On This Day, August 25: Lum and Abner (4 Broadcasts) and Frank Morgan
Also featured: Sons of the Pioneers.
August 25 Exhaustive Update
This landmark 100th 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 25 across American network, four classic Arkansas rural comedy chronicles with Lum and Abner (Alka-Seltzer & Frigidaire), Frank Morgan's hilarious academic absent-mindedness on The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy, and western vocal royalty Bob Nolan & The Sons of the Pioneers (1941–1948):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Missing Chemistry Grant Check (Frank Morgan — Raleigh Cigarettes)" | NBC (WEAF) 1946-08-25 8:00 PM EDT |
Brown & Williamson Raleigh 903 Cigarettes |
Frank Morgan (Dr. Tweedy), Gale Gordon | Robert Riley Crutcher, Helen Mack, Bud Heeston | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Academic", "College", "Domestic"] |
"The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy, starring that lovable master of confusion, Frank Morgan, brought to you by Raleigh 903 Cigarettes!" Absent-minded college dean Dr. Tweedy creates uproar across Potts College when he misplaces a $50,000 chemistry laboratory endowment check inside a borrowed library textbook for Raleigh Cigarettes. |
| "Operating the Pine Ridge Bank (Part 1 — Chester Lauck & Norris Goff)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1941-08-25 8:15 PM EDST |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer & One-A-Day |
Chester Lauck (Lum), Norris Goff (Abner) | Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Lou Crosby | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Rural", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"Listen to Lum and Abner, brought to you by Alka-Seltzer!" In the sleepy Arkansas hamlet of Pine Ridge, Lum and Abner take over management of the local bank at the Jot 'Em Down Store, immediately encountering accounting confusion when Squire Skimp attempts to deposit questionable promissory notes. |
| "Operating the Pine Ridge Bank (West Coast Repeat — Lum & Abner)" | NBC Blue (KGO) 1941-08-25 8:15 PM PST |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer & One-A-Day |
Chester Lauck (Lum), Norris Goff (Abner) | Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Lou Crosby | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Rural", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"Alka-Seltzer presents Lum and Abner!" In this live Pacific network repeat performance, Lum and Abner attempt to install a foolproof security vault at the Pine Ridge Bank, only for Abner to lock Grandpap inside the store safe during lunch hour. |
| "Cedric Thinks He Has the Measles (Lum & Abner — Alka-Seltzer)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1943-08-25 8:15 PM EWT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer & One-A-Day |
Chester Lauck (Cedric), Norris Goff (Abner) | Larry Berns (Dir.), Lou Crosby | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Rural", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"Lum and Abner, brought to you by Alka-Seltzer!" Clueless Jot 'Em Down Store clerk Cedric Weehunt breaks out in red spots and convinces himself he has contracted the measles, causing Lum and Abner to impose a panic-stricken quarantine on the entire store for Alka-Seltzer. |
| "The Luxurious Pine Ridge Poorhouse (Lum & Abner — Frigidaire)" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-25 10:00 PM EDT |
General Motors Frigidaire Refrigerators |
Chester Lauck (Lum), Norris Goff (Abner) | William Burch (Dir.), Wendell Niles | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Rural", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"Frigidaire presents Lum and Abner!" Lum and Abner propose an extravagant civic project to construct a luxury hotel-style poorhouse in Pine Ridge with swimming pools and valets, driving town treasurer Ben Withers to distraction for Frigidaire. |
| "Song of the Bandit (Bob Nolan & Sons of the Pioneers — Lucky U Ranch)" | Teleways Synd. 1948-08-25 (KNX Hollywood) |
Sustaining Western Music |
Bob Nolan, Lloyd Perryman, Hugh Farr | Teleways Radio, Ken Carson | ["Western", "Music", "Country", "Vocal", "Harmony"] |
"From the Lucky U Ranch in Hollywood, here are the Sons of the Pioneers!" Western vocal giants Bob Nolan and The Sons of the Pioneers perform breathtaking four-part cowboy harmonies and fiery twin-fiddle breakdowns including 'Song of the Bandit', 'Chant of the Wanderer', and 'Blue Prairie'. |