On This Day, September 3: Bette Davis and Challenge of the Yukon
Also featured: Just a Minute.
September 3 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial story metadata declarations, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on September 3 across Great White North dog sled rescues, Hollywood classic murder melodramas, serialized husband-and-wife private eye capers, fast-paced British panel games, Whitehall civil service parodies, and Cold War escape adventures, Jay Michael in Challenge of the Yukon on WXYZ (1942), Bette Davis in The Letter (1959), Two on a Clue for General Foods (1945), Nicholas Parsons with Paul Merton and Graham Norton on Just a Minute (2001), The Men from the Ministry (1994), and John Steele, Adventurer (1942–2001):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Arc Metadata | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Smallpox with Jay Michael as Sergeant Preston" | WXYZ Detroit 1942-09-03 5:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Western Adventure |
Jay Michael (Preston) | Raymond Hayashi & Striker | ["Western", "Adventure", "Challenge Of The Yukon", "Sergeant Preston", "WXYZ"] |
null |
Sergeant Preston and his wonder dog Yukon King race through a blizzard on dog sled to deliver life-saving vaccines to an isolated mining camp. |
| "The Letter with Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall" | AFRTS 1959-09-03 |
Sustaining Hollywood Drama |
Bette Davis (Leslie) | Herbert Marshall & Maugham | ["Drama", "Classics", "Your Radio Theater", "Bette Davis", "AFRTS"] |
null |
A rubber plantation owner's wife in British Malaya goes on trial for fatally shooting a man she claims attacked her. |
| "The Case of the Noisy Corpse (Part 15) with Ned Wever" | CBS (WABC) 1945-09-03 2:00 PM EWT |
General Foods Post's 40% Bran Flakes |
Ned Wever (Jeff) | Louise Fitch & Ingram | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Two On A Clue", "Ned Wever", "General Foods"] |
{"title": "The Case of the Noisy Corpse", "part": 15, "total_parts": 25} |
Husband-and-wife private detectives Jeff and Penny Spencer search a seaside mausoleum for the source of midnight phantom broadcasts. |
| "How to Remember People's Names with Paul Merton and Graham Norton" | BBC Radio 4 2001-09-03 6:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Panel Game |
Nicholas Parsons (Chair) | Paul Merton & Graham Norton | ["Comedy", "Panel Game", "Just A Minute", "Paul Merton", "BBC Radio 4"] |
null |
Panelists compete to speak for one uninterrupted minute on How to Remember People's Names without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. |
| "Au Naturel with Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler" | Springbok / SABC 1994-09-03 |
Sustaining British Satire |
Richard Murdoch, Guyler | Edward Taylor (Writer) | ["Comedy", "British", "Men From The Ministry", "Deryck Guyler", "SABC"] |
null |
Bumbling civil servants from the General Assistance Department mistakenly inspect a private nudist colony while surveying government parklands. |
| "Roadblock with Don Douglas as John Steele" | Mutual (WOR) 1953-09-03 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Global Adventure |
Don Douglas (Steele) | Robert A. Arthur (Writer) | ["Adventure", "Espionage", "John Steele", "Don Douglas", "Mutual"] |
null |
John Steele navigates an armed guerrilla checkpoint in the Balkan mountains to smuggle a defector's family across the border. |