Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

Section of RADIO DAILY, Tuesday, November I, 1949 — TELEVISION DAILY is fully protected by register and copyright CANADA TV 'WIDE OPEN'-DUNTON TELE TOPICS DECAUSE THEY OFFER week-to-week " continuity through established characterizations and variety through changing situations, domestic comedy shows seem destined to occupy an increasing portion of TV's programming makeup. With good scripting — the major need of most stanzas — they may well continue indefinitely with little or no wear. One that must be ranked near the top in the category is "The Truex Family," a recent arrival on WPIX. The members of the Truex clan — there are more than we can count — from Ernest and Sylvia on down to granddaughter Penelope, age three, set out to show that actors are people, even as you and me, but a more talented and entertaining tribe would indeed be hard to find. . . . Last week a gentleman billed as George Spelvin appeared on the show as a stage-struck v-p of Gimbels, program's sponsor, and played the hambone role to the hilt with hilarious results. Although Spelvin is not a newcomer to acting, he is better known in the trade as Warren Wade, former NBC production chief and now program manager of WPIX. . . . Program also contains some of the best examples of commercial integration ever seen, but we wish they'd drop the super-imposed price tag as an article is described. It's disturbing and unnecessary. . . . Scripts, by Jim Truex and Searle Kramer, are well above average, and direction, by Clay Yurdin, is excellent. TTHE DuMONT Teletranscription depart■ ment made its 1,000th recording Saturday nite when it canned "Cavalcade of Stars." Headed by Ed Carroll, the department records about 80 performances a week. . . . Charles Laughton, Eddie Albert and Allyn McClerie will guest on the debut of the new Paul Whiteman show on ABC Sunday. Scripted by George Faulkner, program is produced by Tony Stanford and directed by William H. Brown, with TV production by Ward Byron. . . . Frank Dahm has joined the staff of WOR-TV as editor of "Telefax News," daily threehour newspaper scanned by the station from 2 to 5 p.m. . . . Vincent Price will narrate the Stokey and Ebert film production of "A Christmas Carol" which will be shot at the Jerry Fairbanks studios. \A/AAM, Baltimore, marks its first anniversary tonite with a special "Birthday Party" show to be produced and directed by Anthony Farrar. Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro will guest. . . . Giveaway offer mentioned only once on a WCAU-TV show last week drew 5,480 requests in four days. . . . The wives of three WPIX announcers, John Tillman, Joe Bolton and Jack McCarthy, are expecting heirs within 15 days of each other next spring, and all three have made reservations at Doctors Hospital, Special Holiday Show Sold By NBC And CBS (Continued from Page 1) TV cutlets that can clear the time, both live and by recording. Program will combine the sponsor's two AM shows featuring the Symphonette, conducted by Mishel Piastro, and the Choraliers, conducted by Eugene Lowell. Program will be aired 5-6 p.m., EST, Nov. 24. Agency is Victor A. Bennett Co. Elgin-American, which last year sponsored a two-hour variety show on ABC-TV, is buying the entire NBC interconnected web as well as an unspecified number of non-interconnected outlets. Headlining the show, which will be produced by Max Liebman, will be Milton Berle, George Jessel and the Ritz Brothers, the latter making their initial video appearance. Program will be aired Thanksgiving night, 8:30-10 p.m. and will originate at the International Theater. Agency is Weiss & Geller. WNAC-TV Sells Film Seg Boston — Allen Furniture Co. has signed with WNAC-TV for sponsorship, through Oct., 1950, of a weekly quarter-hour film series, "Curiosities In The News," produced by Walter Fudder. Silton Brothers is the agency. WAAM Names Carter Baltimore — Kenneth L. Carter, formerly with W MAR-TV, has been named local sales manager of WAAM, it was announced yesterday Tele Private Activity, Not Federal, Says Coy Washington Bureau of RADIO DAILY Washington — FCC Chairman Wayne Coy has notified several Virginia residents, through Congressman Burr P. Harrison, that it is up to private enterprise to provide them with television service. Although the FCC is sympathetic to their concern that it might not be made available in small towns, Coy rejected the idea that the Government could provide programming. On the other hand, Coy pointed to the possibility that duplicate stations might be constructed to bring the program schedules of big city stations to small towns. Want Wide Distribution Harrison announced last night that Coy said in response to queries that the Commission is anxious that TV service be as widely available as possible, and that as many channels as can be will be made available. Will Discuss Television Hartford, Conn. — Television will be the topic of a talk to be given by chief announcer Russell Naughton of WDRC, November 16th at the Windsor Locks, Rotary Club. WDRC has a television application pending before the FCC. by Armand Grant, recently promoted to director of sales. Grant is in charge of all station sales. Wilson Quits As ABC Veepee As Web Slashes All Budgets J. Donald Wilson, has resigned as vice-president and national director of network programs of ABC, it was learned yesterday. His resignation coincides with a curtailment of the web's TV sustaining program schedule and a substantial budget cut involving virtually every department. Wilson has been a vice-president of the web since January of this year, when he was transferred to New York from Hollywood where he was program manager. The across-the-board budget reduction, the second this year, means reductions in service and/or personal in varying amounts for all departments. Heaviest cuts are expected in TV production and engineering personnel as the result of the dropping of eight hours of sustaining shows a week, two and a half hours of which were film. Programs axed include Bowling Headliners, Actors Studio, A Couple Of Joes, Sleepy Joe and I Believe. ABC officials prefer to call the cutback a readjustment and realignment of an unwieldy and unprofitable program schedule. Web is going all out to promote the new Paul Whiteman show for Goodyear that bows Sunday nite and should other new commercials be landed it would undoubtedly program sustainers around them to build block programming continuity. CBC Chief Scores B'dcasters For TV Outlook Victoria, B. C. — Television in Canada is "wide open" for private broadcasters to step in, but so far, no one has shown much interest, A. D. Dunton, chairman of the board of governors of the CBC, said here. He added "there has been a marked lack of interest on the part of private operators in establishing television transmitting stations in Canada." He attributed this in part, to lack of understanding of the extent to which CBC has developed its TV policy. Application for a $4,500,000 loan to CBC is now before Parliament, he said. If the loan is approved, CBC will set up video production centers and transmitters in Toronto and Montreal, to supply programs directly to surrounding areas. In addition, programs will be recorded for use by any other existing stations in Canada. Only on 'Private' Application But, he said, so far only one private operator has applied for permission to build a TV transmitter. He is Bill Rea, of C.K.N.W., at New Westminister, B. C, who "will be on the air with television in a year to a year and a half," Dunton said. "Of course, television is a tremendously expensive proposition, but we're authorized to subsidize private stations by supplying them with shows." Earlier, Dunton had said that TV in Canada cannot be placed exclusively in the hands of private commercial interests, since such a move would result in Canada being swamped with U. S. programs to the exclusion of home production. "The tendency," he said, "would be for Canadian television to become a series of northward offshoots of U. S. TV instead of its forming east-west links across Canada." "Cost" a Big Factor This, he continued, was nothing more than the "result of commercial arithmetic." Canadian programs would cost more for production than those from the States. Therefore, an unregulated industry would tend to use only the cheaper U. S. productions. Pointing out that TV in the U. S. is operating at heavy losses, he said two obstacles confront the establishment of video in Canada— the higher cost per capita because of this country's relatively small population, and the distance factor.