On This Day, August 28: Let George Do It and Casey Crime Photographer
Also featured: Texaco Star Theater.
August 28 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 28 across American network radio, BBC Radio 4, and syndication, Bob Bailey as George Valentine solving high-stakes poker and novelist death threat mysteries on Let George Do It for Chevron Supreme (1950–1953), Staats Cotsworth hiding from mobsters on Casey, Crime Photographer for Anchor Hocking Glass, Kenny Baker on Texaco Star Theater, cricket satire on Tales from a Long Room, and an escape from Devil's Island on Stand By For Adventure (1940–1981):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Summer Variety with Kenny Baker" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-28 9:00 PM EDST |
The Texas Company Texaco Fire-Chief Gas |
Kenny Baker, F. Langford | David Broekman Orchestra | ["Variety", "Music", "Comedy", "Pop Standard", "Vocal"] |
Tenor Kenny Baker hosts an upbeat summer musical variety hour of popular standards, comedy patter, and operatic solos. |
| "High Card" | Mutual / Don Lee 1950-08-28 8:00 PM PDT |
Standard Oil of Calif. Chevron Supreme / RPM |
Bob Bailey, Virginia Gregg | David Victor & Gillis | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Gambling", "Noir"] |
George Valentine is hired by an anxious poker player who suspects a high-stakes gambling club owner of running a lethal rigged game. |
| "It's a Mystery to Me (HSG Syndication)" | Syndicated / Goodman 1953-08-28 |
Commercial Regional Sponsors |
Bob Bailey, Virginia Gregg | Goodman Syndication | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Whodunit"] |
George Valentine and Brookxie investigate when an eccentric mystery novelist receives anonymous death threats matching murders in his own books. |
| "I Was There" | BBC Radio 4 1981-08-28 |
Sustaining BBC Cricket Comedy |
Robin Bailey (Narrator) | Peter Tinniswood (Writer) | ["Comedy", "Sports", "British", "Satire", "Storytelling"] |
An eccentric pavilion bore reminisces over absurd cricketing legends, umpire feuds, and bizarre village cricket matches of yesteryear. |
| "Casey's Hideout" | CBS (WABC) 1947-08-28 9:30 PM EDT |
Anchor Hocking Glass Fire-King Ovenware |
Staats Cotsworth, Jan Miner | George Harmon Coxe | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Journalism", "Mystery"] |
Flashgun photographer Jack Casey goes into hiding at an isolated lakeside cabin after snapping an underworld execution photo. |
| "Escape from Devil's Island" | Syndicated Elec 1946-08-28 |
Commercial Regional Sponsors |
Dramatic Adventurers | Syndicated Drama Staff | ["Adventure", "Drama", "Action", "Prison", "Anthology"] |
Four worldly adventurers trade thrilling first-person accounts around a fireplace, recounting a harrowing shark-infested escape from Devil's Island. |