Variety (September 1954)

Claudette Colbert's performance In last week's. CBS-TV color production of “Royal Family'' for .Westinghouse, which generally won her critical: plaudits* is expected to cue a fresh outburst of activity for her tv-film series- which was originally intended for Toni in the 8:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday slot on NBC-TV* Guaranteed in excess of $1,000,000 ($10,000 a week for 54 weeks) in a non- cancellable contract, plus an ownership stake in the residuals, Hiss Colbert flatly rejected the NBC overtures because of her refusal to do the commercials. As result, the series now lies dor- mant, with Toni bypassing the show. But Miss Colbert is ^standing pat: anybody who buys her does so sans commercials. Situation parallels the recent dropout of Kate Smith from the NBC-TV afternoon schedule, despite the fact that the web still had a year to go on .it3 contract, because of .Miss Smith’s refusal to pitch the client's wares. With but these two and possibly a few other exceptions, how- ever, virtually all the major talent in the tv programming sweep- stakes today have been “indoctrinated” into the commercials, for better or for worse. NBC, for one, is averse to pacting any star who refuses to identify himself (or herself ) with the advertiser. Few in tv today enjoy the privilege of "playing the show” ex clusively without doubling into a client pitch. In fact, next season will witness some personalities skipping the programs and throwing in their lot with, commercials only, as wit- ness the pacting of Leopold Stokowski, who has been signed by RCA for. the color tv commercials on the upcoming “Tonight At 8:30” color spec. ‘There's Nothing Like a Dame’ Accents Specs, Tele- pix Castings All of the tv spectaculars in the early stages of th ; e 1954-55 season and several upcoming and “being negotiated” telepix series have that “cheesecake” look -— though not necessarily, in the traditional sexio- matic sense (thus the quotes). Ditto some of the opening shows that don’t fall into the specola category; Dorothy McGuire, for,' instance launched “Lux Video Theatre” in “To Each His Own.” Armstrong’s “Circle Theatre” got going season- ally—and -under the new produc- tion auspices of Talent Associates —with Janet Blair as the mccoy cheesecake in the “Mrs. Universe” play. General Electric’s choice for its preemer .was Gene Tierney, vidt- buting in “Nora,” adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” Of new series with permanent stars, they’re virtually. all-femme. Celeste Holm is heading up “Hon- estly Celeste,” June Havoc will front “Willy” and Claudette Col- bert may .still do “Leave It To Liz,” although the NBC deal has conked out. “December Bride,” taking Red Buttons CBSp.ot, stars veteran act- ress Spring Byington and Ronald Col man’s private and pro vis-a-vis in “Halls of Ivy” is Benita Hume. Latest of the Hollywood staples pencilled in for a go at a tv film package is Myrna Loy. As far as the NBC coloraculars are, concerned, it’s “there’s nothing like, a dame” for Max Liebman, who opened On Sept. 12 with Betty Hutton and will follow on Sept. 25 with Ann Sothern in “Lady in the Dark.” The [Monday night specials, ablaze with the Le- land Hayward pennant before his illness* will be launched with Gin- ger Rogers in “Tonight at 8:30,’ (Continued on page 42) If NBC can come up with the right vehicle for her, Shirley Booth wouldn’t be averse to joining the star brigade in tv for one of the Max Liebman 90-minute specs. Liebman, it’s reported, is hot for the Booth entry, with possibility of a deal heightened' by the star’s de- cision not to tour in her current legiter,. “By the Beautiful Se5.” Factor, too, is the price, but ap- parently this would be no major stumbling block in view of the fancy .coin being tossed around to pact major personalities. Miss Booth has let it be known, however, that she won’t do an original, preferring a time-tested Broadway vehicle (such. as “Tree Grows In Brooklyn” or possibly, a dramatic .show,). Traitor “Our Goodly Heritage,” 8:15 a.m. Sunday inspirational stanza on WCBS-TV, N. Y.,‘ will mark its 100 th telecast Oct. 10: In celebration of the event. William B. Baer, dean of New York U.’s College of Arts and Sciences, who conducts the show, is having a little shindig —at the Harvard Club. Publishers Information Bureau and. other publications reporting gross radio time billings may have to cast about for a new method of representing network billings this fall. Reason is that for the first time in years, for at least one net- •work’s rate cuts will take the form of a reduced. gross hourly rate in- stead of an increased . discount. That happens next week when ABC installs its single rate system,, with the hour rate becoming a flat $16,- 300 instead of varying gross rates that went as high as $30,000 in evening time. While CBS and presumably NBC will reduce nighttime rates in the form of higher discounts, ABC’s reduction in. evening rates Will put! it in a Jar lower category so far as gross billings are concerned. Networks up to now, along with PIB and others, have reported sales and billings, in gross figures, not counting in the discounts. So that while in the past an hour nightime sale would have credited ABC with $30,000, although it would have come to net; of about $16,000, starting next month the network will be credited with only $16,300.. At the same time, CBS and NBC (Continued on page 32) ‘BABES IN ARMS’ AS MERMAN’S 2D TV ER “Babes in Arms” will be the sec- ond in the series of shows to star Ethel Merman on the CBS-TV Wednesday night Westinghouse series. Miss Merman has already been signed to open with “Pana- ma Hattie.” She’s engaged, for four programs in the series, with the . third show likely to be “Call Me Madam;” Rights for this layout are still to be cleared by composer Irving Berlin. Title of the fourth show isn’t known as yet. Two vicepresidents and a num- ber of topranking execs were cut loose by ABC yesterday tTues.) in a far-reaching personnel realign- ment. Reshuffling affects vir- tually every phase Of network Operations in radio and tele- vision, and while officially it was called “executive promotions” and “departmental „ consolidations,” it meant the first drastic moVe by the United Paramount Theatres hier- archy in moving out the Web’s “old guard” contingent. Top exec forced out was Alex- ander (Sandy) Stronach, veepee of the tv network. No indication was given of a replacement. Also out are program v.p; Charles Under- hill, production chief Charles (Chuck) Holden, publicity topper Jack Pacey and advertising direc- tor Mitch De Groot. Pacey was on the Coast 6n a publicity tour when the news broke in a memo circulated yesterday under prexy Robert %. Kintner’s signature. There’s, been no replacement for Stronach named yet, but since Slocum (Buzz) Chapin is a v.p. and director of the tv web, it’s assumed he’ll take command. Robert F. Le- wine, until now eastern tv program chief under Underhill, takes over as director of the program depart- ment. Gene Accas, until now direc- tor of radio advertising and promo- tion, becomes director of the newly created department of advertising, promotion and publicity for radio and tv, replacing both Pacey and De Groot. Radio and tv news and special events have also been consolidated under the wing of John Daly as v.p. in charge, but there have been no casualties from the radio side, with Tommy Velotta remaining as v.p, and administrative officer of the new department under Daly. News, and special events will also take over religious and educational, programming, formerly in Pacey’s domai . . Other consolidation takes place in sales development and research,, with tv sales development director Don Durgin taking over as director of sales development, and research for radio and tv. Don Coyle, for- merly in charge of tv research, and. Jay Eliasberg, of radio research- remain with the 'network; ; Sweep leaves among the ABC “old guard” only Kmtner, Chapin, radio veep Charles Ayres and v.p.- assistant to the prez Ernest Lee Jahncke as topleyel execs at the web. Officers installed by United Paramount include Bob Weitman and Bob O’Brien among the top op- erating execs'. Understood there has been friction at the web since they moved over, and there have been repeated rumblings of a sweep since the merger. This is the. first manpower cut since that time, however. Others reportedly getting the gate were William (Bud) Materne, assistant national sales manager in tv, and Jerry Harrison, eastern tv sales chief. Jahncke. remains in the station relations; domain, . with A1.Beckman 'being upped to. direc- tor of station relations of the tv Web arid Charles Godwin; who re- cently moved over from Mutual, getting the nod on the radio - side. Seem’ Is Believin’ Richard Berlin, general manager of the Hearst Corp., did some, powwowing with CBS prexy Frank Stanton last week in what presumably was a bid to patch Up the. Jack O’Brian- CBS situation, For many months O’Brian’s -“how-can- you - say-anything-good-about- that-network” tempo of his N. Y. Journal American radio- tv-column has been a source of disturbance to the CBS com- mand. Eyebrow raiser last week was O’Brian’s rave notice for the new CBS-TV “Best of Broadway” premiere—not so much because O’Brian enjoyed the “Royal Family" perform- ance,, but because of its CBS origin. Saudek’s ‘So What!* With all the shouting and drumbeating of the NBC-TV 90-minute specs, the TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Founda- tion has been growing slightly annoyed over the “wfe were first” claims. Chiming in -with its own “looka here,” the Workshop and its director, Robert Sau- dek, point to the fact that fbr two full seasons (and now going into the third) the CBS- TV Sunday afternoon “Omni- bus” series of ,90-minute shows even more fully rate the appel- lation “spectacular” in terms of innovating new concepts and in bffrthe-beatenrtrack program content. Trying to Unload CBS’ desire to dear the decks in its quest for five wholly-owned tv stations by disposing of its 45% minority interest in WTQP, Wash- ington, and WCCO, Minneapolis, apparently isn’t coming off too easy. At least not in terms of shedding its D. C. holdings (where the Washington Post holds the ma- jority stock of 55%), As result, there’s every indication now that Columbia will first divest itself of its 45% in. WCCO, although it had hoped to get Washington out of the way first. CBS’ interest in WTOP is esti- mated to be worth. about $4,000,000. There are least two hot bidders for it, one of them being Leon Levy, who has had a longtime identity with Columbia as a stock- holder-board member (which he would obviously have to relinquish). But stalemating negotiations is the fact that Paul Graham, publisher of* the 55%-owning Washington Post, reserves the right to meet any outside figure within 60 days, which automatically holds a bidder dangling midair despite the fact that he’s got hard cash on the line. CBS is shooting for St. Louis and Boston to round out its o&o tv possessions. It figures it has a strong chance of getting the St. Louis channel. But Boston is some- thing else again, with the chances at best slim. If it misses out there, Columbia will settle for a flourish- ing. V in any of the major 15 mar- kets. Nor has it ruled out the pos- sibility of eventually taking over WTOP. in Washington as a wholly- owned operation to complete its .five-station complement. IN CBS RADIO SERIES ! Rosemary Clooney has been set by CBS Radio for a Thursday at 9 p. rh. quarter starting Oct. 7. Perry Como is on Monday-Wednes- day-Friday in same slot for Ches- terfield, with a sponsor being sought for Miss Clooney. Backing Miss Clooney will be the Buddy Cole orch, with Bill Brennan producing and Glenn Wheaton scripting. - - • r >" Pharmaco’s ‘Hilltop’ Pharmaco, Iiic. (Feen-a-Mint), taking CBS Radio’s “Hilltop House” day timer for, a Tuesday and Thursday ride beginning next week (28).. Other three days are, sustaining thus far. Miles Labs has been picking up the check but bows out this week. Biz booked via Doherty, Clifford, Steers & Sheffield. Viewed as one of the alarming, aspects of the competitive. NBC. vs. CBS battle for top pix-legit names, notably for the rash of high-budg- eted tv spectaculars, is the acqui- escence on the part of the networks in permitting the stars to call all the turns. Strictly aside from the unprecedented coin being lavished on these personalities, the top ta- lent has been throwing the book at the webs in terms of dictating who shall produce, costar, etc. The .net- works, in their anxiety to snare the major names, have been offering little or no resistance to the de- mands. When, for example, Betty Hut>: ton insisted that none other than Charles O’Curran (who incidentally is her ex-husband) be pacted to di- rect the . musical numbers for her videbut in Max Liebman’s produc- tion of “Satins and Spurs”, even though Rod Alexander* Liebman’s longtime associate, has been given the nod in the series of NBC-TV specs, Miss Hutton was given her way rather than risk losing her services. Similarly; Ginger Rogers, pjeted for the first of the Monday night (ex-Leland ... Hayward) spec series for. “Tonight At 8:30”, insisted that Qtto Preminger be brought i to produce; Again the web nodded an assent. Not to be outdone, Margaret’ Sul- lavan pacted as star of the second of the Monday night series* “State of the Union,” which Howard Lind- say and Russel Crouse, will pro- duce, chimed in with: “If you take me you gotta take Joe Gotten." (Understood that NBC was contem- plating using Ralph Bellamy in view of the click performance he gave in the legit version). Nonethe- less Miss Sullavan got her way, re- sulting in the, deal, for Joseph Cot- ten to costar with her. The networks, turn, say they’re not entirely to blame, and point the finger, at the talent agents (notably William Morris, and MCA) who, by virtue of their hold on the stars, are being iden- tified as.the “behind the scenes villains” in grabbing off the auxi- liary contracts. NBC-TV’s “Medic” managed a 19-point turnover—after one ex- posure—oh Monday (20), with a Trendex score of 25.3 against 19.9. for CBS-TV’s “Public Defender." Previous week, with “Medic" preeming, it rated 19.6, highest that NBC had until then achieved in the Monday at 9 slot, but “De- fender” was still, way. ahead last week with 33.2. Rarely in tv rating sweepstakes has a 19-point change- over, accompanied by upbeat froi second, to first position, been achieved. What “Medic”, will do versus the returning “I Love Lucy” is moot, •but last Monday’s scorecard in the • former’s favor is credited, to a. dual reason: the; 8 to 9 “Operation En- tertainment” precede with solid lineup, of names (that is the Sid Caesar upcoming slot), and the im- pact created by the “Medic” pre- miere with its birth.-of-a-baby- death-of-a-motiier. theme. Color Courtesy Since the Jules Montehier outfit (Stopette) is the older.and original client, the alternating Remington Shavers agreed to skip its turn Sunday (19) for the first colorcast of .“What’s My Line” on CBS. Apparently it was thought that the odor scrammer would look bet- ter oh a tint show than a geezer . having his whiskers removed.