Variety (Jul 1939)

^(^ednesday, July 26, 1939 RADIO VARIETY 37 Follow-Up Comment jobn GarBeld miked from Holly- wood following a fairly punchy stii- A\o dramatization (from NBC's Chi- caco studios) of his school days and reformaUon from a Dead Ehd kid in the hands of Dr. Angelo Patri. letter acted in skit on 'Inside Story' Diocrarn. Film player sounded sin- cere in his praise of Patri (latter encouraged him to become an ac- tor). However, Garfield hit too fast a tempo and read too obviously, for one of his profession. Unusual to permit such a frank portrayal of 'toughie' days when he was Julie Garfinkle. Switch to Coast was exasperatlng- ]y slow, as had been case in previ- ous transfers on this program. Kid playing GarBeld trouped rather well. Dr. Patri, a frequent broadcaster, sounded in character, slow and pre- cise of speech, patient, kindly. Rudy Vallee (Standard Brands) session stuck closely last Thursday (20) to its latest formula, light, hokey and trivial. After going to a Jot of pains to hook Lawrence Olivier, star of "No Time for Com- edy' and 'Wuthering Heights.' for the occasion, the show's^ producers equipped him with George Kauf- man^; 'Still Alarm.' Suppor'.ing the talented Olivier were such members of the prograin's stock company as Vallce, Lou Holtz and John Spargo. The mood and pace of this comic fantasy were properly paced and all that the boys lacked to make (he merry game complete was Holtzl walkingslick. Absence of Bob Hope made iL<;elf noticeable during Jerry Colonna'.s Inning. Colonna and Vallee ex- changed a few but the temporary refugee from the Pepsodent stanza .scored best with his senii-burle.<;nue of a bourbon baritone tackling a he- man ballad. His medium for this vocal flight was a medley of 'Road' songs. Also on tap was the inevitable interview with an author celeb in which naught but the lighter side of the fellow's nature must prevail. The subject in this instance was J. P. Marquand, whose current best seller is 'Wickford Point.' Among the things brought out during the q. and a. interlude was that Mar- quand used to be an advertising copy writer, that liis hobby is caring for sick fish, that he doesn't fancy critics ns a tribe, and that silly is the sur- prise expressed when a journeyman of ma.^ serials writes a serious novel. Probably it wasn't serious enough to bother a normal listener, but it must have been a nightmare for him. Lisa Scrcio, morning news com- mentator over WQXR, New York, subbed last Friday night (21) for Lowell Thomas over NBC blue IWJZ) for Sunoco. She strung along m the non-controversial trail Thomas has set. Her diction is something to turn a voice teacher emerald, opened the stanza with a lengthy wire from her vacationing host. Then strolled through a round-the-globe summary of international news bulletins. As a former resident of Italy, her portions from Rome were lengthiest and best, but the whole program re- flected the current lull in wprld af' fairs. Job Enthusiasm Nancy Turner, who has a femme program over WMCA, New York, last week aired her stanza from the summer fashion show held at the Astor hotel, N. Y., by Warner Bros., corset manufacturing concern. According to the spieler, she never knew an announcer to take as much interest in his work and never saw engineers take so long to pack up their equipment after , the broadcast. Dallas—Elmer Wheeler, president of Tested Selling Institute, New York City, on WFAA to .<;how how use of proper words in everyday discussions Cc<tn\get speaker what he wants without stepping on anyone's bunions. Camel Tuesday night niche now occupied by Bob Crosby's orchestra gels belter as it goes along. 'Dixie- land Music Shop' is forming itself into a neat foundation taking the program out of the class of an ordi- nary band show. Helen Ward got away neatly with 'It's Funny to Everyone But Me.' Bobcats, consisting of eight pieces from the band, offer effective hot jive. Their whack at 'You, You're Driving Me Crazy'was oomph. Com- mercials are short and to the point. K©b Wilbur, program manager of WSUN. St. Petersburg, Fla., munici- pal station, has taken a leave of ab- sence for the summer to serve as substitute announcer at WGY, Schen- ectady. FARM AND HOME HOUR FOR CANADA Winnipeg, July 25. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is to shortly take a leaf from the book of NBC and will introduce (in August) a program patterned very closely after the National Farm and Home Hour. 'This new show, which will go to the western network of the CBC will be directed by Sheila Marryat, who recently joined the CBC, after spending several years as director of CKUA, the University of Alberta station at Edmonton. Will include latest market reports and broadcasts from various provin- cial and dominion experimental farms. O'ther features will fit the particular requirements of the farm- ers in the western wheat belt. One of the main items will be last min- ute weather report";. New Orleans—Ozzenie'zer, Inc., which produces machines for purifying the air in fish markets, etc., landed, a local distributor through six spot announcements last week over WNCE. Syracuse—Plug for Nick Stemmlcr, WSYR sports announcer, in the local dailies commemorating his 650th baseball broadcast struck a slightly sour note when it recalled Stemmler's discomfiture while airing a wire report of a game being played in Montreal. The telegraph operat<jr in that instance became sd excited that he began sending his report in French, and to meet the situation Stemmler kept one batter hitting a dozen foul balls until the operator returned to normal. Boston—One of the questions submitted to Fred Cole for possible use on his 'Name Three' (Dunhill) quiz show over WBZ: 'Name three best ways to keep a cat from crawling under the bed.' The suggested answers: 'Cut off legs of the bed—cut off cat's legs—sleep on the -floor.' Bangtail Acc't Saratoga Association's radio pro- motion for horse racing season, July 31-September 2, at the Spa, includes dramatized announcements, ranging from 26 to 52, on: WGR, Buffalo;} McFigue to Washington WFBL and WSYR, Syracuse; WHEC, Rochester; WIBX, Utica; WAAB, Bos- ton; WDRC, Hartford, and WNBX, Springfield, Vt Also two to three- minute plugs daily and quarter- hour programs over WOKO and WABY, Albany. Rochester, N: Y., July 25. Harry McTigue, baseball radio spieler for General Mills here for last three years, shifted to Washing- ton to work with Walter Johnson in broadcasting games of Washington Senators. Garnett Marks comes from New York City to broadcast Red Wing games over WSAY. Charles Anderson new assistant program director at KOA, Denver, and Roscoe Stockton made produc- tion manager. Marion Schlsseil Im director of women affairs at KSO-KRNT, Des Moines, while Gwen McCleary on a 13-weeks leave of absence. Arthur Hale had an off night with his reading of the news bulletins over WOR-Mutual last Thursday C20). Announcer didn't make any outright boners, such as using the wrong word, but. just struck one of those times when he couldn't entirely un- limber his tongue. During the short se.ssion he fluffed at least half a dozen times, once having to come to a full step to get his syllables Mnr^eXed. Hillbillies' 'Convention' Ru.ssel Walker, Jr., former station manager of WCBC, Springfield, 111., has joined the sales staff of WQXR, I New York. I Ralph Knox has joined WOWO Ft. Wayne, as announcer, coming here from WSMK, Dayton. Paul Miller, engineer, is new comer from WTAD, Quincy, III. Rumster Musical Bureau, Inc., has been chartered at Albany to manufac- ture and deal in recordings and to conduct a broadcasting business in New York. Directors are: Morris Honig, Sidney Advocate, and Pearl Mones. Charlotte, N. C, July 2."). And now the hillbilly population is having 'conventions.' Hillbilly day at Mirror Lake, near Salisbury, on Sunday, drew entertainers from four states. Approximately 50 hillbilly organ- izations from Virginia, Tennessee and the two Carolinas were oh hand to put on the program for the day, in- cluding such groups as the Grand Ole Opry with Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain boys, Happy Gadd and His Yodeling Rangers, and Roy Hall and his Blue Ridge entertainers. Ed I'Slly, program director of KGKO, Ft Worth, is this week con- ducting the pit orchestra in a local theatre for a touring Bowes imit. Blaric Sicilian, Hotel Virginia En- tertainer, has been spotted three periods weekly by WHKC, Colum- bus. RADIO STATION Radio station WWJ wat not only the /iVjI station m Amcr- tea, but it has maintained iU position as tbe firtt italicn m liatener interest jn Detroit since it WAS established,—a fact proven by every survey that hiif ever been nia,de! I Owmdand OpcraUd iy 'J ^ Vo>^J^« Dtlnii iVcivj^ y NofienoJ Repr«i«nfativ«i Geo. P. Hdltingbery Co. B. S. Brrcovicl starting a new 'Talk and Back Talk,' new* com- mentation quarter hour, on WINS next Sunday (30) at 7:30 p.m. North American Accident Insur- ance Co. through Franklin Bruck agency. New York, has renewed its sponsorship of Bob Andersen's news- casts, 'A Reporter Speaks,' twice weekly over KPO, San Francisco, eflectivc July 18. Alberts Bros. Milling Co., Seattle (breakfast cereals), through Erwin Wasey agency, has renewed for a year its weekly half-hour musical program, IGood Morning Tonite,' with Gyula Ormay, orchestra and soloists, over the Coast NBC-Red web including KPO, San Francisco; KFI, r>os Angeles; KHQ, Spokane; KOMO, Seattle; KGW, Portland. Program has been aired continu- ously since Oct., 1936. ProJucf/on?IVhre can ^^IVMTr jf0i/^effh3far0m(/kfe?\ Xofm/se/ Wlnlcr Thomas Co., Ltd., agents ! for Chilvern Cottage Cheese, have made a deal with IBC for Friday I morninKS on Radio Normandy. ■ C. W. Ogclsby on Leave Philadelphia, July 25. C. Wiirwick Ogclsby, who . last month married Betty Fuller, daugh- ttr of the prez of Curtis Publishing, took a leave of absence last week until October from his job as gab- ber at WHAT here. Ogtlsby'.s brother. Porter, was pi ez and K.m. of WHAT until it was .void by the Public Ledger to Bon- wit-Teller recently. Porter is an exec of the Ledger. * And, of course, WIUT ran he bouglu in combiiiulioii with WNAX ond KSO or KK!ST tit. an exct'p- lionollv low ruff. It's "very doubtful if such a conversation would ever occur in a broadcast of Toby's Corntussel News over WMT (of which the above is an actual photograph). But, the con- versation we've handed to Toby ToIIiver and Susie Sharp, editor and stiir repoHer, respectively, of this mythical newspaper in mythical "Corntussel, U. S. A.," is the real McCoy. Corntussel News is a WMT production, fed to four other stations. Loyal following? Yes. 11,938 WMT listeners recently asked for a printed copy of the Corntussel News—a thing of absolutely no intrinsic value. Thousands more listeners to the other stations asked for copies. That mail pull speaks loads. But read this excerpt from a letter from the agency: "I feel that you would l>e interested to know that we arc highly pleased with the manner in which the staff of your station and Mr. and Mrs. Neil Schaffner (Toby and Susie) are handling the production of Toby's Corntussel News. Because you are feeding this to four other stations daily, WMT carries the entire burden of responsibility in the matter of program prndu4-tion. "It goes without spying that lioth our client and ourselves are appreciative of the fine cooperation you are giving us in originating lliis broHdcast." Corntussel News is just one of the popular programs pro- duced by WMT. .Such production facilities help to give WMT its intensely loyal audience among the 747,569 radio homes in Eastern Iowa, Western Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin. WMT is economical, Uut. Some li> minute rales figures as low as 3 cents per thousand radio families. You want more- information? Drop us a line or call your nearest Katz .\gencv Offiop. Cdar Rapids-WateriM • COO KiloeytlM NBC Bluc-MBS * 5000 Watts LS. * 1000 Watts MiM KcpratantaJ by THE KATZ AfiENCV 09.000 Siiara Miles sf Uie RICHEST PART sf the MIBWEST