Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

4 RADIO DAILY Friday, October 14, 1949 AGENCIES GEORGE LAFLIN MILLER has joined R. T. O'Connell Company as vice-president. He formerly was associated with Doyle, Kitchen & McCormick. Previous connections include J. Walter Thompson Co., Lord & Thomas and Doremus & Co. Miller is widely known for his books and articles on advertising written under the pen-name of "Aesop Glim." His latest book "Copy — The Core of Advertising" is just off the press. BENTON PASCHALL has acquired full ownership of Western Radio Advertising, Inc., Hollywood. The name of the organization has been changed to Western Radio Sales. The new policy of the company will be to represent television stations as well as a list limited to 18 Western AM stations. Paschall's radio experience includes executive sales positions with CBS stations in Fresno and Sacramento, where he was active in civic affairs. FRANK WALDECKER has been added to the staff of the radio and television department of the Grey Advertising Agency. This is in addition to his chores as announcer for Ronson Lighters "Twenty Questions." MELVIN H. GOODRODE, formerly with J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, has been named director of advertising and sales promotion for Bendix Home Appliances, Inc., South Bend, Ind., effective Oct. 15. WALTER KANER ASSOCIATES have been named to handle publicity and promotion for The Town House and Woodstock Hotel, New York. CHAS. A. WHITE, JR. & COM PANY, advertising agency, aVe mov ing on October 1st into new and larger quarters at 423 Walnut Street Philadelphia. A complete floor at the new address will be available to the agency, which has expanded twice since its inception in January, 1948. Notables Attend Dinner Capping KLZ Promotion Denver — The second annual state wide soil conservation contest spon sored jointly by KLZ and The Den ver Post was climaxed last week by a banquet attended by Charles Brannan, Secretary of Agriculture, and Colorado's governor, Lee Knous The contest was administrated by Lowell Watts, KLZ farm editor, and Ralph Partridge, farm editor of The Post. Other KLZ officials attending the banquet were Hugh B. Terry, vice-president and general manager; R. Main Morris, assistant manager; Lee Fondren, national sales man ager, and John Connors, promotion manager. COAST-TOCOAST California Commentary. . . ! • • • JOHN NELSON, of the Masterson-Reddy-Nelson firm, has ieturned from New York following launching of naw ABC-TV show "Auction-Aire." Nelson returns to duties on firm's "Bride and Groom" show. . . . Mac Benoff, producer-writer of CBS' "Life with Luigi." is currently beating a path between Warner's film lot and Columbia Square. Benoff is writing the screenplay for "We're HollyWOOd. Working Our Way Through College." while con tinuing his writing-direction chores on his radio show. . . . Doris Day's "You're My Thrill" wax package of eight tunes for Columbia back on the presses lor a second printing, the initial order of 200,000 copies having been sold out. . . . Eddie Albert is starring in a new series of NBC daytime half-hour variety programs, titled The Eddie Albert show, produced and directed by Bob Wambolt. and Jack Wilson writing the scripts. . . . Jay Stewart, emcee of ABC's "Surprise Package" and "Fun Fair" programs, is going to beam broadly and stick out his chest when he moves on mike for the Friday broadcast of "Surprise Package.' And with good reason. It's his tenth anniversary as radio performer. To commemorate the occasion the 10.000th contestant ever to cope with the emcee will handle the whole show. ft ft ft ft • • • ALAN ELROD has joined the new radio packaging firm of Searle and Parks, Inc., as chief of the company's promotion department. . . . Hawthorne, the zany comedian, is cutting a series of transcribed disc jockey shows, similar to the type he used to do on KXLA, for a chain of small radio stations in Colorado and other western states. . . . Ben Gage is now completing plans to originate a five-times-weekly 15-minute noon quiz show from his Westchester cafe, "The Trails," with Gage handling the emcee chores. . . . William Gargan is negotiating with Hal Burdick, CBS "Night Editor," for a TV show which would use the same title. Gargan plans to invite night editors to submit outline of the most exciting story they ever worked on. . . . Jimmy Wallington continues as announcer on "The Screen Directors Playhouse." . . . Little-known facts: Phil Harris headed his own band at age 15 and his first love was the drum. He played one night stands for 17 years, sleeping on buses and playing a new town every day every 300 miles, and Alice Faye began her stage career at the age of 14, Nee Alice Lepert, she chose the name "Faye" because at the time, Frank Fay was one of the biggest names on Broadway. ft ft ft ft • • • OLLIE O'TOOLE, radio actor who has been featured on the lack Benny show, and many other shows, now has his own television show over NBC, sponsored weekly which is a new talent quest show made possible by the medium of television. O'TOOLE looks at a crystal ball in which he gets a vision in the bail of the "star of tomorrow" which actually appeals in the ball and the camera expands to show the person actually performing. . . . Here is a twist that should confuse viewers of western saga: a singer doing a TV show in cowboy garb singing western songs but who in real life is an Indian, name Dusty Walker, and to make matters more confusing, this Indian in the cowboy suit, sings like Sinatra used to. via KNBH. Wednesday nights. Bill Heathcock is responsible for the music styling and direction of the Dusty Walker show. Bill just finished the scoring of (4) musical production numbers for the new M-G-M picture. "Nancy Goes To Rio," soon to be released, with Carmen Miranda and Jane Powell. Bill is Carmen's personal musical director. New Program for Children Hollywood, Calif. — KFWB is airing a new half-hour Saturday morning program titled "Just for Fun" slanted for children around the six-to-twelve year old age group, which started at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oat. 1st. The program is an audience participation show of contests, talent hunts, prizes and forums on the moppet level. Announcers Join WWCO Waterbury, Conn.— Gene Parker, formerly program director of WCOU, Lewiston, Maine, has accepted the position as staff announcer with WWCO. Sportscaster Bill Jacobs, formerly sports announcer for WUSJ, Lockport, N. Y.. has assumed duties as sports announcer with WWCO. New Public Service Series Worcester, Mass. — In co-operation with the Worcester School Dept's radio committee, WTAG (and FM) has launched a new series of Saturday evening broadcasts to acquaint listeners with their city's educational system. Entitled, "Know Your Schools," the programs feature Walter E. Bohmann, ass't principal of a local grammar school, as moderator. New Director and New Time Indianapolis, Ind. — The WIRE general manager, Willard C. Worcester, announced this past weekend that Thomas M. Peden was appointed as farm service director. Simultaneously, Worcester announced that the station now signs on the air one hour earlier each weekday, at 5:00 a.m. AM And FM News From WFRO Fremont, Ohio — WFRO announced that its AM station is expected to be in operation by November 15. Broadcasting hours of WRFO-FM are to be extended and duplication of programs is planned. FCC has authorized WFRO-AM to operate with a power of 500 watts on a frequency of 900 kc. New Talent Discovery Hartford, Conn. — The "talent" discovery for this week is Sebastian Pagliarello, known as Harry Page, of 124 South Street, Hartford. Page is a baritone who specializes in the semi-classics, and several of his numbers will be played on all locally-produced shows over WDRC during the week. New Program Change Corvallis, Ore. — KOAC has made a change in the time of its program for youngsters, "The Children's Theater," which beginning October 3 was broadcast daily Monday through Saturday between 5:00 and 5:15 instead of 4:45 as in the past. James M. Morris, program manager of the state station, emphasizes that with the change in time the broadcast can now be presented without interruption.