Variety (Apr 1939)

40 VARIETY RADIO Wednesdaj, April 19, 1939 Baseball Bii^aphies on Radio Discs I*. K. Wrigley Spottinje Buildup for Cubs in Towns of National League Chicago, April 18. National exploitation and radio plugging for a baseball team and its various members is belitg readied by the Chicago Cubs, National League team owned by P. K. Wrigley. Neis- ser-Meyerhot agency Is preparing a series ot 15-minute discs on the lives of the individual members of the Cubs team. These discs will be spotted in the. various National liCague towns and wUl plug not only ihe Cubs but also the teams of the League and baseball In general. Wrigley has been a pioneer in the strong tie-up between baseball and radio; not only.in play-by-play com- ' mercial deals, but for the past two years has been turning his sponsor- ship rights money back into radio by buying time to plug the Chicago Cubs and baseball on Chi stations. This is an added step in WiSley's determination to further the close association between radio and base- ball. Series will run at least ''3 shots and if a click, figures to run to 26. Indications are that' series will be ready some time in May. TRED HOEY BOOSTERS' FAIL TO MOVE EXECS Boston, April 18.. Frankie Frisch went on the air for Colonial Network Saturday (15), broadcasting a play-by-play descrip- tion of the first exhibition baseball game between the Boston Bees end Red Sox, with Atlantic Refining Co. as sponsor and this week marks the official end ot the Fred Hoey Boost- ters campaign. John Shepard, 3rd, president of Colonial Net, stood pat on his deal with Friscli and the 'Sponsor backed him up. Friends of Hoey, who had broad- cast play-by-play stuff for the Yan- kee and Colonial Nets for 13 year$, promoted a sensational campaign of protest against the dropping of Hoey this season, and for two weeks bombarded the general public with direct-mail, newspaper and sound trucfe bally. The committee rounded up a pile of signatures on a petition to R. H. Colley, president of Atlan- tic, and claimed more than' a million signers. Nonnan Baker dancer Cures' Suit to Trial Wichita, Kan., April 18. E. Haldeman-Julius, publisher of Girard, Kan., must defend himself in trial against suit for $600,000 by Nor- man Baker, ex-broadcaster ot Musca- tine, la., according to a ruling of the Kansas supreme court Baker al- leged publisher libeled blm by pub- lication in one of his papers ot de- rogatory statements concerning claims of benefits resulting from treatment of cancer at - a Muscatine hospitaL ♦ ♦♦ MM »»> M t M »»* MMM »»«»»»« f *»«» ♦♦♦ . ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ M t« MM »4 I Now Observing Open House Week WGY SETS PLANS Has Various Personages Give Talks —Other AoUvlUes Joseph Freed Qnt Of Mnzak, Abo KoeUer; Pete Holland New CLM. Joseph D. R. Freed, vice-president and general manager ot Muzak, wired entertainment service, has re- signed, effective this Saturday (22). Going out with him are his secre- tary and Joe Koehler, assistant and head of promotional dept Letter's resignation was effective yesterday (Tuesday). Formerly an • exec of FreedrEis- man Radio, Freed has been with Muzak for aboiit a year. In that time the company has expanded considerably. Instituting several new services, the latest being its Spon- sored Program Service. Warner Bros, owns Muzak. Peter Holland, heretofore treasurer of the org, will replace Freed in charge. PARTICIPATING BASEBALL Grimm Vs. Fonseca With Fonr Sponsors Via WJJD BASEBALL CLOGS WBBM EVENTS ON WIND, GARY Chicago, April 18. With baseball crowding WBBM, the Columbia outlet here, W^ND, will take over a flock of the cream after- noon Columbia shows. Topping the list for the immediate future will be the Philharmonic broadcasts on Sun- day afternoon. Other items wOl be the coverage Of jthe big stake races on Saturday Jftemoons and other shows and events of national importance that teke place during the early p.m. Chicago, April 18. Four national sponsors will run play-by-play baseball on WJJD, with former liig league managers Charlie Grimm and Lew Fonseca at the mike. On the plugs will be La Palina, Walgreen's, Bowman's Dairy and Gillette. All products will get plugs daily, with the sponsors rotating througli the innings; With a quartet of back- ers, plag-by-play on WJJD looks for terrif promotional backing in stores and newspapers. Walgreen's will strip all windows with pluggers and will keep stores' radios tuned in on broadcast. LaPalina will cover all cigar stores with strips and stands; Bowman's will put pluggers on all milk bottles, while GiUett^ will run a daily two-inch ad On the sfiorts page of the newspapers. Play-by-play will be run as a 'feud' between Fonseca, former White Sox (American lieague) iinan ager, and Grinun,"former Cubs (NB' tional League) manager, Grimm Is under coptract to WBBM, which sub- let him to WJJD. SPRING 4" INTO SUMMER SPRING into Sununer now with a ccan> pcdgn to reach our 'Triendly Family" of 1.500.000 Itdo-AmericoDsl And that's Just what Progressive Advertisers are doing so that they become welcome guests with our "Friendly_E(CRnUy" which summers witfi us. dodlyl NEW YOBt 1000 WATTS . THE meaNAnoNAL uoAbcjuatiHs cow. MEW you' MEW YOBT SOOO WA'TTS Scenectady, April 18. WGY is observing Open House Week by adding five programs to studio-audience schedule, broad- casting invitations to listeners to at- tend and/or inspect its new studio building, and airing talks on radio's purpose and significance by a group of leading Schenectadians. Besides a pair of ticket shows, 'Name Your Number,' a 10:30 p.m. shot, and 'Juvenile Jamboree,' Saturday morn- ing salvo, station is presenting An^ nette McCullough's t^o 7:15 p.m. song periods, John Sheehan's 'When Day is Done' on a 10:45 p.m. block, and Gordie Randall's *Fashions in Melody' feature on a 6:45 p.m. spot twice in week, before- visuals. General come-see-hear has been extended, audience chamber seating 150. Ushers are on duty from 11 a.m. Addresses on 'Radio' have been slotted for Chester D. Lang,, director of publicity. General Electric; Law- rence Manger, president of Schen- ectady Chamber of Commerce; Dr. t)ixon' Ryan Fox, head ot Union College, and Rev. D. Victor Frelick, president of Schenectady Federation of Churches, set FRISCO'S BIG BALLY Seme 75 Proenms Schedaled— Union Gives rUidio s Break San Francisco, April 18. Local observance ot National Radio open house week got under way auspiciously yesterday, with some 75 programs scheduled to be broadcast during the week from the radio studios at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, and 40 newscasts and other programs being aired by either KPO or KGO direct from a Market street window of The JSmporium, city's largest department store. Musicians Union Local No. 6 has waived its demands tor higher pay for musicians broadcasting from the Island for this week only, as a spe- cial concession to the' broadcasters during the 'open'house* celebration. The four network outlets here— KSFO, KPO, KGO and KFRC, and at least one indie station, KJB&— will originate programs at the Island. One of the first was KGO's baseball, rally last night, presented from the Hall ot Western States, with sportscasters Ernie Smith and Don Thompson as emcees, and mem- bers of the San Francisco Seals and the Sacramento Senators' ball teams participating in a baseball quiz con- ducted by Lefty O'Doul. Will Aubfey of KGO's Musical Clock and a group of diamond stars also pres- ent Most ambitious series of broad- casts of its type ever attempted locally is the set-up .arranged by KGO and KPO with The Emporium. (!>nly once before has the store allowed any live talent demonstra- tions ot ai}y kind in Its wind.ows, and that was a television display ten years ago. All ot the stations' quarter-hour newscasts between the hours of 8:45 a.m. and 6 p.m. are being broadcast from one ot the store's two largest windows, with Bob Andersen and Robert Ackerley alternating at the mike. News dis- patches are received- in the window over two teletypewriters direct from the United Press and the Interna- tional News Service. Also being aired from the window are Janet Baird's news commenta- ries, 'Through a Woman's Eyes,' and Ira Blue's two daily quarter-hour shows devoted to radio program news, KGO's 'On the Air' and KPO's 'Let's Listen.' A public address speaker in front of the window en- ables onlookers to hear the broad- casts as well as watch them. Pro- grams are also being piped through- out the store via a p.a. system. Local department stores have been notice- ably apathetic towards radio as an advertising medium, but through these broadcasts KGO and KPO hope to make them 'sit up and take notice.' The news types ot programs were chosen for the -vindow broad- casts because they are deemed espe- cially suitable tor department store advertising. Emporium Is calUng attention to the broadcasts In Its display, ads jJWtag^tjip.Tye^.VAs PP?<:«al ad Is b:.Ing prepared in cooperation with the local RCA distributors. Promotion displays will b« pre- sented by the tour ..two^ stations at a special luncheoi.' ot Ihe San Francisco'Advertising Clu'^ Wednes- day (10). Speaker tor the luncheon has not been announced. Special picture displays have been Installed In a number ot downtown windows by KSFO, as well as KGO and KPO. Announcements calling attention to National Radio open house week are being aired by iaU stations, and special Invitations have been mailed to important contacts by station managers in conjunction with copies ot the booklet. The ABC ot Radio.' Dealers are plugging the 'open house' week in 'their newspaper ads and are also stressing the im- portance ot buying higher-priced radio sets tor better reception and greater selectivity. The inexpensive sets have been leading in local sales. STATIONS SWAP EXECS six ot St Lento -Seven Talk Over Other FeUpw's StaUen St Louis, AprU 18. "National Radio Open House' opened Monday (17) with all seven commercial stations united to focus attention on the advantages of the American system of broadcasting. Arthur J. Casey, KMOX production director, is chairman of committee that arranged the sked. Half hour programs being built by the stations. On each ot these programs a speaker from a competitive station will call attention to the treedom ot the air waves in the U. S. and invite listeners In this area to be- come better acquainted with their broadcasting stations by visiting them during the week. Addition- ally, civic groups now broadcasting over local stations will devote one of their programs to Open House Week. On the local programs, station managers will fill the speaking as- signments. Merle S. Jo nes of KMOX will sp eak over W TMV , Waiiam West ot WTMV over WIL, Ray Hamilton of KXOK over WEW, Robert Convey of KWK over KXOK, Ik A. Benson ot WIL over KWK, and Al Foster of WEW over KXOK. KSD is not sending any speakers to another station and no one from another station was invited to speak over KSD. WDRC PARTICIPATES Ope ns S tudios — AlteraUons Make wnc Premises Unavailable Hartford, April 18. Turning about face, WDRC Is par- ticipating in Natlona' Radio open house week. Had previously an- nounced It was planning nothing. Extent ot cooperation is through a series of announcements, advertising the week, with the public being In- vited to visit the studios from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. On tiie other hand, WTIC, which had announced plans for participa- tion in the National Radio open house week, is cancelling all plans that will bring the public to the studios. Station last week started an extensive alteration program In Its studios. However, station Is co- operating by broadcastiiig announce- ments stressing the present day value ot radio to the nation. Point to be .sj'essed during the week is the freedom of riadio in this country as coinpared to other nations, DALLAS' BOOKLET Vtoltora Get Printed Treatise on Um Hour, Whys of Radio Dallas, April U, Making it easier for Joe Doaket to understand what makes radio, WFAA, Dallas News station here, has prepared a booklet to be given to visitors at the plant Called "Your Visit to WFAA,' it explains in simplest terms the rudiments of the worits, plugs the outfit's mobile unit, KAXD, and station's new ver- tical radiator, 653 feet high, tallest structure in Texas. Last pages dedicated to 11 mem- bers of the staff, giving brief biogs. Smiling from the print are Raymond Collins, technical supervisor; Paul Barnes, plant supervisor; John Hem« ley,' plant engineer; Jim Webb Cooper, plant engineer; Paul Bos- taph, studio control engineer; Dar- win Peterson, plant engineer; Loran Wucker, plant engineer;, Gerald Howard, plant engineer; (Hyde Mosteller, plant engineer; William Ellis, studio control engineer, and Olin Brown, studio control, engineer, BRYANT WASHBURN WEEK Synonymona with NaUonal Badle Week at Krao, Seattle SeatUe, April 18. Bryant Washburn is here scout- ing in jammed studios' for talent on behalf ot Jesse Lasky's 'Gateway to Hollywood' program, His advent was turned into a public, exhibition by.KIRO. Station reasoned thus: (a) It's National Open Radio open house week. (b) Washburn used to be a film star himself. (c) His presence was a made-to- order excuse for Inviting people to the studio to see something better thaii 'an interesting arrangement of panels.' KMOX ToDring Kitchen St. Louis, April 18. KMOX's 'Magic lUtchen' trailer, with Kathryn Snodgrass In charge, started on a trek that will visit 35 cities in Illinois and Missouri as part of the Ford Motor Co.'s commercial caravan. At each stop ih the six weeks' jaunt Miss Snodgrass is sked- ded to address a local club on home economics. In the meantime another kitchen unit, housed in a KMOX trailer, will continue the local daily sked ot visits to grocery stores. Margaret King will continue to m.c. the daily pro- gram broadcast before a live audi- ence In the KMOX Playhouse. More Lawyers Register Washington, April 18. Seven additional attorneys, includ- ing three New Yorkers, admitted to practice before the Federal Com- mimicaUons Commission last week. Barristers Include: Frank Borut Louis Karaslk and Beverly R. Myles, New York; Wes- ley E. Brown and William D. P. Carey, Hutchison, Kans.; J. Randolph Coleman, Jr., Washington, D. C., and tiawrence Dumas, Jr., Birmingham, Ala. Connie Boswell on Metro Connie Boswell goes on Metro- Maxwell 'Good News' program for • series In May. —my deep appreciation . . . .**LIFE" April 17th Iaau» HILDEGARDE