Variety (Sep 1941)

34 RADIO Wednesday, September 24, 1941 From the IVoduction Centres lis NEW YORK CITY . • • The Radio Trade Is Discussing: Lindbergh's bigotry—Steve Cisler's postcard to Mutual stations— juMoCs (lolding up Ayleswonh's swingtng of deal for NBC's Artists Bureau—the rumors, pooh-poohed, that Lou Ruppel, of CBS, may head Marshall Field's new daily in Chicago to fight the Tribune. Peter Donald added to NBC serial, 'Into the Light,' in addition to 'Can You Top This?', 'Bright Idea Club,' 'Mary Marlin' and 'Rookies' with the Office of Education's 'Freedom's People,' writer Irv Tunick has two programs with name credit in an hour on NBC other is established 'World Is Yours'..Carl Ruff, ex-WOR praiser, assigned to Army pubUcity on Governor's Island he broke a rib since entering service. ■ James H. Fassett is the acting director of the CBS music department, replacing William H. Fineshriber who has been promoted to director of CBS shortwave programs John Hanlon, of the CBS accounting de- partment, will shortstop for the U. S. team in the World Series of amateur baseball at Havana beginning Sept 25...William Gaxton m.c.d the NBC- televised fashion show which was put on in behalf of the sale of defense bonds and savings stamps at the Sunken Plaza. Rockefeller Plaza, last Friday (19). Among those from show business who appeared were Vivi- enne Segal, Lucille Manners, Ethel Merman, Ida Lupino, Arthur Treacher, Olga Baclanova, Mady Christians, Stella Inda, Yvette, Tamara, Jo Ann Sayers, Honey Chile Wilder, Mary Deesm, Mary Drayton, Katherine Locke, Elaine Ellis, Helene LeBerthon and Katherine Barrett. Richard Hippleheuser, CBS script writer, who turns out 'Report to the Nation' from WJSV, has sold Saturday Evening Post article on the Gov- ernment's sub-contracting problems. Title of the piece is 'Hello, Wash- ington! York, Pa., Calling.' Frank Danzig leaving WMCA to hold a director's stopwatch for CBS Ab Smith will officiate for Bates agency when Dave Elman's 'Hobby Lobby' returns for Palmolive... .Margaret Cuthbert of NBC on road speechifying. IJV HOLLYWOOD ... The Radio Trade js Discussing: Lindbergh's Bigotry —luhere are the ■ gags for radio comics to come pom now that Tuesdav olone tuilt con- sume as much as a year of voudeville used to require—u>?iat Orson Wellea is driuing at ujith his neu> Lady Esther series that ignores most of the rules. Ray Erlenborn, Columbia's deadpan sound-eflfecter, whose act with noise contraptions has been a howl at civic luncheons and other ceremonials, joined Al Pearce's troupe as a regular. He'll play stooge and also appear In the Pearce film at Republic Irene Rich goes aU blue this season after years of splitting with the red... .Donald Thornburgh east lor a combo vacation hnd home office call Charles Vanda back at his CBS produc- tion desk after fortnight in Manhattan The Jim Jordans (Fibber and Molly) brought back a packing case of momentoes of their Alaskan cruise ... .Herbert Ebenstein stirring again on the radio scene, this time with a production setup Andy Love, NBC's literary rights topper, playing prof to novice radio writers taking university extension course... .Lewis Allen Weiss taking a Caribbean cruise with the missus after a brief stop- over in Chicago for a Mutual board meeting Charles Tazwell will script the Screen Guild Theatre programs this season,.. .Jean Hersholt renewed for the sixth consecutive year of 'Dr. Christian'... .Dr. Pepper inspecting new half-hour disk from here featuring Dick Foran, Texas Rangers and Martha'Mears. Benton & Bowles waxed the audition... .Carlton Morse's 'One Man's Family' kudosed for the steenth time, the latest citation from American Legion Auxiliary for being 'the sponsored program which has best served the American Family' Noman Morrell moving his Lord tc Thomas staff to quarters adjacent to KNX recently vacated by defunct Columbia Management... .Lum -and Abner will kick oft transcontinentally from Chicago Hal Hackett, MCA radio head. In from N. Y. long enough Somewhere in Louisiana "Somewhere la Louisiana," nearly a half million American troops are engaged in the natiota's greatest peace-time maneuvers. "Somewhere in Louisiana" with Ohio's 37th is a •pedal staff of WGAR '<war correspondents" and technicians, reporting the actual on-the-scene activi- ties of this famous-Ohio division. Why the Ohio 37th? Because this is "Cleveland's own" division, with some 12,000 of the 18,000 men from here in the vicinity of the Buckeye State's first dty. Programs like these bring a radio station and its audience doser together. Programs like these have won for WGAR the title of Cleveland's Friendly Stadon, and our prized Peabody and.Variety awards for Public Service and Showmanagement, WGAR THE FRIENDLY STATION CLEVELAND BASIC STATION ... COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM te. A..Rkhard$, Pnu ' John F. PiOf, V. R « G«n. Atgr. Edward Palry A Company/ Inc., NaUooal ReprMenfotfve to install Bill Von Zehla in th« department her* and 8*t Frank Fay's slg for the Turns series Mag sketches by Rlan James will be dramatlxed In a new'series by North American Tobacco Co. (CharlM H chtroots). Ifi for Mutual. IIS CHICAGO . . . The Radio Trade is Discussing: Lindbergh's bigotry—the new d<iy week at Blackett-Sample-Hummert—WBBM'i snaggle with the Technician's Union—Balabnn & Katz* demonstrotion television in Chi- cago theatre lobbu—P.K. Wrigley's and Lea AtUas' possible relation to Marshall Field's new Trib-/lghting doily in Chicago. Marvin Mueller subbing as announcer on the 'Stepmother* show while Carlton KaDell vacashes and Michael Roy subs as m.c. on the 'Club Mat- inee' shindig while Durward Kirby honeymoons... .Don McNeill, Jack Baker, Evelyn Lynne and the Escorts and Betty doing a personal In Lansing on Oct. 18 Gladys . Heen and Willard Waterman added to cast of 'Woman in White' Fran Allison and Eddie Dunn doing soma specialty entertaining for the 'Editor and Publisher' Central States Assn. luncheon . .. .Jack Swineford and Mary Patton now with ihe 'Road of Life' cast. IN SAN FRANCISCO ... The Radio Trade is Discussing: Lindbergh's bigotry—the annual time change headache—The future outlet of CBS in Frisco—the corise- quences of KQW going 50 kw. Mutual-Don Lee has made a tieup with Telenews headquarters here to pick up a weekly football rally from the four Telenews houses on the Coast starting Friday (26) at 10 p.m Kickoff will Include a 10-minute slice from Frisco Telenews with John Tobln, assistant to district manager Ellis Levey, and equal portions from Los Angeles Telenews with Sam Baiter and Seattle Telenews Graham McNamee presided at a cocktail party in Palace hotel tossed by National Association of Manufacturers in honor of the 'Defense of America' show which observed its 31st week with pickups via KPO... .McNamee gave the boys a new twist by making a speech, but good, on adventures in defense broadcasting. V Radio Daffodils ^ Des Moines—The strangest request ever received at station WHO came recently when a woman phoned to inquire 'who is the best divorce law- yer in town?' Boston—Bill Rule, WEEI control room engineer, motored through Mexico on his vacation. On his return, a letter arrived at the station requesting information about a courteous man connected with WEEI who had pulled ovet to the side of a narrow road to allow the writer to pass. A metal plate carrying the station's call letters had betrayed him. Both drivers were from Massachusetts. Philadelphia—Advertising agency managers have received paint brushes through the mail with a tag inscribed with the following message: 'Paint yourself beautiful pictures of ^our business by placing your ad message on WPEN, most powerful independent station' in Philadelphia.' Boston—WEEI's sales department has Issued a challenge 'to all radio stations in the country to compete with its exhibition of the fine art of doodling while transacting business via telephone. A club has been formed at the station with the following charter members: Kingsley F. Horton, Constance O'Connor, Tenny Kelly, Nan Hojvard and David Garland. An actual exhibit has been set up in the clients' room. ONESPONSOR'S 91GRIDCASTS ONCOAST San Francisco, Sept. 23. Associated Oil's sponsorship of Coast football this season calls for coverage of 91 games' in a setup somewhat different from that used in the past. An even wider range of gridcasts Is scheduled blit airings will be confined to Don Lee and NBC Blue webs, plus a few indie outlets. No Columbia or NBC Red stations are included. Heaviest Individual program has been allotted to KQW, which gets 20 games starting (28). Up to nine dif- ferent matches will be sponsored in a single dhy, with as many as 55 stations from San Diego to Idaho involved at one time. About 60 sta- tions in all will share in the pie. Signed as sportscasters have been Prank Bull, Mike Frankovich, Rich- ard 'Van Desautels, Los Angeles- Doug Montell, Carroll Hansen, Hal Wolf, Don Thompson, Frisco; John Carpenter, Jack Shaw, Art Kirkham, Bill Mock, Oregon; Ted Bell, Seattle; Rod Klise, Pat Hayes, Roy CeviUe, Lou Gillette, Eastern Washington and Idaho. Missing from the lineup this year is Ernie Smith. Commen- tators include Mel Venter of KFRC and Eddie King of KPO. Missing from this list also is Art Linkletter. Schedule was worked out by Har- old R. Deal, Associated advertising chief, and the contracts placed through Lord Se Thomas. Intricate interlocking of outlets was necessary to obtain desired coverage. Friday night game will get an air- ing via KQW in Frisco, KWJJ, Port- land; KFIO, Spokane, and KMPC, Los Angeles. Eleven pick ups will be released in the Hawaiian Islands. Stations which will carry Associ- ated's schedule include Arizona: KTAR, Phoenix; KVOA, KTUC, Tucson; KSUN, LoweU; KYUM, ■yuma; Safford, KGLU; California: KFBK, Sacramento; KGO, KFRC, San Francisco; KWG, Stockton; KERN, Bakersfleld; KECA, KFAC, KMPC, KHJ, Los Angeles; KTMS, KDB, Santa Barbara; KMJ, Fresno; KQW, San Jose; KXO, El Centro; KIEM, Eureka; KVCV, Redding; KVOE, SanU Ana; KVEC, San Luis Obispo; KDON/ Monterey; KTKC, Visalia; KYMC, Marysville; KHSL, Chico; KYOS, Merced; KFXM, San Bernardino; KGB, KFSD, San Diego; Hawaii: KGU, KGMB, KHBO; Idaho: KIDO, Boise; KRLC, Lewiston; Ne- vado: KOH, Reno; Oregon; KALE, KEX, KWJJ, Portland; KORE, Eu- gene; KBND, Bend; KUIN, Grants Pass; KOOS, Marshfleld; KRNR, Roseberg; KMED, Medford; KAST, Astoria; KFJI, Klamath Falls; Wash- ington: KOL, KJR, Seattle; KMO, Tacoma; KUJ, Walla Walla; KGY, Olympia; KGA, KFIO, Spokane; KXRO, Aberdeen; KIT, Yakima; KELA, Centralia. Stella Adier jContlnned from psg* 2s appeared in a number of other films. Being a production exec, she hopes, doesn't mean the end of her acting career. Production, at least leglt produc- tion, is no novelty, either. Niftily- gammed femme—or Is that no way to talk about an associate producer? —^produced and directed for the Group Theatre and other outfits in New York, London and on the Coast. Last of her directional efiforts on Broadway was 'Morning Star,' pro- duced by CTeorge Kondolf, Production assignment at Metro was all a coincidence—or at least so Miss Adler would have it She went to see Ben Thau a year ago about an acting job on the lot. Asked con- cerning her experience, she recalled that she had directed the legit ver- sion of 'Golden Boy' seen on the Coast. Thau remembered it and asked more questions. Then he sug- gested a production post and sent the gal to see other Metro execs, from Louis B. Mayer down. They all thought it a nice idea, the feminine touch and all that sort of thing. Frof. on the Side But Miss Adler—pardon. It be- comes Prof. Adler at this point- was in no position to take on a long- time job. She had to return east to resume the position of head of the dramatics department at the New School of Social Research, N. Y., job which she had also held the previ- ous year. So the start of her pro- ducing contract was extended 12 months and Miss Adler went to work under the pact on Monday (22). Her initial assignment will be 'Du- Barry Was a Lady.' Why a gal whose background has obviously been drama should be as- signed to the unit of a musical pro- ducer like Freed is a question Miss Adler thinks she' has the answer to: 'To kind of balance me off.' It would appear that Metro fears its newest associate producer may be infested with art and the musical will act as a quarantine period to rid her of any such ideas. 'If that be it,' she declared, 'they'll find nobody more willing or quick to forget art.' 'You are Luther Adler's sister?' brings a quick rejoinder: 'Luther is my brother.' She's willing to have it,' however, that she's the daughter of Jacob and Sarah Adler, famed Yiddish legit couple. Fact is, Stella, youngest of a tremendous brood, was brought up in the traditional war- drobe trunk backstage. She made her debut at 4% in a Yiddish mel- ler and appeared in many more of them before she transferred to the English-speaking stage, where she acted as well as produced and di- rected. Springfield, Mass.—Herb Edman has returned from vacation to lake up new duties as chief announcer at WMAS, local Columbia outlet, to which he was appointed just before leaving. Additions to WMAS staff include Barbara Maynard, formerly of The Springfield Republican, Lor- raine Cartier, and Wanda Lam-' bourghinl. Laurence ReiUy has been ap- pointed chief engineer at WSPR, Mutual outlet here, coming from WOLF, Syracuse. rmfALL /rspET^^ofT ANP WWJ- At no time during fhe 2l.-year history qI WWJ hai the Detroit Market and thit station offered greater sales possibil* itisi for advertiser* than are offered now. Be sure to make Detroit and WWJ muitt on your fall schedules... NOW] Own»d,oi»l OparofMf by Th» D»iroH Newt Anociata Stalien W45 0—FM George P. Holllngbery Compaay