Variety (September 1955)

38 RADIO REVIEWS y&RIETY W^dhesday, September 14, 195; WALTER WINCHELL 15 Mins., Sun., 6 pjn. TWA Mutual, from N.Y. • BBD&O) "Walter Winchell started his 26th year on the air, perhaps a record in itself for consecutiveness, over another network as they say in radio-tv circles, in this case Mutual. For nearly 20 years he was on ABC, both AM and tv, and after a part¬ ing because of a technical "indem¬ nification” and insurance proviso, their longtime romance is ended. On Mutual, with its 560 stations, he is sponsored by TWA in 30-35 key cities: local participation cut- ins on the other links. Winchell is the same as of yore, whether video or radio, ABC or MBS, meaning that his staccato, exciting, newscast maintains the same showmanship tempo. Unlike his predecessor web, however. Mutual almost acted as if it was sneaking Winchell into the net¬ work. There was no excitement to the premiere announcement; in fact there may have been no trailers at all to herald his advent. (This observation is made with reservations in light of perhaps contrary circumstance, but up to within a few hours of WW this Sunday the station-break commer¬ cials were for whodunits and not this “first"*. Even the direct intro announcer's spiel was a bland statement of so-here's-anotker- program. TWA is controlled by Howard Hughes, and Hughes sold RKO Radio Pictures to Mutual's Tom O'Neil, so with the airline’s spon¬ sorship of Winchell over MBS it means putting back some of the O’Neil coin into the O’Neil-owned network. The same telegraphic newsticker technique is utilized for the Win- chellisms. There was also included an opinion on the first fortnight of the Broadway legit season, and Winchell’s' appraisals of the new' films. It was notable that, for a guy who seems partial to 20th-Fox (it's no secret he makes his office on that lot, when on the Coast, and his previous references to "Zanufckville” and the ‘‘Zanuck zoo” would indicate a leaning in that direction), Winchell shel¬ lacked one of that company’s films, "How To Be Very, Very Popular." He did offset the pan with a plug for the more current 20th release, "Many Splendored Thing,” gave the back-of-the-hand to Martin & Lewis’ latest, and faint-praised "Catch A Thief.” Winchell is a plus for MBS on Sundays at 6 although his spot¬ ting after a very juvenile western, "Wild Bill Hickokfi’ interlarded with a five-minute transcribed news opinion by an American com¬ mentator in Rome, and followed by "tomorrow’s headlines” seems bad routining, as they used to say in vaudeville circles. For one thing, if Winchell is'stiptjosed to be giving it hot off the griddie, the deadpan newscast of "tomorrow’s head¬ lines” in the immediately ensuing 15-minute slot seems a radio non sequitur. Abel ! THIS IS MOSCOW i With Irving R, Levine 10 Mins.; Wed., 10:10 pm. Sustaining ! NBC (transcribed) I As long as censorship still exists • in Russia on all journalistic fronts, all reportage from that country ; has to be regarded with scientific • skepticism. What can’t be sa:i, by j the observer in Russia is likely to I be equally important to what is i approved for foreign consumption. ! The mere existence, moreover, of ■ the censorship mechanism, with , the more important threat of a i visa revocation if a reporter gets "cute." is enough to check any journalistic attempt to tell the whole truth about Russ:.- Lr. short, nothing gets out of the Soviets that doesn't meet with their ap¬ proval.- Within these limitations. NBC news correspondent Irving R Lev¬ ine. who has launched the first cared' that Russia was wfiling- to make concessions to the West up " to a point, hut not beyond that pom:. Ke also indicated that it would be shortsighted of the U.5. not to take advantage of Russia's apparent willingness to compro¬ mise. Levine also suggested that the Russians would flatly turn down any proposals for German unification. On the only really sensitive is¬ sue discussed on the 10-minute stanza, Levine favored the idea that the present “committee form’’ of Russian government was stable. His evidence for this was that the three top Soviet leaders were all awaiy from Moscow on vacation at the same time. Such evidence could easily prove the opposite contention. In any case, Levine probably realizes how hazardous speculations about Russian politics can be because, as Levine phrased it, “surprises have become the ex¬ pected in Russia.” Herm. - ASSIGNMENT 10 . With John Daly, Harold Bussell, Jerome Goldsmith Prodiiter-dixector: Mavor Moore Writer: Virginia Momand Mins.. Mom, 9:30 pun. ABC, from New York Preem of this special series of programs treating with achieve¬ ments of the United Nations over the past 10 years of its existence was "Shoe Shine. Italy,” a looksee a: what has been done for- those rippled inside or handicapped out- From the Production Centres IN NEW YORK CITY . Joseph T. Shipley (The New Leader) begins his 16th year of broad* casting reviews of the new plays on opening nights, via WEVD. shinl ____, ley is the only member of the N. Y. Drama Critics Circle regularly tide.*"* Of course, the Lict that John \ reviewing on the air . . . Announcer Bill Rogers’ home in Greenwich Daly narrated in better than his ; was featured in the current issue of This Week mag . . . "Road of usual suave manner and that the ! Life,” P & G soaper on CBS Radio, marked its 16th anni with Tuesdav program moved right along on | ( 13 ) airer . . . CBS sports chief John Derr back after Maine hiatua^ v»b.u: promised to be a.dull radio ; during which he took time out for a luncheon speech at the Manhattan subject really put this over. It is ; college Ad Club last week . . . Jake Evans, who resigned as promo, 1 r.:\^fi;J-V'l- n C „H with tion boss at NBC about a year ag0 t0 enter the trade ma g-field, joins — nivt : McCann-Erickson next week as Bulova account exec . . . CBS Radio ow*- ln to UN head-f P rez Arthur Hldl Ha y es got back from three-week San Francisco vaca* cuarters'^promising to give the se- : tion last we€k . in „ for a couple of days’ desk work before taking me* further momentum j off for Detroit for the affiliates meeting . y . Actor Hal Holbrook *-v. e rrtoDled in mind ! ("Brighter Day”) presented his Mark Twain readings at the "Upstairs _.Xfi-fi,“y 0 :^:! d ^ S?. P what™-aT be-i at ^ Duplex” supper club Tuesday (13) . . . Deejav Bill Randle’s wife, ^r'done^Tor juvenile delinquents: Anna Lee, ^ hi Lakewood Hospital in Cleveland for surgery on a jfi~ over the world, with a boost! slipped disc, with Randle commuting between Cleveland and N. Y. from the UN. Highlight was a' - - . Sam Slate, WCBS program chief, assigned as greeter and escort THE CHILDREN’S HOUR With Johnny Lee, others 60 Mins.; Sat., 11 a.m, KASCO DOG FOOD WPTR, Albany Johnny Lee returns to Albany area radio as producer, emcee and piano accompaniest of a juvenile show* familiarity formatted. De¬ scribed as an "old fashioned chil¬ dren’s program,” it consists of sing¬ ing. dancing, instrumentaling and reciting. Teeoff presented 12 par¬ ticipants, four of them gal duos. Age range is set at six to 16; eight to 16, the span on origination caught. A contest angle, is intro¬ duced: listeners choose, via mailed vote, first and second prize win¬ ners—who receive $10 and $5, re¬ spectively. At the end of 10 weeks, top winners will compete, as will runnerups. Prize money will pyra¬ mid. Opener proved a leisurely paced, friendly toned affair with a modi¬ cum of entertainment. Lee. long¬ time program manager of WOKO in the late Harold E. Smith opera¬ tion, subsequently program sta¬ tions manager of WROW, and now- radio program director at Albany Veterans Hospital, went out of his way to spotlight teachers of the various youngsters, and other coaches whose future cooperation was expected. He grew reminiscent and nostalgic in speaking of Al¬ banians who clicked professionally aiter appearances on local moppet originations. Kids pn premiere varied in tal¬ ent which is not always easy to yaoge via ear alone. Several had acts, primarily. "School Days was chorused as a signon ana signoff. Lee emceed gracious¬ ly and pianoed soundly. Deep¬ er oiced Dave Sautter announced program, interlaced with five re¬ ceded singing-talking commer¬ cials. Jaco. OLD KENTUCKY BARN DANCE With Shorty Chesser, Mary Ann Johnson, Sleepy Marlin, Tom Brooks, Tiny Thomale, Bobby Lewis, Martha Ford, Bob Law- son, announcer. Producer-director; Bill Aldridge 60 Mins., FrL, 7:30 pjn, PELLSBURY; LUCKY STRIKE WHAS, Louisville Town’s 50,000-watt outlet in¬ cludes a large segment of country’s talent in this 60-minute hoedown, with sponsorship divided between Pillsbury dealers getting plugs for farm feeds, and the ciggie backer picking up the tab for the second half. Randy Atcher,- station’s top hill tune warbler, is on vacation, his m.c. chore handled at this air¬ ing by Shorty Chesser, who has a swell time introducing his crew. High spots of the first half hour was the guitar picking and war¬ bling of various members of the unit. Tunes like "Blue River Train”, guitar accomp, "Whisper¬ ing”, and the air debut of Martha Ford. 17-year-old femme singer, putting over "My Heart Was Made For You” in great style, is indication that show’s producers are plenty hep to fresh talent, and this gal sounds like a comer. She ; must have made an equally solid ! impresh with listeners, when she I gave a sw'eet-voiced rendition of , “Half As Much”, during the sec- ■ ond half of the show, i Highlighting the doings were a comedy routine by Tom "Cactus” | Brooks. "Chicken Reel” by Sleepy • Marlin, station’s International i Champ fiddler: Mary Ann John- ; son singing "Satisfied Mind”, : Shorty Chesser warbling to guitar ' accompaniment "From Now On”, and Tiny Thomale’s topnotch piano ■capers with the old fave, "Do You i Ever Think Of Me.” i Show also has a juve singer In j the person of Bobby Lewis. Lad has plenty of appeal, and warbles I neatly to his own guitar accomp. Bob Lawson turned in a sharp stint • at delivering the commercials, and ' told the customers about the p.a. of the WHAS gang at the Ken¬ tucky State Fair, Sept. 9-18, where the station talent will per¬ form under the WHAS "Big Top”. On Friday’s (16* show, the Ken¬ tucky Barn Dance gang will put on a 90-minute show, last half hour going on the CBS net. Old Kentucky Barn Dance is a longtime fixture on WHAS, and all participants enter into the do¬ ings with a vim. apparently enjoy¬ ing themselves as much as the lis¬ teners with country tunes, old and new, ably and fully backgrounded by some of the best fiddlers and guitar players, in these parts. A real fast-moving, tuneful show, i which should .be going out over the 1 WHAS channel for a long time. 1 . Wicd. . - . , - -Truman p.air.id r.s aim and accomplish-; appeared before the group*. . . Richard (Dick) Joseph, travel scribe mer.is. Two "students” were in- ■ takes over Saturday (17) as Mutual’s "World Traveler’’ . . . Heavv- view ed to give a closeup of what ! champ Rocky Marciano takes an offbeat casting as guest on was being done Tne visits of- UN • s arne we b’s “Footnotes to Medical History” . . . Actor Harvey Lembeck post-midnight deejay show from Johnny Johnston’s East Side Charcoal Room over Newark outlet WVNJ . . . Gilbert Hfehet com- mences fourth WQXR year book stanzas. Bridget D’Oyly Carte, grand¬ daughter of opera company founder, guested on WQXR Gilbert & Sul¬ livan stanza Sunday ill) and Swissair sponsoring piano concert series starring 88’er Leo Nadelmann. cuency problem in Israel, who was at the school under a United Na- : tions fellowship. This exchange of ideas was being carried out with UN money, it was stated. Dr. Galway, of the UN, explain¬ ing that juvenile -deliquency was not a problem in the U.S. alone, lauded the Hawthorne School, go¬ ing on to say that 100 fellowships in 38 countries were providing men to study the problem. v The physically handicapped problem was teed off with word from Harold Russell, sec. of the World Veterans Federation, and a double amputee veteran himself. Visits to Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J. and to a school in Bel¬ grade, Yugoslavia, illustrated what is being done for those who have lost legs or arms. Dr. ^Howard Rusk, of N.Y.U. clinic at the New York’s Bellevue, pointed out what was being accomplished in rehabil- ing the handicapped all around the world under UN leadership. Virginia Momand deserves full credit for a tight scripting job while Mayor Moore is the one re¬ sponsible for the smooth produc¬ tion and direction. Wear. Radio Followup Vic Ghidalia joins Mutual press as staff writer after eight-year stint at Warner Bros. . , . "It’s Your Baby,” the Allen Sands package on Mutual, given full-column treatment in (natch) "My Baby” magazine. Emmett J. Heerdt Jr., sales manager of WEEI, Boston, for the past four years, has joined CBS Radio Spot sales in N. Y. as an account exec . .. . Hank Basayne, director of .WCBS’ "Music Till Dawn,” taking over as director of the station’s “Lanny Ross Presents,” replacing Jim Brown, appointed an associated director on the network side . . . WLIB community affairs director George Goodman covered last week’s Urban League convention in Milwaukee via beep phone interviews with the League’s execs ... Dr. Arno G. Hath begins his seminar in international communications Sept. 27 at the New School for Social Research, with the guest speaker list including Hill & Knowlton exec v.p. Edward W. BiUTet, publicist Edward L. Bernays, "Omnibus” host Alistair Cooke, French Broadcasting System North American director Pierre Crenesse and WNYC chieftain Sy Siegel . . . New York City officials, headed by Mayor Robert F. Wagner and City Council prez Abe Stark, will broadcast New Year’s greetings to Gotham’s Jewish population this week via WLIB. IN CHICAGO . . . Jules Herbuveanx, manager of NBC’s Chi stations, autoed to New York for homeoffice biz calls and swings up through New England this week on the first leg of his vacash . . . Jay Sheridan exits the Windy City to sign on as assistant production supervisor on the Robert Montgomery NBC-TV dramas. Sheridan’s own tele package, "Your Good Neighbor” currently running on, WLW-D, Dayton, will be supervised by John Lewellen . . . Jack Brickhouse to helm WGN’s Sunday "Football Warmup” with C. B. O’Malley picking up the tab. Vince Lloyd works the postgame "Scoreboard” for Household Finance . . . Zenith Radio publicist Chuck Wiley on the mend after ear surgery . . . Joe Wilson to c^ll WMAQ’s nine-game college grid schedule for the Lincoln-Mercury Dealers Assn. ... WGN-TV veep Frank Schreiber has negotiated a new two-year pact with wrestling promoter Fred Kohler to tv rights to the Saturday night Marigold bouts . i . Julius Yacker, assistant to AFTRA exec secretary Ray Jones, leaves Sept. 30 to enter the U of Chicago law school. Richard Zimbert replaces . . . Jean Sullivan signed by Foote, Cone & Belding to work the Kleenex blurbs on the NBC-TV Perry Como display, z . . Peter Jacobi, ex- ABC newsman fresh out of the army, joined the Chi NBC news staff as ove rnight editor . . . Warren Hewitt added' to the announcer stable at WICS, Springfield . . . WBBM education director Virginia Renaud accepted for the CBS station an Air Force merit certificate for re¬ cruiting airers . . . Announcer Ed Cooper headquartering here again after a N. Y. stint . . . Bette Chapel subbing for Patricia Scot for two weeks on WBBM-T’Vs "In Town Tonight.*’ With or without a sponsor, Mitch Miller can keep a platter- chatter show moving at a tidy pace. The only difference between Sunday's stanza (11) on CBS Ra¬ dio and previous outings during the summer is that the handle has been changed from the "Kraft Music Hall” to the “Mitch Miller Show,” Kraft having bowed out of the sponsorship slot. Show still emanates from New York’s Park-Sheraton Hotel and Miller continues to round up an agreeable assortment of show biz personalities to round-table for close to an hour. It’s all informal and pleasant. In the guest chairs Sunday were Lauritz Melchior, Bobby Hackett, Chris Connor, June V.alli and Eli Wallach. Miller, who’s also artists & repertoire chief and recording artist for Columbia Records, gave proper spinning time to the guest artists on rival labels but didn’t hesitate to spot his own "Yellow . Rose of Texas” on the turntable. ; And why not? It’s still the num- ; her one disk in the country, j Gros. I Michael. McCrary, 19-year-old! i son of . Tex McCrary (Jinx Falken-J l burg is the Tatter’s second wife 1 .; ; the 3 3 tUm *»<*“*■ 1 voiced over . his pere’s midnight! yv r\rpmxni r r • frolic via NBC, he sounds gener-.L> UEjI IxUll . , « ! man He% no^en^ut/ffi! .^YZ-TV premieres -Wedding Party" Saturday (17) .. . Show will to his studies at Reade™olle«e in • ^ ¥ Ve a ~ tlQn Wlth fllra dl ps to present a wedding reception of local , Oregon, where he is specializing in 1 co ’^? le ’ Top name performers playing Detroit' will give "command [in physics and mathematics' in it-'- Performances for the bride and groom. Commentary will be handled self in contrast to this teenager’s. < by Kay Connolly and Eddie Jerome. Sponsor is National Brewing Co. quite adult outlook on the Far \ and a ?ency—W. B. Doner . . . Jeannie .Carson was in town last week- j Eastern politico situation. His com-! end to bally the upcoming spec "Heidi” . . . The Box Maxwell Show I ments on Korea and India and i on WWJ-TV grabbed off Tex Beneke, Gail Davis, Kirby Stone Quartet, j our general Far Eastern relations ! the Spellbinders, Lillian Briggs and the Honey Bros, for guest spots in must make certain professionally ! “ - ■ political optimists andmever-never- , land do-gooders shudder, blit not I vox pop U. S. which seems to have j a more realistic .perspective on the I ROKs and adjacent nationals than IN SAN FRANCISCO ... Oakland’s KLX canceled*its twice-weekly "Libe^ace' , show because, according to program manager Bill Laws, "his name is hardly men¬ tioned any place, anywhere, any more,” and a few days later heavy fog short-circuited lines serving the transmitter in Richmond, keep¬ ing KLX off the air five hours, 20 minutes. Retribution? . . . Betty Furness at Di Maggio’s, asking like all other tourists, "Is Joe here?'' (he wasn’t) . . . Producer Wes Cameron in town, scouting for someone’s "Life”? . . . Gene de Christopher of KGO-TV apparently has hit it biS—his "Chris-Cut Cartoons” are to bow over ABC shortly . . . Harry Hambley's the new art director for KNTV, San Jose outlet just bow¬ ing into the air . . . Exec producer Ben Draper, of "Science in Action.” back from a Colorado vacation . . . Audrey Meadows chatting with Dr. •Mom” Chung . . . Les Abbott, lately of NBC-TY, Hollywood, back a single show. IN PITTSBURGH Harold V. Cohen, Post-Gazette drama editor and Variety mugg here, appointed general chairman of Variety Club’s annual telethon over r-TNt .-1 nmr Bob Petrill, ex-deejay at WHJB in Greeri'- WMCK in McKeesport . . , Bill Adler holding i brou^ht-hark vxuluc s tournament for tri-state tv talent this year at Green | footage which ^vas" icono*coped •' ° axS CC ° ct : ' ’ Bob Finkel ‘ son of Bin Finkel. Pittsburgh theatre lover Jinx’s afternoon teeveer but I own ® r * named director and co-producer for "Colgate Variety Hour” on he certainly oainted a graphic word ■ . 1 Bea1, tv Packager-producer and Dick Riebling, who works picture, in the abstract, during the ! 111 bls have sold the outline of an original tv dramas, "Crisis in midnight'AM stint.-'- Abel. ; j , . (Continued on page-40)