs and comedic barbs with partner Budd Hulick. |
| "The R30,000-00 Question" | Springbok Radio (SABC) 1969-08-22 8:00 PM SAST |
Castrol South Africa Castrol GTX Motor Oil |
Colin Fisher (Narrator), Graham Armitage (Inspector van der Merwe), Douglas Bristow (Sgt. Pretorius), Hugh Rouse (Frank Henderson) | David Gooden (Writer & Director), SABC Johannesburg Studios | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Drama"] |
Flying Squad officers in Johannesburg investigate a ruthless telephone extortionist threatening to detonate a home-made explosive inside a crowded suburban supermarket unless 30,000 Rand is dropped in a designated trash receptacle at the railway station. |
| "Brake Fluid" | Springbok Radio (SABC) 1975-08-22 8:00 PM SAST |
Datsun-Nissan SA Firestone Tires |
Colin Fisher (Narrator), Graham Armitage (Detective Sergeant), Anthony Fridjhon (Constable Ross), Patrick Mynhardt (Hans Becker) | David Gooden (Writer & Director), SABC Studios | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Drama"] |
Police accident investigators discover drained hydraulic brake fluid and severed copper tubing on a sports car that plunged off the treacherous Chapman's Peak Drive, exposing a calculated murder plotted by the victim's heavily indebted business partner. |
| "The Phone Call" | Springbok Radio (SABC) 1980-08-22 8:00 PM SAST |
Mobil Oil Southern Africa Toyota South Africa |
Colin Fisher (Narrator), Dale Cutts (Inspector Nel), Nigel Vermaas (Sergeant Botha), Diane Appleby (Claire Vance) | David Gooden (Director), SABC Commercial Service | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Drama"] |
Flying Squad detectives trace a series of terrifying midnight telephone threats targeting a Durban hospital nurse, uncovering a revenge scheme orchestrated by a recently paroled burglar she testified against three years prior. |