...TV SECTION BEGINS ON PAGE 51_ WOW NEWS T WE (Reg. II. S. Pat. off.) Issued to Increase Enjoyment of Radio and Television Programs Vol. 15, No. 5 OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FEBRUARY 1, 1951 Published Monthly New Shows Are Standouts Stars Bring The Blandings ... The Cisco Kid These to You on WOW Soon Comedy, music and adven- It's that Robin Hood of the Old ture are all covered in the West "The Cisco Kid" and he'll be stellar array of new shows that riding into your home every Mon- are scheduled for your listen- day, Wednesday and Friday eve- ing pleasure on WOW. • ning at 6 beginning February 26. Yes, "Cisco" and his faithful and Details of "Mr. and Mrs. funny friend "Pancho" will be Blandings", "The Boston Pops heard in three exciting half-hour Orchestra", "The Cisco Kid", programs weekly on WOW for "Break the Bank" (returning), Butter-nut Bread. "Bold Venture" and other ex- Butter-nut also sponsors this fine citing, new shows are carried western program on WOW-TV at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday. below and on the inside pages. Don't forget that date, February The hilariously aggravating expe- 26 when "The Cisco Kid" brings riences of an average American his exciting adventures to WOW. husband and wife who build their own home and find their troubles —WOW— have just begun has been adapted for radio in a new comedy series TOUR REUNION as the National Broadcasting Com- pany proudly presents Cary Grant Members of the WOW Farm and Betsy Drake in "Mr. and Mrs. Study Tour to Europe (1948) will Blandings" (WOW, Sundays at hold their annual reunion March 7 4:30 p.m.) at Hotel Fontenelle, Mal Hansen, Betsy Drake, wife of Cary Grant in The series is adapted from Eric WOW Farm Service Director, and real life, plays a similar role as Muriel Hodgins' successful books, "Mr. secretary of the group, has an- Blandings in the new comedy series Blandings Builds His Dream nounced. —WOW— "Mr. and Mrs. Blandings." House," and "Blandings' Way." Grant and Miss Drake enact the BUSINESS GOOD roles of Jim and Muriel Blandings, who finally move into the dream Year end estimates by the NAB home, only to discover their trou- department of research indicate that radio broadcasting had an estimated bles have just begun. gross revenue in 1950 of $448,200,000, Along with their two daughters, an increase of 5.4 per cent over the ages nine and six, the Blandings 1949 revenue. discover that moving into their new home does not particularly consu- —WOW— mate their desire for suburban peace and quiet. MISS T. SIGNS The program will be sponsored Margaret Truman, the vivacious by Trans-World Airlines, making and talented daughter of the Presi- the first time an airline has spon- dent, has signed a contract with sored a radio show over any net- NBC. She will appear as a guest work. on 12 top NBC radio and TV shows —WOW— feetween now and June of 1952. The charming young songstress will re- Bogart, Baca!! Co-Star portedly receive between two and three thousand dollars for each per- in New Weekly Show formance. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren —WOW— Baca11 will co-star in a new, weekly adventure series, "Bold Venture," MORE NEWS that is scheduled to begin on WOW Radio provides 38 per cent more the last Sunday in March. people with news than newspapers, The Electric Fixture and Supply and radio has a four-to-one lead Company of Omaha will sponsor over television as a news source, a Cary Grant plays the long-suffering the thrilling new half-hour show new The Pulse, Inc., survey in Jim Blandings who only wants to en- which has tentatively been sched- uled for 4 p.m. on Sundays. Further seven major cities reported. Details joy the comforts of his "dream house" of the survey, made for Free and details of this exciting new radio in the TWA sponsored comedy series Peters, National Radio Representa- program will be carried in the tives, were reported by Variety. on Sundays at 4:30 p.m. March issue of your News Tower. Tallulah B. Shows the Way A Great Radio She's Terrific!.. Big Show has usually been pretty special. Program is It seems to us that this show proves again that no entertainment Recognized medium is going to be killed by This is an unabashed plug for a something new unless that some- radio program called The Big Show, thing new is also something better. which the National Broadcasting We think it also proves that a Company puts on for 90 minutes popular comedy program doesn't each Sunday night. We are fetch- have to be pitched at the lowest ing it a few posies because we think intellectual level of the listening au- it's pretty consistently wonderful, dience. After all, there are quite a and because we believe that it is number of literate people in this valuable and important to all of us country who own radio sets and that the hard realities of these still listen to them. We're glad to troubled times should be tempered know that there are radio execu- occasionally by just such refresh- tives and sponsors who think they're ing nonsense. We are also rather worth playing up to. intrigued by the resourcefulness So we're decidedly more encour- that went into the creation of the aged about the future existence of program. sound -without -sight entertainment The Big Show came along at a since The Big Show came along. time of gloomy predictions. Any From here it looks like the invalid year now, some folks were saying, is going to pull through. television would send sound broad- —WOW— casting over the hill to join the dinosaur, the dodo and the nickel beer. There was also some sympa- Monty and Aggie thetic tongue-clucking over NBC's Have Words having lost most of its Sunday stars This is the lovely lady about whom NBC's "The Magnificent Mon- to CBS, which lured them away Collier's says so many nice things— Tallulah Bankhead. tague" (WOW, Friday, 8 p.m.) as with a base commodity known as portrayed by his real life double, money. All in all, it seemed that a Monty Woolley, is that type of per- lot of us old crystal-set fans were sional rage. She is, in a word, son constantly at war with some- about to see the end of an enter- terrific. one, and it's usually Agnes, the tainment era which we had watched But if Miss Bankhead is The maid. a-borning. Big Show's brightest light, she isn't Montague and Agnes exchange the only one by any means. NBC early morning compliments: also hired a fine team of writers, Agnes: "Why are we wasting all An Editorial appearing including Goodman Ace, as gen- this time with his breakfast? Why in Collier's Magazine, uinely clever a man as ever sired a don't I just go into his bedroom script. Mr. Ace, you remember, every morning with a whip and a January 13, 1951. used to have his own show, and a chair and throw him a hunk of Reprinted by darned good one, on CBS. He meat?" special permission of Collier's hasn't had it lately because, we Montague: "Spare me the sight understand, it was decided that his of you when I first open my eyes. stuff was a little sharp for the With those hair curlers on that yokels. Anyway, it's pleasant hav- But NBC apparently didn't be- flat head, you look like a roof full ing him back. lieve any prognoses of imminent of television aerials." decease. It went out and spent —WOW— some money itself, and spent it in a manner calculated to gladden the "The Big Show" is heard Happy Cowboy... heart of any listener who doesn't consider that the evolution of on WOW every Sunday humor stopped with Abbott and evening, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Costello. First and best, the network per- suaded Miss Tallulah Bankhead to Some of the programs have been be mistress of ceremonies for its ornamented by Fred Allen's pres- Big Show. There are many, this ence. Fred is another genius of department included, who believe sorts who has been out of regular that this was quite likely the most employment because he was al- progressive step that radio has legedly guilty of firing gags over taken since the loud-speaker re- the heads of his listeners. But that placed head-phones. We'd like to didn't scare the creators of a new congratulate the person who had show which puts the accent on the inspiration to think of Miss literate, adult humor all the way. Bankhead for the job, for the richly The Big Show has consistently talented and combustibly tempera- hired the big-leaguers of the enter- mental Tallulah is scarcely the tainment business as its guest stars. master- (or mistress-) of-ceremonies Some of them were Fanny Brice, type. Eddie Cantor, Better Davis (well, In a field noted for the folksy in spirit at least, as the weekly exuberance of its practitioners, Miss target of Tallulah's Sunday pitch, B. specializes in the dead pan and though not yet in the flesh), Jimmy often deadly squelch. Her general Durante, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, air of graciousness is never com- Ethel Merman, Ezio Pinza and Ed Some of Slim Everhart's fans have re- pletely reassuring.