Variety (February 1957)

, tfeclhesday, February 20, 1957 RADIO-TELEVISION 21 NO TV SPECS; JUST ‘SPECIALS’ Y&R’sSlIMOOO Billings Rap Major topic of discussion around Madison Av. agency circles ap¬ pears to be: “What’s happening at Young & Rubicam?" Loss of $16,000,000 in television billings through program can¬ cellations and shift of some biz to a rival agency (practically all within a couple of weeks) has aot only brought about a drastic tobagganing in the agency’s previous kingpin status in the area of tv programming but has brouglit in its wake recmTing rumors of some key personnel changels^ within the agency’s iv-radip dept. Only recently agency boasted $82,000,000 in tv-radio billings. In the face of the approximate $16,000,000 downgrading in tv programming, there are reports of “more to come.’’ As to the Y & R breakdown, major rap thus far has come from $9,000,000 in General Foods cancellations as represented by the lopoff of “Bengal Lancers” (at the end of the season) arid the more imminent fadeoff of “Hiram Holliday” on NBC-TV. Predating this was the decision of General Electric to drop the “20th Fox Hour,’* representing a $5,000,000 outlay. In addition, the cancellation of half of “Broken Arrow” on ABC-TV by General Electric cued an¬ other $2,000,000 billings rap. Loss of some of the Bristol-Myers biz to BBD&O didn’t help matters any either. Thus far none of the lopped off shows have been replaced. Sherwood Quits Xotton-Pickin ’ Chi Walks Out on NBC In Quickie Return to Frisco; ‘Would Rather Cut Lawns’ San Francisco, Feb. 19. Unpredictable Don Sherwood walked out on NBC in Chicago last week because “I hate this cottonpickiri' town.’* The Frisco TV emcefe was sched¬ uled to start a daily afternoon color show over NBC’s o-and-o sta¬ tions yesterday (18).. Sixty-minute strip was being tailored to Sher¬ wood’s specifications and Sherwood and his bride of three months flew to Chicago 10 days ago to ready his network debut. But Sherwood, who’d taken the precaution of not signing "fi con¬ tract, didn’t like the town or the setup after four days and last Wednes(^y (13) flew right back to Frisco. He was replaced by Mort Sahl, who was booked for a week with options. “It wasn’t right,” he said, “my talent has to be kept at room tem¬ perature. I’d have killed myself in a month back there. . . . “We arrived 7:30 in the morning. They rushed me to the studio. They made me watch auditions from New York that didn’t mean a thing. “They had no hotel room for us. They Insisted on taking pictures. I hadn’t shaved. I’d been 35 hours without sleep.” Further, he crabbed, “they had the opening show timed to tenths of seconds. . . . “I don’t work that way. I don’t go for that guff. They think you’ll do anything for money. That’ll all they talk about, money. You can’t do creative work when they kill your creativity.” Sherwood did a nightly hour on ABC's KGO-TV, Frisco, for 18 months, and has deejayed at (Continued on page 36) Swift Tanken, SO ‘Specials’ for TV With its freewheeling schedule policy as regards “specials” (see separate story) all set, NBC-TV has gone out and sold four new specs for next season already. Swift has inked for one; Timken Roller Bearing Co. — its first time in tele¬ vision — has pacted two and Stand¬ ard Oil of New Jersey has picked up a fourth. Standard Oil, via Marschalk & Pratt, will sponsor a “pageant” of American entertainment. Timken, via BBD&O, is moving into the documentary field, with the first two for which it's signed bang a pair of “Project 20” shows but with intentions to buy in later on other spec series like the Telementaries. Swift, as part of its original three-show commitment, is looking at several properties. To the four specials already on the books should be added a fifth — the two-hour Mary Martin ver¬ sion of “Annie Get Your Gun” skedded for Ford in November. ‘Wyatt Earp’ No. 3 “Wyatt Earp,” which has has been earning solid but never spectacular ratings for ABC-TV, suddenly popped into third place on the Febru¬ ary Trendex Top 10 list, giv¬ ing ABC two Top 10 entries compared to only one (“Perry Como”) for NBC, with CBS sweeping the rest. Other ABC entry was “Disneyland,” while ranking Nos. 1 and 2 ahead of “Earp” were Ed Sul¬ livan and “I Love Lucy.” Rat¬ ings are based on the one live broadcast during the week of Feb. 1-7; Ed Sullivan (CBS) . 34.9 I Love Lucy (CBS) . 30.8 Wyatt Earp (ABC) . 30.7 The Line-Up (CBS) . 30.3 Perry Como (NBC) . 30.3 G.E. Theatre (CBS) . 28.8 December Bride (CBS) . . .28.4 Red Skeltpn (CBS) . 28.1 Disneyland (ABC) . 27.5 “$64,000 Question” (CBS) -27.3 NBC Cets Aifil Confidence Vote On TV Tonight’ In the face of the resounding critical panning accorded the “To¬ night” show when it initially went on the air, there was some appre¬ hension within NBC-TV that the affiliates would pull the late night rug from .under the network and demand an out by recapturing the time for use of feature films. Surprisingly enough, when the NBC Affiliates Executive Commit¬ tee (which speaks for the affiliate body as a whole) met with the network brass in N. Y. last week, it reaffirmed its vote of confidence in NBC’s “let’s keep it live” aspi¬ rations. General impression among the key affils was that the show is shaping itself into something con¬ crete and “as long as it keeps up we’ll string along with it.” Some of the affiliates maintained that, on the local rating front, the “Tonight” show in some Instances was outpulling the opposition’s fea¬ ture pix displays. CBS Dickers Rooney Deal Hollywood, Feb. 19. In the wake of Mickey Rooney’s stellar role in the “Comedian” on. “Playhouse 90” last week, CBS-TV is negotiating a longtermer with him. Rooney’s personal manager Red Doff is handling the dickering. EVEfiTITH-lEK PAnERIITOEND By GEORGE ROSEN Those 90-minute spectaculars as regular every-fourth-week program fare (“Producers’ Showcase,” “Sat¬ urday. Night Color Spectacular,” etc.) will definitely go out the NBC window at the end of the season. Since the advent of the Bab Kintner-Bob Lewine programming re¬ gime, NBC would, in fact, prefer that the word “spec” be written out of the video lexicon. From now on call them “spe¬ cials,” They’ll continue to be in 90-minute form, and still dressed up in RCA’s finest compatible, tints. But no longer as preemption fare on a regular every-fourth-week basis. Effective next season no regular show on the NBC spectrum will be subjected to more than two preemptions in a single season, CBS came to the same conclu¬ sion some months back after Ford cancelled out of the once-everyfour-weeks Saturday night “Ford, Star Jubilee” series, deciding that more harm than good can come from regular slotting of specs at the expense of preempting estab¬ lished shows. Major factor in the NBC turn¬ about from the Pat Weaver philo¬ sophy (aside from Kintner’s own feelings about specs) is the toll that the Sunday night and Monday night specs have exacted on the Steve Allen 8 to 9 sabbath show and the “Twenty One” quizzpr on Monday nights, particularly at a time when Charles Van Doren single-handedly is covering NBC with unprecedented Trendex-Nielson glory opposite “I Love Lucy.” Bumping of the Allen show every fourth-week to make room for a spec has always worked to the detriment of Allen on the week he returns. It takes him a couple of weeks to get back in rating stride. Even though he outpointed ; Sullivan .the week before the last Sunday spec, Allen’s layoff week turned the trick for Sullivan, whose every-week pattern won him back his audience. Ditto “Twenty One,” which, despite all the coast-to-coast Van Doren fanfare, failed to come up to its opposite-“Lucy” audience potential simply because NBC bounced the show at the height of the Van Doren popularity to make room for the ‘‘Producers’ Show¬ case” presentation of “Mayerling.” In fact after the Hallmark pre¬ sentation of “There Shall Be No Night” on March 17 (the last of the season’s specs in the Sunday 7:30 to 9 period) Allen will go four-amonth and probably rema.in on an every-week basis permanently. Under the Kintner program command, NBC will hew to the same pattern as CBS — do the specs (but call them “specials”) on a periodic basis, when and if there’s a hot property and if they’re sold in advance. That's the principle under which CBS is bringing in “Cinderella” and perhaps one or two others the remainder of the season. What happens to “Producers’ (Continued on page 26) Howard Coleman Named WMAQ Manager in Chi Chicago, Feb. 19. Resurgent importance of the AM side of the networks’ o&o division is highlighted here W'ith Howard Coleman taking over this week as station manager of NBC’s WMAQ, a post that has been vacant for sev¬ eral years. Coleman wall report to veep Jules Herbuveaux and WNBQWMAQ assistant general manager Henry Sjogren. Reporting to Cole¬ man will be WMAQ sales manager Rudi Neubauer and program man¬ ager Dick Johnson. Coleman's duties as manager of color sales development will be ab¬ sorbed by the television sector. Un¬ der the new alignment, Russ Stebbins, heretofore sales director of both the radio and tv stations, will helm the sales activities of the video operation sdlely. It’s Now Bob Saudek’s ‘Omnibus’ As Ford Foundation Bows Out Van Doren Topi ‘Lucy’ Charles Van Doren not only boosted his “Twenty One” earnings to $143,000 Mdnday night (18), but pushed the NBC-TV quizzer to its first Trendex victory over “I Love Lucy.” The overnight returns gave “21” a 30.6 and “Lucy” a 30.0, It was the first thne a regularly scheduled NBC-TV show at Mondays at 9 had topped “Lucy” since Oct.. 15, 1951 (some specs had topped it but no weekly series). Series stands. a good chance to repeat its^ victo:^ over “Lucy” next week, ' since the show ended with a tje between Van Doren and his newest competitor, a femme attorne5^ Bishop Sheen, on ABC, ran a poor third in the Trendex sweepstakes with a 5.7. . Lewine, Werner, Dann’s Status As Kintner’s Crew Status of the program command at NBC-TV under exec veepee Robert Kintner, the new programsales chieftain, has been resolved. Bob Lewine, who served as Kint¬ ner’s tv program veepee when the latter prexied the ABC setup, take.s over the nighttime programming area. Mort Werner helms the day¬ time program setup along with the “T-oday”-“Home”-“Tonight” opera¬ tion, with exec producer Dick Linkroum reporting to him. Mike Dann, veepee in charge of program sales, will double into the program area as a roving back oh the so-called “power shows” (the 90-minute specials, Dinah Shore. Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Dean Mar¬ tin, Hallmark, etc.). As such he’ll report two ways — to veepee Manie Sacks on the programming end and to veepee Billy Goodheart on the sales end. WaUer Scott continues as admin¬ istrative head of sales reporting to Goodheart. New lineup was officially spelled out at last w'eek’s meeting of the NBC-TV affiliates executive com¬ mittee and the network brass in N. Y. Ford Foundation is cutting loose from “Omnibus” after four years and is transferring rights to the property, including negatives, kinescopes and secondary rights, to Robert Saudek Associates, the new production unit headed by the Foundation's Radio-TV Workshop director. Foundation expects to drop out of all yadio-tv operations except for the work of its Educa¬ tional Radio-Ty Centre at Ann Arbor and other educational tele¬ vision activities, but Saudek will carry on “Omnibus” and is already in negotiations with all three net¬ works and several potential spon¬ sors. New company, organized only a couple of weeks ago, will take over key personnel of the Radio-TV Workshop staff, the actual number depending on whether “Omnibus” is sold for next season. Beyond “Omnibus,” Saudek Associates is planning a general programming operation, with Alistair Cooke, N.Y. Herald Tribune drama critic Walter Kerr and designer Henry May already set os part of the operation. Actual plans of the new organ¬ ization are necessarily on the vague side, but its projects — or at least those it would like to do — would include besides “Omnibus,” a drama series, a series on music, a tv journalism series and a ^ chil¬ dren’s show, plus possibly « jazz .series. Kerr, who’s been drama consultant, would head up the dramatic entry; Cooke, who’s chief U.S. correspondent for the Man¬ chester Guardian, would head the news show and Saudek himself (he has five) would do the children’s series. Saudek compares the new production company to an archi(Continued on page 40) Kleinennan Exits NBC for (XS Slot Isaac Kleinerman, NBC-TV’s ace j film editor, has ankled the web to ! lake on an associate pi'oducer post at CBS’ public affairs department. Klcinerman’s switch comes as something of a shocker in trade circles, since the editor has long been closely associated with NBC I prez Bob Sarnoff, the association dating back to when Sarnoff headed up the production effort on “Victory at Sea,” with HenrY tPete) Salomon as producer and Kleiner¬ man as much-heralded editor on the series. TV Viewing Helps Wear Out the Upholstery, So Furniture Men Gleeful Minneapolis, Feb. 19. Because, among other reasons, television “is doing a pretty good job of wearing out the, living; room furniture,” the furniture business continues to hold , up well, it was brought out at the fiye-day Tw'in City Furniture Market attended by 3,000 Upper Midwest dealers here. The opinion was voiced that by virtue of such video watching in homes' sitting rooms the uphol¬ stered furniture , line In particular should be a best seller during the next half-year. Also, tv has helped and Is help-' ing the furniture business by cre¬ ating a demand for other certain furniture items, too, that go with video watching. And, of course, it was pointed out, many furniture dealers handle tv sets. Spadea Exits Christal J. R. Spadea, Detroit manager of the Henry I. Christal Co. is resign¬ ing effective March 1. Spadea has served the radio station rep field for 25 years in the Motor City for Scott Howe Bowen, Edw'ard Petry, and more recently as Detroit man¬ ager for CBS. Since “Victory,” Kleinerman has been handling the editing on the major NBC documentary ef¬ forts in the “Project 20” series. At CBS, he hasn’t been assigned to any specific property, but it’s notew'orthy that since Columbia got its “Air Power” off the ground, it has taken a greater interest in documentaries and already has one series, “Twentieth Century,” in the Morks under the producership of Burton (Bud) Benjamin. MURROW TO ENGLAND ON ‘SUEZ’ SPECIAL Ed Murrow planed to England over the weekend to put the finish¬ ing touches on “England After Suez,” the March 3 CBS-TV “See It Now.” Show will explore cur¬ rent British attitudes tow’arcl America, particularly American foreign policy. Included in the coverage will be footage of the recent Parliamen¬ tary by-election, filming of a de¬ bale on “the spread of the Ameri¬ can way of life” to England at the Oxford Union Debating Society, and a session of Fleet St, reporters with Murrow. Latter group will in¬ clude Michael Foote of the Daily Tribune, Michael Curtis of th« Daily News Chronicle, Heniy Fairlie of the Daily Mail and Join Connell of the Daily Evenin/ News.