Variety (May 1952)

B6 MAM« RRVIKW9 WHAT’S MY tINif . . u With ArU»e Frincb, ;i)#r*liiy Kil- galleit, Hal Black; Bennett Cert; John. Daly, moderator;' Don announcer Producer!; Mark Goodsou, BUI Todman Production coordinator: Boh Bach $0 Mina., Tueg_“10 pan, PHILIP MORRIS NBC, from N.Y. (Bioto) Going into the vacated Eddie Cantor, show NBC period on a tempqrary lend-lease deal from CBS, this new radio version of the popular TV show is wellnigh as funny as its. tele counterpart, and a surefire AM alter. Presented as a fresh, live show (not a soundtrack from TV, as with some other pro- grams), the airer follows the video format of persons whose appear- ances belie their vocations being questioned by panelists in attempt to identify their ( calling. There 1 st also a mystery guest (the panel be- ► ing blindfolded foi* this item). In the radio version, the panel gives a brief, thumbnail physical description of the guest (for the benefit of the listening audience) . before they start to work on guess- ing his occupation, and someone also whispers the actual occupation to the radio audience without the panel hearing it. There is also'a studio audience, whose excitement and reaction are favorable guide to the radio listener. Paced by the smooth, d,eft han- dling of John-Daly v as moderator;, and buttressed by the.-keen jhinds of Dorothy Kilgglleh^ Arlene Fran- cis, Bennett Cerf, and. Hal Block; the opener last Tuesday (20) went off very well' , for a lot m pf fun, Block’s chief .contribution,, to be sure, was his Jedding of the. guests and even* the studio audience, but it wasn’t overdone, was all in good taste, with some neat gags evolv- ing. ’ ”■ . - The panel, -Itselfi. was 1 prett 3 (' hep. Miss Balgallen's penetrating queried generally led- the pack' -but;Miss Francis wasn't;fan oehlpid inieogent questioning, the two gals guessing the three contestants’ occupations. Cerf came through on guessing the mystery contestant, who happened to be Marlene..Dietrich. ... Guests were. cleverly chosen, comprising, a man V/hp makes false riteeth, a femme department store detective, and’a garbage collector, Some innocent questions led to a harrage oflaughs,-‘to. make a very funny show* Don 'Briggs handled the Philip Morris* commercials smoothly, briefly; and in good tasttj. • - - Brbn. LANNY ROSS SHOW With Rpss and WOR, N. Y. house band Producer-Director; MelBalley , 10 Mins.; Mon.-thru-Fri., 7:20 p.ri Sustaining WOR, N. Y. “The Lanny Ross Show,” which started an across-the-board seg- ment Monday (26) via WOR, N,. Y, y Is a pleasant, lO-tnlnute filler of music and song. Transcribed stanza has tenor Ross warbling several numbers accompanied by a sextet B • conducted alternately by WOR staff B musicians AI FanelU and Milton f~ Daye. * . For the initialer Ross struck a nostalgic note in the form of a “birthday patty”, for the late A1 Jolson. He crooned “Rainbow Round My Shoulder,” ‘‘Anniversary Song” and other tunes associated with Jolson. Voice,, of “the master himself” sang.“Mammy” via a rec- ording. There are' no pretentibus aspects to “The Lanny Ross Show,” but dialers in search of- quiet melody will find it to their taste'. Gilb. MIRACLE OF LIFE With Elaine Drooz, Others 15 Mins.; Mon., Wed. & Fri., 9:30 a.m. BLUE CROSS, BLUE SHIELD & ALBANY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY WROW, Albany The first radio venture by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield to 'promote its hospital and surgical care program, in association with the Albany County Medical Society, made a slightly slow start, but gave indications at the first week’s end of gaining momentum in the 12 to follow.- Covering the span from pre-natal to terminal, the pro- gram presents physicians and other authorities in discussions of their * respective fields with Elaine Drooz, WROW. director of women’s programs. Miss Drooz, daughter of a doctor, also handles the advertising. TODAY’S BUSINESS With Henry Glad* tone Producer-Director: Gladstone 5 Mins.;- Mon.-thru-Fri., 7:15 P«wu BACHE a CO. WOR, New York - (Albert. Frank-Guenthep Law) In keeping with the friend toward greater use of radio and TV as ad- vertising media by financial houses, the brokerage firin of Bache & Co, is picking up the tab on “Today’s Business,” a five- minute summary of market and business reports which preemed on WOR, N. Y., Monday (26). Conductor of the cross-the-board program is Henry Gladstone, One of the station’s news ,c6mmenta- tors, he reads his text at a rapid but authoritative Space. Material on the opener dealt with the con- dition of the market, contained closing ’price* of major issues and gave capsule reports on industry and corporation activities. However, the speed, of Glad- stone’s delivery is too fast for the listener to absorb the import of what’s being said. This fault, of course, could- be’ easily corrected by trimming gome of-the less im- portant news .out of the* script. Gladstone even had to rush through the commercial. This mes- sage spotlighted the fact that Bache A Co. has six sample port- folios tailored, to the potential in- vestor’s pocketbook.' A brochure is available for the asking. Spon- [*or,- incidentally, bankrolls only three or the five stanzas. Withal, this show will probably tap a good slice of-the .investing public, espe- cially those who may have missed tfieir lafe. afternoon paper. Gilb. * *■.... '. ’ ii . ■ ' ■ *: * » SURPRISE' party W ith Ed. Viehman, Gov. C. E. Aiiderson N Gene Wilkey, Earl Gimmohs,' , Charles Brannon, . others' Producer; BoV Mcgiimey Direfctor^rlter: Jim Bonn win 25 Mins;; flies. (20), 9:05 p.m. Sustaining- WCCO, Minneapolis This surprise salute to Larry Haeg on his 10th anniversary as WCCO farm director, coming on .the eve ml a fortnight* Mutual Security.. Agency European - tour, proved impressive indeed in bring- ing home' to, WCCO listeners the high esteem and regard in which he is held’not, only by his radio station, -confreres, but also in gov ernmental gpd ( radio circle general- ly aiid/Ih theJield in which he does his i experting.' It must have been la - source of .much pride and satis- faction for. Haeg himself. ' particlp&ted'in by the Minnesota governor,- the U. S. agricultural secretary. ’ and other * notables, it .was; a fdrcelul demonstration of fsiricere appreciation for the serv- ices Haeg has performed'over the air and otherwise for agriculture, contributing heavily to its welfare and aiding substantially in its progress.. : ‘ ‘Skillfully- woven together by di- rector-writer Jim Bormann and given an expert Bob McKinney producing jpb, with taped portions intertwined into the live show, the highly Capable narrator Ed., Vieh- man's recital .of Haeg accomplish ments ahd the distinguished guests’ tributes were; calculated to engage the attention and hold the interest of Haeg’s army of farm listeners. As far as they were concerned, the show enlightened them regarding some intimate personal life aspects and career details of the man whose words over the ether waves and at meetings carry such weight with them. It also made them -realize he is regarded as a topnotch expert, and, in doing this, it performed, too, a service for WCCO, his em- ployer, * enhancing the latter’s prestige. Rees. --- ‘,bl*tetrwal; dep«3Wiebtt i .w W off the serib's.. ; Mis^ v fiazel Reed, Al- bany Visiting Nurse* Assn, director, and one of its field nurses, guested on second shot. Dr. Thomas -O. Gamble, professor of obstetrics at Albany Medical College and chief (Continued on page 41) CLEVELAND BASEBALL With Jimmy Dudley, Jack Graney, A1 Hoeglcr 180 Mins.; Daily STANDARD BREWING CO. WERE, Cleveland (Gerst) & .Now in their sixth' year as the broadcasters of Cleveland Indians ball games, Jimmy Dudley and Jack Graney are continuing to bring to radio audiences a blue- ribbon package of baseball report- ing. In the past several years the Dudley-Graney duo have matured •to the fullness expected of ac- complished reporters and Dudley, fortunately, has been able to dis- cover he can get along without the use of several threadbare cliches. A former .outfielder' for the Indians, Graney brings an intimate ffl&sk.4 game. Fundamentally a baseball man, Graney should be able to keep on top ,of the game at all times, but when the action gets heaviest he has a tendency to lose control of his verbal account of the jam-packed event. Mark. A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC With KVi Gabor WriUr-pruducer-di rector: BUI Kal land 25 Mina.; ll&5rinldttigki, Tue«.» Thurt, WNEW,’N.Y.. WNEW haar come up with a slick 25-minute late-night, interval on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a “glamor disk jockey” segment tagged “A Little Night Music/’ It has,Eva Gabor calling the turns, establishing the mood, etc., with an aura of sophistication hovering around the words and music. It’s a less offensive approach to “bed- room programming” than the “Lonely. Gal”-Continental come- hither verbiage, and this is all to the good. Miss Gabor is simply trying to quiet you down to a Kos- telanetz-type “In Old. Manhattan” platter, or an Ellington “Creole Love Call,” She has a winning way in doing it. Rightly, WNEW should expand it to, five nights a week. Gabor at the approaching witching hour is pleas ant to take. Lends itself to .i glamor-type commercial, too..' Rose . SO FAR AWAY With Burt Blackwell, Livingston Gilbert, Ann Hubert, Ben Ewing, Shirley Mahoney, Dick Turpin, and Ellen-Norman Producer-writer: Bob Elverman Technical Director: Louis Lau Narrator: Bob Kay 39 Mina., Thurs. (22) 9:30 p.m. WAVE, Louisville Dramatization by cast of' staff thesps, as a public service in-the interest of local Community Chest, and depicting a day in the life of a couple GI’s, one a former resi- dent of Louisville, in Korea, point- ed up in. telling fashion-the part the USO plays in bringing enter- tainment to the lads defending our freedom and liberties in Korea. Play, an original by Boh Elver- man, bridged from the two GI’s dug in'forward positions in Korea, discussing home, and why they were over there. Also brought in was a simulated USO' show, with Monica Lewis recordings, bomb bursts, and an assortment of sound effects which made the show real- istic. A lengthy dissertation anent the many services of the Commu- nity Chest Red Feather agencies, made a strong pitch for support of the fund raising effort, and this show should be effective in keep- ing the Fund before listeners, .al- though the drive Is not scheduled until early fall. Transition from Korea, to home town of the GI’s was nicely han- dled, and by localizing the story, instead of highlighting the charac- ters as residents of just any place in the U.S.A. was an effective de- vice sure to hit home to viewers. Wied. BASEBALL TALKATHON With Eddie Sawyer, Lee Alle Jean Shepherd Fri., 11:15 p.m. to Sat., 5 *.m. KYW, Philadelphia More than 500 telephone i quiries were drawn by KYW’s fir “Baseball Talkathon,” a session d signed for listeners who wou rather hear baseball talk tin sleep, which the station put c Friday (23) at 11:15 p.m. and co] tinned until 5 a.m. While the pr ponderance of the calls-came fro: the Philadelphia area, there we] long-distance queries from poin as far off as Marquette, Mich., ar Toronto. Eddie Sawyer, manager of tl Philadelphia Phillies, and Lee A len, historian of the game and ai thor of the sport’s only mai< biography “One Hundred Years < Baseball,” answered the questioi which ranged from this year pennant races to away back whe; Moderating the show was Jez Shepherd, KYW deejay, who co] ducted a similar all-night baseba gab session with Allen when tl pair were working for a Cincinna station. Former staffer on Sportir News and one-time publicity d rector for the Cincinnati Red Alle ? bas two nightly sportscas on KYW. Coupled with Sawye the pair answered every type que tion from field' strategy to sue matters as “Where does the woi bullpen’ come from?” and “Whj pitcher committed the most balks': Physical setup included a ba tery of four operators who toe down questions and passed thei on to Shepherd, who in tur quizzed the experts. Informed an informal, Sawyer and Allen ga\ answers fully and to the best < their ability. They were stumpe Very seldom. Complete discussio found tl h ° urs b ' -For followers of the gam Baseball Talkathon” is a natura and KYW received much favorabl comment. Although no plans hav been made for a repeat gabfes station is almost certain to put or on again. Gagh. 28 , 1952 ! »♦♦♦'♦ ♦ ♦ ♦» » « - ♦ ****** ** * I II | *| 1 1 , 17V NEW XORK CITY , . “Meet the Press” to celebrate Its seventh anni Monday (2) with a political supper at Marik* Rountree’* D. C. hpm’e. . . . CBS’ Dwight Cooke kudosed by American Transit Assn.* for his safety plugs ABC’s" “Tills Is Your FBI” pays, tyihute io 16 FBI men who lost their lives-in the line of duty on Friday (<D)_edition.. ..WINS sports chief Jack Llghtcap is-writing a series of articles on-scholarships and college football... . After five years of scripting, ^Second Mrs. Burton,” p r k. cjlla Kent Rothschild resigns as writer‘hi the end of June; she’s just become the mother of a son, Donald,.-. .Lee J; Cobh will do the title role in a radio edition of Samson Raphaelson’s • “Jason” on WNEW’s American Theatre Wing program; Lou Dropkin is producing and Art Hanna directs... .BIr Joe Kosenfleld (WYNJ)' placqued by Assn, of Mental'Hospitals... .Wallach’s men’s stores* buying into’Bert Bacha- tach’s Mutual co-op show on WOR Cpl. Budd Arthur, ex-William Morris agency, now with army* public relations at ( Camp San Luis Obispo, Cal Arthur Kohl, J<K?k MacGregor and Billy Green have joined “Front Page Farrell”.... Michael Dreyfusa and Gavin Gordon are with -“Lorenzo Jones”... .Flora Campbell added to “Backstage Wife”.... Caroline. Burke, NBC-TV producer, to address annual awards dinner of the American University Radio-TV Guild at National Press Club in Washington today (28) on “Your Future in Television.” John DerT, CBS Radio sports director, will be in Dallas for the web’s coverage of, the Ben Hogan tourney and on the way back will visit another Dallas (N, C.) to deliver , the graduation day address at his alma mater, Dallas High School ... .Francine Petruai of the WMGM flackery elected a director, of the Columbia U, journalism school alumni federation; incidentally, • Gloria Gordon is a new face in the indie’s press department... .WHLI launches its special summer services (traf- fic reports, weather and tide bulletins,.etc.) on Memorial Day... .Stan Burns, formerly with WPAT, Paterson, added to the WINS announcery .... Ronald Dawson, actor-writer-director, marks his 25th anni in radio next week Irving S. Raskin, WM^M account exec and'golf champ of the AldecresS-course* addresses Veritans Club .in.Paterson Wednes- day (4). Under directive of NBC prexy- Joseph H, McConnell, Bill McAndrew will have complete charge of the Chicago political conventions for the network, both radio and T,V....Tony Provost’s, (WBAL) “Preakness Party” still the talk of Baltimore Lop Frankel, newly-appointed radio-TV director in Harriraan-for-President campaign, on" trek to Coast to set up air engagements. ? 11 V HOLLYWOOD ... Knox Manning and Sam Hajre#, two of the town’s veteran news- casters, changed networks last week but found themselves smack up against each other. Manning moved from CBS to NBC and Hayes wound up* 13 years on NBC for a morning Strip on Don Lee Art Baker, another Coast radio vet, was told by his medico to slow down after a mild heart attack and had to cancel a flve-a-week morning strip Harry Babbitt turned over .his CBS'daytime show to Jack Owens and took to the hospital for surgery on hi*'back... .CBS shipped Tom Hanlon to Indianapolis for feature broadcasts from the speedway Guy -della Cioppa, CBS radio programming veepee, was hospitalized for one day to remove a cyst from his eye... .Adrian Murphy, CBS radio prez, here for a series of pep talks, aided ahd abetted by Lester Gottlieb.... Harry Maizlish had the call letters of KFMV changed to KFWB-FM... .Emmett McGaughey, veepee at Erwin, Wasey, was named to L.A. board of police.commissioners. He was formerly with FBI Benny Rubin proved his right to the protean crown by playing 11 dif- ferent characters in the past month. IN SAN FRANCISCO . . .’ • KGO-TV stages Its second annual Cerebral Palsy benefit in the Vet- erans’ Auditorium June 27. Last year’s 21%-hour' marathon starred Jack Webb and Lee Giroux, netted $162,000 in pledges... .Arthur Hull Hayes (KCBS) named director local ad club ... Paul We*t, Seattle voicer of Housewives Protective League shows, due here (26) to replace Lewis Martin, on KCBS. Martin becomes an HPL associate editor.... KNBC dropped (25) Jack Fina’s dance remotes from the Mural Room, leaving only one live dancerie in this area, John Wolohan’s El Patio band on KFRC, Saturdays Wanda Ramey (19) took over the daily Betty Baker” strip on KRO.W KEclassical ‘ music station, moved to new quarters in Laurel Towers, San Mateo, and applied to increase power from present 1,0.00 watts to 10,000 watts... .Jack Camp- bell, KSFO sales manager for eight years, shifted to KJBS and was replaced by Gary Garland, formerly of KJBS Other sales depart- ment changes; Bill Shea to KSFO; Frank Beazley from KGO to KJBS • v Barbara Stanwyck here for “Clash By Night” at the Gate (26) was live interviewed at the train by KYA’s Katherine Kerry and at Fish- erman’s Wharf by KSFO’s Marjorie Trumbull. Clifton Utley, Chi NBC newsman, named to the board of director! of the Hyde Park anti-crime committee A. C. Nielsen nosecountinj firm has signed KDKA, Pittsburgh, as a subscriber... .Scripter Bill Bell has shiften from WBBM to-the McCann-Ericksori ad shop?.. .Gene Autry sending out his CBS Sunday airer from WBBM this week while m town for a p.a. at the Oriental Theatre Louie Quinn taking « month hiatus from his deejay chores to. visit both coasts....?^ « ,, ee \ ance fiabber, joined the U. of Detroit as press, radic rw>if V director.... Paul Fry, prexy and general manager of KBON - a Mu1 ;Ual visitor last week... .Chi NBC news director Bill Raj w mi ii Downs subbing on his v 7<55 a.m. news strip — ^ inds up his Chi ABC program manager duties this week hm new assignment with KTTV, Los Angeles... .Irv Kup- mith t,, u r - a i , i r column set to ride through the summer on WBBM h01S . tl H g the tab - • • -WGN farm director Norm Kraeft fea- fof® d f speaker at the Central Retail Feed Assn, conclave next Tuesdaj Tii a c/i ^ • Smgers Louise King and Lon Saxon launched b luesday and Thursday musical quarter hour on WBBM. /JY WASHINGTON . . . Margaret Truman reported to be planning an all radio-TV schedule sans any concert tour. .. .Washington correspondenl assignment* Twfty 3 US * back, from covering a Korean airlifl nnrHn? nn r n ® wspa P er radio (21 stations) syndicates, re* ground inhirv 0 ?? 88 a .^^ u 'h4 e 4‘. soldier from .(‘minute, dLbiS battle- “Mi« return hom^^WTO^M^ curren a^irLt^fn? th S a t0 n beauty contest. .Mrs. Estes Kehuver, wife ol smtkfn wr Presidential nomination, guested on suburban Markel Ernie ” ™ppet show past week....Hfel June jcc,,p S? tw ? rk and WWDC femme broadcaster, profiled in 1st disk fnrti/fl d J 3 ? 0k i" a B azi ne- • • .Gene Kievan, WTOP-CBS humor- ful use nf ti,7',/ rs . J adl °-TV personality to cop award for “resource- ful use of the lens” from local Society of Cinematographers. »»»» » * *