Variety (Jan 1946)

m WMlneBflay, January 30, 1946 WOKO Court Reversal Snafues FCC Rulings; Case Pushed on Appeal Washington. Jar. 23 t A U S Court o£ Appeal.-; rulinsj i 14.-1 vM'cU t2n ovevtuviiing an FCC | ((■tiis.irio renew the license of slati >i. WOKO. Albany, N. Y., lias Into confusion and doubt tinstatus of seveial otlMr statlOHs^^ ji (.•Iwd. at i''CC.,. The fcommissioft is CAB'S Survival Fight Tlie Cooperative .'\nalysts of Broadcastins:. whose -futuie status in the aiidieiicr measuremeiit Held is more or less in a state of Hux. followine Ihreats of the four networks: to step oil I of the HAB picture. has.|l6eid«4 to lauiu'h an overall study . of .the pu-|)anim til appeal tlie WOKO (•>t.-<' nper.itions, teclinique, administration, 5 . till' Supfcine Court, and to ur^p ,(,.^ „( ,..,jio i-csearch. Out of the ar I'.irh review in order uj fict it,<; > t,tudv may come a final decision In li I' (It authority clear, !■ the WOKO case, the couit i tiled f ii.« the t'phmjis.'iion eotilcl not i;ef use u liivii'.e I'onoual solely becaii.so ol niisi-i^pl-esentWlioiis'or: tt\isstateiiien?i ■. ii iiu preswtniTiinfi of a station-.'i u,t M par. Oil the other hand, i.t a!.-.f.UDiil t liiit tlic commission has .,a,ii oljliualioiVKi moasure the quality p,l m, appfieiirnt'si proi^faTOs in coniiecr tioi" uith license renewal!-. These tw o .hiahlights .Of tlje .decisioil . riiuv ciiuntei to FCC"s established practice, and posMbly to the intent of ■ ureinent C.i<u.i;i'cs.-; a.s expressed ill tlie Coni7 n«io'.cationS-..'Acti Therefore; iiiduitrv unci FCC alike are deeply conce'i'eil o\ci the court's finding that ' pi oi^iammmg and mechanical , facilitiiis" iire among the "principal elements" FCC should look into in decidiiia wlrether a station is operating HI the nublic interest. For broai;!c.isleis, twc always been sensitive ' ti) any FCC inroads in the program ^ iield."' :'■ '] Several oilier station.? on the liol detrrminins just where CAB will lit inli) the liroadrastine' setup, The t'AB direetors met in confab vestcrclnv. with all four webs repr »i«)ited. and appointed a committee representiiiK' advertisers, ■, ascncies and the webs to explore the whole situation. It's reported that the network reps in attendance-' remain Drm in their opposition to CAB, Stemmingfrom a more-than-donblins of fees and the feelins' that there's too murh dupliration in audienre meas Reprise 'Myrt-Marge' Show World Broadcasting is reviving the old "Myrt an(} Marjfe" radio series on transcriptions with two substitutions in the title roles tor the oi-ii,'iimlKS. Alice Goodkin and AliCa Youman will head the cast, and a full year's shows ( 260 for use. across the boaid) will be plattered. Andre Baruch has been signed to handle announcements; and Jack Gunn will produce the series, for which a sponsor deal is now being set up by Herb Gordon, MBS in Program I Swing Away From 'Big Three' Centers »♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦*»»»♦»»♦»♦♦♦♦»*♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦»»»♦ M»^»»444^ From the hodnctkm Centres ♦.♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»■♦•♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«♦♦♦♦»♦■»■♦-»»»» IIS mW YORK CITY . . . Stephen Fry, North Ameiican program head of BBC, taking a ski vacash in New Hamp.shire Mary Ilanrahan back at the Y&R talent grindstone after .second honeyjnoon with her husband, Capt. Jack Miilvahill, jusl returned from India-Burnia, , . ,Charles Gussman has taken over scripting of "The Spa'rrow and the Hawk," which Dick Danville directs for CBS Viola Burns returned to duty with Y&R production stall after tussle w lih pneumonia Eugenia Rawls, who recently closed in legit "Strange Fuiit," playing Lauren Bennet in "Second Husband" Pat Joudry and Del Dins-, dale, Canadian .sciiptcrs, signed by General Poods to collaborate on ".Aid-' rich Family " tivc odd weelcs, with Norman Tokar continuing on alternate weeks, . Glenn Ri«s(s, announeing the ''Jungle Jun"series and Dwvght \Vei-,l the "Front Pa^e Dramas.' both tran.scribcd shows produced by Mildred Fenton. . . .Nancy Boyle, casting director ol the Gonipton agency^ to niaiij announcer Bob Hcidl soon ...Jeiry Devine took a foiii-day \acation last week in Atlantic City Johannes Steel, commentator on WHN' and secretary of the Assn. of Radio News Anal,vsts, has been nominated as American JUabor Parly candidate for a Congre,'!slonal seal Irom a normally Democratic aistvict in New YoiU city. Edwin'C. Hill gels in tomorrow (Thurs.) after several weeks' tout of Euiopean countries ...Robert Stanley has resigned as asst. musical director at WOR. N-. Y.. to take cfl'cct March 1. Emerson Buckley and Eugene Lowell, station slatl'ers,i.are in running as successor. .Joe Laurie, Jr., has an intoiniativc, nostalgic piece on "The Early Da.vs of Vaudeville'' in the curient (Feb "i American Mi-rciiry . J R. Poppele, WOR's Chief ensineer, elected a veepee ot station at board ot, directors," powwow Monday ('28». Push Live Talent On Coast Indies In recognition of what ii Ci)nsiders the fine vvoik ot some of its affiliates, as well a« to encouiage further such creative programming on lis network.; iiyiiitiial is reaching out among alliliatcs to pick tip .^ock local , j^.^ j^^.^^,^ fl<>rschcll Hart runs his radio column in Detioit. alters lor it national hookup. j „.,^. erraUined last week,. ..Nora Stilling, follQWitig an Mo\e IS also an attempt to suing | opeiatiifn and a month's rest. rclurn.s to the air this week John: Gibbs Hollywood, Jan. 2U. avs'ay ti'Pivi the nionopoly: ot the "Hi Ttiit'e" prOdLielioh , cenlcrs, New York Chicago and Hollywood. Idea or iitili/iiig such talent is the comhined one ot Phillips Carlin. veepee in charge ot programs; Bob Novak, director of talent and program devclopmenl. and Adolph Opfingcr Ameiican Kedeiation ol Radio | 3.^5,1, director of programming. .Ariisi.s here .-■•hortly will make a bitch to indie Ktatioiis to" cut down se.1t at FCC are waithig. lor a final .; m s.Witch to rulint; on the WOKO decision, vinore live-talent programs. With .Aiiioii!; tiicm are WORL. Boston and -.ervice leluriiees ncediug work and WT.NM. Trenton, both of which FCC , local union ranlts otherwise expandpinoe-ies to take oft the air for al iiii;, union wants to relieve situation le-^cd misrcpt-osentations on holdings ' by .encourasing freer use ol ■ its aiid financing. ^membership on .stations that have Less directly aft'ected is the Calu j occasional live shows, and initiate nu-i Bro':dca.sfing Corp., which i,s ; others who -are .devoted to the disk ;>jutl i"; ; sain^t announced FCC op entiiely. wis; t ion for the right to iebuv fa, Move \yili be no union edict nor cilit c ol a station it once operated will pressure be too strongly api" Hanimonc!. Ind, I plied. Rather, it will be friendly _. 1 attempt to talk managements into iVIaj Anect Mesters ! eliminating wholesale plattering The WOKO rulin.Ej is also of pos i thai now floods local indie wave>.ole signiCicance to FCC\ pioposed length-.. Claude McCue. local AFRA denial ot sale, of the Arde Bulova ; head and national western rep, will station WOV, N. Y„ to Miu-ra.v and [ invite broadcasters to a meeting to Meyer Mcster. Although the. Mesters '. outline his proposal and seek dishave never been radio licensees,, the" j cussion. : < t commission fpund that they vsere j At present AFRA rates «iv^rage I'ot "qualffiet-l" to operate a station. 1 indie cannot afford much in the way inasmuch as they concealed ditficul : of live actors. Union intends sugtics wall other Government agencies I gesting that special rates, may be when thev were prosecntinc; their set up it stations mdicate ' willingrad'.o . apDhcation at FCC. Final disposition of thc-e cases '■'""''^ ^ negotiated and raves made the high court will upset the lower ' will be practical lor sta As result, several new sliows from other than Big Three centers have gone on the net recently, while others are to follow shortly; These include ".(ok and Ralph," ad-lib comedy -chatter program from Detroit's CKLW. featuring singer Jane Palmer, which st-Uts on Mutual in three weeks: and "Tic Toe Time." musical program fiom Buffalo's WEBR. featuring novelty in.strumental group conducted by Wally McManus, with John Boothby emcee and Lucille Faye vocalist, which ■started last .night (29), Also on Feb 10 a new show will be commg Irom Monfreal, fed by Canadian Broadcasting to Detroit's CKLW. and then fed to the netwoik. This is "The Sunday Night Show," musical program ot 3,5 men conducted by Alan Mclver in classical and pop mu.sic. One of fir.st program.s of this type in international exchange since the war. airer will also .serve as goodwill cementer, Reeentj additions to MBS have also has auditioned a new audience participationer for BBD&O. , , /Those CBSteasers lor the new Abe Burrows "Holidays" show had a lot of people reallv curiou.s lor a while. . . . John J. Anthon.v is planning to supplement his Mutual pitch w ith a moiithly niag on marital relations. Meanwhile, one ot the leading social-weltare writers ni the country is planning to do a )ob on Anthony's type ot social work in an eft'ort to get him off the air, U. S. Stoel's "Theaire Guild on the Air" is meticulously avoiding taking sides 111 the steel strike, but Steel's proxy; Ben.ininin F. Fairless, is using the show's mailing Mist lo circularize his viewpoint about the strike ,,. WNEW's ".Hollywood Digest" is using Selznick star.s from Holly wpod as guestcrs, via platters. It's a Hack tiein for the new pic, "Duel in the Sun" , . . i Don Wilson, after three and a half years in the Army, has returned to Varikty in his former capacity as iiational radio repre.senlative. An original cantata by Lou Cooper, recently out of the Army, with a patriotic motif, is under consideration tor early presentation on the Colum.* bia : Workshop neries; which tees off next Sat. (2) . , . Draper Lewis and William Kendall Clark, ol CBS program-writing dui.sion, on sick list last week. ..Will Roland, who recently loincd ranks of CBS producers, has taken on the Laiirit Trio's "Siiigalong" show as his initial a,ssiRnmeiil. . , . Hildegarde's "Raleigh Room" show looks -set lor a five or six-week Coast origination when the star winds up her current Persian Room eiigagement next month, . Scriptwriter Sue Singer ("Hearts In Harmony," "Pare,nts Magazine") has quit the Frederic Wi Ziv office to freelance, . iie^s to cooperate. Salary problems I included "Smile Time " comedy song ••nnlri be neentialed and rales m.nde ! Program featuring Wendell Noble. nart on a Suoicme ' "^"'"e flexible as applying to kations ' originating from KH.J LiJS Aiigeles. WOKO And odd' : able to pay existing fees. AFRA i ^^h"^.h ^t^^'ed J*"" 7; "Southern, Har " vr" J u V," '^^ sees Dos<sibi!ilv of arrivinc.at solu n^"""^'"-'^ P»artet in pops and among the radio bar here are that -^^es possiDiiiiy oi airiving.ai '>°'" I ...n^ ,,..,„, wiRP Tnrii-nrinoli-,uLi. :„ . .... , Ition that will be practical lor sta| ^P"^"'"'"-^ '"^'"^ WIBU, tnaianapoii.s, tions without lowering present ' P"' A' ^''^' ''-'K^^J' semble under Rudolph Konsch. com ii" from WHA, Madison, Wis,, since union potjition or its standards, . ccurt ruling.' GoynseJ for WORL. appearing at oral argument in behalf of its license j p _> « renewal at P^C Thursday (24 .. cits, HarVeV StOBC fflay StaF claimed any reliance on the WOKO | ^ . ■ ^ decision or an.v similarity in the two j cases. FCC's quarrel with the Bo.si ton station .sloms from, WORL's tail i ure to report 300 shares ot stock held b\ .\'c\\ York attorneys Sanfoid' and Getnue Cohem ^ WORL ' counsel plesded misunderstanding ot FGC'S rules on rcooi-ting the stock by waj On New Gulf Oil Show; New Stooges Developed Jan. 6; ■'Korn'S'-A-Kraijkitt," one-hoiir hillbilly .iamborce Sat, nights from K'TTS," Springfield, iVlo , with Lou Black emcee, and the Cle\eland OiChesli-a from Cleveland's WHK. since Jan. 19, Whcfn orch is on tour. Mutual picks it up wherever it's playing Gulf Oil Co^ which spons6rs"We, i Saturday night, the People." is bankrolling an audi Carlin i.s on the road now, looking tioii of a half-hour show built I lor Itirther fine programs among diound Cpl. Harvev Stone, with indi I MBS' .affiliates, as well as to build 01 contrast lo the "wilful'; conceal ' cations that the show mav go in as ' ^<^<^ d''^-"'' those already selected meiu by WOKO licensees. 1 „ replacement ' for "Peo-jfor national airing. On the other hafid, the attorney i pie," Audition platter is set to spin I .'j ' : . for Ca'.nc,V also up for oral , ai.u ; oi, Smiday a>.^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^,\m^im^^ ; contrib on the Kate Smith show last ' season. Avliich Won critical kudos from the trade, it's believed that he ' may g.et afull-sea.son Gult ride in 'ihe^iiinirv ,; •■ '/ , I Auditfjpin show \yill als-o spot a rievi' ' stable of st(!Oges being developed by 1 Y'Ouhg .& Ruhicam,. agency on the i titilf accoiirtt, . along . with ,. Oscar mem at FCC Thursday (24 i, leaned 'ho::vily cii ■ tlie . WOKO ruluig . as a ba.sis, for IfCG; grant of.' its apptica , tion Rorsci' for FCC s piopo-ed donial ,ot .Gi;iiim'et-. was', alleged misrcprc'cnlatioii on stock intele.^t and financ'm n( station b\ piincipal holders. Doris Keane and Dr, Gcoige Couri-icr. ■ , ■ . i Roa.sonir.g of the Court of Appeals in the WOKO Case largely folloiA-ed i Bi ''dley's orch, currently heard on tl-e-e l-nc: Qualu.\ ol a .-tatirn's "People," pi'o..gr;>miT)it)g was the. best measure ' of its scryiije'tp the :pitblie aris[;opera.tiiHr In the public inxCi^st; .the FCC aciecl "arbUrarily" , iir .i'gI jisili j .vthf! WOKO li. cnsre, .since it did no; nieasuic, its failure to report a minoi'-t.v. :stock in'.eresi aKaijlsl its 1.1-year progvnTi per forme nee li tl)is _ case, aocprdihg to . the cburi nia.iortty. ll'e bft'ense was ■n(U' . .s(li'tlcient 10 Oil'.-ct' the^ iKicqut'Ci 'of. WOKO'v Ififf^-time ■ .-•■Gfv.lce to the public. . .■.!'." Basis f)/ FC'C. actior. on' VVOKO was '■'v.'jiliiil" cohceali'ivenl of a , stoeJi interest over a: period of severt*! ye.'sr.'-. Stcek, recorded in an Whodunit Strip Under BankroUer Auspices "True Detective Mysteries." which bowed in on Mutual two weeks ago on SnndaJ-. 4:30 p.m., replacing "The; ■Xebbs" as a suslaiiiei, will be sponsored by . Williamijon '. Cah.dy Co., starting March S. Audrey, Wallace & . Moore., ol Chicago, is agency involved. True Detective Mag, a McFadden publication, plans givmg IIS HOLLYWOOD . . . Buck-passing of a high order was executed by outgoing Los Angeles County grand ,iury when it reebrnmcnded to the incoming panel that Its rir.st official duty be to crack down on radio crime programs. Cru.sading sparked by women'.s clubs has. been going on for years but the hot potato was dtimped into fhe laps of the incoming jurors. . . .The easteri) lads mu,st've heard aliout our balmy, sunny June in January. On the ground or bounding westward are Harry Ackerman, Gil Ralston, MUton Biow, Bill Baker, Walter Craig, Henry. Kahii. Sig Larmon and Tom Lewis. As luck would have it, Hay McClmton made a fa.st train reservation ea,st and sure enough got it, not entirely to his liking. You generally have to wait a couple of weeks. . Some ;ot the boys are saying that Charlie Jackson, who authored "Lost Weekend," mu.st have spent a few :ot them while writing the soap serial, "Sweet River." He couldn't be found for weekends on end. . , .KF1 and NBC finally got together on a two-year affiliation deal; 'But for AM only . . . ;KGFJ moved.to Sun.set and Vine from downtownand' calls its studio"Hollywood House." Eddie Albright, vet reader ot poems and casual commentator, takes over as production boss. . . .The laugh line being used around the dial. 'I .said it and I'm glad," was cohied by Cass Dale,y while vauding 10 years ago. . . .Rather than have flu-bitten Constance Bennett miss out on her broadcasts, ABC ran a Ihie into her beach home and the lad V practically does lier show at bedside. Jerry Farber, 10year old, u.ses a little enterprise to get jobs, He Writes his own audition material, . . Artie Auerbach's. "Kitzel" character has worked so well with Jack Benny that hp stays on as a regular. .. .Ralph Edwards got an idea from his "Mr. Hush" mysterioso for a half-hour show which was immediately optioned by Gil RaLston for Procter & Gamble .,,New device on "Hall of Fame" is to have the gue.star take a tail-end bow on the show week before he goes on, So far the stars have cooperated. . . Diana Barry more is being replaced! on the Jack Carson show,.,,"Great Gildersleevc" was kudosed by l,')4,17,i members ot Calilornia Congress Ot Parents and Teacheis tor "presenting a lamilv-type show which meets with the full approval of mothers and fathers. ,. .Spike Jones is all sold to Plocter & Gamble, so he .-ie/.,.. Mary Garvin back with Ward Wheelock A.s'-ocialed laliiicliing; a .show called "That's a Gicat Ideal," which is more than a reasonable facsimile of -Columbia'.s "That's a Good Idea" Helen Mack withdt'ew as producer of "Date With Judy" when a new contract didn't call Uif a jvage hike,' Mitchell Lindeman replaced ,,. Dorothy Brown, ABC's continuil.v acceptance head, bruised and bedded after an auto cracliupi.. Jack Kii'kWood cutting a half-hour show to replace *his CBS stripe for P&G. Cuffo CBS Ride For ' ''■ ■'■ ' , ■ ■ \: prosraiii fiiirplug .!.n ^itsi ^pifses', l^ivct : : ^ ^ Amanda^. ■ .fc '^'^ issues. are being ■ Alt'h'oiigli Sterling Drugs lias; tlroppcd sp()nKorsl)i|) of tlK; two CBS claylinie s*riii,l,«. "Amanda" and "ScC'iiii.icl Htls.kjtin.ci,'' the :nctwprk' is; coti;tfi.ifiiiig ' the-: programs Ji)..! the same rnofning slots on -a sustaining basts, with riglits to the fioapers pui'Cha.oecl fi'ciiii the Hiiininerts. ■■. Fni: :i w'hilc. negotiations weire oenduig .lor a new bankrollcr to take liver the hali'^hour segment, but Setup giycs Miitiial fyur spoii.soi'ecl m.vstcry .programs in a row Stii'iilay .al'lej'noon, ■". ■stai'lin.g with •.Viiiuh'i I.- M|>' Hpbb}*,", -at 4 . p.ni , ,-,p(in~oi ed b\ Knox Co.; "betectue": "The Shado^^." at a. with tliiee sponsors (D.L. Si W. RR. Carey -Salt and Grove LabsJ, and "Quick As a Flash," ni.vsterv qui-/., at i5:,'tO, Helbros Watch spohsorihig.; when fl fell through CBS be]atedl.\ pther.name. was actually ovmwI by made a deal with the Hummtris for Sam Pjcbard. ex-CBS vice-presidcrt , the continuance of the shows. It atifl former FCC coramis,s.ioner. I segued into sustainiijg time on IVIoiiCoitrt decision • was split two-to-uiie ] da\ i','8>. with CBS now inscitin'; ia favor of WOKO. a ins' itulional copy 3n.<.tcad ot the C(>ni William ]>ttty tldnuarde, who served overiiea,>» with .the Army for more than two years, has resumed hi.-, ciulian status as radio time buyei tor Badger, Browning & llel'sev ill N. '.Vv IIS CHICAGO ... Jimmy Parks, who handles the ,Qul/ Kids, departs I?eb. 1 to eslaplish a Hollywood office. Parks will maiiitaiii his Chi setup ,,Moie sliakcup^ in the offing at WBBM with two departments due tor ovti hauling ,. Blair Walli,ser about to get bus discharge alter two years' sep-vice in ,the Pacific 'une Hoiacek. forinerlv with WMRO, Aurora, • has been' added to WIND'S progiam depailment.. One of Chis biggest independent slalioiis skedded for sold during Ihe coming week Radio Management club is planning a big get-together at the Tavern club next week to ti \ lo gel the final answer on the Chi radio situation. Top agency and nelwoik esecs will have a big part in the dLscussions, ^^hil Carlin; MuUitirprvgranv chi'et in town over; the wffftkcnd tryiitg-t? locate a man to head up'MutUal's about-to-be-eslablislied mid'\\estn)i'"" giam dept MBS skedded to take over' the entire 21st ilodr oi ihe Tribune tower m the near future,,, Merritt Schoenfeld in town for a few days belole taking over as the head of ABC's Detroit ollice. .. .Ralph Atlass throwing a cocklail party in Minneapolis for Norman Boggs. new iiianagei of WLOL. today (29» ... .Ethel Kirshner of CBS' New Yoik press dept. in town on her vacation but working hardei than if she wcie back in the big town,. Fletcher Wiley in towii to make arrangemein . foi two more Hon.sewile Protcctue League shows to be airec;! irom midwest cities ....Walter Preston. WBBM-CBS program boss, readying a new icrics of .shows using legit talent from shows currentlv playing Chicago Col. K McConnick, owner of WCN, plans to air sis new "show's with top ta'cnt ljudgels durihg 1946,