Radio daily (Feb-Mar 1937)

6 RADIO DAILY Tuesday, February 23. 1937 Ik ' CHICAGO'S 100th birthday to be celebrated March 4, is drawing special radio tribute to mark the event. A specially written salutation to the Windy City will be written into the plot of "Story of Mary Marlin" with the locale of the radio serial being laid in Chicago for that day. Miss Jane Crusinberry, author of the script, has revised her continuity for that day in accordance from a request by Mayor Edward Kelly. Major Bowes will be one of the foremost of the famous radio galaxy who will salute the City of Chicago upon the event of its charter Jubilee celebration. The Major will dedicate his air show of that day to Chicago and arrangements have been made by the Chicago Charter Jubilee committee whereby they guarantee an audience of 100,000 listeners inside and outside the Chicago Stadium to Bowes program which will be made part of the Jubilee pageant. Smiling Ed McConnell, makes his second guest appearance with the National Barn Dance hour on Saturday night. Les Tremayne, leading man on the Grand Hotel program reports condition of his brother, Walter, recently injured in auto accident here last Sunday. Pat (Uncle Ezra) Barrett reveals exigencies of tri-weekly broadcast will keep him from moving to country for summer and that he will stick to his south shore home. Add resignations at WBBM: Lou Jacobson, producer, and Harry Miller, newswriter. Girls of the Barn Dance program get their big chance on Feb. 27 show, which has been dubbed "Ladies Night". Norge Refrigerators to do a series of 15-minute electrical transcriptions with name bands and guest artists starting in spring, with MCa providing bands and William Morris office furnishing the celebs. McCann-Erickson agency planning another elaborate Standard Oil air show. 1,000 for Molly Molly Steinberg, conductor of the Stage Relief Fund programs heard every Tuesday, 2-2:15 p.m., over WABC, celebrates her 1,000th program on March 2. Time for the show has been donated by WABC since its inception in November, 1933. Program was heard for three years as a 5 minute feature, but in November. 1936 it was increased to 15 -minutes. Hal Leroy. dancer, will help Miss Steinberg celebrate the anniversary. ALLAN D. GRIGSBY ("marriage counselor") is broadcasting from WSPD, Toledo, for the next week or so, but expects to return to WOR, Newark, within a short time. Three sponsors are after him now, none of whom will exercise so rigorous a censorship as his previous backer. Jan Peerce will be soloist when the Cleveland Jewish Singing Society presents its annual concert in that city March 2, under direction of Charles D. Dawe. Igor Gorin, originally scheduled, was unable to fulfill the engagement because of assignments in Hollywood. Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf replaces Phillips Lord on the Gangbusters series for three weeks while Lord vacations. Schwarzkopf begins broadcasting tomorow night. Benton & Bowles is the agency. Breen and De Rose recently sang a song in Esperanto over NBC-WJZ and the tuner-inner reaction was so gratifying the NBC's "Sweetheart of the Air" repeated the number yesterday over the same network at 10:05 a.m. By the by, May Singhi Breen' s birthday is Feb. 24. Jack Benny last week conducted the Air Gossip Column in the Detroit News, while Herschel Hart is taking a two-week rest. Hart also arranged with Fred Allen to write this week's column, assisted by Portland Hoffa. Ray Cox, senior at the University of Iowa, has been appointed Publicity Director at WMT, Cedar Rapids-Waterloo. Cox is commutting between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, going to classes in the morning and writing publicity in the afternoons. Jack Stevens, formerly of WMAS, Springfield, Mass., is substituting at WTIC, Hartford, for Announcer Joe Ripley, now recuperating from a fractured skull received in an automobile mishap. Art Shepherd, WMT's "Question Man", was passing around the cigars the other morning. Art is the proud father of a girl, Judith Ann, born at Saint Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Mother and daughter are doing nicely. Art says she will be a "natural" for the "Question Man" program. WBAL, Baltimore, and the Mutual network carried the Salute to George Washington from the base of the first monument erected to George Washington in picturesque Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, yesterday from 3:30 to 4 p.m. William K. Freiert, president of the Advertising Club of Baltimore; Mayor Howard W. Jackson, Major J. Purdon Wright, representing Governor Harry W. Nice, and Louis E. Shecter, chairman of the day, were the other speakers, plus band music and other ceremonies. Charles Crutchfield, program director at WBT, Charlotte, is tentatively scheduled to handle the Wheaties broadcasts again this summer. Harry A. Woodman, general manager of KDKA, has been elected to membership in the Pittsburgh Rotary Club. His classification is, "Communication Service-Radio Service." Announcers at Station KFJZ, Fort Worth, are undergoing special training so that the exclusive broadcasts of Texas League ball games of local club will be tops from broadcast standpoint. Deal, involving $5,000 paid for broadcast privilege, calls for publicity support for intensive promotion of attendance through educational campaign before and during games. NORMA YOUNG, for 15 years head of Los Angeles Examiner home economics department, starts March 1 doing a five-times-a-week "Happy Homes" program for KHJ, sustaining to start. KEHE, Hearst Chain key, signed Olixer Gas, through Hanff-Metzger agency, for a two-times-a-week sport program, Bob Edgren's "Miracles of Sport" transcribed. Walter Winchell goes back to New York early in March to carry on his broadcasts from there. James Cagney, Sidney Skolsky and Mary Garden will be on the Kraft Music Hall program Thursday night at 10 o'clock E.S.T., with Bing Crosby and Bob Burns. Ideas from Amateurs Minneapolis— A new type of amateur program, designed to uncover ideas rather than talent, will begin at 5 p.m. today (C.S.T.) on KSTP, St. Paul and Minneapolis station. Two staff announcers, Brooks Henderson and Rock Ulmer, will interview local persons who have worked out devices or systems, in the program titled "I've Got An Idea." Among the ideas scheduled for a hearing on the first broadcast are a new-type shaving gadget, a new use for gasoline taxes, an unusual variety of nursing bottle, and a use for auto trailers during the winter season. Prizes of $5, $3 and $2 will be awarded for the three best ideas each week. James D. Shouse, president of KMOX, St. Louis, whose station has ben awarded a Special Showmanship Citation Plaque for 1936 achievements, will be presented the plaque at a special broadcast now being arranged. Serial Clicks on KROC KROC, Rochester, Minn., is currently broadcasting half-hour serial, "Josh Whitcomb and Four Corners," sponsored by the Self Service stores, written and directed by Peter Lyman. First show drew 908 letters, an excellent response for a 100-watt station. Sponsors have signed a 52week contract calling for a show every Thursday, 1-1:30 p. m. Bird Food Campaign The Nature Friend (bird foods) will devote the major portion of its 1937 advertising appropriations to radio. Initial campaign has started in New York with a seven-a-week series now airing over WMCA. Frank Presbrey Co. is the agency with Louis H. Frohman as account executive. Weber on Texas Trip Fred Weber, general manager of the Mutual Broadcasting System, leaves today for Texas, and en route back may also cover some Oklahoma territory. MBS has no outlet in Texas at present, and it is believed that one good station in a desirable part of the state will do the trick. Louise Mills Rejoins CBS Mrs. Louise Mills rejoins the CBS sales promotion department in New York today, assigned to the owned and operated sales promotion division under Ed Reynolds. KMOX Conducts School St. Louis — KMOX has inaugurated a radio school for members of the St. Louis Little Theater members. Department heads at KMOX present short talks on their particular work in radio. The classes are held weekly on Thursday evenings in the KMOX Playhouse, a completely equipped theater seating some 400. The first class was conducted by program director C. G. Renier and Arthur Casey of the production department before a group of 75. 190 Using Library Over 190 stations across the country are now using the NBC Thesaurus library service. This is an all-time high for the number of stations using this type of service. New clients contracting for the service are WCOA, WHO, WEEU, WDWS. WAIR and KRMC. with WTAD, WDZ signing renewals. The Revelers Quartet has been added to the list of artists.