Variety (Nov 1940)

Wednesday, November 20, 1940 RADIO 25 That J. Walter Thompson Agency Resents FOR RELEASE AFTER 0ctober 29,?19 40 THIS RMASI IS jV^gpyrg TO YOU IN YOUR CITY Inside on the Bob Burns-Bing Crosby mess is f act that the agency forgot to reneW Binges pontract when option time came around However t he has promised to Btart on Nov t 14* If he likee the program he will reinain f if not, he wUl insist 6n a half hour show with more musid and iess chatter and NO Bob Burns. • ;• Cincinnati, Nov. 19. '■■ Tying in with band advertising In street cars and buses^ WLW Promo- : tions,. Inc., subsidiary of Crosley's 60,000-watter, is, taking over the ex- clusive selling rights on. such space. 'in cities within a 150-mile radius of Cincy. Up to Monday (1.8) contracts had been closed with the! carrier companies.. in , Kenton and Campbell counties,. Kentucky, . opposite. this city; Lexington, Ky., Ft. Wayne, Jnd., arid Columbus arid Dayton, O;, ShoUse said. Approximately 800 cars and buses operate in .these spots. Four cards in each car and bus will be turned over to the WLW pro- motions department to. publicize ;new programs,; time changes of programs arid personal appearances of talent on that station. Balance of space will be available to national arid local, advertisers. A. second division of WLW Pro motions, Ino. f handles bookings of WLW acts for theatres, auditoriums «nd fairs. FORREST BARNES NEW WRITERS' GUILD PREXY . Forrest Barnes was elected na tlorial president of the Radio Writ tts Guild last week, with Paul Franklin replacing him as-California regional president and Katharine Seymour elected as eastern regional 6resident succeeding Knowles En •ikin.. Courtenay Savage remains Chicago regional president. : Eastern council members were elected as follows: Erik . Barnouw, Ruth: Adams Knight, Henry Flsk Carlton, Laurence Hammond and Welboum. Kelley to serve until 1942* and John T. W, Martin and S. Mark Smith (not - the. .Mark Smith -.. of AFRA) to serve until 194l. ; .Follow- ing council alternates were also elected: Stuart Ayers, Elaine Sterne rCttrrington, James Hart, Philo ■ Hig- ley t Richard McDoriagh, Addy Rich ton and Francis G. Wilson. Kenneth Webb, /retiring riatioha .president of the Guild, declined to accept re-election on the ground : thai:, as van employee: of B. B. t>. & Q-. agency, his duties are sometimes ; of an executive nature and he would ;thu$ have conflict of duties in the ' agency,, negotiations recently started, by the Guild. ••' elow to N. Y. •■■'."■■" Los Angeles, Nov. 19, Joe Bigelow , of the J. Walter Thompson agency is returning to the .New. York office to resume duties there. . Wa?! here temporarily on Kraf k show assignment as writer in illness of Carroll Carroll, who is now back. Frank Parker, Mary Small Leadoff* for 20 Grand 'Birtbday' Show on NBC Frank Parker and Mary . Small will be the guests on the debut 'Your Happy;. Birthday* program Friday night (22) for 20 Grand cigr arets. Show originates at the Ritz theatre,. N. .Y.; and will be. heard on NBC blue (WJZ). Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra and Tiny Ruff her are the regulars the series. Carlo DeAri- gelo directs and ; the. script is. by David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr. Ed Wolf Associates produces for the Cornpton agency. Non-broadcast 'preview* was held last Friday (15), with Jack Haley; Jean Mulr, Adrienne Ames and John Carter in addition to Parker • and Miss Small. Harry : Salter batoned in the absence of Dorsey. CHANGE OF 'Alice Adams' Next Disc Series for Wheatena 'Alice Adams,' adapted from the Booth Tarklngton novel, will be the next ..drama; on the Wheatena Play- house recorded aeries five, days a week locally over WEAF, New York, and 16 other stations. Replacing the current 'Withering Heights,' with, Jill Esmond, the new play starts Dec. 2 on most of the outlets and two weeks later on the others. . David Victor and Herbert Little, Jr., adapters of 'Wutherlng,' are scripting 'Alice,' while Carlo De- Angelo is also directing both plays. Leading players in 'Alice* Include Joan Tetzel, Florence Malone; Ray Collins, Ted Reld and James Mee- han. Piece will run four weeks. Ed Wolf Associates is producing for the Cornpton agency. DOUBTS CALMED Gangbusters' Rates Okay In CAB. ■ : '■ '• for New Sponsor '■■ 1 -.,' 'Gangbusiers' has started off with an imposing C-A.B. .this season, thereby administering; a sedative to some notf.too-sure ,persons. Bang- bang opera was warmed oyer this season for another serving by. Bern- ard L. Schubert of the Phil Lord office. Sloan's Liniment signed up, despite the potshots taken at the show last year by some women's clubs and whatnot. .'•■■;■• : Show's , ability to chalk up a good, rating, although launched in the midst of the political campaign on a new network and a new time has been widely rioted in the; advertising trade around .New. York; On two of the recent broadcasts 'GangbUsJters' had John Li Lewis and Franklin. D; Roosevelt, respectively, tion. ■ ". ' Fresno, Cal., Nov. 19. . KMJ, Fresno, has been* permitted to, drop' the . 'Mary Marlin' (Procter & Gamble ) serial because of the pro- tests received by the station when 'it; eliminated the noon news and weather reports. to make room for the strip show. One of the protests was in the forrh of a seven-page petition from the citizens Of Reedley in Madera County. Among th»se who signatured the petition was the editor of the -iocal paper. Gist of the plaint Was that ,the local listeners supported the station in other ways and they 'saw no reason why they should be deprived of their.weather forecasts. ... Lunt-Fontanne Broadcast on Coast With e Show; Time Okay TALENT AGENTS MEET ON AFRA RE-WRITE The Artists Representatives Assn. of New York held a special mem- bership meeting last night (Tuesday) to approve, the revised agreement for franchising of 10-percenters sub- mitted by the American Federation of Radio Artists. I. Robert Broder, counsel for ARA, and Henry Jaffe, AFRA's attorney; collabbed on the rewrite,. which extended the: agree- ment to around five times the length that signed by the networks' artists bureaus several weeks ago. Artists Managers Guild on the Coast has also been concerned in making changes In the agreement, which, in its original ; form; the agents considered inequitable and unfair insofar as it. put them at. a disadvantage in competition with the webs' artists bureau. ' Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, currently touring in Robert E. Sher- wood's 'There Shall Be No Night,' will probably do a guest dramatic appearance v on. the forthcoming "Campbell Playhouse' series from the Coast. Prograrn is slated to air- at 9:30 Friday . nights, but with the three-hour time difference, that would give the acting pair time to do the radio stint after their eve- ning stage' performance. .Date might: be any iime between Jan. 31 and March 3, when the troupe -.playing various Coast stands. Director and announcer would probably be the only talent that would have to be sent from •New York for the broadcast, al- though probably the writer, would aisp make the trip' in advance to con- fer with the Lunts regarding the script. 'Night' company is unusual- ly /well" balanced,. so no.' additional actors, would be needed. . Leggett rBrown;; the Lurits' radio agent : who! is dickering with - the Ward Wheelock agency for the date, hopes to have Willis Cooper write an original drama for the pair. It would be their first commerqial-stini., and the expectation Is thatf if it is successful, they would .be available for repeats. After repeatedly refusing radio offers, Lunt and Miss Fontanne made their air debut several months ago on a Red Cross benefit program. Since then Miss Fontanne, with Lunt briefly, Introducing her, did the Alice Duer Miller ('White Cliffs of Dover') poem over NBC blue (WJZ) and repeated it. two weeks later. •. J. Walter Thompson Ageric/ Resents Torr* Fizdale Stir- ring Up Biny' Crosby-Bob Burns Feudfor Hi» (Fiz- dale's) Benefit LAWYERS MULL Len Holljster, of the radio arid vaude act, The Hollisters' Is pro- ducing a show for the ■: soldiers at Fort Monmouth, N; J. Art Mayhew, formerly announcer at WBRB,' Red Bank;. Will do the m.c.ing with Hol- lister, though the cast will consist of the trainees. Frank Braucher's Job Frank Braueher, former v.p. . In charge of sales for ; WOR, Newark, has become the paid president of the Periodical Publishers Association... Before coming into radio Braueher was an executive of the : CroWell Publishing Co. ' Have Latin Tie-Upt — Foruin for Sale Affiliates Get Free Ride--115 Take FM . Mutual last week entered the movement of the ' American broad- casting industry, for cultural contacts with/Latin-American' when the net- works ; board of directors, meeting with its operating .board,.. adopted pi a ns f o r the' exchange of a Series of programs with /.South Americari countries. It . was': suggested ' that somebody be engaged to negotiate the series. This rep will probably be spotted in Buenos.Aires, with the facilities. of WRUL, Boston, and Press-Wireless used for the short- waving. [ Board also agreed to make The American Forum of the Air* avail able'for sponsorship, to grant, af filiates permission ' to rebroadcast Mutual programs on their FM facilities; and t,o work out a deal with the Associated Press for con- tinues use of its service and sale to national advertisers. It was voted that a special program meeting .take place around Jan. .12 so that 'net work /ofTicials; and station program men can exchange new prograrn policies. \- Fred Weber, general manager, re- ported that 115 Mutual stations were -taking the Philadelphia symphony orchestra concerts. As the result of a strong complaint from one of the '.-country's leading ..; advertising agencies, publishers and •.•: managing. editors of daily newspa- pers are expected to direct their at- tentiori for : the : first time to the sources.: frorii which their radio 'col- umnists are getting 'news.' This ' yestigation . will bring under pub- ; lisher spotlighting the fairly com- mon practice of freelance radio press .. agents to supply ,'tip* service to. radio , columns with the 'tips' frequently concerning matters arid personalities not connected in any way with the freelance press agents. The motives of the freelance press agents, are. obvious. They, wish to gain the reputation for being 'hot' ; so. that their publicity copy gains [ close attention from radio column- ists. : Fearing to, load up their re- leases with nothing but squibs about ", their, own clients, they^ slipi in juicy ■■ hearsay items about nori-clients. Arid that'svwhere they get into trouble and ' where the.' riewspapers carry- ing the unauthenticated 'tips' may, be:. sharing the risks, but not the benefits of the press agents-turned- jburnalists. ' - Most of the.... prbte.sts • due .to this practice have more or less been confined to the inner circle of the radio advertising trade. One of the first serious complaints was nearly four years ago when a. 'tip' on Major . Bowes originating in- one of these volunteer mailing :■. services -was. printed in over 60 Tadio columns.i . Bowes traced the story and assent--': ' bled a file, but decided against any action. Since then intermittent com- plaints of like nature have popped up. Where the items have been in- nocent—even though wrong or fool- ish—it hasn't mattered, but occasion- ally the 'tip* does not fall into this ; category „6f innocent fiction. J. Walter Thornpson agency states it is /considering' taking legal action : against the publicity . firm of Torn Fizdale as result of a gossip item Which the latter distributed among radio editors throughout the country the last of October, This item, which was published in many news- papers, stated that one of the causes for the flifficulties .: in which the agency allegedly now finds itself With Bjng. Crosby, was due to its oversight to picking up the croon- er's last option when it became due. Thompson attorneys regard this reflection on its business matters as comrrierclal libel and disclosed Mon- day (18) that before starting any action they would further investi- : gate the motives for Fizdale's re- lease. The Thompson agericy has its own elaborate • publicity depart-, merits and. clears, all items pertain- ing to the Kraft Music Hall through its own staffs. Fizdale forrnerly handled ' the Rudy Vallee show, which like the Kraft Music Hall, is sponsored by National Dairy Prod- ucts. Fizdale got his ,assignment from the McKee r Albright agency,. and in late June lost it to Irving Mansfield. The Voice Is Added San Francisco, Nov. 19. Experiment in off-theiair synchro- nization'tried here by John Wolfe of Photo fit-Sound in connection .with NBC ground-breaking. Entire affair was lensed in siient^color whiie cere- - monies 'were waxed in studio. Dub- bing process. will unite; sight 'and sound in lab. If it works out system will be used for lerising" of all radio affairs, per- mitting mobility of camera sans any ' loss of sound. - '