On This Day, August 22: The Fat Man and Bob Hope
Also featured: Count Basie Jubilee.
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, Australian, and military broadcasting history (1937–1951):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the Phony Medium" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-22 8:00 PM EDT |
Norwich Pharmacal Co. Pepto-Bismol & Unguentine |
J. Scott Smart (Brad Runyon), Ed Begley (Lt. O'Hara), Robert Sloane | Dashiell Hammett (Creator), Lawrence Klee (Writer), Charles Powers (Director) | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
Brad Runyon steps onto the weighing scale before investigating a fraudulent spiritualist medium who bilked a grieving wealthy client out of tens of thousands of dollars, cornering the psychic blackmailer when the medium's assistant turns up murdered behind the parlor curtains. |
| "The Case of the Golden Idol (Sydney Harbor Homicide)" | Grace Gibson Syndication 1951-08-22 (2UE Sydney) |
Regional Advertisers Australian Syndication |
Max Osbiston (Brad Runyon), Peter Bathurst (Faraday), Lyndall Barbour | Dashiell Hammett (Creator), Grace Gibson (Director), John Appleton (Sound) | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
In Sydney, 240-pound private investigator Brad Runyon probes the dockside murder of a marine salvage captain, uncovering an international jewel smuggling ring that smuggled antique golden idols from Southeast Asia inside hollowed ship timber. |
| "Peaches and Cream Melodrama with Shep Fields' Orchestra (Woodbury's Soap)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1937-08-22 9:00 PM EDT |
Andrew Jergens Co. Woodbury's Facial Soap ("Skin you love to touch") |
Bob Hope (MC), Shep Fields Orchestra, Frank Parker (Tenor), Honeychile Wilder | Bob Hope (Writer), Monte Brice (Director), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Variety", "Music"] |
Master of Ceremonies Bob Hope delivers rapid-fire one-liners and parodies Broadway opening nights with a spoof melodrama titled 'Peaches and Cream', backed by Shep Fields' bubbling Rippling Rhythm clarinet and tenor Frank Parker for Woodbury's Soap. |
| "The Absolute Zero (The Cold Storage Laboratory Murder)" | Mutual (WOR) 1943-08-22 10:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Mutual Mystery Series |
Ronald Dawson (Dr. John Bent), James Monks, Santos Ortega | Walter Lurie (Director), Jack Amerine (Sound Effects), Frank Waldecker (Announcer) | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Drama"] |
Criminologist Dr. John Bent investigates an impossible locked-room murder inside a temperature-controlled laboratory cold-storage vault where a brilliant refrigeration engineer was found frozen to absolute zero despite the heating thermostat being turned to high. |
| "AFRS Jubilee #272: Count Basie Orchestra with Jack Paar & Margaret Whiting" | AFRS Transcription 1947-08-22 (NBC Hollywood) |
Non-commercial Armed Forces Radio Service |
Ernie Whitman (MC), Jack Paar, Margaret Whiting, Count Basie Orchestra | AFRS Los Angeles, Bud Pollard (Director) | ["Music", "Jazz", "Variety", "Military"] |
Master of Ceremonies Ernie 'Bubbles' Whitman welcomes guest comedian Jack Paar and vocalist Margaret Whiting to AFRS Jubilee, featuring Count Basie and his Orchestra tearing through swinging jazz classics for Allied servicemen worldwide. |
| "Henry and Homer Start Their Cross-Country Road Trip" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1940-08-22 8:30 PM EDST |
General Foods Corp. Jell-O Gelatin & Puddings |
Ezra Stone (Henry Aldrich), Jackie Kelk (Homer Brown), House Jameson, Katharine Raht | Clifford Goldsmith (Creator), Bob Welch (Director), Harry von Zell (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Teens"] |
Henry Aldrich and best pal Homer Brown attempt to embark on an ambitious cross-country summer road trip in a rebuilt second-hand jalopy, causing utter pandemonium across Centerville when their exhaust backfires through Mr. Aldrich's flowerbeds. |