Radio and television mirror (Nov 1939-Apr 1940)

WE CANADIAN LISTENERS .. .■ ■ . ■ . ■ ■ ■ . . ■ . ,■..■., THE QUIZZ CLUB . . . with 85% of the Saturday evening Canadian radio audience, this 8:00-8:30 EST program, sponsored by Nova-Kelp, originates "live" from CFRB, Toronto, and is disked to twenty-two stations from coast-to-coast in the Dominion. Emcee and "Club Host" is genial Roy Ward Dickson. Directors are Fred Saxon-Brent and Frank Grant. Norm Child is Secretary-Treasurer, the gent who pays out the prizes on behalf of Nova-Kelp. Quizz shows are the international rage in radio. Wiseacres thought they'd die off from their peak of last year, but instead they seem to be going on from where they left off. And in the van of good audience participation programs is The Quizz Club. Informality is the keynote of the Quizz Club. Questions are based on a single topic each week, going over such subjects as sports, music, the animal world, history, English grammar, geography, etc. Club members, i.e., persons selected by lot from the studio audience, are quizzed; in turn, they draw questions and fire them at the Directors. Prizes, of course. The winners on six consecutive programs compete in the finals on the seventh show in a stiff general knowledge test for a big cash prize. The program now has its own weekly paper, "The Quizz Club News", mailed to thousands of listeners. Nova-Kelp plans to invade the U. S. with this Made-in-Canada product, and I'll venture a prediction that when that time arrives some major questioners-and-answerers are going to sit up and take more than a little notice. ROY WARD DICKSON . . . Roy was born in London, England, in 1910 . . . educated there at St. Paul's school . . . then finished his schooling in Canada at the University of Manitoba . . . proud daddy of a boy of ten and a girl of eight . . . while at varsity, worked as hired man on farm . . . specialized in agriculture and chemistry . . . chemist for large packing concern . . . high school teacher at 19 . . . promotion manager for Vancouver, B. C, newspaper . . . joined staff of Toronto Daily Star . . . from there to advertising layout in big department store . . . into radio, and here comes the original question-and-answer man . . . hobbies are chess and economics. FRANK GRANT . . . another Londoner-born, some thirty-odd years agone . . . accomplished pianist and composer . . . was in vodvil when it flourished in the sticks of the States . . . has been in radio 14 years . . . made a notable success of the original "Uncle Bob and Happy Harry" program, 1931-32 . . . joined staff of CFRB in 1934 . . . married to Celia Huston, well known pianist . . . they pair up also as piano duo in broadcast, "Twin Keyboards" . . . likes the outdoors more than indoors, so gets out of studio to hunt and fish whenever possible. NORM CHILD . . . born Accrington, Lanes., Eng., 1911 . . . reaches sixfoot-six, even with a hole in his sock . . . intended to be a chartered accountant, but was chartered by radio and Roy Ward Dickson instead . . . is Roy's business manager . . . can add up a column of figures as high as himself, quicker than you can write them! . . . the only "single act" on the Quizz Club, but some day a little lady will be looking up to him, and how! FRED SAXON-BRENT . . . rounds out the quartet of expatriated Englishmen . . . born in 1887 . . . printer, he went into the Canadian publishing business . . . has written a number of books, published newspapers in Ontario ... is the Jeff to Norm Child's Mutt, coming up to Norm's belt with his five feet, one and three-eighths inches . . . very important that "threeeighths" . . . collects stamps and weeds in his garden . . . . . . And the two glamorous young ladies who shepherd you through the intricacies of The Quizz Club, if you happen to be one of the two hundred persons who flock to CFRB every Saturday night to participate in the 8:00 to 8:30 broadcast, are the Misses Dorothy Clements and Sylvia Berrin. They're worth a visit to the show alone. PEPSI >c I "S o o o o THE PE^SI-COLA COPS .9UfcEV0UGET vapULLOUA/C6S" Expecting a crowd tonight? Then stock up with PepsiCola. Everybody likes its better flavor. And the 6bottle Home Carton is a real bargain. Each big, big bottle holds 12 full ounces. ^lotAe amp JANUARY, 1940