Variety (Jul 1939)

WedBesday. July 5, 1939 RADIO VARIETY 85 ^ ^ ^ ^,, n H H « m ' I t 11111111 ♦ 11111111 n M t n t n n From the Prodoctioii Centers 4 4 M M M M « M « M M t t 1111111111111 ♦ t t n 11 t t t t t t t < t W NEW YORK CITY ... Dick Marvin, radio director for the William Esly agency, flew out to Hollywood last Friday (30) to be on hand lor the debut of Camel's <BIondie' series Monday (3)-over CBS. He planes tomorrow (Thursday) San Francisco for the Inaugural of the Benny Goodman program • (Camel) on the NBC red (WEAF) Saturday night (8). CBS last weeic distributed tickets for the Joe Louis-Tony Galenlo fight I the Yankee stadium among the radio editors of the New York SLlles • NEC, which had the exclusive broadcast rights to the event, l^ediateiy 'suspected' the main reason for this beneficence was to keep theeditors from writing'a review of the broadcast Jean Paul King, -after a year aboard a boat, has cruised off to Province- town to act at the Wharf theatre and lecture to the students on radio . . . Helen Straus of Benton & Bowles home ill . . . Mann Holiner of Lennen & Mitchell sampled the trade and lay press with cartons of Sensation daarettes in advance of Larry Clinton's start . . . Cal Swanson out to Hollywood on a short trip for Lux . . . Singing Sam will get four weeks ahead of himself In July for Coca-Cola In order to loaf , a month in Florida next winter . . . Fred Waring and Francis Hatch of B.B.D. & O. on Boy Scouts publicity committee . , . The Kidoodlers <Paul Cordner, Bob Kemongtom, Ed Lewis, Bill Kearns) not managed by Sherry Allen any more It's now NBC John Steel and William Shirer turned around pronto and went back to Europe for Mutual and CBS pespoctively on the war news Paul White also sailed. Don Becker, producer and co-author of 'Life Can Be Beautiful' and This Day Is Ours' (Procter & Gamble) for Transamerican, sails for Europe to- day (Wednesday). He will be gone four or five weeks. ..Eddie Cantor will go to St. Louis, then iest In Banff after week at State...Ave Maria program on WMCA renewed by Franciscan monks... Elaine Sterne Carrington summering at Brldgehampton, L. I.. .Laurence Hammond has taken a summer place at GaylordsvUle, Conn... Martha Deane has gone .to the Coast for a vacation and will resume her WOR series July 3I...Badio Writers Guild council meets tomorrow (Thursday) to confab about the recent constitutional action by the Coast men'bership...Ruth Adams Knight is motoring back to New York from Los Angeles, with a stop-off at the San Francisco expo...Spencer Bentley playing heavy in •The Parker Family,' new Woodbury show which debuts Friday (7) on CBS, packaged by Transamerican for Lennen & Mitchell. N. Y. (NBC) TELEVISION Wednesday, Jnly S 12:00 Noon-^une Hynd on 'Send- ing a Child to Camp.' 12:15—Films, Chevrolet news. . 12:45—Cieorge Ross, Broadway col umnist 12:55-1:0O—Newscast 8:30-10:00—Feature film, 'The Heart of New York' with Al Jolson, Madge Evans and Harry Langdon. Thursday, Joly 6 12:00 Noon—Margaret Byers, 'Fash- ions in Figures.' 12:15—Films 'On Two Wheels.' 12:55-1:00—Newscast 8:30-9:30 p.m.—'The Services of An Expert,' a one-act comedy by Harry Stephen Koller, with Ethelyn Mate- son, Alfred Alderdice, Maxlne Ros- coe, Lew Daly; and Time for Love,' a musical by Dillon O'Ferris, with Enis Byer, John Woodford and Max Showalter. Friday, Joly 7 12:00 Noon—Melba Meredith, folk- songs in costume. 12:15—Films 'Snow in the Dolo- mites.' 12.'45—To be announced. 12:55-1:00—Newscast 8:30-9JO—Film, Stacy Woodard's The Adventures of Chico,' a docu- mentary on Mexican peasant life. Saturday, Jnly 8 8:30-10:00—'Heart of Paris,' in French with English subtitles. IN HOLLYWOOD... Abe Scliechter, NBC's special evcnter and news specialist set up a new commentary program and hiked to Frisco for similar enterprise. New department at Radio City manned by Ben Alexander and Mary Dawley, with Leonard Regg dishing up the scripts... .David Broekman taking part of his Texaco layoff in Big Town....Judy Garland wlU chirp with Bob Hope next fall. Skiimay Ennis understood set for the Pepsodent resump- tion. .. .Bill Goodwin moved out of Grapenuts show to spiel the merits of Camels on new Blondie series. Carroll O'Meara turned over production of last five Al Pearce programs to Harry Ackerman of Young & Rubicam forces to loaf in the Sierras. ...Tom Revere and Don Cope blue-printing next season's Maxwell House opus....Meredith Willson will rest at Banff, Canada, before going into N.Y. for discussions on the musical setup of the java revamp Franklin Bingman joined NBC news commentators on move from KHJ. Does two-month filler for Dresser Dahlstead, dispatched to E^lsco for production duty on 'One Man's Family' and 'I Love a Mys- tery'.... Al Jolson audition for Luckies bringing a crew of Lord & Thomas execs to the Coast At least a provocation for the trip....Marty Gosch back east after Robert Benchley summer washup to produce a few sum- mer specials for CBS....Andrews Sisters and Merry Macs coming west to *rab off some loose picture coin. Also CSiarles Barnet and Russ Morgan OU could have knocked us over with » FEATHER! Wrichtville Cbrlon" \a a ■ore-flre eoulo strip—op to now • ParUolpatlng prarram with a loyal following develop d daring 8ve years of continnous perform- ances, J*»t December we decided to loo|L tato Its popularity—and yon could have knocked as over with a feather when we got the answer! ODc-minote annooncements on P*«ember 2, 3; 5 and « offered pmply a photograph of the Clarion" cast Delighted "snb- scrlbers" snapped back 5,416 re- 4aest»-provlng that the "Clarion" J? •^*«> wore popular than we IJl"^*?,* ~ » smart boy for ■ome SINGLE sponsor who wants ff^oy-Paved path for his product f.i WTIC'a big and Mtndly audience. IN lOUtMM MW DMIAND W1IC «Am • IH iiiTiNii roruiAiiTV tr t TO % IN THI HAKTrORB ARIA • IN NUMMII or NITWetK ADVUTISMt • IM MUMIIt OP HATIONAl SPOT ADVItTltlRI WTI 50.000WATTS H AR TF OR D. CONN. NBC Has Telecast Rights to 15 Films but Distribs Mostly Balk At Small Rentals Involved SCO PHONY TO SELL mm NBC is finding difficulty in lining up major film product for television programs. Most of the important film companies, including RKO Radio with its RCA relationships, are dis- inclined to supply film features. Decision is partly due to the fact that they regard television as a pos- sible competitive industry which will adversely affect motion picture the- atre attendance. This "is, however, 'way off. Mostly it's because no ap- preciable revenue can be gained from NBC since telecasting so far is experimental only and without a backer. One deal for product however, was closed last week (28) between NBC; and Tri-National Films, Inc., and Astor Pictures, Inc., to supply a group of 15 features, starting July 5, when the Astor release, 'Heart of New York,' with Al Jolson, former- ly titled 'HaUelujah I'm a Bum,' wUI be televised at 4 p.m. Time selected was chosen because, it is non-com- petitive as far as motion picture the- atres are concerned. Programs are designed purely for home consumption and among other films to be televised are 'Vicar of W&kefield,' 'Heart of Paris,' 'C:ar- nival du Bal,' 'La Kermese Hero- Ique!'. A number of shorts will also be supplied by Astor. John E. Otterson of Trl-Natlonal, London, July 4. Capitalization of Scophony, Ltd., producers of television apparatus, has been increased hy approximately $1,000,000 through the creation of 800,000 shares of new stock priced at $1.25 per share. New financing will take care of expansion in manu- facture and marketing of home receivers. Total capitalization of Scophony Is now $2,500,000. Newest Scophony home receiver will be to the trade in August fea- turing an 18 by 14-inch picture. Solomon Sagall, managing director of Scophony, will sail for the U. S. in August Negotiations with the comedian, Eddie Cantor, for commercial inter- est in Scophony have practically been terminated and a New York financial group stood ready to in- vest up to $3,000,000 in the Amer- ican development of Scophony, but dropped out of the picture when lat- ter organization decided nothing would be undertaken here unless a $10,000,000 capital could be raised. FARNSWORTH ACCT. GOES TO N. W. AYER Philadelphia, July 4. N; W. Ayer & Son has been named by Farnsworth Television & Radio Corp. to handle advertising and pub- licity. Farnsworth, with plants in Ft. Wayne and Marlon, Ind., manu- factures Capehart and Panamuse phono-radio combinations and Farns- worth radio and television receivers and transmitters. Chicago office of Ayer will handle the account About $200,000 Will be available this fall. WFIL Women's Shows B Philadelphia, July 4. WFIL, which three months ago gave up its women's programs, is currently airing more than ever be- fore, four of them. Two of the shows are participating and seeking spons- ors, one's sponsored by a department store which owns half the stations and the fourth is strictly a sustalner. They include Martha Laine who used to be former program director Margaret Schaefer and is now Rhon- da Bennett of the Dorsey ad agency; Ruth EUiott who does a participat- ing show specializing in merchandis- ing tie-ups; Ruth Sheehan, sponsored by Lit Brothers store, and Helen Al- len, society chit-chatter. Wendy Blllcr also television de- butting, as heroine of The Fame of Grace Darling' July 9, which will also be her first acting task since she flashed to fame \n the George Bernard Shaw pic, 'Pygmalion.' R. M. Savlnl and C. J. Tevlin of Astor, and T. H. Hutchinson, Clar- ence W. Ferrier and E A. Huger- ford, Jr,, of the NBC television pro- gram department participated In the negotiations. NBC execs estimate that only about 6% of the total amount of time devoted to television programs will make use of films, the same as it Is In England at the present time. Greatest amount of time will make use of live talent NBC TdevisioD Tour' Setap for Nooriuw TraBssisaoasiillY. New I5-minute daytime programs that are tdevlsed on the noon pe- riod dally, Monday through Friday,. by NBC-RCA are b^g sent out from the television studios envloyed as part of the NBC Television Tour' for which public is charged SO cents a peep. Television programs are spotted at 12 o'clock noon and 12:45 pjn. During the on-the-air periods, the Television Tour is closed to tourist visitors. . NO AOVERTiSING CAMPAIGN IS COMPLETE WiTHOUr ^A-SM packed aiessagea vU«a»« fS.!r comix**** «„le to buY- XadoBul ReprmcntailvM KdtvHril Pclry A Cvmimny