On This Day, August 31: Cab Calloway and The Goon Show
Also featured: The Witch's Tale.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial story metadata, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across American jive musical quizzes, landmark British absurdist radio comedy, pioneer horror anthologies, and swing music shop broadcasts, Cab Calloway hosting Quizzicale on Mutual (1941), Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Harry Secombe in The Goon Show: The Starlings on the BBC (1954), Alonzo Deen Cole's The Witch's Tale (1931, 1934), and Johnny Mercer with Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers for Lucky Strike (1931–1954):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Live Musical Jive Quiz with Cab Calloway" | Mutual (WOR) 1941-08-31 9:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Jive Music Quiz |
Cab Calloway & Orchestra | Cab Calloway (Host) | ["Music", "Jazz", "Quiz", "Cab Calloway", "Mutual"] |
Cab Calloway tests contestants on Harlem jazz slang and popular swing music trivia interspersed with high-energy big band solos. |
| "The Starlings with Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, and Harry Secombe" | BBC Home Service 1954-08-31 |
Sustaining Absurdist Comedy |
Sellers, Milligan, Secombe | Peter Eton (Producer) | ["Comedy", "British", "Absurdist", "The Goon Show", "BBC"] |
Neddie Seagoon devises an absurd military acoustic campaign to evict billions of noisy starlings occupying central London buildings. |
| "The Firing Squad with Alonzo Deen Cole" | WOR New York 1931-08-31 10:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Pioneer Horror Drama |
Alonzo Deen Cole, Fitz-Allen | Alonzo Deen Cole (Writer) | ["Horror", "Macabre", "Supernatural", "Witchs Tale", "WOR"] |
A condemned wartime officer facing a firing squad places a supernatural death curse upon the officers who betrayed him. |
| "The House of the Gargoyles (Part 2)" | WOR / Mutual 1934-08-31 9:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Pioneer Horror Drama |
Alonzo Deen Cole, Wolfe | Alonzo Deen Cole (Writer) | ["Horror", "Macabre", "Supernatural", "Witchs Tale", "Mutual"]Arc: The House of the Gargoyles (Part 2 of 2) |
Two terrified heirs uncover the occult secret of stone cathedral gargoyles that animate at midnight to claim sacrificial victims. |
| "Guest The Pied Pipers with Johnny Mercer" | NBC (WEAF) 1943-08-31 7:00 PM EWT |
American Tobacco Co. Lucky Strike |
Johnny Mercer, Pied Pipers | Paul Weston Orchestra | ["Music", "Variety", "Swing", "Johnny Mercer", "Lucky Strike"] |
Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers perform lyrical swing duets and witty rhythm numbers for Lucky Strike. |
| "I Don't Want to Know About You with Jo Stafford" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-31 7:00 PM EWT |
American Tobacco Co. Lucky Strike |
Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford | Paul Weston Orchestra | ["Music", "Variety", "Swing", "Jo Stafford", "Johnny Mercer"] |
Johnny Mercer and vocalist Jo Stafford perform romantic wartime pop ballads and lively comedic musical sketches. |