Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

The Wife-Saver': Novel Household Feature By GEORGE WIEDA |411en Prescott Finds Housewives Have Sense of Humor; They Like Mere Male's Advice on Domestic Problems THE IDEA of a man telling women how to do their 'housework and then kidding them about it has set la new precedent in household programs. Allen jPrescott, who tried his hand — briefly — as an actor and as a newspaperman, is the author of a feature which recently was graduated from WINS, New .York, to the NBC-WJZ network. While chock full of fun, the program carries helpful hints to housewives. Among other features Mr. Prescott has written and directed is the Joe Palooka series, done in collaboration with Ham Fisher. 'HELLO, GIRLS! Well, here we are at the end of the week, which is just fine as far as I'm concerned. What better time to talk about little Rollo and his sister Susie. I start this thing in the solemn hope that you're still feeding the children, there being no point in having children unless you feed them. A hungry child can never be trusted $ $ $ yt Allen Prescott, high speed announcer and script writer, is off on another of the wife-saving jaunts that have become famous throughout the metropolitan area. "The Wife-Saver," which has been just switched from WINS, New York, to the NBC-WJZ network, as a sustaining program, was created by Prescott in defiance of warnings that he couldn't get away with it because women "can't take it." Built on a Hunch THAT WAS LAST February. Meanwhile he has proved that women do have a sense of humor, that they can be kidded about housework and made to like it so much that they come back to the loudspeaker for more. Now the program is an institution and was one of the headliners of WINS. From the first it has drawn a flood of mail, although none has ever been requested. It is a program that, having passed the pioneering stage, has tremendous commercialization possibilities because of its appeal to the home audience. "The Wife-Saver" was created on the hunch that it would amuse women to hear a man tell them short-cuts in housework. The program wasn't expected to be taken seriously by "the girls." If this original idea had been carried out, if it had been put on in "burlesque" style, it might have flopped. While working on the first script, Prescott struck the twist that has put the program across. His sense of humor got to work on the "household hints" he had collected. He ran in comments about them, often as wisecracks. The script rambled into nonsensical ramifications. Gag piled on gag. The script turned out a riot of fun in a mine of information. Some "Wife-Savers" THESE are typical "wife-savers:" "How to wash woolen bathrobes is the next little speech we make today. Woolen bathrobes should be measured carefully before they're washed. If not, you wont be able to tell later whether you started with baby's blanket or a garment * * * "The long handled dust pan is a great aid and abolishes much drudgery of sweeping. I know you're going to say that a short handled dust pan is good for the hips, but believe me, girls, no hip in the world is worth a thousand stoops a day. * * * "Cousin Kate clamors to call your attention to the fact that, no matter how hot the day, /you must never, never put bananas in the ice box. It seems the bananas and the ice never get along. The banana gets nervous and this causes the banana to have skin trouble and the banana's skin turns darker than * * * well, pretty dark. * * * "If you will keep a bit of orange peel in the tea container it will give tea a new and marvelous flavor, very different flavor. Of course, you could argue that so will a baked potato, but that's not going to get you anywhere * * *." Signature Gains Friends PRESCOTT'S closing signature has gained him the gratitude of a surprising number of listeners. "See you tomorrow. Meanwhile, Mrs. House Wife, I hope there's nothing burning. — The WifeSaver," he signs off. According to letters he has received, there are a lot of husbands who should be grateful for being saved by those simple words from burnt stews and vegetables. The form into which Prescott has developed the program makes it possible for advertisers to work in BLOW BY BLOW description of Aunt Harriett's bare fist bout with some of the little pink things, is the way Allen Prescott (above) captions this characteristic pose. copy boosting their products in a very inoffensive way. The period is divided into seven parts: 1. Introduction — followed by discussion of one or more related household hints. 2. Mechanical reproduction of popular music. 3. Another series of related household hints. 4. Mechanical popular music. 5. Third and household hints. 6. Mechanical popular music. 7. Signature. reproduction of final series of reproduction of Material Aplenty PRESCOTT delivers the script very seriously, at high speed, with no waits for laughs. To the listener, the combination of a man giving household advice to women seriously and persistent gags is "too funny for words." At the start Prescott feared it would be difficult to get a supply of material. His audience has made the fear groundless. They flood him with suggestions, culled, probably, from newspapers and magazines and their friends, all ears to hear what he will do with the item. Most of the mail drawn by the program is in the same seriofacetious vein in which the program is delivered. The women offer their suggestions flippantly, gayly. They send Prescott bug ex terminators, feathered pen holders, waterless cooking pans, buckets of soup and proposals. Prescott's listeners register only one complaint: he makes them go to work. One housewife wrote that after a dissertation he gave on cleaning silver she cancelled all engagements and devoted the day to brightening up her tableware. WCLO Recruits Staff For Syndicate Service INSTITUTING what proving ground for programs," WCLO, Wis., has recruited writers and producers it calls "a syndicated Janesville, a staff of to prepare continuities to be tested on the station and then offered on a syndicate basis to stations and advertisers, according to an announcement by S. H. Bliss, general manager. The programs to be offered will all be station-tested among the rural, urban and metropolitan audiences which WCLO is in a peculiarly strategic position to serve. WCLO has also founded an experimental theater of the air under Craig Rice, who recently joined its syndicate staff, coming from Beacon Syndicate, New York. Miss Rice is gathering data from this school for a book on radio drama she is writing. NAB Annual Convention Open To All Stations ALL BROADCASTING stations will be invited to the tenth annual convention of the NAB in St. Louis Nov. 13, 14, 15 and 16, because of the importance of the problems on the agenda, including the copyright issue, it is announced by Philip G. Loucks, managing director. Mr. Loucks conferred with E. M. Spence,' director of WPG, Atlantic City, and chairman of the general convention committee at the resort on Sept. 24. Both plan to visit St. Louis in advance of the convention to confer with local committees on details. WCAU Dedication COL. THAD BROWN, Radio Commissioner, and Gov. Gifford Pinchot will be chief speakers at the first broadcast over the new 50,000-watt transmitter of WCAU, Philadelphia, at 9 p.m., Oct. 2. Radio talent on the program from CBS will include Kate Smith, Morton Downey, the Four Mills Brothers and Col. Stoopnagle and Budd. New Enterprise ASSOCIATED Broadcasting Co. has been launched with offices on the Tec-Ait motion picture lot in Hollywood. Backed by Pasadena capital, it intends to make electrical transcriptions for radio stations. Initial effort in this direction the middle of September took the form of political talks. October 1, 1932 • BROADCASTING Page 7