Variety (Dec 1932)

'84 VARIETY MRS. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT L«o Reisman Orch., Le» Wiley, William Bholtk COMMERCIAL WEAF, New York pond's, which has been able to Influence royal dowagers and Amer- ican social leaders to endorse Its beauty preparations, hit the pin- nacle of that sort o£ social register ballyhoo by slenlne the first lady- Olect of the land. That Mrs. Roose- velt speaks rather banally and ab- stractly—and, perhaps, In not the best miKe voice—Is tlie least, for there's no getting away from the attention she must command. That Mrs. Roosevelt was wise In dodging any direct exploitive spiel on behalf of the beauty prepara- tions Is something In her favor, as Is the finale announcement that the proceeds from her radio services are donated to unemployment drives and certain special needy cases of charity she knows of. She Is set for 13 times, her first talk being on •jP^oblems Whloh Confront the Mod- el^ Girl as Contrasted with Those of My Childhood,' wherein she wan- ders rather shallowy hither and tblther, touching on llkker and the modern generation, franker and freer associations of today, etc. She consumes 9 mins. of the half hour with her talk, ekillfully sand- wiched in with the corking dansa- patlon" bv that tempo .tycoon; Leo Relsman, plus Lee ■Wiley's warbling and ■William Sboltz's romantic ten- oring. (Tlrnt Sholtz Is a sorta tuff handle for a ronxantic. tenor, non?)- In this the battle of . the air waves, unless there's something prodlglouS: about the . progpram, either In its overwhelming strength, as In the big hours, it devolves upon the per- Bonalltles to make 'em twirl the '^als or else. Mrs. Roosevelt is a Sew type of jcbmpeller, more so than ny other prominent individual in the conjmunity who, incidentally, Would be considerably mortified If 'they knew how-many a crooner gets •faore attention that their sage dls- ibourses on the ether. That's been ' evidenced time and again with, tbe exception soleljr of the President— ' the President's wife, as here. fa Just like Queen of Rumania glv-, HMlg Pond's a builder-upper in print- -. ($r's ink made the other social lights a pushover for an advertising agency (and a check), Mrs. Roose- velt's contribution to the ether is '!:pound to have its direct effect on .^Oth^r prominent women becoming •amenable to the air thing, although . only a President-elect's spouse could command the attention she did. Af>el. SMECK'S INSTRUMEfJTALISTS With Harold Van Amberg Sustaining WEAF, New York Intent upon getting away from the stereotyped l>and and singing programs, NBC has gone after nov- elty combinations for buildup pur- poses and this Is the first gesture made in that direction. Credit Is due for the initiative but it looks as though tiie network's Initial pick has little chance of turning out a happy one. Listening to 15 minutes of almost straight plunking away at ukes, guitars and similar string contrap- tions is no treat and as they've framed the sustaining series, about the same reaction could be an- ticipated from tympani less sen- sitively attuned. Type of act that Roy Smeck and his instrumental foursome are trying to put over has the very meclxanlcs of the medium against it. Strident overtones or this .sort of combination can be passed over while the players are within sight and the eye is in- trigued by their manipulations, but coming over the loudspeaker these overtones are magnified. and ex- aggerated to an effect that -makes for little appeal to the general ear. On the debut program (7) Smeck himself tore off a fast bit of ram- bling over the uke in imitation of a railroad train, but unseen the efforts didn't lnii)ress any more than were the same thing framed by one of the studio's sound effeots mechanics. Same reaction would go for the tap dancing imitation In- cluded among the items on this ,debut session. Harold Van Amberg put In a couple of barltonish interludes.. First he should try to acc^Ure a. facility for carrying a melody. Odec. HY'LYTE MUSICIANS Discs COMMERCIAL WGES, Chicago This station adroitly skip<» over the required identification "^f the phonograph records. Announcer words his comment to give the ex- pression 'on a record' a light dust- ing in passing. 'Now the Hy-Lyte Musicians takes us—on a record— xo the 'Dark Town Strutters Ball.' And 60 on. It's according to Hoyle, but humanly hoped that maybe folka won't notice. And maybe they don't Impression that it's an in-the- flesh affair is heightened by the use of a goof character who interrupts the announcer. Qoof is having the precise battery trouble that Hy- Lyte is designed to correct. An- nouncer gives him a friendly tip. There is considerable by-play. Goof returns to the studio just before the program ends. He has pur- chased Hy-Lyte, it worked fine, and be wants to thank the announcer. At least it represents an effort on the part of the station to em- ploy a little progrressive merchan- dising on what would otherwise be a bunch of phonograph records. And by mentioning individual ga- rages where the product can be ob- tained dealer good will and co-op- eration is encouraged. Land. CHARLEY HAMP Peruna Potpourri COMMERCIAL WBBM, Chicagd NBC's weakness for postpone- ment, sometimes rudely called the run-around, resulted In the loss of Charley Hamp to Columbia. NBC has lost lots of actors to Columbia Actors roll off NBC's knife like the well-known petlts pels, and it wor rles them very little. But Hamp was different. Hamp can sell pack age goods. NBC could have used him. pl^NBC no doubt intended to use him. Tliere was a lot of talk. Too much, according to Hamp, who got tired of waiting for sonicthing to happen, and left a nof^ saying. 'Don't wait up for me. Have eloped with Peruna.' Hamp sits at a piano, plays dul- cetly, sings engagingly, jokes inter- mittently, soils Perun with the con- fidential chummlness of a friend of the family worried about that cold or the ache you've got or may get, and f iggests Peruna. He gives it a delicious pronunciation as 'pee- roon-aaa,' as if he were saying •Strawberry shortcake oozing with whipped cream.' Whole program is as Ingratiating as a wife who wants a liilnlo coat. Sales resistance is difflculL Land. PENROD AND SAM Serial Radio Discs COMMERCIAL KYW, Chicago This well,known juvenile com- bination froin the pen (originally) of Booth Tarklngton might very well be supposed to translate Into ^ec- tlve radio entertainment. It seems scarcely to be fulfilling that expec- tation' in its radio disc form as here reviewed. Name credits are not given except for a mention that the discs were etched by World Broadcasting. Dialog strikes the ear unconvinc- Ingly as coming from children. To be sure the modern youngster is frequently amazing in vocabulary and sophisticated manner of ex- pression, yet the Pencod and Sam here heard seems to be phoney^: American juvenility. What it sounds Uke is Broadway vernacular written by an author saturated with Times Square jargon. Such "wise talk'-might be char- acteristic dialog in certain social strata, but would Penrod Schofleld in Kokomo, Indiana, talk like that, or be recognized by his counter- parts in^her towns. It sounds as unreal, and out of keeping with Tarklngton's Penrod as does the plot's introduction of a fantastic quirk whereby Penrod, Sam and Herman are to go to Hollywood to make pictures. It isn't believable. Land. GOROE RICHE ORCHESTRA Dance Music Cafe de Alex WBBM, Chicago A coiiple of seasons back WBBM was generally considered the taiap- plest Individual station in Chicago. Right now the station Is embarrassed for want of dance, orchestras, once the source of its strength and now the source of the danger of losing its listeners. Against which WBBM may very aptly point with pride to its record of local ooihmercials, out- numbering NBC 2 to 1, hut stlU not answer the fact that it has little with which to hold adults in the later evening hours. Gorde Rlche Is the obscure mu.sl- cal combination of an obscure res- taurant. Nothing especially against him. He no doubt fulfills his pur- pose of giving out dansapation. But on the air his five-man combination is an . Incongruous meflley of sur- prise,, disappointment and consterna- tion when tuned in over a 'station- like WBBM. historically Identified v/llh Ben Bernles and Guy Lom- bardos. Just -what WBBM can do about all this is a question that has in- dubitably occurred to the adminis- tration long ere this. WGN has been goitig after the dance bands, and more recently WMAQ has talcen steps, so WBBM must go against stiff competition. Besides Gorde Rlche, WBBM presently has Jack Russell and Ben Pollack, the latter just acquired -with the. open- ing of a new nite club, Mike Frlt- zel's Gay Paree. Contrasted with WGN's Bennr" Krueger, Abe Lyman, Wayne King, Bernle Cummins and Clyde McCoy, and WMAQ's Art Kassel, Vincent Lopez, George Olsen, Anatobal's Cubans -and Tweet Hogan. with scattered stations outlettlng addi- tional competition In Carl Moore, Mark Fisher, Dan Russo, Earl Hlnes and Bernle, it la q uickl y discernible In. the crowd that "WBBM isn't the overlord of the local dance race, as heretofore. Land. Chesterfield's squawk, through having Bing Crosby slated for its com- mercial, caused CBS to jerk its wire from the Park Central hotel, New York, where Russ Columbo-opened with .his orchestra Friday (9). Ches- terfield'c attitude was patently predicated on an objection to a competing crooner etherizing on a sustaining wire when the cig account had Its own Crosby spotted commercially. WMCA spotted a wire Instead. Columbo Is taking a sizeable gamble with the Park Central on his hotel booking, being guaranteed $1,100 a week against which he furnishes the band, Hannah Williams (whose salary was up to $760 a week alone at the Central Park Casino and Capitol, N. T.), the 3 Pickens Sisters and Bob Royce, m.c. from the Coast. Columbo also shares oh the $1 and $2 couverts, and '60c. on each dinner (when the couvert is off), making it incumbent on him to draw to the P. C.'s Cocoanut Grove room (enclosed roof). Leon Navara, whom he succeeds, received hie notice when he opened two weeks ago, lasting the fortnight, to complete his notice. The hotel preferred Columbo's gambling proposal. Analagous to why Ed Wynn was signed for the air is Tom Howard's selection by Chesterfield as one of the three features on the trl-weekly program commencing Jan. 1 on CBS. Ruth Etting and Bing Crosby ore the other two. The agent who infiuenced Chesterfield to sign Howard—although he is not collecting on it, and had nothing to do with Howard direct—hap- pened to be backstage with another of his acts, in a Baltimore theatre, fooling around with the props, etc., when he was arrested by Howard's dellveiT in a comedy short, whose antics he didn't see but -whose lines and dellvei-y he relished. That gave him tlie idea that this comic whose identity he didn't know at the time, would be oke for the ether. "This parallels the Texaco's v.p. who had so annoyed Ed Wynn and the 'Laugh Parade' company during that show's Broadway run by sitting in a down-front stage box, with his back to the performers and looking at the audience. Wynn didn't know at the time that , this Texaco official, four times running, WUS .testing 'Wynn's comedy delivery, sight unseen, with a view to mike engagements. SI SIMMONS Orchestra WCGU, Brooklyn Si Simmons' orchestra Is a sample of why bush league stations like WCCru, Brooklyn, die young. If that's the best sample of discord- ancy which these stations can supply, little wonder they encounter difllcultles with the radio authori- ties. SimmonSk announced as the first of a series V of matinee dance ses- sions, was BO blatant and out of ^une that the announcer had to switch to a dance recording for the second number, with the sub- sequent frank announcement that the 'disarrangement of one of the instruments, as is bound to happen,' etc forced the switch. The Simmons syncopators upon resumption still were bullish on the sour notes, with the cornets and the others having great diflftculty hit- ting true pitches with any degree of consistency. The Si Simmons orchestra .shoiilil go back to bed. AbeJ. DENVER POST' KtDS' CLUB Sustaining KLZ, Denver This program is a natural for the Denver territory. If only those fam- ilies listened whose children belong to tbe club, the audience would be plenty big, for at the last count over 22,000 youngsters had sent in their memberships to the paper. Then add to these all the aunts and uncles. Club is under the auspices of the 'Post,' directed by Mary Thompson, while the broadcasts ar,e bossed by Jerry O'Neill, assisted by her sister Margie. They put in four hours a week rehearsing the kids, different ones each Saturday. In many cities this sort of program Is made easy by using those gifted for this work, but Jerry tries to give all who want to broadcast a chance. Program was caught In the studio where 50 children and as many par- ents who coUld squeeze in were present. About 15 took active part, and the rest were under complete control. Jerry and Margie have a steady job running these broadcasts every Saturday afternoon, but in their odd moments they nan a dancing school THE GUARDSMEN Male Quartet SUSTAINING 30 Min. KNX, Hollywood Pornierly on the NBC coast ^;haln. broadcasting from San Francisco, this quartet is now on weekly at KNX as a eustainer, but about to go commercial. Dividing their tlmo here between pictures and the aii the singers, Urbln Hartman, tenor; Henry Ibllngs, lead; William Brandt, baritone, and Charles Henri, bass, form one of the best combinations of Its type on the air locally. Choice of material on nigh caught manifests a versatility which ranged from negro spirituals to pop ular stuff. Excellent harmony and smooth rendition of all their num bers with all four soloing at differ- ent times throughout the half hour period. Program should be popular with coast tuners-hi, particularly on ac- count of their choice of numbers most of whicli are modern. S1(ni. TROUT and FARBER Songs and Comedy COMMERCIAL WCAO, Baltimore Local talent for thi.'j local com merclal, clothing firm selling men's suits at $15, no more, no less. .It flRures as a cheap program through- out, though possibly commercially oke for its purpose. Leonard Trout has been on the air here since the beginning of radio, many years ago having worked un- der the sobriquet of the 'Charles St. Cowboy.' Ellis Farber is best known in town as a violinist, having shown In several theatres here. He is han- dling dialog also In this session. Routine is some pop tunes from Trout, who is also the comic; violin scraping from Farber and straight- Ing in the crossfire. Material is all stale gags. It's best suited to the small time of the ether. COLUMBIA VARIETY Vz HR. With Ted Husing, Connie Boswell, J. C. Flippen, Freddie Rich's and Ben Selvin's Orohs., Fred Feibel Funnyboners, Tito Guizar Sustaining WABC, New York At 10:30-11 p.m. EST th^ CBS assembles its available talent for a variety half hour on Friday nights, parading the sustaining con- tractees In a snappy revuette, e>ome thing akin to the old NBC Matinee of the Air. This is, of course, better time. Ted Husfng m.c'lng this trip, did it in the gridiron manner of dellv ory„ although his own specialty. Sports Highlight, woi) reprise of an liistorlc flsticuflt encounter, It was out of place and should have been oniiltod, proving chiefiy that such thln^.s nlone hold appeal In direct rein Hon to the actual occvirionce, atul nothing else. For the rest all of the talent above (lid its stint once, Connie Bo!,\voll alone being called back for a re- peat. The program Is princi|i.ally a su.Malning one-to-fill, but Imrdly feasible'for selling commerciallv in view of the diversity of the t.-Ufnt. But as a variety interlude on oi-;-, :'r I of tlie ♦'.liain it's oke. .l^oi. The tiff of the tenors, through W^oodbury spotting both Donald Novls and Morton Downey on their new program when shifting over to NBC next month, will be ballyhooed b^ the commercial although the signing of the two similar type songsters is said to have had its origination in pique. This was due to Woodbury learning, too, late, that Downey would continue on CBS, sustaining, at around $500 a week, whereas they were slated to pay Downey $1,500 for the one program on the rival chain. Hence they engaged Novis, figuring Downey would bow out as such a move gives Novis, relative newcomer, every opportunity, with nothing to lose, as he Is still in the build-up stage. Recognizing that sympathy would' also be with Novls, Downey, who has refused to relinquish this commercial, has asked Woodbury not to prejudice his chances in this battle of the tenors. Leon Belasco's orchestra, as on the present Woodbury account, con- tinues when it shifts over the NBC chain. While McCann-Erickson nor any other ad agency will not put itself pn record admitting that any of its clients' air progran^s are fioppo, the Standard Oil's Five Star Theatre broadcasts were not highly regarded. With 13-time contracts on each of the five nights—Marx Bros., operatic- symphonic, 'Charlie Chan,' light opera and name authors, in that se- quence, Mondays through Fridays—they niust wind up their contracts, regardless. Actually, only the subsequent sales graphs, following tbe initial four weeks, can materially determine' the effects of the air plug Investments, but from unofficial understanding, the Marxes rate best, and 'Chan' is likewise well regarded although In a much lesser degree. Whether sales' increases will be ..commensurate with broadcasting in« vestment Is a matter for subsequent determination. The Choliapin- operatlc program tonight (13) for Instance, represents $8,000 alone for that shot. Advertisers in their appeal for fan or Inquiry mail are asking the lis- tenfers to address the letters direct to them. It saves them money and It guarantees them dellvei>y of all the mall that's coming to them. Re- sponsible for this now invariably heard direction is a ruling handed down by the postoffice department. Networks previous had made it a practice of packing a client's mall into a box and relaying It to him second class. When the postal authori- ties got wind"(5f tKTsTKgy advrs6a~tHe Tn^dsastTfii^triraBrtiiarthB-syai'- tem was contrary to the department regulation which provides that if a letter Is sent first class It must reach Its actual destination .first class. Order entailed having the station or network readdressing'all letters, with the advertiser called upon to shoulder the added expense. NBC is giving Mildred Bailey the business, allegedly, to force her to Chicago where they are holding forth commercial bids as bait, but the songstress, who came from Chi with the Whitemanltes, is opposed to leaving New York where she hoped to build herself up. Given a spot right after WhIteman on WJZ last Sunday, she discov- ered later that she was piped through to the midwest and wasn't heard at all in the east, further straining the relations between the chain and herself. She is under contract for sustalnlngs and while offered up to (Continued on page 40) KARL RISSLANO Cornetist COMMERCIAL WGY, Schenectady RLssland, a member of General Electrlc's orchestra, plays a 16- minute program one afternoon a week. Sponsor is a Schenectady music shop. -Solo . cornetlsts are infrequently heard on the air, presumably be- cause this instrument has not an afllnlty for the microphone. There is danger of too much vibration, of 'blasting'—certain to cause tuning- out. However, In the hands of a virtuoso like Rlssland nothing is to be feared on that score. The tone he produces is soft, though bell-like clear; the mike picks It up without any jan Ing or distortion. Rlsslu..d"s breath control and lip- ping are superb, his general tech- nique i.*! well-nlgh flawless. He leans t^j,vard straight, standard music rather than jazz, in his selec- tions—piobabiy a wise move in view of the type of weekly audience likely to be listpning at 2:4.') p. m. Splendid piano accomp.aniniont en- hances the effect. From sponsor's viewpoint, a later hour might be better, for the broad- cast. Grammar and high school stu- dents, potential customers for mu- -sical instruments and- service, have not come home by the time Rlss- land goes on. Jaco. SAM COSLOW Songs Sustaining KHJ, Los Angeles Long a writer of popular songs, and on various occasions a film- house at^actlon, band leader, and radio and I'ecord vocalist, Sam Cos- low Is currently being built up un- der the title, 'The Voice of Ro- mance.' The plugging process is being done by the Don Lee-CBS chain on the Coast, where he gets a twice-weekly 16-mlnute period over the chain, as well as a weekly ap- pearance on the coast-to-coast 'Cali- fornia Melodies' period. These bookings follow the signaturing of Coslow by the Lee artists' bureau for three yoai's. Warbling with husky smoothness, Coslow dreamily delivers senti- mental ballads with an easy, show- manly style, expertly backed by the Tlayniond Paige orclio.<»tra. In which the strings i)rt-don-iinate. - Program is built Inrjtely willi woman appeal in mind, and since little or no dialog is u.sed. there's slim chance of going wrong. It's hiKh class every way. and if Coslow catches on natloniUy he can thank the station for giving him every co- opei'ation. Siufior-composer is also making Victor records, with that company also getting behind him with a brisker-than-usual campaign.