On This Day, August 23: Fibber McGee and Molly and Twenty Questions
Also featured: Lyn Murray.
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 broadcasting history (1937–1954):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Twenty Questions: Guest Panelist Regina Resnik (Ronson Lighters)" | Mutual (WOR) 1947-08-23 8:00 PM EDT |
Ronson Art Metal Ronson Pocket & Table Lighters |
Bill Slater (Host), Fred Van Deventer, Florence Rinard, Regina Resnik | Van Deventer Family (Producers), Frank Waldecker | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Panel", "Comedy"] |
Metropolitan Opera soprano Regina Resnik joins regular panelists Fred Van Deventer, Florence Rinard, and Herb Polesie as they deduce mystery animal, vegetable, and mineral subjects within twenty yes-or-no questions for Ronson Lighters. |
| "Twenty Questions: Guest Eloise McElhone (Wildroot Cream-Oil)" | Mutual (WOR) 1952-08-23 8:00 PM EDT |
Wildroot Company Wildroot Cream-Oil Hair Tonic |
Bill Slater (Host), Fred Van Deventer, Eloise McElhone | Fred Van Deventer (Producer), Frank Waldecker | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Panel", "Comedy"] |
Radio and television personality Eloise McElhone joins the expert panel to unravel tricky clues about historical figures and everyday objects in fewer than twenty questions. |
| "Music by Lyn Murray and his Orchestra & Chorus (Squibb)" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-23 6:15 PM EWT |
E.R. Squibb & Sons Squibb Dental Cream & Vitamins |
Lyn Murray Orchestra & Chorus | Lyn Murray (Conductor), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer) | ["Music", "Easy Listening", "Choral", "Vocal", "Big Band"] |
Maestro Lyn Murray conducts his acclaimed orchestra and choral ensemble in melodic wartime arrangements of American popular standards, folk ballads, and patriotic melodies for Squibb. |
| "Final Hour: Emergency Landing at Idlewild (Starring Robert Sterling & Raymond Burr)" | ABC (WJZ) 1950-08-23 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Dramatic Presentation |
Robert Sterling (Bill Davis), Raymond Burr, Lurene Tuttle | George Bellak (Writer), William D. Hamilton, George Ansbro | ["Drama", "Aviation", "Suspense", "Docudrama", "Action"] |
Airport Director Bill Davis and his air traffic control tower crew coordinate an intense emergency night blind landing for a transatlantic airliner low on fuel with disabled landing gear over New York's Idlewild Airport. |
| "Super Hotel Service on Vacation (Johnson's Wax)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1937-08-23 9:00 PM EDST |
S.C. Johnson & Son Johnson's Wax & Glo-Coat |
Jim Jordan (Fibber), Marian Jordan (Molly), Bill Thompson | Don Quinn (Writer), Cecil Underwood, Harlow Wilcox | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Vaudeville"] |
While traveling on their summer vacation tour, Fibber McGee drives Molly to distraction by demanding excessive, ridiculous accommodations from the frantic staff of an upscale resort hotel. |
| "Subscribing to the Beekeeper's Guide (Prudential Insurance)" | NBC (WNBC) 1954-08-23 10:00 PM EDT |
Prudential Insurance Strength of Gibraltar |
Jim Jordan (Fibber), Marian Jordan (Molly), Arthur Q. Bryan | Phil Leslie (Writer), Max Hutto, Harlow Wilcox | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Small Town"] |
At 79 Wistful Vista, Fibber convinces himself that backyard beekeeping will yield a lucrative honey fortune after mistakenly subscribing to a five-year magazine contract for The Beekeeper's Guide. |