Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

BEN BERNIE has joined the experts in arriving at a conclusion as to the underlying cause of the depression. When interviewed on the subject, the old maestro said, "There are two contributing causes. On the first place, too many foreigners are coming into this country and taking the jobs away from our wives; and secondly, many of us are living within our incomes for the first time." The Three Bakers recently donned knee boots and whiskers to get better atmosphere during a Russian program. Ray Perkins, NBC humorist, reports on visiting a recent automobile show, that "the new cars may be all right, but they haven't improved the clutch system of the horse and buggy era." CH All From This Sli KFAC will soon bloom forth in new raiment — a bit expensive, but nonetheless impressive. In one of the fastest decisions ever handed down by the Federal Radio Commission, KFAC was granted a new 1000-watt transmitter. At a cost of more than $74,000, beautiful modernistic studios are now under construction on a penthouse atop the Cord building on Wilshire boulevard, while the transmitter will be placed on La Cienega boulevard, in a spot long sought by broadcasters. In this location, it is expected, KFAC will have a louder signal than many of the other 1,000-watters in the vicinity The cost of the newtype transmitter is estimated at $115,000. And then, of course, there's the gas and lights. Washington's birthday will be a big day for radio. On February 22, President Hoover's message to Congress will be broadcast over NBC at 8:30 a. m., Pacific Time, immediately following the singing of "America" by 12.000 school children and thousands of spectators on the Capitol grounds, accompanied by the massed Army and Navy bands. Walter Damrosch will lead the singing, and John Phillip Sousa will direct the bands in playing "Hail to the Chief." Ted Weems, popular dane band maestro, opines that "Time on My Hands" is the theme song of the watchmakers' Clarence Muse, nationally-known colored actor-composer, has joined the Bill Sharpies Gang on KNX, in the role of "Jackson." Muse has a picturesque background, both on the stage and in the pictures. He is a college man; can speak English, French and German fluently; has had difficult roles in such pictures as "Dirigible," "X Marks the Spot," "Huckleberry Finn," "Secret Service," and others. He is also the composer of that song, now so popular, "Sleepy Time Down South," and is working on another, "Alley of My Dreams." He should prove a valuable addition to the Hollywood station. More than 12,697,000 letters were received last year by the Columbia Broadcasting System. The skyrocket rise of Bing, Russ Columbo, Kate Smith, Tony Wons, and others, was given as the reason. KHJ's newest addition is George Gramlich, who, after seven years' broadcasting, has become a regular member of the KHJ staff. Gramlich sings in eleven languages, including Greek, Gaelic, Yiddish and Neopolitan dialect, and studied under Tito Sohipa's teacher in Milan. George Frame Brown, author and leading character in "Real FoUcis," which recently changed from NBC to Columbia, gathered the material for his rural dramas from actual experience. His father was a grocery store proprietor in a small Washington town. What's in a name? Vaughn de Leatli recently received a letter from a West Virginia mother stating that, due to a misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the singer's name, she had christened her daughter "Vonda Lee." Bing Crosby has designed a special card which he uses to send fans who write for his autograph. Four bars of his theme song, "When the Blue of the Night" are written out exactly as they appear on the sheet music and under them he signs his name in red ink. In the searcli for new radio talent conducted by Paul Whiteman, in which Virginia and Jane Froman, still in their 'teens, won the first audition, Whiteman had to listen to about 500 applicants. That might not be so bad if they were all good, but — well, that's a lot of amateurs to listen to. Page Twenty-eight RADIO DOINGS