On This Day, August 23: Burns and Allen and The Blue Beetle
Also featured: Ripley's Believe It or Not.
August 23 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 23 across American network and syndication broadcasting history (1937–1951):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Gracie's Insulting Runaway Parrot (Grape-Nuts Flakes)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1937-08-23 8:00 PM EDST |
General Foods Corp. Grape-Nuts & Grape-Nuts Flakes |
George Burns, Gracie Allen, Tony Martin (Tenor), Henry King Orchestra | George & Willie Burns (Writers), Ken Niles (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Music", "Variety"] |
Gracie Allen drives George crazy when she adopts a runaway parrot that only recites insults about George's singing voice, while Tony Martin serenades listeners with romantic hit ballads backed by Henry King's Orchestra. |
| "The War Plant Payroll Robbery (Lava Soap)" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-23 8:30 PM EWT |
Procter & Gamble Lava Heavy Duty Soap |
Martin Blaine (Agent Sheppard), Craig McDonnell, Ralph Bell | Frederick L. Collins (Author), Max Marcin (Director) | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "True Crime"] |
Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents trace marked bank notes to capture an armed gang of war plant payroll robbers hiding out in an abandoned mountain quarry cabin. |
| "The Underworld Tip-Off Man (Lava Soap & Wildroot Cream-Oil)" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-08-23 8:30 PM EDT |
Lava Soap & Wildroot Lava Soap & Wildroot Cream-Oil |
Martin Blaine (Agent Sheppard), Walter Kinsella, Mandel Kramer | Jacques Finke (Writer), Len Sterling (Announcer) | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "True Crime"] |
FBI agents investigate a string of precision jewelry warehouse heists, discovering that a trusted insurance claims adjuster is secretly the underworld 'tip-off man' providing safe combinations to safe-cracking crews. |
| "The Dancing Ghost of Rocking Hill (Part 2) — Starring Frank Lovejoy" | Frank Ferrin Syndication 1940-08-23 (Transcribed) |
Local Commercials Co-op Advertisers |
Frank Lovejoy (The Blue Beetle), Joan Alexander, Humphrey Davis | Charles Nicholas (Creator), Frank Ferrin (Producer) | ["Superhero", "Action", "Adventure", "Mystery"] |
In Part 2 of The Dancing Ghost of Rocking Hill, rookie patrolman Dan Garret downs mysterious Vitamin 2X to transform into the hooded crimefighter The Blue Beetle, investigating eerie glowing apparitions on Rocking Hill to uncover an extortion gang's counterfeiting laboratory. |
| "The Si-Fan Captives in the Thames Dungeon (Episode 63)" | Radio Attractions 1939-08-23 (Transcribed Ep 63) |
Local Commercials Syndicated Advertisers |
Hanley Stafford (Dr. Fu Manchu), Gale Gordon, Paula Winslowe | Sax Rohmer (Author), Frank Bingman (Announcer) | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Thriller", "Pulp"] |
In Episode 63 of The Shadow of Fu Manchu, Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Denis Nayland Smith and inspector Grebble are captured by the Si-Fan secret society in an underground Thames dungeon, facing Fu Manchu's deadly venomous spiders while struggling to free themselves from iron shackles. |
| "Believe It or Not with Robert L. Ripley (Toni Home Wave)" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-23 10:00 PM EWT |
Toni Home Permanent Toni Home Wave Kit |
Robert L. Ripley (Host), Linda Keene, Ray Bloch and his Orchestra | Charles Powers (Director), Frank Gallop (Announcer) | ["Variety", "Music", "Docudrama", "Oddities"] |
Renowned globetrotter Robert L. Ripley presents incredible Believe It or Not dramatic accounts of human survival and bizarre historical coincidences, interspersed with smooth vocal performances from Linda Keene and orchestra numbers from Ray Bloch. |