On This Day, August 30: The First Nighter and Best Plays
Also featured: I Deal in Crime.
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 theater anthologies, The First Nighter Program starring Don Ameche (1935) and Barbara Luddy with Olan Soule (1944) for Campana Italian Balm, William Gargan as hardboiled private eye Ross Dolan in I Deal in Crime (1947), Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30 on Best Plays (1953), Jane Cowl on Texaco Star Theatre Summer Show (1942), and Ed Wynn's The Fire Chief (1932–1953):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Musical Mr. Mulligan with Don Ameche and June Meredith" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1935-08-30 10:00 PM EDST |
Campana Sales Co. Campana Italian Balm |
Don Ameche, Meredith | Virginia Safford (Writer) | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Music", "Don Ameche", "Campana"] |
An ambitious singing music teacher falls in love with his most promising student while preparing for a major civic concert. |
| "Love Is a Household Word with Barbara Luddy and Olan Soule" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-30 9:30 PM EWT |
Campana Sales Co. Solitair Makeup / Balm |
Barbara Luddy, Soule | First Nighter Staff | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Domestic", "Barbara Luddy", "Campana"] |
A young suburban housewife attempts to jumpstart her husband's domestic romantic enthusiasm through humorous psychological experiments. |
| "The Case of the Frustrated Fortune Hunter with William Gargan" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-30 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Hardboiled Detective |
William Gargan (Ross Dolan) | Leonard Reeg (Director) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "William Gargan", "Ross Dolan"] |
Private investigator Ross Dolan is hired by an anxious heiress who suspects her charming fiancé is a murderous fortune hunter. |
| "Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30 with John Lund and Sarah Churchill" | NBC (WEAF) 1953-08-30 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Theater Anthology |
John Lund, Churchill | John Chapman (Host) | ["Drama", "Comedy", "Anthology", "Noel Coward", "Theater"] |
An anthology of Noel Coward's sophisticated one-act comedies examining the romantic and social rivalries of English society. |
| "Conchita Lopez with Jane Cowl and Alan Reed" | CBS (WABC) 1942-08-30 9:30 PM EWT |
The Texas Company Texaco Fire-Chief Gas |
Jane Cowl, Alan Reed | David Broekman Orchestra | ["Variety", "Comedy", "Drama", "Texaco", "Jane Cowl"] |
Jane Cowl stars in a lighthearted summer dramatic romance set in old California, complemented by Falstaff Openshaw's comedic poetry. |
| "When You Were 8 and I Was 9 We Were 17 with Ed Wynn" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1932-08-30 9:30 PM EDST |
The Texas Company Texaco Fire-Chief Gas |
Ed Wynn, McNamee | Don Voorhees Orchestra | ["Comedy", "Vaudeville", "Slapstick", "Ed Wynn", "Texaco"] |
The Fire Chief baffles straight man Graham McNamee with silly inventions, convoluted mathematical logic, and vaudeville wordplay. |