Variety (July 1953)

Wednesday, July I, 1953 It\mO-TFI.E VISION Roy M. Cohn and G. David Schine, tagged; by the press as ; ^Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s gumshoes” on their recent book-lnvestigation trek in Germany, performed a fast walkout last week from • ; a WOR-TV, N. Y., panel show, and the station’s toppers are still doing a fast burn , ■ Cohn, chief counsel of McCarthy’s Senate Permanent; Investigations Subcommittee, .and . Schiner its research consultant,; wera. skedded to. appear on WOR-TV’s Saturday, night (27) forum, •• America Speaks,” to debate the question, What is behind the . Eisenhower speech on book-burning?” When the N. Y. Times Thursday (251 disclosed that their program opponent would be James A. Wechsier, editor Of the' N. Y. Post, the two , investigators phoried WOR-TV to say they Were bowing out from the show. Jesse Gordon, assistant producer of the prog rapv said he argued with Cohn, "‘But you made a definite commitment to appear on the show. This will leave us in. a bad hole. Besides, it’lMook very nviich like you’re afraid to compete in a discussion against •Werhsler.” . .. . '■ Colin, according to Gordon, gave three reasons why. they couldn’t : appear: (1) Serf* McCarthy and the rest of the committee members had wired they could not debate on a TV show With any person • Who had been a sworn witness before, the committee; (2). Cohn and Schifie had only given verbal agreement, and so couldn’t be held to their word; (3) they had committed '. themselves to go to ' Florida Saturday' anyway. Don Passante, producer and moderator of the . show, asked whether the duo would appear, if playwright Elmer Rice were , substituted for Wechsier. He said Cohn replied: “Oh,; no. He’s an author, and therefore a potential witness bef.pi%'pur..conii.iihitte.e.:.' My position is like. that of a prosecuting attorney^ . Any author is : out.” . : . . v •.%. Cohp said he would be willing to appear if N. Y. Journal -Ameivican columnist Howard Rushmore Were substituted1 for. Wechsier. . When it was pointed out that RUshmore, had appeared before McCarthy’s committee,, and therefore ; was eliminated by Cohn’s standards, Cohn suggested another. subsfitute---Louis Budenz. “But he’s an author,” Gordon told Cohn.. “Besides, lie’s already appeared on bur show,” ■';•;'■• ; Cohn ultima tely suggested Godf rey P. Sc h m i dl i Ford h a in IK law professor, who along with WOR-TV’s news commentator John B: Hughes, appeared with Wechsier; ; . Passante said he was particularly ^burned up beeausc George N! Shuster; the noted Catholic layman ,and prez of Hunter College, . ; was originally skedded to appear on the show with . Cohn and , . Schine, but on Wednesday (24), Cohn had said, ‘‘Not him. We’ll appear with anybody but Schuster.” Wechsier was asked, only after Passante had tried to get 30 participants, all of whom proved • Unavailable. . . V' •'. ••• Gordon’s chief beef was that, after he had released details of the imbroglio to the Associated Press; Cohn had phoned him to say, ‘ I’m. plenty, mad. Anybody who bothers with me, gets hurt:”. Gordon complained, “He tried to treat me as though he were the cop in the station house.” ; .Passante says both Cohn and Schine have expressed willingness ' to appear, on a. future; “America Speaks” show, but only If their ; fellow participant is not an author. jjjj Pulse in Swipe at Hooper Figures Washington, June 30. \ Unless, there has been a drastic change in FCC policy in the1 last three months; chances of early action bn the strong bid for new color T V standards filed last week by RCA appear quite remote. Present timetable indicates, however. Demarest TV Series New situation comedy series with Robert Riley Crutcher as .the pyiAfiig UlU i-Ul livvy . , ... . * .1. . Kfiv./i bur % k;j.A ’ tandards filed last week 1 i ?e. b f pear quite remote. Pres -}?1* will .star ; Wil L, _ ... . . ■ , ..... I ham Demarest. Bob Welsh, of the that bv next Sorint? Initial color NBC video production stafi . is ..-pro-" be «n8U,e mirket ducink, wifl, . ataim/rnnow RCA's proposal, declaring that V*n'iV». •' i • t v >■ » i„ “pilot" production of color receiv : Dtccnt titum is tht tith . ers can start . next Spring “if" standards are adopted b.v the end of this summer, must; be weighed in terms of . the. testimony, given t h e H o u sc : Inte rs t a te Com merer Committee last March 31 by former FC( V Cliai rman Pau I'. A . Walker. In that testimony, ; which had the cphcurrence of the full (’dim pussipn, Walker declared that protracted hear! ngs may not ' be necessary,; especially if no competing, syst e ms are off ere d. But e ven if there is only one proposal before .the';. Commission; he said, the.' agency would have to give it more t lva n ‘ ' pe rfun ct ory ’ ’ consid e r a t ip n, "I’hr ■' -system, ’’. Walker told the Commit tee, “would • have to demonstrate, its capabilities under sit-; ■uatidns; approximating actual pper ABC’-TV has; negolialcd its lop kale since the big taltm I grab and merger wit h. United. Paramount Theatres, having .completed a deal with American .Tobacco Co. for sponsorship of l lie new Danny Thomas sit nat ion comedy, which, pieenis in the fall, It was a quick • , • . j ; j ; : *■ j „ . i i/i ill im j dj i . J. I vi (in <1 vium A » « r And w, would vvr,.]pi1|) fnr jtie. iu"t\vork,wilh lh<> also requive, proof of the al>illty of. pnot hdnvonly arriving in TV: V: Inst ho cvcfom In moo I hi*. aI ht*v '-)YAKir( 1 . ^ ’ v . c the system, to meet the other basic criteria of a prpper color system before we could consider substituting it fpr the .existing (CBS field; sequential.) standards.” week. Sale: was consummated three days later. • ;•'. . Mean while. American Tobacco •nay also latch on to another of ■ VB kJVM VI k?,i V4IIV4MI Uklt I i It/I ftll M • • . ■ *•.« Walker’s further statemenl t hat ABC 1 V s nia jor coniedy aequisi • ; i . ... . -i. . Hollywood, June 30. ABC,, interested in purchasing KM PC. has asked Robert 0. Reynolds. co-owner with Gene Autry, to set a meeting date for talks. It will likely be held this Weekend .wit h Wil 1 ia m Phillipson, net’s western division general manager, rep P.ing the web. Reynolds said he and Autry are “not too anxious” to Sell or trade but are willing to listen to a proposal, They bought; the si a t i o n 1 at e. last year from George A, Richards’ estate for $8.00,000. v A llC p owpvyns. KEGA and wo uid he forced to dispose of it under duopoly rules if deal goes through; . yveh’s chief interest in KMPG is favorable dial , position, ; and a pO.OOo watt daytime power against : i;J5 \ s •>•000 watts day and night. KMPC nighttime ' wattage is 10,000. .; Deal, would ..include transmitter 50 e situated on 21 -a ere tract, in 1 )e booming Valley sector; ABC: should -earlier interest in KMPC f1* ..ll in KFf but nothing happent'd, “This time,” said Reynolds. '! t a fishing expedition:” COKE DICKERS RETURN OF LANZA RADIO SHOW Hollywood, June 3Q. ; Coca-Cola is reported, to. have started negotiations wit h Mario Lanza to return to radio ; under its sponsorship in the fall, and with Hoagy Carmichael to emcee a Coke show of his own. Lanza dropped out of his Coke shpw. last year after his suspension, by Metro. Evidently some kind of deal has been worked out: between Lanza and the film firm, permitting him to rejoin the radio ranks; Carmichael is currently the er.iCee of the NBC-TV * ' Saturday Night Review,” summer replacement for “Your Show of Shows.” ff.uiuvc a \ v ... . rk. Tl I ..... ... . . ‘‘any System of color TV whjcii is ! on^’ H‘'y Holgtu; . (Noivvork pl.ans to be Willi the public for years .2 ,'s. °! D,p braee of . coniics backmerits the most serious govern on Friday n|{'bts; winch mental deliberation” received sup b'ye it topdog slat us among porf ffoiii prominent engineers in Lu wc )S (be lyri the TV industry. Dr; W. R. G; Ba ^ 1V comed>' sweepstakes.) ; ker, chairman of the National Tele Kxact pattern of the. sponsorship vision System Committee, which has yet to ,■ be ''.crystallized; ^ Amerideveloped the standards oil ; which can Tobacco still hasn’t decided the RCA system would operate, whether Thomas will, become a himself urged that the NTSC sys Lucky Strike or a. Pall Mall com tern be subjected to “thorough ,lle,t!ml, with the Two agencies, examihalipn.” . BBD&O (tor Lucklesi, and Sullivan . Although tlie Commission now 1 ^ Jbiyles (for has a new chairman (Rose I Hyde ) > a n e w m e m be r ( J oh n C.. Doerfer ) { and Waiker is no longer with, it (His retirement took effect today ),< it is considered highly doubtful that eyen With its change in composition there : WiU: be any disposition to Tush; approval pf. the RCA system,-;.' NtSC To July in July RCA’s petition, an elaborate 700 Pa 1 1 Mall ). flgurl ng in the negoti alions. ; Similarly. American. Tobacco, in keeping with its new policy of going. a 1 1 e rn a t e-wee k q n spoil so rsh i p (as with ‘‘Hit Parade”, the Robert Montgomery drain a tics and "Big. Story”),, w ill sponsor Thomas on an eyefy-other-week basis, thus permitting; coin for the Bolger pickup as well on a similar basis. Contracts have been signed for Battle of live rating services lia» started once again, with Pulse getting in the first punch, via an attack oh the accuracy, of Ilooper ratings iii multi-set radio homes. At a series of two luncheons for agency fesearchei;s and the press last week in N. Y., Pulse pitched a special: report oh listening in mulllset Jvomes, and general idea was that Hooper method severely underestimates that audience. Survey, covering January. 1953, in New York, disclosed thal fam11 i es owning , t h ree or more i‘a d i os Ml represent of all radio families in t he Clot ham area ; (2) do more than twice the listening of a single-.set .family and (3 ! account foi’ more than half of all listening iii the N. Y. area. L : A furl her sl ud.v,. comparing Pulse dafa, on one and two-set homea witlvv l-fooper and Nielsen sets liv-uso fi g u res sluiws Pulse a h d N i e I sen i n Close agreement hut Hooper figures to he far below i lie Ihilse-NiClseu liiarks. Study was basedon u sam* pie of 8,400 honu's In 12 inetropolitan couiilies. i)ata on radio ownership showed 38.9%; of the families in the area own three Or. more sets; 2H.2”r> own two; sets and 32.9% own one. Average evening qiiaiTer hour sets-i uusC level shows three -or-more radio: homes with 20.8°?', coni pa red to 18.7% for I wo set homes and 15.0% (or one-sel families. And nighttime share of ainilence of I liree set honies ■ Is 52.2%;. compared to 2'6;.'4%' for two-set I'ainilie.s uiul. 2.1:4” o for one set homes. Report also '.shows that share-Of audlenco for mu Hi -set homes Is great,<*r at night than In ihe niornljig and. afternoon. , ; - • Using lliese figures as; a base. Pulse blasted at Hopper by comparing sets in use in . one-sel and pne-and-lwo set homes for Hie January to March, 1953, period. Hooper showed uii 8.9% level in the 8-10 p. m, period, with Pulse oneset; level at i 3.9”// and mu? and. t woset figure at JO.7%; and I’u I so “all tioiiies” figure omitted. , page document printed <>n glossy BB Roll Rite Pen to sponsor paper and containing extensive de [ George Jessef on the ABC-TV betscription of the workings of its work. Half-hour show, with Jcssel system, along with photographs of to assume his familiar role of color receivers and transmitting toastmaster at “The Banquet Taequipment, will probably not be ble,” takes off from .Hollywood taken up by; the .Commission for Sept. 13 and moves to N. Y. for three weeks. At that time, NTSC, the remaining 12 telecasts of the Philadelphia, June 30. 1 former, general man .^r of WABC-TV, New York, has . | !n harned program and sales adfor radio and TV .on the ”yL stations. Announcement of. the fiewly-ereJu^:i^L^,as_made _by:Kenneth JV. W'prtnanv^eneral sales manager of leW aJl? WFIL-TV. Mowrey, who r, .■ nis;.)) ABC-TV post three weeks ; A1 )]’. ■ Vl11 assume his new duties CBS-TV ‘Freedom Rings’ Westinghouse is dropping “Freedom Rings.” on CBS-TV wUh the .program of Aug. 27. Half hour s h o w ri 6 w seen TUesdays a n d Thursday at 2 p.m. has been; cancelled,, it’s said in line with the fi rm’s ecori om y to p a y. ' to r it s ba nk: roll in g. of pro football on DuMont in the fall. Company .recently axed the Betty Furness day timer on; CBS-TV. ■ No 1-Hoss Shea, This ; Cleveland, June 30, . NBC ’s . o-o stations WTAM-WNBK, rounding out one year under the general managership' of Hamilton Shea. rioted a sparkling . increase of 24% in. radio, and -.72% in TV siiles foi’ the first five months of this year as against the •same period, a year ago. According to the station survey, t h e r e p o r t showed . WTAM as achieving tlie second highest post-, tion among the network’s o-o Stations , arfd%»est_nrnrV‘=s aleS f?T0Tdv Percentage-wise, radio sales were, hypoed 37% locally, 20% nationally; while increased TV sales /were, local 45%; national 85%. which has just completed field tests on its specifications,' is expected to file. Thus, in filing its petition last week, RCA got the jump on — NTSC’, an .industry technical body, Cf II If If fARTFR RIIY in which RCA and other major Jvim/IV, VAIULIl V U 1 TV manufacturers participated,. (TUlC : IQ CHflW RI7J charged with, deveioping a work, Illlij ;'Tp ulll/fl D1L aide compayble .;S,ystem^.:L. Sciiick and Carter have bought RCA fold the Commission that : ^xhis • is Show Business" for Tlie the remaining 12 telecasts of the first cycle. Show t hen ret unis, to C’oast for the ensuing quarter. (Continued on page 34) 3’uesda.y at'9' p,m; spot on CBS-TV; ( — beginnings in Septeriiber'. The two'j • ;;. • firms are. dropping ‘'Crime S.vndi |H Qkiffc % cated” /SelrickJ and> -'(Mly. J lospilil • 1/IIH lv 4 v. I * t ’ / ,.i« , iitli i/.L tk 'vVi/i '.Ln/kn' f ivvi wj vi viiiu isiMiiu ■.... | Tfarter., which have been ! . With WW, Agronsky Set ^^in8 ,he u""' Tu<'S; I Viceroy Ci g a r e t s V • “Orchid ' ‘.'Show Business.” produced by Award” on ABC-TV is moving, into ' Irving Mansfield, Will have r% j' the 9:15 p.m, Sunday night slot on ; turning regulars of (’lift on f adi-; Jitiy. 12, preparatory; to tlie. sc bed! man.Sam Leyehson and George S. j Tiled plans for simulcast of the ' Kauiman, . . Walter Wincheif airer in the fall . Although Shiek and Carter got -, at 9 p.m. . ' together on “Show. Business, ’ for ( ■ program, which highlights ca! the fall, summer plans for: the reer of. a diflerent guest artist. CBS-TV Tuesday at 9 p.m.. spot, each week and presents him with ; which the firms share on alternafe. the Winehellian “Orchid,” current! week ;sponsorship, are still split . ly follows: Win.cheil in the 6:45 p.m Beginning July 7, with Schick slot Viceroy bought the time and on a hiatus, the net will air . Folpfoduced the show with the prom lhvtr the Leader,” an audience par^ ise. that it would follow WincheU.A ticipation : show from Hollywood Web meanwhile has slotted with Vera. Vague as empee, Jn Martin Agronsky, whose news . place of "Crime Syndicated, Net ^=7RymmgntaTy^has^been^eonfined-^prbbabl-y^UI^jiTtp^i(tttTr. pretty much to radio, into the 9 On July 14, for Carter, which is 915 period With a regular show, staying on through the summer, presumably until Winchelt works Al C’app will emcee a panel show AvAr intrt th» timp> l called “Anyone Can -Win.” . Washington, June 30. Driver’s third V HF and fifth TV station was'authorized by .tlie FC’(T yesterday (Mori. ) with issuance of a final decision granting application of KL Vj in contest with Denver TV ( 'o. for (’Jiannel 7, Affirming the examiner's recoinmendation favoring KLZ, the ( 'oiiiinissiori refused to be swa.v '(*d by the rival applicant 's argument that non radio interests should be preferred, in t he interest of diversification of media of mass communications. . 1'he Commission went along .wi t h ' J lie x a n i j ri eT’s ' d (*ti ia I : o f.~ clai m s made; by the ri va I that the .alleged ''anti, trust ” •; history of KLZ's • I lie at re owning : directors;; .■(Frank If, Rieketson,: Ted (Jamhle and Harry F; rffiifi man > should disqualify their application. , .Denver TV application, involved ho t 1 1 Hoi I y yvo'b d a n d t heal re. i n te r ests. . .princijja) st oekholder being John M, Woll'hej g. owncj ;o'f . sev-. • era! downlov;fi houses... ;,A(, 'for Janies Stev.art . field. 20% interest ‘over into the time. DUNH1LL, LADY ESTHER BUY PINZA TV SHOW Dunhill cigarets, which has cancelled the NBC-TV Saturday 8-8:39 p. m. comedy, series. “My Hero,” will co-sponsor the Ezio Pinza domestic comedy show, “I, Bonino,” same time on the same w'eb, be ginning. Sept. 12. _% . Its co-sponsor oFTRe neW "sTanza^^ will be Lady Esther cosmetics. Blow is. ad agency for both bank* * rollers.