Variety (June 1952)

80 EAilO ME VIEWS Wednesday, Jane 1952 WALK A Wik Wli EMM, eh***; Paul, -Mm* " Lawrence; niwMiiMH era; Peter Van Steeden orch Producer: Wendell Adam* Director: Arlene Lmray Writer*:. Bob and Keith Quigley 30 Mina.; Mon., 10 p.m, R. J. REYNOLDS CBS, from New York (Esty) RAILROAD HOUR With Gordon M»cBae,. Dorothy ; "Warehahjold, J. M. Kerrigan Producer: Murray Bolen Writers: Jerome Lawrence, Rob- ert E. Lee 30 Mins.; Mon., 8 p.m. _ . ' ASSN. AMERICAN RAILROADS NBC, from Hollywood (Benton & Boioles) “The Railroad Hour” launched DORIS DAX SHOW . , I WH ff if,.f? M W r- - t With Roy Rowan, announcer? guest* With Eleanor Rooaereit, guest (Goldstein. David I Producer: M. S. Novlk 15 Min.; Mon., 1 p.m, ••Walk a Mile," which preened its s« I h™ e ^?? ra “*J“ 0 ^ ay ® eriv Monday (2), proved a surprisingly a trifle, that can pr T ° t pe ^ amusing quizzer. The emphasis is termed hot weather fare. Jt was •on the contestants,' and a couple of the series seco^^ those on the initialer got some at offering original plays with mu yocks. The first participant, a the cold weather photographer, told how he fixed a kitchen table, which cost $24, by buying tools that set him back $86. The table is now in tiptop shape, he said, “only it rocks a little.” He added, deadpan, “it's not my fault — the floor isn't straight.” Some of the photog's lines were so; neatly turned, and timed, it’s hard to believe the whole thing wasn't scripted and re- hearsed. At any rate,’ it made good air fare. Another guest, the fourth and last, was a' school teacher who similarly had some effective cracks. Asked what she is looking for in a man, she replied, “A husband.” sic (during the cold months “The Railroad Hour,” which, incidentally only runs 30 minutes, rehashes old musicome- dies and operettas) and it’ll prob- ably meet with so-so success. It’s pleasant if not inspiring and won’t make anybody angry. . Opening show, tagged “The Minstrel Boy,” highlighted the life of' Irish songwriter Tom Moore. Script, i penned by Jerome Law- rence and Robert E. Lee, was lightweight affair that left enough room for song interjection. And the Irish airs came in often enough to make the stanza quietly appeal- ing. Gordon MacRae got lost in Writer*: Jesse Gregory Director: Sam Bierce producer: Marty Melcher 30 Mins.; Sun., *7:30 p.m. REXALL DRUG CO. CBS, from Hollywood (BBD&O) . ;The “Doris Day Show,” which was launched as a sustainer in March in a Friday night slot, has been*switched to Sunday evenings along with Rexall Drugs picking VIM STORES WLIB, N. Y. . (Fredewch-Clinton) The versatile Walter White, exec secretary for the National Assn, for Advancement of Colored Peo- .pie (NAACP), now adds radio to l.his manifold activities, with thi$ new weekly quarter-hour airer. A combination news commentary and interview program, the session is to he devoted weekly to some an- gle in US BROWNS With Charlotte Maiisou and Dick Brown Producers; Mausou A Brown Director: Warreu Somerville 30 Mins.; Mon.-Fri., 4' p.m. Sustaining * . W JZ, NeW York Latest Mr.-and-Mrs. entry, a change of pace frorq the usual spouse, show in that it'* aired at tea time instead of ' breakfast, shows promise. The couple is Dick Brown, who was singing star on “Stop the Music” for four years, and, Charlotte Manson* who has been femme. lead o*v such radio dramas as “Kings Ww,fi “Guiding Other prize-seekers weren’t up to heavy Irish brogue ^saying the the intelligence or wit of these £ ole Mooirp- He JkJ^self, two,'and one giggly'Southern belle however, slowed the pace considerably, which were belted out with charm. Quizmaster Win Elliot generally Dorothy Warenskjold, who P^cd did a sock job, avoiding conde- the part of Mrs. Moore, was o.k. in scension, but he shouldn’t have thesping chore and excellent in used a falsetto when gabbing with $he warbling department, J. M. the ever-present battle for up the tab for this series. Show s human rights, with a distinguished format, however, is intact, remain- guest serving.to aid White in his ing a bright song_. session inter- program. • rupted by a not-so-bright brand of > ^ging. by the opener Lighr and -'Road ol Life" in addi- chatter. The scripters are obviously simple ^program oiv ah important ^ on other freelance AM and TV straining their cranial muscles in plane, quiet, dignified and im- thesping. They know their way trying to come up with something pressive. Opener was a little gen- around a mike. snappy but the' show would be «gj ™rth whui: whjte On the preem Monday (2) they better off with straight introes. speaks clearly and Well, winning a bung up their credo: to gab as In line With the show’s double listener’s sympathy. . He’s a little “average folks whose business guestar policy, both Ronald Reagan too serious and pedantic-sounding, happens'to be the star-dusted field and Bob Crosby joined Miss Day at times, but is always interesting f tGlevic . imi „ Th ... in the vocals, and the palaver. Miss and effective. of radio and television. They did Day, as usual; registered neatly white started otf the airer by not #°' inp0 *b e show blz as Pects "with her chirping of . such numbers 5a ying the series would deal with too much, although they said they as. “Who Who Who,” “Be Any- human rights, in manifestations will chat aboht celebs from their thing But Be Mine ^ And Lullaby showing up'the current week. He “wkstatfe ^contacts with th<»m»» of Broadway.” Crosby hit with a sa i<j the issue of human rights backstage . contacts with them. rhythm number While Reagan wouldn’t be kept out of the com- Kickoff chatter included items plugged his upcoming- film, “The ing .^elections, as some people such as the fact their home is near Winning Team,”, with some gab and hoped. He referred briefly to -the noisy Queens midtown tunnel warbling, of a couple of tunes from “anti”'remarks or activities the which necessitates a studio origi- the pic along with Day and Crosby, past week, in the Senate and nation for them; they’ll avoid con- * Plugs for the drug sponsor ac- House, and in various localities, troversial subjects “except when cented a dieting product, ^ Roy Then h£ got down to a specific they come up natufally,” and a contestant answers a per fectly obvious query such aa “what city is called the Windy City?” Stanza got somewhat over-com- mercial in giving a cartoi^of the smdkes for every correct answer, frequent mention of the Camel Jackpot, the format of having each participant try to “walk a mile,” etc, Bril. to the. War Is Gone,” “The "Last Rose of Summer” ahd “Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms” were tastefully presented' | by musical director Carmen Dra- gon. Gros. wuc “ W1U1 TfprrwT lprVf an authentic aural centea a dieting product, rioy Then he got down to a specific they come up naturally,” and the Southern lass. He also annoys ^ n e t r „ rl f an , hp v „ rn . s t arr ato r Rowan handling the copy in hard- talk with his guest, who for the Brown felt frustrated when “Stop whIS a U co?testan; e answers Pl a U Deri Such tunes^'The Mnsteel Boy Sitting style, ' . Hern, .opener was Eleanor Roosevelt. the Music” stopped the music m wnen a contestant answers a per , ,, ^— „ lirm _ Her recen t v i s it t 0 India, Pakis- the middle of his vocals. bi ■■ v ■■ ♦ i tan and elsewhere served as focal Pair projected nicely, although Radio Followup 4 4 ♦ 4 4 ♦ 4 44 -4 f I HH iH i Apparently none of New York’s point for the discussion on human hubby, sounded smartalecky in at- rights, mainly revolving around tempt at humor. Lin ejs.. such as the Point Fbur program. Hero “Is that an engineer?” on “Don’t was the brightest part of the airer; tell me a Mr. and Mrs. show isn’t Mrs. Roosevelt is so full of vitali- an original idea” had a ^snide ring. citv^Tcker* veneer has rubbed off ty, spirit and goodwill, as to be Femme had a mote* dowri-to-earth onNBC’s “Grand Ole Opry” troupe, utterly infectious. . Mrs. Roosevelt attitude. B/own warbled a couple ... •■ - .r _ . . ^-j? Curtain -Time and MEET ME AT- MELTON’S With Ina Bradley, James Melton, .... . , , , 1 Philip Langner; Mike Merrill, lt3 ^tlal Gotham-based broad- couldn’t get all her points and im- of tunes, I ^ f - - . « I rvv*nooiAvi r» cfora/i in rnn n+ fimA I F\aa ever, the numbers might he inte- grated into, the gab with more sig- nificance. * Bril. cast (trouoe srenerallv airs from P^essions stated in the brief time “How Deep Is the Ocean,” backed homegrmmds' in Nashvme) on Sat- allotted; apparently 15 minutes is by a piano, to good effect^ How- urday (31), the “Opry” continued t°? s ^ or t f° r this type of airer. in the same cornbelt trough that it I{^ t p rvi ^Y^ ^ nd gue ^ ff JJ! 1 ® re M g v«^ ivo U S * riCS ' 5nceptton stofde.^blu time. 8 W Wlth Red Foley at.-the helm, the news^disrassioS^pro^iim,’ of^m- from James Melton’s old auto mu- portance to the community. seum in Norwalk, is potentially it. ivrtX" Bron. Right how the half-hour is a rJS n hut Melton has talccil A Pc&rl) ftlld the country nielo sustainer, out Melton nas taxen.a dieg ,i endejpcd by Foley and the | SOHIO REPORTER announcer Producer: 'Merrill 30 Mins.; Sat., 11:30 a,m. WICC, Bridgeport ^ Concentration of celebs in Con- I nectiqut’s Fairfield County is a long .oyedue peg for an air show. “Meet ‘ Me at Melton’s,” remoted by WICC •nersonal interest in the nrolect and aies renaereu oy xoiey anu uie oumu jnjc,jrvn,x f 8 r br“ging in wrlters P from his Jordanaires, a Vocal combo, was With BUI Tompkins, Gene Martin NBO-TV show to work on the Pegged strictly, for hinterland 10 Mins.; Mon.-thru-FH., 7:45 a.m. NBC-TV show to work on the r WICC session, which should, of course, pay dividends promoting the museum b.o. Ina Bradley, one. of the area’s most competent gals-about, is a Th* for*me«t notlomH «n«l lo<al first-rate choice as hostess. She «dv*rtU*rt w«* WEVD y**ir «ft*r knows how to talk to people and y*or to r*och tho vait Reasons Why and 6:15 p.m. SOHIO WTAM, Cleveland ( McCann-Erickson) The news voice of the Standard Jewish, Market, of Metropolitan Hew York 1. Top adult programming 2. Strong awdi*nco impact 3. Inhoront lUtonor loyalty 4. Patontlal buying pawor S*nd far a copy of ‘WHO’S WHO OH WEVD’ H*nry Gr*«nfi*ld, Man. Dir. WEVD, 117-119 Wo*t 44th Now York 34 tastes. - However, the New York studio and greeted each stint with the same enthusiasm as the Nash- ville locals, leading at least one reviewer to suspect that the studio was jammed with out-of-towners. ^ ~ e . , . , - . . . , . -- igt-D featured guest singer blankets the state through a daily is extremely easy to . take herself. Rosalie Allen who filled her assign- double dose of factual hard hmini With her on the teeoff broadcast ment capably with twangy work- broadcasts is roundhic rnff cnc vS? were Melton himself, Philip Lang- overs of “Ding Dong Polka” and under the format tl^t S ^o/bUI ner of the nearby. Westport Coun- One and One Is Two, My Baby.” Tomnkins dnirttrth* * try Playhouse, which will soon be The “Opry” will originate in New writing one sh^ with e k Mar d opening its strawhat season, and York throughout the troupe’s en- ^ rumfi one snow wlth ^ ene Mar " a member of the Golden Age Club, gagement at the Hotel Astor Roof, an interesting a.k. group in the vi- ' Gros . cinity. The museum theme is ■ plugged | Meredith Willson has moved his 5j0 COPIES 3c par Pag* par Copy Scatfarlot, TV Ploy*, Dlalogaai Cattlog ConHaalHot Baoatifally Frocaisad by Coart Stoaographar SANSOM —BE 3-3381 154 Natsaa St.. Haw York 39, N. Y. RADIO MUSIC QUIZ Who does the music for “Top Guy”—ABC Wed. at 8:00 p.m. SEE FAGE 3t by stressing a different antique car Hollywood-originated NBC “Music scenG and each 'week, with contemporary Room” from 10:35 p.m. Wednesday coraSrateVe ^w, o? OhS .. 4 ^ songs. There’s a coloring contest over to the 8 p.m. Sunday niche Hdhhf nto « fftr iiiVAc Ihuniinhnr.nnnrlwir>r. y« ...n.tnU L.. tn.il iOCHI llQDIXS lUlO a lU-minUte neces- 38) tin writing the other. The duo offer a boiled down, yet complete digest of the events of the day. To adequately cover the happenings in fact-packed and changing world r. for the juves. Announcer-producer summer-vacated by the Phil Harris- Sewpaat witb St. Mike Merrill wraps it all up effec- Alice Faye show. It should grab a newca f p w ' th commercials, tlvely^. ' Elem. healthy chunk of listeners in the (Continued on page 3 FOR RENT Charming room,, itowly docoratod in profotiional woman'* boaufiful mld- town apartm«nt—$45 m«. Poton - $U 7-0300 Profitable TV Audience exclusive with WGALTV LANCASTER, PENNA Qf'lv TV n • - onl , T \ . * C) * • O n ... i •■> this lafQ" h P .. n s v I ^ u M i a mcirk‘“ f Represented hy ROBERT MEEKER ASSOCIATES New York Cos Angeles San Francisco Chicago qreamtime half-hour. Maestro per- sonality is underwritten by RCA Victor, for which plugs are neatly contrived by the w.k. choralier enunciators, “Talking People” (4), and supported, by newshawk Ken- neth Banghart in a two-way hook- up between both coasts. For In- itialer (1), latter was cut In from Washington (he operates the straw- hatter in nearby Olney, Md.). Willson gravitated slickly be- tween deejayed pop tunes and long- hair. A prime model ,of the Victor poppery was Hoagy Carmichael’s “Watermelon Weather,” piped nif- tily by Perry Como and Pfc. Eddie Fisher with backing of the Mitchell Ayres orch. For change of pace, Willson introed his Victor etching of “The Unseen Rider,” inspira- tional religioso-type piece that seems headed for rides. The classical pattern was pro- vided by the running “mystery masterpiece” for listener identifi- cation. Carried over were snatches from Cesar Franck’s D Minor Sym- phony. But what really sold here Was Willson’s boffo reading of five winning letters (for Victor album prizes) descriptive of what the music conjured up in their minds. He might discover himself reviving the reading of poetic prose on radio. On the pop instrumental side, the entry was “Blacksmith Blues,” belted over in strident fashion by Ralph Flanagan’s orch and showing off the rhythm section. After pre- senting a long‘passage from a new “mystery masterpiece,” Willson & Co. wound with theme, “May the Good Lord "Bless and Keep You,” | each doing a lyric in turn. Tne half- hour passed swiftly. Trau. Your Top TV Sales opportunity Wilmington, Del ' • ■ Tiari.-') w h ' c 1 > n -■ r q h • ■ s * •n- ; 3 ■ • r •onuK m' • h • • t r . o c 'vh”’ o a n y ROBERT MEEKER ASSOCIATES N ' .V V -. . y s •- t . ■- c Cl ci o