On This Day, August 26: Mario Lanza and RCA Victor Music
Also featured: 2000 Plus.
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 and British radio, Mario Lanza singing Victor Herbert and Granada for Coca-Cola, Arthur Fiedler and Sigmund Romberg on RCA Victor's The Music America Loves Best, Stacy Harris cracking an interstate copper hijacking on This Is Your FBI for Equitable Life, Lon Clark in 2000 Plus: The Men from Mars, and Dr. Phil Hammond on BBC's Struck Off and Die (1944–1994):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life & Granada (Mario Lanza & Giselle MacKenzie — Coca-Cola)" | CBS (WCBS/KNX) 1951-08-26 8:00 PM EDT |
The Coca-Cola Co. Coca-Cola ("Coke Follows") |
Mario Lanza, Giselle MacKenzie, Ray Sinatra | William N. Robson, Bill Baldwin | ["Music", "Operatic", "Vocal", "Classical", "Pop Standards"] |
"The Coca-Cola Company presents The Mario Lanza Show, starring the golden voice of Mario Lanza!" World-renowned tenor Mario Lanza performs Victor Herbert's 'Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life', 'Because', and 'Granada', joined by guest songstress Giselle MacKenzie and Ray Sinatra's Orchestra for Coca-Cola. |
| "Arthur Fiedler with Leonard Warren in Barber of Seville (RCA Victor)" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-26 4:30 PM EWT |
RCA Victor Victor Records & Radios |
Arthur Fiedler, Leonard Warren (Baritone) | Joseph Mansfield, Kenneth Banghart | ["Music", "Classical", "Operatic", "Vocal", "Big Band"] |
"RCA Victor presents The Music America Loves Best!" Conductor Arthur Fiedler leads the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra alongside Metropolitan Opera baritone Leonard Warren singing Rossini's 'Largo al factotum' from The Barber of Seville and American orchestral favorites for RCA Victor. |
| "Sigmund Romberg Medley with Jeanette MacDonald (Robert Merrill — RCA Victor)" | NBC (WEAF) 1945-08-26 4:30 PM EWT |
RCA Victor Victor Records & Phonographs |
Sigmund Romberg, Jeanette MacDonald | Joseph Mansfield, Kenneth Banghart | ["Music", "Operetta", "Vocal", "Classical", "Pop Standards"] |
"RCA Victor presents The Music America Loves Best, with master of melody Sigmund Romberg!" Composer Sigmund Romberg leads his orchestra in a medley of his famous operetta melodies from The Student Prince and The Desert Song, featuring beloved soprano Jeanette MacDonald and baritone Robert Merrill for RCA Victor. |
| "The Hapless Hijackers (Stacy Harris as Agent Taylor — Equitable Life FBI)" | ABC (WJZ/KGO) 1949-08-26 8:30 PM EDT |
Equitable Life Assurance Society of US |
Stacy Harris (Jim Taylor), William Woodson | Jerry Devine, Larry Keating | ["Detective", "Docudrama", "Crime", "Police", "Mystery"] |
"This Is Your FBI, officially broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for The Equitable Life Assurance Society!" Special Agent Jim Taylor pursues an amateurish, violent hijacking gang that intercepts an interstate shipment of high-grade copper ingots, utilizing tyre track forensics and serial number tracking to corner the ringleader before the contraband can be fenced. |
| "The Men from Mars (Lon Clark & Joseph Bell — Mutual 2000 Plus)" | Mutual (WOR) 1951-08-26 4:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Science Fiction Theater |
Lon Clark, Joseph Bell, Bryna Raeburn | Sherman H. Dryer, Ken Powell | ["Sci-Fi", "Futuristic", "Space Opera", "Alien", "Drama"] |
"2000 Plus! Tomorrow's world today! Dramatic adventures into the world of tomorrow!" In 'The Men from Mars', Earth's first interplanetary exploration ship returns from Mars carrying alien fungal spore specimens, only for the crew to discover that an invisible Martian intelligence has infected the ship's environmental systems to colonize the Earth. |
| "The Lover, Sighing Like a Furnace (Dr. Phil Hammond & Dr. Tony Gardner — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1994-08-26 11:00 PM |
Sustaining Medical Comedy Revue |
Dr. Phil Hammond, Dr. Tony Gardner | Phil Hammond, Aled Evans | ["Comedy", "British", "Satire", "Medical", "Live"] |
"BBC Radio 4 presents Struck Off and Die, recorded live at the Edinburgh Fringe with Dr. Phil Hammond and Dr. Tony Gardner!" In 'The Lover, Sighing Like a Furnace', the practicing physician duo dissects the hilarious, embarrassing realities of human romance, sexual medicine consultations, and NHS doctor-patient awkwardness with sharp clinical wit. |