On This Day, August 22: Mr. District Attorney and Skippy Theatre
Also featured: Gabriel Heatter, Spotlight Bands.
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 and syndicated broadcasting history (1943–1951):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the Old-Fashioned Murder" | NBC (WEAF) 1945-08-22 9:30 PM EWT |
Bristol-Myers Company Vitalis Hair Tonic & Sal Hepatica |
Jay Jostyn (D.A. Paul Garrett), Vicki Vola (Miss Miller), Len Doyle (Harrington), Paul Stewart (Carl Thorne) | Jerry Devine (Writer), Edward A. Byron (Director), Jerry O'Brien (Sound Effects), Fred Cole (Announcer) | ["Crime", "Detective", "Drama"] |
District Attorney Paul Garrett investigates the poisoning of a wealthy antique dealer whose family members were methodically murdered using 19th-century Victorian poisons, tracing the lethal concoction to an apothecary ledger kept by the victim's nephew. |
| "The Case of Change for a Hundred" | NBC (WNBC) 1951-08-22 9:30 PM EDT |
Bristol-Myers Company Vitalis & Bufferin ("Twice as fast as aspirin") |
Jay Jostyn (Paul Garrett), Vicki Vola (Miss Miller), Len Doyle (Harrington), Ralph Bell (Marty Finch) | Jerry Devine (Writer), Edward A. Byron (Director), Fred Cole (Announcer) | ["Crime", "Detective", "Drama"] |
Paul Garrett and investigator Harrington coordinate with U.S. Secret Service agents to smash a high-stakes counterfeiting operation passing bogus hundred-dollar bills across downtown department stores and racetrack betting windows. |
| "John Mecklin and the Sicilian Invasion" | United Press 1943-08-22 (Syndicated Disc No. 49) |
Non-commercial UP Wartime Morale Presentation |
United Press Radio Staff, Professional Radio Cast dramatizing John Mecklin | UP Radio News Division (Producers), Hugh James (Announcer) | ["Documentary", "Historical", "War"] |
United Press war correspondent John Mecklin lands with Allied amphibious forces on the beaches of Gela during Operation Husky, braving enemy Stuka dive-bombing and artillery fire to file frontline eyewitness reports on the capture of Palermo. |
| "The Song in the Dark (Starring Nina Foch)" | KNX / MacGregor 1947-08-22 (Hollywood Transcription) |
Rosefield Packing Co. Skippy Peanut Butter |
Nina Foch (Martha Campbell), Gerald Mohr (David Reynolds), Les Mitchel (Host) | Les Mitchel (Producer & Director), Mahlon Merrick (Music), Ken Peters (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Romance", "Mystery"] |
A blind concert pianist believes she is being stalked by an obsessive composer who whistles a distinctive melody outside her apartment window, enlisting an empathetic doctor to determine whether the stalker is real or a product of trauma. |
| "We're Halfway Across France: Liberation of Paris Approaches" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-22 9:00 PM EWT |
R.B. Semler, Inc. Kreml Hair Tonic & Kreml Shampoo |
Gabriel Heatter (News Analyst / Commentator) | Mutual News Division, Frank Waldecker (Announcer) | ["News", "Talk", "Historical"] |
Gabriel Heatter delivers his famous opening phrase 'There is good news tonight!', passionately analyzing General Patton's Third Army sweeping across the Seine River and French Resistance fighters rising up to liberate Paris from Nazi occupation. |
| "Jan Garber Remote from Dale Mabry Field, Florida" | Blue / ABC 1944-08-22 9:30 PM EWT |
The Coca-Cola Company "Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands" |
Jan Garber and his Orchestra (featuring vocalists Bob Davis and Liz Tilton) | The Coca-Cola Company (Production), Gil Martyn (Announcer), Dale Mabry Field FL | ["Music", "Big Band", "Swing"] |
Jan Garber and his Orchestra perform live before thousands of Army Air Force servicemen at Dale Mabry Field in Florida, delivering spirited swing numbers including 'My Heart Tells Me', 'Besame Mucho', and 'Jersey Bounce'. |