On This Day, August 24: The Shadow and Bert Lahr (Kraft)
Also featured: Dead Ringers.
August 24 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 24 across American network, British BBC Radio 4, and syndication broadcasting history (1939–2001):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Kraft Music Hall: Bob Burns & Bert Lahr with Mischa Levitzki (Miracle Whip)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1939-08-24 10:00 PM EDST |
Kraft-Phenix Cheese Miracle Whip & Parkay |
Bob Burns (Guest Host), Bert Lahr, Mischa Levitzki | Carroll Carroll (Writer), John Scott Trotter, Ken Carpenter | ["Music", "Comedy", "Variety", "Vocal", "Classical"] |
Guest host Bob Burns breaks out his bazooka horn and trades comedic banter with Broadway legend Bert Lahr (The Wizard of Oz), while concert pianist Mischa Levitzki performs brilliant classical selections for Kraft Miracle Whip. |
| "Kraft Music Hall: Sonny Tufts & Bert Lahr with Igor Gorin (Kraft Cheese)" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-24 9:00 PM EWT |
Kraft Cheese Company Kraft Cheese & Miracle Whip |
Sonny Tufts (Guest Host), Bert Lahr, Igor Gorin | Cal Kuhl (Director), John Scott Trotter, Ken Carpenter | ["Music", "Comedy", "Variety", "Vocal", "Classical"] |
Hollywood actor Sonny Tufts fills in as summer guest host, sparring in hysterical comedic sketches with Bert Lahr while Russian-American operatic baritone Igor Gorin sings stirring classical ballads for Kraft. |
| "The Riddle of the Spanish Dagger (Starring Dan Sutter — Mystery House)" | Ziv Syndication 1947-08-24 (Feature #14) |
Regional Advertisers Bread & Dairy Sponsors |
Dan Sutter (Dan Drummond), Forrest Lewis | Dick Lewis (Writer), Bob Anderson (Announcer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Crime", "Thriller"] |
Publisher Dan Drummond and wife Bella investigate the murder of an eccentric antique dealer found pinned to his desk with an ornate 16th-century Toledo steel dagger inside a locked study. |
| "Dead Ringers (Series 3, Episode 4 — Jon Culshaw & Jan Ravens)" | BBC Radio 4 2001-08-24 6:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio 4 Comedy |
Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Mark Perry | Bill Dare (Producer), Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson | ["Satire", "Comedy", "Parody", "British", "Politics", "Sketch"] |
Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, and Phil Cornwell skewer British politics and pop culture, featuring dead-on impressions of Prime Minister Tony Blair, William Hague, Tom Baker's Doctor Who ordering takeaway curry, and Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. |
| "The Case of the Vanishing Baseball Player (Starring Bret Morrison — Blue Coal)" | Mutual (WOR) 1952-08-24 5:00 PM EDT |
Glen Alden Coal 'Blue Coal' Home Heating |
Bret Morrison (The Shadow), Gertrude Warner | Max Ehrlich (Writer), John Cole, Carl Caruso | ["Superhero", "Mystery", "Detective", "Supernatural", "Crime"] |
When a star major league home-run hitter mysteriously vanishes from the dugout tunnel right before the ninth inning of a championship game, Lamont Cranston clouds minds to shatter a high-stakes illegal gambling syndicate. |
| "The Kranesburg Matter (Part 1 — Starring Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar)" | CBS (WCBS) 1956-08-24 8:05 PM EDT |
Sustaining CBS Mystery Presentation |
Bob Bailey (Johnny Dollar), Forrest Lewis, Howard McNear | Jack Johnstone (Writer/Director), Roy Rowan | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Noir"] |
Freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is assigned to investigate an improbable $150,000 diamond jewelry heist in rural Pennsylvania, beginning his five-part pursuit of an elusive European smuggler. |