Variety (July 1953)

P'SrTeTy Wednesday, July IS, 1953 JOHN HORN dolm of rt mind lly A h huiif li 1h; i< tlvcol t l if | h i |)iil<| i (Uts, Ik,*. ,;i cui imisiv tel i iqn. . ' ‘•'I lie .(•liinfM* wont. 'i-i i'is . -.. . .. iniiilc up olVt Im syinpols lor. nan; . • was. negotiated through the fHui ^ ;qi;vporlu(»lly/.;T<>leyis)on:, .\y,n>. Morris/ of five, anOo will, he So pl enties Seldos | ' about ('luiraeiers .I'or ,ih( lit Liebman Pacts Cole Max : Liebman has " signed Nat King ('ol.o .for eight appearances next season on his “Your Show of explains,: “are ■: shb\vs'‘; on NBC-TV. ‘dan-! ge-r • .is .. i n a . p/rju-Uial crisis. ' /./ . S( i, < u iTi'iit act i vi.ti os i.nel ude n. fi v \\.; i-l; summer c/pui.Mv. of le.c. iurpi c on. -'To! t vis.iO'fi-/V'Cnl iqpe” jor i lit1 Amori'eari . Theatre Wing, lnr ;i '1 uoda y-ii igiit .radio-essay uii “flib Lively • Arts” via • •siaiibn \\ NY O', and Mulshing ton Knopf ;i :ui:AV.. untitled book, due .next >pnn-V.-. that 'will ..bo -an "UP”. (laVcd1 to the television era.) sue-. to . d.ij, ,:'J’hc Seven/; Lively. A i : 1 > . v* I • i < ; h S'. 'a s \ ) li 1 > I is i.ve d • i n d 024, At t he end n f Sep (om br.r, • he will l)(*gln i \i ri v 1 ft-week-/f qu rses at the. Seliool: lecture's, on. television , . ;ii)(| ;i \* (ArksIi(M) eourse. in writ ing. • Hapal gri i.wtii 'ol‘. television ,.js: still • ;i . so t i re'e '•• o f ast oil i sh men t t 0 / . Seldi '.; v.'lio lias; spent, most of his • 1 )il'(> • st m.ly i ng and / analyzing the / popular ai ls.. It took the !ilmsv. he not «•’*.. more than 15 years to. turn opt, /The (Jr cal. Train /Robbery” in 3 905' ' l ive iMison' kirietqscope /do in-' / biist j-iition at West Orange, N..J-./ in 3 HM9 made films ah aeeom.p! is lied fact); and another 10. years before ]). AV. (li irath.pi’odueed “The Birllx of ' a': Nat Ipii : hi the eight po.st • World War If years, lie says, television 7 has .been a. simultaneous . 4‘pa.rti(.ii>ati()h in an ai l and in a gold rush’:’ which is killing off the films i on. :H>. Seide.s says, “neycW • ask for whom the lion jumps, it jumps lor; you’.’) arid “dooming radio before .its. fill 1 growth.’’ .. ■-/.' Big cM'ect.df teleyisioii on Amor-, lean -.society. So Ides says, is to ; reinforce the feeling begun by radio that (Mit eriairimont. is anot her , . right .added to the A in eric an rights to “life. liberty and the pursuit. of ; . happiness.” Today , he says, entertain inent docs not liave to bo earned, it is continually on tap. “Kilty years ago a cook, who wanted to quit her work because there wasn’t a eireus and a string orchestra in Iho kitchen to! enterlain Iter would have been thought : mad/’ Solrios says; “Today such, a demand is not considered an Uiiroasonab'e request.” TV & ‘Mbntal Slaves’ A mass audience, Seldes says, has ciiribslties, interest s' and appetites beyond: those that can be /satisfied ./by eVen such . a popular program as “I Love Lucy.” 'incidentally. he likes tire .prograiii ;is much as. if not more than, the next .televiewer. arid; believes . that .. . Lucille Bal 1 is a truly great come-, dieririe Lifiliziiig; about 30' <>■ of Jier potentia] talent on the slioWb “Television,’’ lie says, “ought to satisfy more of the interests of \ more of .the peoplo".’> . Tlie medinni, he adds, has a ((’onlinued on page 39) First, appear 32. ...-■ Boston, July 1.4. . ■ : .Gone King, who last wee k t ook over as prograiii director of WEEI, Hub’s CBS Outlet f ollowi i ' • Omaha, July 34,. . KOWH 1; i s t -wee k ox ji lo d ed . the higgest radio fireworks in Omaha in ycar.se with an. “expose’’, of the city’s underworld nightlife. The station’s newscaster, Don Loughriane, Concealed a tape .recorder on his: .person arid ; visited fit v. crlly’k :a ft e iv IVoU v . dr i n king Spots \ an d at least ■ one . of the lop dice: | gaiiies. . • . 1 • -■/; ■_ . Purchases of. . liquor in speakeasies arid gambling sounds were lecorded:, along \yith . conversations w i t h k n < i w n gam biers , tel 1 in g about vari o.us. ra eket s prose n t ty goi n g on. ■ Ariibng t Ire spots visited Was the TfieatriCal^ ivii,t i,«.i aJIMMY nelson DANNY O'DAY AND ii uyfrimiCY : V LRSONAL MAN AO ICMEN T. LOUIS W. COHAN 1776 Broadway, N. Y, Bill Diehl k editing post oC fca :■ tures editor ot’ :.theVMgl.ual. ^ ptess^ ^ VaS*toaneh Af ^ ^ department to; take over the. man aging editorship: pf the Detroit edition of TV Guide, the. Walter Annenberg publication, Diehl, who’s been, at Mutual for i over a year, ^iif act as' a trouble PSI * J'! ^ / shooter in the. TV Guide.^ ^setop. ^ mAwinfr-frAm n n». maiJ. in' aiioth(?i?--*S' -ol* 'Willie ine. voice.. .( moving from following . liis one mag to;, ano.thcrtDetroit Where There's Mutiial Assn., an after ( A ppoiritment of; Terence (Terry) hours: spot that eaters chiefly .to j ciyrie as senior veepee of :tlie sliovvfolk.: However, it . was ahoutu Blow advertising. agency IN. Y,,.Utis the s.niall(‘.st visited— and it was ( week points, up the increasing im11 io : only joint clo.sed the foil ow i pprtance of. broadcast advertising j in major ad agencies. Over . half . of tire total $50,000,000 annual billings of Blow is now in radio-TV, a ing day after broadcast. . Station said it has' many more i’eels of tape it .didn't play — savin g • t hem ; fo r “ins u ranee . ” llo \v ey <‘r , use of profanity is believed niain reason Uieyweren’t aired. . City, obi eia Is w ere about tlie only b m >'s . 1 1 1 at (11 tl n ’l get 1 . excite d ovo r half-iiour program: that was Oiriaha’s top topic for several days. /. Said Mayor' Glen ’_ Cunningham:; “The newspapei* or a radio station puts on such a crusade for the sake of cireulation. or listeners. As a matter of fact: Omaha is So clean you' could eat oil a labIeelolli.,r •Police added ; it was “difficuit’’ to get evideiiee for arrests/ . . None of ill e spots use live ;c.ritertaimneiit. .. : Chicago, July 14. With stock car racing added to an already heavy schedule, WGNTV’s , Jack ; Brickhou.se ' epps the title of Chi’s lyiost; active . sportscaster, ; ; '7 Formerly splitting liis ^services., between : radio and TV, ; B.riekhouse iis now focusing 'riiost: of his atteiitioh on the Tattei’ .'medium.. In addition to the “stock car racing”, entry in.. his log hook of arinouriCr ;ing k-hofe^-. :-Br.iekhbuse;'-; also-.' lists: the following : Cubs arid -White Box home .baseball games, a daily pre-ga rive studio in terv i e\v sli.o w', . a n ; after-thc-game . interview show, Boys Major League games and commercials for a late ; night movie show. In addition he described the blowby -blow of the Golde n Gloves boxing events, arid this fall he’s foot & IN Vast change from only a . year ago when it vvas eo n s i de red u n u sua 1 for : a 1 5V o. house to have even onethird of its billings derived, from broadeasling accounts. : Ciyne \vas given his new post because of liis experience in; heading up other radio-TV activities of Biow. Agency prez Milton Bi.ovv took into account especially Clyne’s handling of the $7,000,000 Bulova operation under guidance of the watch company’s inerchandisingconscious prexy John Ballard,. It ; was Ciyrie, too. who engineered 1 1 he two-year, $H;00(), 000 renewal Of i “I lvove Lucy’’ . for Philip: Morris, j /Besides lopping the rating clerby ■ this past year with ‘‘Lucy,”. Blow ' had two Of its packages nab the ; No. I and No. 2 spots among Nielj sen /.daytime shows— “Search For j Tomorrow” and “Love of Life.” [Other of its -'high-rated evening ' ‘ ovvs have been “Racket Squad,” "Margie” arid “Welcome Traveler/’ in the next three months, Biow clients will precni four shows on NBC'— P&G’s ‘‘Nothing But The Best’’ and “Loretta Yoiing Sho\y,” Huppert’s “Steve Allen Show” arid the F.zio Pitv/.a stanza, bankrolled by Duriliill and Lady Esther. Also, Philip Morris will preem. “Pentagon” on CBS and the “Pepsi-Cola Playhouse” will bow on ABC. / 'Washington. July 14. Hot contest for fust YUF station : ■imtlm.-T;uiipa-Sf./liet(u:sburg.: Fla., area . 'reached '-initial decision, stage yesterday '.Mon t when FCC examiner Basil P. Cooper faiorcd. grant of the application ot,; the. Tribune C’o. ■ i WFl.A.v and denial of . tlie apnlicat ions of Nclscin Priyntcr iWTSpi and. Tampa Bay. Area . /Telecasting ; Corp. ;;v. . Examiner’s' rcebminendaiion was. . based lai'gcly .on program plans of. WFL.V w hi eh. lie. found superior in regard to proposals ftir local edu• eational. . aurie'ultural and : civic shows. Cent ral local ion of. \V K t .A’s. proposed . studios and its greater /access jhil'ity to. public was also f -given /.weight.'-': ■/.C;. ’.' Examiner rejected argument*. that ■ Ta m pa , Tri bun e’s 1 a rger c i rcii 1 nt-ion in ; area than Poy liter’s . St. Petei’.sburg Tiines would weigh in favor of tlie latter. “To hold that one who has been able to outdistance iiunierous , compel i tors.” he said, “in a. highly Competitive field =.^i£-tnliaALeUiisLsUeeess=weighetl •gainst him in a. cqmparative proceeding for a TV station would be (Continued on page 36) WOR. .-"•N./Y.'i this Week concluded two key talent , renewals, signing Dorothy, ! Kllgalien) & Dick. (Koliniar > and Ray ''qMerry Mailman) Heather ton to five-year contracts; Dorothy & Dick reriewal takes effect two years from now, giving the st at ion .tlie services of tl re. inorning-time luisband and w ife team for seven more years./. The N. Y. JournalA meri ea n columnist '• ;incl her actor husband have been ! on the station / for eight years. ' Heatherton’s pact lakes etTect immediately. -•■'/" Station has. beoiV in the process of tying up its top names, having i recently re-signed Allred and Dora /comedy starring Virginia Field and , MeCanjf. Martha Deane and Stan i Una Merkel, which it is showing • Lotriax to term pacts. Currently j j agencies and clients. I under negotiation is a. tiew con: • Show is a house package, arid is /tract with Barbara Welles. ! skedded for Coast origination. CBS-TV Peddles ‘Vanity’ CBS-TV has a kinriie ready on “Vanity and Mrs. Fair,” a situation booked to describe. Big Ten bail and basketball games. Web activities, for DuMont include his weekly “Sports ;S.ho\v-' case” arid “Wrestling Eronr Marigold.” He’s also skeddect to call lour and one half /innings of the A 11 Star Baseball Game from Crosloy field/. today and heTl be in evidence /again. Aug. 14 in Soldiers’ field when the All Star Football Game is teleyised. All this activity adds up to a good, possibility that Biriekhouse w il I break his record of last year Al lien he Covered 967 sports events! : WIP TOPS ’52 PEAK SALES MARK BY 9% 'phiiadeiphia, July 14, .. Station WIP?s first four months of local and national sales in 1953 have lopped the same period of 1952, according to an anriounceinent made, by ! Benedict Gimbel, Jr. , president and general manager of tbe station. . “The first four months of this, year show a 9% increase over last year,” Gimbel said. “This is particularly significant since in 1952 we enjoyed the greatest time sales in the station’s 31 year history.” Gimbel said that the time sales in the first four months of 1953 are 13. .Vo over 195.1; 32co over 3950, and. 25' o oyer .1949/. the year generaliy conceded to be the peak year for radio time sales. cial Representative .; in / F.urope ( Mutual : Security .Agency >v w/C , veals that from a dollars and cents, standpoint, the lone worthy bile . . arida . job being done' in in' .. . . , . . . m. Aniorica. shows are the. laughing, stock of the listeners. King a*-serts the V of A programs are so : . poorly devised and projected that the job of peddling propaganda .material' To Vpther; ^riiediu is svibstan.tially tougher : and suggests we , eOncentrate . on ballyhooing! / the / • IX. S. to the Ffee/ -Europeans/ via !/ =. tHeV cooperatiOn of Governmentowned stations, a rid . curt a i 1 1 h e a c / -/ tivities of V of A. z King feels that the effect nf. the latter /programs among citizens behind the Iron Curtain are . dubious, to . say the least mean-/ . while/ claiming that 30rf pf Free Europeans are pro-Americrin . . 1 0'n / cgn be classed, as anti-Anicrkan/ while, . the oyer wh.eim.irig 60/ o " plead little or.no interest, in U. S; . problems, figuring the/ fight to •/ block; Coirirnunism is a private fracas between hRussia and oiifselves.: / It's this .majority; bloc that /King would like to see swirig to our side arid he’d do it by: stepping up our efforts through each .. nation’s home-based radio rather thaii rely, on; shortwave beamings fforii a project handled by senli-pros and professional do-gooders, no matter • how . altruistic their, aims riiay be/ ' Concerning the co-operation received from, 'various Government . owned, stations, King states that BBC collaborates/ “to the teeth,’* Scandinavian stations, although adopting an aloof “leave us alone” attitude eaii occasionally ho ca* joled irito : inserting propaganda . pitches into local programs but Radipdiffusion Fraricais is so bedeviled with internail strife and jealousies that staffers spend most .. of their workirig hours attempt ing. to stay on the payroll . Consequent, ly, very few have the. temerity to make an inde pendent deeisiori. liying'in a “buck passing ■■■■world'” pf their own. On the plus side. King praised Radip Luxembourg, tabbing it ‘•the: sharpest outfit in (Continued on page 37) Barry Gray te Resume on v AVafJungton, July 14./ . . “iiiou shall riot covet thy neighbor’s television frequency”! / This is the text, of an 1 1 t li “ coin ma lid merit” proposed for com-, inerci.al hroadcasters ; by Sen:: Charles W. Tobey iR.-N. H.) ai '.-a-...:.lostiinbriiai /dinner last ^ week . given by educat ional /TV organizat ions i'of FCC Coin iv Haul if. Walker: oil the occasion of his .-.retirement ■ ii:bin 40 years of public service. '•/ -. Dinner. ai;fanged by National C’itizen.s. Coriuriittee for Educational TV and Joint Coniinit tee for Edueational TV, . found commercial : and educational broadcast eis lifeaking bread together , in atirios/ pjiere of cpopcTatiori. Harold E. Fellows,: prexy of National Assn. of Radio arid TV Broadcasters, reflected era of iiew feeling with . remark; “At one time I would, have been quite concerned about cducatiptial TV.” • . :.'.' Spokesmen for educators pointed out that commercial/ broadcasters are giving strong support to educational TV— through cash donations and participation in drives to raise funds ; for stations. ■■Walker predicted that educational and commercial .stations will complement each other and that former may provide source of valuable programs for latter. Dr. Edgar Fuller, member of JCET. related that President Eisenhower expressed great interest recently in educational TV. Fuller . ^quptedMbe^Prcsident^as^havingMold^a^group^of^state^univcrsity^ heads:; “You’ve got to Use the channels. Donlt.let us down.” And / the President’s brother Milton, Fuller reminded, is co-chairman . of the NCCET. . , Barry Gray will . resume his N ew York radio and television shows on WM.CA and AVABD on July 20, fob lowing a six-week vacation. Cross-. the-board news coititnentary on video will air at 11 p.m./ while his AM gossip show on WMCA is . set ..for midnight; to 2 a.m. six -nights ,a week. •/•--, /■' . •'/' .'■•' Radio /p.r.ogra-ni'-';will-' nipv.e . into the WM.CA. studios for the. .firs tune in years, with format— rgucst. i nfe r i c ws-f-rom a ini n g . the. same. Gray’s pact with the Shelburne Lounge, expired at the time of liis vacation. He had aired from Chandler’s Restaurant f or ; a number of years previous to moving to the ShelbUrne last winter. . , Barry Enright Friendly package, in cooperation with CBSTV, will be tried and kinriied next week. Show, a kiddie program, is titled “Winky Dink,” and will have ^-Jack^B ari’y— as^h ost^to^th c moppets. New device will be used to get children participating at home in drawing and sketching. Minneapolis* July 14. Impending entry of two: more Twin Cities radio stations, WTCN and WMIN, into TV circles here, giving Minneapolis and St. Paul a total of. four such video broadcasting sources, finds additions to and realignmerits of the personnel of . the two new television stations arid brings some local programming ; revision. / Don Kratz, now an ABC-TV executive producer in Chicago, joins, WTCN as director of its TV operations. Kratz has been associated, with Wilding Co., commercial film producers, and Yound & Rubicariadvertisingageiicy. He' also was in Hollywood for several years as Metro assistant director. WMIN: is employing Al . Victor from Hollj^ood ip. the same ea-/ pacity. Victor has been, head of a company / : producing: commercial Alins' f0f.: TV and also has; been : . associated/ with Los Angeles . TV : stations in various capacities. At. one time he also was an instructor in Los Angeles TV schools/ . . The two new stations . not will share a single channel, 11, but j also the ABC network shows,: some pf Which; now/ appear on the existing Twin Cities’ TV stations, KSTP and WCCO; KSTP will continue to be the local outlet for NBC-TV arid WCCO for CBS-TV. Both also will, still include some DuMont network shows in their programming.*^ On the radio end here, it's also NBC, CBS rind ABC for; KSTP* WCCO arid WTCN, respectively, WLOL^IsMhelocal^MBS^af fili ate. The other seven, Twin Cities’ radio stations have no network connections. :