Inside facts of stage and screen (August 2, 1930)

PAGE EIGHT INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN SATURDAY, AUG. 2, 1930 REVIEWS COMMENT San Francisco Radio Notes SAN FRANCISCO, July 31.— When Amos ’n’ Andy started their dialogue Thursday night, got through several lines, and then started again, NBC was worried. Afraid that listeners would think the b. f. pair nothing less than electrical transcription, statements by Vice-President Don Gilman were issued to the press. Repetition of the lines was due to the break in phone wires be- tween Hollywood and Chicago, ac- cording to Gilman. Amos ’n’ Andy broadcast over two circuits from Hollywood, one to Chicago and the other to San Francisco. Both circuits operate simultaneously. The Chicago wire failed and the continuity was repeated for the eastern audiences. * * * A1 Pearce’s Happy - Go - Lucky Hour over the Don Lee network is drawing such a capacity studio audience that A1 is getting wor- ried. There were almost a thou- sand in the studio the other day when the crush became so dan- gerous that a youngster almost had his arm broken. That proves the Pearce draw in this. city. * * * And speaking of KFRC, the most important event of the week happened right in the family of that _ station’s manager, Harrison Holliway. A 9-pound baby boy, tagged Harrison Holliway II, cried his first “Baw” at the Children’s hospital. It took the combined ef- forts of 19 Jam'boreeadors to pre- vent Holliway from telling all listeners about the blessed event when the Blue Monday Jamboree was on the air Monday night. * * * Among _ the excellent classical and semi-classical musical con- certs emanating from KPO are the Masters of Music and the Aeolian Trio conducted by Cy Trobbe. * * * Walter B. Neill and Lloyd Peck, manager and commercial manager of KFSD, San Diego, dropped in to see Don Gilman, NBC head, this week. Shipley L. Burton of KSL, Salt Lake, also was in town. And there’s no for- getting Ed Cullen, NBC staff en- gineer at New York, who chose California as his honeymoon lo- cale, he and his bride spending a week at the home of A. H. Sax- ton, Pacific division chief engineer. * * * George Taylor of KYA is tak- ing a two week’s vacation seven days of which will be spent in Los Angeles and the remainder at the Russian River. * * * _ Freeman Lusk is the latest ad- dition to KJBS’s announcing staff. AMOS AND ANDY A special radio booth has been installed in one of the sound stages on the RKO lot which will be used by Amos and Andy in their daily broadcasts, one at 3:30 p. m. for eastern states, and again at 7:30 p. m. Herman Schnitzel Famous radio artist of Station KNX and columnist of the Los Angeles EVENING EXPRESS, is a yearly subscriber to my monthly publication, THE COMEDIAN, which contains only new laughs. Three num- bers are now ready at ONE DOLLAR each; or $10 by the year. It’s small but good and sold with a guarantee of “money back” if it does not measure up 100% to your comedy require- ments. Send orders to the publisher WALTER LONDON P. O. Box 139, Vine St. Station HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. RADIOLAJVD By FRED YEATES CHATTER NEWS RADIO STATION IS PLANNED BY MEXICAN GROUP Two sons of old Mexico are in Los Angeles this week picking up pointers for a new radio station to be erected in Sonora, Mexico. _ The visitors are Genaro Lar- riva and Francisco Elias, the lat- ter the son of the governor of Sonora _ and nephew of Calles. Permit has already been issued for the station by the Mexican Government, but wave length has not yet been allocated. While here the visitors are under the wing of Ted White, KHJ radio star,_ who formerly knew them in Mexico, and who has been initiat- ing them into the technical my- steries of KHJ. Jose Rodriguez has also given them open sesame to the innards of KFI and KECA. The pair declare that as the re- sult of their visjt here many of their plans have been changed. They contemplate a thousand watt station. While. much of the entertain- ment will be offered in Spanish language, a proportion of the pro- grams will be in English, as the state of Arizona will be largely covered by their broadcast. KFI STATION TO GET WATT JUMP “So He Took the Fifty Thou- sand Watts.” Arthur F. Kales, general man- ager of stations KFI and KECA, who has been in New York since May 12, returns to Los Angeles this week end. While there he secured for KFI a power increase from the present five thousand watts to fifty thousand, and brings the new permit back with him. MIKE CLUB MOVES The studios and headquarters of the Microphone Club of America have moved to the Hollywood- Plaza Hotel in Hollywood. Larg- er club rooms and the fact that the new location is in the center of the studio district were the rea- sons for moving, according to Jack Parker, president. The new dub rooms will be open this week, but the grand opening will take place in about ten days. CRIME SERIES A series of crime novelettes are being experimented with over KFI on Thursday nights and netting heavy returns in appreciative mail and phone calls. The current ve- hicle is “Circumstantial Evidence,” in six episodes, handled by Jimmie Regan. Three scrip writers are kept busy preparing material for these yearns. GIRLS MADE GOOD The Boswell Sisters, vocal trio starred for some time on KFWB, appeared on the “California Mel- odies” program this week, which is released nationally by the Columbia network. The hometown- ers in New Orleans made it a special Boswell. night and stayed home to listen in on the girls who made good in Hollywood. WRITING STAFF BUSY” Writing staff at Christie head- quarters . in Metropolitan Sound Studios is busy preparing produc- tion. Jimmy Starr and Harry McCoy are now at work on the first Charlotte Greenwood story, which will be released by Educa- tional under the Tuxedo banner. Walter DeLeon and Neal Burns are at work on the second Chris- tie Vanity. At the Educational Studios, John Lockhart and George are busy on a mystery story with a decidedly new twist which E. H. Allen has assigned Stephen Roberts to direct. “SET TIGHT” CAST Complete cast of “Sit Tight,” Warner comedy, featuring Winnie Lightner and Joe E. Brown, in- cludes Claudia Dell, Paul Gregory, Lottie Loder, Hobart Bosworth, Frank Hagney, Snitz Edwards and Edward George. The picture is under the direction of Lloyd Bacon. Pickups and Viewpoints IT*S A TRICKY BUSINESS One of our best announcer friends has taken us to task for calling announcers, in our last week’s issue, “doormats.” It broke his heart, he said, to find that after all the influence he had brought to bear on us to see announcers as they should be seen, and espouse their cause, that we should so betray them. We did not say that announcers actually were doormats. We said they were “executively classed with doormats.” Which is true, and which he admitted. We have many times espoused their cause. As a class they are mighty nice boys, with tricky jobs that require a great deal more in education and ability than station executives are wiling to pay for. In that respect, radio is just like the newspaper business. * * * FAN MAIL AND ENERGY Fan mail is a peculiar thing. In view of the laziness of most people when it comes to writing letters to friends and relatives, it is remarkable that so much mail pours in upon radio performers. Up at KFI this week, Jose Rodriguez figured out for us that 87 per cent of the mail comes from women. Two examples were taken, Virginia Flohri and Robert Hurd, and the percentage was the same in both cases, proving that the feminine listeners are equally loyal to men and women. Another peculiar revelation was the fact that for the past eight years Virginia Flohri has received a fan letter from a woman in Long Beach immediately following every radio appearance, and the two have never met. This is said to be the only case of its kind in radioland, and is overshadowed only by the correspondence between Tschaikowski and Madam Merck, which continued twenty years without the parties ever meeting. * * * The contents of some of the fan letters are queer. A common stunt is to copy an ancient gag out of a joke book and mail it to the station without any explanation as to why or wherefore. Others con- tain clippings from the radio pages, and furnish the artists with a pretty good clipping service for nothing. Sometimes they contain checks, gifts and orders on retail stores for merchandise. And some- times they contain a terrible castigation for the performer. * * * AN EXCELLENT IDEA We deeply appreciate the courtesy of the Microphone Club in electing us to honorary membership. There is room for such an organization, and under proper guidance and man- agement it can do a great deal to further and protect the interests of radio artists. Equity made provision for includ- ing radio talent under its wing some time ago, but the Mike- robes may prefer to handle their own problems, and this may prove to be the germ of the movement here. * * * MOLINARI THE MASTER Our well-known opposition to the practice of playing down to the public in “popular” symphony concerts received vindication at the Hollywood Bowl last Saturday night, when thousands in the Bowl went wild with enthusiasm over the high-grade program offered by Molinari, and scores of letters poured in to KFI in appreciation of the broadcast. One letter characterized the concert as “a breath of heaven.” The conductor from Rome showed himself to be no time-beater. Apparently such things were disposed of in rehearsal, leaving him free to concentrate entirely upon dynamics. A comment of Announcer Carl Haverlin was particularly apt. “Molinari now raises his baton,” he said, “to weld the 102 men of the orchestra into one man—and that man a greater Molinari.” An unrehearsed performer was a cricket, who chirruped persistently on the lawn between the announcer’s booth and the orchestra, and was picked up by the microphones. A technician flitted about in the dark in an endeavor to find and silence the bug, but the little chap never missed a beat. * * * HOLD EVERYTHING! We have to make a correction in our story of last week about the lady critic who used the Bowl broadcast to adver- tise a piano school. We said she was run in by a Bowl digni- tary. This was not the case. She was introduced by a prom- inent manufacturer of brassieres. * * * Bill Ray, manager of KGER, Long Beach, decided that his Ho- kum Revue and Frolic was too lowbrow and issued an order that every artist start off his act with a bit of verse. To set the style he wrote this one himself: “The poor benighted Hindu, He does the best he Kin-do. He sticks to his caste From first to last, And for pants he makes his Skin-do.” * * * Barks from the Office Dog: Elvia Allman driving to San Bernardino—Wesley Tourtelotte driving to San Bernardino— great activity in the license bureau of San Bernardino—Elvia Allman and Wesley Tourtelotte returning from San Bernar- dino—Dick Creedon in hiding—Ted White convoying the en- voys from Mexico—Ken Niles in a reversion to knee pants— June Parker sticking her blonde head out of a door—Ray Paige looking soberly serious—Leigh Harline with that win- ning smile—Lindsay MacHarrie holding an audition—KFI technicians playing cricket—Jack Quinn having a long silent period—he believes no news is good news—Charlie Gabriel being mistaken for Monte Blue at a Hollywood premiere— Wedgwood Nowell at the same premiere^-Jose Rodriguez and his sewer-fed peach tree—he doesn’t think he likes peaches any more—Carl Haverlin dictating his own fan mail—(inside stuff)—Kathryn Harms exhibiting her dirty hands—Roland Foss shaking hands with the press—he had just washed ’em— Esther Goldstein greeting the press on the street—Ho, hum— it’s a dog’s life. GREAT EXPOSE OF DEEP LAID PLAN BY PAIR One afternoon this week, while the Don Lee orchestra were in re- hearsal, Ray Paige, general di- rector of KHJ, asked Elvia All- man, ballad crooner, and Wesley Tourtelotte, organist, to come into the studio to hear a “special num- ber.” The entire staff of the studio seemed to have been invited also. As soon as the couple entered the door the orchestra struck up the Bridal Chorus, and then segued into The Prisoner Song, while the gang gathered round and offered congratulations. The couple affected to be com- pletely mystified until they were shown a copy of a San Bernar- dino newspaper, in which their ap- plication for a marriage license was listed. The two had thought that by journeying to the foothill city they would be able to keep their mar- riage plans secret, but an eagle- eyed fan had spotted the names and mailed a copy of the paper to the studio. Date of the impending marriage has not yet been set. DEMAREST IN SHORT William Demarest is starred in “Seeing Things,” two-reel mystery farce, directed by Harold Beau- dine on the Vitaphone Varieties program. In the cast are Florence Auer, Bernard Randall, Edward Fielding and Audrey Berry. ROTH BUYS PLAYS Murray Roth, director - in - chief of Vitaphone Varieties, has pur- chased three one-act plays by Paul Gerard Smith, well-known play- wright and novejist, for immediate production. “The Gob,” “One on the Aisle” and “Compliments of the Season.” MAKE TALKER SHORT Helen Broderick and Lester Crawford, featured comedy team of “Fifty Million Frenchmen,” are starred in “For Art’s Sake,” Vita- plane Varieties comedy, directed by Harold Beaudine. Helen Eby Rock, Jimmy Barry and Philip Lord are in the cast. KENNETH RUNDQUIST Baritone LEIGHTON’S CAFETERIA Market at Powell San Francisco WM. DON ENGLISH COMEDIAN Creator of the Famous Character, “Dr. Oojah” National Broadcasting Co. San Francisco HAVE YOU HEARD BILLY VAN? At KFWB, Hollywood Says: Mayer and Evans In town— Jack Haley and Bay Mayer putting on the Ritz for Leon- ard Stevens—Lou Enderly, fe- male baritone, back from Chi. cage—Bee Jackson coming to the coast—song pluggers story by Gene Swift In Inside Facts last week sure great — A1 Herman on the opposish list “Oh Judge” opening — so what! • • • • Oosmo Boulevard . . . between Vine and Oahnenga . . . the phone numbers are GRanite 8 8 8 3 and Hollywood 8 15 9 . . . parking is free at tha lot serose from the CELLAR . . . the OHRTSLER and SAM- SONS are tnere. Thank You.