On This Day, August 23: Dick Powell (Richard Diamond) and Eyes Aloft
Also featured: Serenade in Blue.
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, military, and syndicated broadcasting history (1943–1953):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Ralph Evans Insurance Fraud Case (Starring Dick Powell — Rexall)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-23 10:30 PM EDT |
Rexall Drug Co. Rexall 1-Cent Sale & Plenamins |
Dick Powell (Richard Diamond), Virginia Gregg, Ed Begley | Blake Edwards (Writer/Creator), Jaime del Valle | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
Singing private eye Richard Diamond is hired by an anxious insurance company when a wealthy client dies under suspicious circumstances shortly after purchasing an enormous life insurance policy, leading Diamond into an elaborate blackmail and murder conspiracy. |
| "The Evans Farmer Case (Starring Dick Powell — Rexall)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-23 10:30 PM EDT |
Rexall Drug Co. Rexall Drug Products |
Dick Powell (Richard Diamond), Virginia Gregg, Ed Begley | Blake Edwards (Writer), Jaime del Valle | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
Private detective Richard Diamond investigates a fraudulent farm insurance claim involving a faked tractor fatality, cracking wise with Lieutenant Levinson while uncovering a rural homicide ring. |
| "The Hollywood Story (AFRTS #153 — Starring Dick Powell)" | AFRTS / CBS 1953-08-23 7:00 PM EDT |
Non-commercial Armed Forces Radio Service |
Dick Powell (Richard Diamond), Virginia Gregg, Arthur Q. Bryan | Blake Edwards (Writer), Bob Lemond (Announcer) | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
Richard Diamond navigates the glamour and underworld vice of Hollywood after a terrified starlet begs for protection from an obsessive stalker, only for Diamond to find his client poisoned inside her dressing room. |
| "The Hollywood Story: The Murder of a Movie Starlet (Starring Dick Powell)" | CBS (WCBS) 1953-08-23 7:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining CBS Mystery Presentation |
Dick Powell (Richard Diamond), Virginia Gregg, Arthur Q. Bryan | Blake Edwards (Writer), Jaime del Valle | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
Private investigator Richard Diamond takes a case in the movie industry to shield a rising film actress from an extortionist, dodging hired thugs on studio soundstages before serenading Helen at the piano. |
| "Eyes Aloft: Vigil on the Pacific Coast (USAAF Fourth Fighter Command)" | NBC Pacific (KFI) 1943-08-23 6:00 PM PWT |
U.S. Army Air Forces Aircraft Warning Service |
Lurene Tuttle, Elliott Lewis, Frank Graham | Robert Tallman (Writer), True Boardman, Ken Niles | ["Docudrama", "War", "Historical", "Military", "Aviation"] |
Dramatizing real-life wartime vigilance along the Pacific Coast, civilian spotters at a remote observation post in the Sierra Nevada mountains coordinate with the U.S. Army Fourth Fighter Command to track and intercept an unidentified distress flight. |
| "Serenade in Blue #342: The United States Air Force Band & Singing Sergeants" | Syndication 1953-08-23 (Transcribed) |
U.S. Air Force Air Force Recruiting |
USAF Band & Singing Sergeants, Maj. George S. Howard | USAF Directorate of PR, M/Sgt Arthur Sparkman | ["Music", "Military", "Big Band", "Vocal", "Variety"] |
Major George S. Howard conducts The United States Air Force Band and The Singing Sergeants in a patriotic musical showcase for Air Force recruiting, performing 'I'm Gonna Love That Guy' and 'The U.S. Air Force Song'. |