Variety (October 1956)

Wednesday, October 31, 1956 HADIO-TELE VISION 23 TV’S PHANTOM MILLIONAIRES IT JUST AIN’T FUNNY In the beginning there was the era when to even dare mention a rival network was considered being a traitor to the cause, sub¬ ject to ostracism or at least incurring the wrath of the network echelon. The continuity acceptance (censor) boys pre-screened the scripts with a fine tooth comb and woe to the comic who ad libbed a cuffo plug for the competition. It was an era that went out with Fred Allen, who rated top billing among the boys who were persona ijon grata for daring to flaunt^such silly censorship. Then all of a sudden television began to get broadminded, Josh¬ ing your rival (both by name and by network) became the order of the day. And now it's reached such a silliness-in-reverse that one could almost wish for a return to the old circumscribed blue- pencilling. It's been particularly noticeable since the start of the season, with practically every comedian and star—or their gag writers—exercising their new-found freedom to kid the oppo¬ sition or demonstrate what great guys they are by tossing in a kudos for a rival network personality. If it isn’t Jackie Gleason (CBS) and Perry Como (NBC) engag¬ ing in an on-the-square Alphonse & Gaston, it's a Steve Allen (NBC) making some pointed reference to the Ed Sullivan (CBS) competition. .But it hasn’t stopped there. Practically every¬ body’s been having his fling at it to the point of ad nauseam, and last week’s “comicality” by Bob Hope on his NBC show that “Ed Sullivan owns Sunday night” was only the latest in a con¬ tinuous intra-trade byplay to heighten the awareness. All of which wouldn't be near so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that (1) it’s no longer funny; (2) the average viewer doesn’t give a hang. Rose. Significant Court Ruling Awaited On Award to Cox-Knight-TrammeD ♦ Money Cant Buy (Client) Happiness, Tail-Coin Quizzers on Wane, Ratings Catching Up to ‘$64,000’ Duo, Others Washington, Oct. 30. FCC’s diversification policy in granting of broadcast licenses is expected to get its most crucial test when the U. S. Court of Appeals hands down its ruling on a case challenging the agency’s decision of last Jaunary granting channel 7 in Miami, Fla., to the Cox- Knight-Trammell Biscayne Tele¬ vision Corp. (WCKT). Applicants in the proceeding, in which all three losing applicants for the channel are participating, are attacking the decision on two grounds: (1) that the Commission deemphasized Biscayne’s owner¬ ship of the ; two daily newspapers in Miami (Daily News and Herald) in order to justify its grant and (2) that the examiner was arbitrary in excluding testimony on broadcast operations of stations outside of Miami owned by the James M. Cox and John S. Knight interests. They are also' making an issue of former NBC chairman Niles Trammell’s. 15% interest in Bis¬ cayne, claiming his participation violates an FCC rule prohibiting network officers from having in¬ terest in stations. Trammell was given a consultant’s contract on re¬ tiring from NBC. In a comprehensive brief filed with the Court last week, the Com¬ mission stoutly defended its deci¬ sion and denied that it “emascu¬ lated” its diversification policy, as one of the competing applicants (Continued on page 44) Doris Day Series $2,000,000 Budget Hollywood, Oct. 30. 9 Arwin Productions, the Doris Day-Marty Melcher outfit, is prep- ping a 39-stanza vidpix series star¬ ring Miss Day, based on the “Calamity Jane” character. It’s re¬ portedly budgeted at $2,000,000.'* Series starts after the actress completes Warners’ “Pajama Game.” Three directors will be used, one each for comedy, musical sequences and dramatic segments. Colodny Back to WM Les Colodny has resigned as head of the NBC comedy develop¬ ment dept, to return to the William Morris Agency where he’ll devel- ope and sell writers. Colodny left the Morris office about a year ago to join NBC. Prior to that lie was a scripter. Help Wanted Curiosity of the trade was aroused by an.ad in the Sun¬ day New York Times classified section this week seeking an “assistant to the president.” Applicants, said . the ad, “must have successful experi¬ ence in radio and tv network and advertising agency admin¬ istration and sales.” Poznan Trials As Kaiser TV Entry; Hill Awaits Visa George Roy Hill, Unit Four Pro¬ ductions producer, hopes to get to Warsaw and Poznan next week in connection with his plans to* da a one-hour dramatic show on the Poznan trials for the “Kaiser Alu¬ minum Hour.” Hill was in Washington this past weekend (27-28), talking with Pol¬ ish and Czech embassy officials on clearances. He expects a visa from the Czech government next Monday and is hopeful that the new nationalist Polish Communist government also will come through with a visa. He says both embas¬ sies in the capital were optimistic. The Poznan trials were one of the factors which triggered the switch in Poland and had repercus¬ sions in revolt-torn Hungary. Hill’s planned itinerary calls for leaving the U. S. by plane next (Continued on page 46) COLGATE BYPASSES McC-E ON BILLINGS Looks as if McCann-Erickson, which had been the frontrunner for the $12,000,000 Colgate billings which the soap outfit withdrew from the William Esty agency early ! this fall, won’t get any of the busi¬ ness at all. All the accounts in¬ volved have been assigned. Ted Bates, which already han¬ dles most of the Colgate business, was awarded the Rapid Shave and Fab accounts, while Len- nen & Newell, another of the cur¬ rent Colgate agencies, got Vel powder and liquid detergents. Earlier, 'Norman, Craig & Kummel picked up their first Colgate busi¬ ness in the first of the ex-Esty brand assignment. THOSE NETWORK PACTS DEFLATED By GEORGE ROSEN The television networks are doing a justifiable burn these days over the fantastically inflated fig¬ ures, that are being kicked around by perfottners, producers and di¬ rectors in boasting about their longrange contracts with the webs. To take them at face value, tv would be turning out millionaires by the bushel and the networks themselves would be reeking in untold wealth. The networks have long since made a practice of respecting all Contract details as confidential. But the talent itself—and their re¬ spective pressagents—see an op¬ portunity of enhancing their pres¬ tige and emerging as bigtime money heroes. It's all done through the simple expedient of projecting contracts to fullest max¬ imum value under the most ideal circumstances of every option be¬ ing picked up and achieving a continuous SRO sponsor status. Few, if any, have ever attained such distinction. If the networks are miffed and see an incalculable harm being done the industry it's because the attendant “everybody’s a million¬ aire” hoopla has had the effect of perpetuating and even spiraling the high cost for talent. Because the performer-in-demand is labor¬ ing under the delusion that money is no object where the networks are concerned, a Susan Hayward, for example, posted a $100,000 asking price for a one-shot ap¬ pearance on “Producers’ Show¬ case.” “That’s the silliest figure we ever heard,” was the network retort. Not that tv doesn’t dangle fancy prices, whether contractually or otherwise. But it’s recalled that when CBS president Frank Stanton testified before the CelLer commit¬ tee in New York recently (in the Government probe into network practices) he frankly admitted that he could think of only half a dozen persons at the most who came within the $200,000 per year bracket. Similarly NBC prez Rob¬ ert W. Sarnoff conceded that the number was a very limited one, but would be difficult to pin down exactly because of the number of extenuating circumstances and con¬ ditions. rivery major longrange contract is loaded with “ifs” and options. When Martha Raye was signed to a 15-year deal by NBC the press went ot town on prejecting her in¬ come in the $10,000,000 bracket. Under the most ideal conditions of (Continued on page 44) London, Oct. 30. Wales and West Television, the company in which NBC had a stake, has been awarded the contract to operate the commercial tv outlet in Wales and the West of England. The new station is expected to go on the air by the end of next year. NBC subsequently bowed out at request of Independent Television authority, which insisted on com¬ plete British control of operation. The new company is a powerful combination of showbiz and local interests. Jack Hylton is believed to be financially interested in the group, but is not included in the first list of directors. Lord Derby is president of WWT and also temporary chairman. Lord Cilcennin of Hereford will assume the chairmanship in March next year. Other members of the board are Herbert Agar, an American who The Boffo Cuffo “Hottest” ticket in town last weekend, comparable to the frantic prowling for the “My Fair Lady” legiter was for the Ed Sullivan CBS-TV show last Sunday (28) with Elvis Presley. An otherwise for-free ducat, the “black market” activity around N. Y:, with some fancy coin dangled to anyone willing to cut loose from a pair, was something new for tv. Weeks ago, long before the tickets had been printed, the CRS requests hit a new high but in this instance the net¬ work was hard-pressed even to accommodate an infinitesmal part of the crowds trying to get into the Sunday afternoon rehearsal. Van Volkenburg’s Exodus Imminent; Conkling Back? Resignation of Jack L. Van Vol- kenburg as president on CBS-TV is reported to be fairly imminent, with the possibility that it may come up for board action at the November meeting. It’s been hang¬ ing fire for some time and it’s un¬ derstood from close sources that Van Volkenburg may go into busi¬ ness for himself. His checkout would complete the cycle of top level administrative changes at the three tv networks, with Robert Kintner deposed at ABC-TV prexy a couple weeks back and Pat Wea¬ ver exiting as NBC board chair¬ man two months ago. Major conjecture centers on Van Volkenburg's successor. CBS says it won’t be Kintner, despite recur¬ ring reports to that effect. It’s be¬ lieved in some quarters that James Conkling would" be called back to assume the presidency of the tv network. It’s recalled that when Conkling bowed out as prez of Columbia Records the CBS board refused to accept his resignation but recommended he take a leave of absence. was formerly assistant to the US Ambassador in London; W. Emsley Carr, chairman of the News of the World, and M. Chapman-Walker, manager of the same Sunday paper; Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards, founder of the Welsh League of Youth; Al¬ fred Francis, administrator general of the Old Vic; Sidney Gilliat, Brit¬ ish film producer and director; Lt.- Col. H. M. Llewellyn, former cap¬ tain of the British show jumping team; Sir Alexander Maxwell, for¬ mer head of the British Travel Assn.; and Sir Grismond Phillips, chairman of the Historic Buildings Council for Wales. The Welsh transmitter will be the sixth to be launched since the commercial tv network was launched in September last year. The fourth, in Yorkshire, starts op¬ erating next Saturday (3), while the fifth is due to,open in Scot¬ land next August are any barometer, the era of tho gimmick show is on the wane. Sponsors are no longer beating a path to the door§. of the giveaway show packagers asking for varia¬ tions />n the jackpot theme, and even though some of the more fabulous ones (the $250,000 “Most Beautiful Girl In the World” and the “Take A Giant Step”) have yet to hit the air, the premieres are strictly anti-climatic. Nobody, save perhaps the sponsor and the agen¬ cy, is waiting around breathlessly for their emergence. To what extent the giveaway bub¬ ble . has burst can be : gleaned on a variety of fronts. The most re¬ cent monthly Trendex booklet shows the daddy of them all, “$64,- 000 Question,” with its 27.5 rating, 18 points behind the “I Love Lucy” leadership, latter copping 45.5. In the days when “$64,000 Ques¬ tion” dominated all the ratings, it swept the rival Pontiac dramatics on NBC right off the spectrum. Those were the days when the scorecard read: “$64,000 Question”: 52.0; Pontiac 9.0. Yet the Trendex of two weeks ago showed “Arm¬ strong Theatre” in the onetime Pontiac slot registering a 20.0 as against a 26.0 for “$64,000.” During the peak of the giveaway era, the “$64,000 Challenge” sister show was running three-to-one against the Loretta Young NBC show in the Sunday night at 10 slot. That the comet is fast burning up is reflected in the new Nielsens for the time period—“$64,000 Chal¬ lenge” 29.4; Loretta Young 28.3. The Tuesday at 8 “Big Surprise” on NBC is in trouble, with both the ABC Warner Bros, film show¬ casing and CBS’ Phil Silvers Show taking the play away. “Break the Bank,” despite its $250,000 come- on, has failed to create the antici¬ pated ripple. And "High Finance” is already slated for the ash heap. What the new trend in tv pro¬ gramming will be .hasn’t been crys¬ tallized as yet, though there ap¬ pears a definite upbeating of mu¬ sical stanzas (Ray Anthony, Law¬ rence Welk, the projected “Big Revcord” show for CBS, etc.). Ford Detouring Into ‘Zane Grey’ With CBS-TV now resigned to the bowout of Ford from the Sat¬ urday night “Jubilee” spec series (although the withdrawal has not been finalized), Columbia is stilL eyeing a healthy Ford in its future. Motor company, still anxious to siphon the coin into tv, particularly during the new-car season, is buy¬ ing some alternate-week sponsor¬ ship on weekly half-hour program¬ ming to take up the “Jubilee” sponsorship slack. With General Foods anxious to unload alternate weeks on some of its network programming for reasons of economy, Ford is mov¬ ing in on GF’s “Zane Grey Thea¬ tre” Friday night series. It’s also taking over a one-shot sponsorship of “Lucy” in December. LEE COOLEY DICKERS 2-YEAR CBS DEAL CBS-TV and Lee Cooley are working out a two-year deal un¬ der which the former producer of the Perry Como musicals would re¬ turn to the Columbia bailiwick as a producer-director. Specifically, Cooley would be assigned to whip¬ ping into shape “The Big Record,” the hourlong musical series based on bestselling disks which the web hopes to have ready for a January 1 ' start, possibly in Saturday night time. Cooley will do an audition on the show in 'the ldtter part of Novem¬ ber, possibly Nov. 22. Show Biz Interests Awarded West England Com! TV Outlet But NBC Bows Out of % Stake