On This Day, August 26: Van Johnson in State Fair and Roy Rogers (Dodge)
Also featured: Steinbeck.
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, Van Johnson starring in Phil Stong's State Fair hosted by James Hilton for Hallmark Cards, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans rounding up rustlers for Dodge Dealers, Arthur Treacher taking Hedda Hopper on a chaotic Beverly Hills bus tour on CBS Forecast, Ben Bentley breaking down Muhammad Ali on Bob Elson Interviews, John Steinbeck's The Moon Is Down on Hollywood Radio Theater, and Bruce Foote singing Noël Coward's Conversation Piece on The Chicago Theater of the Air (1941–1978):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "A Tour of Hollywood (Arthur Treacher & Hedda Hopper — CBS Forecast)" | CBS (WABC) 1941-08-26 9:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Summer Audition Series |
Arthur Treacher, Hedda Hopper, Frank Morgan | Davidson Taylor, Frank Galen, Ken Niles | ["Comedy", "Variety", "Hollywood", "Audition", "Satire"] |
"Forecast! Columbia's festival of new radio ideas!" English butler Arthur Treacher leads an uproarious, chaotic open-top bus tour of movie star mansions across Beverly Hills, trading acid-tongued barbs with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and encountering flustered actor Frank Morgan. |
| "Deep in the Heart of Texas (Roy Rogers & Dale Evans — Dodge Dealers)" | NBC (WNBC) 1954-08-26 8:00 PM EDT |
Dodge Dealers 1954 Dodge Royal V-8 |
Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady | Ralph Rose, Ray Wilson, Lou Crosby | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action", "Music", "Juvenile"] |
"The Roy Rogers Show, brought to you by Dodge, featuring Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, Trigger, the smartest horse in the movies, and Dale Evans, Queen of the West!" Roy and Dale track down an elusive band of cattle rustlers using a remote box canyon in Paradise Valley, capped with a rousing performance of 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' and 'Happy Trails' for Dodge Dealers. |
| "State Fair by Phil Stong (Van Johnson & James Hilton — Hallmark)" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-26 10:00 PM EDT |
Hall Brothers, Inc. Hallmark Greeting Cards |
James Hilton (Host), Van Johnson (Pat Gilbert) | Dee Engelbach, Jean Holloway, Frank Goss | ["Drama", "Romance", "Americana", "Literature", "Anthology"] |
"Hallmark Playhouse, hosted by James Hilton, brought to you by Hallmark Cards!" Van Johnson stars in Phil Stong's heartwarming Americana classic State Fair, chronicling the Frake family's trip to the Iowa State Fair as young newspaper reporter Pat Gilbert falls head-over-heels in love amid prize livestock competitions and midway carnival rides. |
| "Ben Bentley on Heavyweight Boxing & Ali (Bob Elson — WGN Chicago)" | Mutual (WGN) 1978-08-26 (Sports Feature) |
Sustaining Sports Talk & Lore |
Bob Elson ('The Commander'), Ben Bentley | WGN Radio Chicago | ["Interview", "Sports", "Boxing", "Talk", "Historical"] |
"Bob Elson Interviews, with 'The Commander' Bob Elson!" Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Elson sits down with legendary boxing publicist Ben Bentley to analyze the impending heavyweight title rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks, sharing behind-the-scenes fight promotions lore from Chicago's Golden Age of boxing. |
| "The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck (Ralph Morgan & Donald Crisp — AFRS)" | AFRS 1943-08-26 (Wartime Drama) |
U.S. War Dept. Armed Forces Radio Worldwide |
Ralph Morgan (Mayor Orden), Donald Crisp | AFRS Hollywood, John Conte | ["Drama", "Wartime", "Military", "Classics", "Historical"] |
"The Hollywood Radio Theater, presented for our armed forces overseas!" John Steinbeck's powerful wartime novel The Moon Is Down is dramatized, following elderly Mayor Orden as he leads the quiet, unyielding civilian resistance of a small occupied Scandinavian coastal mining town against ruthless invading conquerors. |
| "I'll Follow My Secret Heart by Noël Coward (Bruce Foote & Marion Claire — WGN)" | Mutual (WGN) 1950-08-26 9:00 PM CDT |
Sustaining Symphonic Operetta Showcase |
Bruce Foote (Paul), Marion Claire (Melanie) | Noël Coward, Henry Weber, Marvin Miller | ["Operetta", "Musical", "Romance", "Classics", "Vocal"] |
"The Chicago Theater of the Air, originating from the WGN Radio Playhouse in Chicago!" Noël Coward's Regency romantic operetta Conversation Piece is dramatized with full symphony orchestra, featuring Bruce Foote and Marion Claire singing Coward's immortal standard 'I'll Follow My Secret Heart' in 1811 Brighton. |