On This Day, August 25: Fibber McGee (Watermelon Bargain) and Frank Morgan (Maxwell House)
Also featured: Sal Maglie (Twenty Questions).
August 25 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 25 across American network, Fibber McGee hauling giant 80-pound watermelons into 79 Wistful Vista for Prudential, Frank Morgan spinning tall tales for Maxwell House, NY Giants ace pitcher Sal 'The Barber' Maglie playing Twenty Questions for Ronson, Art Carney voicing undersea creatures on The Land of the Lost, and Lyn Murray's CBS orchestral suite (1944–1954):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Windy Daye Needs Money (Frank Morgan & Cass Daley — Maxwell House)" | NBC (WEAF) 1946-08-25 8:00 PM EDT |
General Foods Maxwell House Coffee |
Frank Morgan, Cass Daley, Armbruster Orchestra | Robert Riley Crutcher, Helen Mack, Harlow Wilcox | ["Comedy", "Variety", "Sitcom", "Vaudeville", "Music"] |
"The Frank Morgan Show, brought to you by Maxwell House Coffee!" Lovable fabricator Frank Morgan spins another colossal whopper when penniless cousin Windy Daye tries to borrow $500 to invest in an absurd patent for dehydrated watermelons. |
| "The Fan-Tom of Fan-Tasy Hall (Isabel Manning Hewson & Art Carney — Mutual)" | Mutual (WOR) 1945-08-25 11:30 AM EWT |
Sustaining Children's Fantasy |
Isabel Manning Hewson, Art Carney (Red Lantern) | Isabel Manning Hewson, Cyril Armbrister | ["Children", "Fantasy", "Adventure", "Fable", "Magic"] |
"Down, down beneath the sea to the Land of the Lost!" Billy and Isabel dive under the ocean with Red Lantern the friendly talking fish to investigate the mysterious 'Fan-Tom of Fan-Tasy Hall', discovering an antique folding hand-fan that blew away and now produces magical indoor cooling breezes for underwater sea creatures. |
| "Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral (Quizmaster Bill Slater — Ronson Lighters)" | Mutual (WOR) 1946-08-25 8:00 PM EDT |
Ronson Art Metal Ronson Lighters & Ronsonol |
Bill Slater (Quizmaster), Fred Van Deventer | Gary Stevens (Dir.), Frank Waldecker | ["Game Show", "Panel", "Trivia", "Quiz", "Educational"] |
"Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral? Ronson presents Twenty Questions!" Quizmaster Bill Slater tests the brilliant Van Deventer panel and teenage prodigy Bobby McGuire on clever listener-submitted mystery objects, racing against the 20-question limit for Ronson Lighters. |
| "Guest NY Giants Pitcher Sal 'The Barber' Maglie (Bill Slater — Ronson Lighters)" | Mutual (WOR) 1951-08-25 8:00 PM EDT |
Ronson Art Metal Ronson Pocket & Table Lighters |
Bill Slater (Host), Sal Maglie (NY Giants Pitcher) | Gary Stevens (Producer), Frank Waldecker | ["Game Show", "Panel", "Trivia", "Sports", "Baseball"] |
"Twenty Questions, brought to you by Ronson!" New York Giants star pitcher Sal 'The Barber' Maglie joins the panel to help deduce sports artifacts and historical mysteries within twenty questions for Ronson Lighters. |
| "Lush Strings and Choral Harmonies (Lyn Murray Chorus & Orchestra — CBS)" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-25 6:15 PM EWT |
Sustaining Orchestral Showcase |
Lyn Murray, Lyn Murray Chorus, Earl Rogers | CBS Music Dept., Warren Sweeney | ["Music", "Choral", "Easy Listening", "Orchestral", "Vocal"] |
"The Lyn Murray Show, presented by CBS!" Maestro Lyn Murray conducts his world-class orchestra and 16-voice vocal ensemble in exquisite, intricate arrangements of American showtunes and romantic melodies including 'Long Ago and Far Away' and 'Summertime'. |
| "Two Cents a Pound Watermelon (Fibber McGee & Molly — Prudential Insurance)" | NBC (WNBC) 1954-08-25 10:00 PM EDT |
Prudential Insurance "Strength of Gibraltar" |
Jim Jordan (Fibber), Marian Jordan (Molly) | Phil Leslie, Max Hutto, John Wald | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Domestic", "Americana", "Dialect"] |
"The Prudential Insurance Company of America presents Fibber McGee and Molly!" Fibber spots a roadside produce stand selling giant ripe watermelons for two cents a pound and hauls four enormous 80-pound melons into 79 Wistful Vista, driving Molly crazy trying to find room in the icebox for Prudential. |