Variety (June 1942)

WedneBdajrJnne 24^ 1942 RADIO 19 tWEBSm ^ (I Radio Directiiig Is Sideline? Radio directors are the drudges ot the Industry. Take it froft Ed Cashman, Lord St Thomas director on the Kay Kyser program lor Lucky Strike. "Says Cashnian,. he's become hardened to being-stooge and errand boy for Kyser and the show. But last week he also found himself working a^ laundry man, and porter. Re thinks that's the limit. In. addition to Its regular NBC broadcasts for the cigaret account, the Kyser band has recently been playing' one-nlghters at Army and Navy training centers. One night last wetk a thoroughly weary Cashman tottered into his room at the Lexington hotel, N. Y, only to find it plied almost to the ceiling with 23 bundles of laundry. Not quite too tired to be angry, Cashman climbed over the pack- ages to the phone and protested to the hotel management. He was informed that' the laimdry was for the members of the band, had been delivered to. bis room on Kyser's instructions. 'You are to take it with you tomorrow when you go to Quantico, 'Va., to meet the band at the Marine base there,' said the desk clerk. VHien Cashman in- quired how he could possibly handle such a load the clerk replied, 'Mr. Kyser didn't leave, any instructions about that,' Raymond Paiges 'Acrobats Music Backs Fkischmaim Vaudeville With O'Keefe and Headlines standard B.ands Will use stand- ard acts for its new Walter O'Keefe- Raymond Paige radio vaudeville show. The vaudeville note will be stressed thro ughout, partly as . a formula for the presentation of changing -' turns each Sunday nifht, partly in the hope of hitching to the current publicity of vaudeville's comeback. Although the first broadcast will include items out of Irving Berlin's "This is The Army' (thereby show- ing vaudeville-like violation of set ^ patterns) «ucceeding programs ex- pect to have headliners such as Jimmy Durante, Rochester, Alec Templeton, Hazel Scott, Clyde Hager, Radio Rogues. The second broadcast is about set to include Bert Lahr, Larry Adler, Andrews Sisters and Johnny Burke. One novel aspect of the series' is Raymond Paige, recently identified wltlr big orchestras, revealing his . professional versatility by going back to a vaudevllle-slze and vaude- viUe-like orchestra of 18. Not gen- erally known is that Paige, primar- ily associated with Philharmonic and deluxe combinations, was in his student days a trench fiddler at the old Golden Gate Theatre,.San Fran- cisco, the Orpheum circuit's pop house in that city. Paige will lend a nostalgic, overtone to the varieties aspect 'of the new .'lelschmann's Yeast Irblic by revlvlnj the kind of tunes magic acts and 'acrobats in particulAr used'to dote upon, Godfrey Slice Sold Noxon Jletal Polish, via Ray Spector agency, is taking a five-min- ute slice, of Arthur Godfrey starting July 10. -At 7:40 a.m. dally. , On^WABC, N. Y., but from 'Wash- ington. Temporary Talent Scarcity At San Qnentiil Oyercome By New Matricdations Hollywood, June 23. Don Lee network's 'San Quentin on the Air,' resumes July. 8 after a layoif of several weeks, due to' the 'absence' of talent Ibiplratioh of terms of partlcipathig inmates caused the shut4}own. But, with tiie arrival of fresh performing inmates, the show will take the air again Wednesdays from 8:30 to 9:00 pan. The programs are'made , up of or- chestra, vocalists and singing groups, in addition to h^tervlews with de- partment heads on the rehabilitation of prisoners, and various, social re- forms practiced. Ted Stanich, non- inmate, supervises as head of the mtisic department Rolph: Burr, former m.c, and. now on the regu- lar announcing staff of KFRC, in San Francisco, originating station, will be replaced as show fronter. BERNIEWRIGLEY SHOW REPEATS OYER WIND Chicago; June 23. Ben Bernie's new Wrlgtey show on CBS via WBBM at 4:45 p.m. (Chi- cago time) dtiily Monday through Friday has been signed for a night repeat on Ralph Atlass' WIND. Program will air at 8K)5 (3WT over WIND, with same talent line-up as afternoon series. Fred Astaire, who stars with.-Bing Crosby in 'Holiday Inn,' will be a guest on the Kraft Music Hall, NBC, June 25. Exceptional Terms For A Writer Katharine Seymour Back on 'Light of the World' at 100% Increase in Salary K:.tharine Seymour, who, until a few months ago adapted the 'Light of the World' serial for General Mills, has been hired "back on the show by Transamerican, the pack- age producers, Understood she's getting virtually everything she de- manded before and for which she quit the assignment Besides an ap- proximately 100% pay increase, she aow has subsidiary rights and re- broadcast rights.Her first scripts will be heard July 13. Under the new setup, Miss Sey- mour will report on script matters directly to Max WUey, script editor of Blackett-Sample-Hummert, Chi- cago, the agency on the show. She formerly dealt with Don Becker, Script and production supervisor of Transamerican, who has been writ- ing the series much of the time since she dropped it 'Whether Miss Sey- mour gets air credit as scripter, a matter between the sponsor and her, is unknown. Until September, at least, Miss Seymour will also continue writing 'Thus We Live,' three-weekly series bankrolled by (jeneral Mills for the Red Ciross. Because of the amount of research on both series, her sister, Adele Seymour, wlU' work with her on them. It's her first ra- dio scripting assignment. .B. B. D. & O. is the agency on Thus We Live,' which is on CBS. Ught of the World' is on NBC, ABOVE MAY. 1041 Mutual Volume at $750,000 Around 49% Over Year Before—Blue Spurt of 26% for $1,190,000 Month : $9,190,000 No Amount of Explaimng Pirevents Worcester Radio Audience From Getting Upset Over Fake Air Raid CBS TOPS NBC The four national 'networks came through the month of May with a general increase of 7% in billings over the like month of 1941. Mutual showed the biggest margin, namely, 49%. The Blue Network was next with a plus 26%, NBC was up 7%, while Columbia slid oS'3%. Comparing the first five months of this year with the parallel period of 1941, the four webs' joint revenue is up 11%. The accumulative gross for the foursome this year is $48,- 500,000. For the initial January- May period of 1941 it was $43,600,000. On the first five months of 1942-Mu- .tual is up, 91%; the Blue, 20%; NBC, 8%, and CBS, 2%. "The magazine field's revenue for the same period is 8% off, while for May, '42, alone the decrease in advertising income for magazines figured 17%. The drop in national newspaper lineage as compared to May, '41, was 10%. CemparaUve^ network .Bevenoe for Month of Hay (EsUmates) 1942 • 1941 • v% Bine $1,190,000 $945,000 +26 CBS ..... 3,680,000 3,800,000 —3 Hntnal 750,000 500,000 +49 NBQ 3,570,000 3,350,000 + 7 $0,190,000 $8,695,00P + 7 Radio Ed Paol Kennedy Qoits Cincy Post For RockefeUer Conunittee Cincinnati, June 23. Paul Kennedy, radio editor of the Post, Scripps-Howard 'sheet since 1935, has resigned to start July 1 with the Office of Co-ordlnatbr of Inter-American Affairs (Rockefeller Committee). He will be tendered a farewell dinner Thursday (25) in the Variety Club, Netherland Plaza, by local newspaper and radio folks. Joe KoUing, of 'Variety,' will be toast- master. ANTHEM ON MEXICAN STATIONS AT 10 AJl Mexico City, June 23. Singing of the-Mexican National Hymn at 10 a.m. daily at all radio stations and in public' offices and schools throughout the Republic and playing .and singing this anthem at the start and finish of performances of every theatre and cinema In the country will become obligatory if the government approves the meas- ure fathered by Antonio Villalobos, executive president of the Party of the Mexican Revolution. The government is expected to ap- prove. Swing Cbrifies Washington, D. C. Editor, 'Variety': I wish you would publish my as- surance that I had not been dissat- isfied with the General Cigar Com- pany as sponsor. My only reason for changing from Mutual to NBC Is that I hoped to gain a larger audi- ence. If my sponsor had been in the financial position to buy more time over NBC I should have been happy to continue with him. Since he is hot, I thought it advisable to decline the generous contract he of- fered me. .Rai/mond Gram Sroing. Hooper's First 15 (Jime 16) ' Bob Hope 30.5 Fibber McGee 28.9' Charlie McCarthy 25.0 •The Aldrich 'Family' 24.1 Lux Radio Theatre 23.4. ■Walter WincheU 22.6 Fanny Brice-Frank Morgan. 21.0 'Mr. District Attorney'...... 19.9 Kay Kyser 18.0 Bing Crosby 17.0 Rudy Vallee 16.8 Time to Smile' 16.5 Fred Allen 16.3 Take It Or Leave If. 16.1 Fitch Bandwagon 16.1 Clark Candy Soldier Camp Visits Resuming; This Time on Mutual Network Chicago, June 23. 'Service With a Smile,' the original Arnfy-Navy "radio show which had a 26-week run on the Blue Network for Clark Candy Bars, returns to the air next week. Program will air this time over, a coast-to-coast Mutual network. Show to tee off June 29, for an indefinite run.' Tentative plans call for the show to hit the air at 8:30 p.m., CWT, from either Great Lakes or Norfolk Navy Yard. Final arrangements are being made by Hal R. Makelim, who has the, rights to the show, and Fred Weber, Mutual •executive. Makelim returned to Chicago with complete plans for the program's' rettun as a sustainer, but sponsorship of the show 'is expected within a few weeks. ' Talent line-up for program is. be- ing set In Chicago. LINDLEY, CRAWFORD TO BBC Take. Over Alternate Satnrdays of Elmer 'Davis Ernest K. Lindley and Kenneth Crawford are alternately doing the odd-Saturday., news comment pro- gram formerly done by Elmer Davis for British Broadcasting Corp.'iSeries is shortwaved to London and re- broadcast there by recording. Lind- ley is regularly heard in the U. S. on WJZ-Blue. Crawford Is the head of the Washington bureau of the newspaper PM. Raymond Gram Swing continues the alternate Saturdays of the series. Pickups are handled by William Newton, of the BBC office in New York. Seyes Ferrln, annotmcer at WTIC, Hartford, has resigned to become a mikiman-producer at WOR, New York. Worcester, Mass., June 23. A reasonable facsimile of the his« torlc Orson Welles' 'Invasion From Mars' episode occurred here last week as a result of a Special events broadcast by WTAG describing-a simulated air attack on city. As in the 'Mars' case, station's switchboard was flooded with calls from persona who believed a raid was actually in progress—despite repeated warn- ings the program was fictitious. Arranged by Announcer ' Barry Barents and staged by a crew of air raid wardens and a mobile medical ~ unit, demonstration was held to de- scribe actual workout of all units of an ARP division should a sky at- tack take place. Account of th^ test Included the 'explosion' of a delayed-action bomb at a Worcester Intei^section, the ar- - rival of a medical unit and setting- up of an emergency first aid station with the subsequent care of the 'wounded,' removal of 'casualties' from buildings, 'extinguishing' of fires and 'demolition' work by ARP crews. . , , Simulated raid was witnessed by hundreds of passers-by and recorded for rebroadcast at late hours. That's when th6 jam started,'. Phone 'In- quiries-included requests for names of injured, with <one man reporting he lived in the 'bombed' area .and was ' overwhelmed with calls from .•»■ anxious friends, . ■' ' ■ ' . YEOMAN AL HANSEN ASSIGNED TO Y&R Al Hansen, who resigned as a radio copy writer at Young tc Rubl- cam last week to become a yeoman in the enlistment section of the Navy, Is ' already back- in radio. Whatis more, he's assigned to Y&R as Navy Department contact on a series of recorded 'programs being made by the agency to- hypo sailor enlistments; Shows, to be available to all local stations, are to be directed by Harry Ackerman and scripted by various nanfle radio writers. First few will be recorded next week.' Doria FolUott Subs For Idling Jane Crusinbeny Chicago, June 23, Doria 'Folliott, English .novelist, will be the substitute scripter of 'The Story of Maiy Marlin' during the annual vacation of Jane Crusln- berry, author-owner of the Procter It Gamble serial on. NBC-Red. Change is effective with the July 13 broadcast. It will continue 10 Weeks. Benton St Bowles is the agency on the show, which originates in New York. Post Card Survey of Commerciak Listener* Asked to Check From 'Completely Awful' to 'Highly Enjoyable^ Roger William Riis and Associates, a research outfit. Is conducting a post card survey among what it con- siders to be a 'representative* group of New- Yorkers on the subject ot what they think of radio advertis- ing. R. C. liewis, of the firm, last week declined to disclose the name of the client which he said had re- tained his organization to get a 'gen- eral listeners' reaction.' The first question on the card reads: 'Which of these phrases comes closest to your opinion of modem radio, commercials?' (please \mder- line one): completely awful mildly irrltaUng just fair agreeable highly enjoyable. The next question is: 'Can 'you name any advertisements over the radio you particularly like?' and the final one, 'Any that you particularly dislike?' Jack Lyman Moves Up Hollywood, June 23. Jack Lyman, night manager of NBC here, has been promoted to producer's berth, replacing Max Hutto, recently called -into the Army. George 'Volger Will assume I^r- man's post