Variety (May 1946)

49 RADIO Wednesday, May 29, 194^ m Wfe vj® r©i fc® SiS **■ It tl tH m m m m I 111 i is n $t lis Si tl . Ill m, $k — M m w m m m ,— so -S«? &v. jv$ m m v& W* ® 38? — sHw wss &&. sgf k*;«; m m-m m m m m m mm mm mm mmm I itliI ill i se»'»» m m m m •gg &»- 9K igK frSfP ' «tv T ale* ?ev» c0 ?iv Vf a V* »i $ w. t§H HI. iSSS ft V* 1 m. m. m WM W I I m 'M g$ §g gg> St! .8 W, m mt s® m m „ .. .. if.» ^ &s ^ ^ % m w, m m m - KOB Decision Stalled, ABC Still Unhappy Washington. May 28. For the third time, FCC yesterduy (27) turned down a request of ABC. calling (or a "prompt decision" on bid of radio station KOB, Albuquer- que, for a permanent construction permit and license. Angle is that the New Mexico out- let has a special temporary grant to operate on 770 kc, which was given exclusively to clear channel station WJZ, the web's New York flagship. KOB has been hitch-hiking on the channel, pending an FCC decision on clear channel allocations. SRL Picks A.N. Williams As Radio Ed; June 9 Bow A. N. Williams, who before his Army service was on NBC produc- tion staff, is the new radio editor of the Saturday Review of Literature. The secrecy attendant upon that appointment has been guarded with the firmness of state security, with SRL announcing nothing about the identity of the personality who's go- ing to do the regular radio chore for it However, Williams is the man. He starts June 8 and, for the sum- mer, will alternate his department with the music section. SRL expects to go to 96 pages in the fall, when it will run its radio section weekly and, incidentally, make a pitch for adver- tising in the section. Transcription Review ; Continued from page 31 Radio Reviews ; Continued from page 31 5 contest and tells listeners to - write letters and then wait until the Fri- day's broadcast for the winner. Listener interest could be worked up by daily prizes plus the grand weekly prize. Hard to get items, such as shirts, nylon hose and other merchandise could be the prizes offered to dialers on each broadcast, it would be a "wish come true" for many to have one of the items above. Jack Foster is an able foil for Miss Mays and keeps program mov- ing along well. Andy. "SPORTS" With Harry Wlsmer 5 Mlns.; 9:55 p.m.; Mon.-thru.-Frl. UNITED STATES ARMY WJZ-ABC, N. Y. Pitching to teen-age eligibles for o.d.'s, the U. S. Army is using some sound psychology in mixing its straight recruiting propaganda with some easier-to-take sports news. Dish is palatable, and this five-min- ute spot could easily establish itself as roundup time for sports addicts below, in, and above volunteer age. Harry Wismer's handling of the chatter is brisk, newsy, and to the point. Material auickly ranged over the day's baseball scores, trades and Mexican league jumping .beans to current outlook on pennant possibili- ties. Recruitment talk is brief and direct, telling youngsters of the edu- cational opportunities that go along with a three-year enlistment. Kids will find this line persuasive. "CURRENT EVENTS QUIZ" IS Mlns.; Thnrs., 1:15 p.m. Sustaining WGY, Schenectady "Current Events" presents junior high school students of Schenectady in a modest but acceptable educa- tional program. The boys and girls participating—on a rotating basis- are intelligent and informed, but not outstandigly so, like "Quiz Kids." That is perhaps in the feature's favor, for the coruscation of the net- work know-alls is said to make SKJi^i. voun gsters uncomfortable. With the classroom listening pattern followed in many Schenectady pub- lic schools, that angle is important. Quarter-hour makes quiet but in- teresting radio fare for adults as well as for students. The former have an equal chance to test their knowledge of current developments. Questions cover a rather wide range, but all are answerable by close readers of and listeners to the news. full a =S d g,rls , Compete" as teams, Sm^Il n 9 prizes ar e offered. Bill Bradt, who features a soft StX*K i ? I ?r o 4 ach „ m a voice that is over thick tonally, turns In a credit- able emceeing Joe Kelly stint. Joco. "HEADLINES CLUB" With Jack Zaiman 15 Mlns., Thnr., 6:30 p.m. Sustaining WDBC, Hartford This Jack Zaiman Is a smart ?u£ J* es £ ol >tical reporter for the Hartford Courant. Weekly he has a 15-minute Interview show with either a city or state politico. It builds for him a beautiful news grapevine for his reporting job. Shot in itself Is a cross-fire patter with interviewee. Gives the who, what, and whys of his success in politics. It's adequately handled and infor- mative by providing local voters with backgrounds of men in public office. £ cfc> of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Concerto, nee "Full Moon and Empty Arms." Gene Cohklin sang and whistled a breezy "Nola," the King's Men scored with "Steamboat Bill," and the otch wound up the solid quar- ter-hour of sweet music with "Ciu Ciu." It's varied^ punchy and altogether prc-seaconed to taste. Mike. "GEORGE BARNES OCTETTE" Producer-Director: Jack Richardson Co-Op 460 Stations (Standard Radio) Hot guitarist George Barnes . is surrounded by a sympathetic wood- wind and rhythm combo in that new section of Standard Radio's library dedicated to exaltcs of le jazz hot. Guy is unquestionably unique in his line, turning in some clean, melodic soloes, besides backing up other soloes by his in-the-groove sidemen with some weird string-plucking. Most of the stuff is original, but there are a number of unusual ar- rangements of standards that the most avid jazz cultist would ap- prove, be he a two-beat Dlxielander, barrelhouse, blues or what-have-you devotee. These.include "Love Nest," "It Must Be True," "Blue Skies," and the like. Then there's the creme-de-la- cremc of the layout, meaning the originals, which bear such strange titles as ."Intricacies of a Threshing Machine," "Concerto for Three Min- utes," "Man Riding Bicycle Down 4 Follow-up CommentI ♦♦♦«♦♦ t ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦» Those "Music to. Read By" pro- grams suffer plenty from careless engineering. This goes for WHN, WINS, WEVD and most other New York outlets that play easy-on-the- ear late hour instrumental. It's nice music when you hear it. It would be nice, too. if the control men would listen once in a while. A pianissimo passage for strings disappears completely from the air but when the announcer announces he blasts you into the next room If it.keeps up they can bill these ses- sions as "Music to Get Your Goat By" "Author Meets the Critics," which had been on WHN, N. Y., indie, for three years, switched to its new home, Times-owned WQXR, last Thursday night (23) without losing anything in the transfer.. Under the expert guidance of John K. M. Mc- Caffrey, who emceed the show at its old home, the highlighted guest of the evening was Mrs. Eleanor Roose- velt. Her book of questions and an- swers from the Ladies Home Jour- nal, If You Ask Me," was the vol- ume under dissection this trip. Only the dissection was much more polite ™ an Jl?. uaI ' John Mason Brown and Ilka Chase, acting as the crix, fell oyer each other in praising, rather than damning, the author. But everybody in the studio audience as well as on stage liked their respect- doubt but that listeners liked it too. Producer Martin Stone has a good ?tf^r ln ^ h ^, i> acka 8e. and Book of the Month Club, as sponsor, gets its money's worth. Hires "Sunday Party" on ABC (a switch from "Sunday Evening Party" out of consideration for West Coast- ers, for whom it is sUU afternoon) continues to. dish up bright music lor soft-drink imbibers. Newest ad- dition to the show is tenor Phil Hanna, who serves as a foil for ca- nary Louise Carlyle, and comes up operation" 6 " vocaIs during the Program's musical specialty seems to be show tunes, and Hanna's voice is eminently suited for this type of material. Guy is a little weak In the higher registers, but more than makes up for this with his gab ability in commercials and song iritros. In program caught (26), he did "I D dn" Mean a Word I Said," duetted with Miss Carlye on "It Couldn't Be True Gun" m Annie Get Y<> ur Writers Guild Inks Chi ABC Newsers' Contract ; . Chicago, May 28. A collective bargaining agreement providing for a 40-hour week and a minimum monthly starting salary of $235 for news staff writers was signed last week between ABC's central division and the midwest of- fice of the Radio Writers Guild. The contract, retroactive to March I, and running through Jan 15, 1949, also calls for time and a half for overtime, a 10% salary in- crease after one year, and another 10% boost after two years. The ap- prentice's minimum salary, not over six months, was fixed at $185 per month. the Street Meets Fair Lady" "P r i vate Life of a Vulture," etc It's all stuff that Standard's 46n subscribers should appreciate beiha commercial, thanks to the solid but throughout, even though on th« dilettante side subject-wise. Mifce. . "CAPTAIN STUBBY AND TUB BUCCANEERS" HE With Tom Fouts, Tony Walber* Sonny Fleming, JerrJ RlchaJS Tiny Stokes; John Dalton, ail nouncer Producer: Phil Davis Writer: Marge Kerr Co-Op 15 Mins. (TraJiseription Sales) First package of Marge Kerr, N W. Ayer N Y radio dept. talent buyer, and Phil Davis, orch leader looks okay. Platter series offers a quintet of musicians in a noveltv musical quarter-hour that has its unusual side. Group consists of ver. satlle performers, with accent on th» zany side, but their stunts have class, and they're good musicians as well Program is varied, with rhumbas, westerns, ballads, rhythm times, comedy tune's well niixe? Tenor soloist (Tiny Stokes) is gSod! and three of the boys are okav vocalists. Kay Group of youngsters is just out of Navy and performing on WLW Cin- cinnati. Accordion, guitar, clarinet bass fiddle and washboard combine in excellent effects as well as smooth rhythms, with clarinet work ' a standout. Typical program offers ensemble in rhythm number "Yan- u f, ?°°^ e . P ant *y"; tenor singing ballad Rainbows"; accordion and fii a ,"1 < : t v c0 .'"b>ning smartly on '.Flight of Bumble Bee"; trio sine- mg western ballad "Cool Water" and group winding up with a nov- elty song like "My Black Hen," with appropriate noise effects. Talking and ad libbmg during songs r.Iso helps. A good music show. Brnn "Highlight* la HeMtmoUsg" hen wa a highlight la Hm llittalag day of Oklahoma womm for the past two years. Helta ton's dolly pro* grow Is bow stoadord Is-wfcoel llstoalag material la aiora thoa a score of state high school Hosw Esoaomlc classes, Wlrhoat choago la format, the program |art recently come aador the spoasorsblp of Loo* O-Sheea'aad Is parrlag this aew soap prodecf across with a boeg la Okla- homa, BUILDS SNOWS . WITH " ^ THE SENSE OF SELL — — i MPBCtENTtD BY THE KATZ AGENCY ~M