Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

you can do it better with the revolutionary ACTUAL SIZE ALTEC 21 B MINIATU MICROPHONE It achieves uniformity of response . . . provides greater tonal fidelity. . . it is omnidirectional ... it is blastproof, shockproof . . . there is no false bass build-up . . . more net acoustic gain before encountering feedback . . . tiny size contributes to remarkable versatility of positioning . . . extends the fidelity of sound transmission. 1G1 Sixth Avenue New York 13.N.Y. 3161 North Vine St. Hollywood 38,Cal. RADIO DAILY: Tuesday, November 1. 1949 California Commentary. . . .' • • • NBC's fabulous giveaway program. "Hollywood Calling." will lose its sponsor in December, according to reliable sources here. . . . When Justin Miller, president of NAB, winds up the coast tour of NAB district meeting he hopes to spend the ChristHollyWOOCl mas houdays witn his family here. . . . Harry Sherman, producer of the Hopalong Cassidy pictures for TV, is reported dickering with Emilio Aczarrage for the production of some of the pictures in Mexico City. . . . Ann Richardson, dynamic public relations executive who was long associated with the orchestra booking business in New York, is giving the Country Club hotel a hand in its publicity and promotion planning. . . . Paramount's coast TV station, KTLA, figures prominently in the movie company's plans to establish a nation-wide TV film network. . . . many programs produced on KTLA have been kinescoped for national distribution. . . . Jeanne Gray starts under her own banner as Jeanne Gray Prod. — to produce on film a series of TV programs for eastern TV outlets. . . . Steve Allen, disc jockey laugh master, and Frances Wayne, are earmarked for feature billing on ABC's "Let There Be Stars" program over KECA-TV. ^ ^ £ ^ • • • Gloria Winters, actress who plays "Babs" on KNBH's "Life of Riley" has been signed to appear in Paramount pictures. Irving Brecher, producer on "Life of Riley" has given Miss Winters a twoweek leave-of-absence so that she may go on location to northern California. "Life with Luigi." starring J. Carrol Nash, and featuring Alan Read on KNX-CBS, caused a tie-up on the switchboard at CBS. Program has terrific following among foreign language groups throughout the country. . . . Red Skelton will be the next comedian to "go straight" on the Auto-Lite "Suspense" airshow He'll appear on Nov. 3rd, playing a tense, dramatic role in a chiller called, "The Search for Isabel." . . . Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely will guest on "Grand Ole Opry" over NBC on Nov. 12th. Wakely recently signed a new five-year deal with Capitol and now is regularly recording with Miss Whiting. . . . Cy Howard, creator-producer-director of CBS' "My Friend Irma" is the subject of an interesting picture story in the Oct. 16 issue of Parade, the Sunday picture magazine. . . . Ben Gage is completing discussions to air a five-times-weekly half hour quiz show from his new restaurantnitery. "The Trails," beginning in December over one of the local indie s,a,ions * a * * • • • Jack Smtih will transcribe his second U. S. Treasury "Guest Star" program this week and the 1 2 hour platter will be aired on 2750 radio stations beginning in December. . . . ABC's emcee of "Surprise Party," Jay Stewart, is expanding his air operations here to include a packaging set-up similar to that of John Guedel. producer of Groucho Marx and Art Linkletter shows. . . . Joe Graydon, ex-FBI agent whose recent Capitol records and photogenic features this week won him a five a-week video show of his own on KLAC-TV and its Cinemascope "network" bears watching. . . . Mary and Harry Hickox. who do 12 TV and radio shows a week here, will have to budget their time the latter part of the month when they start a recording session on another album of their well-known "Jump Jump" children's stories. . . . Radio's "Fat Man" may move to Hollywood the first of the year for both broadcasts and telecasts. The radio cast will be used in the video version. . . . Multi-dialect comedienne Sara Berner takes on her third role on the CBS Beulah show. Sara takes on role of Aunt to Hattie McDaniel's "Beulah." Blanche Thebom, sensational Met Opera star who is in LA with the San Francisco Opera Company, was a guest star on "Queen for a Day' on Tuesday, Oct. 25th. . . . Smilin' Ed McConnell played a kindly ghost on his Saturday show over NBC. . . Jovial Don Wilson, announcer, is celebrating his 25th anniversary in radio. CHICAGO By HAL TATE ONE of Chicago's most famous disc jockeys, Ernie Simon, whose AM and TV shows are on WJJD and WBKB respectively, will marry Pat Lyons, non-pro, the last week in December. Ernie's "Curbstone CutUp" show on WBKB celebrates its 1st anniversary next month. It's reportedly the longest-running continuous five-a-week show in television. RCA-Victor is the sponsor. The Muntz Television account has shifted from Robert Sawdon & Associates to the Irving Rocklin agency. FM station WMOR has made a tieup with the new near-north side Telenews Theater which opened up Friday, to originate nearly all the station's night-time shows from the Telenews lounge. Lou ("Stop the Music") Cowan has sold another package show here in Chicago. It's called "The Pet Shop" and the sponsor is the Evanger Kennel Food Company, producers of fresh frozen horse meat, of Wheeling, Illinois. Show will be telecast over WNBQ Tuesday evenings at 5:30 and stars "Proprietor" Gail Compton and his eight-year-old daughter, Gay. WLS Notes: Donald E. Finlayson, sales promotion manager at the station for the past five years, is resigning to enter the resort business. His successor is John C. Drake, formerly Don's assistant. . . . Estel Freeman, former continuity editor at WIBC, Indianapolis, and also formerly in the publicity department of the State of Indiana, has joined tha creative writing staff at WLS. . . . New to the copy department is LaVerne Jette. Sports announcer Bob Elson is planning a disc jockey show to originate at Bill Burke's Cameo Restaurant. CBS To Air Talk By Louis Johnson Indianapolis, Ind. — Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson's address on "Men, Money and Munitions" at a meeting of the National Eecxutive Committee of the American Legion will be broadcast over CBS from here Nov. 5, 11:15-11:30 p.m., EST. The broadcast will be by transcription made earlier in the evening at the Legion meeting in the Indianapolis Athletic Club. Lehman Luncheon All branches of the entertainment industry, including radio and television, will be represented at a luncheon to be held at the Hotel Astor, New York, noon today in honor of Herbert H. Lehman, Democratic-Liberal candidate for U. S. Senator. Among those scheduled to attend are Eleanor Roosevelt, Geo. S. Kaufman, Tony Martin, Tallulah Bankhead, Moss Hart, and Robert E. Sherwood.