On This Day, August 23: Glenn Miller and Spencer Dean Serial Mystery
Also featured: Treasury Agent.
August 23 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, serial multi-part narrative structure, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 23 across American network and military broadcasting history (1932–1955):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "From This Dark Stairway (Part 1) — Spencer Dean Mystery" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1932-08-23 9:30 PM EDST |
J.C. Eno Ltd. Eno Effervescent Fruit Salt |
Edward Reese (Spencer Dean), John Kane (Dan Cassidy), Walter Connolly | Mignon G. Eberhart (Author), Stewart Sterling (Adapter), William S. Rainey (Director) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Crime", "Serial"] |
In Part 1 of this multi-part serial mystery adapted from Mignon G. Eberhart, Spencer Dean (The Manhunter) and sidekick Dan Cassidy investigate the midnight stabbing murder of a prominent surgeon in a dark hospital service stairway, uncovering a web of blackmail among the surgical staff. |
| "Glenn Miller Orchestra Live at Glen Island Casino (Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade)" | CBS / Mutual 1939-08-23 10:00 PM EDST |
Liggett & Myers Chesterfield Cigarettes ("They Satisfy") |
Glenn Miller Orchestra, Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke | Liggett & Myers Radio Division, Paul Douglas (Announcer) | ["Music", "Big Band", "Swing", "Live Remote"] |
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra broadcast live from the Glen Island Casino on Long Island Sound, performing Miller's signature theme 'Moonlight Serenade' alongside Ray Eberle singing 'Blue Evening' and Marion Hutton belting out 'The Man with the Mandolin' for Chesterfield Cigarettes. |
| "The Case of the Desperate Diamond Dealer" | Mutual (WOR) 1955-08-23 8:30 PM EDT |
U.S. Treasury Dept. Sustaining Radio Crime Series |
Robert Sloane (Chief Agent Joe Lincoln), Lawson Zerbe, Mandel Kramer | Phillips H. Lord (Creator), Leonard Valenta (Director), Carl Warren (Announcer) | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "True Crime"] |
Chief Treasury Agent Joe Lincoln tracks an international diamond syndicate smuggling raw industrial gems across the Canadian border inside false-bottom gasoline tankers, springing a sting operation on a debt-ridden Antwerp gem cutter in upstate New York. |
| "Entity from the Void" | Mutual (WOR) 1947-08-23 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Fantasy & Sci-Fi |
Bret Morrison (Narrator), John Gibson, Gertrude Warner | George Lowther (Writer), Jock MacGregor (Director), Jack Amerine (SFX) | ["Science Fiction", "Horror", "Suspense", "Anthology"] |
An astrophysicist operating a mountaintop observatory captures radio transmissions from deep space that materialize as a shapeless, energy-consuming cosmic entity, threatening to drain the electrical grid of the entire Eastern Seaboard. |
| "Monday Morning Class (NBC University of the Air)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1942-08-23 3:00 PM EWT |
NBC Inter-American University of the Air |
Blevins Davis (Host), Donald Crisp, Arthur Byron, Selena Royle | Blevins Davis (Writer, Producer & Director) | ["Drama", "Educational", "Theatre", "Literature"] |
Host Blevins Davis presents an educational drama chronicling a dedicated Midwestern high school literature teacher who inspires a generation of working-class students during the Great Depression by introducing them to classic world dramatic masterpieces. |
| "AFRS Gold Coast Rhythm Show: 'Big George' Miller with Count Basie & Dinah Washington" | AFRS Transcription 1949-08-23 (Chicago / Great Lakes) |
Non-commercial Armed Forces Radio Service |
Staff Sgt. George 'Big George' Miller (Host / DJ) | AFRS Chicago, Bob Carlson (Sound Engineer) | ["Music", "Jazz", "Rhythm and Blues", "Military"] |
Disc jockey Big George Miller spins swinging jump blues, bebop, and rhythm-and-blues sides for military service personnel stationed overseas, joking about being left out of the weekend base pass list between Duke Ellington and Dinah Washington tracks. |