Radio and television mirror (Nov 1939-Apr 1940)

yfc 'ill By GEORGE FISHER ■ Listen to George Fisher's broadcasts every Saturday night over Mutual. BETTE DAVIS, two-time Academy Award winner and Hollywood's finest actress, is mulling a radio script of "Queen Elizabeth." Thirteen weeks series was written by Kay Van Riper, author of the "Judge Hardy" series, when she was in radio five years ago. Miss Van Riper not only wrote the series but enacted the title role herself, before joining MGM as a writer. With the release of Bette Davis' "Elisabeth and Essex", Miss Van Riper dug up her old scripts and made them available to cinemastar Davis. So don't be surprised to hear that LaDavis has joined the radio ranks! * * * Most radio fans breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that idol Charles Boyer was not in active fighting on the Western Front, but actually was making French Propaganda films. Word from Paris assures us that Boyer will never re-enter the trenches as a buck private! TELEVISION IS HERE! The other night I witnessed the first public showing of radio and television combined on the Pacific Coast. The exhibition inaugurated the opening of the Pacific Coast Auto Show in Hollywood, and was released simultaneously over Thomas Lee Television Station (the only one on the coast) W6XAO, and radio station KHJ. The telecast was picked up five and one half miles away from the KHJ studios. His Honor, Mayor Fletcher Bowron of Los Angeles, who opened the Auto Show via Television, thus became the first American Mayor to become a part of the Pacific Coast's first public television demonstration. The telecast ran for two hours and included such talent as Morton Downey, Betty Jane Rhodes (the First Lady of Television) , Maxine Gray, The Trojan Football Team, Thomas Lee, Willet Brown, Louis Allen Weiss, The King Sisters, and many, many more. The demonstration was pronounced an amazing success, since every speaker and actor was clearly visible to the thousands who watched the proceedings at the Auto Show. * * * MORE TELEVISION: Your reporter will be the first Hollywood Commentator to make regular telecasts. I have already started a once-weekly series over W6XAO; broadcast is received by over 500 television sets in the Los Angeles area. Roger Pryor, emcee of the Screen Guild show, is returning to pictures, under the Bryan Foy banner. By the way, rumors still persist that all is not well between Pryor and his actress-wife, Ann Sothern! JANUARY. 1940 A bit of cheek-tweaking goes on between the CBS Star Theater's Ken Murray and Irene. Al Pearce is proud because Sandra, his Great Dane, has won over 25 blue ribbons. "Blame It On My Youth" is the title of the story Judy Garland is writing. She hopes to have MGM produce it as a starring vehicle for herself. Mary Livingstone, Jack Benny's wife-comedienne, deserves the credit for discovering Dennis Day, new tenor sensation. She happened to hear him on the air one evening during her stay in New York last July, took the trouble to inquire about him and obtained a record of Day's voice. This she took personally to Jack, who was then in Chicago. After hearing the record, Jack returned to New York to audition Dennis. Jack's new tenor discovery now has the top vocal spot in radio, after having sung professionally only twice when he was asked to audition for Benny. Incidentally, Day is one of the youngest (Continued on page 64) 41