Variety (Sep 1932)

Published Wetklr at-lift West 4tth St. New York. N. T, .Mr Variety. Inc. Annual subscription, |S. Single coplea. IS eenia. Bnterea second-claca matter December U. 1805. at the Post Office at New Yerk, N. under the act of March I. 187*, COP1TIU0HT. 10SS, DT vauibtt, inc. am. rights resebvbd iYOL. 107. No. 13 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1932 48 PAGES Lineup of new business around 'the networks has suddenly gone bullish. Rush of commercials to climb aboard -the ether bandwagon started' 6ft strong /early last. week. Jlesul'£ is-that advertising agencies report they are having no easy time ^curing choice hours for October (Starting dates. Situation described ■jus particularly prevailing in' NBC. Application for the daytime .periods \ls nothing In comparison, jjots of wide open morning and af- ternoon spaces right through Octo- "fjer on the charts of either of the national chains, with the sales de- partments doubtful of imaklng any notable showing here until after the Evening time has been pretty well taold up. There's-even some question whether they will reach last year's high In the amount of facilities re- tailed through 1932. On the other hatid, the strong start obtained the (Continued - on page 33) POLITICS VIA RADIO BURNS DIXIE PRESS Birmingham,' Sept. 6. Because Dixie newspapers believe the two candidates for President have not played- fair with the news- papers and are favoring the radio, the Southern Newspaper Publishers* Association has raised a howl. James Stahlman, , president, and publisher of the Nashville 'Banner,' protested that radio 'largely by-rea- son of its novelty and extravagant claims of vast nightly audiences, Which are extremely doubtful, reaps the financial rewards and gets the most breaks on respective releases.' He further said that as a result of the raw deal newspapers had •been given by the politicians that ••'southern newspapers do not feel that they should be called upon to tear a part of the expense in bally- Aoolng the merits of the presiden- tial hopes. . «. Stahlman went so far as to write letters to Chairmen Farley and San- ders of the Democratic and Re- publican National Committees claiming discrimination in favor of rrciio. He cited instances at the two national conventions when poli- ticians went out of their way to favor radio men and actually snubbed newspapermen. In his letter he said, 'I cannot ex- press to you, and through you to your associates in the campaign 6r- Ganization, in too vigorous terms, the feeling of newspapers of the jcountry.' A.P. newspapers throughout the South carried Stahiman's statements and played them up. One or two had them on page one of the Sunday editions. '.. . The southern field is a tricky one ifor the politicians this year because ■ of/* the prohibition question and frly leaders are apt to take the Somplalnt of the papers pretty serl- siy. ■—And Bicarbonate Chicago, Sept.' 6. Depression technique in the mitt-reading guild has the for- tune, tellers making odd. in- ducements. In front of one prognosticator's parlor a'pim- ply youth wearing a turban cries out: 'Come in and have your business analyzed for 60c. with a lobster luncheon.' FINALE FOR HIPP IN f Y. Hippodrome, New York," rings down its curtain as a show place this, fall since RKO Is giving up its option for a renewal of its lease at the request of the owners of the house, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Co., of New York. Latter are plan nlng to convert the theatre into commercial property and has re- quested RKO to remove Its equip- ment from the house. Hipp is famous in theatre annals as the birthplace of big sight shows and spectacular stage presentations. Of late years it has been operated by RKO alternately as a combo house and a straight film spot. More recently the house oxperr- enced financial difficulties, with foreclosure placing the spot in the hands of the present banker-Owners. Girl Cappers, $5 Nightly For Coast Gambling Spots Hollywood, Sept. .5. Extra girls, who have the neces- sary wardrobe, are being used as cappers at one of the swank gam- bling spots along the boulevard. They are booked through an agency. Girls are paid $5 a night to make a noise like money around, the ta- bles. They are on duty from seven until 1:30, and aria changed fre- quently, no girl being permitted to work more than two nights a week. $100,000 FOE AIS FOOTBALL San Francisco, Sept. 5; Associated Oil Co. will use NBC and Don Lee-CBS networks to broadcast all western football games. Gas concern. will describe 69 games aver CBS and 77 over NBC. Part of the recent deal made be- tween radio and football execs when, In return for broadcasting privileges at all games, radio men agreed to spend nearly (100,000 In publicizing gridiron events. Outside UBO Which Is Con- centrating on Key Towns —-Erlangers and Shubert in Competitive Clash on B'way Bookings —- Inde- pendent Sure if Pool Doesn't Handle Demand CHEAPER FARES NOW There are at least 300 towns and cities east of the Colorado line that are available for road attractions. There may be booked at this time between 30 and 35 weeks of broken time—one, two and three night stands. This is - entirely separate from - the spots being handled by the new legit circuit, the United Booking Office, although the latter can handje the smaller, stands. It is an open field with house managers in increasing number asking for legit shows. It is an en tlrely different situation from that of the past four years, when vast territory was closed to legit and the jumps Were so long transport* (Continued on page 37) Advantages of Air Commercial Tops the Stage The white-haired favorites of the theatre—the 'radio commercial ar- tists—are now viewed by the out- side-looking-in aspirants to micro- phonic fame as the 'easy money* bunch because the air is now re- garded as the acme of ideal public performance by professionals. It beats a route or a run on Broadway by miles. A radio commercial period means generally anywhere from 13 to 52 weeks solid, further fortified by a chain network's contract for sus- taining time to take up any lapse. It also means staying in one spot at quick and easy money. No trav- eling, hotel bills, makeup, and hours (Continued on page 32) »50 a Night for Big Pageant At Toronto Fair, Despite Off Gate Show Business Chicago, Sept. 5. Chorus girls, many of them. graduates from the better class picture house ballets and schools, are Iroupihg through the sticks in girl acts. They do toe, acrobat, tap and gen- eral ballet and get, $3; a day. , Traveling by bus, sleeping in- $l-a-nlght hotels, the girl acts,' of which there .are not less than 10„ or . 12 working out of Chicago, do from three to five performances a day and play as. many as seven towns in a week. Studios' Wonder Boy Hollywood, Sept. 5. Archie Hall completed a. 20- year stretch on the U lot this week. What's the difference what he doesT CLASS N1TERY FOR CHI FAIR Chicago, Sept. 5.' A deluxe night club to operate during the World's Fair and on the grounds is in process of consumma- tion. Sophie Tucker, fs the central figure in the idea and will be hos-' tess for the six months' engage- ment if the deal goes through. , Forthcoming Fair will differ from other expositions in running wide open until midnight, or later in- stead of folding at sundown. De- sire for a class cabaret with floor show is to attract the big spenders while the cheaper attractions lure the hoi pollol. Sophio Tucker has rounded up backing which is prepared to put up the necessary $35,000 to create the open . air garden contemplated. Further negotiations await the re- turn here of Nat Rodgers, chief of concessions for the Exposition. 178,000 SIGN PETITION TO RETAIN RADIO ACT Cleveland, Sept. 5. Gene and Cilenn, dropped by Spang Bakeries, will stay here to do 26 weeks for Standard Oil. They start Sept. 19. In' four years the team has built up to the point of becoming a local institution. When Spang failed to renew, fans made a loud and col- lective squawk, radio cricks also protested and started a petition campaign to keep the pair in town. Petitions with oyer 178,000 names are believed chiefly instrumental in putting over tho deal with the oil firm. Singing comedians will broadcast over WTAM with programs being relayed to WL»W, Cincinnati. Toronto, Sept. fr. Wet weather'an<T lowered attend- ance at the Canadian National Ex- hibition this year has sent carnival business 20% lower, than last year, but there's still a week to go and the .final seven- days'are always stronger. The Bx is a bit pick-up, however, for hotels, restaurants, railways:and steamship lines. In- . dicative of the Importance of this show Is the presence, here of offi- cials of the coding Chicago World's Fair, who are avowedly .adopting Ideas, especially on- the -amusement end. -. • Chief money-maker: at the Expo is the pageant staged nightly before the, grandstand. Iff practically ca- pacity business due to the patrlotlo spirit engendered by the: recent Im- perial Economic Conference. Seat* are scaled from $1.50 down to two- bits. With a 25,000 .capacity, night- ly average- shows 10,000 seats gross- ing $12,00C> and 15,000 grossing $3,- 750. Added to this total of $16,750 nightly is. another $500-$1,000 stand- ing room. Four. Hour 8how It's nearly a four-hour show, bill having pageant, 30 aerial and ani- mal acts plus Schobley's ' Revue from; Chicago, with ;a 36-girl line." Pageant lias 15 bands, 1,500 players (Continued on page if) CAN'T STOP CHISELERS CHISELING—IN RENO Reno, Sept. 5. Just when the proprietors of Reno's various night clubs and boot- legging resorts were congratulating themselves on the lucky breaks.they had had during the summer, a squad of dry raider's from California dropped into town and knocked over the Heidelberg- Inn and the Camel, two of the best known spots in town. • They not • only arrested the bartenders but they moved out everything in the two places in- cluding the cuspidors. . The Heidelberg night club was equipped with wooden tables on which the- • names' of hundreds of celebrities-as,well as university stu- dents, were- carved. It reopened a few days later with: new tables and they are now pretty well carved up. Victor's Pvt. Recorded Disks as New Biz Outlet RCA Victor, Co. is cultivating a new field of . revenue - by pressing and selling records of radio ad- dresses delivered by heads of fra- ternal orders and other organiza- tions. A two-sided record of a recent speech given by Martin H. Car- mody, supreme knight, over a na- tion-wide hookup on the celebra- tion of K. of C.'s 60th anniversary is being sold to K. C. members for $1. •--.'.,