On This Day, August 22: Candy Matson and Pete Kelly's Blues
Also featured: Chandu, Meet the Press.
August 22 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for 6 historical broadcasts transmitting on August 22 across American network and local broadcasting history (1932–1954):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "George Barnes Celebrates Fatherhood" | WGN / Mutual 1949-08-22 (Chicago Remote) |
Local Sponsors Sustaining Chicago |
George Barnes (Electric Guitar Soloist), Gold Coast Rhythm Ensemble | WGN Production Staff, Pierre Andre (Announcer), Tribune Tower Chicago | ["Music", "Jazz", "Variety"] |
Jazz guitar pioneer George Barnes celebrates the birth of his newborn child on the air, performing virtuoso electric guitar arrangements of 'I Got Rhythm', 'Lover Come Back to Me', and 'Stardust' with the Gold Coast Rhythm Ensemble from WGN Chicago. |
| "The Rusty Dale Case" | NBC Pacific (KNBC) 1949-08-22 9:00 PM PDT |
Sustaining NBC Pacific Network |
Natalie Masters (Candy Matson), Lou Tobin (Lt. Ray Mallard), Henry Leff (Rembrandt Watson), Jack Moyles (Rusty Dale) | Monty Masters (Writer & Director), Bill Brown (Sound Effects), Dudley Manlove (Announcer) | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Drama"] |
Stylish San Francisco private investigator Candy Matson is hired by a frantic racehorse owner when championship jockey Rusty Dale goes missing hours before the Bay Meadows Gold Cup, discovering that a crooked gambling syndicate kidnapped Dale to force him to throw the race. |
| "The Oasis of the Black Camel" | Mutual-Don Lee (KHJ) 1932-08-22 8:00 PM PST |
Los Angeles Soap Co. White King Granulated Soap |
Gayne Whitman (Chandu / Frank Chandler), Margaret MacDonald (Princess Nadji), Cyril Armbrister (Prince Roxor), Bob Bixby (Bob) | Vera Oldham & Harry A. Earnshaw (Writers), Cyril Armbrister (Director), Felix Mills (Organist) | ["Adventure", "Fantasy", "Occult"] |
Frank Chandler uses his mystic Eastern occult powers and astral projection to guide his family through an Egyptian desert sandstorm, arriving at the Oasis of the Black Camel in time to rescue Princess Nadji from Prince Roxor. |
| "Special Report: European Relief and Marshall Plan Briefing" | Mutual (WOL) 1947-08-22 10:00 PM EDT |
Non-commercial MBS Public Affairs |
Mutual News Correspondents, Washington Bureau | Martha Rountree (Producer), WOL Washington Studios | ["News", "Public Affairs", "Historical"] |
Mutual news correspondents report from Washington on emergency White House diplomatic conferences regarding the drafting of the European Restoration Program (Marshall Plan) and bilateral coal export quotas for war-torn Western Europe. |
| "Senator Wayne Morse on Midterm Elections and McCarthy Censure" | NBC (WRC Washington) 1954-08-22 6:00 PM EDT |
Pan American Airways Revere Copper & Brass |
Martha Rountree (Moderator), Lawrence E. Spivak, May Craig, Marquis Childs. Guest: Sen. Wayne Morse | Carl Degen (Director), Martha Rountree & Lawrence Spivak (Producers) | ["Talk", "News", "Public Affairs"] |
Independent Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon faces sharp questioning regarding his break with the Republican Party, the upcoming 1954 midterm elections, Senate censure proceedings against Senator Joseph McCarthy, and proposed amendments to the Atomic Energy Act. |
| "Gus Is A Wanted Man" | NBC (KFI Los Angeles) 1951-08-22 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining NBC Radio Network |
Jack Webb (Pete Kelly), Whit Bissell (Gus), Meredith Willson (Narrator), Dick Cathcart (Cornet Soloist) | James Moser & Richard L. Breen (Writers), Jack Webb (Director), Matty Matlock (Music Arrangements), George Fenneman (Announcer) | ["Music", "Crime", "Jazz", "Drama"] |
In 1927 Kansas City, cornetist Pete Kelly discovers his speakeasy piano player Gus is on the run from a ruthless St. Louis bootlegging mob after witnessing a gangland execution, hiding Gus in the bandstand while dodging hitmen who corner the club after hours. |