On This Day, August 24: Daphne du Maurier (The Apple Tree) and Grand Ole Opry
Also featured: Mr. Chameleon.
August 24 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 24 across American network, British BBC Radio 4, and educational science history (1943–1983):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Mind's Eye: Auditory Illusions (Warren Burton — NPR Audio Theatre)" | NPR / WHA 1983-08-24 8:00 PM CDT |
Sustaining NPR Audio Theatre |
Roger Babb, Bobbie Kramer, Norman Blumensaadt | Warren Burton (Producer/Director), Bob Arnold | ["Drama", "Experimental", "Psychological", "Audio Drama", "Anthology"] |
An atmospheric experimental radio drama exploring memory distortion, soundscape illusion, and psychological hallucination as an audio archivist discovers mysterious auditory patterns recorded on magnetic tape. |
| "Live from the Ryman: Red Foley & Ernest Tubb (Prince Albert Opry)" | NBC (WSM) 1957-08-24 9:30 PM CST |
R.J. Reynolds Co. Prince Albert Tobacco |
Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Minnie Pearl, Chet Atkins | Vito Pellettieri (Director), Grant Turner | ["Country", "Music", "Comedy", "Variety", "Bluegrass"] |
Broadcasting live from Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, host Red Foley and Ernest Tubb lead the Opry cast in foot-stomping honky-tonk hits, Chet Atkins guitar solos, and Cousin Minnie Pearl's hilarious Grinder's Switch gossip for Prince Albert Tobacco. |
| "The Vacation Murder Case (Starring Karl Swenson as Mr. Chameleon — Bayer Aspirin)" | CBS (WCBS) 1949-08-24 8:00 PM EDT |
Sterling Drug, Inc. Bayer Aspirin & Phillips' |
Karl Swenson (Mr. Chameleon), Blaine Stoddard | Frank & Anne Hummert, Richard Leonard, Howard Claney | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Whodunit", "Crime", "Disguise"] |
"I am Mr. Chameleon, the famous detective who uses disguise to track down murderers..." Undercover master of disguise Mr. Chameleon poses as a relaxed vacationing resort painter in the Adirondacks to trap a ruthless blackmailer who pushed an heiress from a lakeside cliff. |
| "The Apple Tree (Daphne du Maurier Chiller — Starring Paul Daneman — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1974-08-24 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Saturday-Night Theatre |
Paul Daneman (Narrator / Widower), Elizabeth Morgan | Daphne du Maurier (Author), Michael Hardwick, Jane Morgan | ["Psychological", "Horror", "Suspense", "Drama", "Adaptation"] |
In Daphne du Maurier's eerie psychological chiller, a newly widowed man begins to experience unsettling paranoia as he notices an old, twisted apple tree in his orchard exhibiting uncanny, resentful characteristics of his deceased wife. |
| "How Good a Scientist Are You? (Dr. Phillips Thomas — Westinghouse)" | Westinghouse 1943-08-24 7:15 PM EWT |
Westinghouse Electric Industrial Manufacturing |
Dr. Phillips Thomas (Physicist), Paul Shannon | Westinghouse Electric & KDKA Education Department | ["Science", "Educational", "Quiz", "Docudrama", "Technology"] |
Westinghouse research physicist Dr. Phillips Thomas challenges listeners with an interactive scientific aptitude quiz, demonstrating fundamental physical principles of electronics, chemistry, and aerodynamics through everyday household observations for Westinghouse. |
| "The Golden Touch: Alchemy & Metallurgy (Dr. Phillips Thomas — Westinghouse)" | Westinghouse 1948-08-24 7:15 PM EDT |
Westinghouse Electric Industrial Innovation |
Dr. Phillips Thomas (Physicist), Paul Shannon | Westinghouse Electric & KDKA Pittsburgh | ["Science", "Educational", "Historical", "Technology", "Docudrama"] |
Dr. Phillips Thomas traces the scientific history of metallurgy and modern synthetic chemistry, demonstrating how modern scientific industrial research surpassed the mythical 'golden touch' of ancient alchemists by creating durable alloys and plastics for Westinghouse. |