On This Day, August 23: Johnny Dollar and Mysterious Traveler
Also featured: Cab Calloway.
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 (1943–1959):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Do I Worry?: The Sons of the Pioneers (Dr Pepper Show #454)" | Syndication 1945-08-23 (Show #454) |
Dr Pepper Co. Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2 & 4 |
Sons of the Pioneers (Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer, Hugh Farr) | Dr Pepper Bottling Co., Jack Lacy (Announcer) | ["Music", "Country", "Western", "Vocal", "Folk"] |
The Sons of the Pioneers perform western harmony favorites opening with 'Do I Worry?', combining fiddle and guitar interludes with cowboy ballads for Dr Pepper. |
| "The Embarcadero Matter (Starring Bob Readick as Johnny Dollar)" | CBS (WCBS) 1959-08-23 6:05 PM EDT |
Sustaining CBS Mystery Presentation |
Bob Readick (Johnny Dollar), Mandel Kramer, Teri Keane | Jack Johnstone (Writer), Bruno Zirato Jr., Dan Donaldson | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Action"] |
The man with the action-packed expense account travels to San Francisco's fog-shrouded Embarcadero waterfront to investigate the mysterious cargo explosion of an insured freighter, uncovering a smuggling ring in counterfeit industrial diamonds. |
| "Why Don't You Die? (Hosted by Maurice Tarplin as The Mysterious Traveler)" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-23 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Thriller Series |
Maurice Tarplin (The Mysterious Traveler), Karl Swenson | Robert A. Arthur & David Kogan, Carl Warren | ["Horror", "Suspense", "Thriller", "Psychological", "Macabre"] |
The Mysterious Traveler tells the macabre tale of a greedy nephew who attempts three separate foolproof murders to kill his wealthy invalid uncle for an inheritance, only to discover his uncle's grotesque, indestructible supernatural secret. |
| "The Firebug (Starring Edward Pawley as Steve Wilson — Lifebuoy)" | NBC (WNBC) 1949-08-23 8:00 PM EDT |
Lever Brothers Lifebuoy Soap & Rinso |
Edward Pawley (Steve Wilson), Fran Carlon (Lorelei) | Jerry Devine (Producer/Director), Ken Roberts | ["Newspaper", "Drama", "Crime", "Detective", "Action"] |
Crusading Illustrated Press managing editor Steve Wilson and star reporter Lorelei Kilbourne hunt a psychotic serial arsonist terrorizing Big Town's industrial tenement district before his next fire destroys an orphanage. |
| "The Weapon That Saves Lives: The Story of Blood Plasma (Starring Madeleine Carroll — DuPont)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1943-08-23 8:00 PM EWT |
DuPont Better Things for Better Living |
Madeleine Carroll, Karl Swenson, John McIntire | Robert Tallman (Writer), Homer Fickett, Clayton Collyer | ["Historical", "Docudrama", "Medical", "War", "Morale"] |
Screen star Madeleine Carroll stars in a stirring wartime dramatization of Dr. Charles Drew and the pioneering development of freeze-dried blood plasma transfusions that saved thousands of Allied soldiers' lives on the battlefields of World War II. |
| "Bill Stern's Sports Newsreel: Guest Cab Calloway (Colgate Shave Cream)" | NBC (WEAF) 1946-08-23 10:30 PM EDT |
Colgate Colgate Shave Cream & Halo |
Bill Stern (Host), Cab Calloway (Guest Star) | Joseph Mansfield (Producer), Bob Stanton (Announcer) | ["Sports", "Interview", "Docudrama", "Variety", "Music"] |
Legendary sportscaster Bill Stern presents rapid-fire dramatic sports legends and welcomes jazz superstar Cab Calloway to share surprising behind-the-scenes athletic anecdotes and his passion for baseball and Harlem athletics. |