Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

in NOVEMBER 28, I960 SAG Gets Record $6.5 Million: Screen Actors Guild Pres. George Chandler disclosed last week that in the year ended Oct. 31, SAG collected & distributed a record $6.5 million for TV reruns, movies sold to TV and claims against producers for contract violations. Of this sum, $5.3 million was in TV residuals (a high mark for rerun revenue, bringing the total since Dec. 1953 to $16,386,425). Actors received $807,000 as compensation for movies sold to TV, and another $390,000 was for claims collected for violations of contract. SAG showed a deficit of $104,000 for the year ended Oct. 31, having $634,000 in income & expenses totaling $738,000. This has reduced the surplus to $678,000. A special committee has been named to study the question of overhauling SAG’s dues structure, with a dues hike in prospect. Actors’ revenue has increased, and the cost of handling residuals has gone up each year. Elected were George Chandler, pres.; Dana Andrews, first vp; James Garner, 2nd vp; John Litel, 3rd vp; Ann Doran, recording secy.; Frank Faylen, treas. Elected to the board: Warner Anderson, Chick Chandler, Ann B. Davis, NEW YORK ROUNDUP ITC formed a new division last week — Javelin Ih’oductions — ^to handle the recently acquired assets of sports production & distribution firm Heritage Productions (Vol. 16:46 plO). Javelin’s sales operations will be headed by former World-Wide TV gen. sales mgr. Mell Schlank. From World-Wide, Javelin has acquired 2 properties for syndication: National Football League Presents, 26 hour long games; Women’s Major League Bowling. Heritage packages to be marketed by JP include: Campy’s Corner, Golf Tips of the Day, Magic Moment in Sports. Proposed standards for TV-tape recording have been approved by SMPTE’s video-tape & standards committees. They are: VTR 16.2, dimensions of tape; VTR 16.5, audio records characteristics; VTR 16.6, dimensions of video, audio & control records; VTR 16.8, speed specifications. SMPTE also is offering its recommended practice RP5, dealing wtih patch splices in video tape. Copies of standards and the recommended practice are available from SMPTE, 55 W. 42nd St., N.Y. 36. WNTA-TV N.Y.’s “The Iceman Cometh” (Part 1) featured on Play of the Week Nov. 14-20 drew an Arbitron of 31.3. On the basis of this total rating for 7 exposures, WNTA-TV estimated that the O’Neill play was viewed in 1,430,000 homes by 2,860,000 people. The rating placed “Iceman” among the top 10 in the N.Y. market last week. Gunsmoke led the list at 39.0. John Daly, who quit his job as ABC News vp (Vol. 16:47 p3), will be married Dec. 22 — to Virginia \y^arren, daughter of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Their engagement was announced formally in Washington Nov. 25. A small family wedding will be conducted in San Francisco while the Warrens are on their annual holiday trip home to Cal. A reception will be held in the Fairmont Hotel. Obituary Robert H. Reid, 52, Telenews gen. sales mgr., died Nov. 23 at his home in N.Y. after a short illness. He was formerly sales mgr. for INS and was instrumental in the news service’s 1945 pioneer efforts in TV news. His wife survives. Eduard Franz, James Gonzales, Charlton Heston, Robert Keith, Louise Laureau, Jock Mahoney, Richardo Montalban — all for 3-year terms. Also Roger Smith, 2-year term; and Rosemary De Camp, Buddy Ebsen, Pauline Myers, Jane Powell, for one-year terms. Ernest Chappell, Humphrey Davis, Ron Rawson and Luis Van Rooten were national board members elected to represent the N.Y. branch of the Guild. Actors were given the details of their recently negotiated health & welfare plan, to be financed by producers. Martin Segal, consultant for the SAG plan, said that effective Jan. 1, 1961 a major portion of doctor & hospital bills will be paid for Guild members & their families. There will also be substantial life insurance & accident insurance coverage. Any actor earning as little as $1,000 a year will be eligible. Chandler estimated that movie producers will contribute a minimum of $1.65 million a year to the plans. Under the contract SAG has an optional rerun royalty system, under which 8% of the distributors’ gross in perpetuity would be divided among actors in film TV shows. SAG’s membership now is 13,685 — an all-time high. HOLLYWOOD ROUNDUP Four Star Television is planning a minimum of 5 pilots, may do 10. It has already filmed 2 pilots — The Freshman, a comedy starring Gertrude Berg and Cedric Hardwicke; McKeever & the Colonel, a comedy starring Dennis Joel, Allyn Joslyn, John Gabriel and Virginia Gibson, with exec, vp Tom McDermott functioning as producer. Being considered are pilots for an untitled comedy starring Jane Powell, a comedy-adventure starring Esther Williams, an adventure series starring Rossano Brazzi (Sy Gomberg, producer). The Shrimp (animated cartoon), and The Sea Rover (adventure). Skelton Studios last week began taping Red Skelton’s Nov. 30 Timex special for CBS. Its cast includes Skelton, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, George Raft, Bobby Rydell and William Demarest. Revue Studios has made a 20-min. film presentation of a new comedy-Western project starring Mickey Rooney. Revue has also filmed a pilot of The Rangers, an action show starring Jock Mahoney, produced by A1 Ruddy. Screen Gems will pilot The Insider, starring David Janssen. William Sackheim is producer. One Step Beyond Productions begins filming episodes of its Alcoa Presents series in Portugal, Denmark, Spain, France and Ireland in December. Hennesey Co., in which Jackie Cooper and Don McGuire are partnered, has filmed Charlie Angelo, a comedy-adventure pilot starring Jimmy Komack & Larry Storch. Warlock Inc. has bought Academy sound stage for approximately $300,000, planning to operate it for rental & its own productions. V Roncom Productiotis and producer Stanley Roberts will co-produce Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing. Marterto Productions, Danny Thomas’s company, will film several pilots, one to star Joey Bishop. Howard Alston has been named production mgr. of CBS Films Hollywood office.