Variety (May 1946)

SCREEN RADIO MUSIC STAVE WRJETY Sublfathad Wnckly at 1(4 Went <6lh Street, New Turk 19. N. Y., by Variety, lor. Annual subscription. $10. Single copiea. 26 cent*, stared a> nekl-ond-clum mmier December 21. 1906, at the Pout Office xt New luili, N. Y., under the £ol of March 3. 1873. COrVHIOHT, 1M6, BV VAK1KTV, INC. AIX BIGHTS BKSKRVKD. VOL. 1C2 No. 10 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1946 PRICE 25 CENTS RADIO BACK ON PRE-WAR BASIS Toscy to Premiere Televised Opera This FaU in N. Y. Arluro Toscanini hopes to be the first to put opera on Ihc air via television, and has made plans to do ."FillstafF over.WNBT (NBC, N. Y.) iicnI Tall. The only hitch to his present plans is Hie ruling by James G. Pelrillo ■keeping members of the American Federation ot Musicians off televi- sion. . Toscanini, in Milan, Italy, now to conduct La Scala concerts, discussed the opera project before he left this country, going, into details with John Royal. NBC vecpee in charge of television. Royal okayed the idea, and Tosca- nini asked Dr. Herbert Graf, stage director of the Metropolitan Opera Co. to help him plan the event. Dr. Graf has already made measure- ments of NBC's television studios "preliminary'' to blueprinting the staging. . So anxious is Toscanini to do this opera that he is said to have in- ■ dicaied to friends that he will hurry back to the states as soon as he is (Continued on page C8) Sugary Music Biz B.O. Looks Sweet to Wall Street Underwriters , The high and. solid-looking price of Decca. Record shares, the early furor attending the over-the-counter sales of Capitol stock, plus other manifestations to' Wall Street of the strong financial condition of phases of the theatrical business other than lllms. has brought about heavy new inlevest in recording firms and imisiu publishers by coin men from the financial canyon. This kind of money is what lias started the ab- normal amount of rumors in the disk and music business the past week and a half, rumors that have marked most every major music catalog as on the verge of being disposed of at prices from $1,000,000 up to $5,000,000. There were several deals on the Hie. as Variety pointed out .last (Continued' on page 26) Dwight Wiman Plans 'Fourth Little Show' Dwight Deere Wiman is planning fall production of the "Fourth Little Show!" Last edition of this series of revues was produced in 1931, with Beatrice Li I lie. Wiman also will produce "Street Scene" this fall in association with the Playwrights Co. Wiman is angling, to get Clifton Webb to stage and supervise entire production. Webb is reported amen- able to the proposition in spite of the fact that he has never taken on similar chores previously. GIs Need More CATs Overseas There is a demand for more CATs, otherwise known as Civilian Actress Technicians, for jobs with soldier shows in the American zone in Germany and Austria/ Showmen and others have received requests from Dorothy Vernon, live shows supervisor over there, asking that girls be recommended. Jobs call for a salary of $5,100 oyer a 52-week period, with leaves permitted for visits to France, Switzerland, Den- mark and other spots. CAT's job is to act, sing or dance in soldier ■ shows, GIs comprising the male members of each unit. She also has opportunity to write, pro- duce, direct and handle backstage technical work, also to design set- lings and costumes. According to Miss Vernon "it is fascinating work (Continued on page 16) LINDSAY, CROUSE GET CHI EDITORIAL BID Chicago, May 14. Bid for Howard Lindsay and Rus- sel Cipuse. authors of the Pulitzer Prize winner, "Slate of the Union,"' lo come forward with a statement on how to save the nation from calam- ity, on the basis ot sentiment voiced in the play, was made in the edi- torial pages of the Chi Daily News last week, to wit: "We invito the Messrs. Crouse and (Continued on page 69) $10,000,000 BLOW The honeymoon's over. The webs and agencies are back on pre-war standard. For the first time since Pearl Harbor time is opening up on the major networks as sponsor af- ter sponsor, pulling in the reins in the wake of production snafues and economic uncertainties, checks out of network programming. The score lo date shows a loss of more than $10,000,000 in time and talent billings, with every likelihood that the figure will mount in the com- ing months. In addition, Seven Up, sponsors of the "Fresh Up Show" on Mutual, which bows off this summer, may be among those missing in the fall, which would represent an additional $800,000 in time-talent costs, and it's considered probable that West- inghouse will cancel out its Sunday afternoon NBC show, representing an additional approximate $1,000,- 000. Meanwhile, radio is facing its biggest reshuffle of stars since be- fore the war. Music Corp. of America and Wil- liam Morris a re understood to have been given the word by bankrollers to try to sell to other would-be ra-'- dio spenders some of the outstand- ing talent on the air. Result is likely to be, some think, that the old stars will stay on the air but that new radio money, from sources until now untapped by the nets, may find its way into the busi- ness by fall. Reason is that, until now. il had been hard to buy both time and top talent. But with big- coin, spenders bowing out of the picture due lo the lack of products, the field will be open. Among top stars involved in the changes reportedly due for the fall are Bob Burns. Burns & Allen. Fan- nie Brice. Joan Davis and Dinah Shore, not to mention Bing Crosby. Soap being one of the industries facing an uncertain future, due to the fals and oils situation. Lever Bros, has cancelled out the Bob Burns show, and is said to be ready to let Joan Davis out of her con- tract which has another year to (Continued on page 26) Radio Whodunit as B'way Play With Laraine Day . Hollywood, May 14i "Comic Strip Murder" will be pro- duced on Broadway by Ed Gross, who inked deal with- author Fred Melhot. Several film studios are dickering for the whodunit, which was cited as one of the best radio mysteries of 1945. Understood Laraine Day will star in stage version. Bing s Brit. Pic For Korda on % London, May 14. Bing Crosby has inked a one-pic- ture deal with Sir Alexander Korda which calls for the singer's appear- ance in England late in the summer of '47. Pact is latest of series' in which the British producer has al- ready lined up Cary Grant, Orson Welles. Paulctte Goddard, Burgess Meredith and other undisclosed American stars for solo film chores in England in the coining year. Proviso in Crosby contract grants the singer heavy participation in the picture rather than a straight salary. Deal in that respect is akin to others in which Korda has offered partici- pation as a means of escaping double taxation under the current Anglo- American trade agreements. Story for Crosby is being written q.l. in the U. S. by name screen scribe. Producer-actor deals are set for Meredith, Grant and Welles. Miss Goddard and Meredith will appear (Continuec; on page 69) Circus Hits Trail With $l 9 600000As N Y. Garden Take When the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus finaled Sunday (12) it chalked up another highly profitable date at Madison Square Garden, N. Y. Reported that al- though the 39-day engagement was one week less than last year, the gross equalled or topped that of 1945 when the estimated' takings were $1,600,000. Increase in prices was a factor, top being $0 which ap- plied in the afternoon and at night. Attendance was virtually capacity throughout, and the demand for tickets so strong that agencies did a landoffice business. Last week was as big as that during Easter week and even the blowoff performance was capacity. Exploitation was ex- ceptional. So strong was the ad- vance sale that press requisitions could not be properly taken care of. box office people sayiiift only gallery locations were unsold. Top shelf tickets were the .last to be sold. Start of the big top's, Lour was threatened left week by' the coal strike but orders from Washington (Continued on page IS) B'WAY TO FETE SCHNOZ'S 30 YEARS IN SHOW BIZ Jimmy Durante will be feted with a gala party celebrating his HO years in show business by Metro on June 5. Affair, slated to be held at the Golden Slipper.,, a Times Square dancehall on the site of the old Pro- hibition hotspot known ax the Sil- ver Slipper, will be attended by more than 400 of the comedian':; friends. Mayor O'Dwyer will make a special guest appearance. The (Continued on page 22) BERLIN WANTS ASTAIRE, LAWRENCE FOR B'WAY Hollywood, May 14. Understood that Irving Berlin is attempting to get Fred Astaire and pcrtrude Lawrence for a musical to l>e produced next season. Miss Law- rence was originally slated for a Play by Moss. Hart. One possible hitch to consumma- tion of Berlin's dicker with Astaiw « the fact that dancer may sign with Samuel Goldwyn as an. associate pro- ducer. . Berlin heads.to the Coast Sunday •191 to huddle with Astaire, Joe Sclienck and see final cut of "Blue Skies." (Par.). Boxscore of the Programming Exodus Bible Society Woos Top Names for Filming Old and New Testaments Branching but for the first time i from its straight publication work. I he American Bible Society has I mapped large-scale production plans I for the picturization of the aecip- I hires. Shooting is skedded to b<;c.ia • within the next 30 days and hego- ! liations for studio space are now be- I ing set in Hollywood with one or i ihc major lots. A non-prolit organi- | zalion, the society is angling for.tn'j* I name players to enter the produc- tion fold on a prestige basis; i It is estimated that 150 half-hour i features will be required to present both the Old and the New Testj- ments. The features, which will be in 16m color, will be turned out at Ihc rate of 24 a year until the series is completed. Bible episodes con- continued on pa.^c 161 T/it- /ollotciiiff is « bre«l:doii-i> o.f |/ie SPONSOR NETWORK General Motors General Foods Ballanlinc General Electric General Electric Chrysler Celahese General Foods General Foods Textron Toolsie Rolls C'ninpana Pepsi-Cola NBC NBC NBC NBC- CBS CBS CBS ABC CBS CBS ABC CBS Mutual network programming Exit Parade in PROGRAM Symphony ot the Air Dinah Shore Barry. Fitzgerald Show Phil Spitalny (Sept. 1) "GE House Party" (2 days lopped off) Kostelanetz Show "Great Moments In Music"'' Hop Harrigan "Thin Man" Helen Hayes Show Dick Tracy "First Nighlcr" Quentin Reynolds (booked for 13 weeks) * recent tuee/.'s. TIME-TALENT COST (Annual) $1,1.10,000.' 900.000 1,750,000 800.000 . 375,000 1,060,000 900.000 730.000 675.000 1.000.000 > 500.000 800.000 850.000 ♦10,536,000 EDDIE ANDERSON'S ^ Y. NITERY DATE AT $5,000 Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has been signed to open at the Zanzi- bar, N: Y., May 21, at $5)000'weekly a-- replacement for Bill Robinson, who leaves because of other commit- ments.- This.is the first nitery dat« for the Jack Benny program comic in several years. Music Corp. o? America is lining up several' other cafe engagements, In previous sum* mcr layoffs, Rochester played thea- tres. Zanzibar has also signed the- King . Cole Trio to open Friduy (17) n re- placement for the.Mills Bros.