Variety (Mar 1935)

»6 VARIETY Wednesday, March 13^ l<)d5 (Stuhtt, Tie-Upf, Program Noveltiiia) Outstandiiiig' S tutnts Hockey Tickets for Beer Caipa Wjpk, DETROIT, HocJ<cy Tickets Get 'Em : .Sciimldt!s. beer, using a,:, 'free tlbketv oiler over AVJBK brought a tremendous respohise^ Deal called foir 12 Jt>eer-bottl6 i^aps for one ticket; to local hockey games; Tickets «rere torjrtome games ot Petrpit plympl.GS. So greVil "wei^e ^he deniiahda' for tickiets that annotincemehts had to be rriade Jto . reduce the free giveV . outs.: Clyde R Brltton, who. han- dled, states, that over: half a inllUbri ; caps have; beeji received to date. . Annouhcemient'of free tickets \was ..miad!e.^co.7lncldent_ondth:-tha:;briJadi casts emanating from Olyihplii, home of the Olympics.: ; : ■r^-'vPadV'Letter;Box-'- vvVi- : Birmingham: " ' Taking a hlnt from_^he editorial page of the daily ifevrspagi^^ have a.letter box WSGN has Insti- tuted a pefrlbd at; 2:30 p.m; each . Tuesday which has been dubbed the *MaH:B<>x.' During thjsijttme letters .auereaOrom^ listeners onj^usl SbbuT .every suhject Imaginable., .-Some of tiiem prailse • tlie; station iw'hile others: criticize but :they iare ■all-'read;.- - \ : ■ '^jlo'"*Made'Copy..:;;;;,t'''. ' ^' , ■ -.i-il^ew.Tork City;v-; : EiiiplrCj^pold;^ a sponsor that habitually ^.varies .the commercial ' copy to take: advantage of all topi'- cal developments, used smart slant for Its Sunday . (lO) program. Copy Is reproduced fbr. what it;£ugge^ts in the strategy of: radio shbwnian^ . .ship. Verbatlni copy follows: . . , Announcer: , Ladies and gentle- iricn, speaking for the Empire (Sold Company, I want to say: that. the sponscirs of this program have aaked me to omit their regular commercial ; announcement at thla time so that they can particularly welcoide those . who are listening to WOR for the- Qrst Sunday afternoon. Starting; March. 4 the Federal Radio Commis- sion authorized "WOR to .increase its power from 5,000 to. 50,000 watts. 'That means from now on, many hundreds of thousands , of ^ peo- ple will 1»e ' .able to hear the 'pio- grams of this station,, which we of . Empire Gold consider as line a stk- Upn as Is on .the air.. tVe have made BO many; friends and custoitiers ■"thYOuglr" our broadcasting on this . station that we are glad to iake this opportunity to; pay tribute to the excellence of its. programs and. the ftin6 men wlio.run It.. Toii who.are new to this audience will soon learn to dial your radio to 710 kilocycles where you wilt find, dozens, of pror grams that. will. Interest you: Tou will hear Uncle Don, who Is so pop* ^ular:.;.wtth. .the -childrein;—Arthur; • Tracjv the Street Singer;' the Trans ;•; Rfidlo press,"Martha Deane and Al- fred : McCann, favorites " of the housewife, etc., and nunierbus other ; features .that we don't have time to mention,*}ind noW, ladles and gen- -tlemeri, the Empire Gold Company ' .goes on with its little show, present-. Ing, etc., etc. " ' . ' Music- :' Ahndunceril An Associated Press news dispatch: from-Washington/ published in three New York pa- pers this, week,- reniinds .U3 once again that the biggest gold strike in 1934 was in the old trinket boxes where Americans keep family valu- ables. The dispatch goes on to men tlon the Enipire Gold Buying Serv ice in the Empire State Building and tells of the many odd objects ---that-New Yorkers lurn-froiii. of kid llatenevs'as 'UnclevBob,'. di- recting, .■■' . : Dlfflctilt task to' Intertst children in the safety problem'. They find it ithihterestlng, are nbt .impressed with statistics, and are inclined to forget . Instructions ohce they ar^ free of the; school and home dis- cipline. Present radio plan is for 'Uncle Bob • to teach thiem songs over the air which will: warn the listeners to look to right and left before crbssihg a street. -Then , he Will visit the primary, schools to see if the youngsters know, the songs;- and will supervise' the mass war.-, bling. Meeting 'Uncle Bob* in per- spnNWin'"ada "further incentive" and flx tlie instructions, it is felt. WMCA's C*<ikUi( Cointest ■ l^ew York City. ■-. ■'Free ■ drinks are assured at :WMGA's cocktail contest,-slated ifOr testing-on: March-W^at-Jack Demp- sey's restaurant. Eddie Dowllhg, president of the League for; Better Drinks. • Ininresi de. and several Stage celeb's ai'e down ^to; judge.; New con coctions- will-be-the b^de^ of the day. - A. L. Alexander is to' haiidle the tasty- -broadcast. Mrs. Courtlandt Van Horii and Marian Cbllihs, who cbmnieritate.; about suiidi-y Items over- the station; to assist :'with ,the pouring chores^ Actual mi^ng will berdbhe -by-^several hotei; bartenders.- vAIrlrig .fbr the trick gurgle: hour is at 3:30: EST.; .■...;■;:. '" ;■ ' .:^HiHbfllies Mess tJp Aif; - 7, Cha:rlotte, N. CT TWBT seeurr semus "te: Jts^'det^r* mlnatloh to hold hillbilly . stuff..; to the present quota of one and a half: hours daily, .Station"Is reported re- jecting offers for time from several sponsors who were mountain music nii'nded. Station reputedly managed ta> divert all but one of prosipects to other .types of entertainment. Idea at WBT is that hillbllUes may be-okay for selling stomach puraps^' but they mess up the air; and speckle the prestige'of the sta- tion.^ : ^ Moreover, the people of Charlotte ai-e a bit sensitive about hillbillies and. like' to dissociate themselves culturally fcbni .the Totiacco Road inbb. ■ ■ ''■■'::'■.■ ■ News Set.to Music Cleveland. . •Who's News Today?' is Utle of novel topical 8tunt'_by Al and Pete over ~WQAR. • "Teaii revknipa: lyri^: every day for 1:30 to. 2:3°0 program; to include natnes of 10 celebrities most prominent in day's headlines. Flash of news or gossip is tied up with'namies of biggies, making them sbmethihg like .news-tunesr" ~?. - : HaXardinu^ • ' : New York City. A typical Times Square crowd mobbed A« L. Alexander, WMCA announcer, on Sunday night (10) in front of the Hotel Aator. Riot squad had to; conie to the rescue. As sbon As Alexander. began sorting -pedestrians-out^for-flrst-hanii prat- tle, there was .a rush^and his, glasses were knocked off aiid crushed:" Mi- crophone equipment was also dam' aged fti the- melee. ' ;Statlon then tilled in with piano logs, Prograna ;ptarted at .6:46 and was over'"in. t\vo minutes' time. Next week, anhoiinCer plans flr mbre se eluded nook /for. his man-on-the,- street stunt. subjects, a build tip on the problem leading to tbv book is to be dramu- ttzed by .station players, with the book being declared' the answer to It all as the players end .their bit, Reviewer will then do his stuff. York Radio hra^ ■■ For.-Parente- ■■ ■ : ■ : Duluth. : . Of / appeal to motlier^ of smiill Children—and uncles, ; aunts arid grandparents, too—Is "WEBC's new College of Air aeries, conducted by Superior Stata Teachers' College. Cburse; Is one in storyrteiiing and child lUeraturtt, Taught by Blanche L. Bai<8e, supervisor, of the primary kindergarten department, stint is broadcast direct from the class- .room. '-: ;■;■'; ■'- '. Practically i, labbratory.. course. Each student Is asaigned>a l^-min- ute period of Bt.ory-telling, followed by constructive criticism :fi'om the teacher arid other students, —Persons who wonder - virha t - their children should read :are' urged to write' for a free list of books sutt- abie for kiddies. All-books von the list are available at public libraries. TInie of airinjg la good for women listehrinners,. 1:45«2:15 p.rii;, twice: weekly.. Education aa. served up by this series 'Is proving trcnicndously- palatable, Jjudglng from the post- marks it's pulling. Dept. Store Style Service • ; :'■.; .., ^New-York City. / World. Broadcasting's Tbbe|iogue stj'le. service,. Just 'recorded a ,few weeks, ago,, has been purchased by —1-2 depai'tment-storer^cattered-over the-country. - Series covers fashions At;theiopeca,_higlit-clubs and- other social;spots, A direct merchandizing plan ties up with the various models asi discussed in the disks. Concerns arid stations AVhb signed for the M prograirts are: Fox & Co., WTIC, Hartford; Brigham Com- pany, WMAS,. Springfield, Mass.; Fbrnlan Company,WHEC. Roches- ■ ter; Thalheimei- ' Brps.,, 'WRVAi . JBlclimond; _, ..t,'overiaaD,..-.Joseph^ & I/oeb,'; Inc., WAPI,; Birmingham; . Maisoii Blanche, .WSMB, New. Or- leans; ppgue's,. WCKir, Colurrtbus; . Rike-Kuriiler / Company, WSMK, . Dayton; Wasson's, "VVICBF; Indlan- ;apolis.; Field-Sclillbk, Inc., KSTP,' St. Paul;-the Emporium, KLX, San Francisco, and.the .-Union Company, WBNS, Cplumbus, /Children Ig^nprc Statistics ■ Toronto. Witli iricreaslhg number Pf autp- mPblle fatalities, the government plans to launch a six-a-week series of radio programs eniibod^ing safety jeduca.tit)ri. of- ehlldren.; _Sponispr _is the Department of Highways, .with Fred Kantell, knbwit to thousands CBS Artists Portfolio ... New York City. Cpluriibia Broadcasting. Systerii will issue its artistis'^ poi*tfoii6 this week. It Is loose-;leaf in construc- tion with plenty of room for' in- sertions. 'Besides considerable art work, detailed information "IS given on all entertainment booked by the artists' burealu. Night sp6ts which are" covered; by CBS , nariies and other matter-Iricludcd/in the copy" Advertisers,. -clients, press, etc., will receive copiesi - Guessing the Band Lancaster, Pa. -.-Ah-^ffeGtive-:-system^6C, putting over a transcription program with plehty ..of spots;, scattered " through it has been developed by WKJC here .in its 'Uninvited Guest" pro- gram... -. ■'Guest' plays recordings 6f same tune by different "bands as the fea- ture of the progi-am and passes out theatre tickets to listeners who cian nariie correctly the bands Involved. _!-;_..■-;:;:..: L.iterapy--.Prbflramsi^^^;::: Lancaster, Pa. Currently . ^KJC. is ' using Miss Margairet Critchfteld,. libratian ;bf the publib library, and Dr.' Darrell L.arseri, College; public speaking; arid dramatic department head to do a weekly chat on books called 'Readin' and Ritin','^ Pair ■ talk about author as well as. the book, and compare it with related; works ;in the field: and other works frbhi the same pen. ; WGAL, using much the same idea In a single handled by .Paul Roden-; hauser, station scrlpter, is contem- plating switching/to a short; draina- tizatlon of the book In question a la "March;bf Time,'// .-._;_.^ In / serioiis subject.'ii dealing with <i( ononii(^, .sc'I^'.ntiflo or-p.sychploglcal. ■I' ':lZ'^L ;-_-i:Sponsai;:Fahface_' './'-'ul..-' ■■..:i; v. . - Vancouver, - :CKCD*B ripvel- fanfare Intreduc- tloin for the new Tuesday program) At Peace with the World, has caused considerable com m e h t throughout, the. Pabiflc northwest; It Is a, coriablnatlon- of ;vocal > and vibraphone... ; Three .arinbuiicers standing at:. various . distance^, from the microphone ainhouncing a letter simultaneously, spell out the name ./of the sponsor, creating an unusual ,ettect-aa-it-blends into the- theme song, 'At Peace with the Woridl' . ".^; -. Program uses tho musical Calan- gis. Family, playing stringed Instni- ments; Just as successfiil as the Intrbduction on the first program was the solo by George Calangfs. , -; ■ 4, ' ■ . ' -1. Home Pride Playhouse .Bridgeport 'Home Pride Playhouse,' commer,- clal offshoot of sustaining 'Open House' amateurrstudio arid giiestar revue launched live weeks ago, pre- miered Siihdaly (10) In 1.600-capa- city auditorium of Central High school by WICC arid baker-spon- sors, Borck & Stevens. Air hour, beginning at 10 p. in., preceded by hour and a half of pub- lic auditlbris of amateurs, .Admis- slpn to .opening show was first come, first served, but from-nbw'Oh tickets will be distributed through patrPn's retail outlets. .' , M.C.'lng: revue iB /Joseph Lopez, with George Bbwe. James Milne and Judson La Haye of station staflC stooging. Amateur presentation aug- riiented. by studio talent. ;;- 'Playhouse' radio pbrtion of Bbrck &' Stevens caimpalgti, to. put over new vitamin product; ; Program Contrasts ;V Cincinnati. WSAI, whispering baby brother of Crbslejr's sujper WtW, is going -to—extremes—to^^tablislr^ hoverty sustainers.-^- - - ^ ;.' . :..; v,;._ New Saturday show of station offers half hour of Negro amateurs, remoted from the Cotton Club, •burg's only black arid' tah, riitery. Ghastly reverse of,, that prpgram is Piping of hearings of coroner's in quests on auto fatalities in attempt by muny and courity • / bfilcials to curb traffic, accidents. ; Morning tirafHc court airings and quarter-hour afternoori talks bri crime prevention by chief of Cincy detectives, Emmett. Kirgan, from his oflice, ^alsp ai"6- handled by WSAI. - ■ :..:;.; - : v:^:^,;;;^;■;;:"■ V Lbcal radio statibnn are divided into three clasi^es by the Musiolana Union, Local 802, which is the i^.Y bpdy. Class A cpndlsts pf the network stations WEAP, WJZ. WABC arid WOR These sUUons have a staff ol niuslciahs (housemen), Class B consists: of WMCA; WINS, tWEW which independent outlets also employ stailt of musicians but at a Ibwbc wage scale. Glass C are stations like WHN wKlch employ no staff of musicians. Likewise on the charge pej- remote pickup brbadcast the Class A outlets cost. $3 per nian, Class B ?2, apd Class C |1. WTilch explalnB why some of the smaller stationB can still teed dince tunes to dlalei^, many a spot will pay the il charge but not the II Meantime the^CIass B outlets are grumbling. Claim that networks can pickup out- pf-tpwn bands which they cannpt; smaller statipris have band tunes as explained abpye; while they have to play reccrds or sign off since they caii t afllOTd to lieep; the house staff wp^^ ' " Ooritba Boys Hoard Tricks? .■■■:';.•/,'■-; Irving Aaronsoh, now at the Paradise, was audiUoriirig 'musicians preporatpry to -his 7)pewlhg;;^ A; call was issued for bass playersi About 20 of the boys were called, and: thanks to an errors the entire batch .showed, at; the same time. Aarpnsbn, listened a-nd .was anikzed at the lack of talent until he wafl^nlightehed^jt se^iria tliat bass players have their pwn lndlvrdutil tricks aha^ wUl ript shew them in frerit of the other boys. Okay for i cpmpetltpr tp watch while ch the jbb; but no dice it ari audition. ■■■./-.■■;■■■ - ■■'.■;-;■-./•.. ---- ;■ '', V ^ -V v;-.>--/CBS. Visitors 'in,„N.;V.:- ' \ James C. Hanfahan, general /manager of kRNT, which glve^ (JBS its :flrst. baste atatlori In the Des Moines area starting March 17. Other visitors inclrided Hanv Butcher, general manager of WJ6V in tVashing-i ton; Archie Shawd,; sales mariageir of CKLW at Detroit-Windsor; and Sam Cook, Owner;ot WFfiL In;Syracuse;:N. Y^; o -/ v : : . •.^-■'•■'■-v^:;-^-://■.:•' ■• ■/"/'■■:.'■■'■'; ■■•^hort..8hot* '. •^-:;,■-^^•.v^; ^';;-.-"':; ■r"/""^^:.;/- ;,"^, • Iwatberine Seymour of the NBC. continuity dept has reslgried after 0^ yeai-s of service. . .The Llnit-Phil Spitalny girt ban^^ Thursdays to Tuesdays at 9:30 oh;April 9. i .Cbrinla Gates replaced Gladys :Ba»teLaa_fem:Hol6ist,bri- the_lOutdPpr Girl-Beauty NBC Is Iposeninicr up pri Its. spng plugget- rtstrlctlpris. The lune^sellers are; now admitted to: the studios during daylight, but cbmes-dusk; and they: a.re banished: to the lobby dpwnstalrs. .-iEthel Barrymore, Jack Dempsey and Haririah (Mrs. Dempsey)' Williams haVe been booked fof the Ben. Bernie broadcasts, Brother Horrifiari is hiaridlirig the bopklngs fpr Ben...When Palrinoilve recently repeated 'The Rogue Sbng? operetta er-musical-dlireictor-for-Palmollve. Nat Shilkret refused-tb let them use his orchestrations.:. .Jack Fultori is keeplrig to hiii brbadcastlng schedule despite .a heavy cold. .Jack claims-hb is golrig to open a clothing shop on Fifth avenue..;The Dp-Re-Ml Trio lost their mother, Mrs. Ross, last' vreek...Tbny/Stanford had to draw chalklines on the studio floor for use of Jane Cpwl In 'LiWc "Time' for Lux; To cpriiplicate matters Miss Cowl kept fprgettirig her glasses. . .A. L.' Alexander, WMCA chief arinoUnc;er»; Is up to his liamerchiangingV Btunt again. / "Thi^i time he switched :an- " nouncer Leslie Marcus to Leslie Marshall; /: Measles Alters Script /-.'. .■ Duluth, Unreckpned-with adventure ef Buddy:and Glngej-, on the pi-ogram of that" Tiame "airirigTiaaiiy "over WCCO, happened When an hour be- fore stint Was to go on word came tp tlie studio that Buddy (Stephen Rauch) had.come down with an at- tack of measles; and Would be un- able to. appear. Script, which had the kids j>re- parlng for a trip, was_entireiy. re- written: In an hbui'.: Neat job, with no inentipn inaide of . Buddy's riieaslbs and rio iriimediatb explana- tion of his absence; / y?^ ■ ■ .7-window Plugs ■ . Chicago. ■ WGN, Chicago Tribune station, tied in with Walgrreen's drugstore^ -In;" a,_; two-way pltig " ion' the ' cam- paign on the chain driigstPres to boost the sales, of its Aetna radios; TValgreen's devoted 50 full win-< dows /throughout Its. chain 'to the radics with the wlridews alsp cair- rying large pibtures of WGN / and Mutual: systeni" headliners: Qiiln Ryari, Arthur Tracy, Slrigihg Sam, Bpb Elspri, Ted Weema, Jan Garber and; Wayne king.; '. \ Ciitia|6g of Contests; Baltimore. WPBR has weekly pamphlet Which lists all the 'cbntestB arid gift offers the Station is carrying, both national: chain "and-Iocal. - Copy bf- pamphlet sent out to. all on mailing list, together With, note IB each eh- 'Ckrambied Notes" CBS will air on th$ JCri,te Smith show a scene of 'Three Men on a Horse' directly from the stage of the Playhouse theatre taken while the regular; Wednesday matinee la being perfornied...,St, John Terrell of .varlpuB^^way shows- has-been added to the - caat i pf---'Tlio -Shadowir^;-.- Ann, Ktitb'rihe and .Callloira on WMCA...; Don Bestor-of the Jack Benny shows audittona for ah Insurance company arid a cosmetic maker this week.. .<3ebrge Giiypt is ribw- a regular part pf the Blpck arid Sully show. B&S recently hied' themselves to the Central Park: Zbp where tliey posed wlt^ a batch of mPnkeys.. *V1 Bradley birth- dayed-pn SundayV- •?®8fiT 'Bernier Flynii ha8:t)TO^ Warner Brp8. ,Bhprt8. cBut. tne Bklyn. studiba have been: closed?)... Mildrbd Munsbn haa joined Uie Modern Choir as. soprano ;iBOlblst. Sh« win sing with the group on their Friday; and, Sunday eve commercials and with the.Roy cariipbell/SWariee Sltigers pn '.■.';■■■•.•■■-; ■Stand -By:,'';/; ■ ; ■ ' Peg^; LaCentra arid Bob Lawrence; have been pkayed; a^d set^s, the ;ijemanei>t^jtalenLbn_the-Radio;;City-JBart^ ;Bentori- & .Bowles renewed Frartcla. White, effective: tp. June;..David jfeedman. auditioned a 'new idea* fscf ipt at; NBC utlllizing the jack, Denny ork and Ernest "Truex...Jimimy Saphler llandlirig the /Httrrjr-iSalter ork..,Jack Shilkret df CBS haa.^added Chariey M PoSrier and Abe Bred- kih: tP hig ork. ..EncKih'Light's press agen set to play thia Legion of Honor/ball in Paris; Prance.. . Abe liyriian to return to: Calif, via a tour of. one nlghters. /.Leon Belascb ork to leave the Casino d»- Paree .in.: two weeks. . . Jack Berger now hai^ eight bainds playing .under his name;. .Bob Grant, wiU be 31 years old on Thursday (14), and his band Is partying hini at the Miami Beach and Tennis Club that night . . . .Phil Spitalny's sponsor (Linit) is Conducting a house-tb-house.poll in 25 cities to discQiver what limp the woman favor for llstenlng-in;.; George Bijur of CBS is spn-in-law oreRoxy...Thomaa Reilly Is new NBC production maji._Has .b££n iiew-fbE-past three weeks. . .Parkyakakas started as ad solicitor for tiie Boston Ariierican at/|$30 per in 1923; velopb - advising recipient to tell friends that if they're; interested in being given/ .same service by sta- tibn, send along their tags and ad- dresses.■:■ Brochure lists: contests arid glve^- away chances/In alphabetical/prder, tpgether with name of program, sponsor, status .and complete facts and statistics ,bf contest; Current week finds .-23 sepat-ate programs offerlng^eltlvCT" a .conteflt br^Bome^ thing for nothing. Has. been' dis- covered that even the most blood- hounding of contest followers usually are unaware of ispmething up and running, so idea station, has conceived-; is turning put pretty nice, to Judge listeners' letter* of comment. WDEV's Special Permit - Waterbury.-yt; . WDEV went'bn the air nights fpr the first time,; obtaining a. BI>ecial permit, to broadcast, the ^ dbllbera- tlpns in the Verment Tjeglslatui'e on the Green Mountain Parkway prp-^ gram.';.'.'.-' :■-■/ .Urged- daytime listeners tp wire friends: withlri .a 6Q0-mile radius that the. station could be heard at that distance after dark, / Dramatize. Court Trials ■■ - New York,' WBNX, Bronx, is; to diamatize New Ybrk. Criminal ccurt trials with GIffbrd Lash ficriptlng; Radib airdi- enc* la to act as the. jury. This Is aatllo 'M3U Xi)p«xe ^pu ;is the first time fpr llsteriers tP de- liberate, on. true cases.; ■ - ;r-T - Names, places and dates will' be fictitious, but the continuity will be an actual transcript of the court record. Sort of a guess-thls-bne idea;.;;,:'.. /// " : ■ ■. /';.. Radio Takes;a'l3ow../ '■' ;■.' ■.■: ■ ■., ■• Dallas. __: Q.6P_fPmilaLexpbsltlon; corporation used city's radio stations, AVl«t; KRLD, and WFAA, as well as news-^ paper ads, to prbmote: opening of Iwnd issue sale.. Result first two /days: 1.1,309,800 in pledges. ; theatre-SpM^ ' '.V Providelice; - Four downtown theatres are bene- . -nting -through' "a"' new cbriiinerclal broadcast over station WEAN. Pro- gram worked up ■ by Frank Dodge, local advei;tlsing man.: :Sbld Idea 10/ Brbwriell/and Field; manufacturers of Autocrat: Cpffee; Dodge dispenses film- chatter jpreftared from press books supplied by theatres on bills, booked for following week, : Radio audience Isasked tP: write essays:en pictures tallccd-abcut, and : winners receive: free ducats, : ■ :;' -CiampuB/Neyva:'': '--: - - Dallas. ■ijniverslty of Texas .on SBS net; twice Weekly from' KNOW. Austin, with TValter Crbriklte J>rpadcasting camilTus "news, bkiahpriia City urilV. • alsp. bn SBS thrPUgh KOMA, OkJa-, homa Cltyv .' • '