On This Day, August 22: Johnny Dollar and The Mysterious Traveler
Also featured: Big Town.
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 broadcasting history (1942–1950):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Trans-Pacific Export Matter (Studio Dress Rehearsal)" | CBS (KNX) 1950-08-22 (Studio Recording) |
Sustaining CBS Radio Network |
Edmond O'Brien (Johnny Dollar), Virginia Gregg, Raymond Burr, Howard McNear | Gil Doud & Paul Dudley (Writers), Jaime del Valle (Director), Wilbur Hatch (Music) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Noir", "Drama"] |
Freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar travels to the San Francisco waterfront to probe a maritime cargo scam involving high-grade industrial ball bearings supposedly shipped across the Pacific, unmasking a shipping clerk and a ruthless waterfront enforcer. |
| "Nightmare (The Recurring Dream of Murder)" | Mutual (WOR) 1950-08-22 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Thriller Series |
Maurice Tarplin (The Mysterious Traveler), Lawson Zerbe, Lyle Sudrow, Ann Shepherd | Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan (Writers & Directors), Jack Amerine (Sound Effects) | ["Supernatural", "Mystery", "Horror", "Psychological Thriller"] |
The Mysterious Traveler tells the unnerving tale of a distraught architect plagued by an inescapable recurring dream in which he murders his business partner, only to discover upon waking that identical crime scene clues are materializing around his apartment. |
| "The Return of the Ghost (The Phony Seance Swindle)" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-22 8:00 PM EWT |
Sterling Drug, Inc. Ironized Yeast & Phillips' Magnesia |
Edward Pawley (Steve Wilson), Fran Carlon (Lorelei Kilbourne), Mason Adams | Jerry McGill (Writer), William N. Robson (Director), Ken Niles (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Newspaper", "Crime", "Detective"] |
Crusty managing editor Steve Wilson and star reporter Lorelei Kilbourne launch an undercover exposé into a fraudulent spiritualist medium who preys on wealthy war widows by staging fake parlor seances with glowing phosphorus ghosts. |
| "Killers' Pay Day (The Murder Syndicate)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-22 8:00 PM EDT |
Lever Brothers Lifebuoy Soap & Rinso Detergent |
Edward Pawley (Steve Wilson), Fran Carlon (Lorelei Kilbourne), Ted Osborne | Jerry McGill (Writer), Crane Calder (Director), Bob Dixon (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Newspaper", "Crime", "Detective"] |
Steve Wilson and Lorelei Kilbourne expose a ruthless murder-for-hire syndicate operating behind a legitimate debt collection agency, racing against the clock to protect a key grand jury witness marked for assassination before payday. |
| "The Legend of the Blind Golfer & Pacific War Heroes" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1942-08-22 10:00 PM EWT |
Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Colgate Shaving Cream & Halo |
Bill Stern (The Colgate Sports Commentator), dramatic reenactment cast | Mac Davis (Writer), Joseph Mansfield (Director) | ["Sports", "Talk", "Historical", "Biography"] |
Legendary broadcaster Bill Stern delivers rapid-fire dramatic sports legends for Colgate, dramatizing the incredible story of a blinding combat injury overcome by a championship golfer and honoring military athletes serving in the Pacific Theater. |
| "Red Lantern and the Undersea School Bells" | Blue Network (WJZ) 1944-08-22 7:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Children's Fantasy Presentation |
Isabel Manning Hewson, Betty Jane Tyler, Raymond Ives, Art Carney (Red Lantern) | Isabel Manning Hewson (Author), Cyril Armbrister (Director), Walter Gross (Organ) | ["Fantasy", "Children", "Adventure"] |
Siblings Isabel and Billy travel beneath the ocean waves aboard Red Lantern the glowing fish to the magical Land of the Lost, searching for hundreds of lost brass school bells collected by a mischievous sea turtle before the start of the autumn school term. |