Radio mirror (Nov 1936-Apr 1937)

RADIO MIRROR His letters, all written without the use of a single capital letter, were considered priceless, and anyone who got one had to pass it around. Letters he wrote to someone in New York City were apt to have their last reading in San Francisco. Jim Harkins. who was one of the great names of vaudeville when he appeared with his wife, Marian, is another of those who have worshipped at the Allen throne for years. The rest of vaudeville considers him a sort of minor idol because he has been fortunate enough to be associated with Fred on his Wednesday evening programs. THE first time 1 met Fred, to talk to, ■ was about ten years ago. He was known then as the greatest of the script doctors. The boys would meet him and, after a half-hour of chatter, say, 'By the way, Fred, I need a little pep in the middle of my turn. Give me a hand?' Fred would always help until he could hardly see. "I had come into New York and was stopping at his hotel when I learned he was in town. I tried to get in touch with him at once. I learned that, three days before, a young man he had known had told him he had just been given a part in a new skit. The young man wanted Fred to help him build up his part. Well, though Fred had come to New York to lay off a while and get some rest, he worked four days solid with that kid. Each time he'd finish, the guy would want something else fixed. On the fifth day, I caught Fred in the lobby with a friend of his. I asked him how he had managed to get rid of the kid — and he grunted, 'I rewrote the act so much there wasn't any part left in it for him to play.' " You can see that Fred Allen has not won regard from these men for nothing. They respect and revere him because he is essentially what they themselves thought they could be if they had applied themselves when they were young. They admit they attend his radio broadcasts more often than they did his stage appearances. It's because they like him, they say; but really it's because he is carrying their tradition into a new medium for them — and letting them help by opening his program to their talents. Fred has brought some of his classic humor into radio; and radio, being a young thing, needs it. There are several examples, but the old timers like best the one concerning the words he directed at a network official one day just after he had finished his last dress rehearsal before going on the air. As he looked into the control room to see if everything had sounded all right, he became conscious of a delegation of network censors standing beside him. "Mr. Allen," one of them said brightly, "we've decided we can't allow you to put on that second Town Hall News sketch you have for tonight." Allen put his hand to his forehead. "It was all right this morning," he reminded them gently. "You let it go through then." "But on reconsideration," began the spokesman . . . Fred frowned at him for an instant. "You know how my program goes," he said reflectively. "First, music. Then an announcement. Then crowds and music?" "Certainly," they agreed. "Well," Fred Allen drawled, "when the noise of crowds and the music stops tonight, you'd better be at that microphone and you'd better be funny — because I won't be there." With that, he stalked out of the studio. He did not return until his skit was approved. The five-a-day gentlemen tell that story with relish. To them, it proves that their idol is still topping them all — that their profession turns out the best. They feel anything Fred says is the best thing that could be said; and for the final story that proves it, they tell this: It's about an old vaudeville trouper who had slipped pretty far with the passing years. Booze, they say. He had happened to be in New York, had needed money, and had thought of Fred Allen. He found Fred talking to a bunch of the boys in a barbershop and he sidled up just long enough to make his touch. After he got it, he moved away again. Fred left the group a little later. He hadn't been gone more than a minute when the old-timer returned. Fred's donation had worked wonders. The old gent's nose was a brighter red, his eyes not quite so rheumy. "Say," he demanded, "did Allen say anything after I left?" The boys looked at one another and nodded. "He said someone ought to invent a two-way gutter for you," they told him. The old-timer shook his head and slapped his knee. "Marvelous," he chortled. "Marvelous." In the May Issue — More Fashions From The Stars — Selected by famous style experts, they'll point the way for your new spring wardrobe. "Girls, remember this: No man can resist the charm of perfect daintiness. The least fault against it ruins illusions — spoils romance. tells you how to protect Daintiness ,wo* to Pr°" •TWe easiest*"* \„ba,„e W* lather »ea PERFECT daintiness is a charm within the reach of any girl. 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