On This Day, August 23: Lau Shaw's Rickshaw Boy Serial and Hearts in Harmony
Also featured: Just a Minute.
August 23 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, serial multi-part narrative arcs, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 23 across American and British broadcasting history (1945–2004):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Too Charming to Live (Captain John Drake)" | Mutual (WOR) 1954-08-23 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Radio Drama |
Joe DeSantis (Captain Drake), Mandel Kramer, Bryna Raeburn | William Sweets (Writer), Wynn Wright (Director), Carl Warren | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "True Crime"] |
Police Captain John Drake investigates the penthouse murder of a suave European socialite who extorted vast sums from prominent society figures, discovering that the victim's hidden tape recorder captured the killer's confession moments before the fatal gunshot. |
| "The Rickshaw Boy (Part 4) — Adapted from Lau Shaw" | ABC (WJZ) 1945-08-23 3:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining ABC Daytime Literary Serial |
Bret Morrison (Narrator / Dramatic Reader) | Lau Shaw (Author), ABC Radio Drama, Charles Powers (Director) | ["Drama", "Literature", "Asian", "Serial"] |
In Part 4 of the dramatic serialization of Lau Shaw's acclaimed novel Rickshaw Boy, narrator Bret Morrison portrays the honest Beijing rickshaw puller Xiangzi as he labors under oppressive warlord rule, struggling to save enough copper coins to purchase his own rickshaw after being robbed by deserting soldiers. |
| "Freddie Finds Rogers (Kroger Country Club Coffee)" | Kroger Syndication (WLW) 1946-08-23 10:30 AM EST |
Kroger Grocery & Baking Kroger Country Club Coffee |
Jone Allison (Penny Ward), Jerry Macy (Freddie), George Petrie | Arthur Hanna (Director), Ed Herlihy (Announcer) | ["Soap Opera", "Romance", "Drama", "Serial"] |
In this daytime soap opera serial, aspiring radio songstress Penny Ward is overjoyed when her faithful manager Freddie tracks down elusive music arranger Rogers at a secluded country inn, persuading him to compose an orchestral score for Penny's upcoming network debut. |
| "Just a Minute: 'How We Survived the Blitz' (with Paul Merton & Clement Freud)" | BBC Radio 4 1994-08-23 6:30 PM |
Non-commercial BBC Public Service |
Nicholas Parsons (Chairman), Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Tony Hawks | Ian Messiter (Creator), Edward Taylor (Producer) | ["Comedy", "Panel Show", "Game Show", "British"] |
Chairman Nicholas Parsons challenges panelists Clement Freud, Derek Nimmo, Paul Merton, and Tony Hawks to speak on 'How We Survived the Blitz' for sixty seconds without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. |
| "Just a Minute Live at the Edinburgh Fringe: 'Something I Only Do in Edinburgh'" | BBC Radio 4 1999-08-23 6:30 PM |
Non-commercial BBC Public Service |
Nicholas Parsons (Chairman), Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Linda Smith | Ian Messiter (Creator), Claire Jones (Producer) | ["Comedy", "Panel Show", "Game Show", "British"] |
Chairman Nicholas Parsons presides over a raucous Edinburgh Festival edition with panelists Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Linda Smith, and Ross Noble, testing their improvisational wit on 'Something I Only Do in Edinburgh'. |
| "Just a Minute Live at the Edinburgh Festival: 'If Women Ruled the World'" | BBC Radio 4 2004-08-23 6:30 PM |
Non-commercial BBC Public Service |
Nicholas Parsons (Chairman), Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Sue Perkins | Ian Messiter (Creator), Claire Jones (Producer) | ["Comedy", "Panel Show", "Game Show", "British"] |
Chairman Nicholas Parsons referees an Edinburgh Festival match featuring Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, and Graham Norton, debating 'If Women Ruled the World' under the strict sixty-second rules. |