Variety (October 1961)

dionaire ‘Wednesday, October 4, 1961: Lotsa Beefs as Ca Hoopla Leaves Dick Powell Dang 25 ‘Columbus, Oct. 3. The exact moment ‘that the Cin-| . cinnatl. Reds. ‘baseball team became | -the National League champions—. on Tuesday night, Sept. _26—also. happened. to be the exact moment ‘that watchers of the Dick. Powell Show. over’ WLW-C, Columbus, “were waiting. to find.: out: “Who. ‘Killed Julie. Greer?” They were left’ without the answer, because just. as Dick Powell: ‘stood, a mil detective, . confronting Ralph Bellamy, who played a judge whose name was cut. into: the. Cincinnat! crowds: in downtown Fountain Square, hysterically. shouting for joy. {The NBC network: was also. pre-empted. in Cincinnati, Dayton and. Indiana-. polis .for. the “public service” event. ) ‘Walter. ‘Bartlett, . -cinnati crowds had been developing ever. since the baseball. championship began taking on probability. The fact that. the moment arrived at the climax of a good, new show was “regretted” by the WLW -C mianagement. The station justified the interruption on the'ground that it is good public service to re-port.events at the nearest moment ‘of their happening. Bartlett said he eo) -address, he had been | on the ’phone White Enits WNTA For Filmex Berth ‘ing,’ local, : national’ and network programs. to agencies. and: ‘clients... was trying to get a tape of “Who denouement of the Powell program. One lady ‘telephoned: Joe: adio-TV . editor ‘of :the Columbus ‘Dispatch, asking how she could get. -in-touch .with the Federal Communications Commission, to complain. Mills said he couldn't think of the £0 much. Henry Ss. . White has resigned as V.p,‘and ° ‘general manager «of. “WNTA-TY, ‘Newark-N.Y., to be-come. ‘program vp. of Filmex. He reports to Robert Bergmann,’ prez of Filmex, ty film production company, which is expanding in ‘the areas. of live. ang vidtape ‘pro-: gramming. _ In his new: post,: White will be responsible for -éreating and sell ‘ilmex entered the field of. : tv. production less than two years ago | and has been producing commer clals. Most ‘recently Filmex . has. been. assigned. to produce por. tions of: the: “David: ‘Brinkley. Journal” for NBC-TV. In’ addition there are several’: other. program "projects in the planriing: stage.: -White, prior to ‘his: ‘association with: WNTA-TV, had been national ‘sales manager: of ScreenGems. Newark-N.Y. autlet has been sold ‘to an educational group, the con summiation of -the sale. ‘awaiting approval of the Federal. Commun im "cations ' Commission. an . RITTENBERG GETS NOD AS NBC FILMS PREXY Marris ‘Rittenberg was . named -_president of NBC Films this ‘week. Rittenberg, whowill continue re porting: to NBC Enterprises boss Al |. Stern, has beer in charge’ of: the telefilm unif since it took over for.|° the refired California National Productions. He came:to NBC in:’53 from the U, S. Dept. of Labor, and. in 57, after a financial .job at the’ web, ‘became: Inanager’ of. special program Bales. eG, ‘in the. missing’ model’s address book, the cameras} Crosley | ytee | -president and: general manager, |’ ‘said the idea’ of showing the -Cin-. ‘the. thon Gay Ros Metro TV Canada Spread | Three of Metro TV's four. cur- rent: telefilm ‘series. will be seen in Canada. this’ season on CBC.. Canadian network has licensed “Father of ‘the Bride,” “Dr. Kii dare,” and renewed “National Vel ern ” ssing on the cao -toster is “Cain's 100.” Chi WBKB’ 5 Cuffo Wkly. Air Time To | Plug Educ TV er Chicago, Oct.” 3. In a highly . ‘pnusual. arrange ment, the Chi. educational station, | WITW, will get. a half-hour of commercial airtime frée each week on WBKB.to promote its cul tural’ and: instructional fare. The ABC-TY © anchor. magnanimously, and without solicitation, has offered the non-commercial station the. 12:30 p.m. period ‘Sundays as.a showcase for the: range of its pro gramming. Series will start this Ss . Sunday (8). under: the: fitle, “The Kiiled Julie Greer?” from NBC for Best of Channel 11.”. Possible re-exhibition, Meanwhile,. irate viewers deluged. the ‘station, and even Reds fans ‘were furious at missing out on the’ Sterling (Red). Quinian, the. ‘ABC veep in charge of WBKB, said he has given ‘the educational carte. blanche to plug other shows in -its. lineup, such ‘as its college credit courses, and even to promote do * nations during: its: annual fund “WITW does some | raising drive... really worthwhile stuff,” Quinian said; by way of explaining ‘his. ges| people ‘in. this fF ore aware of the station’s existence. It’s not’ as’ though we're ‘competitive, cere. tainly: not on the sales level anyway.” ture, : ‘“and we feel. city ‘ought to be.ma What's in it for WBKB?. “Some additional ‘meaningful programs that we'll be: proud to. have. on our station,” Quinian said, “and happy |: to: pay . the taping” costs for.” But: also—and he stressed this as WTTW’s idea, ‘and not. something he had. asked for in return—plugs on: the educational: ‘station: for WBKB’s (and ABC-TV’s) do-gooder ‘shows, such ‘as “Close-Up,”. “Expe-. dition” and. the Toeally, produced. corumentaries. a In addition to: ‘the: ‘straight plug. value, a side: benefit—not mentioned by..Quinlan—will . obviously be a: general {mproyement of. the ABC-TV image with the local: egg head set, which tends to think of it as. the ‘network: that. trades on action-adventure shows. With ‘the educational station . recommending ABC's publie affairs’ programs, the |" impression : -is ‘pound. to -become ‘more favorable: ‘WITW has always ‘enjoyed a closer relationship with: WBKB In this market than with any of the other commercial stations. year it carried the network’s “Mu sic For a Summer Night” series} when the web's o&o was unable to atcommodate it. Rosenberg to London On. berg-Coryell Agency, manager . of ‘| Bing” Crosby, planed to: London last: week for script’ readings with Crosby. on two upcoming vidpic pilots to .be’ produced by Bing Crosby Productions, and also to mull ‘possibility of doing half. of Crosby’s. Dec. 11 hour special for : ABC-TV. from London. fitm.. The filming “in London ‘of Crosby-Bob -Hope. greater. Last. Crosby Vidpix Huddles| “-George-Rosenberg, of . Flosen Roseriberg also took for apprais: -al six ‘feature pic. scripts. for’ pos-sible -production. by the Crosby starrer, . “Road To Hong: Kong,” is expected ot to, wind up.by the end. of. Qetaber. gn ALSO B By MURRAY HOROWITZ . ' Productive fields in the syndie biz remain features-to-tv and the: ‘foreign market, with the yields.and Happy is the] ‘prospects good. syndie house which -has'a good cinematic’ backlog and a thriving: foreign biz to buoy the depresséd first-run domestic situation, and the tough rerun sell. -There’s thrust in. the NBC-TV .. ‘Saturday night showcase which can only swing to the benefit of the pix-to-tv. phase of the biz. First, a web finally made the plunge; second “How to Marry A Millionaire” hit rating pay dirt. No mat-. ter what happens later in the season, when some of the “bottom of the barrel” pix are telecast, the |: question then becomes related to the quality of the product rather. than the concept. And even if it’s -|argued the pix made it against summer . rerun product, ‘wrong with the content ting on a pix showcase summer-—a first-run tv cinematic summer theatre with reruns as competition. On the local level,. the post-48’s are .commanding bigger prices. That’s lumbia, sold by Screen Gems; Metro, distributed. by. Metro TV; Warner Bros., Seven ‘Arts Associ ated, and others, Screen Gems for the first time |has put a forecast.on how much it expects to gross from the 210 post"48 Columbia bundle... That fore ‘cast, made’ after deals in some 38 , | RKO has syndication rights to the Time will prove’ $143,000 -per pic. out ‘whether: the forecast -is inflated,. but the Columbia subsid ‘is aiming high, and in. terms of the market place, subsid has some. good reasons. © Many: of the “good pre-'48 pix post-48's Seven Arts, Metro, United Artists Associated, et al, haven't made any bones about the fact that their post-’48’s also are going at higher prices. The foreign market, " beset. by problems, remains a growing field. ‘Interesting facet of foreign opera tions, as it enters the new fall season, is that competition among American program suppliers has |. never been as keen. There area number of reasons for this, not the least being the depressed domestic | telefilm: syndication ‘biz. In order to, compensate for lower sales domestically,. especially ‘in the first-run area, vidfilmeries are covering the globe as never before. Prominent among the competitors are CBS Films and NBC Films, both of which have. bowed ‘out of the domestic first-run syndication race. Some companies, led by. Sereen Gems, in. order to increase their portfolio of product. take on :out side product either for world-wide distribution, or. limited distribution in certain areas. Independent Tele vision Corp., for example, recently acted as. distribution agent. for Medallion. feature Pix. -in’ theFar East. Most companies’ now are engaged | in prideful nurturing of their over séas sales—and whether it’s prod | uct or sales’ Personnel, the push ‘is there, TV. Lessons for Golfers A television show is being ready: for ‘presentation — this year by ,the Arthur. M. Marks Productions, which will ‘provide ‘ lessons. for ; ‘golfers. Herman Barron, -pro at. the Fenway Club, “Mamaroneck, will be the instructor. . Bluéprint ‘calls for name golfers | to be guests as well as panel diseussions guided by Chris Schenkel. Show will be produced by Marks in association with J. F. Films Inc. Golfing techniques will be’ dis ‘Sected: by the pros in both normal gnd slow, motion... ee G FACTOR what’s | High of gt | true. of. the product.-of Co Los. averaged out at about $100,000 per feature. The SG figure for the. ‘is roughly nearly 50%. | ed by the late S ‘mond; IFOREIGNMARKET [News & Pabaairs Shows Spark (BS Films O'seas Sales Rise It’s a Gasser Bill Cullen, who reportedly: made. an annual income of. $112,000 from the local radio stanza, retired Friday (Sept. '29) after six years as the emcee of WNBC Radio’s 6-10 a.m. musie-and strip. N. Y. .station’s staff then gave. him a fourhour bash at Leone’s, and they left him a going-away present a the lot behind the restau a 1932. Chevrolet. 26 Canada Dramas To Get Spread On RKO Gen. Units . Toronto, Oct. 3. Biggest sale in the history of fhe Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to American tv interests sees 26 CBC-produced 60-minute dramas {. —shown over the past two years via the CBC cross-country network —sold by the CBC to RKO General. Inc., in the United States, these to be rebroadcast in five RKO stations in New. York, Boston, Angeles, Washington and Memphis. A large number of To ronto actors, plus writers, will re ceive 15% residuals. “Under terms of. sale by CBC, plays for five years. CBC did not reveal: the amount, involved, with spokesmen admitting this “was advantageous to the corporation.” Though CBC has had some success ‘in selling to the United Kingdom and Australia, four Toronto-originated productions were shown last summer by a Columbia Broadcasting System. network on an international exchange basis, two of these—“Pineapple Poll” by the National Ballet of Canada and a Toronto Symphony concert conductr Thomas Beecham —scoring. Felix Cat Productions ~ Claims Insolvency In Asking 20% Settlement Proposal for a settlement with ‘creditors was filed under Chapter 11 in Federal District Court, N.Y., by. Felix the Cat Productions. In‘volved -in the proceedings were ‘subsids Felix the Cat : Creations and, 411. Sound: Recording Studios. Proposal was subject to the approval of preferred creditor, Laird, Bissell Meéds, who has notes of $57,500. . Felix’ ‘the Cat Productions, stating that it was insolvent, proposed an arrangement with unsecured creditors, whereby it would pay them 20% of royalties from copyrights and 20% of its residuals which Felix the Cat Productions is entitled to under: its contract -with Trans Lux Television. The payments, to-start about six months |. | hence; would continue _until said -assets. are exhausted, or the debts are paid in full. In wake of the filing, Trans Lux | Television issued a statement an } nouncing that all 206 episodes of | Felix the Cat cartoon series have 1 been delivered and that the series is completed. “Felix the Cat” cor ‘| toon is currently being telecast on ;: over 75 stations. _ Tarzan’ in 124 Markets Banner Films says that the “Tar| zan” features are now sold in 124: tv markets, 11 of them picked up ! | within the last few weeks. Recent deals for the “Tarzans” were made. with WOW, Omaha: KLZ, Denver; WSAV, Savannah; WIM, Milwaukee; WTVD, Durham; WHIO, Dayton; WRVA, Rich-. WKY-TV, Springfield; KDAL, Duluth; WAVE, Louisville, and KBMT, Beaumont. ..., : McGinn. *. + CBS Films. forecasts a 25° 430% increase in its foreign Spore. |‘tions for 1961, with the heavy ac (cent ‘of grosses coming from the jImajor markets of Canada. Australia, England, Brazil, Japan nd Continental Europe. Alding the CBS Films foreign | operation in prestige, as well as ‘| dollars, is the large number of news, pubrffairs shows that it has in its cataiog because of its network tle. Recent sales in Japan include a renewal of “Champion,” the hourlong “Gunslinger,” reruns of “I Love Lucy,” hour version of “Line up,” 13 reruns of “Rawhide,” and a renewal of “Twilight Zone.” In the Phillppines, CBS Films sold product to outlets owned by Manila Times Publishing Co., Republic Broadcasting, Inter-Island Broadcasting, Republic Electronics and Manila Broadcasting System. Manila Times Publishing bought “Brenner,” “Gray Ghost,” “Hotel De Paree,” “Lucy,” “Mr. Adams and Eve,” “Richard Diamond,” “Robert Herridge Theatre,” “San Francisco Beat,” “Mighty Mouse,” “Heckle & Jeckle,” and “Tom Ter» rific.” Inwr-Island bought ‘Adventures of Champion,” “Annie Oakley,” “Assignment Foreign Legion,” “Brothers Brannagan,” “Buffalo Bill Jr.” “Gene Autry,” “Navy Log,” “Pete & Gladys,” “Range Rider,” “Rawhide,” “Trackdown,” “U.S. Border Patrol, " “Whirlybirds,” “Investigators,” “Defenders,” “Icha * “Alvin. and the Chipmunks,” and “20th Century.” Three series, “Gunsmoke, “Gunslinger,* and “Air Power,” were: pieked up by Republic Broadcast‘ing. Two series went to Republic Electronics and three to Manila Broadcasting System:* Global Spread For Father of Bride’ “Father of the Bride.” which bowed on CBS-TY last Friday (2, has now been licensed for tele~ casting in eight foreign countries, Comedy series has been bought in Canada by CBC for its eight owned-and-operated markets. In Australia, it’s been picked up for six cities by Australia TV Corp. and Herald-Sun TV. Zuriguel Associados has licensed the show for both Spain-: and Venezuela and contracts for ° Argentina, Peru and Uruguay were signed by Tele Organizacion Americana. In most areas, telecasts of the MGM-TV show will start Jan. 1. although Canada has already begun to carry the series. Richard A. Harper, head of worldwide syndicated sales for MGMTV, said a half-dozen more foreign deals were due to be finalized within the next couple of weeks. DOWN YOU GO’ CETS -WEN-TV REVIVAL Chicago, Oct. 3. Indie station WGN-TV is reviving “Down You Go.” the old panel-game show it had originated for the quondam Dumont network back in 1951, which shifted to CBS-TFV about a year later. Bergen Evans, the original moderator, will appear in the same capacity in the recreated series along with the original panel of Carmelita Pope, Toni Gilman, Fran Coughlin and Prof. Robert Breen. Show will be localed, in color, at 2:30 p.m. Sundays starting this weekend (8) and may possibly be offered for syndication later if it gives off positive vibrations a decade after it was conceived. It’s a video variation on the old “Hang the Butcher” game, with intellectual puns devised by Evans as c'ues. Show is packaged by Jim 4esbb os . to 6 @