On This Day, August 23: Claudette Colbert and The Cisco Kid
Also featured: Bill Lance.
August 23 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 23 across American network and syndicated broadcasting history (1937–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Skylark (Starring Claudette Colbert & Ray Milland — Lady Esther)" | CBS (KNX) 1943-08-23 10:00 PM EWT |
Lady Esther, Ltd. 4-Purpose Face Cream & Powder |
Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Binnie Barnes | Samson Raphaelson (Author), Bill Lawrence (Director) | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Drama", "Adaptation"] |
Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland star in Samson Raphaelson's sophisticated romantic comedy Skylark, playing a neglected advertising executive's wife who hires an eccentric bohemian lawyer to stage a pretend flirtation to win back her husband's romantic attention. |
| "The Case of the Counterfeit Heir (Starring Gerald Mohr as Bill Lance)" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-23 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Detective Drama |
Gerald Mohr (Bill Lance), Howard McNear, Cathy Lewis | J. Benton Cheney (Creator), James Fonda (Director) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Crime"] |
Globe-trotting private investigator Bill Lance and his eccentric valet Ulysses Higgins investigate a fraudulent claimant attempting to seize a deceased shipping magnate's estate, unmasking an international syndicate of identity thieves. |
| "Law of the Dead (Starring Jack Mather as The Cisco Kid)" | Mutual 1955-08-23 5:30 PM EDT |
Wonder Bread Local Advertisers |
Jack Mather (The Cisco Kid), Harry Lang (Pancho) | Jeanne Yount (Director), Michael Rye (Announcer) | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action", "Children"] |
The Cisco Kid and his loyal companion Pancho ride into a ghost town where an outlaw band uses spooky graveyard superstitions to frighten off prospectors while looting an abandoned silver mine. |
| "The Stagecoach Gold Ambush (Starring Jack Mather & Mel Blanc)" | Mutual 1956-08-23 5:30 PM EDT |
Weber's Bread Regional Advertisers |
Jack Mather (The Cisco Kid), Mel Blanc (Pancho) | Jeanne Yount (Director), Michael Rye (Announcer) | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action", "Children"] |
The Cisco Kid and Pancho track a gang of masked road agents who ambushed the Butterfield Overland stagecoach, restoring a stolen bullion shipment and clearing an innocent young stablehand. |
| "Jerry of the Circus #77: Zeke Flees the Big Top (Kerr Mason Jars)" | Syndication 1937-08-23 (Transcribed Ep 77) |
Kerr Glass Mfg. Kerr Mason Jars & Fruit Caps |
Tommy Cook (Jerry), Patrick J. Kelly, Earle Hodgins | Master Radio Productions, Jimmy Wallington | ["Children", "Adventure", "Circus", "Family"] |
In Episode 77 of Jerry of the Circus, young Jerry and circus clown Bardo uncover suspicious financial sabotage in the big top accounting tent, causing crooked roustabout Zeke to flee the circus grounds ahead of the local sheriff. |
| "An Evening at the Summer Theatre (Coca-Cola)" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-23 4:30 PM EDT |
The Coca-Cola Co. Coca-Cola |
Patricia Ryan (Claudia), Richard Kollmar (David) | Rose Franken (Author), Paul Stewart (Director) | ["Comedy", "Drama", "Romance", "Domestic"] |
Young suburban couple Claudia and David Naughton attend an eccentric Connecticut summer stock playhouse production, where Claudia gets unexpectedly recruited to step into a leading dramatic role when the lead actress walks out. |