Variety (Oct 1938)

^Tedncsday, October 5, 1938 RADIO VARIETY 27 WTCN'S KICKBACK Chain Income from Time Sales CBS MUTUAL 1938 January $269,894 February 253,250 March 240,637 April 189,545 May 194,201 June 202,412 July 167,108 August .164,626 September 200,342 Total $1,882,015 1937 $213,748 233,286 241.431 200,134 154,633 117,388 101,457 96.629 132,866 $1,497,572 NBCs September Billings Up 5.7% Columbia Grossed $1,602,105—Off 5% From Same Month in '37—Mutual Figure, $200,342 P"0»ember's billings had Columbia still oti i>e do'A R.'jrade. while Mutual came through with fe boost of 50.8^5,. as compared with the like mc.fdh c* last year. NBC showed an increase of 4.5%. Columbia's turnover figures 5% off on the first nine months of 1938. With Mutual it was a lift of 25^0 and for NBC a tilt of 5.7%, CBS's gross In- come from facilities sales last month amounted to $1,602,105. while NBC drew $2,979,241. Mutual got $200,342 cositrast with the $132,886 garnered lon/oer. '37. t lffi^.m last Sep. CBS grSSMI^H^I^^jho i)r»vious tcmbcr, $l,838,93m^^^^||yi) 8t>:) parallel month and $l,i tomber, 1935. NBC did $2 last September, $2,886,637 the Sep ■ tcmber before that, and $2,163,317 for ; September, '33. ! After 10 Yrs. with CBS Warnow Stays Five More ;!'!a>:. !ast week signed Mark War- now to a yi- . contract as a staff musical director, Wui;n>\v currently directs a house crew on his 'Blu^*. Velvet' sustainer a half hour weekly, and takes a 17 piece portion of it into the Paramount theatre. N. Y.. pit Oct. 19. Latter date will be in conjunction with his brother Ray- mond Scott's quintet. Warnow lias been with CBS 10 years, starting as a violinist in a house crew and shitting to leader's 5i*nnd in an emergency on the re- qj'.pcjt of Morton Downey. He has Jjic>i-C S>:ilCr. Minneapolis Station Cani>- ceHed Commercials to Carry Eugene O'Neill Play Only to Be Slappied Down on Charge Script Con- tained Profanity TEST CASE Washington, Oct. 4, Commission backed down on the 'Horizon' case Tuesday by voting to reconsid.:r order citingr WTCN for ^earine. This vacates ' previous action, but still leaves the complaint pendlne for final determination whether to craek down or shelve it. Indictment of nine stations for al- ledged law and rule violations last week stepped up the Federal Com- munications Commission crusade againls industry offenders but one of the citations, foreshadowing similar action against over a score of other transmitters, stunned the industry and seemed to open the way for a decisive test of regulatory power. Flock of orders for stations to de- fend licenses was topped by action against WTCN, Minneapolis, for as- serted desregard of the ban on pro- fane, indecent, and obscene language. Threat of "punishment grows out of investigation of the script of a cap- sule version of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize drama 'Beyond the Horizon' on an NBC sustaining series of dramatic programs. Airing oc- cured July 28. Angry argument over blue-nose atitude split the Commish when the WTCN matter came up. With Chair- man Frank R. McNinch and Gover- nor Norman S. Case absent, the regu- lators divided four to one. Emphatic protest against grundyism was filed by Comdr. T. A. M. Craven, who in- sisted the official minutes contain his outspoken opinions on the latest twist of the crack-down campaign.. All Are Liable Aii NSC hh:'. web outlets which carried the sex lW-i'T. liable to be summoned to the FCC T.^h^d, although there is a possibility the issue will be thrashed out in test-case fashion with WTCN as the guinea pig. Commish plans, however, to demand names of all stations which took the sustainer, indicating clearly a determination to carry out the ul- timatum conveyed in ' McNinch's (Continued on page 29) Bernie Had to Accej^t Lawer Contract After His Drug Discs (Still to Cmne) Beeaine Known Talented Cop Fort Wayne, Oct. 4. Police Officer Clifford Kirk- patrick, who broadcasts on Westingheuse "WGL's program . called 'Hey, Mr. Motorist,' as- tonished a driver by reaching into the motorist's coat and pulling out a live rabbit. Officer - broadcaster Kirkpat- rick has also studied magic for years as a hobby, and was break- ing in a new routine at his work. His feat brought a lot of local comment. NBC Web Programs To Michigan Regional Will Reduce Local Programs Detroit, Oct. 4. Affiliation of Michigan web with NBC Blue, for both sustaining and commercial programs, is expected to bring about a sharp reduction in production at WXYZ here, which has been furnishing full sked for state net past several years. Now taking NBC blue stuff, in addition to WOOD-WASH (Grand Rapids) and WXYZ which have been NBC affiliates for several years, are WJIM, Lansing; WFDF, Flint; WIBM, Jackson, and WELL, Battle Creek. Adds area of 600,000 popu- lation to NBC coverage in Michigan, Slash in A-XYZ production for its state web will not cause any great talent layoff, it is believed, .since station pared payroll before start of the baseball season. Airings of De- troit Tiger games for Socony-Kel- logg's was shipped out over entire Michigan web this season, so that eliminated about three hours of pro- duction daily.. Despite any reduction necessary in production because of the NBC af- filiation, however, WXYZ still will retain probably the biggest talent payroll in Detroit. Due to lineups needed for station's 'Lone Ranger,' 'Green Hornet' and other network shows. this week will add Sally Woodward, for s ., ^rv«»l years at WWJ here, for series of ttve-ti.r.s-Wf^ckly programs. Will comment on -worn' en's social and civic activities. Ben Bernie had to take a cut from the original price for his Half and Half tobacco series (CBS) as the re- sult of a storm he ran into at the Young & Rubicam agency after his checksigner, Creorge Washington Hill, discovered that the maestro had pre- viously recorded a group^ of United Drug transcriptions, not yet released. Hill's burnup occurred a few days before Bernie was due to make his initial H & H broadcast (1). Y & R knew nothing (they should read Varibtt) of the previous com- mitment with United Drug until after the final contracts had been okayed all around. Bernie realized that he had got himself jammed when on re-reading the agreement he discovered that Hill Had bought his exclusive radio service. When the maestro advised Y & R of sit- uation there ytas consternation right through the agency up to the top of the Amierican Tobacco Co. Admits Error Bernie agreed with the agency's view that this commitment had void- ed his contract with American To- bacco. His contract was subsequent- ly torn up and a new one was issued at a reduced weekly figure, with the difference purportedly being the sum that he is to receive from United Drug. Hill's bitterness over the in- cident was somewhat mollified when he was informed by the agency that United Drug had promised that it would not, while exploiting its own campaign, link the disc series with th < Bernie that is on Half and Half tobacco. Y & R denied the report that it had offered United Drug as high as $25,000 for Bernle's commitment suid any discs that had been made. Ber- nie himself had tried to buy back this same contract, but without any success. John Conte doing the commercials for Silver Theatre, Al Pcarce and Good Gulf. DORIS FISHER WITH DUCHIN FOR PALL MALL New ds Ih Giveaways to Despite the dip in general business, radio ad are resorting to few contests to stimulate inter their wares. Trend seems to be away from prizes to a few persons and toward small gifts everybody. Accounts have apparently become smartened to the idea that the most effective merchandising is that which has some relationship to the product. Procter St Gamble, for instance, instead of giving away autos, is now offering skillets and bathbrushcs, both of which have an association with the company's products. Also 1935 1936 Offers Januiry 37 E'V'»;•r^rv Penny Wise (Doris Fisher, song- writer-arranger daughter of Fred Fidher, music pub) was signed by Eddy Duchin last week to handle the vocals with his band on the Pall- Mall program starting past Monday <3). Contract is for 10 weeks. She •Iso will do two sustaining shots a "week with the Hand from the Plaza Hotel, but will not work with It any other night. ij-i.r-^u Mfjd hpr Wise Guys orch. is currently recoiJin;;' Jus Vocalian, having completed eight sides. (.> 'i IC pact^ Her waxing of her Ovvn j March tune. 'Tutli FfUU:.' No, 1 seller on . the Vocalian list. [May 'Bringing Up Father' July Rights Sold to R-0'K;|e'&r Badlo righU to •Bringing Up | October .. Father' cartoon of George McManus November nave been taken by Rockwell- Decembsr O'Keefe, Inc. I So far there is nothing at hand toj sell. Prank Cooper, of R-O'K. will | ready a script show to peddle. | * Inctudej contests and offers contiiuicd from the previous year. ^"iisers | that it's better to exchange 750,000 bathbrushes for wrappers than to have 10 persons driving around in ears won in P, Sc G. contests. IT of contests on NBC for the first eight months ,_^^^^^^^eompare-l for the like period of 1937 o' tW«yci^BMBte|vc* irt^u?itli the new commercial has amounted l^ip^^l^pH^^iiiim^harper departure broadcast season from this merchandising device. ^^^^^B^^nt of Following chart gives a month-to>monti^^^^H|^ four of contest and offers on NBC during the years: 20 42 40 37 23 25 10 W 4G 23 28 3G0 Contests IG 7 14 10 1 6 5 2 9 f* I 7 1 C5 Offers 72* 50 35 40 32 2f5 15 10 25 19 29 30 383 Contests 15* 4 3 —— Offers 52* 25 20 28 19 21 11 1937 , Contests 19* 5 G 3 r~ Offers 42* 23 28 19 20 17 21 9 1938 Contc 17* 3 e 2 7 3 3 3 L C. Hill's CprnmeBt On 'Crooked Mouthpieces' Fetches $250,000 Suit Edwin C. Hill's alleged references to 'crooked mouthpieces,' represent- ini^. racketeers dbrlng a news broaH'- cast y I th»» Lucky Strike hour in August, 1937, Wu; ' ilwn 'i.-^ a 7>{>rs'*n?il rejection by Moses PolakCif. "^o-^'j York attorney. As a result Hill, the American Tobacco Co., sponsor of the hour, and Columbia Broadcasting System, have been named defendants in a suit fllcd ih N. Y. supreme court by the attorney for $250,000 damages for libel. Polakoff, one of the attorneys who defended Charles 'Lucky' Luciano, convicted as a vice racketeer, claims his rep was damaged by the remarks of Hill while describing the racket over the air by referring to 'crooked lawyer mouthpieces, bondsmen em- ployed by the racket czars who scheme to keep their client out of jail.' The defendants have answered the action with a general denial that any particular' lawyer was Inten. tionally singled out and particularly not the plaintiff, and that the com- inentary was of a general nature. 8r» 8 6 74 Stoop, Skipworth, O'Keefe Set for Quaker Guesters J-^Caffrcy office has booked „ , . !e aii f Alison Co onel ^S^IIM^^g^on the Skipworth for Xwl^pMH^BH^^reri Quaker Oats show on (WEAF). For the first It's th urday (8), while the latter will hav the folowing week (15). S2:.,c? office will have Walter O'Keefe on the IJuiv Vallee-Stand- ard Brands session tomoi'ow (Thursday) and Rae Samuels plm Eddie Green the succeeding InstuH- ;p.t*=it as).