Variety (November 1957)

22 RAMO-TELEVKION P'JfjtlETf Vtdaeijiy, November 6, 1957 NARTB to Plead Case For Radio-TV Court Coverage Before Bar Assn By Throwing Canon 35 Back for Study Washington, Nov. 5. h National Assn, of Radio & TV Broadcasters intends to request Op¬ portunity to present its case when the American Bar Assn. House of Delegates meets in Atlanta, Feb. 24-25 to consider a committee rec¬ ommendation to continue its ban on radio-tv coverage of court trials. Commenting on the ABA actipn in Chicago last Friday ill* NARTB proxy Harold E. Fellows’expressed the belief that the House of Dele¬ gates” will want to give the broad¬ casting industry a fair opportunity to si ate its case so that decision can be made more In keeping with the facts, modern techniques and the public interest,” * Fellows said he regretted that; the ABA committee “has seen fit; to perpetuate the ABA’s position ■ against broadcast and photographic co\ erage of court trials which pre- ■ \enfs public trials from being truly ; public. • “The committee’s thinking per¬ haps is best characterized by its statement that ’exclusion from the courtroom of cameras and the mechanical equipment of broad¬ casters has not made trials one Whit less public that they weie a century ago.’ To us this reflects an unwillingness to recognize Twen- j tiotli Century methods of com- immications.” ; Fellows pointed out that the com-; mittee deleted three of the four reasons previously given in Canoi). 35 (applying to judicial ethics) for excluding broadcasting from the courtroom. He said the proposed revision, which would give judges discretion to allow radio-tv cover¬ age Of strictly ceremonial proceed¬ ings, “relies entirely on the pre¬ sumption that 'radio and tv intro¬ duce extraneous influences which tend to have a detrimental psycho¬ logical elfect on the participants (Continued on page 54) NBC’s Exec Veepee Ken Bilby was given his exec v.p. stars at NBC at the web’s montblv board meeting last Friday 1 1 > Bilby, a staff v.p. for the past three years, retains his old jurisdic¬ tion over press, advertising, ex¬ ploitation, promotion and conti¬ nuity acceptance, but becomes one of the network’s five exec v.p.’s. Promotion was made possible via the exit last week of Tom McAvitv for McCann-Erickson, leaving an exec v.p. post vacant. Bilby, an ex-N. Y. Herald Tri¬ bune reporter, joined NBC three years ago as v. p. for public rela¬ tions, following a three-year stint at the Carl Byoir public relations operation, where for two of those years he supervised the RCA ac¬ count. At NBC, he’s been a key p.r.-speeehwriting adviser to prexy Bob Sarnoff. tmkry TY ScriptT lias written a hamaraas place en THE EDUCATION OF J*E*R*R*Y L*l*E*B*E*R*M*A*N * * * another Idlteriel. Feature In the npeemlny 52d Anniversary Number of USstlEff' ‘Harbourmaster’s’ New Berth; CBS To ABC in Jan. “Harbourmaster” will become an iBC-TV offering the fust Sun¬ day in January. Network got sponsor R. J. Reynolds to switch the half-hour telefilm from CBS- TV, where it had taken a drub¬ bing pn Thursday nights from ABC’s “Zorro.” The Ziv-produccd “Harbor” will ultimately be sandwiched between ABC’s 7:30 hourlong "Maverick" series and the Sid Caesar-Imogene Coca 9-9:30 show vtfiich starts in late January. Reynolds agreed to the switch because the stanza took a sharp Trendex dip after “Zorro" preemed last month on ABC-TV. The ratings of Gro.ucho Marx’s program on NBC-TV, also Thurs¬ day at 8, mantamed the same gen¬ eral level it held before the Walt Disney show began. ABC has anxiously been looking for a stronger show than “Bowl¬ ing Stars" at 8:30 Sundays. “Stars” has been half-sponsored by Amer¬ ican Machine Foundries on a con¬ tract that allowed ABC to oust the show at any time. Reynolds did not have to break a contract with CBS to. move the program to ABC. Bankroller, it was learned, had a clause in Its CBS pact that permi'ted it to cancel after one cycle, which ends just before the switch takes place. CBS, meanwhile, has hot yet de¬ cided on a replacement for “Har¬ bor Master.” Ann Miller’* TV Dicker* Hollywood, Nov. 5. Ann Miller, who was under con¬ tract to Metro for 11 years, and forbidden by her pact to do tele¬ vision, may return to the lot to star in a situation comedy tele¬ series. .Miss Miller is considering offers, from Metro TY and Screen Gems. Tap.Cjril RHchard For Lea4 in‘Aladdin’ Cyril Ritchard has been chosen for a lead in CBS-TV’* “Aladdin,” slated for telecast on Feb. 21 as the “Du Pont Show of the Month” entry. Televersion of the chil¬ dren’s classic has book by S. J. Perelman and score by. Cole Por¬ ter. Ritchard is set to play the role of the genie.. He’s the first aotor cast for the special, and incidental¬ ly, it’s his .first major, stint for CBS, having been starred in a long string of NBC specials, most nota¬ ble of which was “Peter Pan.” N.Y. Cutback Cues IA’ers; Talks Due CBS-TV is understood to have pinkslipped technicians In New York because of the shift of video production to Hollywood... They are members of the International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage. Employees who worked in Gotham, filming for the web. The reported cutbacks highlight a situation that exists In the forth¬ coming negotiations between the video webs and the various techni¬ cal unions in N. Y.. After the first of the year, IATSE and the Na- ; tional Assn, of Broadcast Engi¬ neers & Technicians begin con¬ tract renewals, and it is belieyed that both unions, and perhaps others from among the many which begin dickers in 1958, are going to make a major point of maintaining their present strengths at ABC, .CBS, and NBC. In turn, with current conditions said to favor Coast tv production over New York, the networks are preparing to ask for new con¬ tracts with NABET and IA that permit large cutbacks in stage and camera personnel. CBS was able to fire the first few IA’ers and still keep within the hounds of. the present union contract, it is understood. . How¬ ever, most further retrenchments will have to be negotiated. Perpetual Revolving Door On TV Reiners; A] Lewis To ‘Arden,’ Naud to Boone There’s still lots of fence-mend¬ ing in prospect for television, even before the cancellation periods come around at the end of the month. Newest switch Is in CBS- TV’s “Eve Arden-Show,” where A1 Lewis is replacing; Edmund Hart¬ mann. Lewis goes way back with Miss Arden,, to 1948, when he directed and co-authored “Our Miss Brooks” on radio and subsequently tv.\ Over at ABC-TV* Tom Naud, the ; ex-NBC producer-director, has taken over the production, reins on the Pat Boone show from Joe Sant- ley who resigned because of illness. But the Boone show, has been hav¬ ing .Its problems; only a week be¬ fore, Dick Feldman replaced Frank Satenstein as director on the mu¬ sical, Lewis is moving into CBS-TV on a multiple-show deal, under which he’ll not only take over* as pro¬ ducer on the faltering Eve Arden segment but will create a hew pilot and work on show development ■with the Coast program depart- J ment. Hartmann is being assigned to another new project for the web. HOLLER DERBY’RE-OILS BEARINGS FOR ABC-TV One of television's earliest' shows, “The Roller Derby,” will! be coming back to New York video on Dec. 29. After a layoff of three years, WABC-T.V, the ABC flag¬ ship station, has .decided to carry the mayhem-on-wheels t . telecasts on Sundays from 3 to‘4:3D p.m. Similar programming, which be-; gan under Blatz brewery sponsor-; ship in late 5 1949, went off ABC network in 1954. Show, coming from the 9th Regi¬ ment Armory, is open for quarter- ; hour sponsorships. Mitchell Ham- ( ! lburg agency is producing the 90- ’ minute weekly stanza and Ken Ny- Jell will announce it. HALLOWEEN IS OVER Perhaps New York live television Is not, literally, fighting for its existence. But the Inroad* of film are clean Bo Is the drift to the west coast. Hence the short-slghtedhes* of the unionists at NBC. Gn a point of jurisdictional importance to them, but difficult to explain to the public, NABET. (National- Assn, of Broadcast Employes it Technicians) Indulged, in child’s-play in the framework ^of a .supposedly mdult medium. They demon¬ strated their nuisance value, admittedly. They also demon¬ strated, considerable irresponsibility. Dog-in-manger tactics are always held in disdain by observers. NABET’s dislike of having NBC directors give orders directly to camera on unrehearsed shows may have a valid union basis. But the spiteful tactics used last weekend on the Jack Paar “Tonight” telecast shouldn’t be inflicted on Broadway Rose. It may be that there are hidden stakes in future power. NABET’s objectives are not in question. Its Immediate methods are. If unionists must fight unionists, or anybody else, why must hooligan tricks be demonstrated for the American public, and for Congress? For nearly 10 years New York technicians have enjoyed a boom and a' boon, thanks to live television. Why make a sucker of the medium which is responsible for their steady work at fine wages? Why soil their own nest, besmirch their own dignity? Why pen¬ alize the performers because the technicians have got a mad-on agamst the Radio & Television Directors Guild? After this week’s truce, whatever the future strategy, it is sincerely to be hoped that the Halloween pranks will not b« repeated; Television is awfully close to the hearts of the Ameri¬ can public. It would be sheer folly to-test home tolerance too far. Fancy Dann Day-TV Coup for Jaffe Heat »f th» ‘Original Amattur Hour’ Ted Mack reviewa hew The Wheel of Fortune Now Spins Around The Globe * * * another Editorial Foatare the upcoming 52d Anniversary Number ef P'SrieTy WGN Goes Heavy On Hues, But Not To Sell Tint Sets Chicago, Nov. 5, 1 Color television was dealt a fresh vote pf confidence here last week when WGN-TV v.p. Ward Quaal revealed the indie ‘ station will kick off a limited tint sched¬ ule Friday (8) with “World Is Yours,” travelog which has been sponsored by Chi Motor Club since 1953. “Ding Dong School” goes color cross - the - hoard - Monday (11) morning, and Quaal has indi¬ cated that at least one evening strip, not yet selected, will he included in colorcasting sked along with special features. “Jackie Van Show” is tentatively set for tinting Nov. 18. Programs were selected because of their adaptability to color, a WGN-TV spokesman said. “We’re not in it to sell color tv sets but to provide viewers with a fuller se¬ lection. of color shows.” • Chicago Tribune’s venture into color leaves i Chi with only one commercial sta- tion, ABC-TV’s WBKB, not color¬ casting either off the network or locally. Station’s toppers once re¬ marked it would follow suit as soon as WGN-TV went to tint. WGN-TV purchased latest RCA color ty equipment (one studio live camera chain and a tbree-t Vidicon color film chain for and slide projection) in the spring of 1956 and has since been experi¬ menting with color in a special studio. All the equipment was re¬ cently moved into a regular color studio in the WGN building. No less than a week after Mika Dann. moved into the expanding j Henry Jaffe Enterprises , setup as prexy, the firm sold its first day- 1 time package. NBC-TV bought “Kitty Foyle” as |i half-hour, five- a-week strip to replace “Bride St Groom” in the 2:30 to 3 p.m. period. “Kitty” starts the first of the year. Casting hasn’t begun yet on tha series, based bn the Christopher Mofley novel and motion pic, but Charles Irving, veteran soapopera producer- writer,' has been set as exec producer on the show. Carl¬ ton E. Morse (of “One Man’s Fam- I ily,”' “I LoVe a ‘Mystery,” etc.^ [note) will be 1 .involved on the scripting and production end as iwell. Show will be packaged for iNBC by the Jaffe organization. “Bride Sc Groom” has been one of the weaker; links In the NBC daytime chain, with only three quarter-hours sold out of, the weekly capacity of 20, and only so-so ratings which. have not only counted against. NBC in the 2:30 time period but have also hurt the 3 to 4 p.m, “Matinee theatre” via the low lead-in audience. “B&G” S went on --the web this, summer, after a layoff b£ several years. Deal gives the Jaffe unit a total of five series sold, others being the Dinah Shore ’’Chevy Show,” the upcoming Shirley Temple fairy tales, the “Texaco Command Ap¬ pearance” specials and the Maiden- [.form Bra-sponsored Las Vegas spe¬ cials* first of which is set for Nov. 16. Local With Alcoa Something new in the way pf program publicity is being em¬ ployed by. Alcoa for its NBC-TV “Alcoa Theatre” in the form of in¬ tensive locally-slanted publicity. Campaign is being handled through the Ruder Sc Finn Field Publicity Network Inc., which maintains a stable of local publicity men in every- key market. Show’s na¬ tional publicity is handled out of another agency. Under the setup,- locally-slanted it-'ms 'are gathered on the Coast, where the show is fi’ming. and fed. to the R&F Field Network home- l office in N. Y.,’ Where they are in turn fed to the various loerl aeon's. | AAd'tionally, the local reus set up previews, devrten etc. FAld Network is headed by Joe j Fleld;.former publicity chief of the I Compton agency.