Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

THE NEW Crunch and Des tv series will be sponsored on WABT (TV) Birmingham, Ala., by Drennen Motor Co. of that city. Making it official are (I to r), John Forney, Robert Luckie & Co., agency; Tom Percer, local sales manager of WABT; Jesse Drennen Jr. of the motor company; Robert Luckie, agency head, and John Williamson of the motor company. Series is being released by NBC Film Div. Humphrey Bogart; "Adam Had Four Sons," with Ingrid Bergman and Susan Hayward; "Doctor Takes a Wife," with Loretta Young and Ray Milland; "Commandos Strike at Dawn," with Paul Muni; "It Had to Be You," with Ginger Rogers and Cornell Wilde, and "You'll Never Get Rich," with Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire. ABC Film Staffs Two New Offices ABC Film Syndication announced Thursday it has opened new offices in St. Louis and Minneapolis, with another office in Detroit expected to be opened within the next 10 days. Designated as head of the St. Louis office at 317 N. 1 1th St., is J. Chris Hetherington, former St. Louis manager for John Blair & Co., station representative. Before joining Blair in 1939, Mr. Hetherington was sales manager of KMOX St. Louis and also was with WBBM Chicago. He will cover Missouri, Kansas, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, and Western Tennessee. Ted Wold, former sales staff member, KSTPTV St. Paul-Minneapolis, will be in charge of the Minneapolis office at 517 Northwestern Bank Bldg., covering both Dakotas, Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa. Stevens, Four Star Plan Joint Tv Series Production MARK STEVENS TV Co. and Four Star Films announced last week a production agreement whereby the two independent tv film packagers will jointly produce a new film series, The City, set against a New York backdrop. The Stevens firm currently produces Big Town for Lever Bros. Co. and General Motors Corp., and Four Star Films Co. Four Star Playhouse for Singer (sewing machines) and Bristol-Myers Co. Pilot film will be shot in approximately three weeks, William Cruikshank, Four Star president, and Mark Stevens, president of Stevens Tv, said last week. Negotiations were handled through William Morris, which will also act as sales representative for The City. Aussies Buy 5 NBC-TV Films PURCHASE of five NBC-TV film series by Australian commercial television interests was announced last week by NBC television films division, making seven NBC properties which will be shown late this fall when Australian tv is expected to go on the air. Via Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd., Sydney, NBC-TV films' representatives in Australia and New Zealand, the following series were bought for the Sydney and Melbourne markets: The Great Gildersleeve, Victory at Sea, Captured, Dangerous Assignment, and Steve Donovan, Western Marshall. The Great Gildersleeve was purchased by the Herald-Sun Ltd., while Amalgamated Television service bought the other four properties. MacRae Enters Production GORDON MACRAE has formed Kintail Enterprises Inc. for the production of live and filmed tv shows and feature motion pictures. The new firm will package and own the Gordon MacRae Show, which begins today (Monday) on NBC-TV sponsored by Lever Bros. Officers of Kintail are Mr. MacRae, president; Samuel P. Norton, vice president, and Jerome B. Rosenthal, secretary-treasurer. RKO Teleradio Announces Plans for First Tv Series FIRST tv film scries to be produced directly by RKO Teleradio Pictures will be Bozo and His Friends, a half-hour children's series to be produced in color and black-and-white in early March, it was announced last week by C. R. (Bob) Manby. vice president in charge of television activities for RKO Teleradio. The series, which will be produced at the RKO Pathe studios in New York, will cover 65 episodes and is intended for presentation on an across-the-board basis for 13 weeks. Each program will consist of 22V6 minutes of film, leaving IVi minutes for a live presentation by a local personality. RKO Teleradio will supply stations with a scripted portion for the local personality, and his association with the program will enable local advertisers to arrange promotion and merchandising tie-ins. Herbert Rice, formerly a vice president of Mutual and General Teleradio. has been designated executive producer of the Bozo and His Friends series. Mr. Rice also is preparing a plan for sale of the series to stations. FILM SALES National Telefilm Assoc., N. Y., has sold The Mad Whirl roller derby tv film series to Frank J. Miller Adv., Hollywood, for showing on 13week basis in Wilmington, Phila., Minneapolis, St. Paul, Fort Worth, Dallas, Wheeling, W. Va., and Huntington, W. Va. Associated Artists Productions, N. Y., has sold 12 Sherlock Holmes features to WPIX (TV) New York on library basis for two years. Total number of stations which have purchased films is 114. 1NS-INP, N. Y., reports facsmile service sold to WCMB-TV Harrisburg, Pa., and WRVA-TV Richmond, Va., and Telenews daily newsfilm and weekly news review to KLAS-TV Las Vegas, Nev., and weekly news review to KTVK (TV) Phoenix, KBES-TV Medford, Ore., and KIEM-TV Eureka, Calif. George Bagnall & Assoc., N. Y., announces sale of package of 34 old-time "Mickey McGuire" feature films with Mickey Rooney and "Snub" Pollard to WPIX (TV) N. Y., for showing on station's Clubhouse Gang Comedies nightly series. FILM PEOPLE Frank Fitzgerald, NBC Radio account executive, to MCA-TV Ltd., N. Y., in similar capacity. Other MCA-TV sales staff additions: Vincent Ramos, vice president. Caribbean Networks Inc., N. Y., to MCA's International department; Colm O'Shea, to MCA-TV, Montreal; Will Thomas to MCA-TV, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Paul Weiss to MCA-TV, Minneapolis, and Allen Green to MCA, Chicago. Hilly Rose, writer-producer, Kling Film Productions Inc.. Chicago, promoted to creative director. Michael J. De Sandis appointed assistant treasurer of UM&M Tv Corp., N. Y., and Lottie Adler accountant in charge of booking. Mr. De Sandis was controller of Minot Tv Inc.. N. Y., and Miss Adler was with accounting department, MPTV, N. Y. Philip F. Donoghue, former unit and domestic business manager, Louis De Rochemont Productions, N. Y., to Transfilm Inc., N. Y., as administrative assistant to Robert H. Klaeger, vice president in charge of tv commercial and industrial film production. L, Henry Miller Jr., freelance cameraman, to production staff of George Blake Enterprises, N. Y., producer of tv film commercials and industrial shorts. Albert F. Cook, veteran audio-visual specialist, to Detroit creative staff of Atlas Film Corp., Oak Park. 111. Hugh Marlowe, road cast of "Anniversary Waltz," signed by Screen Gems, Hollywood, to star in half-hour anthology series, The First Nighter, adapted from radio series of same name. Arthur Hiller, tv director (NBC-TV Matinee Theatre, CBC Theatre), signed to multiple picture contract by Screen Gems. Broadcasting • Telecasting March 5. 1956 • Rage 43