Variety (Apr 1946)

WedDCMlayf Afiril 3, 1946 29 A DECK Top 15 and the Opposition Six of Oie Top 15 sMou's ill the new Haoperatinys had the field pTeUy vutdi to themselves, the opposition.proflrnnis /((ili7if; to come throii(//i uHth an audience pull o[ 8 or bet er. These were Bob Hope (doton'in' iJiird jJlace), Charlie McCarthy. Biny Crosby^ ''Mr. D. A.," Red Skelton fliid JacU Ualey. Stiff est opposition was ejicoiiiitercd by "Great Gilder- sleere." in the No: 15 spol,HiitU Die opposi7i<; CBS Fannie Brite show only 4-5 away, and "Amos 'n' Andy" iti 14i;i pincc. u'liic/i also iouud il.<eU against "hmer Sanctum's" 4,5 wdfyiual difference. "Veepee in Charge of Hearings' To Take D.C. Lo ad (NT Web Execs? • One of the major webs is talking ser.ioiiiily in terms ol appointing a "vice-president in charge of Wash- iiiSton hearings" and ifs considered likely that the other networks may hRvc lo follow suit. The move Tias been, precipitated by the multiplicity of D. C. hearings in connection With the AM. FM and television applica- tions, and the overall kicking'around of the spectrum. Pcrliaps at no previous time in the iii(:1iis(ry's - history has a situation arisen, where so inany top web excc-i have been prevented Irorii. carrying on'their regular operations because of the No. 1 priority on attention re- fliijrcd by the drawn-out and e.\- tended hearings. With the realization tliiii. the hearings and their repercus- sions will extend fai- into the future, it's becoming increasingly apparent thiit. unless these newly-created activities, are channelled into the hands of one responsible e.xcc. the day-to-d.ny network operations will siifTcr! It's got so that some web execs who normally figure prominently in key operational activity arc required to spend at least a third of their time at the hearings or in preparation of material and work connected with the hearings. Result is that their regular duties go by the board—fi-e- qiiently duties of paramount import- ance in the running of a network. Hubbard's Com'l Cupboard Washington, April 2. Capl. Ward Hubbard has turned in his resignation as chief of radio recordins i'i;r NBC here eflcctive May 1. Ho is setting up in business as a production and radio con- sultant. Hubbard will specialize in tran- scription work for the Government and for. trade a.ssocialions. Before the war he was with NBC in Chi- cago. Hope Rate Dips, To Alter Format For the first time in several years. Bob .H6i>c has dropped out of the one-two position in the latest Top 15 Hoopers. "Fibber McGee and. Molly " arc in thie leadolT spot, Edgar Bergen nioviiig into No. 2 position, and Hope running third. General sentiment in the trade for soine lime has been that the Hope show is another evidence of the -tendency of air personalities to slant then- comedic talents toWard studio audicnce.s. As pointed up in last week"s VAniuiv, there's been mount-, "ii.i; eriUcism lately that —radio ^houH be returned to the home listener" and that topical gag.s. sirjctly studio-busincS.i. etc., should be dc-emphasized. 11 s reported that Hope has under consideration a complete switch in lormat for next season. JAMES HART TO CBS James Hart, who was radio direr- tni" of the American Red Cross in Washington during the war, has moved to New "york and joined the LBS Division of Program Writing. ilc s a writer-editor. - XMarb Where Saphier Got Off Spot, Hackett On Hollywood. April 2. Jimmy Saphier. the packaging agent, staged anollu'r of his eleventh hour rallies aiid pulled a sale out of Ihe lire just as MCA's Ilal Hackett was moving in for the kill. With the c.nrds apparently stacked against him on a summer deal for "Man Called X." Saphier played his trump card—control of Herbei t Marshall— and won the day. He sold the pack- age to Foote. Cone & Belding to replace Bob Ho|>c during ihe 13 sum- mer weeks while J. Walter Thomp- son was .<flill under the iniprc.ssion lhait its woi"rie.s were over insofar as a Charlie McCarthy substitute wa.s concerned. Saphier wasn"t exactly cased out or the pictlu-e when packaging rights were taken from him and given to MCA by J. Richard Keniiedy and Ccorgc Corey, ow-ners of "Man Called X." .He retained the pi ivilcge or making a deal with Lover Bros., all other clients being the doniain of MC.^. Thomp-son's John U. Rcber came through with a firm offer'for "X"" and Hackett was all ready to clo.sc but he had rockpned without Marshall, who starred in the .scries prcviou.sly for Popsodcnl and Lock- heed. Failing to land Mar.shall. he tried f(>r Ba.sil Rathbone but Rober held out for Marshall. Sapiiier pk.ycd his trump card and took the pot. Another element of the deal also pkiyed ■ into Saphior's hand. Tlic package owners ;;avc preference to the Bob Hope time spot over the McCarthy segment on NBC. feeling that the show did well, ("aling-wisc. in the Tuesday spot la.st summer and if it can repeat il would make a fall sale easier. LACKS PiiE-WAil jiy GEOKtiE ROSEN For several months now the in- dustry.has been focusing its collec- tive eye oh the CBS' programmihe operation. Back in harness at 485 Madison aveiuie. the web's No. 1 man. Wil- liam S. Palcy, has been sitting right on lop of the whole prograin rc- vampi that's been under %vay since before the first of the year. David- son Taylor was installed as pro- gramming vccpee to succeed Doug- las Coulter, and Ed MurVow was al.so brought in as a programming administrator. New producers and directors have been flocking into the web fold: the already crainped pi oduction-program •' quarters were taxed to the degree that, of neces- sity, audition rooms were converted into veepee offices. . For weeks now the network has been . auditioning like mad .on a Coulter's Bow-Out Resignation of Dougla-s Coul- ter, former programming chief ai CBS. from the newly-created post as Director of Commer- cial Programming Developmeiit, comes as no surprise. He was one of tiie first affected by the New Regiine inaugurated by William S. Palej'. web"s No. 1 man. . As is usually the case when such ma.neuvering goes on. it was proclaimed far.and wide by the network when Davidson Tay- lor was brought: in. as the new program veepee that the Coulter segue into the job as liaison be- tween the buyer and the pro- gramming dept. was "no interim appointment.'" He gave ii a try, but consensus is that the cards were stacked against him. Coulter's plans are indefinite. The network says it has no suc- cessor in mind at' the moment. Coulter is checking out April 12. after a 10-year regime with CBS during which he built up an enviable intra-departmcntal rep. round-the-clock schedule. The web. having established a separate di- vision for the purpose, was putting particular accent on comedy. But the trade—and not a fevv among those within the CBS or- sanizaliOn—is now asking: "What is it adding up to? " ■ In terms of imag- inative and "prewar Palcy" pro- gramming, the network has gone to bat three times and consensus of the trade is that il has struck out three times. The Nilcs T. Granlund audicnce- parlicipatioh cross-thc-board day- time show from the Coa.st left the trade pretty cold. The "Lcity" Mon- day iiight comedy show struck a negative resjjonse even among CBS production staffers. And the "Cin- dci'Clla" show which bowed in this week, many in the trade are arguing, represents but another attempt on the part of the network to duplicate MUtuai's "Queen for a Day" and ABC's "Bride and Groom." rather, than attempting to strive for a new- ness. It's rcporlo<l that the production- center morale within CBS is any- thing but at a high ebb. with a tid- ing of uneasiness gripping many of the boys. Palcy's past historj" as one of the pioneer spirits in exploring the fresh and iiew in ;programming. coupled Willi reports from overseas that the Palcy who had conic face to face with re-ality portended a new postwar era in program ideas and technique, conlributcd in no small measure in exciting the imagination. Nor did anyone forget the courage and daring that went into the Paley- inspired pre-war programs. But todiiy those raised eyebroWi- ai'e reaching way up into the hiaher freciucncics. It's felt lor .instance, that the Palcy policy of sfrihgin.a along and splurging added coin into shows that were fell to be basically faulty even before going on the air 1 cited i^s illustration is the move lo inject a "Lefty" hypo and the edict to go all out on NTGi repieseiits a' far cry . from the pne'-tinie policy that gave CBS an enviable stature . in broadciisling. Trade &ows Raised by Se^mann's Role in FCC Credo; Lines fmm^ For M Kick-Aroimd on Ifis Ideas Bii«0ffMay9 Bing Cro.sb.v is checking o/I the Kraft Music Hall pirpgram on May 9. to all iiileiits and purposes for good. Summer replacement show bows ill May lli from New York. Edward Everett Norton, who held down the sunviner slot last sea-son, will agaiii take over, but not till several weeks later. Eddy Duchin slays with show, with Ru.ss Case batoning oiT:h, Rest Of' lineup now being set. Fktcher Wiley's 'Assembly Line' A$l^l)OI)B.a Radio became aware last week, when a new ABC regional network wa? being built around Fletcher Wiley's shows in New England, that Wiley's ''Sunrise Salute" and ''House- wives Protective League" shows have become big business. The Wiley "assembly line" of early ayem and afternoon sessions in four markets have skyrocketed quietly to gross billings of $1,250,000. Wiley now has four gabbers, each on a 50.000-watt station, each running an ayem show from C-7, and a 1:30 p^. jiiiow for a half hour. The inen and the stations where they broadcast are Galen Drake. WJZ. N. Y.; Paul Gibson. WBBM. Chicago; Lee Adams. KMOX. St. Louis: and Burritt Whteler. KNX. Los Angeles: Each man in Wiley"s stable of gab- bers nets for himself at least $50,000 a year from the shows, in addition to other money from extra shows. Drake, for instance, in addition to doing his chores on WJZ is on two ABC network shows, both con- tracted with Wiley, both bankrolled by William H. WLsc Co. a book sell- ing odtnt. Wliceler is on the Pacific regional network of CBS. over 10 statioas. five days a week across the board (Continued on page 40* for Winery's Binge For Minute Spot Probably the top pi'oduction job yet devised for a one-minute .spot campaign has just l)cen wrapped up by BBD&O agency for Cresta Blanca Wine, which also spon.sors the CBS Tuesday night "This Is My Best" dramatic show. New spot campaign, which tecs off June 1. will also include 15-.sccond and 30-second transcriptions, with agency curcently lining up stations and time around th< country! Spots will be built around the "C-r-e-s-t-a" signature, written by Morton Gould, who formerly headed the "Cresta Blanca Carnival" show. But for the lirst time a Spfmsor is iMicking up a capsule plug with a full syrriphony ' orchestra. I A> an example of how Criesla j Blanca has .segued .into big-time pro- dlictioii for a S|)Ot" campaign, n 46- , piece .sympli ensemble has been biiih -up. with Ray Block macstroing: a i CBS c.N-legit theatre playhouse has I l>een lend-lea.scd: Waller Tibbals w-lio did th Commen! in the. trade is growing on the.irony ol a .nian trained by and foi"merly an oifTicial of the Brit- ish . Broadcasting Corp. becoming years later, as an American citiitcn, a chief philosopher and ghost writer for a U. S. Government document ■ attacking the status quo in American broadcasting. The man. of cour.sc. is Charles A. Seipmann. who originally was brought to the United States <and Harvard University ) on a Rockefel- ler grant. He is now ci^ilcd with influencing the late.st FCC blast sgainst American radio aiid in his new book, "Raoip's Second Chance.'' he has practically slated the FCC ^ position and issued the official credo. One expectation in N6w York ra-. dio circles is that Seipmann, his role behind tlie scenes, his background and his book may loom large at the • Institute for Education by Radio at Columbus starling May 3. Seipmann is thought certain to become, whether present in person or not the plumed knight of radio's critical contingent. The number of his partisans will be set oft from the opposing friction, and the makings of a running quar- rel are clearly present Seipmann him.self has anticipated Ihe reaction to his broadside against broadcasting. - In llic preface to his book he goes to .some lengths to dis- associate himself from an anti-ad- vertising bias. He writes: British N«l Better "I do notl^dvocatc or anywhcic imply that Lhc United States would do well to odopt the British system. We certainly should not. American broadcasting stands on . its merits. Our coniinercial .system; whatever faults it may have, is the most effi- cient and., with due care, demo- cratically the safest s.vstcm in the world, Briti.sh radio has much tb .be said for it But nothing that can be said fur it is in any sense a menace 10 American radio. Very litUc w said about it at all in this book, whidi is about the American radio, in an American setting, with criteria of performance b<;.scd on American needs and American law. It must be clearly uiKlcrstood that there is no underlying compari.son. no lurk- ing iinplicalion thai 'the British do 11 belter.' '... Nor dues criticism of the abuses of the commercial .system imply, by any analogy whatever, that Govern- ment monopoly broadca.sting is a de- sired sltcniativc. Ours is a system I of free enterprise w ithin a frame- work of Government controls, wbicli is iiifiniloly preferable. Riidio or- sanixed by Government has proved itself the nio.st disaslroiis of all sys- tem.s." Seipmann sees in FM. amonf! other things, radio's opportunity for "a second chance." He calls on the listening public lo wake up'and step out of its passive role. He advocates the setting up of Listeners' Councils "to keep the flow of iiTiporu~ going'" _ unci spread- awarcncs.s among the people of the profound influence be- ing exerted by radio on public taste and attKudcs. He deptores the "sliccr piofe.'-sional incomi)cicnce" of educational radio stations, though chiimpioning lh<;~ courageous strug- gle "againsl almost hopeless-odds." Jinx-MXrary'sB'fastSiiow Jinx Fiilkcnburg and her husband, Tex McCriiry. executive editor of the American Mercury, arc teaming Chiquita banana spots, ! »P for a half-hour morning show on iraa been assigned as dirC.ctur: ditto i Sherman Gi'egory. who he.ids the I.Scheiile.v radio dept. as-supervisor; ! F'raiik Gallop has bc^n )>actcd for .the announcing, and BBD&O is as- I Sigiiins a staff of Copy writers. ! BBD&O almost topped the Cresta I Blanca production splurge w'lien it I look a w^'hole l)roduction staff 16 I Munlreal to cut a scries of spot ! ti aiLscriplioiis in French Canuck on I Chiquita banana for Canadian sta- I tions.' weak; NBC's N. Y. fla.cship station, with the program originating from tlicir home in suburban Mauhassct. Bows In April 22. It's a Tuny Provost package ihc's WEAF program manager) and though going on su:'itaining will be ofTerccl for sponsorship iii two 15- miiuite segments. Show will be aired from 8:iri to 8: ■IS a.m. It'll include Mi.ss Falkeiiburg's intcjviews with celebs \ia live j;fcoi-der from Stork .Club and other is'. Y. spots.