On This Day, August 24: Red Skelton (Tide) and Death Valley Days
Also featured: Warren William.
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, syndication, and western radio history (1931–1964):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "At the Ball Game (Starring Patricia Ryan & Richard Kollmar — Coca-Cola)" | Syndication 1948-08-24 (WJZ New York) |
The Coca-Cola Co. Coca-Cola / "Coke" |
Patricia Ryan (Claudia), Richard Kollmar (David) | Rose Franken, William Brown Meloney, Joe King | ["Comedy", "Drama", "Marriage", "Domestic", "Romance"] |
Newlyweds Claudia and David attend a lively afternoon baseball game at the polo grounds, where Claudia's complete misunderstanding of baseball rules and hilarious running commentary unwittingly distract both teams. |
| "A Death Valley Night Club (The Old Ranger — 20 Mule Team Borax)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1931-08-24 8:00 PM EDST |
Pacific Coast Borax 20 Mule Team Borax |
Tim Frawley (The Old Ranger), Joseph Bell | Ruth Cornwall Woodman, Edwin M. Whitney, George Hicks | ["Western", "Anthology", "Historical", "Adventure", "Americana"] |
The Old Ranger recounts the colorful true legend of an eccentric silver prospector who struck a bonanza lode and transformed an abandoned desert adobe outpost into the most opulent impromptu night club in the Nevada territory. |
| "The Burro Hunt (The Old Ranger — 20 Mule Team Borax)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1933-08-24 8:30 PM EDST |
Pacific Coast Borax 20 Mule Team Borax |
Tim Frawley (The Old Ranger), Jack MacBryde | Ruth Cornwall Woodman, Edwin M. Whitney, George Hicks | ["Western", "Anthology", "Historical", "Adventure", "Americana"] |
The Old Ranger spins the frontier tale of two stubborn desert prospectors whose lives are saved during a blinding Mojave dust storm when their stray pack burro leads them directly to an uncharted mountain spring. |
| "The Tide Show: Red Skelton (Junior the Mean Widdle Kid & Tide)" | NBC (WEAF) 1945-08-24 8:30 PM EWT |
Procter & Gamble Tide Detergent |
Red Skelton, Harriet Hilliard, Ozzie Nelson | Sherwood Schwartz, Keith McLeod, Rod O'Connor | ["Comedy", "Variety", "Slapstick", "Music", "Vocal"] |
Red Skelton brings the house down with antics as Junior the 'Mean Widdle Kid' ('I dood it!') and country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper, joined by Harriet Hilliard and David Rose's Orchestra for Tide Detergent. |
| "Emeralds Come High (Starring Warren William as John Francis O'Connell)" | Teleways Synd. 1946-08-24 (KFI Los Angeles) |
Regional Advertisers Commercial Sponsors |
Warren William (John Francis O'Connell), Howard Culver | Ken Krippene (Writer), C.P. MacGregor, Marvin Miller | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Legal", "Anthology", "Crime"] |
Probate attorney John Francis O'Connell investigates the bizarre last will and testament of an eccentric gem merchant who bequeaths a fortune in Colombian emeralds with a chilling condition: the heir must wear them in public despite knowing they carry a blood vendetta. |
| "A Caller at Midnight (Host Fred Foy — Theater Five)" | ABC (WABC) 1964-08-24 5:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Radio Drama |
Fred Foy (Host), Robert Dryden, Teri Keane | Ted Bell (Producer/Director), George Lowther | ["Suspense", "Thriller", "Psychological", "Audio Drama", "Mystery"] |
A solitary woman alone in a secluded hillside cottage receives a series of increasingly menacing phone calls at midnight from an unseen intruder who describes her every movement from just outside the window. |