Variety (Dec 1942)

Wednesdajt December 30, 1942 RADIO 27 Sinatra Moves Into 'Hit Parade When Barry Wood Shifts to A.K. Song Show Frank Sinatra, former Tommy Dorsey vocalist now on CBS sus- taining, will replace Barry Wood on American Tobacco's Lucky Strike Hit Parade. Mood will shift over to the new Friday night replace- ment show for 'Information, Please,' which starts Feb. 12 with a 50-piece orchestra under Mark Warnow, plus Marie Greene, and Lyn Mur- ray's chorus. This program will originate in Carnegie Hall, N. Y.. and consist of a 'All-Time Hit Parade' melodies popular 20 or more years ego. George Washington Hill, head of American Tobacco, spent approxi- mately $1,500 last week to have both shows produced and transcribed for his personal benefit, with Sinatra on the Hit Parade. Wood has been in that spot for three consecutive years. Sinatra has been receiving a con- centrated buildup from CBS since leaving Dorsey. He has two shows, one half-hour and a quarter-hour, and on Jan. 4 begins IS minutes across the board at 11:15 p.m. He was recently signed to a contract by Columbia Records, to record solo after the settlement of the present controversy with the AFM. Today (Wednesday) Sinatra begins 10 con- secutive weeks at the Paramount theatre. N. Y. Frank Cooper, of General Amuse- ment Corp., manages Sinatra. Unions Watch NBC Production Schoofing Plan The American Federation of Radio Aitist.<!, the Radio Writers Guild and other talent organizations are watch- ing the projected move of NBC to form an Employee Production Group aimed to 'give free instruction and training in radio directing, sound effects, scripting and announcing to its employees." Garnet Garri.son, radio instructor at Wayne Uni- versity, Detroit, has been hired by NBC to have charge of the in.striic- tion, starting next week. C. L. Menser, NBC vice-president in charge-of programs, will supervise. Leaders of AFRA, RWG and the other radio talent groups are con- cerned lest NBC use the employee organization as a training ground for possible replacements for pro- gram production personnel, with the Idea of holding down wage standards snd otherwise combating their ob- jectives. Meanwhile, the Radio Di- rectors Guild has noted that it al- ready ha.s in effect a plan for train- ing program production men and direclors from out-of-town stations and non-network outlets in New York. Mrs. Elaine Ewing In New Post With OWI Washington, Dec. 29. Mrs. Elaine Ewing has been ap- pointed assistant chief of the sta- tion relations section of the Office of War Information's domestic radio bureau. Before her new appoint- ment, Mrs. Ewing was assistant to Douglas Meservey, deputy chief of the radio bureau. In her new posi- tion she will assist Richard F. Con- nor, chief of the station relations section. Prior io joing OWI, Mrs. Ewing was with NBC a^d before that was executive secretary of Transamerica Broadcasting and Television Corp. KAYE VICE EDDY FOR OLD GOLD Sammy Kaye's orchestra will re- place Nelson Eddy for Old Gold In the latter's Wednesday period on CBS starting Jan. 27. The format will include a glee club and guests. Joe E. Lewis had been under con- .<;ideralion for the new setup but the thing went cold last week. Lorillard planned originally to re- tain Eddy and buy a pop musical program as a second show, but that idea had to be shelved because the agency on the account, J. Walter Thomp.ton, couldn't find another satisfactory half-hour open on NBC or CBS. Eddy will have been on the Lorillard payroll for 39 weeks. It will make Kaye's second air alliance with Lorillard. The band- nian did a 26-week series on NBC 1940 for another one of the manu- Cresta Blanca Going All-Musical on MBS; Jack Pearl Off Show Che.sta Blanca wine (Schcnley) is converlmg its 45-minule slint on Mutual Wednesdays to an all-musi- cal show starting with the Jan. 6 broadcast. Jack Pearl will have teimmated a run of 13 weeks. Only other change made will be ■">e augmentation of the Morton ^ould orchestra. Jean Merrill and "fad Reynolds will continue as program's head vocalists. 'Victory Hour' Layoff The Victory Hour, Government program over the Blue network and "J;<:-a by George V. Denny. Jr.. is on the air until Jan. 12. mill w , ^ ot broadcasts be launched. faclurer's brands. Sensatioi^igarets^ Retrenchment in 1943 Had Been Expected, but Not Known How Much Will Come Out of Broadcasting —P&G Spent $10,000,000 in Radio in '42 WILL CLIP WEAKIES Radio's No. 1 customer, Procter & Gamble, has decided to cut its ad vertising appropriation for 1943 by 10^'c. It is not known how much of this clip will come out of broadcast ing, since the policy surrounding the proposed reduction is not a horizon- tal one. The basic plan of economy will be restricted to those soap brands that have been consistently on the losing side of the ledger. The amount involved in the 10% will come from appropriations for the weakie products, and the new policy also calls for further exploitation savings from that group and the transfer of such money to the fur- ther promotion of the stronger brands. , Some sort of economy move in the soap industry had been expected within advertising circles for some time. The price freeze hit the soap business unusually hard and it was felt. that, despite the industry's pros- perity because of war needs (glycerin), the time w.is not far off when tlie .soap conlinKent would re- sort to .some sort of fiscal readjust- ment. It is estimated that P. & G.'s ex- penditures In radio both netwbck and spot, for 1942 totalled around $10,000,000. According to informa- tion from ad agency execs who specialize in soap accounts, few of the P. & G. products now on the networks fall within the category. P. & G.'s expenditures with the net- works during the final quarter of Albert Lasker Retires 2d Time; Lord-Thomas Agcy.> One of World s Largest, Now Foote, Cone & Bslding Purina Buys 'Opry' On 29-Station NBC Hookup Purina Mills has bought a hookup of 29 stations on NBC for sponsor- ship of the 'Grand Ole Opry' pro- gram, starting Jan. 2. The link will take in the southeastern, south cen- tral, southwestern and Florida dis- tricts. Camel underwrites the same show on the same network on 62 stations, but the latter are in other sections of the country. Gardner is the agency on the Purina account. HUB ROBINSON UP AT Y-R AGCY. Hubbell Robinson, Jr.. has been named associate director of radio of the Young & Rubicam agency. The promotion makes him second in authority within Y it R's radio setup to Tom Harrington, v.p. in charge of radio. Robinson will continue for tHe time being to run the talent end of the department also. His main task for the past two years has been the buying of talent, lining up material for auditions and contacting clients along with Harrington on program matters. Robinson has been with the agency for over 15 years, joining its radio department in 1930. 1942 were materially off, anyway, as compared to the fore part of the year, so that it is quite possible that the webs have already experienced the full force of the P. & G. re- trenchment. After Jan. 1 the famed Lord & Thomas advertising agency, one of the largest and oldest in the world, becomes no more. Albert D. Lasker, principal owner, retires Jan. 1—for a second time, after being impressed into service anew following an orig- inal retirement in 1938. Under the name of Foot*>, Cone & Belding. Lasker's associates in Lord & Thomas will take over, occupying the same quarters and retaining the same personnel. Em^son Foote, Fairfax M. Cone and Don Belding have been the executive vice presi- dents in charge of New York, Chi- cago and Los Angeles offices of LitT, respectively. When Lasker retired in '38, as president and director, it was his intention to devote himself entirely to public affairs, which he will now continue to do once again. When Don Francisco, president of L&T, took a leave this year to become one of the chiefs of the Office of Coordinator of Inter-American Af- fairs, the advertising tycoon had to come back into advertising activity, especially in the light of other L&T men going into the military service. These iiicluSed his son, Eddie, g.m". of L&T. who enlisted as an officer (Continued on page 32) RCA. CBS Reviews Of '42 Play Up Radio's War Rale ''Show Business At War 55 THEME OF THE 37th ANNIVERSARY NUMBER of OUT NE XT WEEK -JAN. 6 USUAL ADVERTISING RATES PREVAIL Specials Exploitation Advantages Resofvations and Copy May Be Wired to Any Variety Office NEW YORK HOLLYWOOD CHICAGO LONDON 154 W. 46th SL 1708 No. Vine St 54 W. Randolph St 8 St Martin's PL Both RCA and CBS. in their year- end reviews for 1942 as released this I week, stressed the part that Ameri- I can radio has played in the war. Col. David Sa,rnoff, RCA prcxy, de- clared that when the achievements I of radio invention for 1942, now I military secrets, are released to the public. Americans will be 'proud of the radio research workers and en- I gineers' who equipped our armed I services with 'apparatus unsurpassed I in efficiency.' William Paley, CBS \ prez, pointed in his report with pride to the all-around war service I of the network plus such .series as Norman Corwin's 'An American in ! England' and Larry LeSeur's 'An American in Russia' series. Radio in 1M2, declared the RCA report, played an important part in i turning the tide of victory to '.he United Nations' Television, it .■•latcci. had likewise played an impor- ' tani role in air raid instructions ,ind ' civilian defense and that the mc- (iiu^l^.^ recent devclopinenls in the I laboratory give promise that tele- ! vis)on will emerge from this war in ; '^uch form as to make* possible a UrcM post-war industry. CBS Planning Russian Facsimile of Corwin's 'American in England' CB.S i.s Icnuuivcly plan.iing to fol- low Nfiim.in Corwin'.* 'An Amtrican .■A England' .-eries with one called ■ An .^mcrican in Russia.' It v/ould ^ use material by Larry Le Sueur, j who recently returned from an ex- ! '.ended stay as the network's corre- ■ -pondent in Moscow. Le Sueur ' would also narrate the series. Bill ; Robfon is slated to produce-direct the serie.<. but the adapter, time and starting date are undetermined. Corwin's 'England' series ended • sequel edition, originating in New York, last week. Mis original series, originating In London, was aired by CBS via shortwave.