Variety (June 1932)

52 VARIETY RADIO REPORT S Tueaday, June 28; 19^2 8CHMELING-SHARKEY FIGHT Reported by Graham McNamee and Charles Francis Coe COMMERCIAL WEAF, New York Lucky Strike paid NBC for th privilege of sending out this 15 ' round go for the alleg<»d world' championship: That It was dull flght and a disputed decision Is-obr vlously no reason for Luckles to rue their bargain. Indeed; the pau- city of action . gave listeners a ch^ince to speculate about the ad- vertiser much more than would have been the case had Max and. Jack provoked each other sufll- clently to provide any Excitement, Between the reportorial jobs of Graham McKamee and Cha,rles Francis Coe there waS: little, .to choose. Some people- liked McNa- mee best because they couldn't stand Cde. Others liked Coe be- cause McNamee gave them Indiges- tion. ^ Coe is a short story, writer and whathaveyou. He was trying to make a short story out of Schine- llng-Sharkey. He constantly tried to build up motivation and sus- pense. His plot was that Max arid Jack were fine, upstanding, manly athletes who had laid out a cam- paign, on piaper, round by round, an<f were scientifically carrying out their plans. Flatvr In this treatment was that nothing happened and. In- stead of a. climax,, there was an antl-cl|max. ■ , 'Each is as cool as a cucumber, Coe kept repeating, 'they exchange long rd-plet-like lefts/ . That was the refrain throughout. Cucunibers and, raplera. Still a canvass of thbse who listened In around Tlriles Square gave coe the edge over McNamee whose dry, fumbling, and mollasses- tongued description gave a mental, picture of two living statues In a tog of Iiucky Strike smoke. Coe followed the boys around the ring and gave sort of an Idea of what was hat)pening. If monotonous at times so . was the flght by air. On -.the other haiid, McNamee didn't say much about the splendid athletes or the cosmic significance of the marathon. . That seemed to many such a relief from Coe's liter- ary flourishes that McNamee, when taking hia turn, was welcomed. It .was a toss-up between those who prefer unadorned factual reporting and those who don't mind a little embroidery. ' , Walte/ G'Keefe. signatured for ' Luckles fore and a,ft with the usual Tuesday night dramalet sidetracked for the battle of Coe'p. cucumbers. Land. FARMER RUSK With Hiram Hiflsby Songs, Talk . COMMERCIAL WJJD, Chicago It's the same old Loyal Order of Moose mouthpiece but the savor about Its . programs has'suddenly gone strongly tall grass. 'Switch In polici^'TWta^ the transmitter that Senator James J. Davis built Into direct competition with WliS. And just when the voice of the /Prairie Farmer' was beginning to feel that It had the rural fleld all to Itself: Latter outlet naturally came to this conclusion recently when the NBC studios absorbed WMAQ, the Dally News crier, and killed off all vestige of purposed downcountry appeal. Likely the decision to dig In on the farm listener Interest came after yVJJV had established a branch studio close by its transmitter In Mooseheart, Illinois, though retain^ Ing its other broadcasting source In the Palmer House here. That puts the 10,000-watter in a strad- dling situation, big city time from this end and as rural as they come from the wide-open-spaces origin. Among the flrst accounts the sta tlon drew with the shift In policy was the Rusk Poultry Farms down In LaGrange, Illinois. It's a direct selling device, chicks, 'just hatched out of the incubator, on a weekly 15-minute schedule "Tuesday even- ing. That Farmer Rusk label sounds very familiar. Used to be a mlkc fondler by thlis moniker on WISNR before NBC took It over, who re tailed hog and cattle prices daily and gave larmiers advice on farm Ihg and later continued this ser ylce over WMA.Q until this station also got the merger treatnient. Voices, anyway, are very much alike. -When Farmer RUsk 'Isn't peddling' his. chicks at so much dozen Hiram Hlgsby Is there lift- ing his Adam's apple in hillbilly laments or Farmer Rusk hlniself contributes a poetic Interlude that vouchsafes something to the effect that 'It's the Hello of the Other Fellow that Puts the Melo Sun- shine in Your Soul." Invariably Farrhier Rusk dedicates the program to some social event down country. Last one. caught (21) boomed things up in honor of an icecream sociable that the Epwortn League of LaGi-ange Avere- holding out on the church lawn. • Commercial copy on this one runs long and dry, giving all details as to chick bred and price, how they're boxed and shipped, how soon they must be, ordered for July and August deliveries, etc. To the gen- eral listener without ambitions for a chicken farm, a matter that should evoke nothing but a quick twist of the dial, but for the foath- , ered creatuf'e fancier It must be so much dolce far niente. Oflcc. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT Government Talks WQy, Schenectady Governor .. Roosevelt, a regular user ,.of the radio to present his views to the public, and likely to be heard frequently in next few months, is now giving a series of 15-niinute evening talks, once weekly, ofi state flnances. Radio Is a major weapon In hfs budget-re- ,ducing campaign. Picturing flrian- cial setup in each state department, with emphasis on major expense items that can be curtailed or abol- ished, if taxpayers desire it. Gover- nor Indicates an opinion in some ciases, lii cAhers leaves' decision to voters, who ^hall Instruct their legislators. A veteran in radio speaking, Gov- .erhor Roosevelt has excellent mike technique. , Broadcasting experts rate him one of the nation's best political air tftlkers. Voice clear and weir modulated; dlctloii perfect. Sounds ilkfe a cultured neighborly gentlemen, arid does hot appear to Strive for punch effects. While Governor's financial anal- yses are. understandable to average listener, they are not marked by the homely .phrases, colloquial language and darts of huinor which enabled his predecessor, Al Smith, to hold attention of mari-ln-street on this admittedly dry subject. The de- pression h&a made matter of gov- ernmental expenses more important to taxpayers; present series of talks reach the audience they should at- tract. BEGGAR'S BOWL Story, Music I Sustaining '.' WOR, New York ; A veteran on this station and of enough genuine value to warrant sponsor. It Is a combination of oriental episodes related by Basil Rjysdael and oriental music which intersperses Ruysdael's continuity. ftuysdaelMs an interesting speaker. Sach broadcast, lasting 30 minutes, has to do with a Far East- ern adventure which at the end of the period Is announced as an ac- tually true story, supplied by the British Central Intelligence depart- ment. The program Is divided about 50- 6'0, between Ruysdael's story and the music. The music Is tised to jjreak up the story Into chapters. It Is a capital style Inasmudh as it breaks up the monotony of con- stantly listening to the speaker and the Interlude heighten the interest! The orchestra Is Interesting In it- self. The melodies are of the exotic Far Bast flavor, • appropriately played by George Shackley's orches- tra. . '•■ Ar, enjoyable balance between the story and the music Is maintained to the end. It's an out-6f.^ths-or- dlnary type of program given expert presentation. ENRIC MADRIGUERA ORCH Sustaining WOR, Nevw York Until recently Enrlc Madrlguera's Orchestra was on the CBS network from the Biltmoro Hotel, before Paul Whiteman came in. Last week the band made its debut on WOR from the Commodore hotel, where they are now; ensconced. \ Madrlguera's crew has a rep for being able to supply ace Latin in- strumentation. His tango and rhumba rhythmics are worth any^ body's attention and are the feature of the band. When Madriguera flrst started on the air he featured these melodies and kept the pop tunes in the background. Currently the pops consume the bulk of the band's playing time and the South Ameri- can Instrumentation is In the back- ground. The orchestra ■ was more appeal- ing under its former orchestral set- up and should return to featuring primarily tangoes ahd rhythms. It's a good novelty these days when all that is heard on the air. from bands are the same pop tunes. After, all, Madriguera is a foremost arranger of Latin tunes. His own composl- tlpn and theme, 'Adios,' Is already popular amOng rhumba lovers and musical purveyors. A sweet voiced tenor is featured for a few vocals. HOME FOLKS With Golden Nuher and Carl Way Serial Skit Sustaining KYW, Chicago These transcripts of the home life of the Struggle Fiimlly are the closest approach^ to. the real thing spun from a local transmitter In some time. They reach down Into the subsoil of lower middle class Uv Ihg and, frOni a sediment rich In the varied facets of human nature, mold ; a set of characters and epl sodes that are as homey as the kitchen sink and the backstairs mop. So far they're limited to a Sunday afternoon schedule^ Script was In- troduced several weeks ago, from the type.wrlter of Golden Nuber. not so long ago radio editor for College Humor. Miss Nuber plays the part of Mrs. Struggle, while Cjirl Way, a vet trouper and director from dra- miatlc stock, fllls the Mr., Struggle role as well as being responsible for the skit's staging. It's a crack job they are turning out In every de- pdrimOnt. Cast tvlth them are a couple of mixed youngsters, as the Struggle heirs, who give their lines all the keenly fashioned high and sidelights of childhood written Into them. . Boy,. particularly, shows a wealth of . promise. First two or three scripts clearly Indicated that Miss Nuber was do- ing a lot of groping around, being neither sure of her material nor just how far she could go in whipping them up for radlp consumption. In these early efforts she frequently, let herself" dip Into the old hokum for effects that not only appeared out of place but put a cheap edge on ah otherwise forthright and impressive script. There was much straining after comedy situations and laying oil of the pathos.' . Struggle family conception as un- folded Ih the recent episodes follows no other ether pattern, at least noth- ing brought through this irector by the chains. It has Its merry mo- ments; It reveals the bitter, ran- kling shafts of husband and wife conflict over matters that mean lit- tle In the flnal iarialysls but much to the counter egos;> It gets under the skin with sharp barbs of self-reveal- ing ridicule^ but above all It Is all too human. Each quarter-hour pro- gram Is a marked Improvement over the previous ope from every angle; The^Herald and Examiner nnouth- plece has something here that Is de- serving of unstinted encouragement. And after a: little more development, no reason why the Nu.berrWay con- celt shouldn't be ready for a hot- work commercial. . Odcc.. JACK WHITING With Edgar Fairchild and Robert Lindhooni Songs, Piano Quists , Sustaining WGY; Schenectady . ^ Jack Whiting, and his. pianists, Edgar Fairchild and Robert Llnd- hoom, brought to WGY's mike. In a 'Radio Extra' from the RKO theatre. Albany, ia breath of musical coinedy ahd bl^-time vaudeville.; Program opened as Ian Interview between femme radio editor and Whiting, but after his picture-air background had been painted, broadcast swung Itito a variety act. Whiting themed 'Every Little While* and then 'Oh, What a Thrill.' Displayed an agree- able, though not an , outstanding, voice, and the convincing technique of a romantic vlv-a-vls. Speaking voice pleasant. In addition to their accoippanl- mehts, which gave Whiting's selec- tions atmosphere of class, duo played own arrangement of Grieg's •To the Spring* and rhapsody of 'Song in My Heart.* Facile flnger- Ing In both selections; some tricky stuff in the pop. Real entertainment op this pro- gram, which apparently had been rehearsed carefully. RAYMON D PAIGE-GUS ARN H El M Orchestras Networked from L. A. and Chicago WABC, New Ybrk Both half hours are Jointly no- ticed, ibecause at. midnight, New York time, every .Sunday night, WABC, the key station- of CBS, shifts to Chicago for Gus Arhheim's Movieland orchestra, and at 12:30^1 a. m-i the chain goes farther west to the Coast to pick up Raymond Paige's 'California Melodies.' Arnheim,' the Coast fay, comfes from the D^Hs, Chi, opening with his characteristic 'Say It With Music* Paige, orte of the few if not now the only Coast ba.nd to be regularly etheifized on a network, does his endless musical medleys at 8:30, Pacific time, IJiit it's not until 12:30 that it roathes the Atlantic sea- board. Paige has a nice style, with the announcement intcillRontly at a minimum, as at that hour the ad plugs mean little, and the uninter- rupted- melody, save for the regular 15-mlnute station announcements, iU'c ^uch to be preferred. Abel. BELLE FORBES CUTTER Songs Sustaining WBBM, Chicago This looks like a sumnier special for Columbia's local outlet, just an- other one of many hot weather flU- ihs with commercials dropping out until fall. Miss Cutter has a good soprano, developed ,.' along semi- classic lines, but straight singing of th.e 'old folks at hOme' .Variety is no. longer an attraction. ' Studio orchestra, under Frank Westphal, provides the musical ac- companiment, lending considerably better background for the singer than ju$t a piano. From Miss Cut- ter's vocal showing on this program she should , stand a chance if spotted Jn a bigger layout with other talent around here. Alone- she's just an- other warbler. SpiMn. GIBSON gIrLS (3) Vocal Harmony , 15 Mins.. Sustaining . WOR, Newark The 3 Gibson Girls (Misses Dale, Jewell and Klingcr) are a sustain- ing, late afternoon quarter hour on WOR with vocal harmonics of the Bos.well Sisters school. They're another who are benefit- ing by the general easing of the ether, thus- affording them a better opportunity to Impress and sell thtir stuff, ' ■ • ;. . The Gibsons listen well,, and are dostUied nlso for a commerdal brefik in the course Of time. Abel. 'TISH' - Marion BAiley, Helen Lowell and May Buckley Drama Serial Sustaining /- . KYW, Chicago Another Instance of radio snatch ing at a character already estab llshed with much of the literate pub lie through .print The 'Tlsh*. storjes have been for years the almost weekly cbhtrlbutioh of Mary Rob- erts Rlnehart to the 'Satevepost' And now the three spinsters are doing their best to; be quaintly charming at 16 minutes per - shot over an . NBC arrangement three times weekly. Biit it*s evident that the gusto and nimble scrlvenlng of Mary Rlne- hart which did so much to sell the Tlsh trio through type Is entirely lacking when -wafted through a loudspeaker. The old good humor of the piece Is nowhere apparent It now appears that what the Tlsh trio needs is mOre of the Rlnehart prose; on dialog . Itself the gttls are just three decaying ladles who are not at all interesting. Over the radio is about. Impossible to become interested in them or their exploitis.. Tlsh, who held up the tales in print. Is still the main character, but so thinly sketched as to lose her old-time vividness. In print the reader was able to meet the characters half-way In.thelr.out- of-the-Ordinary adventures. But through the ether the Tlsh tales are strictly fish stories. At presient they're On a missionary drive: * they IIve In a cave, battle with OUtlawis. and iare out- to cap- ture the train' robbei*s and get . the grand reward. R01es.a,re taken aBly enough by the three women. But there's one character in the serlial, one Felt-Hat Muldoon -Who Is eri- tlrely misplayed. Muldjooh Is sup- posed to.a regular flatfoot detective, but the "man playing, the part here comes over the air like a 19-year-old juvenile. Gold* MYSTERY FOUR Singing ■. Sustaining WJJD, Chicago. After listening to this for 15 min- utes no wonder the identity of the singers is a mystery, WJJD, one of the lesser transmitters here, went out for. something different^ and how It ;succeeded! . • Theme si^ng, something about 'Softly the Shadows Fall,* should,be the tlpoff, ' Even the lyrics, to the songs are lost,, not that It would mdke any difference. It. woUld be conscientiously difficult to And any- thing on the air qiilte as bad. With just a piano accompaiilmeht the quartet snoozes through one number after anothei^ and all alike. It's the kind Of stuff heard at tea musicals li). a parlor when you can't get out of the room, Appiears to be a waiste of time for all concerned. ; . Shan. . KELLER SISTERS and LYNCH Harmony . 15 Mins. Sustaining WOR, Newark Crack Keller Sisters and Brother Lynch (with the 'brother* an- nounced on the air) are In for a choice WOR buildup twice weekly, Mtondays and Thursdays, 7-7:16, Per usual, this expert harmony trip, are tipr-top on thelir ypcal ar«L riangementB. They come through In great style, not 'muddlng* up the ether with too flossy harmonics. . Mike cant take It as on the stage. Thelf style Is'a bit more-simple tha.n heretofore, ahd as. a result much more effective. Their summer build-up should work out well for a: commercial.' . . ■ - :■ ■ Abel. BROOK ADAMS Songs, Gossip Sustaining WOR, New Vork Adams probably fears that his voice Isn't strong enough to hold listeners to tlie WOR dial'for his period and therefore Includes a bit of gossip a la Broadway and raidio columnists, on the a:ir. It's a pretty rare combination these days, when the gosslpers i3tlck -to their gossip- ing and the singers to the . songs and until Adams came along, never the twain have met. As a purveyor of interesting hap- penings, around town,. Broadway^ sports, etc., some of which is of the: scandal variety, Adams la no. great shake. Unlllie the Others, who, spill whiat they themselves gather and what they beUeve to be news beats, Adams tells fans of incidents al- ready reported for the most part in the dally paper,, but along a com- mentary angle. AdQ'ms.is primarily a.vocalist and should stipk tp. his warbling. . Has a. virile tenor and . an oke style of lyrical arrangement A piano ., duo assists as accom'^ paniment and for an interlude. IRENE TAYLOR , With Charles Agnew Orch. Songs; Sustaining WJZ, New York M Iss Taylor's style' '6t . warbling ho a aroused favorable comment in Chicago, whence this weekly broad- cast emanates, with thei natives there predicting a golden radio fu- ture for the girl. She has a sweet vocal style of etherizing that Is personable and catchy. Her voice. Is youthful arid, light Girl has crisp diction, giving full value to every syllable. This may be her natural mariner of speaking, although-her anxiety does «lve. an affected effect. She Is assisted iri spots by the hatmony of . a male quartet, who blend nicely! . The Charles Agnew: orchestra, accompanylnig and fea- tured . for one orchestral number, comes over .pleasantly; Inside Stuff-^Radio Germany .has a special offlcejn Berlin for the regulation of broadcast- ing arid speclal 'wiave' traffic. It's the duty of the officials to watch th* wave length of the broadcasting stations as flxed In International con- ferences^ The office Is stationed at the German Central Post Office In. Berlln- TempIeh6f..;Day and night officials sit up In two small towers <>n the roof of the building. There.,are three .'etiier departments': the short and ultra short wave department of from 0-200 meters, for broadcasting waves of from 200-8,000 meters,'arid, the ordinary waVe department for over 800 meters. The'ofllce is equipped with a card Index, containing the names of all broadcasting stations which are checked from hore. They bear indica- tions as to their conflicts with other stations, or th«Ir good behavior. The checking Is done by . mearis of small quartz stickia accurately gauged and set. The French - broadcasting station Toulouse was out of its proper line for a long time, until Germany made an official gift of a quartz stick .to properly set the rlgfht Wave, For a long time France, Insisted energetically that the .broadcasting from the Eiffel tower was on the proper wave, but finally had to adriilt the contrary. The work started as far back .as 1919^^ and for many years this was the only office of this kind the world over. ■ A few years ago the United States, England and Holland instituted similai^ offices. As so.pn as word got around that Jerry Wald was no longer with tite- N, Y, 'Graphic* the sheet received a. fiock oiE applications for. the radio columning berth. An^ibrig those who applied were Bide Dudley, now a p.a., but who did the 'Alrcaster' column for the N. Y, journal while Milte Porter was away,, and Jack Skinner, also an ethfer p.a. . Sponsor of the Amos *n* Andy session; has set out to save a little . mOney during the summer on the-musical .accompaniment . Orean, in place of a six piece, orchestra, now being used to lead on and take off the act, Cpst Of tiriie and the team's salaries combined figures around $225i000 a month now and will remain at that ievel during the summer; Replacing the string combo wlthran prfean means a clip from the bill of less than J50.0 a week., ganie economy goes for the .'Goldbergs.' Nat Bruslloff's firing of four CBS .house musicians recently and placing indie musicians on the payroll instead is so that hereafter he; will be. enabled tp take his orchestra on the road with him wlien Kate Smith plays vaude. Brusiloff conducts the orchestra for the Kate iSmith La Pallna periods. Heretofore, when Miss Smith went out of town for vaude dates, BrusHoff was forced to pick up a different orchestra In every city she played for the La Pallna broadcasts. The Inclusion of the four house, musicians prevented him from taking the entire band on the road, as the,four houfie men (refused, to trfivel inasmuch as it would cut their income due to commercials beside Brusilort's on which they were playing.