Variety (June 1953)

Wednesday, June 10, 19$S HADIO-TEIJKVISIOX Continued: from page 13 luncheon session Wednesday . WJW’s Jane Stevens and Tom Car- son have inaugurated a week-end "Two-Day Tips” stanza telling of holiday and entertainment features around Cleveland . . . ABC’s Danny. Thomas is expected to be Newspaper Guild-Press Cluli head- liner at Page One Ball:. • IN SAN FRANCISCO . , Doris Day picture-posed at the Mark . . . Ralph Edwards in for two -Truth Or Consequences” tapings . . ^ AFTRA and SAG opened offices in the Phelan Building , .... KNBC decided against new quarters at the Fairmont Hotel -, V-. “Tiger” Fafara, local video moppet, landed role in ‘‘Carousel” at the Curran ;* . . KGO. brass Vince Francis' and Bill Hollenbeck winged to L. A, for look-see at KECA’s cerebral palsy telethon . . KGBS Sales Executive Glenn H. Ticer named manager of new CBS Television Film Sales office; Ticer will cover TV stations ■ from Fresno to the Canadian line . . As. a public service KPIN’s ‘‘Pets Unlimited” reserved 14 animals for East Bay dog owners whose pets were wantonly poisoned , . , KNBC’s Program Director John Thompson aired to Gotham for confabs. IN MINNEAPOLIS . . . Local radio and TV personalities staging annual midnight “Christmas in June” show at Radio City theatre with .added night club talent and an, advance showing of. “Desert Song” film. Money raised goes to buy Christmas dolls for underprivileged families’ daughters . . . John Shepherd of Knox-Reeves, former WCCO staffer, chosen by KMOX., CBS’ St. Louis radio station, to produce its '‘Summertime in St. Louis” all-star show topped by George Jessel . . . AFRA’s dance at Pronr Ballroom with Ray Anthony’s band drew 3,000 payees . Bob DC Haven’s WCCO sponsoring list now. number eight, including new addition Hotel Leamington"... . KUOM, U. Of Minnesota nomcommer- cial station* re-broadcasting “The Ways of Mankind,” 13Tweek series Which XBS originated in Canada and which was first broadcast ,ih U, S. by this station » i . Jack Cornelius newly appointed in charge of local BBD&O office Which has taken over Betty Crocker’s Cake Mixes radio and TV account . . JCSTP starting engineering changes fof - conversion to color TV i . . Radio station W.MIN, which starts TV next fall or winter, seeking producer-director in ■ Hollywood for latter medium. ’ in boston . . . New. England chapter, AWRT presented Mrs. Katherine Howard, assistant administrator of Federal Civil Defense Administration a. ci- tation at first annual meeting of the chapter .held at Hotel Statler, June 6, Citation was ibr ‘‘better uiiderstanding of thef role of woman as. first class citizens, for her outstanding ability to coordinate women’s activities,, and for her recognition in the interest of good government’’, . WRZ-TV. celebrated its fifth anni .June 9 with a series of special programs beamed from the Allston studios ... WEEI’s Priscilla F6r- iesque agog with excitement as result Of being only local passenger aboard the BOAC Stratocruiser. which landed here from London a few hours after the Coronation . . . WHDH dee jay Bob Clayton tossed by his horse arid suffered a broken collar bone. However, he missed only a single day behind the mike ; . , . WORL deejay Alan Dary, quarantined: with chicken pox* is currently broadcasting his regular stint from his home . ’ WNEB announcer Bill Harrington has joined WHDH as summer replacement. ; 28-HOUR LA. TELETHON WINS 500G FOR PALSY Hollywood! June 9. More than $500,000 was pledged for United Cerebral Palsy Fund in a 28t<2-hour telethon held on KECA-TV Friday. . night through . Saturday < 5*6), far exceeding the UCP telethon take last year. Genera] Chairman Dbnn (CQ) Tatum reports $483,124 was pledged when the show went off the air early Sunday ayem. But all the cash Was• not counted, with mail, contributions still coming in. . Jack Webb and his '’Dragnet” partner, Ben Alexander, emceed throughout, with an assist from Bob Hope. Event gained such mo- mentum, they stayed on past the planned signoff time of midnight Saturday. Longest telethon ever held here. - - '• UCP telethon last year: emceed by Hope, got $289,000 pledges, but $338 A 000 cash when all contribu- tions.came in. : ■ ; Flock of; names appeared gratis for the benefit at the Cathay; -Cir- cle. Theatre, including . Lucille Ball, Desi Arnez-: George Burns, Ken Murray, Robert Newton, Vin- cent Price, George Raft -and Pat O’Brien, Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden and Les Thompson volunteered services Of .their orchs. .. Webb will go to San Francisco June 26 to emcee another UCP telethon On KGP-TV, Pitt AFTRA Elects Pittsburgh, June 9. Ray Scott, radio and teevee sportscaster, lias been reelected president of the Pittsburgh chap- ter of AFTRA; Scott was appointed several ■ months ago; originally to fill. out the unexpired term of Herb Morrison, who at that time was quitting broadcasting bi.it has since returned as news editor of WJAS; All the other AFTRA of- ficers were renamed, too: Florence Sando,; veep; Otto Krenn, secre- tary, and Ray Schneider, treasurer. Harold. Lund, general manager of the DuMonl owned-atul-operated WDTV here, was elected president of the Pittsburgh Radio and .Tel- evision Club for the coming here: Lund had no opposition for. the post. ii Playwrights Into TV Continued in skillfully written dramatic origi- nals. • . What.has happened, says Coe, is the result of "broken hearts, long years of experience, the education of everyone.” He and his writers now feel they have hit their stride and are doing what they want to do. This, is, according to Coe, ’’tele- vision as * microscopic theatre in terms of detailed / analysis,’ with every character functioning in terms, of. one .another. Plot is sec- ondary. Character is very impor- tant, and the relationship of one c haracle r to a hot he r i s im port ant. We want to Say something, but not a big, broad: message:” v: \ In Foote’s ‘'Bountiful” and "Gil Well,” for instance, Coe. points out that the message was .simply that ”a person must have n dream.” In Paddy Chayefsky's “Marly,” pro- se ht ed two Sundays ago, the theme, was that every person, ho matter how ugly or despised, is a. sen- sitive human being with a heart: In Sumner Locke Elliott’s "When 1 Wake,’ starring Betty Field on May 3.1, the. need of an indi- vidual to be loved was the message. ‘We Deal With Souls & Minds’ ,‘Our plays deal with people,” Coe says,“the hearts; minds and souls of people. We ■ want, to get close: to the 30,000,00(1 people Who' are our viewers, ; and \ye do . that through an intimacy in story, not through closeups,” lie applies same principle to ‘‘Mr, Peepers,” wh.i(^ Ive also produces, lie scoffs at cam- cia-clofieup type of' intimacy. - "My most cxcit in g teievislo h c x per I cnee Was :a Navy-A rmy game,” he .says, . The producer avoids big produc- (ions \yhenever he can, deprecat ing the dramatic, show that brings great ifroductions to TV hut not TV into the home, lie strives for a.dramatic show in Which real peo- ple are revealed to (lie audience; "They gre really character studies,", he says. Many; Of the Playhouse dramas: are founded in Jewish, Ital- ian and southern backgrounds, he says, because these tend to have si l ong family roots. A theatre backgrolind, Coe be- from page 1 lieves, is essential to successful television, and. everyone on the Playhouse, from actors to director ( Vincent Donehue) to writers, has theatre experience. Five writers are tinder contract to Coe—-Foote, Chayefsky, Elliott, Robert A inn Arthur, and Thomas Phipps, who also scripts for the- Robert Mont- gomery show.. David Shaw, an other in Coe's group, Is. now busy with summer tryouts of ."Double Jeopardy,” starring. Vivian. Blaine, a play, originally done On the Play- house: Chayefsky also, has a play, . tentatively titled “The Man. That Made the Mountain Shake,” due for Broadway in the fall, to be pro- duced by Jed 1 larrls.. Foote is pi'tv : paring "Selena Peake,” a drnmetL zation of Edna Ferber’s "So Big,” for. a new Shirley Booth piny. All of which indicates ihore Broadway, playwrights to come out of terevi- sion. Coe prefefs to work.with his own group: of writers, but docs- accept some ffcolancd scripts. ' , The same basic writing gt'olip; will script originals for "First Per- Sv>n Singu 1 ar,’’ a subjcctIve-camcra dramatic program that Coe origi- nated seven years ago and lias set • to go into the ‘‘Life of [ijloy’V NBC-TV spot on Fridays, 8; 30 lo 9 p. hi.,. heginning July 3. Pfo- • gram will have a 13-week rim, \vith Artlmr Pciin and Boh Coslcilo as directors.. OF SPIELER STRIKE 1 jOlly\vooVl, June 9, A FT HA is close ,-t.o agree me lit with some stations - and iiiakirig. progress ; ail along the line iiV. ne- gotiations with 14 indie ratijo sta- tions, A FT it A cxcc . sccrclaiy Claude iVIcCuc reports, Ihogrcss appears to diminish prospect of a si rlke foraiinoiiriccrs sccki 1 1g pay 111kcs. (’onipromise of-- fered. by sonic, si at Ions is report ed- ly between ..VP) origirial ly offered ■by stations .,an<( 10C?/ sough! by AFTii a. : .. WALTER WIM HEI.L o “Walt Framer becomes TV's top producer with 28 shows a week when 'BIG PAY-OFF' succeeds Sunday's Comedy Hour June 21st." ■■ ■' - * ;*.'■* .. . ' ■*. V . -0 . ... ‘ ■ tfu . /A, '• V' . THANKS %VALTER! We're happy, too/about the trust and confidence of America's lead- We'll continue to deliver, whether it's 1, 28 or 280 shows a week- LOWEST COST... HI RATED IDEA SHOWS! WALT FRAMER America s Leading INDEPENDENT TV Produ T23West“444h™Str««t~New-york-(36)-N."Y.- PLoza 7-0800