On This Day, August 30: Superman and Sam Spade
Also featured: Ethel and Albert.
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 British BBC comedy, Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel in two serialized multi-part storylines on The Adventures of Superman (Professor Thorpe's Bathysphere in 1940 and The Civil Air Patrol for Kellogg's Pep in 1943), Howard Duff as The Adventures of Sam Spade for Wildroot Cream-Oil (1946), Peg Lynch's domestic classic Ethel and Albert (1948), Ray Bradbury sci-fi (2010), and BBC's Son of Cliché (1940–2010):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Sam and the Scythian Tiara" | ABC (WJZ) 1946-08-30 8:00 PM EDT |
Wildroot Co. Wildroot Cream-Oil |
Howard Duff, Tuttle | Bob Tallman & Jason James | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Noir", "Private Eye"] |
Private investigator Sam Spade is hired to authenticate a supposedly ancient gold tiara and encounters a web of murder and antiquities forgery. |
| "Susie Poses for an Ad" | ABC (WJZ) 1948-08-30 6:45 PM EDT |
Sustaining Domestic Comedy |
Peg Lynch, Bunce | Peg Lynch (Creator/Writer) | ["Sitcom", "Comedy", "Domestic", "Family", "Peg Lynch"] |
Albert enthusiastically agrees to let baby Susie model for a local baby-food advertisement, sparking chaotic photo-studio mishaps. |
| "All Summer in a Day & The Fog Horn" | NPR Audio Drama 2010-08-30 |
Sustaining Literary Drama |
Ray Bradbury (Host) | Dramatic Voice Ensemble | ["Science Fiction", "Drama", "Modern OTR", "Anthology", "Adaptation"] |
Two classic sci-fi stories explore Venusian schoolchildren seeing sunlight for an hour and a prehistoric sea creature drawn to a lighthouse beacon. |
| "Weird Dimension" | BBC Radio 4 1983-08-30 10:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Comedy |
Chris Barrie, Maloney | Rob Grant & Doug Naylor | ["Comedy", "Sketch Comedy", "British", "Satire", "Surreal"] |
Surreal sketch comedy parodies alternate-dimension science fiction tropes and everyday British bureaucratic absurdities. |
| "Professor Thorpe's Bathysphere (Part 3)" | Mutual (WOR) 1940-08-30 5:15 PM EDST |
Sustaining / Kellogg Pep Cereal |
Bud Collyer, Noa | Superman Audio Staff | ["Adventure", "Superheroes", "Action", "Science Fiction", "Serial"] |
Clark Kent races underwater to assist Professor Thorpe whose deep-sea diving sphere is sabotaged by hostile agents. |
| "The Civil Air Patrol (Part 9)" | Mutual (WOR) 1943-08-30 5:15 PM EWT |
Kellogg Company Kellogg's Pep Cereal |
Bud Collyer, Alexander | Superman Audio Staff | ["Adventure", "Superheroes", "Action", "World War II", "Serial"] |
Superman and young Civil Air Patrol cadets intercept enemy saboteurs attempting to detonate explosive mines near a coastal radar installation. |