On This Day, August 26: Stan Kenton (Gerry Mulligan) and Barrie Craig
Also featured: Arturo Toscanini.
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, Stan Kenton and Gerry Mulligan exploring progressive jazz on NBC, William Gargan solving a backstage murder in Himan Brown's Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, Dennis O'Keefe busting a counterfeiting art foundation on T-Man, Alexander Scourby hosting Arturo Toscanini's immortal Studio 8H NBC Symphony performances, Joe DeSantis hunting a hit-and-run assassin on Under Arrest, and Penny Winters aiding Freddie on Hearts in Harmony for Kroger (1946–1959):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Limelight & Modern Progressive Jazz (Stan Kenton & Gerry Mulligan — NBC)" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-26 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Progressive Jazz Showcase |
Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan, Maynard Ferguson | Stan Kenton (Prod./Arr.), Bob Warren | ["Music", "Jazz", "Big Band", "Progressive Jazz", "Instrumental"] |
"Stan Kenton: My World Is Music, originating from Hollywood!" Bandleader Stan Kenton explores the evolving frontiers of progressive jazz, spotlighting Gerry Mulligan's intricate baritone saxophone composition 'Limelight' alongside powerhouse brass showcases from Maynard Ferguson and Conte Candoli. |
| "Murder Off-Stage (William Gargan as Barrie Craig — NBC Mystery)" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-26 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Hardboiled Detective Drama |
William Gargan (Barrie Craig), Ralph Bell, Joan Loring | Louis Vittes, Himan Brown, Don Pardo | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Noir", "Crime"] |
"Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, starring William Gargan as the private eye with the relaxed style!" When a temperamental Broadway stage director is poisoned in his dressing room during opening night intermission, Barrie Craig sifts through a lineup of bitter understudies, jealous playwrights, and vindictive theater critics. |
| "The Case of the Benevolent Patron (Dennis O'Keefe as T-Man O'Flaherty — CBS)" | CBS (WCBS) 1950-08-26 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Treasury Law Procedural |
Dennis O'Keefe (Frank O'Flaherty), Herb Ellis | Jerry McGill, William N. Robson, Bob Lemond | ["Police Procedural", "Docudrama", "Crime", "Government", "Action"] |
"T-Man! Based on actual case records from the United States Treasury Department, starring Dennis O'Keefe!" Special Agent Frank O'Flaherty poses as an unscrupulous art dealer to infiltrate a philanthropic foundation that serves as an elaborate tax-evasion front for an international counterfeiting and money-laundering syndicate. |
| "Arturo Toscanini & The NBC Symphony (Alexander Scourby — NBC Radio Theater)" | NBC (WNBC) 1959-08-26 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Symphonic Concert Showcase |
Arturo Toscanini, Alexander Scourby, NBC Symphony | NBC Cultural Div., Ben Grauer | ["Classical", "Symphony", "Historical", "Music", "Concert"] |
"The NBC Radio Theater presents a special retrospective broadcast of the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Arturo Toscanini!" Narrator Alexander Scourby introduces legendary performances from Studio 8H, featuring Toscanini's fiery, definitive interpretations of Brahms' Academic Festival Overture and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. |
| "The Murderous Motorist Report (Joe DeSantis as Captain Drake — Mutual)" | Mutual (WOR) 1951-08-26 5:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Detective Procedural |
Joe DeSantis (Captain Drake), Ted de Corsia | William Sweets, Martin Gabel, Craig McDonnell | ["Detective", "Police Procedural", "Crime", "Action", "Drama"] |
"Under Arrest! The dramatic stories of the men and women who enforce the law, starring Joe DeSantis as Police Captain John Drake!" Captain Drake tracks down a callous hit-and-run driver whose vehicular homicide of a pedestrian on Highway 9 turns out to be a carefully planned premeditated contract execution. |
| "Freddie in Trouble (Part 16 — Jone Allison as Penny Winters — Kroger)" | Syndicated (WLW) 1946-08-26 (Daytime Serial) |
The Kroger Co. Kroger Clock Bread |
Jone Allison (Penny Winters), Richard Holland | Frank and Anne Hummert, Ed Herlihy | ["Soap Opera", "Drama", "Romance", "Music", "Small Town"] |
"Hearts in Harmony, the story of Penny Winters, brought to you by Kroger Grocery Stores!" In the small Midwestern town of Rossville, aspiring young singer Penny Winters rushes to aid her high school sweetheart Freddie Morgan after he is falsely implicated in a missing funds scandal at the town bank for Kroger. Note: Multi-part serial narrative arc (Freddie's Financial Crisis — Part 16). |