On This Day, August 26: Frank Sinatra and The Fat Man
Also featured: Stan Kenton.
August 26 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 26 across American network and syndicated radio, Frank Sinatra headlining Lucky Strike's Your Hit Parade with 'I'll Be Seeing You' (#1), two hardboiled investigations of Dashiell Hammett's The Fat Man starring J. Scott Smart (The Order of the Blue Penguin and Pepto-Bismol's You Can't Laugh at Murder), Stan Kenton live from Castle Farm in Cincinnati featuring Maynard Ferguson's soaring trumpet, William Gargan in I Deal in Crime, and Mandel Kramer in It's a Crime, Mr. Collins (1944–1957):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "It Had to Be You & I'll Be Seeing You (#1) (Frank Sinatra — Lucky Strike)" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-26 9:00 PM EWT |
American Tobacco Lucky Strike ("L.S./M.F.T.") |
Frank Sinatra (The Voice), Joan Edwards | Mark Warnow, Basil Ruysdael | ["Music", "Pop Standards", "Big Band", "Vocal", "Chart"] |
"Lucky Strike presents Your Hit Parade, starring Frank Sinatra and Joan Edwards!" Mark Warnow leads the Hit Parade Orchestra as Frank Sinatra swoons through 'It Had to Be You' (#4) and the week's #1 wartime anthem 'I'll Be Seeing You' for Lucky Strike. |
| "The Case of the Pink Elephant (Mandel Kramer — It's a Crime, Mr. Collins)" | Syndicated 1957-08-26 (2GB Sydney) |
Local Australian Sponsors Detective Mystery |
Mandel Kramer (Greg), Gail Collins | Frank Kane, Dan Seymour | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Crime", "Comedy"] |
"It's a Crime, Mr. Collins, starring Mandel Kramer as private investigator Greg Collins!" In 'The Case of the Pink Elephant', private eye Greg Collins and his intuitive wife Gail investigate the murder of an eccentric nightclub owner clutching a carved ceramic pink elephant stuffed with uncut diamonds. |
| "The Nightclub Abandoned Baby (William Gargan as Ross Dolan — ABC)" | ABC (WJZ/KGO) 1946-08-26 9:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Hardboiled Detective |
William Gargan (Ross Dolan), Mitzi Gould | Richard Sanville, Dahlstead | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
"I Deal in Crime, starring William Gargan as hardboiled private investigator Ross Dolan!" When a newborn infant is abandoned inside a leather booth at an upscale Los Angeles nightclub, Ross Dolan is hired by a frantic heiress, uncovering a brutal extortion racket and kidnap ring operating behind a private maternity hospital. |
| "The Order of the Blue Penguin (J. Scott Smart as Brad Runyon — The Fat Man)" | ABC (WJZ) 1946-08-26 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Dashiell Hammett Series |
J. Scott Smart (The Fat Man), Mary Patton | Dashiell Hammett, Gene Hamilton | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
"There he goes, into that drugstore... he's stepping on the scale... Fortune: 237 pounds... Dashiell Hammett's exciting new character, The Fat Man, starring J. Scott Smart as Brad Runyon!" In 'The Order of the Blue Penguin', Brad Runyon is hired to protect an antique collector whose priceless carved lapis penguin figurine marks him as the next target of a lethal jewel theft ring. |
| "You Can't Laugh at Murder (J. Scott Smart — Pepto-Bismol The Fat Man)" | ABC (WJZ) 1949-08-26 8:00 PM EDT |
Norwich Pharmacal Pepto-Bismol & Unguentine |
J. Scott Smart (Brad Runyon), Ed Begley | Lawrence Klee, Gene Hamilton | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
"Pepto-Bismol presents Dashiell Hammett's The Fat Man, starring J. Scott Smart as Brad Runyon!" Brad Runyon investigates the backstage poisoning of a sadistic vaudeville nightclub comedian who was blackmailing fellow entertainers with secret recordings, exposing a vengeful acrobatic troupe for Pepto-Bismol. |
| "Live at Castle Farm: Maynard Ferguson & Artistry in Rhythm (Stan Kenton — NBC)" | NBC (WLW/WNBC) 1952-08-26 11:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Late-Night Big Band Remote |
Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Candoli | WLW Remote, Jack Gwyn | ["Music", "Jazz", "Big Band", "Progressive Jazz", "Live"] |
"NBC brings you the progressive sounds of Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, live from Castle Farm Ballroom in Cincinnati!" Stan Kenton leads his powerhouse 1952 Innovations-era orchestra featuring Maynard Ferguson's blazing high-note trumpet solos in 'Artistry in Rhythm', 'Collaboration', 'Intermission Riff', and vocal ballads by Chris Connor. |