Radio daily (Feb-Mar 1937)

RADIO DAILY 4 SWANK RAINBOW ROOM OFFERED TO SPONSORS (Continued from Page 1) guests. As a merchandising stunt NBC proposes that a studio audience of a limited number, room holds approximately 350, and a salesmen's weekly contest might be conducted by the sponsor with the winner being rewarded with an all-expense trip to New York. It is also suggested that the advertiser can arrange to hold the orchestra after the broadcast for music and dancing. In other words make a party of it for the salesmen. Officials of the Rainbow Room, for reasons of policy, reserve the right to approve of sponsor and product advertised, concludes the brochure. Paris Television Unit Will Be Most Powerful (Continued from Page 1) Materiel Telephonique Licensee, an International Telephone & Telegraph Co., licensee. Station is expected to be in operation by July 1, and the transmitter will have a peak of 30 kw. The antenna will project from the flagpole at the top of the 1,000-foot tower. Broadcast range is figured at 50 miles. 100-Watter 50 Miles From Its Transmitter Selma, Ala— WHBB, 100-watter operated by Selma Broadcasting Co., of which John S. Allen is president, boasts an unusual accomplishment in conducting program broadcasts 50 miles from its transmitter. Though generally believed that a 100-watt station is good for only 12, 15 or 25 miles, WHBB has upset the theory by successfully selling merchandise for advertisers in towns 50 miles away. Local remote studios are maintained in Demopolis, a small town near the Mississippi border, about 55 miles from WHBB's main studios here. From Demopolis, the station broadcasts a daily program of an hour's duration made up of local talent, news and advertising. In addition, WHBB maintains a local studio in Uniontown, a small community 30 miles west of Selma. March 19 Greetings from Radio Daily to John Shepard III March 20 Ozzie Nelson March 21 Garnetl Marks ETHEL BARRY MORE in "The Man Across the Hall" Bayer Aspirin NBC-Blue Network, March 17, 8:30-9 p.m. Blackett-Sample-Hummert WELL-WRITTEN AND FINELY ACTED SPECIAL RADIO DRAMA IN ROMANTIC VEIN. This romantic love drama, authored by David Driscoll especially for Ethel Barrymore, is a nice job. It is much better than a lot of the condensed versions of stage plays that have been put on the air. Story is about a librarian, played by Miss Barrymore, who falls in love with a mysterious stranger whom she first meets in the library and later discovers living in the room across the hall at the same rooming house. Complications arise due to the man being a fugitive from justice, but the finale reveals there was provocation for the crime. Skit holds suspense nicely, Characterization on Air Demands Much Ingenuity "V^OU can't make a crook character •*■ out of a radio artist by having him slouch on the stage smoking a cigarette. It takes much more than a cap and some loud clothes to make a gangster for the theater of the air. A drama with one or two criminal voices is easy, but when you are faced with using three or more robbers in the same period, trouble begins. It is not enough to reproduce exactly the voice of the man your character is depicting. The listening public wants exact reproduction, but they also want crook characters to sound a little like crooks, just as they want ministers to sound like ministers when they come before the microphone. When you are deprived of the advantages of make-up the actor must put into the voice that certain something that the public has grown to associate with the criminal. Finding three or four voices with a criminal tone, and still voices that are different, and, on top of that, voices that approach the voices of noted gangsters— that is when the dramatic director rejoices in having a long card index of people with voice types. — PHILIP BARRISON, WMCA Dramatic Director. and Miss Barrymore's performance was a pleasure in itself. Air Features Inc. produced the show. "TELL US YOUR STORY" Wyandotte Cleanser CBS (Partial Network), Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, 2-2: 15 p.m., E.S.T. N. W. Ayer & Son GOOD HUMAN INTEREST PROGRAM WITH PRINCIPALLY FEMININE APPEAL. Dramatizing true experiences submitted by listeners, with a prize for selected incidents, this recently inaugurated series holds well up to the average of the "true story" features. Lillian Lowans, who authors the programs, does a good job in selection and preparation of material. Acting talent selected is above average. Subject matter of the skits deals chiefly with love, marriage and other domestic complications, appealing mostly to the femme listeners. Crooks Says Radio Fans Appreciate Better Music ¥)ADIO programs do not do justice *■* to the American scope of music appreciation. For instance, the beautiful songs of Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann and Wolf are not widely known, but I, for one, believe that they should be. They are lovely and often simple melodies. I feel that every American could easily' understand and appreciate the gusto and swinging rhythm of Schumann's "Song of Provence," the delightful humor of Wolf's "The Drum," the tenderness and ecstasy of Strauss' "Dream Through the Twilight." So-called "classics" of this kind demand no penetrating musical knowledge for appreciation. They sing themselves in a tonal language that's universal in its embrace, and really should be as popular as the brisk jazz that everyone's familiar with— RICHARD CROOKS. 2,562,837 Phone Calls Recorded by Maj. Bowes A record of 2,562,837 telephone calls since the beginning of Major Bowes' "Amateur Hour" network broadcasts two years ago have been made by listeners to the series, according to statistics compiled by A. T. & T. Friday. March 19. 1937 PETER deLIMA JOINS LYONS & LYONS AGENCY (Continued from Page 1) considered one of the best men in this field, having for several years been with the CBS Artists Bureau, more recently in its Coast branch, from which he resigned a few weeks ago. Vocational Programs Create Wide Interest Ames, Iowa — Wide interest is being manifested in the vocational guidance programs being broadcast by WOI, owned and operated as part of the Iowa State College. Station is supported by tax funds and operates on 640 kc. during daytime. W. I. Griffith is director of the station. Broadcasts dealing with opportunities offered to young people in various vocations are providing a real service to the youth of Iowa. Schools of adjacent states also have become interested in the programs. Outstanding authorities are invited to discuss topics and answer questions, and the college has put out a Listener's Manual giving information on the broadcasts and containing blank charts for listeners' notes. Many schools have provided classes with the Manual, while other groups are listening in their schools and using the blackboard for important facts. Eton Boys on Vaude Dates The Eton Boys will be off the CBS network for two weeks, effective March 25. On that date they open at the RKO Theater, Boston, for one week, and on April 2 begin an engagement at the Earle Theater, Washington. Paul Ross of the CBS Artist Bureau set both deals. James Calvert In New Post Fort Worth — James Calvert, who has been broadcasting the early morning news program "What Happened Last Night," over WBAP for several months, has left for New Orleans, where he will head the Louisiana state publicity bureau. Sets Record on KWTO E. C. Booth, manager of the nationally-known Colonial Poultry Farms, reports that KWTO Springfeld. Mo., has established an alltime record for results on radio for that concern this season. Inquiries and closures received irom KWTO were the best of any of 18 stations used by Colonial Poultry Farms. Booth said in a letter to the station. Results, in fact, bettered any record ever made by any station for Colonial, Booth said. Colonial Poultry Farms have used radio extensively the past six years. Booth recently renewed his contract with KWTO for the entire 1938 season. Varied Viewpoints