Variety (November 1950)

♦ % T Amos V Andy Get 1 AJIl. TV ‘Sneak’ Before World’s Smallest Andience NBC, Century drain in Video Tie For Newsreek on Large Screen Hollywood, Nov. 7. Pin - point perfectionists and never ones to take the easiest way, Freeman Gosden and Charles Cor- rell finally completed the pilot film of their Amos ’n’ Andy series for television. They ran it off in a projection room but weren’t too satisfied in their own minds that it would “play” the same on the home sets. So they prevailed on KTTV, the CBS TV outlet, to open up the station after hours so they cuuld see the film on their home sets. At 1 a.m. last Monday the film was telecast on an open channel for the smallest audience in teevee history. Gosden, Correll and five others identified with the show saw the runoff in their own homes, although anyone dialing channel 11 at that time could have viewed the show. It was all done with the greatest secrecy and outsiders were unaware of the innovation Until the next day. A studio full of lookers, how- ever, did see the film on a large screen in a CBS studio so that ac- tual laughs could be recorded and dubbed to the sound-track. They refused to go for library footage as has been done on many comedy shows. Before Gosden and Correll made a final selection of charac- ters to play the parts, more than 500 Negro actors were either au- ditioned or interviewed in a coun- try-wide search that lasted nearly two years. Mrs. Bugs Baer Sparks Jolsoo Memorial Plans; Favor All-Star Minstrel Mrs. Bugs (Louise) Baer is sparking the A1 Jolson Meiiiorial Fund, on behalf of the Heart Assn., and -if it weren’t for the short time intervening, the first gala to raise funds would be held at the IVfetropolltan Opera House, N. Y., on Dec. 10. That is the only Sunday available until next spring. However, the time limit necessi- tates a more leisurely preparation. Meantime, Mrs. Baer, herself a cardiac case and prominent in all Heart Assn, drives, has been talk- ing to attorney Charles Schwartz Frphlich), co-executor of the Jolson estate with the Irving Trust Co., of New York. The barrister heads for Hollywood next week to consult with Jolson’s widow, Mrs. Erie Jolson. He has been besieged with all sorts of offers for Jolson memorials, not to mention charL ties trying to latch on to some Of the $4,000,000 estate. Despite Hollywood columnar references that “there may be certain other specific bequests,” Jolson’s will is clear as to all organized and indi- vidual beneficiaries, as was de- tailed in the last two issues of Durante the .Medicine Man—Ballys Hadacol Chicago, Nov. 7. Hadacol has set Jimmy Durante as ballyhooer for its campaign to spread the patent medicine in northern U. S. Deal calls for comic’s appearance in Cleveland, Nov. 30, and Detroit, Dec. 1. His personals will include visits to retail outlets as well as radio broadcasts on behalf of the prod- uct. Deal will be in advance of a new unit tour similar to what Hadacol did in the south earlier this year. Latter cost over $200,000. Video Voted Top ‘Doorbell Ringer In ’50 Elections Radio ,and television were pro- jected into the election campaigns which wound up this week as the politicians’ most important vote- pullers, with video grabbing off honors as “greatest doorbell-ringer of them all.” Not only did the two media emerge as the most important media for the candidates' slugging, but they cornered a large portion of the politicos’ ad budgets. Through Nov. 1 the Democratic National Committee spent $185,000 for AM and TV. Republican Na- tional Committee paid $15,000 for Gov. Harold Stassen’s answer to President Truman. These outlays, of course, are small compared to the heavy coin shelled out by local arid state groups. In N. Y. state, it’s estimated, broadcasters took over $500,000 in biz from the vari- ous political war chests. In New York City, where the mayoralty campaign was unusually bitter, upwards of $235,000 was spent for AM and TV. Democrat Ferdinand Pecora was top spender with $80,000, with Republican Ed- ward Corsi putting up $35,000 for 'air time. Indie candidate Vincent Impellitteri spent $10,000, and ap- (Continued on page 69) Swanson’s British Pic London, Nov. 7. Gloria Swanson has been signed by Daniel M, Angel Productions for lead in “Another Man’s Poi- son,” film which starts rolling here , in Januray. . ^ Variety. Those Hollywood indi-| Val Guest is scripting from Les- yiduals, about whom there is some : fie Sands’ play, “Deadlock.” Direo- interest, “undoubtedly were suffi-1 tor and studio will be announced (Continued on page 62) 1 shortly. By BOB CHANDLER r Television’s great need for music may spell the long-awaited release of Tin Pan Alley from domination by the record industry, a number of top publishing execs and vet- eran writers believe. Through the new medium, they feel, Tin Pan Alley may regain a great mea'sure of the vigor, imagination and in- dependence it has allegedly lost by virtue of dependence on the disk company and the disk jockey. Video, it’s said, will open new avenues for creation, introduction and exploitation of songs. Writers will create songs with a specific purpose, endowing them with more meaning than the current flock of pops. Less reliance will be placed on the diskeries in introducing and making hits. And publishers’ pro- fessional departments will once again take the initiative in the de- velopment of song exploitation, rather than simply handing over a record and a dinner to a disk jockey. Chief basis for the optimism by writers and publishers is the fact that television will need more and more music as its programming pattern gains maturity. They feel video will call upon Tin Pan Alley for two general categories of music —songs that lend themselves to visual production and special-ma- terial numbers. As video chews up more and more material, they feel, stars and producers will be searching for new songs and routines for their programs. The situation under radio’s heyday, wherein a publisher had to prove a song was already established before getting it played or sung on the air, will be re- versed, and a new condition similar to that existing in vaudeville’s dominant period will come into be- ing, they feel. This new situation will cause (Continued on page 54) ‘Pacific’s’ Profit “South Pacific,” which last week paid a dividend of $300,000, has now distributed total profits of al- most $1,300,000, of which nearly $600,000 is from the road com- pany. Latter, which opened last April in Cleveland, regained its $110,000 production cost within five and a half weeks. The profit oii the show’s recent engagement in Dallas, when the gross was $320^.000 in 24 performances, was almost $140,000. With receipts of $25,000 last week, “Happy Time” passed the $1,000,000 gross mark at the Plymouth, N. Y. The Rodgers- Hammerstein presentation, cur- rently in its 41st week, has paid a profit of $106,453 on its $38,000 production cost. The show was hnanced at $100,000. Commercial Color Is Seen Three Years Off Chicago, Nov. 7. Color video beamed commer- cially is at least three years away, William A. Bless, veepee of Avco Manufacturing Corp., and Crosley division sales manager, predicted last week. A chief delaying factor will be the great cost • of tinted shows to the sponsor, he stated. Manufacturing exec claimed that the Crosley half hour of NBC’s “Show of Shows,” which costs First major tie between tele- vision broadcasters and theatre video was knotted this week, when Century Circuit, N. Y., pactedwith NBC and the William Esty agency to carry the “Camel Newsreel The- atre” on ~a two-week experimental basis, starting next Monday (13), in its two houses, equipped for big-screen video, program will be taken on an off-the-air feed from NBC at its regularly-scheduled time, 7:45 to 8 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and during- the two weeks Century will eliminate its regular newsreel. Deal may be the prelude to the networks feeding a steady stream w./v .nd Jhitp wonid ' of programming to theatres for $35,000 m , <t 7 n nnn in I large-screen transmission. With the be upped to nearly $70,000 In. ^«,,er of sports and special color. GBS Top-Paid Author in B’way L^t’s George Bernard Shaw, “the greatest dramatist since Shake.s- peare,” was perhaps the highest paid author in Broadway history. The celebrated Irishman, who died Nov. 2 at his home, Shaw’s Corner, Ayot St. Lawrence, England, is estimated to have earned in the neighborhood of $750,000 in royal- ties from New York productions alone. Probably only Shakespeare, whose works are royalty-free, topped him in number of produc- tions, and it’s doubtful if even the Bard had as many performances over the same 45-year span on Broadway. . . When Shaw’s royalties from touring • productions, stock and repertory revivals and book sales are taken into account, his earn- ings from'■ the ■ U. ■ S. obviously topped the $1,000,000 mark. Over- looking the.effect of. his plays on political, social and e c o n o m i e thinking over the years, the fa- (Continued on page 14) events on which theatre TV has capitalized until now definitely limited in number, it has long been realized that the theatres must have some regularly-scheduled pro- [gramming for their large screens in order to sustain the operation. In line with that, it’s recalled that NBC exec veepee Charles R. Den- ny went on record more than a year ago as saying his network would be prepared to build pro- grams for large-screen transmis- sion as soon as the theatres were prepared to pay for them. While none of those involved in the negotiations would divulge the terms, it’s believed that the circuit (Continued on page 69) Plush Met Opening Extra Lush With 70G Take; B’way Talent Aids Sock Preem GBS’ 8-Minute Filmed Farewell (Ml) Due Soon Eight-minute farewell made on film by George Bernard Shaw during the blitz of 1941 will shortly be released to theatres in this country and abroad. Shaw left instructions for the film not to be publicly distributed until after his death, which he felt was imminent at that time. He died last week. Gabriel Pascal, who has had ex- By ARTHUR BRONSON The Metropolitan Opera Assn., which opened its 66th season in N. Y. Monday (C) with Vdtdi’s “Don Carlo,” usually puts on a big show opening night—socially as well as musically. This time, it put on a good show theatrically as well—with a couple of sharp as- sists from Broadway. Borrowing Margaret Webster for the stage direction, and Rolf Gerard for sets and costumes, the Met gave a preem that artistically rates with its best ever—a superb- ly mounted production that had (for all the static limitations of its plot) fluidity and ease, as well as some fine singing. It was an unusual evening in speech' many respects. There was the usual plethora of sable and mink, of tiara and tails, of brass, nobility, society and wealth. The plush was lush and lavish. But the audir* ence was more quiet and subdued than heretofore, despite the def- inite electric excitement pervading a Met opener. There were no hi- jinks, no silly dowagers cavorting on Sherry tables or drunken stock- elusive rights from the famed Irish . wit for production of films from ' brokers standing on their heads his plays, has acquired the strip of | outside to brace the edifice. The films, which is titled “A Message ' crowd had grown up. ^ {to the American People.” Pascal’s ' ' Also unusual was the evening s ; partner in American distribution . take, probably the highest first- i (Continued on page 2) i (Continued on page 56)