On This Day, August 24: Hawaii Calls (Statehood) and Gang Busters
Also featured: Sonny Dunham.
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, Hawaiian remote, and AFRS military broadcasting history (1935–1959):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "One Night Stand #352: Sonny Dunham from Hotel New Yorker (AFRS)" | AFRS Unit 1944-08-24 (Show #352) |
U.S. War Dept Armed Forces Radio Service |
Sonny Dunham (Bandleader), Pete Hanley, Dorothy Claire | AFRS Hollywood Unit, Dick Joy (Announcer) | ["Music", "Big Band", "Swing", "Jazz", "Morale"] |
Virtuoso trumpet and trombone bandleader Sonny Dunham broadcasts live from the Terrace Room of the Hotel New Yorker for Allied troops overseas, featuring swinging arrangements of 'Memories of You' and 'You Gave Me the Runaround'. |
| "Hawaii Calls: A Real Big Island (Live from Waikiki Beach)" | KGU / Mutual 1957-08-24 9:00 PM HST |
Hawaii Visitors Bureau Pineapple Growers |
Webley Edwards (Host), Al Kealoha Perry, Haunani Kahalewai | Webley Edwards (Producer/Host) | ["Music", "Hawaiian", "Polynesian", "Vocal", "Easy Listening"] |
With the sound of the Pacific surf crashing beneath the giant banyan tree at the Moana Hotel, Webley Edwards presents authentic Hawaiian melodies, slack-key guitars, and songs celebrating the Big Island of Hawaii. |
| "Hawaii Calls: Blue Hawaiian Moonlight — Statehood Celebration (Alfred Apaka)" | KGU / Mutual 1959-08-24 9:00 PM HST |
Hawaii Visitors Bureau Matson Lines Statehood |
Webley Edwards (Host), Alfred Apaka, Al Kealoha Perry | Webley Edwards (Producer/Host) | ["Music", "Hawaiian", "Polynesian", "Vocal", "Easy Listening"] |
Broadcaster Webley Edwards hosts a celebratory broadcast during Hawaii's historic admission as the 50th U.S. State, featuring the golden voice of Alfred Apaka serenading listeners with 'Blue Hawaiian Moonlight' from the shores of Waikiki. |
| "The Sea Strikes Back (Frank Hemingway — Night Cap Yarns)" | Don Lee / Mutual 1939-08-24 10:45 PM PST |
Sustaining Don Lee Storytelling |
Frank Hemingway (Storyteller), Milton Charles (Organist) | Frank Hemingway (Author), Thomas Freebairn-Smith | ["Storytelling", "Drama", "Maritime", "Adventure", "Anthology"] |
Frank Hemingway recounts a dramatic maritime yarn about a ruthless clipper ship captain whose greed blinds him to an approaching typhoon off Cape Horn, facing the wrath of the sea when his crew mutinies to save the ship. |
| "The Edward Bremer Kidnapping Case (G-Men / Gang Busters — Palmolive)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1935-08-24 8:00 PM EDST |
Colgate-Palmolive Palmolive Shave Cream |
Phillips H. Lord (Narrator), Dwight Weist, Arthur Vinton | Phillips H. Lord (Creator/Director), Alois Havrilla | ["True Crime", "Police", "Procedural", "Docudrama", "FBI"] |
In Phillips H. Lord's hard-hitting FBI docudrama, federal agents hunt down the notorious Barker-Karpis gang following the brutal high-profile kidnapping of wealthy St. Paul banker Edward Bremer. |
| "The Brest & Logan Case (Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf — Gang Busters)" | CBS (WABC) 1938-08-24 8:00 PM EDST |
Colgate-Palmolive Palmolive Shave Cream |
Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf (Host), Frank Readick | Phillips H. Lord (Producer), Frank Gallop | ["True Crime", "Police", "Procedural", "Docudrama", "Action"] |
With sirens wailing and machine guns rattling, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf narrates the gripping police manhunt for Harold Brest and Joseph Logan, a pair of armed prison escapees running an interstate armed robbery spree. |