On This Day, August 25: Mr. and Mrs. North (Halo) and Paris Liberation (Notre Dame)
Also featured: Himan Brown's Theater Five.
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, Greenwich Village comedy-mysteries starring Joseph Curtin & Alice Frost for Halo Shampoo, NBC on-the-scene broadcasts of the ringing bells of Notre-Dame during the Liberation of Paris, Himan Brown's psychological drama revival on Theater Five, Walt Whitman centennial biographical dramas, legal courtroom procedurals, and independent early Hollywood gospel airchecks (1937–1964):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Walt Whitman: The Story of a Poet (John Ehle — NAEB)" | NAEB (UNC) 1955-08-25 (WUNC Chapel Hill) |
Sustaining Ford Foundation Fund |
John Clayton (Walt Whitman), UNC Players | John Ehle (Writer), Wilton Mason | ["Drama", "Historical", "Biographical", "Educational", "Literature"] |
"The American Adventure, a study of man in the New World..." Celebrating the centennial of Leaves of Grass, this biographical drama follows visionary poet Walt Whitman as he wanders Civil War hospital wards and champions American democratic idealism. |
| "Dream of Death (Starring Larry Haines — Himan Brown's Theater Five)" | ABC (WABC) 1964-08-25 5:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Drama Revival |
Fred Foy (Host), Larry Haines, Bryna Raeburn | Himan Brown (Creator/Dir.), Jack Johnstone | ["Drama", "Suspense", "Psychological", "Horror", "Mystery"] |
"Theater Five... five minutes, five days a week, a whole new dimension in dramatic sound!" A man is terrified by a recurring prophetic nightmare in which he predicts his own fatal automobile collision on a foggy mountain highway, only to find himself driving down that very road. |
| "The State vs. Arthur Gault (Nat Polen as ADA Blaine — CBS)" | CBS (WCBS) 1957-08-25 5:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Real-Life Legal Drama |
Nat Polen (ADA Blaine), Joan Lazer | Eleanore Beeson, David Lesan, Warren Sweeney | ["Detective", "Courtroom", "Legal", "Procedural", "Crime"] |
"Indictment! The drama of the prosecutor's office, where the state builds its case against crime." Assistant District Attorney Edward Blaine presents grand jury evidence against a corrupt city building contractor whose fraudulent materials caused a tenement roof collapse. |
| "Live from KMTR Hollywood: Rev. Bob Shuler (Part 1 — Mission Village)" | KMTR Hollywood 1937-08-25 8:00 PM PST |
Sustaining Evangelical Broadcast |
Rev. Bob Shuler, Trinity Methodist Choir | KMTR Hollywood Studios | ["Religious", "Talk", "Gospel", "Historical", "Early Radio"] |
An authentic historical air-check of Los Angeles independent station KMTR, capturing fiery Southern California evangelist Reverend 'Fighting Bob' Shuler and the Trinity Choir broadcasting live hymns, revival sermons, and civic commentaries. |
| "The Bells of Notre Dame Ring Freedom (NBC News — Paris Liberation 1944)" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-25 6:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining NBC News Retrospective |
Don Goddard (Anchor), NBC Paris Staff | NBC News & Special Events Division | ["Historical", "News", "World War II", "Live", "Documentary"] |
"American History Through the Eyes of Radio!" NBC war correspondents broadcast the joyous, deafening ringing of the ancient bells of Notre-Dame Cathedral across Paris on Liberation Day, celebrating the collapse of German military occupation. |
| "The Missing Diamond Sparkler (Joseph Curtin & Alice Frost — Halo Shampoo)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1943-08-25 8:00 PM EWT |
Colgate-Palmolive Halo Shampoo & Colgate |
Joseph Curtin (Jerry), Alice Frost (Pamela) | Richard Lockridge, John Loveton, Joseph King | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Romantic Comedy", "Crime"] |
"Mr. and Mrs. North, brought to you by Halo Shampoo!" Sophisticated Greenwich Village couple Jerry and Pamela North stumble into a high-society jewel heist when a wealthy socialite's flawless 10-carat diamond ring vanishes from a penthouse cocktail party for Halo Shampoo. |