Variety (Apr 1935)

42 VARIETY R A D I E PORTS Wecbesdaj; April 17, 193S From Ws Liyii^ Rooni Over WHAS : tidulsivlU^ Asiier-, arid Uttle Jlmmte Is, the name of a unique hillbilly attraction ; now broadcasting over WHAS, Louisville (originated three years ago at L. B. Wilson's WCKT, Cln- "clnnatl); and pliped from WHAS to :KM6Xi St. Louis arid.WSM, Nashr vllle.. It's Jimmy Slzemore, aged Beven, And his dadi . : Senior ■ Sl/.emore plugs his song booki now in, its third yearly. edl-; tlon. Gets thousarids of orders at 26 cents a throw. Little Jlmmle has repertoire of 200 songs. Most popu- lar bielng 'Cliawin' ChaWin* Gum,' • 'Mjr Little Rooster,' 'Shake Hands With Mother Again.' In order to keep within state laws ■governing employment of children, ■glzemore broadcasts, from living - .roorii: of his . home. In, Lipulsvlllei twice, daily. Audience; is told 'now .Little Jlmtnle has put asldo his toys for a few. moments to entertain you ■of the. radio ffudtence, and sonie ot his little friends whom he has ,In- cited In to hear the broadcast.' ', Act exudes a homey atmosphere, partidiilarly. When Little - Jimmle's ■'younger brother, Buddy, Is Intrp- ; , duced, In a childish rendition of 'Old ;^ Joe Clark.' Considerable cbmment ;^as circulated i9.bout year ago, when rUmor .made the rounds that Asher "and Little Jlmtnie had been killed- In; rnptor accident. Tremendous .Volume of niall nece;9sltated station iprlntlng form letter to answer the .thousands of inqtiirlos, advising that the pair were'alive aind well. , : Wiedei-hold, MAE DESMOND PLAYERS^ ; '8t. Elmo' (Dramatic) 'Siiataining /WCAU; PKiladel^^ ■ Mae Desmond, who .several years • ^ftgo was thilly's outsta,ndlng pur-; veyof pf Vthe stock theatre, Is mak- ing a fetiirn via; the ether aftei^ a . ieglt absence of ma.ny seasons. With her Is 3?ranfc Fielder. ., ■.:."> .Debut last week offered a radio :adaptation by Fielder of 'St. Elmo,' .'the hoary work of some 35 years [back. Cast, although billed, as Miss ."Desmond's : owii players, was re- cruited .from the WCAXJ: dramatic etaff, with: the duo handling the ;,'^-leads..,\ Fact that choice: of drama was a poor one for a debut, was not helped by an : afternoon ; spot, sqb-par ada^Ptlng and hlt-iarid-mlss portray ,als. Notwithstanding that the Au gusta Evans lipvel was a rlpsnorter : in lis heydayi ho question either that enforced over-acting qualities of. the Gay Nineties havia limited 9ppeal today, especially via radio, which Is bounded on a,ll sides by mpdern thrillers and Ipve . dramas. In addition, Miss Desmond and Fielder iiave retained the hlstri . onics of the earlier school, and as ft consequence, a play of this type ■given straight sounds like ah under- done burlesque with the punch lines missing. " - '■■ Religious aspect of the'St Elmo' .yarn, played so mlglitlly before gangsters and repeal, was unfor- . tunately handled without restraint oh the program, and' produced laughs where the script calls for more seiUous things. It was a bad piece of cutting. A Both Miss Desinond and Fielder Buffered in comparison with their BUiToundlng cast, all being r^dio talent' and familiar with mike tech- . .nlqiie, since a bare studio is hardly, isecleptlve to mugglhg.and gestures. .(Couple made the :il(ilstake of begin ning d, series without sufficient pre 'jparedriess with radio, niceties to carry: along dramatic bits in the ..- general- run of production. Too much was forped, over-played and jumbled to create a quality Impres ■■■ 8lon< Program was backgrounded hlcie ly through the half-hour by orches ;tra Interludes, but this was not enough to supply what the show obviously lacked. . ' . Ctosch. *IN THE OLD BARN LOFT' With Joe Krahliho : : . Hillbilly COMMERCIAL ; WJSV, Washlhgtoh, D. C: , ' Program gpes on. each Saturday *at ll p.m. and number of I'equests phoned in each time seenis to indi- cate huge audience from Nation's ' Capital and points south. Bill Blv- ens,. young announcer from North Carbliria,, calls numbers and takes onus out of cpmmierclals by feferr .ring to sponsor as 'Coiisln, George'. (Spbnspr is George's Radio Stores. Show - topper is Joe , Krahilng, newly found 18ryear-old tenor. Lls- • teners seem to gd for jhljn in a big way.. Ha^ clear;; high 'tie'nor, iun- i trained but true, arid has knack of selling, . ■ ■ Music furnished :,bir several local groups of : former farmers . now . . eerylng in Government' Vbiireaus. . Gltudlp pnokedv with observers at ■each si) 6w.^ Plan to move broadcast to real barn When weather i^Warihs up. AL SIEGEL and CAROLYN MARSH Piano,. Songs 10 Mins. Sustaining: ■ WHNf New York ■ Al Slegel has a distinct flair for taking a pop song/dragging in other hit; tunes and boiling the whole mixture down into a corking ar4. rangemeht. His style; has asslstfe'd :*;vcral femmo warblers; up the lad- der via this :trlck planology, Ethel Merniftn being the best known, Car- olyn Marsh who filled the vocal Job here is no slouch eltheri /Her vocallzlnig. goes up and down depiendlrig again on the arrange- ment. A flexible set of pipes is necessary to do justice to the score, and Miss Marsh delivered oke. .Duo filled in oh a variety hour, having just a single spot. They could have ret;urheci easily.' v : . VAN HEUSEN / : ; \yith Dr. Louis K< Ahspacher, Vsra Brodsky, Harold, TriggV Talk, Piano/.'.■ 15 Mins. COMMERCIAL WJZ, New York From a muslcd-comedy idea laid in a haberdashery shop the Phillip Jones Corp., maker of the "Van HeU- sen collar ahd shirt, has Bwitched to ghost stories. Program Is re- leased at a late hour Sunday nights and; despite the suave elocutionary voice of Dr. Louis K. Anspacber' and'tKie skill of .'Ve'ra Brodsky and Harold .Trlggs as a piano duo, It sums yp as inconsequential enter- tainment. • Dr.. Anspacher, .plaiy'- Wright-lecturer, formerly did. bis routine of psychic mumbo-Jiimbo ;Over WMCA,- jNew York. 'For bis spectre recital last Sunday night (14) Dr. Anspacher chose an apocryphal sihecdote . Involving Abraham Lincoln. It had to do with a White House piano alleged to have had the : attributes of a Mexican. Jumping bea^. There was no keeping It down even after Lin- coln and three of bis friends piled aboard It. Probability that the dancing piano might have been a gag framed by Lincoln for his Intir mates was not considered by. Dr. Anspacher. To him, the incident, as written by a clergyman at the time, contains all the evidences of a supernatural influence. Brodsky and Trlggs ply their duos before and after the ghost tales. Ad copy stresses the claim that the Van Heusen is woven as one piece so as to fit the neck per- fectly and repeats the Van Heusen slogan, . 'The World's Smartest Collar.' Odec ALEX HYDE ORCHESTRA Music •■• 30 Mint. Sustaining WHN, New York Alex Hyde's musical outfit suc- ceeds Ruby Zwerllng's Loew State hoiise band on WHN's Monday night variety spread. - Program It- self .runs a full hour but Hyde's assignments just keep him on the air about half c.f that time. In addl' tlon to dlrect'ng, Hyde also steps forward for some of the skits .with Ed Lpwry, who m.c.'s the show. Band had two liberal spots, play- ing medleys of pop tunes. Leader has been a vaude attraction of long standing so knows his men and baton. Music here. Is foot-tapping and a distinct asset to the superior array of talent which is presented In between. BROADCAST TO FISHERMEN AT SEA . 15 Mins. ■ Sustaining WHDH, Boston . One of the most unique broadcasts from the Boston territory. With only a limited audience this twice- daily service for fishermen at sea has made this station tops aihong the men In the haddock and cod biz. A platter of 'Anchors Awelgh' is run off first as a tuning aid, then the announcer plunges Into a list of the la:test arrivals at Boston's Fish Pier. Not only are the vessels named, but their cargoes Itemized; then the prices of the most Import- ant • fish . are clearly announced, slowly enough so that the boys out on the Banks can make notes. And they do, according to one station attache who actually made the trip to check up on listener interest. Conditions at the Pier or the mar- ket make a big difference in sail- ing orders, and this service is a greatly appreciated boon for the fishermen who cannot afford the new ship-to-shore phone service In- stalled on three of the bigger Bos- ton boats. Latest weather report from the U. S. Bureau is given; and also an hydrographlc report, on derelicts sighted, etc. Occasionally vital mes- sages are sent to the fishermen at sea, but on program caught (10) the period was completed with two band discs and tlie correct time an- nouncement. Airs 10:30 aim. and 4:30 p.m. . Fox. ■ DOLLY 8ISTER8 Intervi'ew 15 Mins. Sustaining WHN, New York Jenny and Rosie Dolly are back In the. States^ after a number of years', absence and passing through N. Y., one to Chi for a family visit, the other on a Hollywood vacash. Professing no American professional Interests, with emphasis on a new London show for next fall, the Dollys' 'Interview* over WHN must perforce come under the category of Innocent diversion, although it was a forthright enough bullder-upper. Being an interview, and nothing else, it's to their credit that the 16 minutes, a too long period for straight gab, held up as . brightly as it did.. That was solely because of the 'girls'- inherent show values, In- terspering the orthodox q. and a. stuff with personality pseudo-ad llblsms, a little French chatter, some local color concerning Jenny's hasty auto crackup which confined her two and i one-half years, a re- prise of past Broadway, London and Paris performances, etc. —Hinting broadly at their vocal ac- complishments, with mentioning of 'Chasing Rainbows' as one of their song hits, they: dodged any vofeal reprise, something usually expected from fiustalners of this calibre, and often constituting the sole enter- tainment values to the straight In- terview stuff. Probably wise to leave 'em hungry that way, it still probably'Ms: disappointing fOr aver- age . expectations,' although • the Dolljra 'managed to sustain general interest sans . any vocal hoopla. Their mike voices are oke and a hint of possible future ether en- deavor is. but ske'tchily mentioned. Probably the Dollys' own editing wisdom on some of the q's and a'a figured in the generally favorable impression along those lines. Caught last Friday (12) at 6:46-7 p.m. Abel. ■ PAINE'S PAGEANT OF PRO- ' .QRESS '■ With Harold Casey, Helen Barr, Dwifht Meade Historical Drama and Musio 3Q Mins. COMMERCIAL w ■ WEEI, Boston ■^■•^y. Some serious thought went into this One, inaugurated Wednesday night (10) at 8:30. Idea Is to tie in sponsor's (Paine Furniture Com- pany) century as a Boston business with important historical events •of that period. Store enjoys a high repute in this territory and snags most of the carriage trade, there- for the programmer and agency aim at the. conservative listeners throughout. Program is the essence of: dignity and decorum, and that makes sense in this, selling problem. No reason to appeal to the gum chewers because the store doesn't . lead off with $89.90 suites. , Harold Casey conducts the con- cert Orchestra. Helen Barr, soprano, solos; and Dwlght Meade presides as chronicler. ' All three depart- ments excellent; a.nd. throughout it was manifest that the company re- hearsed long ahd laborlouisly. Re- sults were worth it. First historic bit (a local R.R. epic) was ably dramatized hy a sinall company of actors, unidenti- fied. This was followed up by a sensible Slice of commercial dialog between two business men of 1836 annpuriblng their intention Of open- ing UP the origlnar Paine furniture store; Next segment Is musical, featuring a medley of Stephen Fos- ter numbers, well played by the or- chestra. Miss Barr's solo of 'Swanee River' a high spot. Other brief dramatic sketches touch upon a balloon ascension from Boston Common in 1836; bearcat st>eculatlon; panic of 1837; and the orchestra have their innings with 'Lucia' and a .'Bohemian Girl' med- ley, in which Miss Barr Is again spotted. Compact commercial dia- log ties In with the panic, portray- ing the company founders as confi- dent of the future In spite of the black business clouds. There's a cpnyentional mid. plug; but on the end the parting shot is very light and casual. Next broadcast will be picked up from the store Itself, add- ing to the list of free air shows. Ca- pacity estimated at 600. On the whole it shapes up as a logical medium for the product. ■ Fox. ■ ■ NATIONAL CAPITAL AMATEURS With Arthur Godfrey, Orchestra 30 Mins. ■■. ■ COMMERCIAL WJSV, Washington, D. C. Very passable for amateur show; Arthur Godfrey is local fav and show plays to capacity studio audi- ence. Amateurs of better quality than,is generally expected in town of this size and well handled by Godfrey. Program patterned after Ray Perkins' CBS breadcasts. ' Gpdfrey calls himself 'Public Amateur No. 1.' tag pinned on.him by local radio scribe. Amateurs' must say In application What they think of radio editors, which gives Godfrey opening for gags. ; New group of judges each week makes it easy on performers and few get the hook, but nobody seems to mlhd that. Synthetic moo. of cow is signal toi^stop and ties In nicely with dairy: sponsors.- Orchesr tra yery good. ' ENO PENTHOUSE Hal Ksmp, Peggy. B^rnier Flynn. Harry Jans 30 Mins. COMMERCIAL WJZ, New York This new edition of Eno's air se- ries might be another sectiOr. of any dance parade, as a good 22 minutes Is devoted to Hal Kemp's music with the remainder divided between mild humor and commer- cial palaver. - The penthouse idea is discarded entirely though after the opening stanza. Two; musical numbers stood out head and shoulders above-the rest of the material, Reginald FOr- sythe's . distirigiiished syncopated tune, 'Dodgin' A Divorcee,' played to the hilt, and a Spanish piece, which was sung by a femme in the native tongue. . Kemp's music is Widely popular already.. Comedy is dismal In the ■ hands of Peggy Flynn and Harry Jans. Cute stuff is overworked and gets nowhere. With better lines the duo. may do somethlne but their efforts here seemed all for naught' : Next week's attraction is to be Babs Ryan and her fraternity boys, which may meart that the guest policy Is to be started as a bolsterer for the .30-mlnute spread. .This one limped noticeably. V ' A Wednesday night program at 8 D.m. EST. • MEDDLERS CLUB With Arthur Biicknam ahd .William "' Evarts IS Mins. •: COMMERCIAL WCSH, Portland, Maine As a rustic dramatic aerial, with hay-shaker dialog and a simple, easy-to-take plot, this rates as a natural builder-upper of afternoon listeners. . Originates. In Portland, Maine, where talent of this sort cian be easily grabbed off the street. At least the scripter could glean a batch of nasal lingo by leaning out the studio window. Obviously the author knows his Dowii East and result Is that none. of the stuff sounds forced and faked as in many lightweight skits of this, type. Listeners who appreciate. the col- loquialisms . would ' certainly be prone to fall In line as regular tuneris-ln. 'Meddlers Club' consists of two character members, 'Squire Kent' and 'Lemuel Billings,' who do legltlniate meddling to help towns- folk caught in the rough. The squire is Arthur E. BUcknam'; 'Lem' is William H. Evarts. . . On Tuesday afternoon caught (2:46) the boys were, brewing a scheme , to help a fishing . tackle maker. In the home town who was about to. be bested by a 'sllckerj competitor. Slicker was going to give a showmanly demonstration of his tackle before a group of 'folks from New York state' at the shore of a lake. While the meddlers are hatching their plot, another character, 'Ranee,' unidentified, announces that the slick fish tackle guy has be- come mired In a ditch outside his house; thus jlmmlng up the demon- stration and saving the day for the local boy and his - helpers who are earlier characterized as dlrely in need of the biz. Skits are that simple; and are complete episodes, although the characters continue on serially once a week. Sponsor is a large bakery with plants In. Maine and Massachusetts, and their agency has deftly trimmed the before-and-after copy to a min- imum. Plugs simply call attention to the weekly specials featured by the bakery,:. With all superfluous hopplia. conspicuously omitted. An- nouncer Oke. Fox, SHEPHERD BOY George Seymour Songs in Greek 15 Min. -. Sustaining WOL, Washington^ D. C. Ancient folk songs and short near-classics sung In an idyllic setting sounds like eye-wash but it's creating a mild sensation in Na- tion's, Capital. 'Shepherd Boy,' young high schopl lad pf Greek par- entage, strums guitar accompanU ment to his songs In tongue of his parents. ■ Announcer introduced 'Shepherd Boy' alone with his 'flocks In hills of; Greece; George Seymour, the lad's name, enacts the role to perfectipn. He sings with a natural ease and abandon. After first Intro- duction lad Introduces his own numbers, first In English with a tiny lisp, and then in Greek. GEORGE STONE 'Russian Grand Duke' v; Dialectic Comic COMMERCIAL WJZ, New York George Stpne, playing straight stppse to Joe Penner's wisecracks, looks like a happy addition to this program. He employs broken Greek dialect,,but is known as the IRusslah Grand Duke. On the prpgram caught (14) Stone, was fa-vored with, with several well-planted gag lines. Com- parison with othei- Greek idlalectlcal funsters On the ether is inevitable and Stone stacks up well. : Doing a standard routine with Penner, he showed a punchy deliv- ery. Looms like a character that 4may t^tiild. ALGONQUIN LUNCHEONS WoVo Kaufm«n. Thomas L. Stix 15 Mine. Sustaining WOR, New York Most improbable broadcast of last week around Manhattan was Wolfe (not George S.) Kaufman at the Algonquin hotel—not the B, & Q.—being interviewed over a breaded veal cutlet and the Mu- tual network by Thomas L. stlx, Wolfe (not George) Kaufman is on yARiBTT^s—not the Londo'h Times'-^ staff and by all the rules of mugg- dom should talk like somebody the Varistt's telephone operator could 'understand.Instead of Which the mugg turns out to be a baritone pansy! . It seems the mugg wrote a book. And a couple of literary critics read it.' Nobody else did. But that gave the mugg Ideas and he started hanging . around the Algonquin where the real writers con their editors. Stlx got stuck for some- body to Interview and it was a chance for a free lunch; more than he got but of the: royalties on the book, so the mugg fell for It. The miigg told 'etti how Variett reviews radio programs. Wolfe's own (strictly) conception of writ- ing a radio review is (1) pan some- body, (2) meet the person banned. (3) have a drink. (4) become the guest artist on the Program that was oanne^, •, Shows what a guy will do for a free lunch these days. And did.Stlx get even for thei pan! Variett got quite a.lot of free ad- vertising- oyer the Mutual network without paying card rates. That is if anyone was listening to the neo- .Qxfbrd- acceht-^r was '■ it mike fright? It's too late tor the Central Park bum to sell hls hovel anyhow so the mugg Went to town for dear old Alma Mammy; He'll get hla - 'V but AO extra royalties.' . Oh yes, the title of thatl eplc first hovel Is 'Tender Cheeks.' Land. EDISON -SALUTE Music and Skit 15 Mins. . ■■. COMMERCIAL WEEI, Boston ■ ' Because WEEI. is owned and op- erated by the : Edison Electric II- lumlnatlngu.c6mpany of Boston one would expect the utility: organiza- tion to. grab off some of its. ether space to its own cbmnierclal advan- tage. This Is one of those things, aired early Sunday and Wednesday nights. Talent consists of a soprano, baritone and an accompanying or- ganist on the musical end; and on night caught (7) a main and woman talked out a brief, homely skit into which Was tied some advertising for electrical appliances. . : > . Theme of this program wks 'gar- dens.' and all songs contained that word In the titles; 'Garden of To- morrow,' 'Old Fashioned Garden.* etc. Three-minute 'dramatic' sketch, done in unbelieveablc, ultra-nasal Yankee dialect, was laid in some down-east farmhouse. In very, corny dialog the old lady inveigles her mate Into spading the gardein for her early spring planting by selling him the Idea of digging for worms. Announcer then points out to his invisible (or perhaps non- existent) audience' that 'smart' women like her ■. electrify, their kitchens. / Neither singer of the sentimental ballads, In either solo or duet work, could be classified as distinguished, except negatively; and their ar- rangements were apparently straight, from the sheet, without the slightest taint of originality or di- vergence from the ancient printed forms. Top rating must go to tha organist, who. In his thankless rolo of accompanist; handled his depart- ment' deftly throughout. None of the performers were Identified, Even though commercial angle la commendably light on the Salute, by no stretch of Imagination could it be construed a bullder-upper of loudspeaker. followers. Strictly for. relatives of the talent . • Fosi. . MILLION DOLLAR SMILES With David Brbekman's Orchestra 15 Mins. • . 1 COMMERCIAL KHJ, Lbs Angeles ■ Strasska Toothpaste offers 66 prizes valued at $10,000 In a mimic- guessing contest. Staff artist does an imitation of a film or radio art- ist and listener send in the answers plus an essay. oh the' dentrlfrice's value. ■ For the Inltlaler, a gal does a Zizu Pitts routine; ai chap croons a la Birig Crosby and another stut- ters that some one Is a.nasty man —30 he must bo imitating Joe Pen- ner.- Orthestra opens and closes arid, has one short break' midway.. That's all to the prograni for the so-called entertainment value. Program is cluttered up.with re- peated announcements of the con- test and the marvels bt the tooth- paste. At . a .peak , hour, 7: 30 p.m., program is out of place as it has nothing to offer the listener, unless he's a contest hound. It's a glaring example of bad judgment all around. Patently the station holds no restrictions on the advertiser and the plugs are so heavy that the station suffers for listeners not only on this one but on programs that follow. ' Btan.