On This Day, August 25: Sammy Kaye (Hershey Theatre) and CBS Romance
Also featured: Jimmy Scribner Solo.
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, Sammy Kaye's swinging big band live from Pennsylvania's Hershey Theatre for Plymouth, two compelling productions on CBS Romance directed by William N. Robson and Antony Ellis, Jimmy Scribner's extraordinary 22-character solo voice mastery on The Johnson Family, and classic Hummert daytime serial drama on Betty and Bob (1946–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Lawyer Philpotts' Treasury Scheme (Part 1 — Jimmy Scribner Solo Enactment)" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-25 4:15 PM EDT |
Sustaining Folk Comedy / Solo |
Jimmy Scribner (All 22 Characters Solo) | Jimmy Scribner (Writer/Dir.), Ray Walton | ["Comedy", "Folklore", "Solo Performance", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"The Johnson Family, created and enacted by Jimmy Scribner!" Shrewd small-town attorney Lawyer Philpotts secretly deposits the town lodge treasury funds into his personal bank account, plotting an elaborate legal excuse to pocket the sum. |
| "Pee Wee Investigates the Banker (Part 2 — Jimmy Scribner Solo Enactment)" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-25 4:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Folk Comedy / Solo |
Jimmy Scribner (All 22 Characters Solo) | Jimmy Scribner (Writer/Dir.) | ["Comedy", "Folklore", "Solo Performance", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"The Johnson Family!" Pee Wee and Brother Johnson compare notes on the sudden disappearance of lodge funds, beginning to suspect that the seemingly foolish village banker is actually an undercover accomplice of Lawyer Philpotts. |
| "The Drake Publishing Crisis (Part 1 — Arlene Francis & Carl Frank)" | General Mills Synd. 1947-08-25 (WGN/WOR) |
General Mills Gold Medal Flour & Bisquick |
Arlene Francis (Betty), Carl Frank (Bob) | Frank & Anne Hummert, Arthur Hanna | ["Drama", "Soap Opera", "Domestic", "Marriage", "Romance"] |
"Betty and Bob, the story of a young couple fighting for happiness!" In Part 1 of The Drake Publishing Crisis, Bob Drake faces financial ruin when a rival publishing tycoon buys up the mortgage on their printing firm, while Betty strives to keep the family unified for Gold Medal Flour. |
| "The Barrier Reef (Starring Frank Lovejoy & Joan Banks — CBS Romance)" | CBS (WCBS) 1952-08-25 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Romantic Anthology |
Frank Lovejoy, Joan Banks, Joseph Kearns | William N. Robson (Dir.), Kathleen Hite | ["Drama", "Romance", "Adventure", "Maritime", "Anthology"] |
"Romance! Theater of love and high adventure!" A pearl-diving schooner captain in the South Pacific navigates treacherous coral reefs and stormy passions when he rescues a shipwrecked heiress whose secret mission threatens his crew. |
| "The Caddis Fly (Lawrence Dobkin & Cathy Lewis — CBS Romance)" | CBS (KNX) 1956-08-25 12:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Summer Anthology |
Lawrence Dobkin, Cathy Lewis, John Dehner | Antony Ellis (Dir.), John Dunkel | ["Drama", "Romance", "Psychological", "Human Interest", "Anthology"] |
"Romance, stories of the heart..." A solitary fly-fisherman in the High Sierra finds unexpected companionship and romantic rebirth with an enigmatic woman escaping a suffocating big-city engagement. |
| "Live from the Hershey Theatre (Sammy Kaye — Plymouth Motor Cars)" | CBS (Hershey, PA) 1946-08-25 1:30 PM EDT |
Chrysler Corp. Plymouth Motor Cars |
Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Billy Williams | N.W. Ayer & Son, Rex Marshall | ["Music", "Big Band", "Swing", "Vocal", "Variety"] |
"Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye, brought to you by your friendly Plymouth Dealer!" Broadcasting live from the opulent Hershey Theatre in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Sammy Kaye leads his orchestra in romantic melodies and big-band hits including 'The Old Lamplighter' and 'Sunday Kind of Love' for Plymouth. |