Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

Section of RADIO DAILY. Monday. October 10. 1949 — TELEVISION DAILY is fully protected by register and copyright l last CBS COLOR AIRS GRID PICK-UP TELE TOPICS CD WYNN is a very funny man, and his new stanza on CBS is a very funny show. There wasn't a single boffola on his opener last week, but the entire halfhour was filled with nice, comfortable chuckles. Tis indeed an art to keep people laughing pleasantly for 30 minutes — even more difficult, perhaps, than tossing off monstrous yocks now and then — and of the few true practitioners of this art, Wynn is among the best. We saw the recorded show twice, once at a press preview and again at home Thursday nite, and the best indication of the caliber of Wynn's comedy is that it seemed just as funny the second time. Wynn actually turned commercials for Speidel watch bands into a high spot of the show, by combining them with a satire on several advertising cliches. ("Speidel bands prevent wrist decay!") Another line that especially appealed to us was, "I know as much about television as anybody; I've been in it 15 minutes now." . . . Show was very neatly paced, with Wynn spelled by the Szonyis, a fine acrobatic dance team, and the torrid Gertrude Niesen. . . . Written by Hal Kanter, Leo Solomon and Seaman Jacobs, program is produced by Harlan Thompson and directed by Ralph Levy, with ork conducted by Lud Gluskin. Cecil b Presbrey is the agency. . . . Picture quality of the recording was superior to previous footage from Hollywood, but showed need for still more improvement. • DLUE (?) NOTE: Biggest laugh at the " CBS color demonstrations in Washington last week was provided by Bette Cannon, Alexandria, Va., dancing teacher, when she lost her skirt during a tap routine to reveal a short pair of deep-blue panties. A nervous soul in the control room blacked out the program immediately to the accompaniment of a hearty roar from the assembled experts. . . . About 150 merchants in Long Island City have given up the fight against Milton Berle and will close their stores Tuesday nites. A resolution by their trade association said "most of the residents spend Tuesday evenings viewing (the Berle show) . . . and very little thought is given to shopping." • "THE THREE New York stations which, ■ with WNBT, underwrote the special Pulse study on the first Series game, are hopping mad because NBC released the figures to the press. . . . Shot of Dave Garroway chopping the coax in the current issue of Life pictures him as a dead ringer for Gary Cooper. . . . Past and present diamond stars are finding new careers in video as a result of the Series. Jackie Robinson is doing a daily stint on WJZTV, while Chief Bender and George Earnshaw, former Philadelphia hurlers, are on a daily pre-game show over WCAU-TV. PICTURE OF THE WEEK Dr. Frank Stanton, CBS President (left), explains CBS color television camera to FCC Chairman Wayne Coy at official demonstration of the color system at the Carlton Hotel Grand Ballroom in Washington, D. C. Temporary video studio was set up in a parlor of the hotel. Network Shows Color At FCC Hearing It was CBS' turn in the FCC spotlight at the color hearings in Washington. The web demonstrated its color system on the AT&T hookup between Washington and New York, with little or no loss in picture quality. Prexy Frank Stanton urged immediate adoption of the best color system, said Columbia's is "ready today" and the most economical. . . . NBC announced rate increases up to 40 per cent for 22 of its affiliates and the move was seen as forerunner of a general rate boost for the entire industry. Increases in all cases are based on rapidly growing number of receivers in circulation. . . . Negotiations between SAG and the Eastern talent unions reached a stalemate, with SAG refusing to join the proposed "Television Authority" and threatening a withdrawal from AAAA if its jurisdiction is affected. . . . Pool coverage of the World Series was carried by 54 stations in 29 cities for a total estimated audience of between 17 and 20 million. . . . AFM brexy James C. Petrillo, meeting with agencies and producers, said that a scale for musicians employed in TV films will he sent out this week and indicated that he will demand a royally payment to the union for each airing of these films. Net Demonstration Concluded; RCA Starts Today (Continued from Page 1) with the skies leaden and the light poor, and with a heavy rain pouring down on the Roosevelt and Western Reserve high school junior varsities which participated in the scrimmage. Nonetheless, the pictures received on the Carlton ballroom receivers were bright and easily seen. There was no flicker, color fringing nor color breakup. It was interesting to note, too, that fast moving buses and automobiles in the rear flashed across the screen without color breakup. And despite the fact that the jerseys were quite similar — orange and maroon — they were easily distinguished on the color screen. That wasn't the case with the black and white picture. Much had been made during last week's hearings about being able to follow the ball on a color screen. The football was plainly seen as it flashed to the backfield and was kicked and passed. Just to make the show more impressive, Adrian Murphy, CBS vice-president, and emcee of the demonstration, had a couple of baseball player's toss a ball around and hit it. The white ball was just as clearly seen as it would be on a black-and-white screen. As in Thursday's demonstration, RCA was silent all through the tests, apparently willing to state its own case today at the Washington Hotel demonstration it is putting on for Not till today's demonstration will anybody but a few RCA executives, outside of the engineers who worked on the system, be able to see RCA color video. New DuM 19-Inch Sets To Sell For $495, Up Introduction of three new DuMont receivers featuring the firm's recently-developed 19-inch short-necked tube was announced over the weekend by Ernest Marx, general manager of receiver sales. Lowest priced set in the new line, now being delivered to dealers, lists at $495. The other two models are priced at $545 and $645. All three are console models. Named WGN-TV Director Chicago — Ernest Lucas, formerly film editor of the WGN-TV Chicagoland Newsreel. has joined the station's program department as director. His first assignment will be the Chicagoland Mystery Players.