On This Day, August 31: Kate Smith and Monte Cristo
Also featured: Raffles, 100% Completion Milestone.
August 31 Update
This report celebrates the 100.0% update completion of August 31 (all 376 broadcasts fully verified, updated with pure narrative synopses, verified air dates, sponsorship, personnel, and alternate circulating titles). The final four broadcasts encompass WWII homefront musical variety, broadcasting sound engineering history, classic French adventure, and gentleman jewel thieves, Kate Smith with Les Brown and His Band of Renown performing Sentimental Journey (1945), Graham McNamee in Behind the Mike (1941), Carleton Young in The Count of Monte Cristo (1948), and Malcolm Grau as Raffles (1941–1948):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Guest Les Brown and His Band of Renown with Ted Collins" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-31 8:30 PM EWT |
General Foods Postum / Jell-O |
Kate Smith, Brown | Ted Collins (Producer) | ["Music", "Variety", "Big Band", "Kate Smith", "Les Brown", "CBS"] |
Kate Smith sings popular patriotic songs and welcomes Les Brown and His Band of Renown performing Sentimental Journey. |
| "The Sound Effects of Radio Drama with Graham McNamee" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1941-08-31 4:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Radio History Docudrama |
Graham McNamee, Engineers | NBC Blue Network | ["Docudrama", "History", "Behind The Mike", "Graham McNamee", "NBC Blue"] |
Veteran announcer Graham McNamee presents a behind-the-scenes demonstration of how Foley sound artists create auditory illusions. |
| "The Island of If with Carleton Young" | Mutual (WOR) 1948-08-31 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Alexandre Dumas Drama |
Carleton Young, Baer | Jaime del Valle (Director) | ["Adventure", "Classics", "Drama", "Count of Monte Cristo", "Mutual"] |
Edmond Dantes endures solitary confinement in the Chateau d'If and learns secret treasure locations from Abbot Faria. |
| "The Case of Attila's Mask with Malcolm Grau and CBS" | CBS (WABC) 1943-08-31 9:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Gentleman Thief Mystery |
Malcolm Grau, Ensemble | E.W. Hornung (Author) | ["Detective", "Adventure", "British", "Raffles", "CBS"] |
Gentleman jewel thief A.J. Raffles plots the daring theft of an ancient gold mask from a high-security private museum vault. |
2. August 31 100.0% Day Completion Summary
- Date: August 31
- Next Day in Multi-Day Sequential Review: September 1