On This Day, September 4: Orson Welles and Nick Carter
Also featured: Perry Como.
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 Orson Welles adapting G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, Lon Clark solving intricate extortions and staged abductions on Nick Carter, Master Detective (Old Dutch Cleanser in 1949 and Mutual in 1955), Perry Como singing My Blue Heaven on The Chesterfield Supper Club, extraterrestrial terror on The Hall of Fantasy, and Douglas Reeve at the Brighton Dome concert organ, Orson Welles (1938), Lon Clark (1949, 1955), Perry Como (1945), and Richard Thorne (1938–1955):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Man Who Was Thursday with Orson Welles" | CBS (WABC) 1938-09-04 8:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Mercury Drama |
Orson Welles (Syme) | Bernard Herrmann (Score) | ["Drama", "Literature", "Mercury Theater", "Orson Welles", "GK Chesterton"] |
A Scotland Yard poet-detective infiltrates the secret Central Anarchist Council of London and discovers each masked conspirator is an undercover police spy. |
| "The Case of the Rainbow Dream with Lon Clark" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-09-04 6:30 PM EDT |
Cudahy Packing Co. Old Dutch Cleanser |
Lon Clark & Manson | Ferrin N. Fraser (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Nick Carter", "Lon Clark", "Old Dutch Cleanser"] |
Master detective Nick Carter investigates a fraudulent spiritualist medium who uses chemically treated rainbow vapors to extort money from wealthy widows. |
| "The Case of the Guilty Victim with Lon Clark" | Mutual (WOR) 1955-09-04 4:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Detective Drama |
Lon Clark & Manson | Jock MacGregor (Dir.) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Nick Carter", "Lon Clark", "Mutual"] |
Nick Carter uncovers an elaborate insurance conspiracy when an apparent kidnapping victim turns out to have orchestrated his own abduction. |
| "At the Dome Brighton Concert Organ with Douglas Reeve" | BBC Light Programme 1953-09-04 |
Sustaining Organ Recital |
Douglas Reeve (Organ) | BBC Light Music Staff | ["Music", "Organ", "Douglas Reeve", "The Dome Brighton", "BBC"] |
Concert organist Douglas Reeve performs popular waltzes, overtures, and light classical medleys on the famous dual-console organ at The Dome, Brighton. |
| "My Blue Heaven with Perry Como and The Satisfiers" | NBC (WEAF) 1945-09-04 7:00 PM EWT |
Liggett & Myers Chesterfield Cigarettes |
Perry Como & Satisfiers | Ted Steele and Orch. | ["Music", "Vocal", "Chesterfield Supper Club", "Perry Como", "Chesterfield"] |
Perry Como croons popular mid-century hits including My Blue Heaven, Till the End of Time, and upbeat pop melodies with The Satisfiers. |
| "From Beyond Space with Richard Thorne" | WGN / Mutual 1950-09-04 8:30 PM CST |
Sustaining Sci-Fi Thriller |
Dramatic Repertory Cast | Richard Thorne (Writer/Dir) | ["Sci-Fi", "Horror", "Hall of Fantasy", "Richard Thorne", "WGN"] |
An astronomical observatory crew tracks a fallen meteor only to unleash a gelatinous extraterrestrial entity that absorbs living organisms. |