On This Day, September 3: Dick Powell and Perry Mason
Also featured: FDR.
September 3 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on September 3 across hardboiled private detective capers written by Blake Edwards, historic Oval Office fireside chats on European war neutrality, courtroom murder defenses, British light comedy, and live telephone music quiz programs, Dick Powell as Richard Diamond for Rexall (1949), President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939), John Larkin in Perry Mason (1951), George Cole in A Life of Bliss on BBC (1957), and Dan Seymour on Sing It Again (1939–1957):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Harry Baker Case with Dick Powell as Richard Diamond" | NBC (KFI) 1949-09-03 7:00 PM EDT |
Rexall Drug Co. Rexall 1-Cent Sale |
Dick Powell (Diamond) | Virginia Gregg & Edwards | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Richard Diamond", "Dick Powell", "Rexall"] |
Private investigator Richard Diamond is hired by a wealthy department store owner whose wife has been implicated in a high-stakes jewel robbery ring. |
| "The Kleptomaniac Ring with Dick Powell as Richard Diamond" | NBC (KFI) 1949-09-03 7:00 PM EDT |
Rexall Drug Co. Rexall 1-Cent Sale |
Dick Powell (Diamond) | Ed Begley & Edwards | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Richard Diamond", "Dick Powell", "Rexall"] |
Richard Diamond unravels a criminal syndicate blackmailing prominent society women into acting as unwitting fences for stolen furs. |
| "On the European War and Neutrality with President Roosevelt" | Combined Networks 1939-09-03 10:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Presidential Address |
President FDR | White House Staff | ["Speech", "WWII", "FDR", "Fireside Chats", "President"] |
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation from the White House pledging to exert every effort of government to keep America out of the European war. |
| "The Case of the Strangled Blackmailer with John Larkin as Perry Mason" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-09-03 2:15 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Tide & Camay Soap |
John Larkin (Mason) | Joan Alexander & Gardner | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Perry Mason", "John Larkin", "Tide"] |
Defense attorney Perry Mason defends an innocent secretary accused of poisoning her former employer after discovering a hidden blackmail ledger. |
| "Penny Gay's Return with George Cole" | BBC Light 1957-09-03 |
Sustaining British Comedy |
George Cole (Bliss) | Godfrey Harrison & Edwards | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "A Life Of Bliss", "George Cole", "BBC"] |
Bumbling bachelor David Bliss fumbles social etiquette when his former romantic flame Penny Gay unexpectedly returns to the village. |
| "The Phantom Voice Mystery Melody with Dan Seymour" | CBS (WCBS) 1949-09-03 8:00 PM EDT |
Carter Products Carter's Little Liver Pills |
Dan Seymour (MC) | Alan Dale & Ray Bloch | ["Game Show", "Music", "Sing It Again", "Dan Seymour", "Carters"] |
Studio callers attempt to identify the celebrity speaking in the Phantom Voice musical riddle for a massive cash jackpot. |