Variety (Sep 1940)

26 RADia REVI^S With Ted Collins, Willie Howard, Louella Parsohs, Tyrone fovttr. Dean Jarser, Mwy^ Artor, T^ Stracter Choras, Jack Miller Or- chestra^ Andre Baruoh GRAPE NtTS Friday, 8 p. m. WABC-CBS, ,N*w York >; 15ie maih property, of Kated, Inc., took to the rails Fridiiy C2Q) and be- igan anothier .season. One of the fe^y big*time, big-budeet variety type en- tertairimehts still going strong, the Kate Smith- Hour-less-ftve-minutes- for-Elmer Davis has changed comics this .time, The graduates Abbott and Costello now have their own sponsor, while the newcomer iis that Broad- way veteran Willie Howard (minus Eugene)* who is trying his Utck with ' the world's. hardestrand-easiest con- gregation, the radio audience^ • Following the Coiliris formula; nbiv "laniiUar-'aTid -TequiTirig--n<> detailed analysis, the program paced: the socko singing of Miss Smith,, the comedy session of Howard, intermittent choral work under Ted Straeter (ififth yeair and solid, advanced vocal harjmonics), a slice of Hollywood preview, fihei Jack Millet music and l^rge, heaiping servings of commer- cial copy for Grape Nuts;: Both the star and her miEinager-einicee pitch in on the pitch, so there is small haitard that even the most inattentive and wandering yokel could miss, the mes- sage: •• ■•• ^ ■.:.} !^: '. A slick; topical, typical tieup .had Raymond J; Kelly, national, .com-^ <inander of the American Legion, on the program to greet Miss Smith arid haiil her as a'patriotic persphag? just a week before the tegiori meets in Boston; It made a strong underscor- ing of a phase of the star's, iactivityj Americanisni,./«irhich now comes into its owhj she having been going to town for the UiS.A. for the past sev- ;erai years,, well befbrfe the present hboray-forrour-side spirit ^rew ' so intense. Naturally the legionaire's BESSIE BEATTY Talk. 45'Min&^^ ■': - '■■■"■:.„- DOLLT MADISON ICE GREAM New York Telephone Dally, WOR, New York Bessie Beatty, the new 'Martha COREY THOMPSON 15 Mins.—Local TROY LAUNDRY Dally» 7.8# p.ni. ; CFCF, Montreal j For eight years, via 2,000 broad- casts, Corey Thompson has been wis- ing up the .youngsters m, the greater lii* «.ii/.W varied DS^KhS ciK'by-h« ri^.i ^ ha?th?gift of gab.^ She dem. matters as the diff««oce between a ftSted thS^onclusiW on her in- . tortoise and a turtle, .how rnuch i augur^ broadcast^^^^^^^ when, I bear cub weighs, :why tjere .are large with; sbtne mbnnentary iassistance hollows m potatoes.^^^na. from her friend,: I. A. R. Wylie, the novelist/ she kept the words flowing ■and part 61 the time glowing--for ishirig news. that ^yhite C«ats ar^ (leaf. Tliompson has become soinething 5"Sbdy^^oS^i^ of ^^'SutiSn. p^ ^^^:^t .^0 minuies,. .f\iiay^^^ .i.. ,,-^ ihnn^nr. the same program -pi?esence^nd-emphasis.-cued-i.to-the- singing of 'God .Bless Amerioa.* Pfett/ .gushy for niaisculine. ears was::the exchange of coniplimehts be-, iweieh Miss Smith arid Louella Parr- sons. .But' tradition is tradition.. It didri't last long. Mary Astor, Tyrone Power and DiBan Jagger offered a tadioized excerpts frorij 20th Cen- tury-Fox's 'Brlgharti Young' film. As wiUt the.,average' filrii preview over . the air, the value to the program* iis^ mostly implicit iri the stars who par- .ticipate rather than any great dra- inatic velocity stirred up by the.perr foririarice as such:. It was passable but not distinguished radio drama, and inevitably the treatment of the hisltoric events was on the diluted tea side.-: V : Willie Howard, accomplished a .re , spectable total of ^giggles with a monolbg based ori delivery more than gags, although a: few .of the latter were bright. Many observers today doubt the sriiartness of using Hebe characterization, but snapV judgment on; this ticklish point should riot be made.. Howard's . ability to squeeze laughs out of a basically meagre liriie , of; chatter, on his :openirig proigrarii emphasized his experience as a trouper, arid suggested also that he faces an ulcer-promoting problerii of material. Working alone, withoiit stooges or foils, he is surely attempt- ing it the. hard . way. ' On . the whole, his flipst performance was okay. He got by on his nerve, his timing, his obvious. professional proriiise. But the ice 'was still dangerously thin. Land. KNICKERBOCK PLAYHOUSE With Lester : Damoii, Leslie Woods ■■ Drama ■ SO Mins. DRENt: SHOMPOO (P. & G) Saturday, 8 p.m. WEAF-NBC, New York to span a mere three miriUtes on the air and alriibst not lasted that m^ny ticks, will appreciate the sheer; Tung power, nerve strain and vocabulary of the. performance. _ Miss Beatty has a' varied back- ground as magazine editor and writer, Evirbpean correspondent,^wife of an actor, \yrorld traveler, and dille- tante in many fields. She begms by saying she'loves; peoplbr^and makes that sound not only true but free of the gushiness such a statement would carry. if uttered by mbst lips. Great experience shines through ;her talks, arid she was particularly lucky .^tp have; a warmrhearted arid nimble- witted celebrity-friend to help her through the first- session.. . v :. Programs of this sort intended for housewives are necessarily difficult for the male reviewer. \ But on the theory that riierit usually makes the grade, arid people who can use the language without: effbrt arid with a Verbal color paletts areri't going to fail, it seems likely that WOR has a good bet arid Miss, Bieatty 'a'"'good chance. -., ■ „ iil - Her leaid-in was'a n>odel of all the arts of ingratiation. She took care to coriiplirtient the departing Mary, Mar- garet McBride, to make it crystal- clear to listeners who she was. She offered herself as the. heiress to the crown and sought to transfer tp her-, sell the following: of the long-run Martha Deane, who now is a flower in the CBI5 garden, ; . . • * --Miss-Beatty-glves-thejriap.Les^s.i03i^of_ havirig a lot crammed iri her ripodle. She dispenses warmith. Lartct. the sariie sponsor, the same program pattern, with the hever-failirig^ easy, coriversatibrial . style of delivery wherein is presented a sort of Ripiey and encyclopediac qiiestiori and an-r swer formula. For, nearly a.4ccade Uncle Troy has been 'must with the juveniles and a great many of. the older folk as well.- He has made a vast store of scientific and general knowledge- palatable because :heinas made it easy to . ^understand. ^^ And above all he has demoristrated the value of 'answer man' programs for laundry spbnisors and ptherj adver- tisers iri similar or related, lines.; . Thompsbn disavows all effection in delivery and, although he reaches a juve audience, dishes it ^ ;.0Ut straight. Perhaps that accounts.; in a large measure for his vast follow ing. .. :■:;:/..>."■;:;■--..:: :--yy' MOT}. MUSIC -BY' WOODBURY With By Woodbary's Orch^, Janyce Don^ Bob Reese, Joe KirkhMn and the Four Fellows Sustainliiir .- 30 MIns. •• Fridays, 10:30 pjn. KDYL, NBC, Salt Lake City A nice half-hour remote designed to produce a mood of relaxation pro- gtam is achieving its purpose with a blending of muted brass, wood- winds and effective use of vibraharp and celeste. Thoroughly in harmony throughout, the show is written, di- rected . and produced by. Woodbury, (H. W. Kastor & Sons) While in formula 'Knickerbocker Playhouse' is pretty much of a car- con copy of 'The First Nighter' the Drene series shouldn't have any dif- ficulty in riiaking the grade so long as it isticks to the class of escapist literature which: marked the initial program (22). Also so long as it does as neat a job of production. ''Stars Are So Distant' was the cap tiori of the tee-pff event. It spun.an easily digestible quality of roriiantic taffy. Boy meets girl. Boy's tycbon of a father figures her Wrong, everi though she's responsible fbr the bpy's reform front a n'er-d.o-welli- Mariy complications .-ensue, but loye even- tually wins out. Lester Damon and Leslie Woods, cast iri the. boy arid girl roles, niade;, listening pleasant.. The frame of 'Knickerbockier Play- house' doesn't prove too unwieldy; -not-does-it^get-intp-the.:Away,.o£-'the pririnie iriterest, the narrative., . 'Mr First iNighter's' character adumbra-. , tion in this instance is 'Mr. John ; Knickerbocker/ with the latter pos- ing as the producer arid giving off glib remarks about 'curtain's gorie,' 'great show tonight', and 'must-go- stage-to-corigratulate-my-ca.st.* Ad copy graviiated from straight reading to the posing of a testiriidnial Interview in which a Michigan Boule- vard hairdresser confirmed the prod- uct's claim atjout the results of hair- washing tests. Drene, assures ;the arihouncer, not only riiakes the hair look lovlier and brighter, but it lightens up .the user's personality, and charm., '. Odcc. whb in addition makes a fourth in the Four Fellows quartet. : Show caught followed, the usual pattern of a ballad by Reese* blues song by Janyce Don, novelty vocal number by the Four Fellows and a popular number by. Kirkham, inter- spersed with numbiers by the or- chestra. Varied between sweet, Latin and subdued swing. 'Dancing on a Dime* and 'I Hear Music* from the Paramount pictwre, 'Dancing on a Dime,* were introduced for the first tirive on the Coast and Bob Reese sang a new ballad 'And Time Stood Still,' Woodbury's latest compositibn, which should be nabbed by any pub Usher wanting a drip ballad. Mood of show is well rnaintained with' celeste playing between each number to provide background for announcer Tom Cafferty, whose voice is well suited to theme. Copy, fits in neatly. , ' . Band is the result of Woodbury's idea to collect a lot of Salt Lake boys "vwho were making good with big name bands and put on a show for the home folk. (He is Sunday School Superintendent in the Mor- mon Church.) Joe Kirkham, first trumpet, came back from Kay Ky- set's band, and Bob Breese. lyric tenor, left the Paul Taylor Choris- ters to join the group. Any of the 10, including their lieader, are able; to play frorii brie to four instruments, as w%ll as sing, making ari unusually versatile group. Also a well inte- grated, finished group with no ragged edge? to their work. This show is an audience builder because. lt is one of the few late programs in which much production is used; . ■ • 'Five songs for democracy* With Paul Robeson, M.C. 30 Mins.—Local Sustaining - - Tuesday,; 9; p.ni. WQXR, New York WQXR intermitteritly makes a special one-time program . out of some series of obscure or unusual phonograph records. Such Was this program. The discs were recorded iri Barcelona, Spairi, during the Civil War by anti-Fascists. ; They have the quality of uniqueness im- plicit in their history and associar tions. Wit hout explanations and identification, tfiey would be, to~the average ear, meaningless ttiumbo- jumbo, not very clear melodlcally and not too certain mechanically. Paul Robeson, the Negro basso, turried m.c. for the occasion and provided the continuity that gave the discs, property of publisher Ben- nett Cerf, some significance. They are almost folk-like numbers that were coriiposed by soldier-poets • and etched on wax under crude condi- ions during a period of crisis.The accompaniments are by such thin i nstruments as the harmonica. ■ By projecting imagination Into what he is hearing, the listener may manufacture a kind of disembodicc emotional experience from such artistic remnarits of a great class struggle. But the listener who can not or will not bring his own imagl nation would probably say, 'Is that shortwave?' Land. Wednesdax* September 25, 1910 Words and Amateurs by Sal Hepatica Mexico City, Sept. 17; Mexican amateurs have this in common with American amateurs:. nervousness. Their sirigirig has an unmistakable tremolo, their dra- matic recitations are possessed of a wild-eyed, dry-lipped, scared-stiff earnestness. They are anxious, sincere arid Jistiening with one ear for the gong. And like American amateurs some few of them have prom- ise. An occasiorial smartie is, in fact, self-assured and poised. TlVey are as a show and a phenomenon, somewhat funny, somewhat pathetic arid very human at XEW, Mexico City. They compete so many each;, week for the right to compete later on In a grand prize of 4,000 pc^os which they prefer to the round trip to New York that was once the first prize. The weekly winners receive a nominal sum immediately and appear on the next broadcast as guest 'prennios' (stars). The so-sincere-itihurts quality in the amateurs is matched in the largest studio (300 seats) of XEW by the lusty-lunged rendition hy the audience, of a spirited march iri praise of Bristol-Myers' well-known sizz phiz. As Juan C^arridp's orchestra strikes up the tune, as Chief Announcer Pedro De Lille and emcee-cPmic Julio Zetina encourage all to join in, and as a young Mexican equivalent to a cheer leader —bobs out of the wings to lead the song,-the crowd happily gives out words which even in Spanish give the American radio-trained ear sense of hands-across-the-border kinship. Let no one say Mexicans and Americans represent different Cultures. After all we share Sal Hepaitica in common. . The Words are definitely worthy of publication in this journal of 20th century wonders: ■.''■'.■ '/■ . -v ■- Sol Hepatica, Sal Hepatica, ouc sabrosa y nca es . ; Es Laxanie infalible v corrige la addez : ■ ; , ^ ' -■' .. ; Stcmpre tomela de tnanana, antes dc ir a irahajar Sal Hevatica, Sal Hepatica una sold hay nada mas. And.rinse thoroughly \yith Ipana. Lnnd^ DUSTY MILLER'S COLORADO ■.- WRANGLERS 30 MIris.—^Local Dally, 9 a.m. . WTRY, Troy, N. Y. Miller and several bf troupe were once with a WGY act. It's a pretty fair --plains - and -mountain—uturni stronger ori instfumerital than vocal side. Boys make and airrplug, per- sbnal appearances at dance halls /irid other spots^ in smaller communities. Miller emcees broadcasts .in " ai twangy, drawling accent and with a friendly, • wairming approachT^quite effective. Of allrtype turies are thief ingredients of prograriis. Usual tbuches of westefn-hillbilly salvos: bir,thday-:wedding greetings, ad. lib exchanges (sometimes annoying her cause performers out of prbper mike range, shout), offer to fill requests, etc. One chap does a little girl char- acter—only so-so. Shots would be tighter, faster moving if they, ran, 15 instead, of-30. minutesy . , Jaf0. ( < YOURS FOR A QUARTER HOUR With Bill Bryan, Bea MorIn, Frank Stewart 15 Mins.-^Local Tues.-Thnrs.; 10:30 a.m. . ■ SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC SERVICE CO. KTSA, San Antonio . Long a sustainer on local kilo- cycles, this program at last has. found an ideal sponsor in. this public utilities company. Aimed ; at the housewife, program stresses 'let electricity - be your servant.* It's handled ably by Bill Bryan, who reads the bits of poetry inter- woven in the broadcasts. ; Each pro- gram is dedicated to some riiember of the. family. Program caught was dedicated to dad, who foots the bills. Was appealing and not top seiiti- mental. Background music is a nbvachord, excellently played by Bea Morin. * Commercials are brief and to the point and are handled well by Frank Stewart. Andy. •BEHIND THE MIKE' With Graham MacNamee, Harry Voii Zell, Capt. Tito Healy 30 MIns. :■. ; Sustaining : Sunday, 5:30 p.m. WJZ-NBC Blue, New York This was a pretty good idea at the. outset, but as . carried out; it. fell pretty flat. There .were a few bright, spots in the scripting of the idea tp ten and dramatically explain to lis- teners what goes pri behind the scenes of broadcasting, but ^ they were ifew and. far. between. Result left a'negative impressibn. , Ernceed- by. Graham MacNamee, the prograrii's only ishining moments was in the story of Bob Ripley's troubles in bringing a character from th e southern backwoods to the mike; arid the falFuriJblded by Capt^ Tim Healy, of the 'Stamp Club of the Air/ re the results of one of his own broadcasts. . Slight spark Was struck by a technician impersonator' of animal sounds. :■ On the listless side Was aii anec-: dote concerning .'The O^Neills' pro- gram, told by its author, Jane West. Harry Von Zell did what he cbuld in explaining his method of warm- ing up a studio audience before a broadcast. Graham MacNamee start- ed the thing off by sounding like he wanted to get it over with as quick- ly as possible. His. handling of opening lines didn't seem to allow .any. cpmas.; W9od^, ; DOC JENKINS With T<Miy Holland . 'Midnight Variety Hour' 1?0 MIns. (Reeords) Participating Mon.-Sat., 12 pjn. , WHOM, Jersey City Said to be a lawyer with midwest .ittle theatre experience, this newest of the early-mornirig bet\veen-rcc- ords spielers in the Greater- New York area is hidiing his identity be- lind the tag of 'Doc Jenkins.* He las a strong trace: of Boston in his accent, "with" a^fbuch-^of—Oxfoid; though that may be the stage influ ence.' He has a distinct air personality arid, despite the fact that probably few New Yorkers dial the Jersey City station^ would likely draw a sizeable following. However, the Doc's brand of spieling' seems tin- suitedthe post^midnight hour at which he's scheduled. Most success- ful record-change chatterers in the wee hours go in for flip stuff, fre- quently with a sly risque flavor to catch the cab drivers and stay-outs presumably listening at that time But the Doc's line of gab sounds as if he might' be a former school- teacher or minister. He, dwells on the verities and the good old moral values, using a drawling,' casual; and distinctly-personal kirid of informal approach. On stanza caught last Thursday night (5) he read a list, of couples . celebrating wedding anni- versaries, then dedicated the song •Maytime* to them as 'people who don't get divorced.* He also likes and stresses semi-classic music* Waltzes, folksongs and such. In annpuncing one selection , he mentioned some thing about the Spanish title, admit ted frankly that he wasn't sure of the accurate translation and added. 'But I'll look it up.'. As another tip- off, he referred to anribuncer Toriy Holland as 'my irivaluahle associate.* Whole approach should appeal to armchair dialers, but seemed a trifle long-hair for the kind of populace on the loose between midnight and 2 a.m. ♦FILBERT. PHILHARMdNlC.' Novelty 15 MIns.; Local r-/:'. Snstalnlriig Monday, 7:15 p.m. JRPO, San Francisco Idea of gagging jazz a la syjnph has been kicked around a lot during past month, but nobody has yet touched knife-edged humor of Tony Freeman's 'Filbert Philharmbnicy one of the originals. Regularly a bass player in local NBC: staff orch. Free- man has a barbed pen, but works only-on-^inspiratiorir—J>Iot-:l6ng:-agb- he turned down a lucrative syndi- cate hid for that reason, preferring not to be tied down to a quota. : As aired, script is read by Archie Presby. very much after manner of Milton Cross, with musical passages illustrated by Clancy Hayes, guitar; Harlpw Burgess, trumpet, arid Roy Harrington, clarinet. Tunes like 'Walking the Dog* are broken dpwn and analyzed at great length. Ques- tions also answered, example being description of harp as 'peculiar and inconvenient way of playing a piano out of tune.* Heavy dignity w»th which Idiotld lines are read is 4{ood for real laughs. . Wern, Tworhour program uses transcribed participating commercials. Hobe. TITLE' TALES-'^ ^ ■ .. . . With Sylvia Rhodes, Devorc Bis tcrs (3), Marathon Melody Men (4), Burt taber, Paul Jones, Bill . Frost, Jinimy James Orch. 30 MIns. OHIO OIL CO. FrI., 9:30 p.m. WFAA-NBC. Dallas (Byer & Bowman) Through a special web of 12 sta- tions comes this stanza which orig- inates in the studios ! of WLW. It's tuneful, fast moving, and with the Title 'Tale game should help in sell- ing. the sponsor's products. Title Tales are stories told by a series bf song titles submitted by- listeners and played by the orches- tra. Tiv.e sbiig titles are used to tell a corriplete story without connecting Wbrds. Winner is ^warded $50 and the service station from which the entry blank, is gotten receives $25. Sample of a. Title Tale which won one of the tWo prizes given on each broadcast is as fbllows: 'You Do the Darridesl" Things, Baby,'""I^he "Talk of ;the Town,' 'Just One More Chance,* 'Remember,' '■■ 'I've Got My Eyes On You.* Musical highlights of the prbgram caught was Jimmy James and the orch with 'Irish Washer Women* and 'Anything Goes/ To the theme of 'Sylvia,' .songstress Sylvia Rhodes pleased with Tm Nobody's Baby.* The three DeVore/ Sisters harmon- ized 'Where Dp I Go From You.* Burt Faber was featured in a piano solo. Chorus- also okay. \ Commercials are easy to take. Nice m.c'ing was dpne by Paul Jones* while arihouncirig duties are handled , Vy Bill Frpst. Andy. GOOD OLD DAYS* Will Aubrey, Ray Harrington Orch 30 MIns.; Local Snstaining FrI., 8:30 p.m. KOb, San Francisco •Good Old Days* is a type of show all too scarce In radio. Warm and human, with music to appeal to a.k.s in particular, feature dips into pops of the Bert Williams era with per- sonal memories by Will Aubrey. Aubrey, old-time vaude trouper < known as the 'Bard of the Byways,' has a rich, deep voice arid vividly sets the scene for the bygone melo- dies, ,Even the young ones Who know the period only by reputation should feel the nostalgic twmge when Au- brey gets under way. Aubrey always iricludes at least one of the ditties that made Williams famous. Musical background is all brass and reed, 13 pieces under Ray Harrington. Paul Martin, Expo bandleader, sits in on banjo. Barber Shop Quartet also is a highlight, and somewhere about midway Aubrey goes into an old-time patter routine with Lew Dunbar, another vet who used to be Will King's Irish comic. Aubrey writes the show and insists the per riod tunes be played authentically and not. Jived beyond recognition, which Is one of the charms of the stanza. Wtrn. 'CLEM and MAGGIE* With Cal and Bonnla west Dramatlo 15 MIns.*—Local Sustaining T-T-S., 7:45 a^m. ■ ^■ WLW, Cincinnati Written and directed by Hank- Richards, this stint. Which has been on. the fire • for some' weeks, has broiled into a heapin* helping of potent corn, that's heady enbugh for commercial smacking. It's a homey treatment of folks down Ozark way. (On priei sequence, three calves were born on Clem and Maggie's farm. A $25 cash prize was offered by the sta- tion-for -suitable-names for^he-trip- lets. The stunt fetched 32,627 mailed replies.) . ■ V iPrincipals, Cal and Bonnie We.«!t, hail from Neosha, Missouri, and teamed In tabloid and tent shows and. vaude for 13 years. • Richards caught them : in a Cindy : nitery several months ago doing a burlesque, on a hillbilly act. and signed them for the Crbsley staff. They do a sincere job with the scripting, which is rich in back-yonder situations and. dialog. Occasiorial iricidental, parts are done by Merle Travis, Willie and Wally BroWn arid Sleepy Marlin, of the Drifting Pioneers, and by Lenbre Burch of the Novelty Aces, on the WLW talent cprjjs. ; . KoU. .'