On This Day, August 30: The Shadow and Ray Bradbury 13
Also featured: Gulliver's Travels.
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 broadcasting, Bret Morrison as The Shadow exposing fraudulent astronomers (1951), Ray Bradbury introducing All Summer in a Day and The Fog Horn on Bradbury 13 (2010), John Griggs narrating Gulliver's Travels on Adventure Parade (1948), Bela Lugosi's syndicated Mystery House (1946), Jon Culshaw in BBC's Dead Ringers (2002), and Tony Hall's Bank Holiday show (1946–2010):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Whereabouts Unknown" | Transcribed Synd 1946-08-30 |
Sustaining Mystery Drama |
Dramatic Cast, Sargent | Mystery House Staff | ["Mystery", "Suspense", "Thriller", "Anthology", "Whodunit"] |
A wealthy heiress vanishes from an isolated country inn, prompting an amateur investigator to uncover a sinister conspiracy among the guests. |
| "Gulliver's Travels (Part 1)" | Mutual (WOR) 1948-08-30 4:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Juvenile Literature |
John Griggs (Narrator) | Jonathan Swift (Author) | ["Juvenile", "Literature", "Adventure", "Fantasy", "Serial"] |
Shipwreck survivor Lemuel Gulliver washes ashore on the island of Lilliput and awakens bound by tiny six-inch captors. |
| "Bank Holiday Special with Pop Releases" | BBC Light Prog 1965-08-30 |
Sustaining BBC Pop Showcase |
Tony Hall (Host / DJ) | Tony Hall Productions | ["Music", "Disc Jockey", "British Pop", "Top 40", "Holiday"] |
Tony Hall spins new British and American pop releases and reviews holiday chart rankings during the summer Bank Holiday. |
| "All Summer in a Day & The Fog Horn" | NPR / BYU Radio 2010-08-30 |
Sustaining Sci-Fi Drama |
Ray Bradbury (Host) | Mike McDonough (Audio) | ["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. |
| "Political Satire and Celebrity Impressions" | BBC Radio 4 2002-08-30 6:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Comedy |
Jon Culshaw, Ravens | Mark Perry & Phil Cornwell | ["Comedy", "Satire", "Parody", "British", "Impressions"] |
Impressionists lampoon contemporary British politicians and broadcast news personalities in topical sketch parodies. |
| "Out of This World" | Mutual (WOR) 1951-08-30 |
Blue Coal / Sust Detective Mystery |
Bret Morrison, Warner | The Shadow Staff | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Superheroes", "Crime", "Supernatural"] |
The Shadow unmasks a fraudulent astronomer who uses staged planetary observations and death rays to blackmail superstitious financiers. |