On This Day, August 31: Thin Man and Archie Andrews
Also featured: The Eternal Light.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serialized educational parts, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across comedic detective mysteries, Riverdale high school sitcoms, sacred interfaith dramas, First Amendment civic history, and wild animal circus tracking, Les Tremayne and Claudia Morgan in The Adventures of the Thin Man (1945), Bob Hastings as Archie Andrews (1946, 1949), The Eternal Light with the Jewish Theological Seminary (1947), The Words We Live By (1952), and The Clyde Beatty Show (1945–1952):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Man-Eating Leopard of Mysore with Clyde Beatty" | Mutual / Commodore 1952-08-31 |
Sustaining Jungle Adventure |
Clyde Beatty, Ensemble | Shirley Thomas (Director) | ["Adventure", "Circus", "Animals", "Clyde Beatty", "Commodore"] |
Clyde Beatty tracks a ferocious black leopard terrorizing a plantation village near Mysore and captures the predator alive. |
| "The Case of the Phony Finagler with Les Tremayne and Claudia Morgan" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-31 8:30 PM EWT |
General Foods Post Toasties |
Les Tremayne, Morgan | Dashiell Hammett (Creator) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Thin Man", "Dashiell Hammett"] |
Nick and Nora investigate the murder of an art swindler who attempted to sell counterfeit Renaissance paintings to society patrons. |
| "Trying to Listen to a Baseball Game with Bob Hastings" | NBC (WEAF) 1946-08-31 10:30 AM EDT |
Swift & Co. Peter Pan Peanut Butter |
Bob Hastings, Stone | Arthur Kohl (Mr. Andrews) | ["Comedy", "Teen", "Archie Andrews", "Bob Hastings", "Peter Pan"] |
Archie and Jughead's efforts to listen to a crucial pennant-race broadcast are constantly sabotaged by family chores and Veronica's phone calls. |
| "The School Dance Tuxedo with Bob Hastings" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-31 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Teen Situation Comedy |
Bob Hastings, Mann | NBC/Mutual Script Dept. | ["Comedy", "Teen", "Archie Andrews", "Bob Hastings", "Mutual"] |
Archie tries on his father's oversized formal tuxedo for an upcoming high school dance with disastrous tailoring results. |
| "The Passover Guest with NBC Radio and Jewish Theological Seminary" | NBC (WNBC) 1947-08-31 12:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Interfaith Series |
Alexander Scourby, Koven | Morton Wishengrad (Writer) | ["Religion", "Drama", "The Eternal Light", "Morton Wishengrad", "NBC"] |
A poor tailor invites a wandering stranger to his family Seder, discovering the visitor's profound spiritual impact on the village. |
| "The Words We Live By: Part 9 — The Right of Free Speech with NBC Radio" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-31 1:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Civic Education |
Dramatic Ensemble | NBC Public Affairs | ["Civics", "History", "Educational", "The Words We Live By", "NBC"]Arc: The Words We Live By (Part 9) |
A dramatization examines the historic legal precedents and Supreme Court landmark rulings protecting First Amendment free speech. |