On This Day, August 31: David Harding Counterspy and Joe E. Brown
Also featured: FDR.
August 31 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 31 across wartime espionage procedurals, comedy quiz shows, presidential home club addresses, Western lawmen adventures, and British schoolboy domestic comedies, Don MacLaughlin starring in Phillips H. Lord's David Harding, Counterspy (1942, 1947), Joe E. Brown hosting Stop or Go for Bexel (1944), President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park (1940), Brace Beemer in The Lone Ranger (1955), and Jimmy Clitheroe in The Clitheroe Kid on BBC Radio 2 (1940–1969):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Railroad to Prison with Brace Beemer" | ABC Network 1955-08-31 7:30 PM EDT |
General Mills Cheerios Cereal |
Brace Beemer, Todd | Fred Foy (Announcer) | ["Western", "Adventure", "Juvenile", "The Lone Ranger", "Brace Beemer"] |
The Lone Ranger foils an outlaw gang attempting to hijack a territorial prison transport train to liberate their condemned leader. |
| "Informal Remarks to the Roosevelt Home Club in Hyde Park" | NBC & CBS Networks 1940-08-31 3:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Presidential Address |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | White House Staff | ["History", "Speech", "Politics", "FDR", "Hyde Park"] |
President Roosevelt speaks to his hometown Hyde Park neighbors about civic unity and democratic resolve during wartime overseas crises. |
| "The Traffic Light Quiz with Joe E. Brown" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1944-08-31 10:30 PM EWT |
McKesson & Robbins Bexel Vitamin B |
Joe E. Brown (Host) | NBC Production Staff | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Comedy", "Joe E Brown", "Bexel"] |
Comedian Joe E. Brown grills contestants under red and green traffic signal lights, awarding cash prizes for quick answers. |
| "The Case of the Enemy Oil Tanker with Don MacLaughlin" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1942-08-31 9:00 PM EWT |
Mail Pouch Tobacco Kentucky Club |
Don MacLaughlin, Kramer | Phillips H. Lord (Creator) | ["Espionage", "Mystery", "Counterspy", "Don MacLaughlin", "Phillips Lord"] |
Counterspy chief David Harding intercepts Axis submarine refueling rendezvous coordinates radioed from a compromised coastal oil tanker. |
| "The Case of the Silent Stevedore with Don MacLaughlin" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-31 5:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Espionage Procedural |
Don MacLaughlin, Kramer | Phillips H. Lord (Creator) | ["Espionage", "Mystery", "Counterspy", "Don MacLaughlin", "Phillips Lord"] |
David Harding investigates sabotage explosions on Atlantic cargo freighters and tracks a deaf-mute dockworker coerced by foreign agents. |
| "Answer That Phone with Jimmy Clitheroe" | BBC Radio 2 1969-08-31 1:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Family Sitcom |
Jimmy Clitheroe, Sinclair | Casey & Roscoe (Writers) | ["Comedy", "British", "Sitcom", "Clitheroe Kid", "BBC Radio 2"] |
Jimmy creates domestic uproar by intercepting family telephone calls and relaying fabricated messages to his exasperated relatives. |