Inside facts of stage and screen (April 26, 1930)

PAGE EIGHT INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, APRIL 26. 1930 REVIEWS COMMENT By FRED YEATES CHATTER NEWS MM 110 STARS FOR KJOS OPENING SAN FRANCISCO. April 24.— Stars from all of the bay stations contribu'tcd to the gala opening program last Saturday night which inaugurated San Francisco's first all-night broadcasting from K.TBS. The owl broadcast was origi- nated by Ralph Brunton, owner of the station, and since the open- ing night, KJBS has been on the air with a big variety of enter- tainment features, from midnight to sundown daily, remaining off the air from sundown to midnight. The new service offers radio en- tertainment to an estimated large number of listeners who heretofore had nothing to listen to from the ether after 1 a. m. as the majority of the stations in the country close down at that hour except on Sat- urday night. There are thousands of listeners for the all night programs accord- ing to Brunton, who has been in the radio broadcasting field since the racket started. Brunton's es- timate of the size of the owl ra- dio audience was borne out by the large number of messages re- ceived from fans around here con- gratulating the station on the new service. DAYLIGHT SAVING WILL SHIFT NETWORK HOURS With daylight saving going into effect in the East again next week, network programs originating in New York will find their release here an hour earlier than usual, makinp' a readjustment of local programs generally necessary on KFI, KECA and KIHJ, and re- ducing considerably the audiences for the early evening chains. BROADCAST FROM RKO "Amos 'n' Andy" will continue to be heard on the air every night while making pictures on the RKO lot. The National Broadcasting Company will install a remote control station so they may broad- cast direct from the set. The team is expected in Hollywood about May 20 to make "Check and Double Check." NEW STATION MANAGER Glenhall Taylor, former orches- tra leader on the National Broad- casting Company, program director of KTAB, San Francisco, pianist and actor, is now station manager for KTM, Los Angeles. SANTAELLA AT KTM Salvatore Santaella and Orches- tra are now broadcasting over KTM every Monday night, nine to ten o'clock. SEQUOIANS MALE QUARTETTE Held Over—Third Week Paramount, San Francisco Also Broadcasting Over KPO Pickups & Viewpoint By FRED YEATES Billy Van, the entertainer heard four times weekly over K'FWB doing his Paul Revere act, was born in show business and is re- puted to have been doing his par- ticular style of entertainment for 14 years. He was seven years on Keith time and entered radio about four years ago over KPO, San Francisco, has appeared on NBC, and now appears regularly every week in three of our lead- ing cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. That's a lot of commuting and means a lot of horsepower for our modern Paul Revere. He is in the Big Time fan-mail family, netting between 300 and 400 letters a week. Billy Van is one of those sea- soned showmen with radio experi- ence who will probably cash in on the next big revolution in the industry—Tekvision. An Arabian Nights horse for Paul Revere. * * * With all the high musical ideals of the Anthony stations it was disconcerting to hear, over KECA Wednesday evening of last week, a crooner murdering the Schubert Serenade—or was it the Liszt Liebeslied. He'd moan two words and then gasp a breath, then two more. Well, we suppose that's a sample of Making Art Dear to People. * * * That's a cute little Hthp of P'^Rgy Hamilton'th on her fachion broadcatht. Helpth to keep papa from getting entirely bored while mama lithcnth. * * * Getting back to crooners, is anything funnier than the way most of them enunciate the word "love"? They start forming the word on the end of the tongue, they drag it down into the throat and strangle it. No wonder the marriage rate is declining. * * * Wednesday of last week was the first opportunity we had of hearing a fragment of the Stand- ard Oil Co.'s historical series over KHT. It appeared to be very well handled indeed, with the excep- tion of the mawkish drivel of a dying boy crying for his mother. The tremolo was pretty heavy. Then there was violent days, my hearties, wh^n men died without benefit of Simmons. * * * There seems to be somie con- fusion among radio artists about that themie from "Honey." Some sing it, "Sing, You Sinners," and others warble "Sin, You Singers." Will Hays would no doubt feel hurt over this perversion of movie material. * * * Musical Director Paige is billed Raymond on symphony hours and Ray on pop programs. KHJ asks for suggestions for a happy me- dium. We suggest Raybestos— that would give him the brakes. * * * Barks From the Office Dog: Marillah Olney and her new Ford . . . she swears she is paying for it herself ... but who pays for the destruction? . . , Carl Haverlin YOU'LL READ IT FIRST IN INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN 800-801 Warner Bros. Downtown Bidg. Lo» Angele», Calif. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Kindly enter mj Subscription for One Year, for which I enclose $4-00 in Payment for Same Name. Address Tows and State. The new series of Adohr spon- sored programs over KFI has re- vealed, according to station ofTi- cials, a surprising shortage of "na- tional" musicians; that is, authen- tic indigenous performers rather then imitators. This series calls for two-hour programs of folk music of various nationalities. For instanc?, a night in Spain will present, not a scene from the Madrid Opera House presenting an Italian opera, but street sounds and sights, songs of the blind peddlers, folk dances, popular ditties of the people; in other words, the genuine national music seldom heard outside of the country. To present this sort of program authentically has proved a diffi- cult task, the officials say. Artists, for example, who can really play the genuine Spanish guitar and are up in repertoire, are scarcer than is generally realized. Such players of all nations are desired for the elaborate series of two-hour broadcasts to be pre- sented throughout the next year over KFI. STATIONS CUT STAFFS SEATTLE, April 24.—The final readjustment of KVI and KOL, recently merged, following the purchase of the later by KVI, finds several of the KO'L artists out. Billy Sherwood, ex-studio director for KOL, has gone to Spokane in a similar capacity for KHQ, taking Ivan Ditmars, former musi- cal director, and Maude Nickerson, blues singer, along with him. Oth- ers of the KOL staff are currently retained by the new management, with final disposal as yet unde- cided. "CARMEN" LIKED Tuesday night's full production of "Carmen" over KFI, first of the Adohr series, starring Alice Gentle, appeared to be an unqualified suc- cess, according to reports gathered from every quarter of the state. Letters and telegrams of com- mendation were received from opera and symphony leaders, as well as many thousands of lay listeners. NOONAN SENTENCED Denying an application for pro- bation on an alleged previous con- viction, Superior Judge Schauer Saturday sentenced Jack Noonan, brother of the screen actresses, Sally O'Neill and Molly O'Day, to a seven-year term in Folsom prison, following his conviction on a charge of receiving stolen prop- erty in connection with an as- serted burglary last year of the Beverly Hills home of Ted Lewis, with a new haircut . . . celebrat- ing the KFI birthday , . . Jose Rodriguez with a diamond studded cigarette case . . . celebrating in- fluence . . . Dick Creedon play- ing East bunny . . . June Parker and Elvia Allman herding the eggs ... it looked like the lay of the land . . . Another guy with a haircut . . . Lindsay MacHarrie no less . . . Ken Niles wearing a romantic auro , . . "call me up whether you have anything to say or not," he murmured . . . and he wasn't broadcasting . . . Doby and Lou in town . . . Charlie Well- man growing a moustache . . . Bob Swan's double in the "Good- fellows" Idea . . . the poor fellow has to fight his way through the stage door mob . . . Ho, hum . . . it's a dog's life. NEW KTM ANNOUNCER J o h n n V Mack came from WTAM. Cleveland, and WGAE, Pittsburgh, to be chief announcer for KTM. He has been nine years in radio. The English Comedian Wm. DON CHARACTER IMPRESSIONIST National Broadcasting Co. SAN FRANCISCO Program Reviews LITTLE THEATRE HOUR KTM LOS ANGELES (April 17) ''On a Dark Stage," playlet, fea- turing the veteran Bob Ingersoll opposite Gloria Gordon. Story is one that seemed to wake an echo in the hall of memory. Introduced Mis.s- Gordon as a down-and-out actress hiding back- stage after the show, discovered by Ingersoll, Irish doorkeeper. He suggests she go to a certain pro- ducer for a job and she says he won't see her. She appeared to be a dope addict and the part called for such. One thing leads to an- other and Ingersoll turns out to be the producer in disguise while she turns out to be just acting, and Comes The Dawn. She proves her ability and gets the part. However, in spite of the vehicle, the two principals covered them- selves with "lory, reading the lines convicingly and registering distinct microphone personalities. MERRYMAKERS KHJ LOS ANGELES (April 17) This variety hour has now be- come an institution on the South- ern California air. Some new voices have worked into the line- up since last heard, including a Mr. Harry James, a British wit, who described a ball game; Two Cowhands, with "gitter" and fiddle, who offered some of the hill-billy stuff that seems to be more or less the vogue just now; and George Simons, a tenor with a McCormack voice, who sang "With You" very nicely indeed. In addition was the inimitable Standard Webster character of Gene Byrnes with his word hash, and Robert Wildhack, radio car- toonist, dissertating on the Holly- wood "Yes." Musical numbers were contributed by MacHarrie and Byrnes., Hi Moulton, Charlie Wellman, the ensemble singers and the Ray Paige Orchestra, the whole a menu of fast popular en- tertainment of the kind radio fans have come to like. ICE CARNIVAL KFRC SAN FRANCISCO (Tuesday, April 15) All the ice men got together and decided something had td be done about the Frigidaire menace. This program was it. Sponsored by the California Association of Ice In- dustries this was the initial half hour of a series, with the popular (Continued on Page 9) Over the Air From KYA SAN FRANCISCO Comes the Voice of Greta Gahler TO BE SEATTLE, April 24. —The Northwest Broadcasting System, through Thomas F. Smart, general manager, this week announced the contemplated return to the air of several big features which former- ly were broadcast via the new de- funct American Broadcasting Co. Through the control of copy- rights, NBS will send out, from KJR here, its key station, the first of these features starting next week. The initial novelty to be broadcast will be the "Harper's Corners" sketches. The present schedule calls for the release of the rural comedy bits on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening. "Harper's Corners," one of the ace bets that A. B. C. formerly held, is authored by Mitchell Suth- erland, now automobile editor of the Seattle Times here. He will continue, according to present plans, to prepare the sketches for the Northwest network. Burton James, local thespian and dramatic coach, will have super- vision of the production of "Har- per's Corners," with his wife, Flor- ence, assisting as well as perform- ing. John Pierson, announcer at KJR, and Al Ottenheimer, former A. B. C. writer and producer, are among those who will return to the mike for the revival of "Har- per's Corners." Smart announcement that other features to which his firm holds the broadcasting rights, such as "The Ch ronicles of Mr. Katz" and "Paul Bunyan's Experiences," will undoubtedly be placed on the air as soon as the network can find time on the now crowded daily schedules of the chain. ALWAYS ANXIOUS TO PLEASE George Nickson TENOR SOLOIST KYA - SAN FRANCISCO TUWE IN ON DUD WILLIAMSON MASTER OF 0E&EM0NIE8 and STATF ABTI8T KYA SAN FRANCISCO RADIO'S PERSONALITY GIRL JEANE COWAN DaUr At KFWB DOBY & LOU COMEDY HARMONY Per. Address: INSIDE FACTS SAN FRANCISCO BILLY VAN "PAUL REVERE" OF THE AIR Original Radio Entertainer and Vaudeville Artist Meets the Big Radio Audience over KFWB, Hollywood, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 11:30 a. m. until noon. Also Friday evenings, 8 to 8:30. Booked to ride the Maddux Line weekly to San Fran- cisco to broadcast over the chain, and once weekly to San Diego. *The same Billy Van who entertained on the Big Time for seven years, and on the air four years since**