On This Day, August 11: 176 Historical Broadcasts Updated Across Laurence Olivier and Ray Price
Also featured: Superman, Johnny Dollar.
August 11 Day-by-Day Review: 100% Update Achieved
With the conclusion of this update, August 11 is now 100% updated across all 176 catalogued historic broadcasts. Over 14 hours of spoken-word radio transmissions—spanning from pre-war crime reenactments in 1937 to late Golden Age classics in 1963—have been transcribed via speech recognition (faster-whisper), fitted with WebVTT subtitle manifests, and verified against contemporaneous network logs and sponsor archives.
The final stretch of 29 broadcasts introduces a constellation of landmark performances: Sir Laurence Olivier starring in a Regency satire, Ray Price electrifying Nashville from the Ryman stage, dual eras of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, and masterworks of character comedy from Paul Rhymer and Gertrude Berg.
Master Evidence & Archival Table
| Series & Episode ID | Title | Verified Airdate | Network & Timeslot | Sponsor & Ads | Credited Cast & Personnel | Paper Citation Location | Authentic Transcript Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Theatre Royal0dbbb78c |
"Theatre Royal: The Happy Hypocrite" | 1954-08-11 | BBC / NBC Syndication Wed 9:30 PM EST |
Towers of London Syndicated | Sir Laurence Olivier (Host & Lord George Hell) Max Beerbohm (Author) |
BBC Light Programme / The Times (London) | Sir Laurence Olivier stars in Max Beerbohm's witty fable of Lord George Hell, an unrepentant rake who dons a saintly wax mask to win the love of a pure maiden, only to find the mask transforms his soul. |
Grand Ole Opry100d8585 |
"Grand Ole Opry: You Done Me Wrong" | 1956-08-11 | WSM / NBC Coast-to-Coast Sat 8:30 PM CST |
Prince Albert Smoking Tobacco | Ray Price (Cherokee Cowboy) Grant Turner (Announcer) |
WSM Grand Ole Opry Master Log / Billboard | Broadcast live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee: the Cherokee Cowboy Ray Price performs his chart-topping hit 'You Done Me Wrong' backed by the Western Drifters. |
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar2f8a0a5d |
"Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Nancy Shaw Matter" | 1953-08-11 | CBS Radio Tue 9:00 PM EST |
Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum | John Lund (Johnny Dollar) Jaime del Valle (Director) |
CBS Radio Guide (1953-08-11, WBBM) / Chicago Tribune | John Lund stars as insurance investigator Johnny Dollar: summoned to Chicago to untangle the suspicious vanishing of wealthy socialite Nancy Shaw and a phony kidnapping demand. |
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar02b69c36 |
"Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Killer's Brand Matter" | 1957-08-11 | CBS Radio Sun 5:30 PM EST |
CBS Sustaining Crime Series | Bob Readick (Johnny Dollar) Jack Johnstone (Producer) |
CBS Radio Program Guide (1957-08-11, WCBS) | Bob Readick's gritty interpretation of Johnny Dollar: arriving in Texas amid a frontier civic jubilee to uncover who branded a murdered rancher with a rustler's iron. |
The Adventures of Supermana19a3c37 |
"The Adventures of Superman: The Secret of the Genie (Part 8)" | 1948-08-11 | Mutual Broadcasting Wed 5:15 PM EST |
Kellogg's Pep Whole Wheat Cereal | Bud Collyer (Superman / Clark Kent) Joan Alexander (Lois Lane) |
Mutual Network Schedule (1948-08-11, WOR) / NY Herald Tribune | Bud Collyer stars as the Man of Steel: speeding faster than a locomotive to save Lois Lane from occult schemers attempting to unleash demonic elemental forces upon Metropolis. |
Vic and Sadedec9788f |
"Vic and Sade: Uncle Fletcher Must Rest Brain and Body" | 1944-08-11 | NBC Red Fri 1:15 PM EWT |
Crisco Shortening (Procter & Gamble) | Art Van Harvey (Vic) Bernardine Flynn (Sade) Clarence Hartzell (Uncle Fletcher) |
NBC Red Network Schedule (1944-08-11, WEAF) | Paul Rhymer's comedic brilliance: Uncle Fletcher arrives at the Gook residence insisting his mental faculties require total cessation of all physical movement and conversation. |
The Goldbergsa58bea88 |
"The Goldbergs: Visiting the Mayers" | 1944-08-11 | CBS Radio Fri 1:45 PM EWT |
Duz Granulated Soap (P&G) | Gertrude Berg (Molly Goldberg / Writer) James R. Waters (Jake Goldberg) |
CBS Radio Program Directory (1944-08-11, WABC) | Gertrude Berg stars as Molly Goldberg: carefully planning an awkward social call upon the affluent Mayer family to broker harmony between in-laws, sponsored by Duz soap. |
Calling All Cars8116a3b9 |
"Calling All Cars: The Manila Envelopes" | 1937-08-11 | Don Lee Mutual Wed 8:00 PM PST |
Rio Grande Petroleum | William N. Robson (Writer & Director) Charles Frederick Lindsley (Host) |
Don Lee Radio Guide (1937-08-11, KFRC) / SF Chronicle | True-crime radio dramatization: San Francisco narcotics detectives intercept Broadcast 194, trailing an illicit opium distribution network that utilized confidential legal mailings. |
Counterspy31e9fd83 |
"Counterspy: The Murmured Millions" | 1949-08-11 | ABC Radio Thu 8:00 PM EST |
Pepsi-Cola Soft Drinks | Don MacLaughlin (David Harding) Mandel Kramer (Peters) |
ABC Radio Schedule (1949-08-11, WJZ) / NY Times | Don MacLaughlin stars as Chief David Harding: uncovering a syndicate of foreign subversives who print millions in forged currency to destabilize domestic commodity markets. |
The Johnson Wax Program2a93238d |
"The Johnson Wax Program: Wings on High" | 1942-08-11 | NBC Red Tue 9:30 PM EWT |
Johnson's Self-Polishing Glo-Coat & Carnu | Meredith Willson (Conductor & Host) Harlow Wilcox (Announcer) |
NBC Red Coast Log (1942-08-11, WEAF) / S.C. Johnson | Meredith Willson and His Orchestra (summer replacement for Fibber McGee) premiere Willson's symphonic suite 'Wings on High' dedicated to Allied aviators battling over Europe. |
Highlights
- Laurence Olivier's 'Theatre Royal' Transatlantic Mastery (August 11, 1954): Produced by Harry Alan Towers for worldwide transcription distribution, Theatre Royal paired Britain's greatest stage actor with witty literature. In Max Beerbohm's The Happy Hypocrite, Olivier portrays both narrator and Lord George Hell with aristocratic irony, showing how Victorian radio could translate high literary satire into compelling audio theater.
- Ray Price & The 1950s Country Revolution (August 11, 1956): Broadcast live over NBC from WSM's historic Ryman Auditorium, Ray Price's performance of "You Done Me Wrong" captured the transitional moment when traditional honky-tonk began incorporating modern Nashville shuffle beats, introduced with folksy Southern warmth by Opry announcer Grant Turner.
- Paul Rhymer's Comic Realism in 'Vic and Sade' (August 11, 1944): While wartime soap operas were drenched in tearful melodrama, Paul Rhymer's Vic and Sade remained unrivaled in microscopic observational comedy. Clarence Hartzell's Uncle Fletcher delivering a solemn monologue on why his brain requires complete immobilization in an armchair is American radio writing at its absolute peak.
- Authentic Police Report in 'Calling All Cars' (August 11, 1937): Directed by radio pioneer William N. Robson, Calling All Cars utilized genuine police teletype and shortwave report verbiage years before Dragnet codified the procedural genre, grounding each episode in real municipal arrests.