On This Day, August 22: Herman Melville's Benito Cereno and George Washington Carver
Also featured: Judy Canova.
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, public, and syndicated broadcasting history (1937–1984):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Corpse at the Table & Submarine Pioneer John Philip Holland" | CBS (WABC) 1943-08-22 9:00 PM EWT |
Campbell Soup Co. "M'm! M'm! Good!" |
Conrad Nagel (Host / Narrator), dramatic radio ensemble | William Spier (Director), Lyn Murray (Music) | ["Drama", "Anthology", "Historical"] |
Conrad Nagel narrates a dramatic double-bill adapted from The Reader's Digest, exploring an eerie Parisian dinner party mystery involving an uninvited guest, alongside the true biographical saga of Irish-American inventor John Philip Holland pioneering the modern submarine for the U.S. Navy. |
| "Benito Cereno (Starring Peter Coyote & Paul Winfield)" | NPR / Mind's Eye 1984-08-22 (Syndicated) |
CPB / NPR National Public Radio |
Peter Coyote (Capt. Amasa Delano), Paul Winfield (Babo), Tony Jay (Don Benito Cereno) | Herman Melville (Author), Erik Bauersfeld (Adapter), Jim McKee (Sound Design) | ["Drama", "Historical", "Mystery", "Literature"] |
In an atmospheric adaptation of Herman Melville's novella, American merchant captain Amasa Delano boards a battered Spanish slave ship adrift off Chile, oblivious to the fact that the seemingly humble servant Babo is orchestrating an elaborate psychological deception over traumatized captain Don Benito Cereno. |
| "George Washington Carver: Heritage of the Soil (Part 2)" | KDKA / Westinghouse 1944-08-22 (Syndicated Disc 138) |
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company |
Dr. Phillips Thomas (The Research Storyteller) | Westinghouse Radio Division, Paul Shannon (Announcer) | ["Educational", "Science", "Biography", "Historical"] |
Dr. Phillips Thomas chronicles the second part of agricultural pioneer Dr. George Washington Carver's life at Tuskegee Institute, explaining how his revolutionary crop-rotation research and hundreds of industrial peanut products revitalized Southern agriculture. |
| "Pierre Bretonneau and the First Diphtheria Tracheotomy" | KDKA / Westinghouse 1950-08-22 (Syndicated) |
Westinghouse Electric Corporation |
Dr. Phillips Thomas (Storyteller) | Westinghouse Public Relations, Paul Shannon (Announcer) | ["Educational", "Science", "Biography", "Medical"] |
Dr. Phillips Thomas dramatizes the groundbreaking medical breakthrough of 19th-century French physician Pierre Bretonneau, who performed the first successful emergency tracheotomy in 1825 to save children suffering from lethal diphtheria asphyxiation. |
| "John Charles Thomas and Robert Benchley with Frank Black's Orchestra" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1937-08-22 2:00 PM EDT |
Radio Corp. of America RCA Victor Radios & Phonographs |
Frank Black and Orchestra, John Charles Thomas (Baritone), Robert Benchley (Humorist) | Thomas L. Stix (Director), Milton Cross (Announcer) | ["Music", "Classical", "Variety", "Comedy"] |
Master of ceremonies Milton Cross and conductor Frank Black present an international musical showcase for RCA Victor, featuring opera baritone John Charles Thomas singing 'Trees', a dry comedic lecture by Robert Benchley, and transatlantic remote music pickups from London. |
| "Judy Enters the County Fair Bronco Rodeo" | NBC (KFI) 1948-08-22 9:30 PM EDT |
Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Halo Shampoo & Palmolive Soap |
Judy Canova, Mel Blanc (Pedro), Ruth Perrott (Aunt Aggie), Ruby Dandridge, Sportsmen Quartet | Fred Fox & Henry Hoople (Writers), Joe Rines (Director), Howard Petrie (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Music", "Variety"] |
Hillbilly comedy star Judy Canova enters a bucking bronco competition at the county fair to win prize money for Aunt Aggie's dilapidated tractor, creating chaos in the arena when Pedro mistakes the rodeo clown for a tax collector. |