On This Day, September 4: Gunsmoke and Ellery Queen
Also featured: Senator Truman.
September 4 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 4 across William Conrad starring as Marshal Matt Dillon in John Meston's prairie arson tragedy Beeker's Barn on Gunsmoke, Sydney Smith deducing coastal yacht homicides on The Adventures of Ellery Queen for Bromo-Seltzer, Senator Harry S. Truman explaining wartime production investigations on KMBC, military strategy analysis on NBC War Telescope, Tommy Dorsey swinging on Spotlight Bands for Coca-Cola, and locked-room murder drama on Masters of Mystery, William Conrad (1955), Sydney Smith (1943), Harry S. Truman (1942), Tommy Dorsey (1943), and Carlton Moss (1942–1957):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Beeker's Barn with William Conrad as Matt Dillon" | CBS (KNX) 1955-09-04 6:30 PM EDT |
Liggett & Myers L&M Filter Cigarettes |
William Conrad (Dillon) | Meston & Macdonnell | ["Western", "Drama", "Gunsmoke", "William Conrad", "John Meston"] |
Marshal Matt Dillon investigates a suspicious prairie barn fire that destroyed an honest homesteader's winter feed supply and left a rival cattleman dead. |
| "The Adventure of the Dark Cloud with Sydney Smith" | NBC (WEAF) 1943-09-04 7:30 PM EWT |
Emerson Drug Co. Bromo-Seltzer |
Sydney Smith (Ellery) | Santos Ortega & Dannay | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Ellery Queen", "Sydney Smith", "Bromo-Seltzer"] |
Ellery Queen challenges armchair guest detectives to deduce which yacht guest poisoned a tyrannical financier during a sudden coastal squall. |
| "Senator Harry S. Truman on the Defense Committee via KMBC" | KMBC Kansas City 1942-09-04 |
Sustaining Special News Interview |
Sen. Harry S. Truman | KMBC News Department | ["News", "WWII", "Radio News", "Harry S Truman", "KMBC"] |
Senator Harry S. Truman discusses his congressional committee's ongoing nationwide investigations into wartime defense production waste and military contracting efficiency. |
| "NBC War Telescope: Planning and Organization of the War" | NBC (WEAF) 1943-09-04 |
Sustaining Military Strategy Review |
NBC Military Analysts | NBC News Room | ["News", "WWII", "Radio News", "NBC News", "Military Analysis"] |
Military analysts review the Quebec Conference decisions, Allied amphibious logistics, and upcoming strategic offensives across the European and Pacific theaters. |
| "I've Found a New Baby with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra" | Blue Network 1943-09-04 9:30 PM EWT |
The Coca-Cola Co. Coca-Cola |
Tommy Dorsey & Orch. | Spotlight Bands Staff | ["Music", "Big Band", "Spotlight Bands", "Tommy Dorsey", "Coca-Cola"] |
Tommy Dorsey leads his swing band in high-energy dance arrangements and trombone showcases recorded live before cheering servicemen. |
| "The Vanishing Corpse with Carlton Moss" | WOR New York 1957-09-04 |
Sustaining Mystery Anthology |
Carlton Moss (Host) | WOR Dramatic Staff | ["Mystery", "Anthology", "Masters of Mystery", "Carlton Moss", "WOR"] |
A country coroner arrives at a secluded mansion to examine a poisoning victim only to discover the body has vanished from a locked parlor. |