Variety (April 1953)

Fan On Madison Ave. This is a story Of how CBS-TV grabbed off the Worthington L (Tony). Miner show from under NBC's television nose; how an agency (BBD&O) was obliged to play footsie with, a couple of fts own accounts without jeopardizing one for the other; and how one network won back one of its prize possessions (Miner), while its major rival network (NBC) has been picking up his tab dur- ing his year of idleness. It is, in short, a story. Incident, of course, Concerns Miner’s sale of his own TV prop- erty, a half-hour dramatic show, to Chrysler Motors, via BBD&O agency, which, by virtue of acquiring the property, won the bill- ings from McCann-Ericksori. Because NBC-TV has had an ex- clusivity on Miner’s services (at a fancy price), the network held a first option on the new Chrysler-Miner show. Chrysler (via BBD&O) asked for the Saturday night 10 o’clock period, preceding the Lucky Strike “Hit Parade” (also BBD&O). That would have entailed cutting “Show of Shows*’ to an hour, from its present 90- minute format. Max Liebman, '"Show of Shows” producer, said "no dice.” Lucky Strike said, in effect, "If 10 o’clock opens up, and anybody gets it, it goes to ‘Hit Parade’ ” (resulting in a situa- tion where BBD&O was engaging in a two-way conversation with itself.) While the exchange was going on, CBS-TV stepped in, and said to Chrysler, "Come on in, we’ve got Saturday at 10, and it’s now the hottest night of the week on Columbia.” Before NBC could turn around CBS has the Chrysler show, with Miner back in its fold. Sale of Miner’s new package to Chrysler and CBS does not interfere with his longterm NBC contract, which remains in effect. When conditions—time availabilities, etc.—stymie presentation of the Miner product on NBC, he is free to sell elsewhere, according to contract conditions. Still in the works is a possible one-hour Miner NBC-TV drama in the fall. The producer-director has handled as many as four shows while he was with CBS. With consummation of a six-pic- 4 ture deal with Hal Roach, Jr., last week, ABC-TV is preparing to go on i cellulose kick next fall. Roach deal, a straight retainer setup, calls for the producer to turn out six film series for the fall, which, add- ed, to the five vidpix projects al- ready announced, will give the net- work a total of II new film pack- ages, in addition to those films already on the air. First project Roach will take up is shooting on a Laraine Day se- ries, "White Collar Girl,” which starts next month on Roach’s Cul- ver City ldt, Other properties aren’t set yet, but producer and net are mulling series tentatively Called "Seems Like Only Yester- day,” with Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy. Roach deal is the first of its kind, in that the network has gone out and actually signed a vidpix pro- ducer to develop a number of sale- able packages for it. Customary procedure is for a net or sponsor to approach a telefilmer to put a package on film; or for a producer to sell an already conceived pack- age to a sponsor or network. But in this case, ABC-TV has actually signed Roach to develop and film packages exclusively for the net. Understood it’s a two-year deal. Besides the six-series Roach deal, ABC-TV is planning to put (Continued.on page 38) Tele 3-D Tests Washington, April 28. In the first authorization of . its kind; the FCC yesterday (Mon.) granted permission to American Broadcasting - Paramount Theatres to test 3d) TV for a period of three j weeks. Principal purpose of the au- thorization is to demonstrate the development at the annual conven- tion beginning in Los Angeles. To- day (Tues.) the National Assn, of Radio & Television Broadcasters. Experimental programs, to be broadcast over ABC’s L. A. outlet, KECA-TV, involve sequential trans- mission of left and right pictures Which, by use of polarized light glasses, will enable viewers to see a 3-D picture. On conventional re- ceivers, transmissions, will produce a blurred image. KECA-TV will be required to ; use experimental letters during tests and will advise public of the experiment and the reason for the blurred pictures, Hollywood, April 28. Walter Winchell says he is as- sured by ABC.prez Robert E. Kint- ner that he’ll be heard on radio and television the same time, 9 p.nv., all over the country. Simul- cast would eliminate the necessity doing two separate shows hours apart, as now, . Teleshows would air here on a hot kine from Chicago. Pepsi-Cola is moving Into the network television sweepstakes next fall, and is placing its bets with ABC-TV. Soft drink firm has ordered the Friday 8:30 p.m. slot on the hetwdtk, and is currently negotiating, * through the Biow agency, with Marlene Dietrich to take over the time in a half-hour drama segment. Ordering of the time slot places the Pepsi show opposite two com- edy entries, "My Friend Irma” on CBS and "Life of Riley” on NBC. Agency feeling is that a dramatic entry would stand a good chance against the comedy competition. Factor in the Pepsi order for the 8:30 time is that it follows the web’s "Ozzie and Harriet” show. Which is one of the web’s toprated and most played. It’s felt that new show would get good audience pickup from the "Ozzie” program. With possibility that Miss Dietrich nlay be signed for the show, ABC is getting sponsor interest in the 9 p.m. slot, with the same thinking on the part of sponsors. Negoti- ations for Miss Dietrich are still in the preliminary stage. She did a radio series last year, "Cafe Istambul.” Completing the Cycle Barbara Barondess (Mrs. Doug- las) MacLean completes the cycle via an MCA package for . CBS which she will produce. Having gone from legit to pix to decorating to drejSs designing and now TV, she meantime re- places Elsa Maxwell next Tuesday (5) on "Where Was I?>” DuMont Timebuying of daytime spot ra- dio and evening spot TV is shap- ing up to record-smashing biz pro- portions for this late spring and early, summer. If this boom trend continues, spot radio sales will easily exceed by $25,000,000 the total $125,000,000 spent in 1952, and spot TV grosses are expected to almost double the $88,000,000 spent by bankrollers last year. That, in a nutshell, is the opti- mistic forecast of agency timebuy- ers and station representatives queried this week, on the basis of present buying. Other spot trends spotted by Variety are these: 1. Early morning radio avail- abilities are almost as rare as dinosaurs, with ad agencies hold- ing on to these preferred positions tightly for summer campaigns. 2. After-midnight radio dee jay programs are doing a rush busi- ness, as are afternoon participa- tion shows, but nighttime radio station breaks are in the plentiful dime-a-dozen category. 3. National bankrollers, growing sour on network TV’s spiralling costs, 'are following Texaco’s course of increasing the purchase of afternoon radio announcements. 4. There’s a definite trend by bankrollers to emulate Life Maga- zine’s recent step of letting local radio personalities write the com- mercials. Life, now using the technique oil 34 AM stations, and its agency, Young & Rubicam, send a traveling team to radio dee- jays and other radio salesmen; brief them on newsstand selling, then urge them to tell listeners about Life articles in their own words. Wary of Rate Slashes 5. A growing number of TV sta- tions are cutting rates on after- noon shows, by selling timebuyers a "package deal” which involves more participations per program than is indicated on Tate cards. Radio stations, though, are said to be growing wary of rate slashes, as result of squawks by timebuyer Reggie Schuebel of Wyatt & Schuebel, N.Y., and Richard Grahl of William Esty, N. Y„ complain- ing about General Mills’ 10% sum- mer discount "package deal”, for Anacin radio spots. 6. Finally, though spot business generally was off in . January and February, it picked up fast in March, is boffo this month, and the stampede has stimulated na- tional bankrollers to prepare sum- mer schedules earlier than ever. Just a few of the bankrollers cur- rently seeking prime spot avail- abilities for a summer sked are (Continued on page 48) Ozzie & Harriet Hollywood, April. 28. "The Adventure^ of Ozzie and Harriet” has been re-signed to a firm one-year contract by Hotpoint Products and Lambert Pharmaceu- tical Products, New contract calls for increase in budget and 42 weeks of filmed shows against 38 weeks under terms of first year’s contract. Program will continue in the same ABC time slot 8 p.m. Fridays. Ozzie Nelson will continue to di-1 rect the program and aid in the writing. Robert Angus and Bill Lewi4 are - producers for Volcano Productions. Bill Davenport, Don Nelson and Ben Gershman con- tinue as writers/ Series is being rolled at General Service Studios with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson supported by their two sons, David and Ricky. Final show of this Reason will be seen June 12. New series returns Sept. 11. Hotpoint and Lambert sponsor the program on alternate weeks. Maxon is the agency tor Hotpoint - with Lambert-Feasley representing Lambert Pharmaceu*. tioaL ♦ veil m-Pi s it»i *.ha 1 I Tivf r | panel show, *■ * ,000-Watt WLAW Wade Up to TV Neck WOR-TV, N.Y., general man- ager Warren Wade has at- tained a triple-threat status at the staition. He’s also producer of it’s Widely-heralded seven- a-week legit series, "Broadway TV Theatre,” and last week, Wade waded at the last min- ute into a featured role on his production of the 1926 Willard Mack meller, "The Noose;” It’s nothing new for Wade, though. He broke into show- biz (he won’t say when) as part of an aero act, later appeared in legit, moved into radio, and now, of course, is in tele. On Milw. Snarl Washington, April-28. Is the FCC in for another Con- gressional investigation? It all depends on what Sen. Jo- seph McCarthy’s ‘ sleuths uncover from the files they removed last week from the Commission’s Broadcast Bureau and the Office of General Counsel. McCarthy, who is chairman of the Senate . Com- mittee on Government Operations, indicated after the Presidential election that he planned to look into the FCC. But he was rather vague at the time as to the pur- pose of his inquiry. The timing of the McCarthy swoopdown may be more than ac-| cidental. It came shortly after] the Senator, using his unlimited powers as chairman of a .Senate committee, summoned twq mem- bers of the Commission into a closed-door session to discuss the situation regarding Channel 10 in < Milwaukee, which is being sought by the Hearst Corp. (WISN) . The channel $as removed from com- mercial status and reserved for education under the new TV allo- cation plan, but Hearst contends the shift, was illegal. Hearst’s ap- plication for the channel was in hearing when the freeze was im- posed in 1948. It’s' understood, that McCarthy * called Commissioner Paul A. Walker and the then Comr. Eugene Merrill (since replaced by Comr. John C. Doerfer of Wisconsin) to his office regarding the Channel 10 situation. Senator, it was learned, expressed concern that a "monopoly” would be promoted in (Continued on page 44) WNBT’s All-Day Auction For N. Y. Infirmary Fund A telethon auction of more than $50,000 worth of merchandise, in- cluding a 2,000-pound Black Angus steer arid a new Studebaker sedan, will be presented on station WNBT, N. Y., from 9 a. m. to 6:30 p. m., Saturday, May 9, for the benefit of the New York Infirmary Building Fund. More than 1Q0 telephone oper- ators will take bids from viewers, and special prizes will be put on the block for the studio audience at the Center Theatre, broadcast origination. 6 Stars appearing include Faye Emerson, Dagmar, Tex and Jinx McCrary, Morey Amsterdam, Ed Herlihy, Herb Sheldon, Warren Hjull. Proceeds: of the auction will be used to complete New York In- firmary’s new hospital. Sum of $217,500 is needed for completion of building by April 1954, the scheduled xipentnffrii ***!v V ;*x m i* j - Boston, April 28. General Teleradio pulled off one of the biggest deals in New Eng- land radio annals last week, with purchase, of WLAW, the Lawrence, Mass., 50,000-watter, from Irving E. Rogers, and subsequent sale Of their Boston outlet, the 50,000- watt WNAC, to Vic Diehm, Penri- sylvania and Maine operator. Tele- radio will retain WNAC-TV, one of its three tele stations. Deal takes General Teleradio and its owned - ajid - operated Yankee Network out of the Boston market completely, but gives it top New England coverage through the Lawrence outlet. Deal, of course, is subject to FCC approval. As a result of the deal. It’s likely that Mutual, which is carried on the Yankee net (General Teleradio owns 58% of Mutual), .will drop a number of its smaller New Eng- land affiliates, in view of the over- all coverage that will be afforded by WLAW. Probably one of the first to go will be the 250-watt WLLH in Lawrence itself. WLAW has been coveted within past years by a number of the major broadcasters and networks. Teleradio a couple of years, ago negotiated for purchase of the sta- tion, but deal fell through. Under- stood also that CBS made over- tures at that time, but without success. Network that now will be hurt is ABC, for which the WLAW station was an outlet. Diehm’s purchase of WNAC moves him into his. first major market. Diehm operates WAZL in Hazelton, Pa., and WJDE in Bidde- ford, Me. He’s become something of a national radio figure via his unique ad-merchandising methods. Teleradio’s retention of the TV outlet, WNAC-TV, was a matter of course. Outfit owns WOR-TV, N. Y., and KHJ-TV, Los Angeles, and has been surveying the field for possible expansion of its tele interests., Chicago, April 28. Tom Duggan, disputatious sports- caster, was fired again yesterday (Mori.) from his teeveg gabbing berth at NBC-TV’s owned and operated WNBQ—this time for good. Duggari’s Sunday night (26) criticism of the International Box- ing Club, subject which had previ- ously caused the web to fire him,, was once more responsible. Subject of the controversial telecast was the IBC’s Rocky Marciano-Jersey Joe Walcott fight promotion sched- uled for May 15. The hassle centers around whether or not Duggan’s scripts were submitted to NBC for editing. NBC^s Jules Herbeveaux, who ended Duggan’s capricious affilia- tion with the network, was quoted as saying, "Stations WNBQ and WMAQ have terminated the serv- ices of Mr. Duggan because of his failure to adhere to. their standard operating policies. This policy re- quires all material to be cleared in advance.” Duggan claims that he was being censored. MENKIN’S CATALOG OF ‘MONO’ STANZAS Several new one-man dramas in the "Mono-Drama” idiom (five- day serialization of adaptations and TV originals) have been developed by Larry Menkin, of TV Unit Pro- ductions. Newest Menkin entries in the low-cost packaging field are "Spaceman's Diary,” "I’m A De- tective,” "I’m A Reporter,” "The Western Kid” and "I’m A Doctor.” All are planned f r 15-minute, cross-the-board presentation. In addition, Menkin has blue- printed a half-hour one-actor sus* pense series titled "Sornewhere in the Night/’ and "Harlem Cop,” an All-Negro drama* ^ <