On This Day, September 2: Gene Autry and The Quiz Kids
Also featured: Likely Lads.
September 2 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 September 2 across western music and corral comedy, juvenile radio quiz show genius, British working-class situational comedy, exotic world musical travelogues, and metropolitan Sunday comic readings, Gene Autry and Pat Buttram on Melody Ranch for Doublemint Gum (1950), Joe Kelly and Joel Kupperman on The Quiz Kids for Alka-Seltzer (1945, 1951), James Bolam and Rodney Bewes in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? on the BBC (1975), Ports of Call (1936), and The Comic Weekly Man (1936–1975):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Horse Thief of Skull Valley with Doublemint Gum" | CBS (KNX) 1950-09-02 8:00 PM EDT |
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. Doublemint Gum |
Gene Autry, Buttram | Carl Cotner Orch. | ["Western", "Music", "Comedy", "Melody Ranch", "Gene Autry"] |
Gene Autry tracks rustlers stealing prize quarter horses before singing western standards with Pat Buttram and the Cass County Boys. |
| "V-J Day Special with Joe Kelly and Alka-Seltzer" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1945-09-02 7:30 PM EWT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer & Vitamins |
Joe Kelly (Quizmaster) | Joel Kupperman & Fischman | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Children", "Quiz Kids", "Alka Seltzer"] |
Child prodigies answer rapid-fire questions regarding world geography, Pacific naval battles, and post-war history on V-J Day. |
| "Back to School Panel with Joe Kelly and Miles Laboratories" | CBS (WCBS) 1951-09-02 3:30 PM EDT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer & Bactine |
Joe Kelly (Quizmaster) | Joel Kupperman & Cooks | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Children", "Quiz Kids", "Miles"] |
Young scholar panelists solve complex mathematical puzzles and identify obscure literary quotations during a back-to-school quiz session. |
| "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with James Bolam and Rodney Bewes" | BBC Radio 4 1975-09-02 7:00 PM BST |
Sustaining British Comedy |
James Bolam, Bewes | Dick Clement & La Frenais | ["Comedy", "British", "Likely Lads", "BBC Radio 4", "James Bolam"] |
Bob Ferris attempts to impress his wife's upscale dinner guests while desperately concealing Terry Collier's embarrassing presence in the house. |
| "The Scent of Ceylon with Dramatic Travelogue Cast" | Syndication 1936-09-02 |
Sustaining Travelogue Drama |
Dramatic Voice Cast | World Travelogue Orch. | ["Travel", "Documentary", "Music", "Ports Of Call", "Syndicated"] |
A musical and dramatic radio excursion visits the spice plantations, coastal ports, and tea gardens of Ceylon. |
| "Reading the Sunday Funnies on WOR New York" | WOR New York 1951-09-02 9:00 AM EDT |
Puck Comic Weekly Sunday Newspaper Comics |
Comic Weekly Man (Host) | Hearst Syndicate Staff | ["Children", "Comics", "Comic Weekly", "WOR", "Sunday Funnies"] |
The host reads and dramatizes color Sunday newspaper comic strips including Blondie, Popeye, and Flash Gordon for young listeners. |