Variety (September 1961)

RADIO-TELEVISION 21 "Wednesday, September 6,.1961 "Huntington Hartford Eoves TV Defenders of the status. quo: “An television are literally tossing. . their pot-shotted hats-into.the air over the editorial. stance coraing. from an unexepcted source. Huntington Hartford’s preambleeditorial in first issue of.the new Show magazine couldn’t nave heaped | ‘more econiurms.on a battered medium had-it been written by Lou Hausman’s, pro-industry organization, fhe Television Information _Office.-It’s all the more remarkable by. virtue of the fact that both new & old mags are having themselves. .& field daylambasting tv programming. In sharp contrast, : Hartford writes: ‘ “Television: (has -become] so vast. and ‘all-encompassing that: none. of the performing. arts ¢an stand aloof from it. or henceforward: . from one another, Television | has become the great. leyeler.. Not only does it bring. the arts together. under one roof; but’ it has ae-. ‘complished an even greater feat—it has brought the arts and in dustry together, too. Capitalists can no longer turn up their noses at beatniks, lest they find themselves. sponsoring’ a. show about Greenwich Millage. On the other: hand, writers and artists who like to be ‘far out’ can never quite forget that Lorenzo de’Medici in the form.of. General Motors or the Hallmark Hall of Fame is-stand “ing at their elbow. _ “Is. it simply thefact that: television is the. richest art. in. history ‘that Is. {mportant to the artist? No, one has to go further and re| member why it is so rich— because ‘it serves the largest audience “in history, too. . It is not. only censure which this great art needs:but praise / for the good things—for: the magnificent shows which appear once and. disappear forever in a sea. of mediocrity.” T. S. Eliot, Others Crusade Against Excessive’ Con's on British TV | London, Sept. 5. U. K, ‘Viewers & Listeners Assn. which -has | poet:playwright T. S. Eliot as’ prexy (and: boasts 14 veeps distinguished: in philosophy, sci|. ‘ence,. law..the: church and legit enterprises)’ is launching a camPaign ta prove commercial tv. webs “here are “lawbreakers.” ; “VALA ‘claims’ the seven-minute maximum allowed to plugs in any one hour has been frequently. ex ceeded.so, to collect “revenue,” it]. _ has. sought. help from 10,000. stay|. at-home’ women, Object is for. -these femmes to seen in reports on the number:.of .commercials seen per hour, how long. they last‘ and _ whether they seem to: come. in “natural”. breaks in programs. : -When this information is broken | down statistically, VALA ‘states, it will ‘be handed. to legal advisers’ and if the seven-minute maximum: is found. to have been continually. “exceeded, legal ‘action: will be: taken. Independents “Television Aue plugs:’ screened’ by commercial. -webs, openly admits there have | beer,cases of more than seven min‘utes. of advertising” in one. hour. But these. cases :were invariably ‘where program formats Caused plugs to boil. over-into a new hour. ‘thereby ‘upping. the ad time in. that new hour. ‘TTA. states. that it is impractteable to work rigidly to clock ‘hours inthe case of. a flexible ‘meditim. like tv, although it is law. But according to ITA figures” the ~~ {Continued on page 40): Quaker Oats Coin To Gitlin’s ‘1-23 . Chicago, Sept. 5 ; NBC-TV. ‘has broken -the ice on “One-Two o-Three Go,” the new Irv‘ing . -Giflin-produced ‘family pub affairs series, with Quaker ‘ Oats. jotting’ © for -a minute per ‘week. . ‘There are still plenty of -avail-:|. abilities in. the. half-hour.. opus, which -is .statedfor Sundays at -6:30 -p.m., but the Quaker: buy. does |: SINATRA CLAN’ AS | SUSSKIND’S OPENER} ‘represent. sponsor Interest and. it stands as. recognition oa Quaker's. part of.the ned to. spread its: coin: “worthwhile” |. to the s0-termed ‘shows. “The ‘show ds . ‘described by the : ‘network as-an entertaining infor-. mational, ‘show. for ‘the. whole fam| TV, ily; with special appeal for youngsters. It-stars a boy named. Dick: _ Thomas, who will explore such |: _ things ‘as rocket’ firings ‘at Cape. Canaveral. and mountain climbing. Quaker will use the show for its ‘Life Cereal.: through J. “Walter Thompson. Restore ‘Jones’ To thority, ‘ responsible to the Post| master-General for the: amount of | ‘had. ‘on starting in1962. -Untouchables.” “Margie” inthat: slot and P&G Order. was placed. True Story’ Minowized The Mutual: network’s hour soap-_ ‘er, “My True Story.” goes on a do-. good mission for September. Radio web says three of the: scripts will have ™ public. service themes. Wednesday, Sept. 13,. script will deal with juve delinquency, blasting at the myth that the problem is limited to low-income groups. Thursday; Sept. 21, drama will, deal with the problems facing au _thorities placing -adopted. children. and on. Friday, Sept. 29, story spot lights cancer, emphasizing fact that. the disease -can be. cured -if dis-|. covered in. time. Public Clamor May | like 35% to 40° ‘of the three-net} j and thesping categories. Lewis’ celluloid sell has been! ’ Two. angry. young’ ‘men in television. armed with ar. .unprededented public clamor-over the axing. of their show. mav vet tumble ‘down the walls-of Jericho. At least. for James. Whitmore. and ‘Sy’ Gom-" ‘berg, the star and the. producer of “The Law and Mr. Jones,” thie first cracks. in the. ramparts of :.com-. merce have already appeared. in their six-month-battle to get “Mr. Jones” a network showcasing. Proec-: ter: & Gamble, has. now indicated: serious interest in putting the show. Whitmore’ -and -Gomberg, who. jown the show in association with Four Star Productions. are so mad’ about the fate of. their series that: they could bite the leg of a network v.p.; especially if -he’s. with ABCTV. ABC cancelled “Mr. Jones”: as: -Fof this fall after a Season's. Tun } '. after’ refusing a request by P&G, ; ‘| the bankrollers, for -a Thursday 9:30. p.m. berth in front of “The ‘ABC had plans for wasn’t interested in. renewing the show ‘In any other time. . That, | however; ‘was’ several ‘months and sev eral hundred thou-. (Continued on page 40) Davia Susskind: is kicking off his hhew “Open End” show on WNEW|. N, ¥., Sunday night (9) with a facing ° show biz. ‘Jackie Gleason, Mannes: and Richard. Gehmat. {the curtain. on the new ty season, to all intents and purposes, has |: officially gone up. And the over-| .| ture -to | panied by the biggest wave of | ‘shortterm deals ever known in ‘the | networks’ last minute rush to’ wrap | up. billings. (The exception has | -, | $20, 0V0,000. in firm 52-week .coma mitments during August,) © With a whole flock of new shows | premiering | in the ‘next 10 days, “| it’s. casualties (although Madison Ave. -hagbeen indulging. in its favorite j pre-season “game of. calling the | shots in advance, as detailed elsewhere ‘in. this section.) But one | thing’s for’ suré—this is the” last ‘peaceful week: for network brass ‘as the new product trickles in from f record ‘coming days, with the initial rumlings. already starting to be heard. ‘cials.. on NBC, -the Westinghouse specials (circuiting. all three webs) | be it—little enough to illuminate. a new .season.. The NBC “Kildaire” P&G's TV Roster! ‘time. shows, as witness NBC on ments.” Sundays,, Mondays, and. Fridays;| up are David Karp, Alvin Boretz, symposium” on. -@_eritical question. . Topic. is “The Sinatra: Clan— |} ‘What Makes Them’ Run,” and the |: panel of -authorities . will inelade |. Joe 'E. Lewis, |Ernie Kovacs, Toots Shor, Marya | JP, HOPES DOWN ‘EXCITEMENT PUT CBS-TY Sees Year-Ahead Patterns ~ OFF TILL ‘82-3 By GEORGE ROSEN With. the demise of Labor Day, 6162 has been accombeen. NBC-TV, which piled up some r_ too early : ‘to anticipate the the -Coast. The screaming and shouting. over inadequate scripting: and production, “based on past ‘and. performance, will achieve a stepped-up crescendo int -Among the greater expectations | are “Defenders” on CBS, the Du| Pont series of Sunday -night spe and the new Disney tint cycle Sunday nights onNBC and. that could hour series. out of the MGM-TV lot also has all the: ‘makings of a commercial click. ‘But even. among the network [hierarchy the unspoken clarion call is “wait. until next season” (on which all three’ networks are currently at: work.): Comics Keyed to Did He Say That? Nobody around ABC wants to talk about it, but the red faces still testify to their embarrassment over the John Cameron -Swayze incidént on his network news show last Friday. night (1). Midway through the radio broadcast Swayze got off a couple of unprintable obscenities that cued a flood of telephonic protests from shocked listeners. It happened beca:ise the show was pre-taped 15 minutes in advance. Annoyed ' . over technical difficulties dur ing the pre-taping, Swayze let go with the off-color remark. It didn’t destroy the program, since it merely Sequired erasing the tabu words. Except. that they forgot to erase it. Aleoa’s TY Range: From Eric Ambler To Lionel Trilling By HERM SCHOENFELD “Anything that live drama can‘ do, film can do better,” is the ‘proposition that Dick Lewis, Revue exec producer, will be trying {such shows as the | grams, Emerging: Drama Anthology Returns; Gimmick or Theme + Outlines of the '62-’63 season, as sketched within CBS-TV’s programming division and by outside program suppliers, are taking shape, according to Mike Dann, VP. CBS-TV network programs, N.Y. Major emerging patterns are as follows: The 30-minute drama format 1s dead. Dann said no one seems to be thinking in terms of 2 30-minute. dramatic series. The 30-minute format still exists for comedy, panel shows and gimmick prolatter could. range from “Candid Camera” to cartoon types. There is a definite attempt to secure a variety of new dramatic forms, either in the hour, 90-minute or even a two-hour form. Along with that drama diversifica |tion yen, the dramatic anthology series is seeking a tv comeback. This diversification exploration might take tv drama off its now dominant action adventure accent. Big name comics also are being scouted for shows, but not in the | Jackie Gleason or Sid Caesar showcases of yore. Name comics are being used to front comedic series or gimmick shows such as “Candid Camera,” a la Arthur Godfrey who had been on “Camera” or the Alan King pilot. (King pilot will be shown later this month and its committed for the °62-’63 season on the web There's a tremendous impetus, -according to Dann, to combine the j real world and the entertainment world. What he had in mind were “Eichmann to establish with the “Alcoa Pre-| Trial,” Armstrong Circle Theatre” | miere” series bowing on ABC-TV ! drama. Oct. 10. Rolling now at Revue’s:done on the DuPont Show last Coast studios, the string of 15 one|! season. hour and 14 half-hour shows has been projected -by Lewis as an unstinting effort. by a filmed anthology series to: involve most distinguished talent available to tv in ‘The new season finds something the producing, directing, scripting work ‘program ‘schedules: overhauled, ‘with the number of new shows (based on total hours involved). representing a new high.. complete ‘throw-out of all prime ABC..on Sundays and CBS. on. Thursdays (excepting. the “CBS Reports” hour). . The records show that one-half : to: 75% of all. new shows fail; by the ‘third Nielsen, in November, the 25% .of the. new. shows: and, by. ‘“doom list” may aggregate virtue of the . _ aforementioned -shorfterm sponsor deals, will pave ‘the way for a‘succession of Janu-ary casualties. -Thus NBC, ‘according to’ one. exec, Is fully prepared with a minimum of four.to five program ‘substitutions (both half-hour and hour | shows) between January and | March. That’s why the selling sea-; son on tv-is now ayear-round affair. As the ’61-’62 season. bows, New| | ton-Minow & Co. will have to settle | for a spirited spree of news-public ‘ affairs, and the care & feeding of : | kid-slanted tv. But as an adult' entertainment meédium, the. “rain , check” {s al already in the mail. and the Lincoln drama Series utilizing the world of reality thematically were forecast. One in the CBS-TV hopper for ’62-’63 as a possibility {s Talent Associates-Paramount’s “Crimes of the Century,” dealing with crimes ranging from atomic spying to dynamiting. More live shows for "62-63 also ‘affective enough to snag _ such } was forecast. names as Alfred Hitchcock, Eric Ambler, George Schaefer, producing and directing assignAmong the writers lined. Ray Bradbury, Ernest Kinoy, Adrian Spies, Larry Marcus and! Donald Stanford. The dramatis personnae of the various shows will. be highlighted by such as Charleton Heston, Arthur Kenne Questioned as to whether spon-. AleX !sor sensitivity might muzzle treatOn ‘some ‘nights it represents a|Segal and. Peter Tewksbury for | ment of the world of reality, Dann said in his opinion tv now is better able to handle such series. He saw a birth of such realistic dramatic shows. Helping the freedom of the medium in this-drea is the growth of participation sponsors riding on one show. “The Defenders” this season, Dann Pointed out, will deai with topics ranging from mercy dy, Lloyd Bridges and Lee Mar-{killing to abortion, hardly non vin, among others. And Fred Astaire, .who has set perfectionist standards for his tv appearances, will front the series as host and narrator. Symptomatic of the high calibre which the series is shooting for 1s the fact that Lewis is now negotiating with Prof. Lionel ‘Frilling, the eminently highbrow | ; critic and novelist, for the mes !to one of his short stories. Lewis’ insistence on the capabir ity of the film to turn out a quality dramatic series is not sien ply a parochial boost by a Holly' wood rotarian confronting the legit and liye-oriented New York crowd. If: the proof. materializes in the “Alcoa” pudding, Lewis, sees a iContinued on page 42) Such Laneuage If what they want is adult fare, ABC-TY’s upcoming dramatic series, “Bus. Stop,” plans ‘to dish it out in dbades, Series of one : hour: dramas, based loosely. on the William Inge Broadway play, will not. only be treating with some delicate, emotional problems, but will be using Janguage probably not heard before on. the medium. “But each show will make a strong: moral point,” ABCTV's. -programming chief Tom Moore said. . The series will deal with | such matters as abortion, drug addic “bitch,” ” “sexual deviate,” etc., tion, homosexuality, etc. The language, including such words as will be strong matches for the themes. Initialer in the series, which kicks off Oct. 1, is likely to be “Success Story,” starring James. Whitmore. ‘tand” controversial themes, and the show will be watched closely as a possible test for future shows. Whether all this spirit of experimentation results in better tv isn’t answerable at this stage. The spirit of exploration, though, is present, Dann concluded. Six Daytime News Shows on 3 Webs ABC-TV's move to slot a five , minute news strip at 1:25 pm. {with Alex Dreier reporting from Chicago puts the web on a news :par with the two competing net works. Each web now has two daytime news shows apiece and the combined stanzas are generally spaced out over the schedule in non-competitive time. Only exception is the conflict between NBCTV's 4:55 p.rn. show and ABC-TV’s youth-slanted “American Newsfrom 4:50 to 5 p.m. The six daytime news shows on the three webs represents & 100% increase over last year in news programming. Last fall, each web had only one daytime news strip. The Drier show on ABC-TV kicks off. Oct. 2 on a participating basis. ABC-TV will preempt the participating bankrollers if they sell the strip’ to a single sponsor. ~