Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

8 DECEMBER 12, 1960 HOLLYWOOD ROUNDUP Four Star Television’s 60-min. anthology series, The Dick Powell Theater, for NBC-TV next season, means the end of the 5-year-old Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater on CBS-TV. So we’re informed by Powell, who will host the NBC-TV show. The deal is for 39 first-runs & 13 repeats. Powell has asked for & received his release from his producer-director contract at 20th-Fox because of his chores as pres, of Four Star. But he will produce & direct a 20th-Fox movie in 1962, another in 1963. Powell leaves soon for Europe to meet Four Star partner Charles Boyer & examine production facilities on the Continent. “Dodge City Syndrome” is the clinical tag put by the American Medical Assn, on a recun-ing type of TV Western-inspired injuries — gunshot wounds of the feet & legs. An editorial in the AMA’s Journal says that the typical patient is “a young man in his late teens or early twenties” who shoots himself while trying to outdraw Matt Dillon & other TV heroes. It’s a major medical problem, the editorial complains: “What happens is that the patient-tobe is too slow on the draw and too fast with his trigger finger, so that he fires the weapon before it is disengaged from the holster, and while it’s still pointed down at his foot.” The editorial reported that “numerous gun clubs have sprouted across the land,” dedicated solely to practice of the fast draw. Twentieth Century-Fox TV and the production team of Rod Amateau & Max Shulman {The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) have parted company for future properties. Amateau, who will produce the team’s next pilot, Daddy-0, told us the split was due to the studio’s demand to be its own sales agent; he doesn’t think it can do the job. William Morris formerly was 20th’s sales agent. CBS Films is financing the pilot, which goes into production Dec. 27 at General Service studio. GAC is sales representative. Filmaster Inc. has filmed three 5-min. episodes in a new series, Nightside, based on a radio property originally heard on KMPC Los Angeles. Donn Reed is reportercommentator on the series, produced by Fritz Goodwin. The firm plans to film 260 episodes. Ziv-UA released Keith Larsen from his skin-diving Aquanauts contract last week. A World War Il-incurred head injury, “aggravated by constant exposure to water pressure,” caused Larsen’s physician to advise the move. Pay-TV technical transmission tests in Los Angeles, by International Telemeter, were authorized by FCC last week. Operation of a low-powered transmitter will be permitted on Ch. 5 between 1:30 & 8 a.m., when KTLA is off air. No public participation is permitted. Four Star Television has signed Robert Claver as associate producer of its Michael Shayne series. CBS o&o KNXT Los Angeles is moving to the east wing of its Columbia Square bldg, at 6121 Sunset Blvd. from 1313 N. Vine. Programming begins from new hq Dec.. 31. Obituary Marion Parsoiuiet, 54, TV producer & writer, died of a heart attack in Hollywood Dec. 7. NEW YORK ROUNDUP Four-nation co-production series is planned by Intertel (International TV Federation), marking what the new organization calls a “breakthrough in the dissemination of ideas & cultural exchange through global TV.” Intertel has 5 participants, representing 4 countries: Associated Rediffusion Ltd. (Britain), Australian Bcstg. Commission (Australia), CBC (Canada), Westinghouse Bcstg. Co. and National ETV-Radio Center. First Intertel project is a 60min. monthly documentary series on international publicaffairs topics. Objective view rather than national chauvinism, is being sought; the U.S. team will film a show on Africa, the Canadians will profile Castro’s Cuba, the Australians will examine U.S.-Canadian relationships, etc. Initial capital of $500,000 for the project has been budgeted by the participants. Said WBC Pres. Donald H. McGannon: “This is the first practical step, after years of talking & hoping.” In the U.S. & Britain, the Intertel series will be available for commercially sponsored TV; in Australia & Canada, it will be televised on a public-service basis. NBC-'TV’s new production of “Peter Pan” fiew right through the rating roof Dec. 8, attracting what NBC hailed as “the greatest audience for any TV entertainment presentation on a single network in TV’s history.” A special National Arbitron, produced on an overnight basis, showed the following scorecard: Homes, 24,300,000 (nearly half of all TV homes). Average Audience level, 39.8. Audience Share during the average minute of the show, 59.3%. Setsin-Use level, normally about 54.5% for the show’s time period, 7:30-9:30, reached a whopping 65.0%. National Nielsen A A level is unofficially predicted to come in at between 54.0 and 55.0 — tops for the season. Fremantle International, specialist in foreign telefilm syndication, sold 6 shows in Brazil & Argentina during November. Sterling TV’s off-network Silents Please was bought in 7 Brazilian cities. Other sales included Portuguese& Spanish-dubbed Felix The Cat & Cartoon Classics . . , Another south-of-the-border venture is being made by WNEW-TV’s Fred Scott, host of Felix & Friends. He left last week on a good-will tour to distribute toys to underprivileged children in Panama, Ecuador & Peru. ITC has announced “biggest November sales” in its history. Ramar of the Jungle and Jeff’s Collie were renewed in 6 markets this month, including WNAC-TV Boston, WTVI Ft. Pierce, Fla., KBLR-TV Goodland, Kan. Best of the Post led ITC Nov. sales with 18 new markets, bringing the total to 149. New markets include: WABCTV N.Y., WBAL-TV Baltimore, WTAR-TV Norfolk. Nine other ITC shows sold in a total of 27 markets. CBS Films has licensed literary rights to 2 publicaffairs specials in the Tomorrow series to publisher J. B. Lippincott Co. Authors John Pfeiffer and John Ely Burchard have been commissioned to write hard-cover, illustrated books to be published in 1961, based on “The Thinking Machine” (about the TX-0 digital computer) and “Big City — 1980” (which deals with the uncertain future of man’s population centers). People: William McGee has been appointed ITC western (ii\^ sales mgr. . . . Francis M. Winikus has been named UA special asst, to vp Arnold M. Picker to supervise European advertising & publicity . . . Albert G. Hartigaii has been named ABC FiliUs eastern div. mgr.