On This Day, September 2: Meet the Press and Chandu the Magician
Also featured: Mary Ward.
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 landmark public affairs press confrontations, mystical occult adventure serials, historical British biographical dramas, western harmony remotes, and African action serials, Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak interrogating newsmakers on Meet the Press (1949, 1956), Gayne Whitman in Chandu the Magician for White King Soap (1932), The Travels of Mary Ward on the BBC (1936), Foy Willing (1946), and O'Hara (1932–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Ku Klux Klan Imperial Emperor Lycurgus Spinks Questioned" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-09-02 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Press Interview |
Martha Rountree (Mod) | Inquiring Journalists | ["Interview", "Public Affairs", "News", "Meet The Press", "Mutual"] |
Reporters aggressively challenge self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan leader Lycurgus Spinks regarding racial violence and cross-burning rallies in the South. |
| "U.S. Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell with Lawrence E. Spivak" | NBC (WNBC) 1956-09-02 6:00 PM EDT |
Pan American Airways Air Travel |
Lawrence E. Spivak | Ned Brooks (Moderator) | ["Interview", "Public Affairs", "News", "Meet The Press", "NBC"] |
Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell fields sharp questions regarding Eisenhower administration employment policies and upcoming election labor endorsements. |
| "The Egyptian Tombs of Roxor with White King Soap" | Don Lee (KHJ) 1932-09-02 8:00 PM PST |
Los Angeles Soap Co. White King Soap |
Gayne Whitman (Chandu) | Margaret MacDonald | ["Fantasy", "Adventure", "Magic", "Chandu The Magician", "White King"] |
Chandu uses occult telepathic arts to penetrate an underground Egyptian tomb where the sinister villain Roxor guards stolen electrical death rays. |
| "Crossing the Alps with BBC Regional Programme" | BBC Regional 1936-09-02 |
Sustaining Historical Drama |
BBC Repertory Co. | BBC Radio Drama Staff | ["Drama", "History", "Biography", "Mary Ward", "BBC Regional"] |
Pioneering seventeenth-century Catholic educator Mary Ward braves treacherous Alpine mountain blizzards on foot to petition the Pope in Rome. |
| "Trail Herding Cowboy with Western Melody" | Syndication 1946-09-02 |
Sustaining Western Music |
Foy Willing & Troupe | Purple Sage Ensemble | ["Music", "Western", "Country", "Foy Willing", "Purple Sage"] |
Foy Willing leads his western singing troupe in harmonious cowboy ballads celebrating dusty cattle drives across the open prairie. |
| "Terror Orientale with Dramatic Action Cast" | Springbok Radio (SABC) 1951-09-02 |
Commercial Sponsors Adventure Drama |
Dramatic Cast | Michael Silver (Producer) | ["Adventure", "Action", "OHara", "Springbok Radio", "South Africa"] |
Adventurer O'Hara travels to an ancient temple in the Far East where a ruthless warlord holds an international archaeological expedition hostage. |