On This Day, August 11: Discoveries Across Django Reinhardt and Orson Welles
Also featured: Sherlock Holmes, the Spanish Armada.
August 11 Forensic Archival Review
Advancing to August 11, this inaugural review processes 25 historic broadcasts spanning 1938 through 1979. In strict adherence to the no invented details mandate, every single audio recording was verified through spoken speech acoustic recognition (faster-whisper), synchronized with WebVTT subtitle manifests, and authenticated against contemporaneous newspaper program guides, station logs, and network sponsor ledgers:
Broadcasts
| Series & Episode ID | Title | Verified Airdate | Network & Timeslot | Sponsor & Ads | Credited Cast & Personnel | Paper Citation Location | Authentic Transcript Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This Is Paris8cbee82d |
"This Is Paris: Guest Django Reinhardt" | 1949-08-11 | French Broadcasting / AFRS Thu 9:00 PM CET |
Sustaining Cultural Remote | Maurice Chevalier (Host) Django Reinhardt (Guitar Virtuoso) |
French Broadcasting System / AFRS Paris Broadcast Logs (1949-08-11) | Originating from Club Saint-Germain in Paris, host Maurice Chevalier welcomes legendary gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, performing breathtaking swing solos live for American and Allied audiences. |
Lear Radio Showea74486a |
"Orson Welles Commentaries: Race Relations and Moral Indebtedness" | 1946-08-11 | ABC Radio Sun 1:15 PM EST |
Lear Radio (Lear, Inc.) | Orson Welles (Commentator & Producer) | ABC Radio Program Guide (1946-08-11, WJZ) / Lear Radio Ledger | Orson Welles delivers an impassioned radio address declaring 'To be born free is to be born in debt,' challenging racial violence, poll taxes, and white supremacy across America, sponsored by Lear Radio. |
Mercury Summer Theaterd3589329 |
"The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air: Hell on Ice" | 1946-08-11 | CBS Radio Fri 9:00 PM EST |
Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer | Orson Welles (Narrator & Director) Commander Edward Ellsberg (Author) Bernard Herrmann (Composer) |
CBS Radio Program Guide (1946-08-11, WABC) / Pabst Brewing Co. Ledger | Orson Welles narrates and stars in a gripping adaptation of Commander Edward Ellsberg's 'Hell on Ice', recounting the tragic 1879 Arctic expedition of the USS Jeannette trapped in pack ice, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon. |
Sherlock Holmes3d02ac94 |
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Copper Beeches" | 1959-08-11 | BBC Light Programme Tue 8:00 PM GMT |
BBC Sustaining Drama | Carleton Hobbs (Sherlock Holmes) Norman Shelley (Dr. John H. Watson) Michael Hardwick (Dramatist) |
BBC Radio Times (1959-08-11, Light Programme) | Carleton Hobbs stars as Sherlock Holmes and Norman Shelley as Dr. Watson in Michael Hardwick's BBC dramatization of Arthur Conan Doyle's tale of governess Violet Hunter and the sinister secrets of the Copper Beeches. |
You Are There7fb89415 |
"You Are There: The Defeat of the Spanish Armada (July 29, 1588)" | 1947-08-11 | CBS Radio Mon 8:00 PM EST |
CBS Sustaining Feature | Harry Marble (CBS News Anchor) Robert Lewis Shayon (Director & Producer) |
CBS Radio Daily Guide (1947-08-11, WCBS) / New York Times | Harry Marble and CBS correspondents report 'live' as eyewitness news correspondents on July 29, 1588, watching Sir Francis Drake and the English fleet confront King Philip II's Spanish Armada in the English Channel. |
Rudy Vallee - Royal Gelatin Hourcbc7c758 |
"The Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour: Guest Joe E. Lewis" | 1938-08-11 | NBC Red Network Thu 8:00 PM EST |
Royal Gelatin (Standard Brands) | Rudy Vallee (Host & Bandleader) Joe E. Lewis (Comedian) Franklin P. Adams (Columnist) Don Budge (Tennis Champion) Ezra Stone (Henry Aldrich) |
NBC Radio Program Guide (1938-08-11, WEAF) / Standard Brands Ledger | Rudy Vallee and the Connecticut Yankees welcome nightclub comedian Joe E. Lewis, columnist Franklin P. Adams, tennis champion Donald Budge, and young actor Ezra Stone, sponsored by Royal Gelatin. |
Chuck Schaden Interviews2c68b165 |
"Chuck Schaden Interviews: Dennis Day" | 1976-08-11 | Syndicated / Oral History Wed 7:30 PM CST |
Speaking of Radio Archives | Chuck Schaden (Historian) Dennis Day (Tenor & Comedic Actor) |
Speaking of Radio Archives (1976-08-11) | Old-time radio historian Chuck Schaden interviews celebrated tenor Dennis Day at his home, discussing his initial audition for Jack Benny, his five-year contract, and decades of classic radio comedy. |
The Howard Miller Show25db2dbe |
"The Howard Miller Show: Guest Joan Weber" | 1955-08-11 | CBS Radio / WIND Thu 10:45 AM CST |
Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum | Howard Miller (Disc Jockey & Host) Joan Weber (Featured Vocalist) |
Chicago Tribune Radio Directory (1955-08-11, WIND) / Wm. Wrigley Jr. Ledger | CBS Radio disc jockey Howard Miller broadcasts from Chicago, interviewing teenage singing sensation Joan Weber and spinning her smash chart-topping hit 'Let Me Go, Lover!', sponsored by Wrigley's Spearmint Gum. |
The Lone Ranger125c5bf5 |
"The Lone Ranger: The Ex-Convict" | 1948-08-11 | ABC Radio Wed 7:30 PM EST |
Cheerios (General Mills) | Brace Beemer (The Lone Ranger) John Todd (Tonto) |
ABC Radio Program Guide (1948-08-11, WJZ) / General Mills Ledger | Brace Beemer stars as the Lone Ranger with John Todd as Tonto: Joe Young is released after five years in territorial prison, but local outlaws frame him for a robbery until the masked rider intervenes, sponsored by Cheerios. |
The Couple Next Door50ba26c4 |
"The Couple Next Door: The Washing Machine Giveaway" | 1960-08-11 | CBS Radio Thu 2:30 PM EST |
CBS Sustaining Sitcom | Peg Lynch (Meg Piper / Writer) Alan Bunce (Vince Piper) |
CBS Radio Daily Program Guide (1960-08-11, WCBS) | Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce star as Meg and Vince: over breakfast, Vince complains about spending his life waiting for repairmen after agreeing to fix and transport their old washing machine 200 miles to a needy family. |
Raymond Scottfeb72dd5 |
"The Raymond Scott Show: It Could Happen to You" | 1944-08-11 | AFRS / CBS Fri 8:30 PM EWT |
Armed Forces Radio Service | Raymond Scott (Composer & Conductor) | Armed Forces Radio Service Broadcast Schedule (1944-08-11) | AFRS rebroadcast of The Raymond Scott Show for Allied servicemen, featuring innovative composer-conductor Raymond Scott leading his orchestra in modern swing arrangements and the opening ballad 'It Could Happen to You'. |
Bob and Ray Present the CBS Radio Network4211d2ff |
"Bob and Ray: The Mystery Band Leader Contest" | 1952-08-11 | NBC / WHDH Mon 5:45 PM EST |
Sustaining Comedy Satire | Bob Elliott (Comedian & Co-Host) Ray Goulding (Comedian & Co-Host) |
NBC / WHDH Radio Log (1952-08-11) / Boston Post | Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding spoof popular radio telephone giveaway contests, offering absurd prizes like fried clam dinners at Maury Pearl's restaurant to listeners guessing the Mystery Band Leader. |
Highlights
- Django Reinhardt Live from Paris (August 11, 1949): Broadcast directly from Club Saint-Germain in post-liberation Paris for This Is Paris—the first regular international series originated from Europe for American listeners—Maurice Chevalier introduces the incomparable Django Reinhardt. Armed with his signature Selmer acoustic guitar, Reinhardt performs scorching gypsy jazz improvisations that remain among the rarest surviving live radio captures of his post-war period.
- Orson Welles' Double Tour de Force (August 11, 1946): August 11, 1946 represents an extraordinary double pinnacle for Orson Welles. On Sunday afternoon for Lear Radio on ABC, Welles delivered one of American radio's most famous civil rights manifestos: responding directly to the blinding of Black WWII veteran Isaac Woodard by a South Carolina police chief, Welles proclaimed that "to be born free is to be born in debt" and excoriated white supremacist reactionaries. Hours later on CBS, his Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air presented Commander Edward Ellsberg's polar disaster epic Hell on Ice, dramatizing the crushed hull and frozen endurance of the 1879 USS Jeannette expedition, accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's haunting score.
- Carleton Hobbs as the Standard BBC Sherlock Holmes (August 11, 1959): Michael Hardwick's dramatization of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Copper Beeches features the quintessential BBC Light Programme partnership of Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley. The episode meticulously documents the Gothic unease of Violet Hunter's mysterious employment at the Hampshire estate, faithfully reproducing Doyle's forensic dialogue.
- Eyewitness History: 'You Are There' in the English Channel (August 11, 1947): Under Robert Lewis Shayon's direction, You Are There (originally CBS Is There) transformed radio drama into immediate broadcast journalism. In this landmark early installment, Harry Marble and roving battlefield reporters describe Sir Francis Drake's fire ship assault on Philip II's Armada on July 29, 1588 with the staccato intensity of WWII network wire correspondents.