Variety (Jul 1945)

S8 TELEVISION-RADIO CBS Video Idea-MOl Hypoed, Latch Out to Experimenters CBS t'levi-Jion woiii stvifUy coin-, mifveial li^^t \vt'"k n(i).).Hit Ih? nioola [ ■ail ,'\veivt ilie. olliei' way iiistcyd of; jntiV tlif ..tiJl. .Tbere , ^vasn't ;v; sins-it" ^ paying customei' on tlu> IdchI i video outlet, WCBW. On the otlu-i-, hsind. Lav'i'vnce W, Lowman. \\'i-(n>f j in cluu'ae of television, wj.'J out o[ i 4h=> Aimy. back On the job. and ex-' p,tii;iiiie,ntation. was Undei' ■\\'a.\'. And ; that costs douglv. , | • '"We j>re trying, oiit all Icinds, of | , itJ'fijs.: ■tet'hhieal aiid prosrammatio." si':^ t'owiiian, "We:are .set oii nolhr , ,itig, Jind . cbmiiiittod. to iiothins-^ex- cept an ellort to improve." j Technically, the big.siet-t thint; in j the olfing \\ii.s the aU'eady-annoiincod , lia:nsmi.ssion in full color, expected! .to-be ready by the-end ol thi.s ..v.ear.!. ■■■'.'But there, are a great ;rniHiy other j things lo be done technically, and we i don't necessarily have to wait until '•. restrictions- are lifted on material. '.There',s a lot that can be done with materials adapted from thiii.£;s we have, and through improvi.sation." 1 On the bn.vine.'-s end. Lowman .said. | some accounts have, b.i'en orTered.! While he reliised to identity tlie.se, il was known that several watch ac-^ counts are eager to buy the .station break ^ots. All Lowman would say ■ about that angle is that a definite decision has been made to keep sta- tion breaks to 20 second.s. ■ It is on the program side, however, where execs and their aides all over the place were busiest. Woi-d had .sfiine out-tliMt writers and iiroducprs iiitere.-iie'd in vidoo; can .aol alihdst anyiKins' tricct o.iiit "oh WGBVV. ' ■ '•There are certain types of pro- s'ram.sV'' said .■.Low'inaii.^ ."t.hat .othei; t<!l(>visHMv: st'itinhs. have done wcjl. We witl make u.-e of their cxoeri- 1,'nccs when we are rcad.v. But v.'e aie coinincod that there arc many other, nowor kindS: of prossrams, that Govild bo devctoped by tplevisiori, .We; nvusi' fincl out liow best, to ■use ^drama; Va.ri.ely, music, . partic.ipatioiv ideas, sports and news tor television. Any- one, with, an idea .that ,soi)iid.s half- way ;sensible-^i.{ '. the. jdea:; iS:_ only, within the boinids of good tasle—• will get a chance to have it tried out here. "We ma.\ not put it on the air immedj.'itel.v. but we'll certainly £!ive it a whirl in the Studio and laboraloiy. and we'll give tt the best ■we''|Taye»'''. ■.' \ ^ . WCBW: is on the air four hour.s a week. But. according to Lowman, the statijn will increase its air time when, as and it it feels that il has somelliins worth putting on the air. WftliK'sduv, JiiJv 25, 19,15 H'WOOD AIR PILOTS MULL AFL Hollywood. .July U. GcniM'al meeting of the Hollywood Radio Directors Guild will be held tomorrow (Wed.) to discuss aflfilia- tion with the American Federation of Labor. :■ . William Robson. president of the Guild's New York chapter, will ex- plain details of the proposed AFL chapter. Bi undige, APRS Cited For Sportscastinj^ Hollywood, .Jul.v 24. S4I William W. Brnndige and the Ai'iiH'U Forces I*udio Sei\icewere presented with avi'ards by the Helm.s Athletic Foundation, in appreciation of their worldwide broadcatiting of soorlrni,' nev\s to servicemen abroad. Col. Thomas H, A. Lewis received the plaque for AFRS. Brundiiio, originall.v from Chal- tanoo,ga; was a -sports broadcaster befoio enterins the Air Force. MFRS. OPPOSE 2-BAND FM SET RECEPTION Washington,,July 24, ■ FM Broadcasters, Inc., reports that two manufacturcr.s have bucked the sugge'-lion of FCC that FM sots be built to receive both the oW and new band.s, and are urging the coio- mi.ssion to speed up tlie job of lo- cating the stations in the new loca- tions, instead. , . :; . Tlie opposition' comes from Motors ola and Stromberg-Garl.son. Lee F. McCanne, general mana.sfer of the latter company, estimates that as many as 8;00(),()00 FM receivrersmay be sold HI tlie Br.st vear and that in- stallation of a second band in the sets would:co,st the public^an aver- age of $.1 more'a. sei, .or a total of ■^40.000.000. ^[cGanne wrote to FCC chairman Paul A. Porter, su.ggesting that the conimLssion cooperate "m accom- plishing a quick and orderly con- version of the .")0 pioneer FM com- mercial broadcasters and of the tour or live school -systems now u.sitig FM." He said such conversion, could be done for about^300,000; saving the public the expense of purchasing two-band receivers, McCanne added that it "would be Avorthwhile lor the-receiver manu- facturers to share in the cost of this conversion lor all of the existing FiVT stations, if a suitable plan can be developed.'' He said if the educa- tional stations receive federal aid tlien the commercial outlets should also get it. ' ' ■' Television Review Here's a Cinch Soapera Out of the Chi Trib Ads Chicago, July 24. K someone's hard up tor an idea for a .script, here's one that had all ol Clu on I'.s ear all of la.st week. It started Monday U(i>. when the following item appeared in the Tri- bune's agony coliiiun: "Corinne—Plea.se call me at home. You know the number. Don't care what you have said or done. I love viiu, ' Jerry." Same ad appeared Tuesday (17). ;„i(l_.o1i, h.ippy d.iy!—underneath Was the following: "Jeiiy—Call me. "Vou know the number. You were wrong, thin.?s happened, hard lo say. 1 love you. Corinne." Both Corinne and Jerry were tak- ing advantage of the Trib's cla.ssified barg.iin rates for the three-day stre'tch, apparently, becau.se both ads were repealed again Wednesday (18V; only something ned added: •'Coiinne—-I don't know your phtiiVe number. Yes. Tiw wrong; whate\er happened I'm with you. Please call me. Jerry." 'That was a Wednesday to remem- ber * tor Chicagoans. Housewives lorgot about "Road of Life," breath- less getting plowed tinder, and whether Van John.son got married or not as they argued over back- yard fences if J. or C. would -give in first, and if ever. Apparently the siispensewas too much lor the public, jbeeause on Thursday (19', the following ap- peared: "Dear Corinne and Jerry-^Plea.se get together. You are breaking our hearts. A Reader,".. . And sure enough, there it was, in the same i.^sue, to.gelher with Cor- tnne's, original message, still in on the Ijargain rate: ••je,-,y _ NEvada 8647, between 8 a.m.' and 5 p.m.; will explain. Corinne." ■ ■ ■ PS. "Variety" called NEVada 8G47 all day Friday and Saturday, and apparently 5 million other peo- ple did too, because t^ie phone was bu.sy the whole 48 hours. Will Corinne and Jerry get lo- gellier'.' Will the Illinois Bell Tele- phone Co. come to the rescue. Lis- ten ill'next week at the same time.. •.'SELECTIVE SERVICE IN .REVERSE" With Lt. Col, David Brady, Hurold Waldridge, Emil Iliirris, Mary rat- ion, others I'rodiicer-Director: Ben Teiner Cameriis; Ralph Warren. Ed Left- wicOi, Milton Steinberg Z9 Mins.: Tliurs, (I'J), 8;40 p.m. Siistiiinlng^ WCBW-CBS, N. Y. There are a lew good radio shows devoted to the problem of the newlv demobilized war vet. CBS televi.sioii al.so started into that field of u.seful showmanshio last week (19) with "Selective Service in Reverse." Idea i.s reported to, be considered a-s a possible series. With some tightening productionwise, and more attention to -simplification of script, the ,show could well turn into a series com- bining genuine help to the returnee with intei'esting video technique. Show sets out to explain work be- ing done by New York Selective Service h.q.. which is now busy as- sisting servicemen and women in finding the right road back to civilian lue. Aller over-all plan of the "re- \ei.se" pioce.ss was explained by Lt. Col. David Brady, exec officer of N. Y. selective .service ofl'ice, three ex-GI'-s—one woman and two men— appeared before real-lite staff mem- bers of Col. Brady's office, asking questions, and receiving sensible guidance. Here is an instance where video could do a job: In this Instance, the GJ's asking tor advice were actors, ■while^ the advisers were regulation sergeants. Had these latter appeared over the air. invisible to their, audi- ence, they would have sounded clumsy by comparison, .with the ■.smGothneKS, of thii:.professionals. Rer ■suit would have' been extreme un- evenncss. Oh: the televi.slon. iicreen; however, they were .seen as natural guy.s. sincere men trying .S'incerely to do their job ■^vell. Their, very araateurishn&s as. actors added au- thenticity to their effort as practical ■guides. ■ The Scripling; howev;er,: miglrt.have been simplified considerably. It's doubtful whether, in real life, these .sergean ts speak as. they talked on the show-^iii, stilted, social-work ; lan- guage obviously taken from the book of administrative instructions. They should have, been permitted to talk naturally.; .•» - Pacing of the production, too. was slow, and that's -something for which the amateurs were only partly re- sponsible. However, since experi- mentation is in order, the- entire slan/a could be put down to the more poi^itivc side ■ of the ledger^ Cars. 1-Min.Coni'l Spot Jingle Tune Gets Showcasing Via Network Band Plugs Fli.st instance of a radio commei- cial jingle being made inlo a pop* tune, headed lor netuork b.ind plug- ging, came to liglit la^t lyet-k with the. publication by Maxwell-WiVges Mu^ic Co. of the song, "Chiquita ' Banana." Tune is Calyp.so-slyle and based upon a one-minute .spot writ- ten by Garth TVIontgomery and Leu Maekeii/ie, Of the Batten, Barton, Dur.stine & Osborne ad agency coinl mercial .scripting dept. Jingle has been riding tlv> aiilanos fi,ir the past eight moiith.s, and. apivir- ently ha^ cau.ght on. It recei\(.\i it's ether plug on a kid show m.c'd by Bill Wirge.s, of the music publishing house, on WOR. N. Y.. couple of S;il- urda.v.s ago. Palli Clayton, CBS song, stress, ha.s been named "Chiquita Ba- nana," and the song will be given a produelion . .showcase : on the "Schaeler Revue" over WKAF, N Y,, next Monday (.10). night, vvith. atiss .: Clayton veculizing. ;■ Starting .in late Augu.st. .Muxweli- ■ Wirges will make the nvelody its ■ No. 1 plug, and it will be given wide "play" by dance bynds throughout the country starting in Sept. Walter Tibbeils. BBD&O prnducer, helped -the vyriter.s iii discing 1 lie tuive orig'-.-' hia.lly,.^ F.O.B. Philly Philadelphia, July 20. Editor, "Variety": Detroit's pride in sending people to the "big time" in radio is very praise- worthy, -and while the combined-ef- forts of the three Detroit : stations account for 27 name.s we are rather proud of the .17' names who have had their start here at WCAU. A ro.ster .of the, WGAU alumni who have gione' on, to greener Aelds fol- lows: ■Rose Hampton. Helen Jepson. • Conrad Thibault. .Manie Sacks^ of Columbia .Recbrdr ing. ■■,■•■■.,'■,■■ Carol Irwin, chief of talent. ABC. Arthur Q. Bryan, on Fibber Mc- Gee and Molly show. Cameron Andrews, comedian on Ballantine show. Lyn Murray, choral director. Jan Savilt. - Vincent Traversi ■ ■ Charles Stark, announcer. , Harry IVIarble, announcer on CBS "Feature Slor.v.'' Henry Morgan, radio coiliedian. Paul Douglas.- £'xra Stone. Kitty Kallen. ■ Nicholas Brother's. ■ - Al Bernie. . ■ ; . Benny Baker. Ed Roeker, of St. Louis Municipal Opera.- ■ ■ ■ ■ v ■ Ruth Davies, featured, on the "Fresh Uj) Show," Joe Bolton, announcer on WNEW. : Craig. Stewart, announcer on WOR. Joe Gottlieb, producer and diree-r 'tor at WMCA. Robin Flynn, N. Y. Daily News Radio newscast dept. Ted Oberfelder, audience promo- tion dept,.'ABC. Gil Babbitt, exploitation dept: at Mutual. Wade.Banies. ABC recording dept. ■ The Jubilaires, George Lilley, syndicated •radio feature column, Jimmy.T.yson,MCA. Bart McHugh, Jr., MCA. Tom Martin, v.p.. General Amuse- ment, Willard Alexander, chief of bands. William Morris office. Taylor Grant. "Headline Edition," ABC, Bla.yiie Butcher. Aobert N. Pryor, Director, Public Relations. Prep Student for FM ' '". Cleveland. July 2». . WBOE. Ck!ve1;uid's pioneering School Board station, is the local point for .students of Ohio St<ite Univ. educational FM radio iwoi'k-' shop all thi-s week. , . The..cif,y-'.1< fdiir-ieominercial .stations: are pa rtiei pa ti iig'.: pool ing their sta tVs: ■ and talents to :prepare- students tor future FM show.s. . Anvjng the tiilk.s to Ije' giveii in-' elude addresses by E, R, Wallace, NBC foreign correspondent and head of the WTAM newsroom: television programmin,<; b.v..Holeii Rhodes pt. tli.e; ..G.E. station : In Scherioclady;■ sports, by members 01 Iho WJW stall: a demonstration bii).ulc.i-t by "Charming Children" at WllK, and '■A Station's Place, in the Commu- nity," by J. Patt, WGAR gen- mgr. Hw* yaa *«• .cam p»mt Muff lawMrarf'int* m piwm mtm l» .mmm.- »r Utoh'i 30 c«miiii« factarlai. TMm |»l«Mf lait yaar packad 4,403,730 eatat af fraiti aad vagatabtai, 22 \t»4t, valaail at aM'*'''"*"**'!^'^''' 000,000. Mara tkaa 7,000 pariaat wara amplayad. Tkit yaar tha aalpat it axpaeUrf ta sarpau tha 1944 pa.ch. ,: Coaaiaq ii jasl ana aMItah't alivaf Mm4 iadasfria* that craata labitaatial payralli.' Local Advertisers Know KPyL Brings it«siii*s In lalling ta thit market, iaeal and national firms taka coqnlianca of tha fact that KDYL if th* station, most paopla listen ■ to mo^t. KOYL show- man s h i p Is a proved raialtrgat- tar, astoblishad la .23' ■' yaars" of ;sMCr', cesiful sarvica/ Notienat Raprasantotiva: John Blair 6 Co.