Inside facts of stage and screen (September 6, 1930)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 6, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE NINE LONG, SIMPLE TUNES RADIO ‘CINCH’ RADIO AUTHORITY EXPLAINS WHAT GETS OVER AND WHY STARS HELP RADIO SHOW TO SUCCESS Horse ‘Divided’ Will Not Stand Without Roller Radio artists are lending them- selves to the National Radio Show Beautiful programs in the Ambassa- dor auditorium’s theater. Monday afternoon, Tom Murray’s Yodeling Colonels, Collins and Brown and the Swanee River Ser- enades opened the show. Glen Ed- munds and his orchestra, broad- casting over KGFJ, followed. David Morken, Eugene Collins, Harmony Trio, Francis Nehl, Charles Walken and KFSG string sextet closed the afternoon’s enter- tainment. In the evening, Mosby’s Dix- ieland Blue Blowers and the Har- mony Hawaiian Quartet broadcast from the radio show’s theater over KGFJ. Band from the Beach Long Beach's Municipal Band, directed by Herbert Clark, were broadcast from the show by KTM in courtesy to KGER. They were followed by a half hour program featuring the KGFJ concert orches tra, broadcast over KGFJ. Everett Hoagland and his orches tra, and four rounds of boxing closed the show Monday night. Nick Harris, Anna and Oscar, KFI orchestra, Three Skippers, Wedgewood Knowell, Wally Per- rin’s orchestra and Helen Guest, opened Tuesday afternoon’s enter- tainment. KFI broadcast. KFI Outfit The Rounders, Gus Arnheim’s Trio, Jose Bohr, Bob and Jim, Stuart Hamblin, and Tom and Chuck, made things interesting an hour later in the show’s theater. The program was broadcast over KFI. Big Brother Don and Mickey Conti closed the afternoon’s enter- tainment with a half hour program. KFI broadcast. Paul Taylor’s Metropolitans, Happy Chappies, Everton Stidham, Earl Brandenberg, Jeanne Dunn, Three Co-eds and Lillian Ariel, opened the evening’s entertainment with an hour’s program. Duci de Kerekjarto, Eva Olivetti, Mildred Laughlin and Harold Spaulding followed. The program went on the air over KECA. Jane Green and Ron Wilson, Ray Van Dyne’s orchestra, Three Sis- ters, Margaret Duncan, and Artie and Jeannie Lang closed Tuesday f show with an hour’s program. Kr I broadcast. Calmon Plays Calmon Luboviski, Claire Mel- lonino, Gene Byrnes, Peggy Mat- thews, Calangis Family Spanish orchestra, Hungarian Ensemble, Lemberber and his Laf-O-Gral theater, Ambrose Barker and Peg Wynn, Elza Zelinda Foley, Thea- dore Kittav, Jack Carter, Ray Gold- en and Ethel Kay, Bill Hatch, Ken Allen’s Trio and Horse Fly and His Wranglers, made things lively dur- ing the opening program. KNX put the program on the air Wed- , nesday. . An extravaganza featuring Ken and his Kiddies followed with a half hour program also broadcast by KNX. The Butter Cream School and Three Vagabonds brought to 3 close the afternoon’s entertainment, KMPC, in courtesy to KFOX, broadcast. Len Nash and His Country Boys, George Shrange, Henry Sherr and Fu Chow, opened the evening’s pro- gram with a half hour entertain- ment. June Parker and Nell Larson, popular staff entertainers of KHJ, the Don Lee Station in Los An- geles, have bought a horse for rid- ing purposes. The milk man sold it to them by the pound at standard neigh- borhood butcher quotations. On the toss, Nell got the south end of the animal and June the north. A dotted line divides the animal fair- ly in half, and each owner has to keep up her end of the brute. The animal sags badly, and ball bearing roller skates have beeen strapped to its tummy to give it standard four inch clearance, says Dick Creedon. San Francisco Radio Notes The Pantages Hollywood Thea ter Foot-Light Frolic and Horse Fly and his Wranglers appeared in the next two programs, both of which went on the air over KNX. Cocoanut Grove entertainment, and a group of Paramount artists closed the day with a half hour program. Olson and Johnson and Com pany, Ben Bernie and His Orches- tra, June Purcell, Brunswick Sa- lon orchestra and Noah Beery were to entertain in the show’s theater Thursday. All of the programs were broadcast from the auditor- ium by KNX. Openers In the afternoon, Boswell Sis- ters and Duke Atterbury and Ken Gillun were to open the show with a half hour program. KFWB put the program on the air. Another half hour program, fea- turing Keller' Sisters, John Te- Grone’s Trio and Johnson Rhythm Boys, was to follow immediately. Both KFWB and KMPC broadcast the program. Dan Maxwell and the Kids Club closed the afternoon’s entertain- ment with a half hour program, while the Beverly Hill Billies, in an hour’s program, closed the show KMPC broadcast both programs. Raymond Paige and his 35 piece orchestra, the entire Don Lee staff Don Lee symphony and concerT singers, and a special numbet courtesy RCA Radiola dealers, war to open the show’s entertainment Friday. KHJ broadcast. Trio There Hal Roach’s Happy Go Luckv Trio, composed of Berton Bennett Peggy Price and Paul Meyers scheduled for two performances From 3:30 to 4 p. m. Friday after- noon and again from 9:15 to 9:U p. m . tomorrow night. KFVD broadcast both times. Instrumental and vocal selec- tions, featuring Ted White, Jun r Parker, Leigh Harline, Hal and Deery, and a special number cour- tesy FCA Radiola dealers closed Friday afternoon’s program. An all request program, featuring the entire Don Lee staff, sponsored by the Fidelity Savings and Loar association, opened the night’s en- tertainment. KHJ broadcast. Tiny Opera An opera miniature, presenting the Don Lee symphony and concert singers, under direction of Raymond Paige, presented in the auditorium’s theater. Carl Omeron, tenor solo- ist. and a special number, courtesv RCA Radiola dealers, included in the program, broadcast over KHJ. KHJ review, presenting the en- tire Don Lee staff under direction Raymond Paige, and a special num- ber courtesy RCA Radiola dealers. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4. — Station KTAB pioneered something new in broadcasting when “Birth of a Nation” opened at the Geary this week. Each night between 8 and 9 for an entire week the Pickwick station is putting on the air the en- tire prologue from the Geary, pick- ing up the stage offering with three mikes in the theatre and brought to the station by telephonic equip- ment. Bob Roberts, KTAB man- ager, reports excellent comment on the aerial offering. * * * KFRC has signed Sunny Cohan, 17 year old Oakland school girl, who was discovered and first put on the air by Helen O’Neill, KTAB program directress. She will be on the “Jamboree” and “Happy Go Lucky” hours over the Don Lee station, singing as well as dancing before the mike. * * * J. B. Geisen, manager of KFWI, writes into this office to say that a printed story hinting that KFWI may be purchased by the Glide Me- morial JJhurch is untrue. As a matter of fact, states Mr. Geisen’s epistle, “there have been no nego- tiations between the Glide Memor- ial Church in reference to purchase of the station.” So we’re wrong again. * * * Linn Church is KFRC’s new an- nouncer. * * * Honore Connette, NBC writer, wants to do “Black Beauty” as a radio drama but the one obstacle in the path of the progress is the lack of some one to play a title role. ENGAGE SOUND MAN Charles Forsythe, sound-effect technician, has been added to the KHJ staff to create storms, collis- ions, roaring motors, marching feet, the snap of false teeth, stock mar- ket crashes, morning at the zoo, etc. Forsythe has been in the sound profession since the days of the nickelodeon. RADIO PAIR WED Wesley B. Tourtellotte, KHJ’s famous Midnight Organist and El- via Allman, the KHJ Surprise Package Girl, fled to San Bernardi- no on a velocipede and were thor- oughly married. WEDDED AT KHJ Helen Bliss, KHJ staff harpist, married Bill Hutchinson, KHJ dog- bark and cackle expert, this week. Bill’s unexcelled rendition of dog barks gave Bill an unconquerable advantage over the rest of the or- chestra. Helen is very fond of men and dogs and believes that in Bill she has the best elements of both. By ARTHUR S. GARBETT Director of Education, NBC Pacific Division SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4.—How long is a piece of music? This question is of vital importance to radid program-builders whose programs are measured by the clock. ^ ... Furthermore, their programs must have “balance,” a judicious mix- ture of short and long, fast and slow, old and new music. With programs of “popular” character, the time element is not so serious. Much of the popular music of the day is so written that if a few laughs are cut off they “never will be'missed.” With symphony programs such as those presented during tne Standard Symphony Hour, however, the question assumes importance. Many of the selections played are accepted classics which may not be tampered with. The first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, for instance, contains not a waste note anywhere. There are no unnecessary . “re- peats”; there is no padding—not a single bar that does not contribute something to the total effect. It canot be cut without mutilation. Outside of symphonies, tone-poems, and extended works, the aver- age length of a musical selection is from three to four minutes. Phono- graph records of Iff or 1 2 inches run about that long. And since records can easily be made to run longer nowadays, presumably this is about as long as people want, z Almost all shorter numbers, “lyrifc” melodies, minutes, gavottes, entr’actes, marches and so forth, are constructed on a very simple pat- tern. Tune “A” is followed by tune “B.” Then “A” comes back with a tailpiece or “Coda” tacked onto it, and that ends it. The public can follow this pattern easily without any undue strain on the intellect. People who object to “classical music” are usually objecting to mu- sic that is long, complicated, and demanding intensive intellectual effort over too great’ a preiod of time. There is not a great deal of such music in existence. .... , , , . , Provided the “structure” of the music is simple and easily detected, the public does not object to long numbers. The “Tannhauser” Over- ture takes from* 13 to 16 minutes, according to the conductor’s ‘tempi. It is among the most popular of all overtures, but its “structure is simple—the aid A-B-A pattern again; Pilgrim’s Chorus; V enusberg music; Pilgrims’ Chorus. . “The Blue Danube”, still the world s favorite waltz, takes eight min- utes, which is long by normal standards. But th main melody repeats over and over. . Rossini’s “William Tell Overture”, another lengthy world-favorite, is unusual. It is an old type of overture seldom used in which there are no repeats at all. “William Tell” is in four distinct sections: Morning Prayer; the Storm; Pastoral Melody, and Cavalry Trot. It takes a symphony orchestra about 15 minutes to play, and the public absorbs every note. I don’t know any composer but Rossini who could give four separate numbers a psychological unity capable of holding interest for a hole quarter of an hour. William I ell is a century old and as fresh as ever. . One reason why some famous modern numbers are seldom used for radio is that they are unbearably long for a place in a one-hour pro- gram. “Death and Transfiguration” by Richard Strauss takes 25 min- utes and the same composer’s “Don Quixote” variations take 39 min- utes. The whole of Rimsky-Korsakoff’s popular Scheherezade music (in four movements) takes 45 minutes. „ Whole symphonies by Mozart or Haydn rarely take more than Z5 minutes but Dvorak’s “New World”, in four movements, takes 42, and Tschaikovskv's “Pathetique” from 45 to 50 minutes. The loudspeaker is a guest in the home, and a good guest does not monopolize his host’s attention along one line too exclusively. Dovers of good music attending symphony concerts can seemingly remain en- raptured for unlimited periods, but the average home-body wants brevitj and variety. Static From KFI closed’ the evening’s' performance. KHJ broadcast. The Ranch Boys, J. C. McNally, Toyce Whiteman, Dorothy Dee, Gladys Johnson and her,KTM min- iature symphony orchestra, Don Al- len, Frank Gage, Harry James and Salvatore Santaella and His Or- chestra, programmed to appear Sat- urday. KTM broadcast. Also scheduled on Saturday pro- gram Loni McIntyre’s Hawaiians, Banjo Boys, Andy and Jack and the Happy Go Lucky Trio. Roy Rockwood, Dare Sisters, KMTR concert orchestra, and Hol- lywood Sweep-Stakes broadcast by KMTR. The “Emperor of Crime” a serial mystery story of 262 episodes, will start at KFI on September 1, writ- ten and directed by James Knight Garden. The serial will be heard every day except Saturday and Sun- day at 9:15 P.M. * * * “If you have the stuff and are able to sell it to the proper spon- sor,” says Garden, “there is beau- coup money in radio. For instance, we are paying $75 a shot for this 15-m.inute program. Figure out yourself what the total is for a year.” Don Gilman, vice-president of NBC in charge of the Pacific Di- vision and Lloyd Yoder, press re- lations exec for the same, paid a call at KFI-KECA recently, leav- ing their cards when they found Arthur F. Kales, general manager of the Anthony stations, and Earle | C. Anthony, out of town. Anthony | and Kales were in San Francisco. of KFI-KECA, and Pryor Moore, Robert Hurd, program director in charge of orchestral affairs, are congratulating themselves on a new shipment of European novelty scores, which arrived last week. There are over 200 scores never heard here before. The majority are from Hungarian, Czecho-Slo- vakian and Russian publishers. * * * Vincent and Howard, song writ- ers featured at KFI-KECA, have a new hit off the presses. It deals with mother-love and is titled “At the End of the Lane.” LINDSLEY IN RADIO Charles Frederick Lindsley, Chief of the Department of Speech at Occidental College, is directing and announcing “Folgaria,” the serial comic opera which is brotdeast weekly over the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain units of the Co- lumbia Broadcasting System. RKO BOOKS TEAM Neeley Edwards and Bernard Granville left for the east this week to fill an RKO billing. The team is booked for the season. WESTMORE 6 17 1 WRITE FOR GELATINE SAMPLE BOOK 1347-49 W. WASHINGTON ST. LOS ANGELES, CALIF. WESTMORE 6 17 1