Variety (December 1951)

86 MW 1MWWW December 26 , 1951 Oi Mm Into TV Continued from page 29 ing, a $3,500,000 chemical plant, plus other enterprises. McCarthy will compete against another oil man in the contest for the one remaining commercial VHF channel in'Houston. He is W. W. Lechner, an. independent oil and gas producer in the East Texas field, who also operates in Louis- iana, Arkansas and New Mexico. Lechner, Who modestly lists his net worth as “in excess of $1,000,000,” has also applied for TV in Dallas. Oil money is behind the Texas Telenet System which has applied for TV stations, in Austin, Corpus Christi, Sail Antonio, Fort Worth and. Waco. Subscribing to a ma- jority of the stock in the company are oil men Carl F. Slick, David C. Roche, Joseph P. Nash, Herman Heep, Guy Warren, H; L. Brown, Tom W, Loffland, William P. Wheeler, Roland S. Bond, Douglas W. Forbes, and Joseph D. and War- ren D. Ambrose. Slick, Nash, Heep and Warren are all in . the million- aire class; I Snowden Envisions ■.$ Stations Another wealthy oil independent planning to enter TV on a big scale Is Homer Snowden, who has oil properties in Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Snowden has applied for stations in Oklahoma City, Den- ver and Shreveport, La. He may file for the limit of five stations now permitted under FCC regula- tions. A group of Texas oil operators, who have^done well in their first TV venture, have applied for sta- tions in Corpus Christi and New Orleans. They are W. L. Pickens of Dallas, H. H. Coffield of Rock- dale and R. L. Wheelock of Corsi- cana. They built KEYL (TV) and recently sold it at a nice profit. Pickens has also applied individ- ually for a UHF channel in Austin. A Texas oil millionairess is also Interested .in television. She is Mrs. Loula Mae Harrison of Dal- las, president Of the Prairie Oil & Gas Co. which owns extensive oil properties and leasehold interests. Mrs. Harrison is putting up 80% of the capital for a station in Beau- mont, Tex. Joining her in the ap- plication for the remaining 20% is A. W. Smith, prexy of the Texmass Petroleum Co., which- controls many oil and gas wells in Texas. A Texas oil man whose proper- terCsted in TV are W. G, Skelly of the Skelly Oil Co., majority" owner of AM station KVOO in Tulsa, who is a pre-freeze applicant for video in Tulsa. Others are Gov. Rby J. Turner and F.*E. Harper, who have subscribed to 30% of the stock in a company seeking a VHF chan- nel in Oklaho ma City.. U. S , Sena- tor Robert S. Kerr, head of McGee Oil Co. and owner of AM stations in Tulsa, Okla., and Peoria, 111., plans to apply for TV in # those cities. Another wealthy oil man itching to get into TV is Ed Pauley, a big contributor to the Democratic Party, who has an application filed for San Francisco. Pauley, who owns a slice of the Lo& Angeles Rams (pro foOtbali team), has oil interests in California, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mex- ico. Kansas oil money, in the person of former governor Ail Landon, is also interested - in video. Landon has applied for a station in Den- ver. Other undisclosed oil interests are expected to file applications in a few months. greater home us« of playback equipment. Because of Its speed advantage, Dr. Smith expects the process will be used for duplicating tgpe re- cordings of Congressional hearings and other Government proceedings. Location of hfs firm in Washing- ton may prove beneficial in this respect. Dr. Smith, who has studied at Cambridge, England, and Harvard, got the idea for duplicating tapes while pn a vacation in Florida, where he heard many transcribed programs 'bn radio stations. ties are ‘conservatively esti mated to . be worth in. excess Of $2,500,000”—-E. C. Lawson—has ap- plied for TV stations in Wichita Falls, Tex., and Tulsa, Okla. Other Texas oil men investing in TV are S. W. Richardson, who holds 18% of the stock of Texas State Network, which has applica- tions for San Antonio and Fort Worth; Thomas O. Payne of Hous- ton who. has filed for a station in Brownsville; and S. Foster Yancey who haS a . minority interest in an application for a station at Sher- man, Tex. Among Oklahoma oil men in- Medal of Honor sssi- Continued from pag* 2("ss been sighed as director, according to Frank. The inroads of TV bn exhibition won’t keep Frank out of the films- for-exhibition field, he says. He is completely confident, ; he declares, that independent film- producers can continue to succeed, just as they have been doing, by getting the right stories and making good pictures “at the right cost.” He hasn’t any worries as far as inde- pendent producing of films-for-ex- hibition is concerned, he says, and he is planning other pictures to follow “Sitting Bull.” Continued from page 26 immediate future for motion, pic tures is in the projection of films on TV. But eventually, he believes, it will be used for the sound track of films shown in theatres. He also ing Packard blurbs to Jan. 5; . Jan. 7 begin 3. “Coronet Theatres,” Jan. 7 three “Rebounds,” and will shoot 26 in each series altogether,'‘also; launching “Perry Mason” series in January. At RKO Pathe. Desilu Corp.: Resume “I Love Lu<?y” series. for CBS-TV, PMlip Morris Jan. 4, shoot through June, then layoff for summer. (General Service.). Donlevy Development Co.: Re- sume “Dangerous Assignment” se- ries,,, starring Brian Donlevy, Jam 4 at Republic, 32 to shoot, will be in production to June, Jerry Fairbanks Prod.: “Front Page Detective,” “Hollywood The atre” series resume Jan. 7, other product skedded. Definite slate through March. : Family Films: Begin 13 13V£ min. Bible Stories in mid-January; after 3-week, hiatus shoot six -re ligiosOs, going to March. (At KTTV.) Flying A Prod.: Begin seven “Range Riders” Jan. 14, shoot through part of February, then re- sume Gene Autry vidpix. Other series planned. WDBC Films: Shoot several dramas starring Tom Keene be ginning Jan. 17 (at KTTV). Hollywood Television Service: Republic subsid begins “Com mando Cody-^-Sky. Master of the Universe,” Jan. 14 at Valley lot. Series of 39 set. Other properties planned, Phil Krasne-Jack Gross: “Big Town” series planned, also, others. (General Service.) Edward Lewis Prod,: Five pack- age series begin shooting Jan. 10; seven vidpix skedded in February. (Motion Picture Center.) Marcus Loew II-William Chal- Client In The House? \sss£9 Continue* from pace 27 sss ties Plan” by which the network will slice up markets on all its shows (with CBS retaining the,.... ■ . ^ I >n linSnlsiioil (vmnhAmi M b. ji Radio Will Conlniiie To Grow, Sez Sarnoff; ‘Unfinished Symphony’ Radio communications will con- not purchased by the original spon- sor), but, as in the case of NBC, an unfinished symphony,” Radi Corp. of America board chairman .there Si inquiries^but nothing '5*S« Sarnoff told the New York e i se> : Radio Executives Club last week. ^ He said radioes destiny will not be tr^ e Circles^at^tbe network met * uimi * d untl l ,t,s transformed from the^ TV^onslaueht Atteast a year * medium of mass communication T ness even two years back that a ^^niunication, with each mdi- serious reappraisal of radio’s eco- S* nomic status was in order, too f.whil? r Sm« iVC JJi ke JlJlS S ^ atch * many months were permitted to nSS 1 * l n lapse before the web mastermind- Tokyo, Sarnoff forecast, and he ers emerged from the talk stage doe , s l | 1 * answer, theonly reason Will into a “do something” period. ^ ^ ^e ts either .dead or drunk.” Meanwhile, the TV inroads multi- The RCA topper, speaking on tho plied and it’s recognised that only 50th anniof Marconi’s first trans- now have the networks caught up Atlantic Wireless transmission, said on merchandising• and other plus he preferred to look to the future factors that the newspapers and rather than the past, because of magazines wCre inaugurating a wireless’ still unrealized potentials, year or more ago. As. part of the observation Sarnoff If the networks sales boys are, tapped out Marconi’s original sig- baffled, it: stems, too, from estate nal-^-the three dots meaning “S” lished data and concrete evidence tn Morse code—-which girdled the that radio listening has not dimin- globe via BCA’s international set- ished and, even in terms of.net- ;rms work pull, audiences In /many in- stances are bigger than last year. up in the same split second that it took Marconi’s feeble signal to cross the Atlantic. He also, sent out a code translation of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men.” When he was through; REC prexy I. E. X Chick) Showerman quipped, “A man who can pound a wireless key like that will never have to look an hour’s viewing, he reported, pa-1 *° W?’ * TV’s Mental Rale Continued from pas* 29 tients “behave better; become more sociable, considerate and tolerant, and are less noisy.” “When we find patients enthusi- astically discussing a television pro- gram they have just seen, we know Gen. Sarnoff talked with Guglie- mo Marconi’s widow, Marchesa Maria C. Marconi, and her daugh- ter, Elettra, on a two-way open radio-telephone hookup to Rome. He followed with reminiscences of the wireless inventor, whose office expects the duplicates will be used . ^ ■ ... with the sound track of TV kine- kin: Plan week’s shooting on dra- scopes. In the production of motion pic- tures, Dr. Smith thinks that “Multi- tape” will solve the problem of multiple editing pf the sound por- tion of films by providing copies quickly to each editor; In view of the low cost of dupli- cate tapes, Which is comparable to LP records, Dr. Smith foresees their possible use for classical mu- sic recordings for the home. But the development of such a market, he points out, would have to await 560’$ the Best 4/5 buy In Philly these days isn’t 90 proof. It’s WFIL’s share of the city’s radio audience —and it’s 100 per cbnt proved! Says Broadcast Measurement Bureau’s latest survey: four- fifths of Philadelphia radio own- ers regularly set their dials to WFIL at 560 kilocycles. That means when you sched- ule WFIL, 1,400,000 people are listening in the city alone. That means people with $3,682,770,000 In disposable cash hear your pitchy. And if you want to spread around a bit, count the ears lent to WFIL outside the city—ln all the 14-0ouhty Retail Trading Area. Here are a million more prospects ... another $3 billion in buying power. And then there's $he. Jiuge bonus area beyond • •. but why go on? Just remember, you’re first on the dial In America’s third market when you sched- ule WFIL. fffl 560 ^ CTlir Blnnuinr matic series beginning Jan. 15. (General Service.) Marted Prod.: Laraine Day-Leo Durocher series of 104 15-min. vid- pix resumes Jan. 15; shoot till spring, when it moves to spring training camps to resume, returns, to Hollywood after baseball season to continue “Hot Stove League.” (General Service.) Mark 7 Prod.: Resume “Dragnet” series for NBC in January (Re- public). Odyssey Pictures: “Terry and the Pirates” series of 26 begins Jan. 15, shoots through February. Other series planned. Roland Reed Prod.: Begin eight more “Trouble With Father” series for General Mills Jan. 9; minimum of 15. more “Beulah” vidpix roll April 15; “Mystery Theatre” re- sumes Jan. 28;. pilot on “Rocky Jones, Space Ranger,” rolls Jan. 29. Continuous production to March 15. (Hal Roach studios.) Revue Prod.: Resume in Janu- ary oh “Chevron Theatre,” “Kit Carson.” Others planned. (Eagle- Lion.) Roy Rogers Prod.: Resumes oat-, ers for NBC-TV, General Foods, Jan. 17 at Goldwyn studio. Screen Televideo: Begin 39 “Electric Theatre” telepix Jan. 7; continuous production to June 31. (Eagle-Lion.) Snader Telescriptlons: Shoot “Dick Tracy” in January; Tele- scriptions in February. Several other series skedded. (General Service.) TeeVee Co.: Shoot 26 7^-min. vignettes in March. (California studios.) Rene Williams Prod.: Resumes “Invitational Playhouse” in Janu- ary. (Goldwyn.) Frank Wfsbar Prod.: Resumes “Fireside Theatre” Jan. 28, three weeks shooting on seven skedded. (Eagle-Lion.) Ziv TV:. ”The Unexpected” se- ries begins Jan,. 3, eight shooting to Jan. 31; “Boston Blackles,” ,39 more “Unexpecteds,” 26 “Cisco Kids” assure full year’s shooting sked* the first step out of the dark, con- boy he originally was. He related that once when he and Marconi ^ een ta ^ en » Dr v and their wives were aboard the Lelser reported. yacht Elettra, the inventor told TV therapy began last December him, “I know hew this cohtrap- with three sets. Now there are 22 for tion works. But before I die, I’d mental wards and five elsewhere like to know why the damn thing in the hospital. For the last six * “ months, 1,100 patients have en- joyed TV therapy. 1 However, there are 2,800 mbre who have not seen the video screens. “The contrast between these two groups is considerable amt - sig- nificant from a psychiatric view- point,” Dr. Leiser said. “We wish we could give the advantages of television to all pur patients.” He added that careful selection of programs is made to make sure that undesirable ones, like murder; crime or tragedies, are not seen by I board show, “Music Magazine,” works,” On the dais with Sarnoff were many of the pioneers Who con- tributed to. the development of radio communications. FOR NEW MUSIC SERIES WQXR, N. Y. longhair Outlet, will depart from its usual program? ming format in a new cross-the- the mental patients, Ex-Lax Continued from page 27 which will handle the selections i an editorial manner, rather than presenting them in the form of radio concerts. Each broadcast, beampd from 9:05-10 p. m.,.wili be devoted to a Specific “article” with the music used as illustrations.: Among topics to he covered are “Whispers from the Roaring ’20’s,” which will mark the lifting of the indie’s ban on hot jazz; “Music for Bare Feet,” dealing With Martha modern ; dance New Orleans affiliate meet for ac- cepting Serutan biz. Similarly intriguing is the man- ner in which Warwick & Legler won over NBC to the Ex-Lax plugging. Agency, initially rebuffed by the Grahamesque network, undertook an exhaustive rhythms; and “Care and Feeding survey among all the network af? of Child Prodegies.” Regular filiates, which revealed that 90%. Wednesday feature will be a re- of them are currently accepting port on current events in the music Ex-Lax spot biz. The survey find- field. ings clinched the NBC decision to Frederick V. Grunfeld, WQXR reverse itself. staff writer, will script and also It’ll represent the laxative firm’s handle the announcing. Program first major network program show- preems Jan. 1. case, although the specific show and time afe still to be determined. Understood, too, that Ex-Lax Will drop its present spot campaign in favor of the network ride. CBS-NARTB Continued from page 29 presage a return of CBS radio and its seven o. & o. AM stations to NARTB remains tor be seen. As yet, there’s no indiemion regarding such a move but it’s certainly con- sidered more of a possibility the web will take the plunge now that it’s put one foot in the water. Meanwhile, the association’s ra< die membership 'picked up 10 new members last week, bringing the total to 1,398, the highest it’s been for some time. The additional members were brought in as a re- sult of a personal solicitation cam- paign by NARTB’s station rela- tions department, headed by WiL liam T. Stubblefield. 1 Detroit—Richard E. Jones, vee- pee and general manager of' WJBK and WJBK-TV, has been elected tq the board of directorSi of the Pe troit Convention and Tourist Bureau. Reasons Th* forsmsit national andM** v«rtia»ra um WIVI) yaor wfl yssr fa nath ffia yirt JawiishMarket of Metropolitan New Yod| 1. Tsp aduh prsgrsmmiBi 1 Strong SiiditQto impact . 3. Inhorant Uatonor loyalty 4. Potontlal buying P® w,r Sanil for a copy of ‘WHO’S WHO ON Honry UrobnfloM, :Man, Kr* WIVR 117-11? Wait 44th ft* Now York It