On This Day, August 23: Tennessee Ernie Ford and Murder at Midnight
Also featured: Tarzan.
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 (1946–1958):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Adventures of Tarzan #33: The Trophy Room (Starring Lamont Johnson)" | Commodore Syndication 1951-08-23 (Transcribed Ep 33) |
Local Commercials Commodore Advertisers |
Lamont Johnson (Tarzan), Carlton KaDell, Lou Krugman | Walter White Jr. (Producer), Bud Ernest (Director) | ["Adventure", "Jungle", "Action", "Pulp"] |
Tarzan matches wits with a deranged big-game trophy hunter who captures rare African animals and jungle explorers for his macabre private museum collection inside a fortified jungle compound. |
| "Trouble Off San Lorenca (Starring Lamont Johnson as Tarzan)" | Commodore Syndication 1952-08-23 (Transcribed) |
Local Commercials Commodore Advertisers |
Lamont Johnson (Tarzan), Gerald Mohr, Herb Butterfield | Walter White Jr. (Producer), Michael Rye (Announcer) | ["Adventure", "Jungle", "Action", "Pulp"] |
Tarzan travels to the African coastal port of San Lorenca to stop an illegal gun-running syndicate supplying heavy weapons to renegade bandits threatening native peaceful villages. |
| "The Ford Road Show with Tennessee Ernie Ford: 'If I Could Be with You' (Ford Motors)" | CBS (WCBS) 1958-08-23 11:05 AM EDT |
Ford Motor Company Ford Fairlane & Thunderbird |
Tennessee Ernie Ford, Voices of Walter Schumann, Jack Fascinato | CBS Music Bureau, Jack Narz (Announcer) | ["Music", "Country", "Vocal", "Gospel", "Pop"] |
Tennessee Ernie Ford entertains weekend motorists for the Ford Motor Company with warm country wit and gospel-tinged pop standards, singing 'If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)' and 'Sixteen Tons'. |
| "Elaine Carrington's Enter Youth (Starring Donald Buka & Joan Tetzel)" | Mutual (WOR) 1946-08-23 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Radio Theater |
Elaine Carrington (Hostess), Donald Buka, Joan Tetzel | Elaine Carrington (Author), Carlo De Angelo | ["Drama", "Anthology", "Romance", "Coming of Age"] |
Radio playwright Elaine Carrington presents an original coming-of-age drama following an ambitious young art student from the Midwest struggling to establish his artistic identity and find true love in bohemian Greenwich Village. |
| "Death Tolls a Requiem (Hosted by Raymond Edward Johnson)" | Syndication 1946-08-23 (Transcribed) |
Local Commercials Syndicated Advertisers |
Raymond Edward Johnson (The Host), Berry Kroeger, Robert Dryden | Louis Vittes (Writer), Anton M. Leader (Director) | ["Horror", "Mystery", "Thriller", "Supernatural", "Macabre"] |
An arrogant church bell-ringer murders his wealthy rival in the dark bell tower belfry, only to be driven mad when the heavy funeral bronze bell begins tolling a terrifying supernatural requiem on its own. |
| "Brother Johnson and Pee Wee Meet the Counterfeiters (Jimmy Scribner)" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-23 4:45 PM EDT |
Sustaining Mutual Daytime Drama |
Jimmy Scribner (Solo Voice Actor for all 22 characters) | Jimmy Scribner (Creator, Writer & Performer) | ["Comedy", "Drama", "Small Town", "Solo Voice"] |
Virtuoso solo voice actor Jimmy Scribner portrays all 22 characters of Chickazaw town as Brother Johnson and young Pee Wee unwittingly get entangled with a gang of smooth-talking city counterfeiters passing bogus five-dollar bills. |