Variety (March 1957)

SO ItADlO-TEUE^SION From the Production Centres —S Continued froi^ page 26 convention before desking up . , , Htfbbell Robinson and Lester Gott¬ lieb, CBS programming toppers, around for a few days on talent forays . . . Robert Temple, executive veepee of Raymond R. Morgan agency, off for^'twO'^month junket through Europe to sell off radio and tv rights to “Queen for a Day” ., . Bill Robson, producer-director of CBS radio’s “Suspense,” baiting his lines for top talent and caught Jeff Chandler, Vincent Price, Mercedes McCambridge "and Vanessa Brown . . . Robert Adams swung from CBS to ABC-TV to be executive producer of Hol¬ lywood program department . . . Rowe; Giesen was Sandy Commings’ choice for his old berth, coordinator of the Disney-ABC operation. IN CHICAGO ... Ernie Walker, ABC Radio’s central division director, treks this week to Abbeyville, La., on a sales missioi^ then swings Up to New York for a round of conferences . . » Dan Enright guestspeaks before the Broad¬ cast Advertising Club tomorrow (Thurs.) . . ; Eddie Hubbard has taken over WGN’s 6-9 ajm. eye-opener disk strip, vacated by Norman Ross . . . WBKB today (Wed.) started telecasting its full schedule from its new quarters in the. ABC .State-Lake Bldg;. . . Martin Vasquez added to the WTTW engineering staff . . . Myrna McCauley, formerly with Needham, Lbuis &. Brorby’s tv department, joined Foote, Cone & Belding’s copy staff . . . WBBM-TV exec producer Frank Atlass and director Barry McKinley cut a kine Saturday (23) of the projected CBS-TV version of Susan Heinkel’s “Susan’s Show” ... Stan Dale to hejm WJJD’s 6 to 10 p.m. deejay spread starting Monday (1) . . . When Don McNeill takes a couple of weeks off later next month from his ABC “Breakfast Club” toastmastering duties for a Florida fishing trip, Bill Malone of WMAL. Washington, and D 6 n Stone of KSCJ, Sioiix City, will each host the show for a week. Two personalities worked the network show last summer as part of McNeill’s campaign to showcase local radio “salesmen” . Chi. NBC news chief Chet Hagen subbing for Sun-Times City editor Karin Walsh the imxt two weeks on WMAQ’s “Night Desk” ... Bill Evans Jiosting a GO^minute 'music-interview, spread on WBKB Saturday afternoons. Dick Locke, ‘directs. IN WASHINGTON ... Herbert Marshall has just completed a series of 13 quarter-hour tele¬ films for Federal Civil Defense, with Robert Enders, Inc., producing . . . Ben Strouse, prexy of WWDC, elected for two-year term to Radio Board of NARTB . . j Hugh O^Briari, the “Wyatt Earp” of ABC-TV, here to receive award- at National Rifle Association confab, and for personal appearances . . » WMAL-ABC’s Bill Malone used deck of the “Susan Constant,” replica of the Colonial ship for one of his broadcasts . . . U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a one-minute public service tv film on beef . . . Bertram Libin has been named general sales manager of WMAL-Radio, replacing Robert Jonscher, who recently re¬ signed . . . John Douglas, weather forecaker for WTOP-CBS, elected member of the American Metrological Society . . . Merritt Trott, ex of WBAL-TV Baitimox-e, new account exec at WTTG. IN LONDON ... French cabaret star Henri Salvador made his farewell tv appearance on Associated Television’s “VaJ Parnell’s Star Time” last week. Sal¬ vador was returning home after a successful two-week season at the Prince of Wales Theatre . . . The first in the series of half-hour tele¬ films based on. the true-life experiences of members of the Overseas Press Club will be aired by ABC-TV on Saturday, June 15. The series, titled “Exclusive,” was made by Ardleigh Films Ltd. at Elstree Studios . . . Comedian Charlie Chester starts his own nine-week series of 30- minute shows on BBC-TV on April 4 . . . Helen Cherry arid Griffith Jones star in tonight’s (Wed.) Associated-RedifEusion Play of the Week, “Dead on Nine,” by Jack Popplewell . . . The next CBC teleplay to be aired by BBC-TV will be “Street Music.” The play, by Jack Kuper, will be networked on April 5 . . . “Cross Talk,” a new John Irwin presen¬ tation to discuss controversial subjects of topical interest, will have its-first airing on April 5. The show will be networked by Associated Television. . , IN BOSTON ... WBZ-TV’s 1,349-ifoot tower construction completed and power lines being connected With series of extensive tests going on . . . Dick Farn- ham, WBZ-TV sales staff, back from Florida with nice tan . . . WBZ- TV sales mgr. Herb Masse picked for jury duty .'. . Bob Emery, WBZ- , TV personality; back from New York where he filmed scenes at the Statue of Libetty for his mopped aud ... Ed Jahcewicz, WBZ-TV pro¬ duction staff, producer for “Let Rreedom Ring” programming ... Don Kent, WBZ-TV weathehcaster, back from Florida vacash . . . Nor¬ man Knight, exec veep WNAC-TV, back in Hub after attending BMI clinics in New York, Chicago and San Francisco where he was guest lecture speakin|['on “Film and the TV Statibn” ... Cedric Fester, WNAC and Mutual commentator, in ..New York for UN sessions . . . Leo Perkins, WNAC-TV production supervisor, off to Europe for three weeks tour . . . Nat Herman, WNAC-TV sales staff, back from two weeks vacash in Miami . . . Jim Gates, WNAC-TV sales dept, an¬ nounced arrival of baby daughter Dimcan MacDonald, director WNAC and “Yankee Home and Food. Show,” only femme judge “Miss Photographic Queen” contest of Hub. press photogs association ... Senor Wehccs guests with Louise Morgan on her WNAC-TV show Friday (29). IN KANSAS CITY . . .iv" .. .. Joe Story has joined sales staff of KCMO,"his appointment dnnouhced as effective March 15 by E. K. Hartenbower, 'gefieral manager! Story was general manager for several years''of KCKN when it yfas a Capper property. His switch to KCMO follows' recent ..sale bi' the' station, to new owners . . . Walt Bodine, the WDAF newscaster, is recuperat¬ ing after hospitalization and a bout with laryngitis ... Sam Molen, the KMBC and tv sportscaster, beating the Florida buShes for a couple of weeks,to get the front row slant on the ball clubs, while Jim Burke subs for him on his regular sportscasts here . . . KCMO’s sportscaster Bruce Rice radio-ing the NCAA championship- basketball games, in¬ cluding “live” to the Armed Forces Network. IIS PHILADELPHIA • . Statewide shortage of Salk vaccine forced postponement of WRCV station’s planned public service' campaign, including free shots, special programs and displays* in lobby . . . WCAU-TV director-producer Jack Dolph named No. 1 programming assistant’ to veep Charles Vanda , . . Bob Bradley, host On “Color Recital” and <^‘Detective Time,” has joined WRCV-TV announcing staff. He replaces Fat Landon who ankles to Rochester, N.Y., as program meager of WHAM . ; . Chief Halftown and Sally Starr to host 90-miilute festival of color cartoons (April ’7) on WFIL-TV .. . John Paul Weber, vet WIP arinounoer, gifted by president Ben Gimbel to mark 20th anni with station . . . WFIL stations presented with “Appreciation Award” by Protestant Radio and TV Center, for “its contribution to the religious -life of our nation” . . . Stuart F.. Louchien named recipienUof the first NBC public service award in this area for his Centennial Concert and Ball in behalf of • the.^Ai 5 a(^my of I4u$iQ,re?tDr.4tion tod . . . Jules Rind, WPEN news- orit oi ti/il tgsq no boi/niiuo'J) March 27» 1957 caster, exiting next month for Voice of America . . . Moppet Richard Keith, of the “I LoVe Lucy” show, here to plug line of children’s clothes, visits Joan and Gene Crane on their WCAU-TV “Mr. arid Mrs.” session (April* 7) . . , .Bill Macormac, former program director of WIBG and local sales rep of Storecast Corp. of America, switches to New York as sales manager of qompany. IN PORTLAND, ORE ... S. John Schile, general manager of KLOR-TV returned to his desk after a 10-day speaking tour at the annual tv clinics in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco . . . William Lundfgan and Mary Costa set to appear as guest speakers for the Key Club April 6 . . . Chuck ft Betty Foster, hard- hitting news team for KOIN-TV celebrated 2d birthday of “City Desk,” tops news. show . . . C, Howard Lane, KOIN-TV managing di¬ rector, just back from l^YC ... Jackson L. Gitchell has been appointed account for KPTV . . . Gene Phelps has rep of top engineer in area. He gets paid by KPTV . . . Gene Brendler, winner'of the annual Rosy Award for top host will have his own show at KPTV starting April 9. - IN CLEVELAND ... . Carl- George, WGAR general manager, named president of Rotary Club, . , . A1 Krivin, KYW-TV sales manager to San Francisco . . . Gordon Davis, KYW general manager, and Ed Wallis, KYW sales manager, both to Chicago for confabs . . . Bill Levy, INS sportswjiter, doing WJW high school basketball championships from Columbus . . . Joe Bova, in town for weekend, back in New York where he pacted series of moppet commercials . . . Kathyrn Covie, formerly with WSRS, added to WJW-TV promotion staff . . . Sheep Jackson skedded to move sports show from WSRS to WHK. . . . Bill Beutel added to WGAR news staff ... . Tom Haley, host of KYW-TV “Open Camera” now does Friday 10:45 p.m. sports stint . , . Ken Armstrong extends his nightly weather shows to Sunday 11:15 p.m . . . WERE’s Tommy Edwards cut Coral record following success of his “What Is a Teenage Girl.” IN DETROIT ... Ralph R, Rust, former program-operations manager at WJBK-TV, is now prografn director; Lewis P. Johnson, formerly Storer Broadcast¬ ing Co.’s Midwest tv sales office manager in Chicago, is station’s new national sales manager operating from N.Y. office; Dale Young has returned to job as staff announcer after a two-year hitch in Army Signal Corps.; “Lady’s, Day,” six-year-old audience participation show with Chuck Bergeson as emcee, is state’s first regularly scheduled “live” color program^ station was lauded for alerting .residents of. Man¬ chester, Mich., to boil all water as a protection against typhpid or similar disease while a broken water line was being repaired , . . “Crusader,” starring Brian Keith, is a new WWJ-TV entry in 10:30 p.m. Monday time slot, sponsored by The Rambler Dealers of Greater Detroit. IN SAN FRANCISCO ... Diane Fivey, Frisco biz rep for AFTRA and on the union’s staff six years, has resigned to spend' more time with her family. Replacing her is Mrs.'lSrisari B. Murray , . . KRONIs trying to buck Disneyland with ventriloquist Bob Fillman’s “Happy Holsum” in a . daily quarter- hour strip . . . Don Sherwood was ordered to stand, trial for drunk driving—bail was cut from $5,000 to $2,000 . . . Cute stunt of KYA’s Iry Phillipsp^pith- helmets to agency execs in kickoff of “Great White’ Hunter” competition . . . Kenneth Dunham, ex-Hollywood NBC and MBS, returning to KCBS as assistant news director in place of Nor¬ man Kramer, who’s been transferred to WCBS Radio, New York ... KNBC’s general manager George W. Fiierst gave Frisco Mayor George. Christopher a public service award . . . J. 'G..(GiD Partridge, general manager of KROW, Oakland, elected a director of NARTB.' IN MILWAUKEE ... “Your World,” Milwaukee World Affairs Council program, WXTI-TV, March 17, covered education in Russia.—Colgate U’s Dr. Albert Parry, Milwaukee Downer students and moderator David Beckwith, Director, World Affairs Council of Milwaukee, handled panel . . ^ “What’s New in the Kitchen,”‘ WTMJ-TV, in ninth year, bow in . color Mon. thru Fri. Show has Breta Griem arid asst., Mary Cavanaugh, plus guests . . . WFRM-FM feature's high fidelity, emphasizing operas Sundays, p.m. . . . Hal Walker, WXIX-TV’s sports editor back from Milwaukee Braves Bradenton, Fla., dariip . . . It’s Don Metzger WRIT’S deejay dojrig .the daily 8 a.hi. furu • • ..Paul Bartell, prez,^“The Fox Club” WFOX’s daily diik deal entered radio at 17. "-Featured on “Fox Club” Mon. thru Sat. 2-5:15 p. m., are Bartell’s reports in hot moving platters . . . Ken Vogt,, staff annoji.ncer, WXIX-TV, fronted a combo a while back . . . “WRIT’S “Top 40 Survey” record buying, guide hit 25,000 copies recently. Crodey Bid For Indpis. Network Affiliation Aiigurs 3-Cliannel Fight Indianapolis, March 26. • Crosley Broadcasting Corp. has announced plans to begin operat¬ ing station WLWt-I here by Sep¬ tember on channel 13, "which it was awarded recently'by FCC after 10- year contest. ‘ . • Robert R. DunviUe, Crosley pres¬ ident, and James p. Shouse, board chairman,'signed. 50^-year lease on stjidio site.. Plans also were under Way,.,;for tr^nsiriitter location sub¬ ject .to ’zqmpg variance. Studio costing. ,$^(l 00 ,li 00 ^ a 1,016-foot towdr arid $600^000. annual payroll are planned, Shouse said. He added WLW-I will have a network affiliation which means one of three channels now operat¬ ing here will be in for a fight. WLW-I is expected to bid for ABC, now held by Sarkes Tarzian’s WTTV at Bloomington. Tarzian is now relocating WTTV tower 21 miles south of Indianapolis and ex¬ pects to have it operating by mid- July. It will increase WTTV Indi¬ anapolis'" coverage by 250,000 people, Tarzian said. Present tow¬ er is 39 miles from city.v Crolsey first applied for Indi¬ anapolis tv station in 1946., Detroit—Fred V. Davis, former manager of the Detroit office of Colliers,' has been named manager cf the newly-opened Detroit office of TNT Tele-Sessions, an affiliate of Theatre Network Television. ^ RADIO-TV COVERING ITS OWN CONVENTION Key sjpeech by FCc Chairman George MOConnaughey at the National Assn, of Radio ft Televi¬ sion Broadcasters Convention in Chicago April 9 will be carried on. radio and tv by CBS. Web has scheduled a live video pickup. of the address from the Conrad Hil¬ ton Hotel for 2:30 to 3 p.m. that day, preempting the “House!! Party” stanza. CBS Radio will carry the tape at 10:05 the same night. ' v^BC-TV had previously agreed to cover the Wednesday (10) ses¬ sion during the aftfernoon, high¬ light of which will be the address of NARTB prez Harold Fellows. Web has no preemptions lnvolvfi.d. NBC Radio Ups Graham, Dirocts Sales Planning George A, Graham Jr. has been upped from director of sales serv¬ ice to director of sales planning at NBC Radio. In his new spot, Graham will Oversee the activities of sales development, under man¬ ager Howard G. Gardner, sales presentations under Robert C. Hitchens, and sales service And traffic under Sackett B. Miles. Graham has been with the radio web since last August, when he moved over with v.p. Joe Culligan from network sales. He was ad¬ ministrator of NBC-TV sales at the trine.' 1 Subpoena Powers Invoked By FCC In Network Probe Washington, March 26. Federal Communications Com¬ mission served notice last week that It will use its subpoena power to Obtain vital data it needs to complete its comprehensive inves¬ tigation of the television broadcast¬ ing industry. Study, which started in November of i955, is scheduled for completion by June 30, Agency announced that its Net¬ work Study Committee, under the direction of Dean Roscoe Barrow of Cincinnati U., has decided to hold investigatory proceedings for production of documentary and oral evidence. To assist the Com¬ mittee, the: agency therefore .is¬ sued an order providing it with subpoena power. Commission disclosed that most segments of the industry have been cooperative in furnishing info called for by the Committee but that “certain persons, firms and companies . . . have expressed re¬ luctance to provide voluntarily in¬ formation which is essential to the study.’* Besides, agbncy# ^said, “prelimi¬ nary evaluation of the . data and information indicates that in some areas it may be necessary to ob¬ tain further information of a more specific character.” * Under the order issued by the Commission, it is provided that any member of the Network Study Committee or other designated per¬ sonnel may act as presiding of¬ ficer “for the purpose of taking evidence and issuing subpoenas or. other process in connection with the proceedings.” Barrpw’s Committee has been as¬ sembling its information through questionnaires and informal meet¬ ings. with most components of the industry. The Committee .is study¬ ing such matters as netvi'ork'rela¬ tions with affiliates, multiple own¬ ership of statipns, network. owner¬ ship os^tations, production and dis- tributi^ of programs, availability of talent, possibilities fop. additionr al networks, the national advertis¬ ing potential and related subjects. Dean Barrqw anticipated at the outset of the inquiry that an in¬ formal . type of public hearing. would be held before his Commit¬ tee is ready with a preliminary report on its findings. Spike Jones Sez Format Will Be Cross Between Perry Como & ‘Medic’ Minneapolis, March 26.. Spike Jones, appearing with hli “City Slickers” at the Builders Show here, revealed his new (5 bS-' TV network show, replacing “DO You Trust ‘Your wife?” and staH+ ‘ ing April 2, Will be “a Cross .be- ' tween Perry COnlo and Medi#* ” instead of being entirely chaos; Working with his writer-pro- ducer-director tv team of Dick Da'rley and .Torn Waldman* while . here, Jones revealed“what he has: in' mind. For music, there will, be rock ■ ’n’ roll, calypso and ‘‘even pretty tunes,” vi^ith Mrs. Jones (Helen Grayco) devoting herself to thq ; latter,' he said. ,^so, he has hired Corky Hale, the blonde who usea to play harp for Liber ace, to play . both harp arid piano. And there will be guest stars. “Until now, all we’ve used the harp for is to slice hard-boiled eggs,” said Jopes. ‘/But Miss Hale "Will play the harp riiostly as a le¬ gitimate instrument;, even though she occasionally may be called ; upon to shoot a few bows and ar¬ rows. , “We’re only . jpping to do'twQ . satirical. numbers on each. :dJOWr’* Jones also, tbld .WRl Jones, “Th^ rest will' be straight music. Thai will be easier for us.” Show will have some acrobats billed as the Kitten Sl$tersi He also stated he was trying to get Helen Traubel as, his Brst griest star, but “she wantS more to siritf with me than with anybody els0 and I can!t afford her,” Houston —* Greg Jordon has joined the staff of KXYZ and will • be m.c, of “Night Scene” the all- night show which has been pre-- sided over .by Ken Collins,^ , . ,