On This Day, August 26: Fibber McGee (79 Wistful Vista) and Chandu
Also featured: Meet the Press.
August 26 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 26 across American network, Jim & Marian Jordan winning the raffle for 79 Wistful Vista in historic Fibber McGee and Molly for Johnson's Wax, Jack Moyles in Elliott Lewis' Cold War espionage thriller O'Hara, Jason Robards Sr. as Chandu the Magician in the Temple of the White Lama for White King Soap, Martha Rountree interviewing Senator Clyde Hoey on Meet the Press, and Police Headquarters (1932–1951):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The McGees Win 79 Wistful Vista (Jim & Marian Jordan — Johnson's Wax)" | NBC Red (WMAQ) 1935-08-26 8:00 PM EDST |
S.C. Johnson & Son Johnson's Glo-Coat Wax |
Jim Jordan (Fibber), Marian Jordan (Molly) | Don Quinn, Frank O'Connor, Harlow Wilcox | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Americana", "Vaudeville"] |
"The Johnson's Wax Program with Fibber McGee and Molly!" In this legendary early broadcast establishing the show's permanent setting, Fibber and Molly win a raffle for a charming house located at 79 Wistful Vista, packing up their dilapidated jalopy and moving into the address that would become radio's most famous home for Johnson's Wax. |
| "The Case of the Counterfeit Check Ring (Gene Morgan — Police Headquarters #10)" | Syndicated 1943-08-26 (15-Min Series #10) |
Local Merchants Police Procedural Series |
Gene Morgan, Byron Kane, Frank Martin | Universal Radio Prod. (Hollywood) | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "Crime", "Action", "Short Form"] |
"Police Headquarters! Fast-moving, authentic dramatizations of the war on crime!" Headquarters detectives track an elusive gang of check forgers passing bogus payroll checks across downtown department stores, using chemical ink analysis and undercover stakeouts to raid the gang's clandestine printing plant. |
| "Assignment: Assassination (Jack Moyles as O'Hara — CBS Espionage)" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-08-26 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining International Espionage |
Jack Moyles (O'Hara), Virginia Gregg | Gil Doud, Elliott Lewis, Bob Lemond | ["Espionage", "Action", "Adventure", "Thriller", "Cold War"] |
"O'Hara! Assignment: Assassination! Starring Jack Moyles as international intelligence operative O'Hara!" Secret Agent O'Hara is dispatched to Tangier to foil a planned Cold War assassination of a pro-Western Mediterranean diplomat, navigating smoke-filled casbahs and dodging knife-wielding assassins. |
| "The Journey to Munich (Mary Merrall as Mary Ward — Historical Drama)" | Syndicated 1936-08-26 (Transcription) |
Sustaining Biographical Drama |
Mary Merrall (Mary Ward), Carleton Hobbs | Historical Letters Adaptation | ["Historical", "Biography", "Drama", "Religious", "British"] |
"The Travels of Mary Ward, the heroic journey of the 17th-century English educational pioneer!" Mary Ward and her devoted companions cross the snow-covered Alps on foot during the Thirty Years' War to establish pioneering schools for young women in Munich under the protection of Elector Maximilian of Bavaria. |
| "The Temple of the White Lama (Part 65 — Jason Robards Sr. as Chandu — White King)" | Don Lee (KHJ) 1932-08-26 8:00 PM PST |
Los Angeles Soap White King Granulated Soap |
Jason Robards Sr. (Chandu), Margaret MacDonald | Harry Earnshaw, Cyril Armbrister, Howard Culver | ["Fantasy", "Adventure", "Occult", "Exotic", "Action"] |
"Chandu the Magician, brought to you by White King Granulated Soap!" Frank Chandler employs his Eastern occult arts of astral projection and illusion to rescue his kidnapped sister Dorothy and nephew Bob from the subterranean torture chambers of the Black Magic villain Roxor in the Temple of the White Lama for White King Soap. Note: Multi-part serial narrative arc (The Roxor Conspiracy — Part 65). |
| "Senator Clyde R. Hoey on the Five Percenters (Martha Rountree — Meet the Press)" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-26 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Public Affairs Conference |
Martha Rountree, Lawrence Spivak, Clyde Hoey | Martha Rountree & Lawrence Spivak | ["Public Affairs", "Political", "Interview", "News", "Historical"] |
"Meet the Press, America's press conference of the air, produced by Martha Rountree!" North Carolina Senator Clyde R. Hoey faces grilling by top Washington correspondents regarding his Senate committee's bombshell investigation into influence-peddling 'Five Percenters' and government contract bribery inside the Truman administration. |