Variety (Oct 1947)

Wednesday, October 29, 1947 RADIO 25 NBC USES STARS IN PRESTIGE BID - — • 1 ; ' ' ! ' ! -f" - •* 1 ! — Wayne Coy Projected Into Spotlight For FCC Chairmanship on the Heels Of Pressure for Practical B caster When It's a Capella Time In.... The a capella boys are riding high and handsome. They're coining out of hiding in full force and, as some trade gagsters are putting it: They're eating at Toots Shor's and the Brown Derby for the first time in years." Where they hibernate when the musical status quo prevails in radio is something nobody's been able as yet to figure out. But when a petrillo crisis arises, as at present, the vocal quartets and singing groups brush up on their musical bridges and wait for the offers to pour in. And today they're crossing plenty, of bridges—thanks chiefly to James C. Petrillo's banning of musicians on co-op programming. Al- ready the a capella standbys are shouting their hosannahs on the Joan Davis CBS show, the Abbott & Costello ABC program and the Park- yakarkas co-oper on Mutual, But it looks like only the beginning: Come Jan. 31, and if Petrillo carries out his threat "to ban all musicians off the networks, it'll be a capella time in spades. The report is that in New York, Hollywood and in Chicago the vocal groups are rehearsing like mad—waiting only for the signal to step into the musical bridge breach. As die Witch Hunt Spreads, Radio Wonders If It Too, Will Get Burned Radio is sitting tight in the current probe of Hollywood Communist in- filtration by the House Un-American Activities Committee. But the con- viction is ■ growing daily that com- mercial programming will feel the effects of the probe; that radio bank- rollers will take their cue from the Washington revelations and act ac- cordingly Among the 79 listed at the D.C. hearings as active in Hollywood Communist work are a number of stars who are no strangers to the guest star circuit on top commercial shows, as well as some writers who have also done considerable script- ing for radio. Feeling in some quar- ters is that, as the House Committee continues to put on the pressure, the reaction will spill over into radio, with sponsors barring from their shows those personalities who are rendered suspect by the probe. For some time now there's been talk that the House Committee has a probe of radio on its forthcoming agenda. Whether or not the commit- tee intends getting around to a gen- eral sifting of radio however, is still in the' conjectural stage. Berle Whirl Poses Query No sooner had the Milton Biow agency announced that it was buy- ing a new Horace Heidt talent build up show as replacement for the Milton Berle-Philip Morris com- edy stanza on NBC, than things be- gan to happen to the Berle program. In the past few weeks it's been riding high and wide, chalking up a 9.4 on the last Hooper tally for a 2.3 Increase. As the curtain-raiser for the web's fabulous Tuesday comedy parlay, the show today is perhaps more solidly entrenched than at any previous time. All of which poses a problem on the upcoming Heidt show. It isn't inked in until December, when the current Berle cycle winds up, but general impression now is that Berle will stay put. William Morris office, which handles Berle, says it hasn't received official notice one way or other as to cancellation or renewal, but similarly shares the view that, if the Berle whirl continues, don't look for any exiting this season. Such an eventuality would mean finding another spot for Heidt. Which would probably take it to another network. NBC happens to be sold out. Shirer Gets a Sponsor Mutual's annexing of William L. Shirer paid off sponsorship in short order. Piedmont Shirt Co., via the William H. Weintraub agency, is picking up the tab for Shirer's new weekly stint effective Jan. 4 on "about 200" stations. Web is giving the ex-CBS com- mentator and author the Sunday 1-1:15 p.m. spot on a sustaining ba6is starting Nov. 30. LUCKMAN DRAFTS EDITOR Elwood Hoffman of CBS on Special Fortnight Loan to Washington Elwood C. Hoffman, one of the four script editors in CBS Division of Program Writing in New York, went to Washington over the week- end to spend two weeks there under the Charles Luckman Citizens Food Advisory Committee. Hoffman* did radio propaganda - work during the war. His services were requested of CBS by Michael Boach and William Spire who are working directly un- der the Lever Brothers head man. Hoffman will help organize a'num- ber of radio documentaries for the Luckmanites. Jolson Upsurge Gives Him Top Vocalist billing Big talk throughout the trade is Al Jolson's ranking as radio's No. 1 singer. Latest Hooper rating (made on the Oct. 16 show) gives his "Kraft Music Hall" a full point hike over his previous 18.8 tally, not only as- suring him a ride in the upper- bracketed Top • 15 sweepstakes, but giving him the lead off spot among musical shows on the air. And with the Bing Crosby-Philco show taking a nosedive to 13.7, it looks like Jol- son alone among the singers will wind up in the coveted Top 15 bri-> gade in the upcoming listings. As of the moment, it's Jolson against the whole field of male sing- ers. That goes for Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Perry Como and the rest. Sinatra's v Saturday night "Hit Parade" on NBC knocked off a 12.0 rating; Haymes, slotted on CBS in the time period opposite Jolson, came off with no better than a 7.1, while Como's Chesterfield "Supper Club" averaged a 9.9. Looks like Haymes' Auto-Lite show is taking the brunt of the pun- ishment in the Jolson upsurge. Prior to Jolson's takeover of the Kraft stanza this season, Haymes frequently passed the Kraft show rating. But he's finding the Jolson 9-9:30 Thursday opposition too tough an obstacle to hurdle. SE PUBLIC SERVICES On the basis of its blueprinted plans, NBC's all-out plunge into public service will explore new pro- gramming concepts. In its bid to match the documen- tary-public affairs prestige pro- gramming that has put the rival CBS into the forefront in the past year or more, NBC, it's now learned, is moving in new directions to cap- ture a sizeable segment of the radio prestige" audience. Behind the announcement by NBC that it has named a Public Affairs Board to mastermind its public serv- ice shows, which for the first time will correlate the activities of all the web's program divisions, is a sweep- ing, all embracive plan designed to utilize the talent of NBC's come- dians and other top personalities. In view of the fact the network has practically cornered the top tal- ent market, why, figures the web echelon, shouldn't we corral that talent, whenever possible? Thus, it's planned, when a specific public service program would show up to added advantage with a^i assist from Fibber McGee & Molly, Gilder- sleeve, etc., the network will nego- tiate for their appearance on the program, And so on down the line. •World' Is First First series on the web's new pub- lic service agenda will be titled "The World We Face," which will be suf- ficiently flexible in format to per- mit for documentary or straight dramatic exposition. While inked for the Sunday afternoon 4:30-5 pe- riod, again it's been designed to" per- mit for evening showcasing in cream time (with commercials, as in the case of CBS, to be knocked off), whenever deemed essential. Title will permit for a wide range of vital problems confronting the nation) and the world. •' All decisions will be left in the hands of the Public' Affairs Board, whose "thinking" will be integrated with that of other policy-makers on the network. Fact that CBS, and in some in- stances ABC, have been grabbing off all the public service laurel wreaths while NBC has been chalk- ing up its enviable SRO record on commercial time, has beenfno small factor in the web's decision to climb aboard the public service band- wagon in a big way. Durr: 'Man of the Year' Chicago, Oct. 28. FCC Commissioner Clifford J, Durr was named educational ra- dio's "man of the year" by the advisory committee of the School Broadcast Conference in session in Chicago this week. Durr was backpatted as "a friend at court" and for his efforts in the FCC grant of additional FM fre- quencies for educational radio. Conference drew more than 1,500, with nets represented by Robert Hudson (CBS), Dwight Herrick (NBC) and Robert Sau- dek (ABC). CBS originated its "American School of the Air" (27) before conferencers and special local shows were staged by WLS, WJJD, WIND and WBEZ. GRAIN SHORTAGE PINCH AXES TENNESSEE JED' "Tennessee Jed," one of the ad*> venture strips in ABC's late-after- nooh block of kid stanzas, is headed for a fadeout the end of next week. It's a case of. Ward Baking Co., which sponsors the serial in 27 .ma- jor markets, pulling in its purse- strings because of the grain short- age. "Jed" has been co-oped where not bankrolled by the bakir. out- fit. Net will move "Dick Tracy" back from 4:45 to 5 p.m. to fill the gap left by "Jed's" exit and expand the current Treasury Band series at 4:30 into a half-hour cross-the-board. Doug Coulter a Veepee Foote, Cone & Belding agency yesterday (Tuesday) announced ap- pointment of Douglas Coulter as a vice-president. He's been in charge of New York radio for the agency since the resig- nation a few months back of Hub- bell Robinson, Jr. Latter is now programming veepee of CBS. Beer Sponsors Enmeshed in Food Crisis Clampdown on grain cued to food crisis has come at a time when sev- eral beer companies, including Bal- lantine, were contemplating a return to radio program bankrolling, with the new shift in events practically snafuing such plans. Ballantihe, via J. Walter Thomp- son agency, last sponsored a Monday nigh^ musical show on CBS. Situation may have a drastic ef- fect on local bankrolling of shows. B^er companies in many major mar- kets represent some of local radio's heaviest clients, including co-op shows. It's, considered likely that a clamp on production will force a tightening of the coin reins on bank- rolling shows. WNBC'S GAINES UPPING NORMAN TO SALES MGR. Jim Gaines, general manager of WNBC, New York flagship station for NBC, this week appointed a new sales manager. He's Don Norman, who's been moved over from na- tional spot sales. Norman succeeds W. O. Tilenius, who has resigned to join the John Blair station rep outfit, effective Nov. 10. Tilenius had been with the station for 14 years. CBS Ratner Veepee Pact Reprises Onetime Sock Promotional Setup After practically despairing of moving its sales promotion-advertis- ing operation into the same high gear which characterized the Paul Kesten-Victor Ratner-Frank. Stan- ton teamup of years ago, CBS in a sudden move last week brought Rat- ner back into the organization as a veepee. He becomes director of sales-promotion and advertising ef- fective Nov. 3. During the years from 1936 to 1941 Ratner 'was the web's director of sales promotion, .having been brought into the organization and trained by Kesten, then exec veepee of the web, who gained wide indus- try recognition for his promotional techniques. The Ratner - Stanton promotion parlay under Kesten (with Stanton on the research end) was the enviable teamup among the networks. Thus the Ratner appoint- ment reprises a two-way association Washington, Oct. 28. Plenty of support has been drummed up here within the past 10 days to have Wayne Coy, gen- eral manager of Washington Post stations WINX and WINX-FM and former assistant to President Roose- velt, named to the FCC chairman- ship. Definite word on White House intentions toward the FCC may be upcoming shortly, since Democratic Committee Chairman Harold Mc- Grath is back in town for a Demo Committee meeting here tomorrow (29). Pressures have been exerted at the White House for a speedy, ap- pointment in view of the absence of Commissioners Edward Webster and E. K. Jett during, the winter months and a heavy schedule of work ahead at FCC. White House spokesmen admit that the WINX manager is a "likely candidate." Whether the appoint- ment has been cleared with Presi- dent Truman js still not known. Coy himself is non-committal be- yond pointing out that nobody who is "in a position to offer him the job" has talked to him about it. Acceptance would entail a consid- erable financial loss for him. Other names still being mentioned for the FCC vacancy are Democratic ex-Senators James Mead of New York and Hugh Mitchell of Wash- ington. Appointment of Brig. Gen, Telford Taylor, ex-FCC general counsel, and Presidential radio ad- viser Leonard Reinsch are also be- ing urged in some quarters. Coy's appointment would be warmly received by broadcasters and government men, it is believed. The industry has definitely put the pressure on President Truman to name a "practical broadcaster" to the post. He also fills the bill as . a good- Democrat and has the reputa- tion of being an able administrator. Starting out as regional admin- istrator of the WPA in 1935, Coy has served in a half-dozen top gov- ernment positions', including a three- year stint as head of President Roosevelt's Office of Emergency Management (1941-43) and as an Assistant Director of the Bureau of the Budget.. In the same period he was an executive assistant to Mr. Roosevelt. activity between 1930, when Ratner joined the network, and 1941, Actually Ratner has been doing considerable freelance promotional work for CBS in recent years, since opening his own offices. Only re- cently he was commissioned by web prexy Stanton to draw up the modus operandi for the industry's partici- pation in Charles Luckman's food campaign, reportedly grabbing him- self a fast $3,000 for the job. Ratner left CBS in '41 to join the now defunct Lord & Thomas agency, later moving into the OPA operation for the War Dept. He then went in on his own. In recent years there had been a succession of promotion directors at CBS, but none was deemed capable of filling the bill. Since the departure of Dave Fredericks a few months back, William Golden, art director, has been filling in. Golden remains as an associate promotion director, as well as art director, with Lou Housman also moving into the pic- ture as an associate director. ABC Shows Slip Despite Plugs In the face of one of the most in- tensive single evening programming buildups given by the network in recent years—the Wednesday eve- ning ABC parlay—the latest Hooper tallies for that evening (Oct. 15) have provoked considerable eyebrow raising in the trade. For one thing, the $22,500-weekly budgeted Bing Crosby-Philco show (which is exclusive of the top coin being channelled into ads publicizing "Bingsday") nosedived to a 13.7 rating, representing a 1.8 drop. But Crosby had a lot of company in the downward trend of all the net's Wednesday shows for that evening. Jack Paar, in the pre-Crosby slot, dropped to a 5.4 off 2.3 points; Henry Morgan, in the post-Crosby period, came off with a 6.8, down 1.9 points. Abbott & Costello wound up with 5.4, off 0.7; Vox Pop hit a 5.0, off 0.9, while the Lone Ranger's 8.1 repre- sented a drop of 1.5. "Mayor of the Town," part of the Wednesday se- quencing, copped an initial rating of. 6.6. While it's true that the Hooper charts show a noticeable drop in sets-in-use for the date, which the trade attributes to the unseasonable mildness in the weather (even "Gil- dersleeve" on NBC took a 5.0 rating nosedive on Oct. 15), the fact re- I mains that the ABC 8 to 10:30 brack- I eted shows took it on the chin.