Variety (Apr 1942)

RAIMOl Sollm TallDng From Australia Shoold Be Waxed for FamiGes Mutual telk Its Affiliates Mutual, which broadcasts by short- -wave pickup U. S. soldiers In Aus- tralia reading their letters home, has suggested to its ailUlates that each iooal station give recordings of the talks to the soldiers' lafnilles In their areas; In each case the name and home address of the soldier Is given at the start of the broadcast, so "the platter could be made by the local station U the family lives within the listening territory. Letter readings are a regular part «1 the Australian shortwave broad- casts picked up and aired by Mu- tual at 10.18-10^0 a.tai. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Service Flag UpatKNlLA.; Lots More Room Hollywodd, Mairch 31. nag. with . nearly 40 service staifs was raised at KNX in salute to em- ployees In the armed service. Harrjr Flannery, former CBS correspondent . in. Berlin, read tiie honor roll at ceremonies attended t>y officers from, alimllltary brandhes, and then turned the emblem over to- Donald W. Hiornburgh, Columbia boss on the Coast, who accepted for. the key station. There's plenty of room on the ban- lier for more stars, which are expect- ed to .(over the field when the last draft really starts rolling. CHiaCO SHOW RECORDS WEEKLY IN NEW YORK Chicago, March 31. Justice Rides the Range,' new western being waxed by Blackett- Sample-Hummert for FalstaS Beer, is using Joan Tompkins of 'lify Sister Eileen' cast. > Assisting is 'Ann Elst- ner of 'Stella Dallas.' Bill Adams is handling commercial blurbs. ' Also set for iielf-hour meller> is Carson Robinson and his Buckaroos, musical aggregation. Series Is to rtin on 21 stations in js Gulf territory and adjoining states, 13 week basis. .Starting.date March ' 80 (Moa), with cuttings made each Sunday In New York. Cast will com- mute from Chicago in for weeldy' waxing with exception of Carson Robinson. joe Coiuially West as Carroll Carroll^s Aide Joe Connelly, staff writer with J. Walter Thompson, has been: trans- ferred from the New York to the Hollywood office to work with Car- roll Carroll on the Kraft show. Connelly will specialize on Victor Borge's end of the script. Chick ADison Tops WLW Promotion-Pablicity Under Organizational Reyamp Clnplnnatl, March 81. . ' Combining of the Crosley stations' promotion and publicity depart- ments, with M. P. 'Chick' AUlson as director, was effected' last week by James C Shouse, general manager. Allison has been head of WLWs promotion department. His assistant is Dave Partrldg^ also an ex-KMBC staffer. Reallgmhent followed the^ rcsi^atlon of Cecil Carmlchael. ' BUI Barlow has been assigned to press relations, with Leroy Madison continuing as .publicity writer and Mildred Birhbaumi aiid Ethel Mohr as. secretaries. Jim Cassidy,' special events di- rector,' now' rieports to George C. Blggar, program director, and will conduct exploitation and publicity having'to do With special broadcasts, Katherlne Fox; coordinator of pub- lic affairs and defense broadcasts', re- ports, directly to Walter Callaban, executive asslst^'t to Shp'use, MULLEN \H CHICAGO NBO Pa»ty Wes* Per B«f tonal War .CUialea Chicago, Mar<di 81. NBC held Its 10-state conclave In Chicago last week, with, radio ata- tlona of NBC from Indiana, Qllnols, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Mlnne- so'te. North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska In for the con- fabs how best to cooperate with the war effort. I^anlt Mullen and Harry Kopf, chief of flie midwest NBC headqtuarters, were chief personages. Acting as chairman was Stanley Hubbard of KSTP, St Paul, by vlr- tue of his membership in the NBC Planning and Advisory Committee on National Defense. Speakers were Mullen, Frank Rus- seU; of Washington; Jules Herbu- veaux, NBC program . chief here; James Rowland Angell, NBC public service counsellor, all speaking on strictly government and war tie-ins. For the sales picture there were Roy Wltmei" and Keniieth Dyke. Albeit Dale explained tiie position of NBC and. the press. At the final dinner, Max Jordan, former head of NBC European office, gave some low-down on European, war conditions. .Fdirdwing Chicago confabs, the official group headed for San Fran- cisco for a similar two-day meeting. W«aiieii4A7» April 1, 1942 Mutual A^ Cnt4 on 'Army Mour' After Latter Is Set-Up With NBC Army life as JOE RMS TO BLUE UNDER SPECIAL STATUS Joe Rines is' departing from y/nSCA, New York, where he has been musical director since the Don' aid Shaw regime in order toi be. come: a. special musical conductor for the'Blue network at Radio Ci^. The Blue wants Rines to give it the type'of versatile breakaway orches' tra he built up at the' local station, where the men can be divided and reassembled Into all kinds of small units. Rines will function ^or the Blue only and not be part, of the music talent, pool under H. Leo'pold Spit alny. He starts on the new job AprU 20. Femmine Eyes , . San Antonio, March 81. '80 Your Boy'a In 4ht Army* If the title of a serleS.of weekly broad- casts to be aired over station KTSA under sancUoh of the . Srd'. Army Morale and Publlo Relation officials. Programs will be under the direc' tlon of Bertha Barton 'and -will be directed especially to the mothers, daughters, sweethearta of the men In the service. Broadcasts each week, whldrare a quarter hour in length, wlU en- deavor to toll -the women follis, through a woman's eyes Fhat Is being, done f6r - the* boys and men who have been called into service. Broadcasts will tell how the Army takes cafe; of their religious life, of their mediical treatment, how >the Army will make them and shape them into men of the future; WINS' New Sales Rep Free''& Peters has been appointed national representative of WINS, New.York, by Cecil B. Hackett, sta- tion manager. Appointment Is effective immedi- ately. • ■ KELLOGG, ELGIN BLURBS 175 Get Gradoatlon Annonncements This Season Chicago, March 31. Local office of J. Walter Thompson isreadying new transdriptions for two accounts. WlU cut six series for Kellogg, numing a minute. Discs are musicals, with station list in the works. —Other account Is Elgin Watehes which hits air prior to graduation time. Discs will run on 175 stations. This exceeds last year's record air. ing for account Cuttlng< on both be- ing done in Chicago. 'Second Husband' Goes Daytime American Home Products Revamps' Its Network Progreun Commitments American Home Products has can- celled Its two evening half-hour musical shows on the Blue Network and is replacing this business, in part, with a daytime serial version of 'Second Husband,' which current- ly runs on CBS as a weekly half- bour (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.). Of the two cancelled musicals, "The Monday Merry-Go-Round' folds altogether, While 'The Wednesday Album of American Melodies' moves into what la now 'Second Husband's' spot on Columbia. The Blue fadeouU become-. effec- tive the week.of April 18. CBS starts the 'Album' April 21, and the day' time series of 'Husband' will prob ably bow on the Blue April 20. The present plan calls for retaining Helen Menken in the lead. WOiB's Aatry Dilemma Cleveland, March Si WGAR will not have a studio au' dience for Gene Autry when he broadcasts here (12). (Quarters just large enough for cast.- . ' Already, thousands of requests are pouring, .in and what to do remains big question.. JliraOR MINUTE MEN SET FOR AIR DATES Junior Minute Men, public school youngsters recruited by Youth- builders, Inc., to plug the sale of de- fense bohds and stamps, have sched- uled appearances on 'Wake- Up, America,' Mary Margaret McBrlde, Alma Kitehell, "The World Is Yours' and "Let's Pretend' programs. One-minute scripts are written by the juves themselves. Youtjibullders is arranging additional dates for the Junior Minute Men .on other shows. WCKY Stalks Guest For Fted Allen SpotUgHt Cincinnati, March 81. WCKY la whooping up the talent search for a University of Cincin- nati student to appear as collegiate guest on Fred Allen's CBS show AprU.20. Station U blurblng the stunt via billboards, direct mall to UC. alumni, special interview' programs, and will toss a press party AprU 7 for John Rider, Allen's tep. Colmnbia Workshop Novelties; Joe Scbildkrant In Repeat of Danube' 'Columbia Workshop' will mark the opening of the'big league base- ball season on Ite AprU 16 show with a comedy titled Tlay Ball,' by Louis J. Hazam. Earl McGlll wlU direct Provided a tentatively scheduled shortwave broadcast by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury doesn't force a postponement from tiiat date, the •Workshop* show lor AprU 12 wUl be ■He Shoulda Stood In Elba,' a gang- ster comedy by Ralph ToUerls, wIUi Howard Barnes slated to direct AprU 26 stanza wUl be TjOoking for Sttsle,' by Carol Warner and Flfl Garbat, directed by Guy della Cl- oppa. This Sunday afternoon's show wUl b* a ravlval of "Miracle on the Danube/ written last year by MaX' weU Anderson for tha "Fret Com' pany* aerlea. Joseph SchUdkraut wlU star In the revival, which Chtfrles Vauda wlU direct WUUam Spier if lupervlsor of tha series, having succeeded Davidson Taylor on the assignment GLENN MILLER SET AT LEAST TO JUNE 29 Phestei^eld (Liggett St. Myers) has renewed Glenn MiUer for another 13 weeks, ending June 29. Any agree m'ent beyond that date depends on whether CBS has done something about changing the schedule of the MlUer series. The account was to get away from 10 p.m. It wUl take two half-hours a week Instead of the present three- 15-minute periods so long as the time of the program is a couple hours earUer. VOTE ON RADIO FAVS Wlnohell, Hope, Kyier Tops—Cane- ton Morse Displaces Hlnuelt . Milwaukee, March 31. With nearly 6,000 votes cast in The Milwaukee Journal's 12th an' nual radio poU, nearly half the bal' loters expressed dislike of 'soap operas'. 'Those We Love' was voted the program most missed. This year Walter Wlnchell outdistanced H. V. Kaltenbom for commentator popU' larlty. Tibber McGee and Molly' was the favorite all around show last year, but this time lost out to Bob.Hope, while Carlton Morse's .'i Love Mystery' ousted Carlton -Morse's 'One Man's Family' as the favorite serial. Kay Kyser led the dance bands for the fourth time, with Glenn MiUer runnerup. Five states were repre. sented by the listeners iand voters. Phil Carlin on Coast Seattle, March 31, Phillips Carlin, vice president in charge of programs for the Blue net- work, was here last week, meeting with members of the staff of KJR, local ouUet. C>n to Spokane .before going to San Francisco. ' ~' DEMOCRATIC METHOD Young te Bnbloam Polls Its St^ on Beplaoement Choice Young 8i Rublcam resorted to the baUot last week to determine what the summer replacement would be for the 'Silver Theatre'. -The vote, taken among* the members of the agency's radio department favored a CBS world .news roundup. The latter event now goes on at 8 p.m.' When International SUver takes It over, AprU 26, the time f^ the roundup wlU be 6.to 6:30 p.m., EWT. The agency last season used this, same roundup as a. pinclihltter for Gulf OU. Mutual Network haa made appli- cation to the War Department for permission to broadcast the (Anny Hour) serla along with NBC. Tha program bows on NB(i this Sunday afternoon (B). Mutual Is advancing the argument that since tha show la being fur. niched by a .Government agency. It should be made available to other networks if they want It Tha request Is said to be very em> barrassing to the Army radio pub- ' llol^ secUon which feels NBC went aU-out to be obliging and has com- mitted its whole organization to co- operate on the 'Army Hour' besides making a free gift ff RCA world- wide communications. . The Army la said to doubt tha fairness of aUow- ing Mutual to carry a progriam partly made possible by « free dona- tion of RCA-NBC faculties or of forcing such an Issue with NBC at the suggestion of a business rival. Massachusetts Steps Up Bond Seli^ Methods Boston, March 81. All Massachusetta ra^lo statlona wUl be linked AprU 1» for the first time. Dramatlo show wUl tee off m campaign to have avery Individual in the state pledge to buy defense bonds regularly. The press agenta of aU statlonB wUl pool their eflorta in a news- paper pubUdty campaign starting AprU 10. . ■• The artista wlU be draym mostly from the Boston stations. ^ The pledge campaign wUl continue to May 5, with daUy house-to-house canvassing. ' . HERSCHELL WILLIAMS JOINS Ui. AIR CORPS HerscheU WlUlams, daytime radio director of Ruthrauff & Ryan, was sworn In Monday (30) at Mitchell Field as First Lieutenant In the Army Alf Corps. ..He reports for three months' service In' Washington, after which h.e wlU be assigned to active groimd duty. . He has been a member of (the New York State Guard. Cecil BroWs Lectores San Antonio, Mairch 31. CecU Brown, CBS roving war cor- respondent Is sched«Ued to make a talk here under the^ sponsorship of station KTSA on May 12. He wlQ appear at the City Auditorium. Station presented Edward R. Mur- .row here several months ago. CecU Brown Is X>ow in New York from Malaya and AustraUa. CBS set up a press interview for him yester- day (Tuesday) morning.—Ed.) George Gillingham Happily Quits Thankless Job— Seldom Allowed to Know What Was Going On Washington, March 31, George Oi Gillingham, pubUcity boss for the FCC, has left the regu- latory outfit .for the duratioa Re- turning to his first love, the Chemical Warfare Service, with an indefinite leave of absence. Hand-picked by Chairman James L. Fly from the Tennessee 'VaUey Authority to be the Commlah mouth- piece, GllUngham for months has been reported on the. verge of qult-< ting because' of the wheels-wlthln- wheels conditions that .make .bis Job unenviable. Thougb at the outset hf -was in on many secrete and given advance tips, the feuding and wrangling in the past few months have put him on .the sidelines. He hasn't been in on the know for quite a whUe and froni aU indications wel- comed the chance to get oUt, No successor yet, but Edgar Jones, one-time Agriculture Department propagandist and part-time trade paper scribe, probably wUl pbich- hlt He's been hired temporarily as personal good-wUl- ambassador and pulse-taker for F^,. after bitter Com- mlsh rowing over giving the Chair- man a special legman.