On This Day, August 24: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Night Beat
Also featured: Don Ameche.
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, classical Shakespearean drama, and newspaper noir radio history (1934–1952):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Twelfth Night (Starring Peggy Ashcroft & Alec Guinness — BBC)" | BBC Home 1950-08-24 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Classical Theater |
Peggy Ashcroft (Viola), Alec Guinness (Malvolio), Paul Scofield | Val Gielgud (Director), Antony Hopkins (Music) | ["Drama", "Classics", "Shakespeare", "Comedy", "British"] |
William Shakespeare's immortal romantic comedy of mistaken identity and unrequited love in Illyria, starring Dame Peggy Ashcroft as the shipwrecked Viola disguised as Cesario and Alec Guinness as the cross-gartered steward Malvolio. |
| "The Stowaway (Starring Don Ameche & June Meredith — Italian Balm)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1934-08-24 10:00 PM EDST |
Campana Corp. Campana Italian Balm |
Don Ameche, June Meredith, Charles P. Hughes | Anthony Wayne (Writer), Joe Ainley, Vincent Pelletier | ["Drama", "Romance", "Anthology", "Theater", "Americana"] |
"Welcome to the Little Theater off Times Square!" Hollywood screen star Don Ameche and June Meredith star in a breezy high-seas romantic adventure about a charming stowaway discovered aboard a luxury transatlantic ocean liner bound for Paris for Campana Italian Balm. |
| "One Night in Miami (Starring Barbara Luddy & Bob Bailey — Italian Balm)" | CBS (WCBS) 1952-08-24 8:00 PM EDT |
Campana Corp. Italian Balm & D.D.D. |
Barbara Luddy, Bob Bailey, Marvin Miller | Virginia M. Cooke (Writer), Joe Ainley, Vincent Pelletier | ["Drama", "Romance", "Anthology", "Theater", "Americana"] |
Barbara Luddy and Bob Bailey star in a sparkling tropical romance set against the glamorous beachfront nightclubs and moonlight palm cabanas of Biscayne Bay in Miami. |
| "The Practical Joke (Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone — Night Beat)" | NBC (WNBC) 1951-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Newspaper Noir Drama |
Frank Lovejoy (Randy Stone), Joan Banks, Herb Vigran | Russell Hughes (Writer), Warren Lewis, Donald Rickles | ["Drama", "Noir", "Journalism", "Hardboiled", "Crime"] |
"Copy boy! Randy Stone, Night Beat..." Chicago Star night-shift reporter Randy Stone investigates a cruel practical joke staged at a high-society fraternity reunion that spiraled into blackmail and a fatal midnight hit-and-run along Lake Shore Drive. |
| "Three American One-Acts: Adam and Eve on a Raft (Radio Guild Dramas)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1940-08-24 7:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Dramatic Workshop |
Karl Swenson, Florence Malone, Neil O'Malley | James Church (Director), Gene Hamilton (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Anthology", "Literature", "Americana", "Audio Drama"] |
An innovative NBC dramatic workshop triple feature presenting three evocative American one-act radio plays: diner counterculture in Adam and Eve on a Raft, human mortality in When Your Time Comes, and marital coldness in A Piece of Ice. |
| "The Nation's Top 15 Tunes: That's What You Think (Freddie Martin — Lucky Strike)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1935-08-24 8:00 PM EDST |
American Tobacco Co. Lucky Strike Cigarettes |
Freddie Martin Orchestra, Lennie Hayton, Buddy Clark | Lord & Thomas, Mark Warnow, Alois Havrilla | ["Music", "Countdown", "Big Band", "Pop", "Variety"] |
"America's taste in popular music!" Freddie Martin and Lennie Hayton lead their orchestras in countdown performances of the nation's top fifteen sheet-music and phonograph sellers, opening with 'That's What You Think' and 'Cheek to Cheek' for Lucky Strike. |