On This Day, August 24: Gang Busters and Mike Hammer
Also featured: Paul Whiteman.
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 and syndication broadcasting history (1933–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of Thomas Nathan 'Pete' Norris (Part 1 — Waterman Pens)" | ABC (WJZ) 1946-08-24 9:00 PM EDT |
L.E. Waterman Co. Waterman's Pens & Inks |
Phillips H. Lord (Narrator), Larry Haines, Roger De Koven | Stanley Niss (Writer), Don Gardiner (Announcer) | ["True Crime", "Police", "Procedural", "Docudrama", "Action"] |
In part one of a two-part true crime docudrama, police launch an intensive multi-state manhunt for ruthless bank robber and prison escapee Thomas Nathan 'Pete' Norris following an armed payroll heist. |
| "Police Blotter: Nassau County Daily Incident Report (WHLI Long Island)" | WHLI (1100 AM) 1956-08-24 6:45 PM EDT |
Sustaining Nassau County Police |
Inspector Frank Kelly (Nassau County Police) | WHLI Special Events Unit, Jerry Carr | ["True Crime", "Police", "Public Affairs", "Documentary", "Local"] |
Nassau County Police Inspector Frank Kelly reviews the daily police desk log from across Long Island precincts, reporting on highway safety crackdowns, local burglaries, and missing persons investigations. |
| "The Case of the Murdered Magician (Starring Barry Sullivan as Richard Rogue — Fitch)" | NBC (WNBC) 1947-08-24 7:30 PM EDT |
F.W. Fitch Co. Fitch Dandruff Shampoo |
Barry Sullivan (Richard Rogue), Gerald Mohr, Lurene Tuttle | Ray Buffum (Writer), Leith Stevens, Jim Doyle | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
Private detective Richard Rogue is knocked unconscious in a backstage dressing room while investigating threats against a carnival magician, visiting 'Cloud Eight' before awakening to solve the illusionist's onstage murder. |
| "The Gold Mine Claim Jumpers (Starring Francis X. Bushman as Lightning Jim)" | Aerogram Trans. 1939-08-24 (Feature #18) |
Regional Advertisers Bread & Cereal Sponsors |
Francis X. Bushman (Lightning Jim), Henry Hoople | George W. Allen (Writer), Bob Anderson | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action", "Juvenile", "Historical"] |
Fast-shooting U.S. Deputy Marshal Lightning Jim and sidekick Whitey ride into Black Ridge to protect an elderly prospector from an unscrupulous mining syndicate attempting to seize his rich gold strike. |
| "The Set-Up for Murder (Starring Larry Haines as Mike Hammer — Mickey Spillane)" | Mutual (WOR) 1954-08-24 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining MBS Mystery Series |
Larry Haines (Mike Hammer), Jan Miner (Velda), Ted de Corsia | Mickey Spillane, Ed Adamson, Hal Simms | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Crime", "Mystery"] |
Mickey Spillane's brutal private eye Mike Hammer prowls the dark alleys of the Bowery to avenge the shooting of a waterfront dockworker, cutting through mob enforcers to find the syndicate boss who ordered the hit. |
| "Kraft Musical Revue: Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (Kraft Mayonnaise)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1933-08-24 10:00 PM EDST |
Kraft-Phenix Cheese Kraft Mayonnaise |
Paul Whiteman (King of Jazz), Ramona Davies, Jack Fulton | Ferde Grofé (Arranger), Johnny Winters (Announcer) | ["Music", "Big Band", "Jazz", "Swing", "Variety", "Vocal"] |
Paul Whiteman, the King of Jazz, leads his world-famous orchestra in an early Kraft Music Hall broadcast from New York, featuring piano-vocal stylings by Ramona Davies and sweeping symphonic jazz arrangements for Kraft Mayonnaise. |