On This Day, August 24: Joan Fontaine (Lux) and Radio Błyskawica
Also featured: Gabriel Heatter.
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, Hollywood prestige drama, and European WWII resistance history (1940–1953):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Stolen Emerald (Starring Barry Sullivan & Vanessa Brown — Skippy)" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-08-24 10:30 PM EDT |
Rosefield Packing Skippy Peanut Butter |
Barry Sullivan, Vanessa Brown | C.P. MacGregor (Producer/Director), Frank Goss | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Romantic Comedy", "Anthology", "Suspense"] |
A charming international art restoration agent poses as a wealthy connoisseur on the French Riviera to restore a stolen Renaissance emerald necklace, outsmarting a glamorous jewel thief who steals his heart. |
| "Nazi Troops Trapped in Romania (Gabriel Heatter — Forhan's Toothpaste)" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-24 9:00 PM EWT |
Zonite Products Forhan's Toothpaste |
Gabriel Heatter (News Commentator) | Mutual Newsroom Live Broadcast | ["News", "Commentary", "World War II", "Historical", "Public Affairs"] |
"There's good news tonight!" Gabriel Heatter delivers an impassioned analysis of King Michael's royal coup in Romania, detailing the encirclement and trapping of 25,000 German Wehrmacht troops and the liberation of Paris by Allied forces. |
| "The Affairs of Susan (Starring Joan Fontaine & George Brent — Lux Radio Theatre)" | CBS (WCBS) 1953-08-24 9:00 PM EDT |
Lever Brothers Co. Lux Toilet Soap & Lux Flakes |
Irving Cummings (Host), Joan Fontaine, George Brent | S.H. Barnett, Rudolph Schrager, John Milton Kennedy | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Drama", "Hollywood", "Adaptation"] |
Host Irving Cummings presents Joan Fontaine and George Brent in Paramount's romantic comedy The Affairs of Susan, following four very different suitors who each remember the same free-spirited woman as an entirely different personality. |
| "CBS News: Edward R. Murrow on the London Blackout (Battle of Britain)" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-24 6:45 PM EDST |
Sustaining CBS News Shortwave |
Edward R. Murrow (London), Bob Trout (Anchor) | CBS News London Bureau Live Relay | ["News", "Historical", "Public Affairs", "World War II", "Journalism"] |
Edward R. Murrow reports live via transatlantic shortwave from London during the nightly blackout, describing how British civilians navigate pitch-black streets while anti-aircraft searchlights review the cloudy sky. |
| "Prime Minister Winston Churchill: Atlantic Charter Address (BBC / CBS)" | CBS (WABC) 1941-08-24 4:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Historical Broadcast |
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Bob Trout | BBC London / CBS Transatlantic Shortwave | ["Speech", "Historical", "World War II", "Political", "Public Affairs"] |
Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses the world following his historic Newfoundland conference with President Roosevelt, heralding the Atlantic Charter as the moral blueprint for postwar freedom and democracy. |
| "Radio Błyskawica: Clandestine Polish Home Army Broadcast (Warsaw Uprising)" | Błyskawica Shortwave 1944-08-24 10:00 AM CET |
Armia Krajowa Polish Underground State |
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Zbigniew Świętochowski | Polish Resistance Central Warsaw Prudential Building | ["News", "Shortwave", "Clandestine", "Resistance", "World War II"] |
"Tu mówi Błyskawica!" (This is Lightning speaking!) Operating under heavy German artillery fire during the Warsaw Uprising, clandestine resistance radio station Błyskawica transmits its famous melodic interval signal and desperate appeals for Allied ammunition drops. |