On This Day, August 25: Mickey Spillane (Mike Hammer) and Kirsten Flagstad
Also featured: Private Hargrove.
August 25 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 25 across American network, hardboiled Mickey Spillane noir, Wagnerian opera variety, wartime basic training comedies, comic adventure serials, and OPA homefront rationing directives (1938–1953):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Musical Satire & Bach in Swing (Alec Templeton & Ray Noble — Chase & Sanborn)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1946-08-25 8:00 PM EDT |
Standard Brands Inc. Chase & Sanborn Coffee |
Alec Templeton, Ray Noble Orchestra, Anita Gordon | J. Walter Thompson, Earl Ebi, Ken Carpenter | ["Music", "Comedy", "Classical", "Jazz", "Variety"] |
Blind piano virtuoso and musical satirist Alec Templeton improvises hilarious classical parodies of popular jazz standards and performs Bach in swing tempo alongside Ray Noble's Orchestra for Chase & Sanborn Coffee. |
| "OPA Homefront Rationing & Price Ceiling Directives (Ben Grauer — OPA)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1942-08-25 4:30 PM EWT |
U.S. Government Office of Price Admin. |
OPA Field Reps, Neighborhood Wardens | OPA Information Division, Ben Grauer | ["Public Affairs", "Educational", "World War II", "Homefront", "Documentary"] |
The U.S. Office of Price Administration broadcasts crucial homefront wartime announcements instructing American homemakers on community price ceiling enforcement, sugar and gasoline rationing coupon rules, and combating black-market hoarding. |
| "The Corpse with the Velvet Shoes (Larry Haines as Mike Hammer — Mutual)" | Mutual (WOR) 1953-08-25 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Hardboiled Detective |
Larry Haines (Mike Hammer), Jan Miner (Velda) | Mickey Spillane, Bill Sloane, Ted Mallie | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
"My name is Mike Hammer..." Hardboiled private eye Mike Hammer and secretary Velda investigate the midnight shooting of a Broadway chorus girl, plunging into Manhattan's brutal underworld loan-shark racket to avenge a murdered friend. |
| "The Dragon Lady's Yangtze Ambush (Bob Griffin as Terry Lee — Quaker Oats)" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-25 5:00 PM EDT |
Quaker Oats Co. Puffed Wheat & Rice |
Bob Griffin (Terry), Jackie Kelk, Agnes Moorehead | Milton Caniff, Wylie Adams, Douglas Browning | ["Adventure", "Action", "Juvenile", "Comics", "Aviation"] |
"Terry and the Pirates!" Young adventurer Terry Lee and pilot Hotshot Charlie fly their cargo plane into the fog-shrouded gorges of the Yangtze River, falling into a perilous jungle trap orchestrated by the enigmatic Dragon Lady for Quaker Puffed Wheat. |
| "See Here, Private Hargrove (Starring Robert Walker & Keenan Wynn — MGM)" | MGM Synd. 1950-08-25 (WMGM NY) |
Sustaining MGM Motion Picture |
Robert Walker (Hargrove), Keenan Wynn, Donna Reed | Marion Hargrove, Marx Loeb, Howard Dietz | ["Comedy", "Military", "Americana", "Hollywood", "Anthology"] |
Robert Walker and Keenan Wynn star in the delightful MGM military comedy See Here, Private Hargrove, recounting the hilarious basic training misadventures, kitchen police duties, and sergeant clashes of a clumsy newspaper reporter drafted into the U.S. Army. |
| "Guest Host Bob Burns & Wagnerian Soprano Kirsten Flagstad (Kraft Music Hall)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1938-08-25 10:00 PM EDST |
Kraft-Phenix Miracle Whip Dressing |
Bob Burns (Host), Kirsten Flagstad, Preston Foster | J. Walter Thompson, Cal Kuhl, Ken Carpenter | ["Music", "Variety", "Classical", "Comedy", "Vocal"] |
"From Hollywood, the Kraft Music Hall!" Arkansas humorist Bob Burns guest-hosts for Bing Crosby, welcoming supreme Wagnerian soprano Kirsten Flagstad to sing Grieg lieder, trading witty country bazooka barbs with screen star Preston Foster for Kraft Miracle Whip. |