Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

6 RADIO DAILY Wednesday. December 21. 1949 WEB XMAS PROGRAMMING IMPRESSIVE President Truman, Georqe VI, Pone To Broadcast (Continued from Page 51 Dickens (circa early 19th Century) rates as radio's outstanding writer for Christmastide 1949, with three major productions of his "A Christmas Carol" and ione presentation of his "Cricket On The Hearth" scheduled for week-end beaming. The Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" will be presented by CBS on the Dec. 22 broadcast of Les Mitchell's "Skippy Hollywood Theater" with the Abbey Players featured and Alex Guinness starred as Scrooge. The Abbey Theater interpretation of the Christmas fable is one of the programs Mitchell recorded on his recent European jaunt. Again on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, CBS presents the classic with Edmund Gwenn starred as both Scrooae and narrator. Lionel Barrymore will also portray Scrooge for, in his case, the sixteenth consecutive year on Christmas Eve iover Mutual. Other special programs arranged by the major webs include broadcasts by President Truman, King George VI of Great Britain, and Pope Pius XII from the Vatican. The President's annual Christmas message will be carried over all the major nets at 5 to 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and King George will deliver his Yuletide greetings over MBS, CBS and ABC (all EST) at 1 p.m., 1:15 p.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively. NBC, on Christmas Day from 2 until 3 p.m., will carry a description of the ceremonies attendant to the proclamation of a new Holy Year at the Vatican in Rome as reported by Jack Begon, NBC's Rome correspondent. NBC Has Spscial Features Other NBC special events for the holiday include Christmas concerts by the Boys Town Choir, Morton Downey, the combined Glee Clubs of Rosary College and Notre Dame, a 76-voice mixed chorus of Concordia Teacher's College, the Radio City Music Hall Chorus and a special holiday musical program by the NBC Orchestra led by Guido Cantelli, all on the holiday eve. The web will also present "Cricket on the Hearth" and a description by H. V. Kaltenborn of Santa's takeoff from the North Pole. On Christmas Day, NBC has scheduled a visit to NBC stars' homes on Christmas morning, a recreation of by-gone "Quiz Kid" Christmases, a recitation of Paul Gallico's "Twas The Night Before Christmas" and Yuletide tie-ins on regulary scheduled network programs. i reason's #reetmg£ anti & ?|appp iSeto Hear WHOM "The II Progresso Station" 1480 on Your Dial 136 West 52nd St. New York 19, N. Y. On Saturday, Dec. 24, Mutual has scheduled "Carols by Candlelight," a pick-up from Melbourne, Australia; "Faraway Christmas," a pickup from the Button Wood, England Headquarters of the U. S. Air Force; a special holiday show by the Disabled Veterans; "Christmas in Alaska and Puerto Rico," another pickup; "Hawaii Calls," from the Pacific Outpost; a guest shot by Santa himself on "Twenty Questions," a "Chicago Theater of the Air" producti on of "Babes in Toyland"; "Thou Bethlehem" a dramatization of the Nativity starring Glenn Ford; and an hour-long midnight Kiwanis glee club and choir musicals. In addition to broadcasting Lionel Barrymore's interpretation of the Scrooge role on Christmas Day, Mutual will air a special program from Rome where Carleton Morse will play the role of Santa Claus as he presents gifts to war-orphans at the San Michele Colony. Mutual also has geared most regular programming to the holiday spirit. Columbia Skeds Features CBS' holiday fare, in addition to the Truman-King George airers. will be highlighted by an hour-long presentation of "The Man Who Came To Dinner" with Jack Benny in the Sheridan Whiteside role assisted by John Garfield, Henry Fonda, Gene Kelly, Charles Boyer. Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Rosalind Russell. Other CBS specials include, on Dec. 24, "Make Way For Youth," an offering of teen agers from Detroit high schools; "Twas The Night Before Christmas" on the "Let's Pretend" holiday stanza; the sixth annual dramatization of Miracle For Christmas" on Grand Central Station"; a program of old music featuring organist E. Power Biggs; the Boys Town choir; carols by the Mexico Boys Choir; old world carols by the Philadelphia Choral Ensemble, and "Around the Christmas Tree" with Billy Leach and others, from Chicago. On Christmas Day. starting at midnight when Eileen Farrell is featured in the annual CBS Christmas Carol Service, OBS will present in addition to holiday cued regular programs, "While the Shepherds Watched" a Nativity story based on the Gospels; a Doug Edwards "Newsmakers" description of the Four Nets Combine Ancient, Modern In Yule Salute man of the hour. Santa Claus; "Children's Christmas Abroad" with pick-ups from London, Paris, Berlin and Rome: the Robert Shaw Chorale featuring Benjamin Brittin's "Ceremony of the Carols"; the first network oerformance of Morton Gould's "Serenade of Carols"; and a Ronald Colman narration of "The Small One." A special recording of the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with Pope Pius officiating will be heard over TBS at 3:30 p.m. as reported by Winston Burdett. Also, on the 24th, over CBS. a special "CARE Salute" will be aired at 5:30 p.m. (EST). The special program features Chas. Boyer, Danny Kaye. Virginia Bruce, Francis Lerierer. Ricardo Montalban, and Alida Valli. .A PC Featuring Music ABC will present the first radio broadcast of the new Peter Mennin cantata which was commissioned especially for radio and is said to be the first major religious work so commissioned when the Robert Shaw Chorale gives the first performance at "A Christmas Story" on Christmas Day. The cantata was comissioned by the Protestant Radio Comm'ssion last soring and reDresents fifth work by 26-year-old Mennin. Other special ABC holiday programs include "Voices That Live" which will feature, on Christmas Eve, four historic sacred records mayed by Wallv Butterworth. The discs rarrv the voices of Mme. Schuman-Heink, John M^Corma<-k. Pol Plancon and Giovanni Martinelli. "The Greatest Story Ever Told" presents a two-part Christmas Cvcle entitled "Prince of Peace" on Dec. 18 and 25th. Most of the web's programming for the past two weeks have been devoted to Yuletide tie-ins and the airwaves have been resounding to invous Noels and the strains of "Silent Night" and "Adeste Ffideles." ABC will also carry the ceremonies from the Vatican as reported by Walter Weisbecker at 6:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve. 7* 7e> re> re sfr ?v 7r* 7i 7/ ?V ?e> ~& 7& ~v 7& ~v 7/i> 7& Tip Best From JEAN, BOB & CHARLIE