On This Day, August 26: Murrow (RAF Bombs Berlin) and Joel McCrea
Also featured: Guiding Light.
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 networks, Edward R. Murrow and William L. Shirer reporting on the first RAF retaliatory bombing raid on Berlin on CBS News of the World, Joel McCrea tracking cattle rustlers on Tales of the Texas Rangers for Wheaties, Papa Bauer conferring with defense counsel on The Guiding Light for Duz, Listerine's True Detective Mysteries, Meet the Press, and Doctor at Large (1937–1969):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Arthur Larson on 'Modern Republicanism' (Ned Brooks — Meet the Press)" | NBC (WRCA) 1956-08-26 6:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Public Affairs Conference |
Ned Brooks, Lawrence Spivak, Arthur Larson | Lawrence E. Spivak, David Morrison | ["Public Affairs", "Political", "Interview", "News", "Historical"] |
"Meet the Press, America's press conference of the air!" Under Secretary of Labor Arthur Larson, intellectual architect of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 'Modern Republicanism', defends the administration's moderate domestic policy, labor union relations, and 1956 re-election platform against aggressive questioning by Lawrence Spivak and Washington reporters. |
| "The Case of the Shipboard Beauty (John Shuttleworth — Listerine True Detective)" | Mutual (WOR) 1937-08-26 10:00 PM EDST |
Lambert Pharmacal Listerine Antiseptic & Paste |
John Shuttleworth, Richard Gordon, Frank Readick | Himan Brown, Frank Singiser | ["True Crime", "Police Procedural", "Docudrama", "Mystery", "Detective"] |
"True Detective Mysteries, brought to you by the makers of Listerine!" Editor John Shuttleworth narrates the real-life investigation into the mysterious disappearance and ocean-liner homicide of a wealthy socialite during a transatlantic voyage to Havana, unlocking how maritime detectives cornered a suave jewel thief for Listerine. |
| "The Lawyers Meet at the Bauer Home (Part 18 — Theo Goetz — Duz)" | CBS (WCBS) 1950-08-26 (Daytime Serial) |
Procter & Gamble Duz ("Duz Does Everything!") |
Theo Goetz (Papa Bauer), Charita Bauer (Bert) | Irna Phillips, Walter Gorman, Bud Collyer | ["Soap Opera", "Drama", "Family", "Domestic", "Legal"] |
"The Guiding Light, created by Irna Phillips and brought to you by Duz!" In the suburban town of Selby Flats, Papa Bauer convenes an urgent meeting with defense attorneys at the Bauer residence to strategize legal defense measures after Meta Roberts is accused of a sensational crime of passion for Duz. Note: Multi-part serial narrative arc (Meta Roberts' Trial — Part 18). |
| "RAF Bomber Command Strikes Berlin (Edward R. Murrow & William L. Shirer — CBS News)" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-26 8:00 AM EDST |
Sustaining WWII Transatlantic News |
Bob Trout, Edward R. Murrow, William L. Shirer | CBS News, Paul White | ["News", "Historical", "Wartime", "Documentary", "Public Affairs"] |
"This is CBS News of the World, Bob Trout reporting from New York!" Edward R. Murrow in London and William L. Shirer live from Berlin report on the historic first British Royal Air Force retaliatory night bombing raid on the German capital of Berlin following Luftwaffe incendiary attacks across central London. |
| "Fellowship (Richard Murdoch & Ralph Truman — BBC Doctor at Large)" | BBC Radio 4 1969-08-26 7:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Medical Sitcom |
Richard Murdoch (Dr. Sparrow), Ralph Truman | Richard Gordon, Ray Cooney, David Hatch | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "British", "Medical", "Satire"] |
"Doctor at Large, based on the books by Richard Gordon!" Dr. Richard Sparrow panics when imperious chief surgeon Sir Lancelot Spratt nominates him for a prestigious surgical research fellowship at St. Swithin's Hospital, leading to farcical hospital blunders with eccentric wealthy benefactors. |
| "The Open Range (Joel McCrea as Ranger Jace Pearson — Wheaties)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-26 9:30 PM EDT |
General Mills Wheaties ("Champions") |
Joel McCrea (Jace Pearson), Parley Baer | Stacy Keach Sr., Capt. M.T. Gonzaullas, Hal Gibney | ["Western", "Police Procedural", "Action", "Adventure", "Docudrama"] |
"Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrea as Ranger Jace Pearson, brought to you by Wheaties!" Texas Ranger Jace Pearson investigates a brutal cattle-rustling execution on the open plains of West Texas, matching tire tracks and ballistics to capture a motorized rustling outfit for Wheaties. |