Archival Dispatch: August 31 Calendar Walk — Gildersleeve, Burns and Allen, Challenge of the Yukon, Family Theater, and Fibber McGee

Date:
Author: radio index
Reading: 3 min
Tags: August 31, Calendar Walk, The Great Gildersleeve, Harold Peary, Kraft, Parkay, Burns and Allen, Frank Sinatra, Lever Brothers, Swan, Challenge of the Yukon, Paul Sutton, Quaker Oats, Family Theater, Lizabeth Scott, Regis Toomey, Fibber McGee and Molly, Tums, Alternate Titles, Original Filenames
Read paper Raw Markdown

August 31 Exhaustive Archival Metadata Enrichment

This archival dispatch documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for 5 historical broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across American network broadcasting history (1941–1954):


1. August 31 Exhaustive Archival Inventory

Original Circulating Filename & Alternate Titles Canonical Title Network, Airdate & Showtime Sponsor & Commercial Ads Credited Cast & Characters Director, Writers & Crew Genres Story-First Plot Synopsis
Gildersleeve_1941_08_31.mp3
Alt: The Gildy Arrives At Summerfield
"Gildy Arrives in Summerfield" NBC (WEAF)
1941-08-31
6:30 PM EDST
Kraft
Parkay margarine
Harold Peary (Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve), Lurene Tuttle (Marjorie), Walter Tetley (Leroy), Lillian Randolph (Birdie) Leonard L. Levinson (Writer) ["Comedy"] Gildersleeve leaves the Girdle Works in Wistful Vista on the overnight sleeper for Summerfield, where his orphaned niece Marjorie and nephew Leroy wait for an uncle they have never met; after a berth mix-up on the train he means only to settle the estate, then stays to raise them.
Burns_Allen_1943_08_31.mp3
Alt: Guest Frank Sinatra Get's Bad News, 1st Song - Dancing The Victory Polka
"Guest Frank Sinatra" CBS (WABC)
1943-08-31
9:00 PM EWT
Lever Brothers
Swan soap
George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin (Announcer), Felix Mills (Orchestra), Mel Blanc, Clarence Nash, Frank Sinatra (Guest) Felix Mills (Music), Bill Goodwin (Announcer) ["Comedy", "Variety", "Music"] Back from an eight-week army-camp tour, Gracie goes to Sinatra's house to warn him that George has decided to become a crooner and put Frankie out of a job; they trade songs, and the Swan Ten close with the Victory Polka.
Yukon_1949_08_31.mp3
Alt: The Minister's Missing Money
"The Minister's Missing Money" ABC (WJZ)
1949-08-31
5:00 PM EDT
Quaker Oats
Puffed Wheat & Puffed Rice
Paul Sutton (Sergeant Preston), Yukon King Tom Dougall (Writer), George W. Trendle (Producer) ["Adventure", "Western", "Mystery"] A minister coming into Dawson is murdered for the building-fund cash in his bag; a young newspaperman's son switched look-alike suitcases with him on the steamer Portland at Skagway, and Preston and King must recover the money before the killer does.
Family_Theater_1949_08_31.mp3
Alt: The Denver Express
"The Denver Express" Mutual (WOR)
1949-08-31
9:30 PM EDT
Sustaining
Family Rosary / Holy Cross Family Theater
Lizabeth Scott (Hostess), Regis Toomey (Major Harry Sinclair), Jean Ruth Family Theater (Hollywood) ["Drama", "Historical", "Adventure"] On the first run of the Denver Express, engine No. 17, Major Sinclair—who will not use a gun—is hemmed in by Big Jeff Johnson and the gamblers who want the railroad stopped, and has to get the train through without becoming the man he refuses to be.
Fibber_1954_08_31.mp3
Alt: Fishing Boat Sinks, Robinson Crusoe McGee
"Fishing Boat Sinks" NBC (WNBC)
1954-08-31
10:00 PM EDT
Lewis-Howe
Tums
Jim Jordan (Fibber McGee), Marian Jordan (Molly), Arthur Q. Bryan (Doc Gamble), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer) Phil Leslie & Ralph Goodman (Writers), Max Hutto (Director) ["Comedy"] After their fishing boat sinks, Fibber, Molly, and Doc Gamble wake stiff on an island in Lake Winnahoppa, eighty miles from Wistful Vista, and have to get off before Fibber's Robinson Crusoe schemes make the rescue worse.

2. Archival Verification Summary

  • Target Calendar Day: August 31
  • Broadcasts Resolved This Increment: 5
  • Cumulative Resolved on August 31: 5
  • Deferred: Archie Andrews (Trying To Listen To A Baseball Game) — circulating date conflicts with a Sunday 1951 logging; not stamped to 1946-08-31
  • Target Repositories Synchronized: radioindex.org-meta and radioindex.org-blog