On This Day, August 31: Superman and Ethel
Also featured: Albert, Cecil, Sally.
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 superhero serials, domestic relationship comedies, and pioneer early radio serials, three landmark broadcasts of The Adventures of Superman starring Clayton "Bud" Collyer spanning the iconic origin Superman Comes to Earth (1942), The Civil Air Patrol (1943), and The Scorpion for Kellogg's Pep (1944), Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce in Ethel and Albert (1948), Cecil and Sally (1931), and The Black Leather Case (1931–1948):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Black Leather Case (Part 2)" | Syndicated Mystery 1936-08-31 |
Sustaining Early Detective Serial |
Dramatic Voice Cast | Syndicated Production | ["Mystery", "Crime", "Serial", "Early Radio", "Syndicated"]Arc: The Black Leather Case (Part 2 of 2) |
Detectives track down a mysterious black leather briefcase containing coded industrial formulas left in a train compartment. |
| "Counting Wallpaper Stripes with Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce" | ABC (WJZ) 1948-08-31 6:45 PM EDT |
Sustaining Domestic Comedy |
Peg Lynch, Alan Bunce | Peg Lynch (Writer) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Peg Lynch", "Ethel and Albert"] |
Albert lies awake in bed obsessively counting the stripes on the bedroom wallpaper while Ethel attempts to sleep. |
| "Cecil Has Sally Trapped on a Ladder with Johnny Patrick" | KPO / Syndication 1931-08-31 |
Sustaining Pioneer Radio Comedy |
Johnny Patrick, Troy | Patrick & Troy (Creators) | ["Comedy", "Early Radio", "Sitcom", "Cecil and Sally", "Syndicated"] |
Cecil teases Sally while she is stuck atop a stepladder attempting to paint their apartment ceiling. |
| "Superman Comes to Earth with Clayton Bud Collyer" | Mutual (WOR) 1942-08-31 5:15 PM EWT |
Sustaining Juvenile Superhero Serial |
Bud Collyer, Julian Noa | B.P. Freeman (Writer) | ["Superhero", "Adventure", "Juvenile", "Superman", "DC Comics"]Arc: The Origin of Superman (Part 1) |
Rocketed from the doomed planet Krypton, the infant Kal-El arrives on Earth and adopts the identity of Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. |
| "The Civil Air Patrol (Part 10)" | Mutual (WOR) 1943-08-31 5:45 PM EWT |
Sustaining Juvenile Superhero Serial |
Bud Collyer, Jackie Kelk | George Lowther (Writer) | ["Superhero", "Adventure", "Juvenile", "Superman", "DC Comics"]Arc: The Civil Air Patrol (Part 10) |
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen discover a secret axis landing strip hidden in the pine mountains during a Civil Air Patrol flight. |
| "The Scorpion (Part 3)" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-31 5:45 PM EWT |
Kellogg Company Kellogg's Pep Cereal |
Bud Collyer, Alexander | George Lowther (Writer) | ["Superhero", "Adventure", "Juvenile", "Superman", "Kellogg's"]Arc: The Scorpion (Part 3) |
Superman races against time to rescue Lois Lane from a sinister underground hideout rigged with electric traps by The Scorpion. |