Variety (Jan 1935)

86 VARIETY HA Titesikiyi Januarj 22, 1935 IS^EC. DISC iORTAREYtON ■ Chlcfigo,/Jan,.21. ' Shortest disc program In the radio buslnesa ia being readied by : the Gumbln9r agency- for the Herbert Tai-eytoii clgai'Cttes of the Ameri- can Tobacco Go. . Are using; a IB-second recorded spot program which conta,ln9 a full orchestra plus a novelty singer plugging the clggles with a novelty veJ^se. Agency taking : aa: -many spots as possible dally.. Campaign starts generaUy bh Feb. i. . Walks on Of'One Man's Kentucky Winners has withdrawn its backing from 'One; Man's Faitt-^^ sly,' script serial, wliibh It has been .routing : lover / 62, , NBC- iatatlons --'W«dne;sday^-^^ghts.—-^Gancellationr (7hich the agency oh the account, Ruthrauft & Ryan, delivered to NBC last week, became elfective immedi - ately. : Also cancelled wias. the. con- tract giveii WBBM, Chicago, "for a sports series. sla,ted to run auring the coming summer. Clgaret's bankrolling of "One : : Mali's Family' started last Noyeih- ber, with the contracts coyerihg the show and tiie time stlpuliBitlng a stretch of 26 weeks. Explanation .given by thei agency for th^e can- ' ' ceilatlons, wais ; that the; \Piinn; Tb- bacco~Co.> miakerJof iCentucky Wih.-. , ro ers. had decided to fitopo^ushing cig brand, .Kentucky .made its ; debut on the market last summer with extensive spot broadcasting r^campalgris ~lh"" N^^ and Boston. "Statementr^siaued—Sarturday--(*W- by RuthrauflC & Ryan with the con - sent of. NBC_declared_th-a.t.Alt.h<)ugh Penn Tobacco considered the,serial, an excellent, pcpgrami it didn't-think that it was b^st adapted , to gamer the Interest ol~young peopie;wKo~haLd' not yet formed their preference for a particular l>rand of clgaret, — Aiaatei^ ^Amateur Night' pQ the air, the radio counterpart of an old . theatre dodge, . which praqtlcally overnight threatened to/start a new vogue in: ether entertain-' ment, is now believed to have passed the would-be cycle stage and r«turn<^ to what It wai9 at the begin> nlng—a purely local gag Ctnd nothing mpriS. dreneral opinion. of the radio busilness,' which has closely clocked developments of the amiateur thing on: Its two principal; network. aho^s—BristpirMyeifa (Sal Hep atica-Ipan a) and Health P roducts (Feen-a-. mTnt)—is tbat~the radid 'amat^sur nrght* oTTlTta^^ network basis is not what it was originally cracked up to be from ail advertising or good wlll-bullding vlew-- point ' :: ■/.■\]'.''/\ ■ ■• : : V . ^.:'' '. . For ci time 'amateur night' as a commercial iradio program idea ^threatened to rewrite the whole ether emtertalnnient picture, particiularly from the talept and prograni! /building angles. 'Amaiteur 'Night's'. first recommendation .for radio was that It was eco- • nomical, and secondly It was iinqueetlpnal)ly. a siire? fire mall-puller. ' Neither Bristol-Myers; nor Health,Products has yet" voiced .an bpihlpri based oh its own practical es». peHbnce with; 'aniateur nights,' but the rest ol! radio from its oWh oi>3ervati6h8 has concluded that the two chief benefits supposed to go with the Idiea have both been overrated. . The economy thepry is now debated , on the grounds that; 'amateur talent' whethier really simon-pure or not, but represented as such regard^ less,. csirinot take the place .of admittedly paid .pro- fessionai ability as an entertainment provider^ The fan mall hopes are blasted by an over-whelmlhg be- lief that Such mail as is received Ahrpiigh 'amateur nights' Is cither useless to the advertised. prbduet, or downright harmful as'a breeder of 111 will. ■ As the radid" aiudiehces cf the~Bristol-Myers and. Health Products Shows are asked to vote on con-, testants, ' mall for both i)rpgrams is neiturally com- posed chiefly of ballp.ta.; Another' considerable ebare maykbe.fiQm ..friends. .!iind relative ftmafflii r;q nr i >rnfeagloha l 'amateurs.' as the case may be; Latter type of mail is of course strictly the nuts, for the friends and relatives probably "dbh'l know the. name of. the .product and ;wQuldn't care anyway. For- mer, inspiring a .sense of coinpetition/may-create flve- disgruntled voters to every satisfied baliot-ca^ster. 'Favoritism' It is only ;logical to assume, the radio Vti«.de' how beUev«s, that -many vpters whose candidates do not; win, :lmmedlately conjure thoughts of-a 'franae,' and become perfect examples . of the effect of. :bad-radio: advertising. In; short, radio as a, -v^hple regards the ^tunateur night' on network programs as an unsound business proposition, and from that attitude springs the opin- . ion that the Idea Is not likely to spread, or even bo. maintained at its prieaent rate for long . tried on the networks so tar, at least four major net- work acdounti with ehowe now on the air atad which . were Dhderstood to be. oontemplatlhg ewitchlng to amaiteurs, are now reported to hftve dropped the Idea. Ae a local gag, mirrored so well in New York by the original Major Bpw.es AhPw on .WHN; the amateur hour or period is In the/right environment., Radio, concedes this point, but at the same time black- balls novice entertaihnient for natio;nal. adveriislhjilr :-purposes. -" '..;." ;■ ■ ■ ■ " . ; -; / ■ ■; ■.'/. liateat amateiur stunt to break fort\ in New Tork is WBNX's amateur script writers' prograni on Tues- day nights, l^irst one last vreek brought out 10 en- trants ;whO'.ha.dthMr ..work aired over the hour's run. Josiaph Koehler direptihg this heighborhopd program. All stories' pass it set of judg:es whose main work Is to see that nothing OfCehslvia is Inelvided. Other- Wise every script gets, attention and radio airing .eventually. Time has beiah shifted, front 7 to 8 p.m. Iio as^ npt; to c6nfllct.; witb other ^hoyice hours in the '.ihetrbpoiitah district.'.-/'-^- ...■:\'^'v^-'■^■■ '"Baltimore, Jan..21. " . ' Ether craze for 'amateur nights' on radio commer- cial programs has finally fOUnd Its way: into Balto, and the town gets its IhiUal simon-pUre sample show starting tonight (Monday) when WCBM Inauguraites a tiertes of' 13 weekly brpadcasts fpr a local clothier. Sponsor is soliciting: talent via ads Ih newspapers. Also offering cash prizes to perfprmers adjudged three best of evening. Audiieinces will be admitted to. the airings and will pick the winners by applaiuse.; ' - .:.;:.'.-.-.:>-^..-\- ..^ . _ . - St. Paul,Jan^2i..:. ; K9TP last July started its 'seaircb fOr. talent', with hour sessiPrts once weekly and managed ^^i^ build Up a creditable waitlhg; list for iambltious ether-mihded performers. To date ho •outstanding personalltios have evolved, although the KSTP artists' bureau car ~ytei9rtwo"TreWTTrinnBg^ ^ Kb wal ting^is t. as a r es^lt-6^ -t"BEest From the talent vitewpplnt, 'amateur nlgfi"t' loomed" up as a serious threat to the well being of profes- :the.3earchv' ■ ' <. ^■, . Now along cpnies WTCN; .( ;andL..Mlnheapblls -Tribune owned):, xunnlhg three.-, cblumh,; foot-deep ads dally,' headed: 'Be a ORadlb Brbadcaster. Enter the St. Paul pispatbh-Pibneer Press Search for Talent.'■. : Whereas.KSTP,: local NBC afHllate, offers. In its heW "weekly aihaLteur night -(IB minutes) prizes of^ |12B^ $10 •_andj..$5, WTCNr Offers. ih:PiIzefli^fest..p.dz.e,;.four weeks of brOadbasting On the station at |6p Pbr Wbelt; second, four Weeks at (26; third, two weeks at; $26., Ads bally the fact that no: experience is necessary.: Sheet runs entry blanks dallyi stressing 'no cost,; no red tape' and "the; possibility tliat'you may be -destined for stardom in the world of radio.' -Witirtds-lMwlhg-run--«nlyH9lx-dayB—stations has 1,692 entries, from three; states, Minnesota, NOrth and 10,000 names before the stunt is curtained;, , First prelim auditionat (private) ■were he^^l Fri day TIB) evening in the St. faui stuaios, wun.ijonn ClSy=" tbh and de Haven picking ;those who are tp be airod f^r *ha pntiH? latrar. By thl«^ HBlftntlVft prof^Baa, ata- HRS. DAILY AT WMAZ Macon, Ga., .•ran. '21. --^annenbe^fifU(3o.-^deip>t-stptb)iis-bI^^ntb the air three and a .quarter hours daily and has been since July 16, 1932. It took two years of soliciting before WMAZ could feeU the com- pany ori radio, but once sold by a month's experiment the - store ha,s to crash and educate in matters of: showmanship, withbiit a new setback InHtprm. of a money-sa'vlhg -arttflciai-amu3ement--dey4ce.-l-^The thre a t —de-VelopedL Into reality when agents land actors saw what was transpiring on the Bristol-Myers and: Health Products shows In the way of cost cutting tnrougn salary eiiml- hatipnel It looked like all that was needed wais an m.c. and an Orchestra, and the. latter;need not;eveh. talent appeared on uYe way out. Actors have seen ahiateur shows In theatres be- fore, but not until recently on the radio have they regarded them in the light of competition. In a thea- tre tha;t "ialao plays vaudeville-, of other paid stage 'amatgur highf : In usually pye/ become; a staunch radio user. . . BelLeyfi^d:.:t.QljiiS6_mpre_ time than any department store, in south. ORAlil WPa IIXTENSION ; Atlantic city, Jan, :21, City Commission granted the Co lumbia Broadcasting Company a 66-day extension of Its lease on WPG, murilclpal station, to deter- mine whether it will renew.Its five year option. Lease expires May 1, but 90 days' notice is required, which makes Jan. 30 the ; deadllhe. : Columbia iasked that the option period be exr tended to April i; and in return the broadcaster agrees to continue "^ tb operate the station until June 30, eyien should It-decide-not . tp r the lease. • Columbia said it needed the additional ;period because of a --i:-:^.;;. „- ;.^^.wtf,s.hiji.gtph, j^^ iBill protecting owners ■ of radib stations against fihancial burdens of —h^lngTiPw^bin^^^ fl efftTif Tl n glJjiglr^ licenses was intro- tdn, wh ich "6r"WP"G7^ itiight affect ■ the status FIEST CiNCY iSUSTAINEE ; . Cincinnati, Jan. 21. First. CBS web sustairier origi- nating:froih its.local thread,.WKRC, will be series of Saturday 11 a.m. to 12 -noon..programs .^by Ciixclnnatt Coniservatbry bf_ Music brchegtra, directed by Alex Von "KTfel'sTer. ' Starts Jan. .26.; -HustoBb^s-Lux-Ghoie- — Walter Hustoh-rgdes-on- the ■ 'Lux. show on NBCV Sunday (27), doing an, abbreviated Version pf .'-The -Bad Man'.. , v-'' " ■■ .- Under the deal as arranged by Curtis :& Allen, ^Huston will coicn- miite to New Tprk ; from .Phllly, where he'/a" playing in 'ippdawprth'. tion hopes to ellmilnate listener headaches. But the end of this week enough suitable acts should be sorted out to permit i>ublto airlnglB to begin, now planned-to FARGO PAPER TAKES WDAY Pargo; N. id;, Jan. 21. Fargo Foifum, ifocal dally, hai bo ught an interest in wbAT. B. d« Relheke, who started the statloDf Will cohtlnue as president and gen« r era! manager.; .Other offices will be filled, by Forum execs.; , Charleia G., Burke stays' as cbmc inerclal;manager<^ Vbi orSemnel^ Scrqitirom ^^^^^^^ Dubuque, la.,: Jan. 21. : , Latest to seek gratis prombtion through radio Is the Travel and Ih- dustrlal Development Aisociatiph pt Great iBrltaih and. Irelqnd. Assocla tion is canvassing the smaller eta-' tions of the nation with a series of news releases. First scheduled In this territory foir Jah. lTv ; Asks no crbdit nor offers iany pay- ment other than copies of tailul shbuld listeners, desire. ; Newsyt promotional stuff and; of some In-* First talk Is on the British; Isles and concerns 'The ;Art of Seeing; Londbh,' ^the city within the city. Well gbtten .up"/ for "those who enjoy factual matter is in, a clasif by. itself.: NEGOTIATE CHI DEAL " Chicago; ^ah. ,21/; , Musicians Uhipn cbntract 'with the -loca l utatl pnB-expiresnm'Febr'lr— Howbver, no difficulty expected f rom-either-quarter-and^moBt-likely terms will continue on the present set-up. ^'Thls.wlll make it the thirds consecutive year of operation oh th* same money and hour basis: RAIN-SLEET GRIEF jovya Stations' in' Stormy Weather Davenport, la-, Jan,: 21. ^Sustained Interest In amateur nights Oyer a lO week -period has been assured by WOC with a contest i)ian under: which it will giye finalists a! chance to cohipete sented as. aii added attraction once Weekly and fol- lows the regular show, : ,,:..■. ■,:■■ ■■ •■; :.'..".: Develop^-Little-..,'.^.: Amateur shows in . theatres have " developed some worthy talent in their time, such as Fahhie Brice and ^ few others,; but the number has not been large. It is not thoug(ht that radio CPuld be any more" BuccesB- -fiil—in—the-way—bf—talent-flnding_thrD.ugh:.amateur shows. ' C hief difficulty is that 'few talented people will subjiect themselves to .posaible-1tuni(ltiatioir-of- 'the iioOk,' the theatre's device for cutting bid acts and actbrs short; radio's counterpart of 'the hook' is the gpng,, the pistol, or, the Bour trumpet blast, ^Besides wiri'cK I{ "ii felt lthat "radrb ne'ed -ilbt g'o into" the amateur .flfeld, since there Is a hlg supply of meri- torious talent In the various other; branches of show bysineas'that radio has, not yet touched, ^ Because bf adVerse ,.reports on -, 'amatetir nights'' for recognition. Programs are staged for a; half hour every Thursday night starting at 7. Listeners de- termine the^fayprltes, : At the end of the 10 weeks the , finalists will, he heard in an hour's broadcast. Win- ners will be given an all expensP trip to Des Moines and ,a;n opportunity to broadcast twice over WHO, Central Broadcasting" Company outlet. ■ ; Detroit, Jan. 21. ' -—'Wbispering-Wiir-eollins,-is-tourlng the atate-ofter-- Ing radio auditions to microphone aspirants, as a fea- . ture of his stage presentation. Act Is piloted by Paul Moore, veteran Michigan theatre manager, who plays percentage dates with most* of the houses booked.. Collins has been on WJR for past eight years and Is one of the original 'Red-Appiers.' Included in the "act is complete radio-setup, pianist, press-agent and coach for the mlke-atruck. Bill Protecting Stations On License Defense Costs duced in Congress last week by Senator Neely of-;West-yirginla.; Measure would add a new section to the. communications law stipulat- ing that in any proceeding upon an application involving a contest with the owner of an existing station, the new applicant. If the loaer in the cpntroveray, shall be ordered to pay 'all reasonable counsel fees and other bosti' assumed to defend the station's grant ' — , ■ BACK TO WOEE ,;_; .■"': Cincinnati, Jan. 21, SiQtt'Wil3on~ha3 TealgnednBcsThBad- of Crosley's WLW and WSAI conti- nuity department to join Columbus (O.) - -Dispatch as di-amatio . and muslo editor. He joined the Crosley staff four years ago following demise of Cin- cinnati Comtnercial tribune, mbrn- ing sheet ;' WHN Studio/Sales Staff Get Bowes Send-Off WHN, New York, is set to open its Brooklyn Utiit within two weeks' time, -and already has a sales staff employed In -drumming- -up . new- buslneaa In the borough. This move is one ahead of .he^ Brooklyn Eagle's campaign to enter* the radio field over there, and also gives the present set-up, WBBC, and WARD, WLTH and WVFW some active competition. .;■.;;■;.•-;' ■:'.■..::,■'; New studio ' is located , in the Metropolitan theatre bulldliig, TO niaker.vthe:-opening"-occasloh - some- thing special, MaJ, Bowes Is gath- ering as many names and celebs as possible for the event. He also ex- -pects - to-move-hls WHN amateur. hour on . Tuesday, nights, oyer for one or two broadcasts. Unit to put a damper on. foreign programs. Plenty bf class inusib instead. One of the main squawks now in the air tussM Is that the borough la flooded with too many foreign spielers.'' .;' .'- Listen to Sunday School On Air-^end in Contribs Macon, Ga., Jan. 21. Baracca Bible ..Class of the First Baptist Church-- in Macon has - a Sunday " morning broadcast on .a commercial basis over WMAZ which has been continuous since June t7 lOSO. Many classes gather In rural seo- tiohs and listen in each Sunday. One group in Wilkinson county as- sembles each week and sends in the collection they take up. WIND Forsakes Sox .:_ ;,.. - Chicago. Jan, 21, : Station WIND is already in the market negotiating for the baseball broadcasts this summer. In the past has : beeh cai'rylng—the :Chicago- -Whlte -Sox games but -Is now under- stood . ready to switch to the Chi- cago. Cubs which is. rated as the most popular Chicago club at this time. from Cincinnati, nouncelr. as b aseball an- Dubueque, la,, Jan. 21. Radio stations in the midwest all experienced more ' or less grief in cbnn ectlon with the rain-sleet storm that struck the latter part of thai week and continued through a pe< rlod of several days. . Not only wbrfL. station facilities crippled, but tele* graph and telephpne Communlca* tion were hard hit. WKB!b, Dubuque, was down for over four hours due to transmitter trouble caused by ice which formed Inrlhe-senil'^rainr—Theriowa-Broad-—- cast company, controlling KSO, Do* Moines; .KWCR, Cedar Rapids, and WMT at Waterloo, was obliged td forego s.everal hookups due to linei: trouble. Teletype service fbr Trans* Radib was dbwh for-.jtnore than a day, with the Postal handling mat- ; ter overhead. Radio was called upon to do many a public service chore over . a. period of several days, disseminating road travel warnings, advising motorlata to Uae chalna and exercise care in driving and the home owner to use. ashes plentifully. All except ab*. solutely. needed travel was para« lyzed. .:..... '„;.:...-_'- ..' ;• ''.'.; -^EwaT^n-Mutual- .Chlcago,-Jan.-21. Alka-Seltzer show with Pat Bar* rett as 'Uncle Ezra' is readying toj double from the present nation* wide NBC hookup to a Mutual web. show. Business, being 'handled by th< Wade agency here. Broadcasting Doe III Baltimore, Jan. il. . Dr. . John Ruhrah, pedlati-iclan, who has ia weekly cbmmerciial spot on WCBM, sponsored by a local dairy. Is in larercy HbBpitai~lrer5^pl~ lowing a sudden atta.ck-of lUnessiJr^ Ilia condiah is reported fair. .WCBM, Is oh "the scamper .tpdajr- (Monday), digging up somewhat t6 replace Dr. Ruhrah on his program WIND now has Harry Hartnranrl Wednesday, and for however many succeeding: weeks he will, be unfibli to get before a' mike,: