On This Day, August 30: Gene Autry's Melody Ranch and The Quiz Kids
Also featured: Orson Welles.
August 30 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 30 across American network radio and syndicated transcription, Gene Autry and Pat Buttram in two Western adventures on Melody Ranch (The Trouble at Box C Canyon in 1952 and The Rustlers of Spanish Peaks in 1953 for Doublemint Gum), Joe Kelly quizzing prodigies Gerard Darrow and Richard Williams on The Quiz Kids for Alka-Seltzer (1940–1942), Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead in Twelfth Night on Columbia Presents (1937), and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage on All-Star Western Theater (1937–1953):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Long Trail to Laramie with Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage" | Syndicated Western 1947-08-30 |
Weber's / Sust Bread / Western |
Foy Willing & Riders | All-Star Western Staff | ["Western", "Music", "Adventure", "Country", "Cowboy"] |
A cowboy escorting a remuda of cattle horses across Wyoming protects his herd from renegade bushwhackers. |
| "Twelfth Night with Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead" | CBS (WABC) 1937-08-30 8:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Shakespearean Drama |
Orson Welles, Bankhead | Meredith & Victor Bay | ["Drama", "Classics", "Shakespeare", "Comedy", "Adaptation"] |
Shipwrecked Viola disguises herself as a pageboy in Illyria and falls into a web of romantic confusion with Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia. |
| "The Trouble at Box C Canyon" | CBS (WCBS) 1952-08-30 8:00 PM EDT |
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Doublemint Gum |
Gene Autry, Buttram | Carl Cotner & Cass County | ["Western", "Cowboy", "Music", "Comedy", "Adventure"] |
Gene Autry and Pat Buttram mediate a violent boundary dispute between sheep ranchers and cattlemen in Box C Canyon. |
| "The Rustlers of Spanish Peaks" | CBS (WCBS) 1953-08-30 7:00 PM EDT |
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Doublemint Gum |
Gene Autry, Buttram | Carl Cotner & Melody Ranch | ["Western", "Cowboy", "Music", "Comedy", "Adventure"] |
Gene Autry tracks horse thieves operating out of an abandoned silver mine high in the Spanish Peaks. |
| "Episode 10 with Joe Kelly" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1940-08-30 10:30 PM EDST |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer / One-A-Day |
Joe Kelly (MC), Darrow | Quiz Kids Production Staff | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Education", "Juvenile", "Comedy"] |
Quizmaster Joe Kelly challenges child prodigies with listener-submitted questions covering world history, classical literature, and biology. |
| "Episode 114 with Joe Kelly" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1942-08-30 7:30 PM EWT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer / One-A-Day |
Joe Kelly (MC), Williams | Quiz Kids Production Staff | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Education", "Juvenile", "World War II"] |
Child panelists compete to answer questions on American geography, wartime industrial production, and classical mythology. |