On This Day, August 24: Frank Sinatra (Hit Parade) and Maisie
Also featured: John Cassavetes.
August 24 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial multi-part narrative arcs, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 24 across American network, Broadway war drama, and vocal countdown radio history (1946–1986):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Prisoner of Love (Frank Sinatra & Joan Edwards — Lucky Strike)" | NBC (WEAF) 1946-08-24 9:00 PM EDT |
American Tobacco Co. Lucky Strike — "L.S./M.F.T." |
Frank Sinatra, Joan Edwards, Pied Pipers, Mark Warnow | Lord & Thomas, Axel Stordahl, Andre Baruch | ["Music", "Countdown", "Big Band", "Pop", "Vocal"] |
"The lucky strike hit parade!" Frank Sinatra croons the nation's number-one hit ballad 'Prisoner of Love' along with 'Surrender' and 'They Say It's Wonderful' accompanied by Mark Warnow's Orchestra for Lucky Strike Cigarettes. |
| "The Orphanage Benefit (Starring Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier — Mutual)" | Mutual (WOR) 1950-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining MGM Radio Attractions |
Ann Sothern (Maisie), Hans Conried, Elvia Allman | Arthur Phillips (Writer), John L. Greene, John Heistand | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Hollywood", "Vaudeville"] |
Brooklyn showgirl Maisie Ravier volunteers at a local children's orphanage to help stage a summer charity benefit, but gets caught in a hilarious tug-of-war with a strict board director to find an adoptive home for a mischievous stray youngster. |
| "Home of the Brave (Starring John Cassavetes — Arthur Laurents — NBC)" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-24 6:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining NBC Broadway Theater |
John Cassavetes (Peter Coen), Frank Overton | Arthur Laurents (Playwright), John Chapman, Ben Grauer | ["Drama", "Military", "Psychological", "World War II", "Broadway"] |
Drama critic John Chapman presents Arthur Laurents' powerful Broadway war drama Home of the Brave, exploring battlefield trauma and anti-Semitism through the psychological rehabilitation of a paralyzed young Jewish infantry soldier (John Cassavetes) on a remote South Pacific island. |
| "Lilies for the Ladies (Part 5 — William Franklyn as Sexton Blake — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1967-08-24 7:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Crime Serial |
William Franklyn (Sexton Blake), David Gregory (Tinker) | Donald Stuart (Writer), Joe Burroughs (Producer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Procedural", "British", "Crime"] |
Baker Street detective Sexton Blake and young assistant Tinker track a lethal black-market extortionist leaving white calla lilies beside murdered society heiresses in London's West End. |
| "Lilies for the Ladies: The Final Trap (Part 5 — William Franklyn — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1967-08-24 7:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Crime Serial |
William Franklyn (Blake), David Gregory, John Moffatt | Donald Stuart (Writer), Joe Burroughs (Producer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Procedural", "British", "Crime"] |
Sexton Blake corners the deadly flower-shop syndicate responsible for sending poisoned calla lilies to Mayfair mansions, solving the final riddle before the killer strikes again. |
| "The Whole Town's Talking (Starring Edward G. Robinson — C.P. MacGregor)" | Syndicated 1986-08-24 (Retrospective) |
Sustaining Radio Anthology Series |
Edward G. Robinson, Lurene Tuttle, Herb Vigran | C.P. MacGregor (Producer), Paul Pierce, Frank Goss | ["Drama", "Comedy", "Anthology", "Hollywood", "Crime"] |
Edward G. Robinson stars as a mild-mannered office clerk who discovers he is the exact physical double of America's public enemy number one, leading to a hilarious and suspenseful case of mistaken identity with the police and the underworld. |