On This Day, August 23: Rosalind Russell and Woody Herman's First Herd
Also featured: Honest Harold.
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 South African broadcasting history (1938–1968):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Sweepstakes Swindle (The Fake Lottery Racket)" | WXYZ / Mutual 1938-08-23 8:00 PM EST |
Sustaining Selected Regional Advertisers |
Al Hodge (Britt Reid / Green Hornet), Raymond Hayashi (Kato), Lenore Allman | George W. Trendle & Fran Striker (Creators), James Jewell (Director) | ["Superhero", "Crime", "Action", "Adventure", "Serial"] |
Britt Reid and Kato target a corrupt printing syndicate running a fraudulent foreign sweepstakes lottery that swindles working-class families, staging a raid in the Black Beauty to force the syndicate ringleader to expose his hidden distribution list to the police. |
| "AFRS One Night Stand #714: Woody Herman Orchestra Live at the Meadowbrook" | AFRS Transcription 1945-08-23 (Cedar Grove, NJ) |
Non-commercial Armed Forces Radio Service |
Woody Herman Orchestra (First Herd), Frances Wayne, Flip Phillips, Pete Candoli | AFRS Los Angeles, Bob Welch (Sound Engineer) | ["Music", "Big Band", "Jazz", "Live Remote"] |
Woody Herman leads his electrifying 'First Herd' orchestra live from the Meadowbrook Ballroom in New Jersey, featuring songstress Frances Wayne on 'Good, Good, Good' and soaring brass solos on 'Caldonia' and 'Apple Honey' for Allied armed forces. |
| "Big Dutch's Last Safari (Series Finale)" | Springbok / SABC 1968-08-23 7:15 PM |
General Motors SA Chevrolet & Vauxhall |
John Silver (Big Dutch), Colin Campbell, Diane Appleby | Michael Silver (Director), SABC Durban Production | ["Adventure", "Drama", "Action", "African"] |
In the dramatic final episode of the long-running African bush series, veteran hunter and safari guide Big Dutch leads his expedition through a torrential Zambezi River flash flood to rescue a trapped naturalist team from a rogue elephant herd. |
| "Honest Harold: CBS Network Pilot Audition (Harold Hemp, The Homemaker)" | CBS (KNX Hollywood) 1950-08-23 (Audition Recording) |
Sustaining CBS Audition Recording |
Harold Peary (Harold Hemp), Jane Morgan (Mother Hemp), Gloria Holliday | Arthur Alsberg (Writer), Norman Macdonnell (Director), Bob LeMond (Announcer) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic"] |
In the network pilot audition, Harold Peary stars as Harold Hemp, an opinionated radio broadcaster dispensing domestic homemaking advice over local station KORN while fumbling his own home life with his demanding mother and eccentric town neighbors. |
| "Franklyn MacCormack: 'How Strange' & Midnight Verses" | WGN / Mutual 1939-08-23 11:15 PM CST |
Sustaining Late-Night Spoken Word |
Franklyn MacCormack (Host / Reader), Harold Turner (Organist) | WGN Radio Drama Bureau, Chicago | ["Poetry", "Literature", "Easy Listening", "Talk"] |
Franklyn MacCormack reads evocative late-night verses and philosophical reflections set to soothing Hammond organ melodies, narrating 'How Strange' to help midnight listeners unwind. |
| "The Velvet Touch (Starring Rosalind Russell & Sydney Greenstreet)" | NBC (WNBC) 1951-08-23 10:00 PM EDT |
Whitehall Pharmacal Anacin & RCA Victor |
Rosalind Russell (Valerie), Sydney Greenstreet (Trevor), John Lund | Milton Geiger (Adapter), John Gage (Director), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Noir", "Hollywood"] |
Celebrated Broadway comedienne Valerie Stanton accidentally kills her manipulative theatrical producer during a dressing room confrontation, struggling with intense guilt and suspicion as a brilliant police detective questions everyone in the cast. |