Variety (Oct 1943)

Weiliicsday, Oclohcr 6, 1913 RADIO 35 Gapan s Wife By ALAN LIPSCOTT A gagman's wife is a female who, "With every other gagman's wife, Has a commoi'i question: 'How is your husband's indiges- tion?" She translates chuckles into a new wasbinc machine or a modern sink. While jraks and bamboolas mean diamond rings, | Another baby or a mink, And that's why, thrODch every show, She seems so fidccty as it she's sittinc on a thistle. While all her planted relatives langh, applaud, stamp their feet and whistle. She uiill sneer at-Iier husband's collaborator, When he conies through toith what was aixcays a jireaC tine. But tirill wax hysterical, Vihen her hitsband gii^es otit tuith what has always been d straipht line. A comic to her is only a stooge to her husband's talents. And screams that he is respon- sible and not the comic, for the comic's million-dollar bal- auce : She personally takes care of his bicarbonate and Turns, And always refers to Fields and C'bodorov as just a couple of lucky bums. Kt the gagman adores her, de- spile her artifice, ichimj a)id wiles. To him she is his greatest love— Next to. his files.. Harsch Goesting On WADC's Talent Hmit .\kron, Oct. 5. W.\DC has booked Joseph C. Harsch. CBS news analyst on the Goodrich Tire iserics. as featured guest for the public opening of the station's series ot talent auditions at the Mayflower hotel . this Saturday <9). During the subsequent week, starting Monday ill), the station,will each day present one of the five finalists on the air. The station gives as its prime motive for the auditions the stirring up of public interest in live talent. ■ The management declared last week that it was 'forcibly ma<le to realize a few weeks ago that"although it was pri.Tiarily interested in the enter- tainment bu.iincss. it, as' well as other.station operators, has been los- ing contact Willi tiilcnf and failing 10 do it.s Ishare to develop lalcnt for the future.' Wheatena Buying Whcatena Corp. i.^ booking day- time minute announcements and chainbrcaks, on stations in the New England and Middle .MUntic states. The schedules, which start Monday ni). will include from five to 10 blurbs a week, Compton is the agency. .Mrt:: (.ou ci..*rtoN New C.iMKI. PR0<:RAM. Thora.. i« p.iii., Kwr .S«udla<i. llDllywood, Col. D'ARTEGA AND HIS ALL GIRL ORCHESTRA Now Beginnine a Nationwide Theatre T our. Opening Gold- eh liate Theatre, Sari Fran- cisco, on October 14th. Personal Management ERNEST LIEBMAN 14J0 Itrondwav, Xcw York WMCA MAPPING SERIES TO CURB WRONG KIDS .. WMCA, N. Y., is currency work- ing out a series designed ;o exn.mirio and cope with the proble.-n o?. -jve- nile delinquency. Permission ]^ be- ing sought to pick up.juvenile court proceedings which will be , iiK-iuded in the show. The progi-am idea stems from a confab called two weeks ago by the station of Wel- fare Council reps, who mulled ra- dio's role in combating juve.delin- quency. The meeting, held at Welfare Council headquarters, was divided among those who favored a program aimed directly at the child; one di- rected at the parent, or one keved to educate the public. SprlngBeld, Mass-r-^Howard Keefe. assistant program director at WSPR. becomes the new publicity director. Femme Staffers Being Added toL'ville Statiods Louisville, Oct. 3. Three ot the town s stations have gone in extensively tor women an- nouncers, writers and operators in recent weeks. Only .station not fall ing in line with, fcnimc additions is WHAS. which still maintains a full quota of male personnel, although j arranging for femme trainee engi- neers. Femmes come from various walks of life, some of them fresh from school. WAVE has recently ' added to its staff Ewing Arnn, news | editor; Ruth Nail, continuity; Alberta .Mwell. operator:" Marjorie Plank, operator: Natalie Potter, announcer, and Kate Egan, announcer. WGRC has added Jeanne Alex- ander, traffic manager, formerly with KOME. Tulsa: Doris Hennessy, an- nouncer; Rose Mcintosh, business manager; Diana Adams, operator. WINN boasts ot just one femme on the program staff, rexcluding office personnel. She is Grace Riddle; traf- fic manager, wife of Wayne Hatchett, chief engineer. TrammeU, Paley, Miller Warn Against War-Eifort Lag. After War DepL Talks Washi:igon. Oct. 5. Three radio executive.-; left here last weekend impressed with the necessity of radio continuiiig its war job and helping to rid the .^merican people of over-conficleiice. NBC president Nilcs Tra.n^mell: William S. Paley., CBS prexy. and >feville Miller. NAB boss, a'tlended the War Department conferences given to busine.ss men and newspaper officials at which the ■.var situa.tion wa.s thoroughly aired. , 'The reports presented." said Tram- meU. 'should have a very sobering effect oh those people in this coun- try who feel the war is going to be a short one. The conference im- pressed upon everyone in attendance that industry, labor and our civilian population have a tremendous job and many sacrifices ahead of us.' 'It was made all too clear,' com- mented Paley. 'that it is foolhardy and dangerous to think the war will end soon, or to plan or be influenced in our daily lives accordingly. The facts as they were presented spell a very hard war and certainly not a short one. Our full enthusiasm, (ie- termination and strength are as much needed now as at any time since we took on the job. of beating the Axis.' 'We must not only coniiniio. 'but ■ actually must mci-ease our -^.v-ii^ ef- fort.' said Miller. 'The radio indusv. v, although it does not build inunitions or weapons, does deal with a \-.tal ingredient in total warfare—the will arid morale of the Americ;m people. I am siire that radio will redouble its efforts to inform and stimulate Ibis nation until the last shot is fired and the ; last wounded American boy comes painfully but safely home.' Minneapolis — Harvey Slruihers, assistant siales manager, of WCCO, left this week for New Ifork. where he will be with the GBS radio sales staff. ! A Six-Hour Concert Every Night • • • That Nobody Hears THIS IS the .sl.ory of a man wlio pliiys tlic pi;iii()—in an empty broadca-sliii.;; .sliulio. Triunii:()iantclior(ls, nimble arpeg- gios, brilliant melodies How from the iii.stnimciit in .startling siiciT.s.sion— but nobody evi-r listens to hiin. llis.ijob is to lime tlic pianos at NlJC-^all thirty-three of them. Kvery niglit; he tours tiie empty Stiidios on a carefully plaimcd .sehed- iilo. I'nder his expert fingers, eaeh piano i.s njadc to respond until it i.s al precise concert pitch—ready for a symphony performance or for a boogie-woogie virtuoso. Kvery piano 'at NIK" is tuned by him once a week,. Kvery piano you h.'ar played.from Radio City i.s always pitch perfect. It's part of .NB<,'*.s routine atten- lion to detail. . . to I he very .smallest , of details that make f.)r Ijetler hroad-: easting. Not of world-shaking lin- jjorlance, perhaps. Yet—if it weren't il<jne? It i,s precisely thi.s mrtioulon.sness, thi.s almost automatic insistence du liaving eiery detail and feature of erery program on NB(; as perfect as po.ssible, that enables adverti.sers and listeners both to depend on N liC for the be.it in bfoadcasting. Perfectioni.sm, insistence on final- ity, care—even for details that no c-lient or listener i.s directly aware of —thene ar^ 'nome of Ihe thiiuj.i thai Illlike XBC "The Xdwurlc Must reoplcl.l.ttcii to Mod." ' •' -The National Broadcasting Company AmeriiQ's No. I Network — a service of the radio corporation o.f America