Variety (Aug 1932)

44 VARIETY RADIO REPORTS Tuesdaj, August 9* 1932 jCHIC SALE and Max 8t«iner's Or^ chestra Wlollywood on Air' 30 Mine. SOMMERCIAL fJ2, New York la the RKO 'Hollywood. on the Air' series, ■ the premiere of 'Back Street' (Universal) at the, Carthay Circle, Los Angeles, was the bis ballyhoo' «>£ the half hour which emanated from '±j. A. at 8.15 p. m. but which didn't hit the east until 12.16 because of the time difference. It's in evidence, to begiii with, that RkO's air plufirelnsr (at M. H. Aylesworth's direction) is. not to be confined to the RKO studio but to friendly confreres such as. U, w'hose product is 10b % sold to RKO. • In between the pluselhg for (iie picture with the somewhat gushy Jiooey aboiit all.- clnemailand turning oiut for this gala opening, Chic Sale did his stuff entertalngiy, also plug.- ging Homer Croy's noyelty book of ^plthieiphs; 'Last Word/ with, a teaser offer for a circulation pheck- up> ■ "—Arstlll sprightUer feature was the breezy Hollywood Tatler who chattered. about flim persbnalities,. the:. Olympics; mentioned the Dave ^Iznlcks' blessed event, slipped in a . plug for Par^s M^rx Bros, picture, 'Horsefeathers,' etc. This Is a good feature and. Could go on alone. The idea is a\ bit better than was the itaaterial and iiellvery, but they jireren't tdo bad. . ■ Something. haippened to Max Steiner^s heretofpre e^^cellent jot- iChestni. He played very loosely and came through with . Wide-open oi:- cbesttatlons, laoklng punch or nov- fiity:^ ■'.v.-i- • : RKO still needs a better period If the east Is to afford It a concen- trated, llstehlng public. . That 8:16; start on the Coast inlsses top,.many . people by the .time it hits the east! ^ter . midnight. ,., Ab '6l. ■'. 'JOHN ER8KINE iTalks ........... COMMERCIAL iWGY^ Schenectady < Gritlos, tapping radio's armor for iOaws,- have, found one of Its princi- pal weaknesses on - the informative side.In that few air speakers serve listeners mental fodder which Is not staler or do. It without bethg- dull. John Ersklne seems to be aii excep- tion; he Is an Intell^ctyal .who has something to say, and saya It In pprjghtly faishlon. ■ ■. ' ( The' Columbia , University pro feasor,, novelist and critic gives a flVe-mlnute talk o^ce. a week on Cteneral Blectrlc's .'Circle' noon brpa4cEU9t. Speaks on such subjects as ipvei' culture, style, etc., iavoldlng personalities. His manlier Is. con- versational, almost casual; bis style la eplgramatlc; Beneath the light, frothy surface'6£. his remarks there Are ..many; kernels of sound truth, bits of wide .observation. .< It Is lirohable that some listeners consider the urbane Professor Er skipe affected, his speech obviously being that of a highly ■ educated, cultured' gentleman. Too, he may be ' 'over their heads,' though he tries to kvoid this pitfall. The more 'discriminating, however, wlU wel come Prof. Ersklne's mike appear ance, eyen though. they be under commercial auspilces. They , will agree a spot should be reserved-on the air for. speakers of his caliber. . Copies of his talks are offered ,to dialers. . Jaco, PRINCE OF WALES with President LeBrun Thiepval,. FCanee , WGN, Chicaflo '■ Another international pick-up. Better engineering, but dtill a flop because so far below the standards of presentation the American pub- lic is accustoiiied to. What Is chiefly missed is the reliable an- nouncer-comnientatpr to thread the events together by description of who and what. .In the Columbia studios on this side an American announcer afflrms that Thiepval, France, is'on the other end . of the kilocycle and that the Prince . of Wales and, President Albert Lel^ruh of France' will speak: But In Europe, beyond - placing a- microphone in front of. the dais, ncihing is done tb make .the oc- casion either Intelligible of interest- ing to people on distant c6ntlnehts. The scene Is neyeip set and the color Of th4 gathering is not even sug- gested. Between speeches, prayers, music, are long gaps of silence, something unknown in American broadcasting. '. The program came through quite well. No static, and while possess- ing that far-away falntness, there was still dufflcient tonal volume to hear distinctly. So this . interna- tional pick-up started with a lot mo^t of the similar programs from Umo. to time have not enjoyed. Just why the American networks are so deyoted to programs of such .unreliability caii be explained sole- ly on political , or publicity grounds. After all, it means something to W(3N, for example, to advertise the Prince of Wales. ■ Land, < WALTER MILLS Baritone Suetainina . WMAQ, Chicago ■-Waller Mills was a last-minute substitution for another a.nd better known singer on Tuesday's (2) na- tion-wide hook-'up on behalf of the Civic Concert Burieaii,. NBC afflll- ate. Hills over the air is a sleep- Ihducer, a callbrater-shlfter; His voice is flat, dreary,. lumbersome. Which made all the . glowing things L. J.. Oiler of South Bend, Ind., had to say about the Civic Concerts Bureau sound a bit hyper- bolic. Oiler Is in business nmn and head of the music committee that brings Civic Concert, attractions to the Notre Dame county seat. H6 waa, speaking by Inyitatlon to give other communities some dope on the practical advantages and prob- lems of underwriting the NBC sing- ers'in person.' In referring to the history of the movement, Oiler alluded to Deha Harshbarger's 'Idealism' In 'wishing t^ bring concert stars to the sticks. KHss Harchbarger Is a midwestern Impresario who runs the Civic Con- cert Bureau as NBC's partner. Use of such expressions as 'Idealism'. In connection with proflt-maklng pro motions Is typical of the sort of hokum that the concert world gives out.' Typical but dangerous, for some people dislike mixing 'idealism' and mazuma and react violently to this sort of sales presentation. Land. THE MELODIER8 JFred Kuhly, Claude Reese, Taylor Buckley, Charles Roberts, Leith Stevens Suetainina WABC, New York Quintet- formerly moved In radio circles under the moniker cf ,the Pour Clubmen. What they've now- set out to do with the connivance of CBS on a sustaining plan Is to Introduce a liew style of comedy for ether quartet. And the way they started out oh their initial airing under the revised tag Indicated they were going at It ■with more vigor than understanding of what might likely pass for comedy over the ether. Idea Is oke, but the application Is grating upon the eardr-ims. For Instance, in framing the motif or cue-In for 'That's What I Like AbOut Yqu,' the foursome went- In for a lot of molsy chatter and back- slapping .with each .In turn using, the song' title for a gag line of their unseen katzenjammers. Stuffi might have-been impressive from the side lines but as It came out of the. loudspeaker It was just so much soui>d and fury^ Same applied to - their comedy build-up of a subse- quent number, 'Take Me Back to Colorado,' in which the boys re sorted to the old tenderfoot gag and added to the pandemonium with pistol flrlhg sound effects. Also heavily overdone was thelf Intro- duction to a Dixie spiritual.. But when the boys finally get into their harmonizing it's the real stuff, rich blending of harmony ■with an interpretation distinctly their own. Everyone of the arrangements served on the debuting program was a thing of distinction, revealing a hand thoroughly conversant with the finer pogsibilltics oiE male har- mony. Pure harmony is this quartet's metier, and unless they can improve their comedy material thoy would ■be better oft laying/, off the compdy HENRY BURBIG-JEFF SPARKS .Variety. . ; : 15 Mine. WOR, Newark Burbig Is a. pioneer radio come- dian who; with a Milt Gross deliv- ery, somehow never clicked commer- cially. He . was a bit ahead of the 'Goldbergs' bandwagon, or some- thing. Anyway, then, as now, it wasn't considered sufllOIently 'high class' for de luxe radio commercial sponsorship. Burbig recognized this evidently, judging by his change of style, ex- cepting When, as Iii'this partnership with Jeff Sparks, he essays a dialect number, such as 'Jake the Plumber.' This continuity Is motivated by a 'let's peep over the transom' plot, with an eerie, melodramatic delivery a la the mystery mellefettes, as they peek in and hear a hebe corhedlan, a blues strongstress (Jean Carroll, in this case), et aL It's a rilce variety Idea that could go commercial In toto. If not, at least it's keeping the boys on the air and in the microphonic limelight. Abel. JAY C. FLIPPEN'S Flippancies With Freddie Richf Helen Nugent, Cl^arlee Carlisle Sustaining WABC, NEW YORK A commercial looking for or In- terested in khowlhf . how one of these things should be staged for the ether doesn't have to go far. Here It is bundled up'and the whole thing running as smoothly as ever con- fected by a flash act producer. It's got pace and verve, wa^llpg. of a flfst-rate order, ah m. c. with the comic touch for the ether, though he's obviously still groping around, and dance music by a leader that knowR l«ow to produce it. Debuting . program didn't, allow FUppen much time for his drolleries, but, .what, he did passed certlfled muster, despite his dcca'slonal. pull- ing of one long ago laid to Itii rest among the Joe Miller tomes. But these spasnis being network radia- tions, it' Is^ quite .possible that In dlvefii hinterland points the chest- nuts may still be capable of bowling them out'pf . the flreside rocking chairs. -Fllppen befOte the mike makes hea.vy. use of that Ingratiat- ing southern dialect. Oiily trouble here is that Its thick overdressing may confuse on the color identity for those who have yet tO see or knOw of the Fllppert in-person. Wlth- tliho , And. experience the Flippen personality,.Judging from the Initial broadcast, has. good cha:nces of reg- istering over the air as it bas across the footlights. On t^e singing' .end hb fared tiptop frOni the start Here, as a matter of fact,' Is his ether forte without half trying. . Routining of this show had Helen Nugent. Charles 'Carlisle and a quattet perfectly placed and . ac- coutred with types of composltloAs that brpught the be^, out pf them,, LOuIs Dean; the announcer, .did a atralghf for FUppen, and palming off the JOb tO'Comiplete satisfaction; Only-thing left. ou;t ■was the name pf the' staff producer responsible for putting this one together. Odec. BILL AND'HENRY Singing, Comedy Patter COMMERCIAL WEAF, New York Team comprises Al Cameron and Pete Bohtsema, who canie east: from Chlcagp a couple of months ago to help Westlnghouse sell irons to housewives. They're on an early afternoon schedule, alternating be- tween WJZ and WEAF dally, and doing a nifty job .These lads plugged alpng for years 'On the Chicago outlets,, cairy- Ii^g put and developln^r their own style of comedy and harmony act. To the midwest the tag of. Al and Pete means something, or, at least It did when they pulled out for,New York, and it Is al^o quite probable that through a sucesslon of network cQRiihercIals the napie must ha-ve Altered Into the memories of lis- teners hereabouts'. -With this nu- cleus in their fayor, it Is to wonder why the commercial had prevailed upon the boys to change their ether monikers, for. local purposes. - Duo are adept , as ever In whip- ping over a trick comedy ditty .with telling effect. . Also In; weaving In bright bits of chatter between the warbling numbers. Drolleries with rare exceptions cue up hlcely to the lyric that follows, a knack that few of their, type Of ether-act can lay claim to. .' Session they're now on is Inclined to overstuff the Commercial credit and plugging. Unless soon curbed they'll flnd it reacting to their dis- advantage. Like a mess of other bankrolled shows currently heard locally, the program Is making use Of a limerick contest to obtain^ a mailing list as .-well as flnding out whether they're listening. In their anxiety to put the stunt over the boys have got Into the habit of dragging It Into-their chatter Inter- ludies too frequently. Otherwise It's a heat package of entertainment that will not only hold but build as It goes along. - . Odec. lattempt. Odea CLAY BRY80 O^tCHESTRA Dance' Music ' Blackhawk Cafe WGN, Chicaco Four and five-piece orchestras, generally seasonal in membership as they are In their major appear- ances, may sufflce during the hot weather on the actual premises. It iallows the cafe to adhere to its dancing policy. However, on . the radio it's bomethlng else. This bunch sounded pretty bad. Late at night the owls who tune in may or may not be fastidious. If .they are, it's generally too bad, even at the height of '.he season, for the plcklri&'t) after midnight are apt to be wheezy and ■^.•earison. •. Bryson's aggregation is the sort that leaves everything to the ' saxophone. It gives an effect of emptiness and rtilssing instrumentation and every sour note sounds like a^ hiccough at a tea party. There's no ignor- ing it. Few listeners will Mop WGN tuned iu. Land. RUBEN LIMITED With Norman Alexandroff Sustaining WMAQ, Chicago Although on the air for some time this episodic skit, also ' known ' as 'Pages from Life,' has failed to ripple the smooth, surface of loCal radio. Indeed, it's been a hideaway: This, is easy to .under(^tand when It is known that the program gets but one airing per week. And eVen morel understandable after listening to a typical installment. Besides being his own author and stager, Alexandroff, Identifled as a business man turned actor, plays all the characters. There were about six in this episode (4) and the task of following them was difflcult. A general hodge-podge of mixed dla lects, phoney pathos, and a general lack of direction and the goal spells zero. It classifies most readily as an Imitation of 'Rise of tlie Goldbergs.' There is an effort, forced and un convincing, to paint a sympathetic Jewish carpenter named Ruben. He is more soft in brain than heart, as depicted. His dialect also is very uneven In thickness, ranging from a full fog to a slight cold. A program, in short, to trade In for the latest hog reports. Land. PLANTATION NIGHTS Musical and Narrativo 30 Mins.; COMMERCIAL / KPI, Los Angeles. On the air each Tuesday night between 8:30 ahd 9, this musical talk half hour has been .meeting with more than ordinary success. It's a presentation by Earle C. An- thony, owner of station, In associa- tion with 36 Packard dealers of California,, but sans any semblance of . advertising propaganda, other thaii a tle-In blurb,at the;slg. PrOgram is . devoted to narrative and song, with latter provided by 6 Negro chorus displaying harmony and volume. Imaginary lOcale Is an old southern plantation . where darkles come to serenade the awner^ Much atmosphere of the old south is Injected, but this becomes weak during the narratlye portions. Musical prograin Is mixture of plantation melodies and spirituals, all clicking. Introductions some- what strained, but show evidence of being carefully prepared. From listeher-ln standpoint It's one above Coast average. MERCHANDISE MART Revue with Riith Lyons, Soiigfel- lows, Jane Froman, Commodores, Roy Shields and Charles Lyons Musicale COMMERCIAL WENR, Chicago Intended as a orice-weekly "Tues- day night divertissement, this pro- gram Is unique in sponsorship and purpose. : It Is Intended to. sell a building and primarily the sponsor Is . concerned with reaching posslr bly 6,000 persons in the middle west. Those persons are leading i?etall merchants who dO their: buy- ing In'Chlcago.- The talent will be different each week, ■with LeRoy Shields' orchestra, and announcer Charles Lyons. Ruth Lyons and Jane Fromah .and the Songfellows and Commodores pro- vided practically no variety or con- trast Two soprano's and two groups of male .singers; one a .:trio, the other a. quartet. Possibly the pro- gram was hastily assembled and will be beitter cast In future. Not that It ■wais bad. Just overdosage. Miss Lyons has a. classical high- soaring voice. She has been on va- rious commercials around' Chicago and Is always, reliable, although there Is hardly ah Instance of this type of singer grabbing topnotch importance oh the air. It's , really a concert, pr 'operatic voice. . Miss Froman Is. referred to in all publicity whoopla from NBC and Invariably by the studio announcers as 'beautiful Jane Froman,' alluding to her person, not her voice. NBC- Ites who have the advantage over the public-in appreciating the vis- ible personality seem more enthusi- astic than the average outsider. After a.year. pf sustaining plugs galore, extravagant publicity, and by all odds, the most-photographed NBC artist in the west. Miss Fro- man. hasn't arrived anywhere in particular. She has a 'well-tralhed voice.but It begins and stops there. Little, warmth or Individuality. Commodores, Cyril' Pitts,: Thomas Mulr, Herman Larsen and Relnhold Smith have also been known as the Grenadiers and the Fireside Quar- tet, Frequent billing alteration scarcely accelerates their fame. They are very good, have modern notlonis and .easily qualify as a handy act for NBC to have hanging around. Songfellows, unknown, are likewise meritorious. Land. MAN WHO KNOWS Hollywood Gossip Sustaining KFWB, Hollywood Pretense at giving the low-down on Hollywood, but in reality a plug for Warner Brothers pictures and personnel. On for 15. minutes three evenings a week: Material is deliv- ered in coluninlst gossip style, but all the punch Is In the telling rather than in the material peddled. Very little stuff from companies other than Warners gets in, with all information being strictly of the press agent type'and quite harm- less. Company brings In reference to all its neighborhood deluxers. Manner in which Warner celebs get the play was manifest In referencie to. a splash opening of Unlversars 'Back Street' the night before. Joe Bi Brown got first mention oi: those attending. Charles . Chaplin and other outstanders were among the also raris In the announcement. GROWIN' UP With Emerson Treacy, Gay Sea- brook Sustaining KFWB, Hollywood ' Both Emerson Treacy and Gay Seabrook are local legit names, hav- ing played together in several Hol- lywood cast plays in parts calling for the Booth Tarkihgton type of adolescence. They have done simi= lar characterizations in pictures. 'Growin' Up,' a comedy series of small town life, written by Treacy, is on the air six nights a. week on 15-.mlnute periods. Deals ■with the problems of a couple of 17-year-old sweethearts, their jealousies, quar- rels and ambitions. Stuff well writ- ten, with situations and dialog ex- cellently handled. Has a local following, especially among the team's legit fans. Miss Seabrook's lisping is especially effective. ' FIFI DORSAY 15 Mine.: COMMERCIAL KNX, Hollywood FIfl Dorsay establishes herself as an air personality In the flrst pro- gram of a week's engagement at Lelghton's Ca.feterla, which a few months ago started the selling angle of 'see and hear film Celebrities and eat all you can for 40c.' First of .this restaurant's pro- grams, by remote control over KNX, was a seHai; 'Bringing Up Vivian,' featuring Lew Cody and Vivian Duncan, and later Myrna Kennedy. Series flnished, the ca.feterla laid oft the sight-and-hear material, but dropping business brought back a, resumption for the combined air and picture appeal. Miss Dorsay -will be followed.by. other picture names.' She sang a grroup of French dla-' lect songs that she has been using in stage alppearances. She Is equally effective on the air, helped no doubt by the feel that she hais an. audi- ence before hier, even though it is mainly made up of hinterlanders who crowd the restaurant during the evening meal hour to get the heavy 40c worth.- Unlike most picture players oh the air, there was ho semblance of mike fright ' Scouts a lia Valentine (Continued from page 1) had any stage experience and whether it would be interested In corning Into New York on spec, promising .nothing but an effort to get them stage work.' Air-Minded Agents Agents, aftier they've Imported their recruits, also go after the net- works and the Independent^ stations for aiditlons and an' optortunlty for a buildup. Both NBC and Co- lumbia program departments In New York now get sin average of 20 calls a day from these suddenly air-minded -yaude agents raving about some possibility they claim to haVe discoveired and asking for ah audition appointment Many of the booking agents have made It a habit pf hopping to oth- er cltle*:, if it's not too far away, to get a better line oh an ether act that has Impressed them. Several have followed their objective around from one station to another by way of the loudspeaker before pulling the personal calling act Case, in this connection Is Harry Lenetska's relations with the Three Blue Spades whom he has under; his wing at the present time. Lenetska first caught the act while It was hooked up with low-wattage In Pennsylvania. liater he heard the harmony trio had moved on to WCAU, Philadelphia, a CBS put- let. Lenetska listened to them nightly on a sustaining schedule and when he thought the time ripe he hopped into Phllly and brought the turn back with bim. Act caught the fancy of the I^C program department and it has been spotted on a fOur-nlghts-a- wcek sustaining ticket starting: last night (Monday). Lew Diamond listened in on one of the auditions framed for the network and this also resulted in the act being booked for the Paramount, New York, next Friday (19). PAGE PYGMALION (Continued from page 3d) statue talking by means Of some occult power, much too weird for audience cohsuniptlon and when she walked down stiage that, was less understandable. Of course Sally and Tony get together, Helen, and mom taking the air. Best known in the cast Is Robert Emmett Keane, the polished former vaudevllllan, who stood out. His Cpates i:upplled most of what was diverting In the show; Perhaps he Inserted something into the script too, and under suspicion is the first act curtain line: . 'its the magoo.' Curtains, by the way, are bad. June Clay worth is new and at- tractive. Her Sally, was liked even though the p^rt itself Is spiritless. Percy Helton as the playwright was either nervous or the director had him shouting for two acts. Aline McDerhiott as a matron okay. She looked much better In a street cos- tume than the evening wrap sported for two acts. Claire Whitney, Keane'n partner does Mrs. Browhell, a " distinctly unsympathetic part. Carleton Young was not a good pick for the artist. Figures to wither quickly. Ibee. Irving Mills flew to Cincinnati to be on hand for the Duke Ellington opening at the Castle Farms. Ef-. forts are being; made to cancel sev- eral one nights so that the combo may stay beyond, tho original single week, which ends Aug. 14. Don Redmond goes into the spot Aug. 29.