Variety (August 1958)

nADIO-TEEEVISION VfifiiE'fy Wednesday, August 6, 1958 BRAINS & VOLCANOES TV Trips The Light-Year Fantastic By JO RANSON | The Supernatural and Fantastic j Abrogation Cycle is expected to orbit into the 21-inch video sphere during the 1950 season. In other. ( Words, adult westerns and the j quiz shows may soon be getting j tough cosmonautlc competition j from science-fiction drama on vari- ' ous video outlets. First came wrestling and roller { derb.es. Then .“Uncle Miltie”; crashed through the cathode ray j tube followed by a rush of sitria- j tion comedies. Soon they were 1 side-trackc'.i by t .a spec«.aciuru >; ..and the locust-flurry of giveaway ' quzzers. The year ’59 may well be the ; year of the Fantastic, according to some program builders who look into the luture -and forebodingly forecast What’s ahead for video’s blueplate special Several program fashioners also In *'st that if Scrlpps-Howard was able to merge the old Morning World with the Evening Telegram, tv is certainly capable of blending the successful Western with the Supernatural, thus giving birth tb an interplanetary offspring that will combine the six-shooter Colt with a clrcumlunar rocket G-forc- ing its way from Gulch Canyon to Mars. Next Season may well see a hew and strange type of hero replac¬ ing Wyatt Earp.the Range Rider, . Jim Bowie arid. Eat Masterson: The iicw video hero \v’ll most likely take the form of a space-ship. Char¬ acter or invisible perhaps, plum¬ meting from'outer space arid en- gc"ed in a grlrii outside-the-gal- axy battle with the “little men” on earth. Commercials, however, won’t be altered tijo drastically. Ad vert is’ng agencies will.-Still- per- . i»ade viewers, in the old-fash¬ ioned 20th Century style; • that faulty elimination can he helped immeasurably by the continued use of prcsent-dav patent medicines. Tired blood will still be stirred only by Geritol when the Fantastic shoves , the Western, to the bottom of below the Top Ten. Era of The Fanful ; The trend toward what has been succinctly described as the “fari- fut” (blend o r first svilable of “fan¬ tastic” and (“future.”) type of en f er- ta'nment will undoubtedly get a big push when CBS-TV itshers in its two decidedly offbeat progrartis, “The Invisible Man’’ and “World of Giants” this fall. “The Invisible Man” will be seen Wedriesdays from 7:30 tq 8 p.m. It is; based bn one of H. G. Wells' celebrated yarris about a British scientist who uses the gift of invisibility for the improvement o r mankind. Some of Wells’ stuff h"s already caused hair to stand on end; among radio listeners, notably in the case of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “The War of the Worlds” which oanicked half-a-na- t’on when aired over CBS. Radio a goodly number of years ago. Ob- v'ously, CBS-TV doesn’t seek a re¬ peat of that unhapoy occurrence. “Invisible Man” will have Edgar Peterson as exec producer. “World of Giants” is the other CBS-TV dandy on the agenda. This one will be flashed on the video screens Wednesdays from 8 to 8:20 p.m. and is currently being pro¬ duced by.ZIV TV Programs Inc., in cooperation with the network. Otto Lang is producing and direct-. Jng “World of Giants.” “World of Giants” will have Me! Hunter playing a six-inch FBI a^nt (in the script it’s merely called a Bureau!. An operative for the upcoming siiper-duper de¬ scribes it in this fashion: “To the t : ny mighty mite a simple rain storm is a death-dealing flood, a harmless alley cat becomes a rag¬ ing 12-foot tiger, a vacuum cleaner is a lethal weapon, a pane' of glass a death trap. Almost any aspect of normal l’fe is a challenge to the •little man’ — whether it is the turning on of a hose, a tipped bottle of glue, the closing of an ice box, the turning on of an elec¬ tric light-—each in its way is a monster or a monstrous situation for the ‘little man’.” If “World of Giants” doesn’t knock 'its rival®, including NBC’s “Wagon Train” off its track next Season, the producers insist they’ll offer themselves up as guinea pigs to any university seeking to find a cure for blasting commercials or the common cold. Additionally, CBS Films has Rod Serling, no mean hand at tv scrip¬ ting,. working on a science-fiction scries entitled “Twilight Zone,’' Advarice reports indicate this one is bound to cause more. than, a mere, earthquake when made avail¬ able to stations. ‘Project Iminoriality* Loring Mandel is holed up some¬ where in supersonic space pound¬ ing out a CBS-TV “Playhouse 90” to b? tagged “Project Immortali¬ ty.” It is all about the creation of aa electric brain capable of dupli¬ cating the though, processes of man. Incidentally, “Playhouse 90” has been the outlet for a number of successful super-fiction type of dramas. They’ve included “The Jet-Propelled Couch,” and “A Sound of Different Drummer” by Robert Alan Aurthur. Along the same lines, the current WCBS-TV series dealing with outer suace has evoked considerable dis¬ cussion. This Saturday morning program is aimed at kids ajad is a nonfiction type of programs con¬ cerned with robots; rockets, atom- ‘Open Mind! Coming Back ’ As Weekly Sun. Series With In-Depth Scalpel ’ The Open: Mind,” the. WRCA-. TV* N. Y., alternate Sunday dis¬ cussion program presided over by Richard D; Heffner, resumes its former weekly status at a new. time. 2 to 2:30 p.m.; starting Aug. 31. It is currently heard biweekly at 12:30 p. m. New: setup will afford Heffner an opportunity to present more iri- depth discussions on pertinent problems, starting .with an exami¬ nation of tv’s impact on American life. He will have top names micro- scoping tv arid its. effect on con¬ formity, freedom of information, the arts, etc. Heffner also expects to do a series on contemporary law and U. S^ foreign policy. Heffner, who is also program di¬ rector of META, is planning to edit a number of the outstanding di c cussions heard on “Open Mind” with a . view to publication by one of the major trade book publishers. Among the talks that may be in¬ cluded in: the book are those deal¬ ing with the American press, the courts arid tv. ,-■■■■ Continuing to stay ori top of the news, Heffner will do “Nasser, Na¬ tionalism arid American Foreign Policy” for the Aug. 10 broadcast. On the 24th subject will be “Atomic Radiation and Human Sur¬ vival.”. 50 SPORTSCASTS ON NBC-TV ’58-’59 CARD More than 50 tv sportscasts have been lined up by NBC for next season. with the network offering, the package 1 on a orice-a-week fre¬ quency for about 20% less than the cost of an alternate-week, night¬ time half-hour. • NBC estimates that one-quarter sponsorship of the 1958-59 package will amount to a little more than $2,000,000. Each one-fourth spon¬ sor will get year-round exposure, in baseball, basketball and foot¬ ball. Sportscasters include Lind¬ sey Nelson,. Red Grange, Leo Dur- ocher, Mel Allen and Curt Gowdy, The season will start with the NCAA football schedule on Sept. 20 and follow with nine NCAA national and four NCAA regional grid games, 26 major league base¬ ball games .and 13 baske'ball games. I with NBC pro games on Sunday afternoon or qoUege games, on Saturday afternoon at the sponsor’s option).'... The NBC-TV Sports Package will end April 5. LAREDO, TEX., TV SALE Laredo, Tex., Aug. 5. The Vibicon Industries of Ameri¬ ca has been given approval by the FCC to sell KHAD-TV, operating ori Channel 8 here, tq the South- Western Publishing Co., Ft. Smith, Ark. Sale price was said to be $190,000. smashers, satellites and telescopes. Also oil the Gotham front, WRCA-TV observed that it had a fine time presenting the Ziv pack¬ age tagged “Science Fiction The¬ atre*’ a couple of years ago. in prime time, and is ..now shopping foir a similar, type of program. “Tom ; Corbett Space Cadet”- has been, around the NBC-TV channels for a considerable period as a Sat¬ urday [morning magnet. Currently the “Ruff and Reddy” show on Saturday mornings at 1030 is pre¬ senting a cartoon about space men quaintly slugged “The Mekko Men of Muni Mula:” Ray Bradbury, vet science-fiction writer, is pen¬ ning a tv series, “Report from Space” for Bryna Productions which MCA will agent. Space pioneers will be subject of Brad¬ bury’s halfrhour tv-film series. It is quite evident from this arid others astral straws in outer space according to some broadcasters that American. viewers will soon see a gala of. supernatural shows displacing westerns at a highly ac¬ celerated pace. They’ll, be tripping the light-year, “fantastic” over the video lanes in epidemic fashion, according to the savants, of siiper- I natural literature. Maureen-Bellamy ‘Swiss’? ' . Hollywood, Aug; 5. | Maureen O’Hara arid Ralph Bel¬ lamy are being paged by N.Y. pro¬ ducer David Susskind. to star in “Swiss Family Robinson/’ to be a .. DuPont “Show of Month” entry on CBS-TV next, fall . , Miss O’Hara Won’t give Susskind an ariswer until she receives the script. II ropclitan B’casting In 5-Fold Earnings Rise Dyer first Half of 1957 I Metropolitan ( ex-D uMo n t )) [ Broadcasting Corp. earnings have jutnned ahead almost five times what, they were a year ago.- Re¬ porting the. .first half of 1958; Metropolitan told stockholders that | corporate earnings were $306,194 or 20c a share, against $65,254 or 4c a share for the .like 1957 period. Cash earnings were $1,070,049, or 69c a share' for the first 26 weeks of ’58, First six months last year . showed.. cash -. earnings of $342,680, or 22c. These figures re¬ flect earnings before depreciation arid amortization. And because of the tax loss carry forward, Metro¬ politan doesn’t have to provide Federal income, taxes. : Metropolitan, a corporate spokes¬ man explained, probably won’t de¬ clare a dividend payment for an¬ other two to three years* when it’s arit’ciDated that the_ remainder of a $3,000,00Chodd bank . loan will, have been paid off. ^ NX TO! A. AND LA. T0N.Y.0KF0RAA Hollywood, Aug. 5. Character'‘bf the television arid film business has become such that in the past six months, clients of the Frarik . Cooper, agency have made 250 short-stay trips to the Coast from N.Y. arid vice versa, while 67 Gotham-based clients have moved permanently to the Coast. . •' Traffic is such that the Cooper agency set up a special services department; to handle transporta¬ tion arid housing for. its stable,. and brought in Marjorie Berkson from American Airlines to handle it .■ John Bricker Quits K&E On Coast; Wm. King In Holly wdod, Aug. 5. John Bricker is resigning as vee¬ pee: in charge of the Coast opera¬ tion for Keriybn & ECkhardt to be¬ come executive veepee of Outdoor Advertising Incl He transferred here five months ago from the agency’s N. Y. office. • Bricker’s successor will be Wil- liarii King Jr., veepee and a direc¬ tor of K & E and Supervisor on the National Biscuit , account.. He has beep with the agency seven years.; Bricker reports to Outdoor Sept. 15. ’Conquest’ Sets ‘Inner* Topics For *58-59 Tentative schedule for the. two “Conquest” shows to be seen oyer. CBS-TV next season calls for Michael Sklar, its producer, to pre¬ sent "The Human Brain” and “Tak¬ ing the Pulse of a Volcano” on Nov. 9, and “Cancer” and “The Ocean Waves” on Dec. 14. This is Monsanto Chemical’s second sea¬ son as sporisor of “Conquest.” “The Human Brain” will deal with a brain operation filmed as it takes place ait the National Insti¬ tute of Health, and as part of the stbry, the film will show how basic researchers cooperate with the surgeons and map the human brain While the operation is in progress. The volcano story Will tell how scientists work on the edge of the Kilauea Volcano -in Hawaii. ‘Hero’s Welcome* For KOMO-TV’s Twosome In Return From Soviet Seattle,’Aug. 5. Keith Jackson, sports editor, | and Howard Ramaley, cameraman | of KOMO-TV here, back from covering regattas in Henley, Eng¬ land and Moscow, in which the U of Washington crew rowed, are finding themselves on the other side in news and interview rou¬ tines, with news and feature stor¬ ies on their trip and their obser¬ vations carried by the local press, on radio and tv. - Sports editors George Meye ;s of the Times and Royal Brougham, P. I., also on the junket, are like¬ wise getting the news arid inter¬ view treatment. The story book climax of the Washington crew’s efforts — their way-out win over five Russ an crews in Moscow, including the Trud crew of Leningrad, Which de¬ feated the Huskies at Henley—has made city avid for all data on the ' faces, particularly iri Moscow v add¬ ing to usual interest felt;here in di- rect reports ori life in the Russ'an metropolis. . Added interest is given the newsmen’s stories through the ar¬ rest and incarceration (for 45 minutes) of Ramaley and MeyCrs. when they were grabbed photo- graphirig. street scenes a few blocks from their hotel. The has¬ sle was easily fixed, but the two told Variety they were apprehen¬ sive during that time in the pre¬ cinct jail, because their plane was due to leave a few hours later. Ramaley said he would . have liked to: see sbme Russian radio and television station’s but that, they were ' all guarded closely, with heavily armed guards around them; intimidating the curious. He brought back all the film he shot and had it processed here, as it is now against regulations to send any film* out of Russia. All of the four Seattleites said virtually everyone they; met was friendly; that their ubiquitous iri- terpreters were sharp, spoke good; English and were interested in^- everything American. WNTA’S TWO-HOURS RADIO NEWS FORMAT Unique block programming con¬ cept for radio news will be started by WNTA, Newark, in the middle of August. It won’t be, as other stations have tried, a repeat of the same newscast several times over in succession, but the audio outlet : is mapping out Its entire. 7-to-9 a.m. daily sked for a group of dif¬ ferent news arid quasi-news segs. Program is replacing Herb Shel¬ don, who is going ori a brief vaca¬ tion and then , returning to a 60- minute afternoon anchorage. New format will be broken into four half-hour segs, one of which will be * straight news, another sports-, occasional sumups from na¬ tional-news mags, highlights froni newspaper columns and inter¬ spersed will be weather and traffic: reports. WNTA is working, on a deal to carry BBC foreign reports as part of its nd\vs lineup. Station is scouting now for* two regulars to handle the daily; assign¬ ment. Sheldon had three months in the 7-9 period. . Political Time Nix Invites a Protest Schenectady, Aug. 5. Denial by WRGB-TV. Of paid time for a broadcast in connection with the Democratic primary elec¬ tion for representative from the 32 nd Congressional District—in which he is running against Sche¬ nectady County Clerk Carroll A. Gardner—led Mayor Samuel S. Stratton 10 days ago to file pro¬ tests with the FCC and with the Chairmen of Seriate and House com¬ mittees on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. The Schenectady. County Demo¬ cratic organization is backing Gard¬ ner in the primary for nomination to the post which Republican Rep¬ resentative Bernard W. Kearney, of Gloversville, is vacating. Stratton, who used radio as .one of the springboards to political attention —first as a commentator Via WPTR, Albany, arid later, .over WSNY, Schenectady—at one time did a weekly sponsored commen¬ tary on WRGB. He also served as a commentator and newscaster over WROW and WTEN-TV, Al¬ bany, being a member of the sister stations’ staff—jeven after his elec¬ tion as Mayor. Stratton, former member of the faculty at Union College, said his request to buy 15 minutes of air time the night be¬ fore the August 12 primary was re¬ jected July 25. The General Electric-owned station “gaVe the flimsy excuse that there are too .many priiriary contests in their area” and that “if they sell time, to one, they will have to give cov¬ erage for all,” the controversial Mayor stated. He* added that “In all of the ; Congressional districts WRGB cov¬ ers—about four—there are only two primary contests of which I know. Therefore, it is . manifest¬ ly absurd to maintain there, are. too many contests to give cover* age.” Accordingly, Stratton protested to FCC Chairman. John C. Doerfer, to Senator Warren G. Magnuson j arid to Representat ve Oren Harris, , on the ground WRGB’s decision. | was' “arbitrary, in violation of the | law, and operates tq impair arid infringe the rights of the people: to be informed.” - A WRGB spokesman confirmed that the station had declined to sell Stratton time. on the ground that if given tiihe to that primary con¬ test, it \vould have to give time to others. WRGB has on occasion been criticized for: scheduling too many fall broadcasts by candidates for public office in the territory it reaches—iri a policy of fairness t* all. National Theatres In Flock of K.C. Shifts With WDAF Takeover* Kansas City, Aug. 5. A number of staff shifts are tak¬ ing place at WDAF-WDAF-TV, which was . recently acquired by . National. Theatres frohl the Kansas City Siar. Jay Barrington, formerly program director for television, has been , made assistant to the gen¬ eral manager, William Dates. Judd Wood, formerly _program director for radio, becomes direc¬ tor . of promotiori and research,. Lyndell Mayberry comes over.from Fox Midwest Theatres (a division of National Theatres here) to be¬ come controller. Barrington, Wood and Mayben-y are taking over newly^r'eated positions. New program director for televi¬ sion is Robert Wormington, for¬ merly television production man¬ ager. He’s succeeded by bis brother William Wormington, who formerly was; a television, director. James Schmidt is chief engineer. New program director for radio is George Moore, hew to the or¬ ganization and*coming up from; KTHS, Little Rock, Ark. Martha Spalding becomes office manager, also a' new position. She formerly was woman’s director and secretary to Dean Fitzery retired general manager. A new rate card is being readied station execs indicated. Walt Bo- dine, who was made director of ; news and special events a fe>v weeks ago, Continues in that ca¬ pacity.