On This Day, August 26: Stars Over Hollywood and Death Valley Sheriff
Also featured: The Clitheroe Kid.
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, British, and South African radio, two glamorous Stars Over Hollywood comedies starring Janet Blair (for Bowey's Dari-Rich) and Macdonald Carey (for Armour Dial Soap), Robert Haag cracking The Case of the Troublesome Parrot on Death Valley Sheriff for 20 Mule Team Borax, Jimmy Clitheroe on BBC's The Clitheroe Kid, the harrowing true story of journalist J.B. Powell on This Is Our Enemy, and A.J. Alan's The Dream (1943–1975):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Dream by A.J. Alan (Michael Mayer — Springbok Good Morning Everyone)" | Springbok Radio 1975-08-26 6:45 AM |
Commercial Sponsors Morning Monologue |
Michael Mayer (Narrator) | A.J. Alan, Springbok Radio | ["Mystery", "British", "Storytelling", "Short Form", "Humor"] |
"Good Morning Everyone on Springbok Radio!" A wry, understated British gentleman recounts a chilling recurring nightmare about an antique mahogany armoire that mysteriously appears in his study, revealing a hidden compartment concealing a Victorian ruby necklace. |
| "The Great Scavenger Hunt (Jimmy Clitheroe & Peter Sinclair — BBC Clitheroe Kid)" | BBC Home 1957-08-26 7:00 PM |
Sustaining BBC Northern Comedy |
Jimmy Clitheroe, Peter Sinclair (Grandad) | James Casey, Frank Roscoe | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "British", "Family", "Vaudeville"] |
"The BBC presents The Clitheroe Kid, starring that cheeky little scamp Jimmy Clitheroe!" Jimmy organizes an anarchic neighborhood scavenger hunt across Blackley to win a prize bicycle, blackmailer-style borrowing Grandad's false teeth and Susan's prospective boyfriend's bowling trophy to complete his list. |
| "The High Cost of Living (Janet Blair — Bowey's Dari-Rich Stars Over Hollywood)" | CBS (KNX/WABC) 1944-08-26 12:30 PM EWT |
Bowey's, Inc. Dari-Rich ("Taste Sensation!") |
Janet Blair (Connie), Alan Baxter | Paul Pierce, Frank Goss | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Domestic", "Drama", "Americana"] |
"Bowey's Dari-Rich presents Stars Over Hollywood, starring Columbia Pictures star Janet Blair!" In 'The High Cost of Living', an ambitious newlyweds couple in wartime Los Angeles struggles to furnish their first apartment on a shoestring budget, leading the wife (Janet Blair) to enter a chaotic home demonstration cooking contest for Dari-Rich. |
| "Your Grandfather's Necktie (Macdonald Carey — Armour Dial Soap Stars Over Hollywood)" | CBS (KNX/WCBS) 1950-08-26 1:00 PM EDT |
Armour and Co. Dial Deodorant Soap |
Macdonald Carey, Joan Banks | Paul Pierce, Marvin Miller | ["Comedy", "Romance", "Domestic", "Americana", "Anthology"] |
"Armour and Company, makers of Dial Soap, brings you Stars Over Hollywood, starring Macdonald Carey!" In 'Your Grandfather's Necktie', an eccentric family heirloom necktie brings inexplicable good luck and hilarious romantic complications to an earnest young advertising copywriter played by Macdonald Carey for Dial Soap. |
| "The Case of the Troublesome Parrot (Robert Haag — 20 Mule Team Borax)" | CBS (KNX/WCBS) 1949-08-26 8:30 PM EDT |
Pacific Coast Borax 20 Mule Team Borax & Boraxo |
Robert Haag (Sheriff Chase), Olyn Landick | Ruth Cornwall Woodman, Fred Foy | ["Western", "Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Americana"] |
"20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo present Death Valley Sheriff, starring Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase!" Sheriff Mark Chase investigates the mysterious disappearance of a desert prospector whose chatty, squawking green parrot keeps repeating incriminating names and mining coordinates across the saloons of Mojave for Boraxo. |
| "The Ordeal of J.B. Powell (John McIntire & Berry Kroeger — OWI This Is Our Enemy)" | Mutual (WOR) 1943-08-26 10:30 PM EWT |
U.S. Government Office of War Information |
Berry Kroeger (Narrator), John McIntire | OWI War Dept., Ken Roberts | ["Wartime", "Docudrama", "Historical", "Propaganda", "Military"] |
"This Is Our Enemy! Prepared by the United States Government to present the true nature of the ruthless enemies we fight!" The harrowing true story of veteran American journalist J.B. Powell, editor of the China Weekly Review in Shanghai, who survived brutal torture, frostbite, and amputation in a Japanese military prison camp without breaking his patriotic allegiance. |