On This Day, August 29: Straight Arrow and Cisco Houston
Also featured: Secret Missions.
August 29 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 29 across American network radio and wartime/armed forces syndication, Howard Culver as Straight Arrow saving an elderly stagecoach driver for Nabisco (1949), folk legend Cisco Houston singing for the Merchant Marine on Treasury Salute (1945), Rear Admiral Ellis M. Zacharias on Secret Missions (1948), jazz pianist Marty Napoleon on The Navy Swings, Casey, Crime Photographer, and Stand By For Adventure (1945–1964):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Red Raincoat (West Coast Repeat)" | CBS (KNX) 1946-08-29 11:30 PM EDT |
Anchor Hocking Glass Fire-King Ovenware |
Staats Cotsworth, Miner | George Harmon Coxe | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Crime", "Newspaper", "Noir"] |
Casey stakes out a rainy subway terminal to photograph a blackmailer identified only by a distinctive bright scarlet raincoat. |
| "The Pearl of the Pacific" | Syndicated Drama 1946-08-29 |
Sustaining Adventure Series |
Dramatic Repertory | Adventure Drama Staff | ["Adventure", "Action", "Sea Adventure", "Drama", "Anthology"] |
Four worldly travelers in a Singapore lounge exchange true accounts of deep-sea pearl divers confronting predatory sharks. |
| "Cisco Houston and The Merchant Marine" | US Treasury Synd 1945-08-29 |
US Treasury Dept. War Finance Division |
Cisco Houston (Folk) | Treasury Salute Staff | ["Music", "Folk", "Docudrama", "World War II", "Maritime"] |
Folk balladeer Cisco Houston sings wartime maritime ballads and recounts merchant marine convoy crossings under submarine fire. |
| "Marty Napoleon and His Jazz Trio (Program 15G)" | US Navy Recruiting 1964-08-29 |
US Navy Recruiting Service |
Marty Napoleon, Simon | George Simon (Host) | ["Music", "Jazz", "Swing", "Piano", "Dixieland"] |
Jazz pianist Marty Napoleon and his swing trio perform upbeat standard interpretations and lively Dixieland jazz. |
| "The Last Run" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-29 8:00 PM EDT |
National Biscuit Co. Nabisco Shredded Wheat |
Howard Culver (Star) | Western Drama Staff | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action", "Frontier", "Juvenile"] |
Comanche hero Straight Arrow rides to rescue an elderly stagecoach driver marked for assassination on his final scheduled frontier run. |
| "The French Sailor of Toulon with Admiral Zacharias" | Mutual (WOR) 1948-08-29 6:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Naval Intelligence |
Adm. Ellis Zacharias | Naval Espionage Cast | ["Espionage", "Docudrama", "World War II", "History", "Military"] |
An allied intelligence officer poses as a French sailor in German-occupied Toulon to transmit vital axis naval reconnaissance. |