On This Day, August 30: The Hobbit and Bing Crosby
Also featured: Tubby Hayes.
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, British modern jazz broadcasting, and landmark fantasy audio dramatizations, The Mind's Eye audio adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1983–1985), Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney singing Anything Goes with Buddy Cole (1961), British tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes on Play It Cool (1964), Blake Edwards' hard-hitting police procedural The Line-Up (1951), and Lum and Abner planning a St. Louis trip for Frigidaire (1948–1985):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Abner Plans a Trip to St. Louis" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-30 8:00 PM EDT |
General Motors Frigidaire Appliances |
Chester Lauck, Goff | Lauck & Norris Goff | ["Comedy", "Rural", "Sitcom", "Americana", "Frigidaire"] |
Abner decides to spend his remaining savings on a luxury train trip to St. Louis, prompting Lum to devise a frugal alternative. |
| "Guest Tubby Hayes and His Quintet" | BBC Light Programme 1964-08-30 4:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Modern Jazz |
Tubby Hayes & Quintet | BBC Jazz Production Staff | ["Jazz", "Hard Bop", "British", "Modern Jazz", "BBC"] |
Tubby Hayes leads his modern jazz quintet in high-tempo hard bop compositions and melodic ballad improvisations. |
| "Anything Goes with Buddy Cole" | CBS (WCBS) 1961-08-30 10:45 AM EDT |
Sustaining Morning Vocal Variety |
Bing Crosby, Clooney | Buddy Cole and His Trio | ["Music", "Vocal", "Pop Standards", "Easy Listening", "Duet"] |
Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney sing Cole Porter's Anything Goes and trade lighthearted show-business humor with Buddy Cole. |
| "The Case of the Warehouse Firebugs" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-08-30 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Procedural |
William Daniels, Moyles | Blake Edwards (Writer) | ["Police", "Procedural", "Crime", "Docudrama", "Blake Edwards"] |
Lieutenant Ben Guthrie and Sergeant Matt Grebb interrogate suspect arsonists after a string of suspicious waterfront warehouse blazes. |
| "The Hobbit (Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Party)" | NPR / Mind's Eye 1983-08-30 |
Sustaining Audio Dramatization |
Ray Reinhardt, Mayes | J.R.R. Tolkien & Bob Lewis | ["Fantasy", "Classics", "Adventure", "Adaptation", "Tolkien"] |
Comfortable hobbit Bilbo Baggins is startled when wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves arrive uninvited to recruit him for a dragon quest. |
| "The Wind in the Willows (Part 1 - The River Bank)" | NPR / Mind's Eye 1985-08-30 |
Sustaining Audio Dramatization |
Bernard Mayes, Reinhardt | Kenneth Grahame (Author) | ["Children's", "Classics", "Animal Fantasy", "Adaptation", "Audio Drama"] |
Mole abandons his spring housecleaning to explore the tranquil riverbank where he befriends Water Rat and learns to row a boat. |