On This Day, August 24: Jean Shepherd and Count of Monte Cristo
Also featured: Graham McNamee.
August 24 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial multi-part narrative arcs, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 24 across American network, late-night raconteur monologues, Alexandre Dumas swashbucklers, golden age radio history documentaries, and Town Hall civic debates (1935–1965):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Post-War Inflation & Consumer Price Controls (George V. Denny Jr. — ABC)" | ABC (WJZ) 1948-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Public Affairs Debate |
George V. Denny Jr., Leon Henderson, Henry Hazlitt | The Town Hall Inc. New York, Gene Hamilton | ["Public Affairs", "Debate", "Historical", "Economics", "Politics"] |
Moderator George V. Denny Jr. presides over a contentious live Town Hall debate on rising post-war inflation, consumer price surges, and federal wage controls between former New Deal economist Leon Henderson and conservative economic columnist Henry Hazlitt. |
| "The American Educational Crisis & Civic Literacy (Live at Chautauqua — ABC)" | ABC (WABC) 1954-08-24 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Public Affairs Debate |
George V. Denny Jr., Dr. Houston Peterson, Dr. S. Barr | The Town Hall Inc. New York, Gene Hamilton | ["Public Affairs", "Debate", "Educational", "Society", "Politics"] |
Broadcast live from the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater, moderator George V. Denny Jr. leads an intellectual discussion on the state of American liberal arts education, academic freedom, and Cold War civic literacy. |
| "The Yukon Gold Cache Conspiracy (Episode 6 — Col. Ian Strange — RCMP)" | Syndicated 1935-08-24 (Transcribed) |
Sustaining Mounties Adventure Serial |
Col. Ian Strange (Inspector Blair), Eric Snowden | Col. Ian Strange (Ex-RCMP Inspector / Writer) | ["Adventure", "Western", "Action", "Mounties", "Crime"] |
In Episode 6 of Blair of the Mounties, Inspector Blair of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police treks deep into the snowbound Yukon territory on dogsled to intercept a gang of ruthless claim jumpers attempting to dynamite a miner's secret gold cache. |
| "The Midsummer Hammond Organ Odyssey (Jean Shepherd — WOR New York)" | WOR New York 1965-08-24 11:15 PM EDT |
Sustaining Overnight Monologue |
Jean Shepherd (Solo Raconteur / Host) | WOR Manhattan Broadcast Team | ["Comedy", "Talk", "Storytelling", "Memoir", "Americana"] |
Broadcasting live into the humid New York midnight, Jean Shepherd spins an uproarious, nostalgic monologue about growing up in Hammond, Indiana, county fair bumper car rivalries, and the psychological perils of riding the late-night subway. |
| "Radio Backstage: Rochester & Schlepperman (Graham McNamee — NBC Blue)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1941-08-24 4:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Radio History Feature |
Graham McNamee, Eddie Anderson (Rochester), Sam Hearn | NBC Public Relations, Howard Teichmann | ["Comedy", "Talk", "Behind the Scenes", "Interview", "Documentary"] |
Pioneer radio broadcaster Graham McNamee takes listeners behind the studio glass to reveal the real lives, vocal techniques, and comedic origins of radio icons Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson and Sam 'Schlepperman' Hearn. |
| "The Retribution of Gérard de Villefort (Carleton Young as Monte Cristo — Mutual)" | Mutual (KHJ) 1948-08-24 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Swashbuckler Drama |
Carleton Young (Monte Cristo), Parley Baer, Virginia Gregg | Alexandre Dumas, Jaime del Valle, Tony La Frano | ["Adventure", "Drama", "Swashbuckler", "Classic", "Historical"] |
"In the dark dungeons of the Château d'If, Edmond Dantès waited fourteen agonizing years..." Edmond Dantès, the enigmatic Count of Monte Cristo (Carleton Young), executes a brilliant retaliatory trap against the corrupt Parisian prosecutor Gérard de Villefort to avenge his wrongful imprisonment. |