Radio varieties (Sept 1940-June 1941)

The Story of a Ck>meback Continued from Page 13 the mid-section thcrt always comes when you see something good. And there's not a bar of music in it, except for background. So Dickie boy sewed himself a beautiful little patch of Hollywood clover all over again — and when those two pictures are released he'll be sitting on top of the world. And the radio lad who turned from the microphone to the silver screen — hit the top in pictures, started the old slide down and pulled himself up by his own boot straps, is back with us again stronger than ever doing screen parts with plenty of punch, and getting top billing on the Maxwell House Radio Show. All of which brings up an interesting point that there's really no foundation at all for the socalled "feud" between radio and the movies. They complement each other. Radio has given many stars to the screen, and certainly many mxOvie people have made your radio hours a lot more entertaining. For years Gene Autry was one of the most popular air personalities in America as "The Singing Cowboy": his fan mail topped any star in the business, he went from there to pictiires and became one of the movies' highest-paid stars without ever having one of his pictures showing in a first-rim Hollywood theater. Radio gave Dottie Lamour to the screen. All she learned about singing she learned while earning $18 a week ob a sustaining warbler for NBC. You all know the case of Don Ameche; and where would Orson Welles be today if it weren't for the microphone? Personally, I have a tremendous lot of respect for radio people. I did a picture re'cently called "Cross Country Romance" — a fast-moving, very smart little comedy with Gene Raymond; it was piloted expertly by Frank Woodruff, who produced and directed your Lux Radio Theater for many years. Yep — I cut my teeth on the stage, grew up in pictures, am spending my old age pleasantly hopping from my daily column, to the air, to the movie sets — and I say, as long as it's entertainment, it belongs — whatever the medium. Page 24 Who Are the Men Continued from Page 12 is George Voutsas, musically inclined Beau Brummell who was born in Asia Minor, reared in New York City from his second year on and trained in the ways of radio broadcasting by none less than Dr. Frank Black, general musical director of NBC. Voutsas is chiefly known in the NBC Central Division for his discovery of Lillian Cornell, NBC contralto who is now in Hollywood after making several movie appearances in Jack Benny and Bing Crosby pictures, and for his further discovery of the Dinning Sisters, jitterbug trio heard on the NBC Breakfast Club and Club Matinee broadcasts and mentioned by many music critics as runners-up to the famed Andrews Sisters. Voutsas studied music under private tutors for 12' years and won a gold medal for his violin playing in competition in 1928. He was considering turning professional when he suddenly landed a job in the music library of the newly-formed National Broadcasting Company. He remained in the music library for loui years, meeting great musicians, artists and personalities who helped mold him into a brilliant research man, capable of building and producing almost any type of musical show. In the last of his four years in the music library, he worked with Erno Rapee, Harold Sanford, Cesare Sodero and many others. He became Dr. Frank Black's assistant when the later came to NBC and remained in that post until Dr. Black insisted on his accepting a position as musical director in the NBC Central Division. While in New York, Voutsas assisted in producing and writing such shows as the NBC Symphony, String Symphony, Five Hours Back, the Magic Key of RCA, the Pontiac Program and the Sunday General Motors concerts. In Chicago, he conducts the NBC Club Matinee, the Roy Shield Revue, all Chicago City Opera broadcasts over NBC and did conduct This Amazing America at its inception. He is 5'H" tall, weighs 185 pounds, has dark brown eyes, black hair and a serious disposition. Music in a Majestic Manner Continued from Page 9 azines and syndicates. One of the reasons for its popularity, aside from the high musical quality of the program, is the complete absence of commercial fan-fare. Programs for the 1940-41 season will be conducted by such eminent conductors as Fritz Reiner, Reginald Stewart, John Barbirolli, Wilfred Pelletier, Eugene Ormandy, Andre Kostelanetz, and Victor Kolctr. i The list of guest artists to be featured each week reads like a musical "Who's Who." Among the guests to be heard are Lily Pons, soprano; Richard Crooks, tenor; Jascha Heifetz, violinist; Grace Moore, soprano; John Charles Thomas, baritone; Jose Iturbi, pianist; Dorothy Maynor, soprano; Helen Jepson, soprano; Charles Kullmonn, tenor; Lawrence Tibbett, baritone; and Gladys Sworthout, mezzo-soprano. Another popular feature of the Sunday Evening Hour broadcasts are the talks by W. J. Cameron. Interest in these talks, which cover subjects of current interest, has grown to such an extent that over 50,000 printed copies are mailed each week to listeners requesting them. Printed copies of the programs, with brief biographies of the artists and descriptions of the music to be played, also are supplied to large numbers of listeners who write in for them. In 1934 the programs first started to broadcast from Orchestra Hall in Detroit which has a capacity of 2,000 persons. Two years later the broadcasts were moved to a larger auditorium in Detroit and now some 5,000 persons attend every week. Each Sunday evening the hall is filled to capacity by an audience of enthusiastic people who appreciate an opportunity to hear a fine musical presentation by one of the country's greatest orchestras and famous concert personalities and to witness a major broadcast. Evidencing the important role played by the Ford Sunday Evening Hour in musical education throughout the country are the many letters received each week from educational institutions ancT from individuals who use the programs as a basis for instruction in music appreciation. RADIO VARIETIES OCTOBER