, , , • • • r', _ _ -,' • , , , , • , , , ' , • , • 25¢ , , , • • , • , , , • • The Story of • • , , WALTER WINCHELL , , • , , , RADIO'S "CLOSED DOOR" POLICY , ' , ARTHUR GODFREY'S "PRIZE CROP" , , , , , , , , , , , , -,,-:,,-.-.--', 'MAGA,Z/NE ----, , , , • • , , • , , , , • ' FOR THE , • • • • , , , , • • • • • 'M, /l LIONS • • • , , , , • • • • , , , • , • , • • , , , • , • • , , · , • • • • , , , • • • • • • • • • • • • , • • • • • • • , • • • • • • , • , • • • , , , • • • • • , , • • • • • • • • • • , , • • • • • • • , • , , , • • • • • • • • , , , , • • • • • • • , , , • • • • • • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • , , • • • • • • • , , • , • • • • • • • , , • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • , , • • , • • • , . • , • • • • • , , • • • • , • • • • • • • , , , • • • • • , , • • • , • • • • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • , , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • , • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • '-. • • • • • • • • • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • , , , , , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • , , • • • · , , ,. " • • , , • , , • • , , , , • , , • , ·. , • , , """, , . • • • • • ,• , . , • • • ., , • · , , , • • • • , ·, . ,. , , , , • 1 an RTI BLOCK AN UNBEATABLE TEAM! The MAKE BELIEVE: BALLROOM
Makes music for listeners, money for advertisers ... 10-11:30 a. m. 5:35-7:30 p. m. Monday thru Saturday
Ever since 1935 MARTIN BLOCK and the MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM have been part of the pulsating life o f this me tropolis. They make beans _lind merfhandise _ move faster! For more than 12 years the MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM has been a New York show-tailored for New York listeners and custOm-made for advertisers who want to sell them! It's a BIG show _ and like all big shows it appeals [0 all ages! Hit tunes, top bands. new Stars - you beat them all and you hell' them /irst when MARTIN BLOCK entertains at the MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM with two big performances daily, six days a week. Yes, he's No. I in the No. I Market! So lislen 10 MARTIN BLOCK al his besl _ on the MAKE BELIEVE BALLROOM! Bu')' MARTIN BLOCK where he's biggest _ on WNEW in Greater New York! "
I 1130 ON YOUR Represented by DIAL John Blair and Co. SERVING NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY 24 HOURS A DAY fuer!!thing "The Foxes of Harrow" had-and morel This blazing best-seller alread!! read b!! ou.r 500,000 people _•. (urrentl!! sweeping the countr!! at $2.75 in the publisher's edition!
NOW it's yours
h II b~ the quickest, d Better Tho" ... ' " "If ~ou ,"arr~ her, I ,hall go to sh:1I keep ~ou aduise f Hprro- .• , ublic road. And I h waul" Foxes 0 • Sull lowest. most P (lIang t e ':J of my progress at euery step
The impassioned story of a New Orleans hellion who wouldn't share her man with .!!!!y woman - not even his wife!
llt:N Deni$e Lasc,:als nlI.'CIS Laird Fournois on his fl'lurn from Ihe Chil \",';o r, Ihe W re,ult i ~ a, cxpl""iye a) II IOflh WI 10 ~asol;nc! And )oull under)loInd whr whl'n )"" mcel thb r«klt'S> rencftadc and Ihc irrc)i)liblc beaul)'. DeniloC, in " Thl,' Vi"e,,," now )UUU FR.], a) a gift! You'll undcr-Iand. 100. why Laird f:ournoi,-~ o:.trclC5s wilh life :Uld lo,'c ... was )ucil a hurnin/: legend e'en in brawlinJ;, wickcd, old New Orleans a~ hl' h;olllC5 wilh word) :'nd hullcts 10 regain his 10SI fortune and plantalion. What a woman! And what a story! This w;o~ Ihe man Denise found )hc Imd 10 lo\'c, and he knew )he wa, Ihc only woman for him. Yl'I. his "ri~tOCra li ( sense of honor forHod him ;nlO marriage wilh Ihe heaUlif .. 1 Sabrina. Denhe knew why he had married Sahrina hll' nOt ror one instant would she share hi) 10\(.'. "0 ('aplure for herself ",lone his strange IOrlured LAIRD haunted 'h J heart ,he endured puhlic di'l'ntce ... became Ihe miUless of Laird'S e rlf: , deadlic)1 encm) ... e,,'n Llu'>I.od the murder of an innocent mall al , louisiana's lo'(eliest·I·.~,~es· the hand) of hcr proud hro
------~3 MAGAZINE • 0 • • H , MIllIONS
CONTENTS . january 1948 " vol. I, no. 2 lea tures * The Siory of Winchell: by , .. .,1 Sh.*.I. 11 Radio's Closed Door Policy:. by f ...... Ii .. G ..rd ... , .. Thirty Years on the Banddand: fM W .. ,I.. " ' ...... 1 .. 1 C.II." .... 16 Guts and a Civil Tongue: "b Allm ...., sport..... ,., 17' Farmer Godfrey's Prile Crop: by J.h .. G.... I$O .. 22 Since I Was Five Years Old: 'h. li"'. G.. I Wh.. lincl Hul 0.... 24 Junior Jamboree: , • .,.... ,... ,." .... Ow.. Slrow 27 Date With Judy: Aro.,,,,, 'h. CI.d: wltll ,_".... 9' .. (o.,il. E.ich".. 28 Heir to Fren
MR. & MRS., MUSIC BEA WAIN AND ANDRE BARUCH 12 Noon-2 PM • 5:30-6:30 PM MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 9:30·12 NOON SUNDAY TOMMY DORSEY 10-11 AM • 7-8 PM MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
POT ON YOUR DIAL IN YORK 570
5 letters TO THE EDITOR ••• watelr tire hirdie
... Ginny The Hvdule r Agoin On the Boliol To THE EDITOR: Doesn't Fred· To THE EDITOR: I nominate as eric Wakeman have anything the nation's most. glamorous disc kind to say about anything? It jockey Miss R0S4tlie Allen of sta • iSII't enough that I read h is book tion WOY. and saw Clark Gable condemn Norm1tn Fleming the best radio system in the Br(l(lkl1f/1, N. y, world, but now I see where he attacks our favorite American entertainment in you l' first issue. • Coincidence, See feature story Wh1lt goes, anyway? thi!ol issue. Margaret Thiele Jer/feY City, N. J . Fidle r - Pro ond Con
• Mr. Wakeman did not condemn Americall radio. lie said spon sors should not be permitted to control the program material of radio, "whose chief interest must be not in customers bul in lis teners. "-ED.
Cloirvoyonce TO TilE EDITOR: I think the greatest singer on the air' today il'l Burl Ives. His folk songs..teal Iy send me. I've never seen his pictUre. but I'll bet he's tall :tIld dltrk with curly black hair and a perpetual look of despair in his Illrge gray eyes. Bessie Markman TO TIfF: EDITOR: Your Seat on Pittltbu,.yll. Pa. the Dial review of J immy F id, ler's gabbing is l)Crhaps the best kind of contribution your new • Here's h is Il icture, So?-Eo. magazine can make ill the inter est of the suffering radio listen ers. Must the industry bow so low as to tolerate the trite 1llld insulting nonS(!nse of this self llppointed tsar? AII1tn Phillipe Brooklyn, N. Y .
. .. Your criticism or Jimmy Fid ler best expresses the feelings Th ••• ', nothing ...cred to Mr. Amoleu. ",olog.op"", who. in Ihi. «"., my friends and I have 10llg had happened '0 1M au' own Qrl di •..,lo., Jerome lolh about this fllst spellking talker Cove.
6 7 r------, :strapless: letters TO THE EDITOR L - - - \~.t-:Wff-; .J by -!J Unanimous Approval' According '0 you, Request ...
To TilE EOITOR: Hooray for RADIO To THE EDiTOIt.: I liked your fi~t BEST! After reading your won issue very much. You should be derful fi~t issue our firm de congratulated on putting out such cided that a great need for a a good magazine. There is a re really good radio magazine has at quest t wou ld like to m:lke. Will -1 last been fi lled. Congratulations. you try and have something about Art F lynn, Arthu r Brown, "One M:m's Family" in your "'--_--1 J oan Crosby, Irma Egan, next issue? I have always liked Cu rly Harris. Les Nichols,' this program. Jack Tanzer. Joseph E. Lomax New York, N. Y. Baltimol'e, Md. Star Discove rer likes Us To T il E EDITOR: I have read your fi rst issue and in my opi nion it's the best written and constructed magazine today with actual news and intercst. Yo u deserve every success. Chamberlain Brown New York, N. Y. Saw a Dre am Walking! To TilE EDITOR: Recently I went to my first broadcast. Walking across the corridor in the NBC studio I saw a little radio actress who reminded me of a fairy princess. Her name is Angelyn Orr. Will you please send me her sports photograph ? Bob Stein Probably Doesn', Like Radio Chioogo,IU. To TilE EDITOR: Editorially you have the finest radio fan maga zine on the market. Your pub lication should succeed if you maintain your Jlresent pace. My one objection is the editorial slant of your publication which status ill j ust so many words th:lt bare shoulder beauty ... radio is the most im portant medium of entertainment and enlightenment as well as t he for daytime and greatest influencer of public op in • ion in existence. Your a ll -out daytime support of radio is qu ite'obvious evenmg wear since you are a radio fan mag azine. But radio is second to the short ...... $5.00 newspaper as a news medium and overage ...... 7 .50 moulder of public opinion (ever • Only picture we have is the hear of the term "The Power of long _._...... 8.50 one printed above. We got it the Press"); it is second to .the from NBC in your city. You can motion picture as an entert:!in· do the same. ED. ment medium; it is second to recordings for music enjoyment Likes Acade my Plan for people who like to select their To TilE EDITOR: Not only has own music when they want to the emergence of your magazine hear it; it is second to the book marked an historic niche in radio, or magazine for the ultimate in but its appearance, it seems to storytelling. In one respect, how me, is a tremendous contribution e~'er, radio is first! It is fi rst in to the helpless radio JisteR,tr. driving peoille crazy with silly, Yo ur Ilroposal for an a n nual stupid. insipid commercials. It is Radio Academy Award is some also first in surrounding itself thing that should have been done with a phony glamour and im long ago since the recognition of portance 1I 0t j ustified by its sec ) actors, writers, producers, etc., ond Il lucc position in our civili wi ll illstill a new spirit amongst Ultion. thi s talented group. Con gratula Hem'y S. Tugender tions and good luck. Brooktl/11, N. Y. Mrs. Denis We inhardt Warl'en, Ohio Wanls Survey on Soa p Operas evening To 1'111:: EDITOR: First thing you Lauds Adve rtising Policy should do is make a searching AT YOUI fAVOllTE / To Tm: EDITOR: Not to belittle survey of those Soap Operas. SlOIE fVElrWHUE you r editorial features, I was Seems to me that nobody, yes, particularly impressed with the nobody would care a tinker's, if complete om ission from your they suddenly disappeared from advertising pages of the cheap, our crowded airl:ines. It will take misleading kind of ads seen so fearless, unbiased reporting to frequently these days. It's a great get the truth and I Cor one break for the consumer, and a should love to see you take on great credit to you. this important assignment. Warren G. Kelly Mrs. Minnie Sinsheimer Hempstead, L. I . Augusta, Maine
8 You Now li$ten to" 600 on Your Dial" from the New, Modern Studios ~ 7le 1'fJiee ~ '8~
T.over' ine marble, imported from Italy. ha rmonizes per ~ fectly wilh the decor.. li ... e color scheme of Ihe WCAQ reception foyer.
The grilceful sweep of a T.averiine marble dot ••",a)' strikes an unusual and atlrac tive nole in this corner of the reception foyer.
j Dc~jgned by the famolls architect, Stanford White, the facade of the ne w WCAO sludios reflects the .. harm and dignity of an eariie. day when i' was once one of Cho,ie. Street's impressive rc~;dences . l ike all of WCAO', new broadcasting studio., Studio 8 is completely III,-condition Old for the comfort of radie I .. lenl end the studio audi ence.
modern, Ihe ,'"dios retain many Icuch es of the past, as in this grace ful stairway wilh !I, hilnd cilrved baluilradl.'s.
Progr~m scheduling requires a fully slaffed department to keep pace with the wide Yllriety of local and CBS network programs tran~mitted nineteen hours a day.
Here is the "nerve centef"" of the new WCAO stvdio_the m~ terious control room (eJcepl 10 WCAO engineers), where all new equipment of the latell type keeps ir 9 LOVE THAT SPONSOR! letters TO THE EDITOR CO"oonl b~ 7;;-6 Family Accep ta nce To Tm: EDITOR: I would like es pt."Cially to cOllgratulate you for the dignified and yet vcry !i\'ely make-up of your magazine. I found RADIO REST 011 the desk of an advertising agency friend of mine, but he refused to let it le:lve hill office. I bought a copy on the new8shmd and most of us at home found it really interest Zelce M inus Corn ing. I cspedlilly liked your radio To TilE EOITOR: The l1<1tiol1 ':-, Ii!\ting, the Crosby slory and the radio listeners certainly get 1\ trcHtment of .Jinx and Tex on big brenk with KAlliO 1l~;ST. Your ,\'OUI' cover. Best of luck. magazine is lops and will no " ... As proven by medicol science ..." J. R. Baldwin doubt emerge lUI one of tht: I(l'cat Si(1ll.l' Citl/, iowa influences in Amcriclill radio. You cerlainly have my best wi!\hell. Zeke Manners Hollywood, Cal. Lilees Crosby on "Wax" To TilE EDITOR: I want to con gr:ttulate you on your excellent story, "After H Months of I Crosby on Wax." Mr. Crosby has become an American institution i - :;;-> and his noble "wax" experiment is !itill Ii favorite parlor pastime. The fabulous Bing belongs on the air. It matters little thllt his pro gram is recorded in advlInce. It's the one show that I know of that "Keeno means better soap .. . " ... Best by telf ..." every member of the family, in Keeno means better soop ..." cluding the kids and Grandmll, enjoy equally. Let's have Mr. Crosby on the radio for many years to come. She Sings, Too Herbert Rice, Jr. TO T!H: EDITOR: I would like to SprillO/ield, MaliS. introduce thl·ough the columns of RADIO Bt;ST, Miss Jeni Freeland, " Tops" With Him my idel.l of the kind of television To TilE EDITOR: Perhllps the talent we video fans should like best eSc.'1I>C program on the air to see I·eflected on our home re today is the somewhat coa!"se but ceiverI'!. This eye-filling picture most entertaining "Can You Top of Jeni shows her singing into a This?" While the dictions of "dummy" mike, but the micro Senator Ford, Harry Hershfield I)hone is not merely stage dress and Joe Laurie, Jr., will never ing, since she owns a first-rate win an elocution contest, their larynx and CIIIl act. In addition, unlimited storage of funny· sto-~ Jeni was picked as "Miss Flori ries make for a very pleasant da" in the 1945 finals, is a first half hour. Peter Donald, of The singing commercial flIte fashion designer and cre course, is unbeatable. I've often ated and hand-painted the cute wondered what those old troup bathing suit she wears in this ers looked like and would IIppre· Ilicture. Well, here she is. And eiate it if you would print their it's enough, isn't it? pictures. Leland Roche Sidney Crossman Miami, Flltfid«- New York, N. Y. .. Maybe this picture of the three gagsters as marauding spirits of black magic is not too glamorous. Hut ht,t'e they arc: "Sen lltor" f'ord, left, Joe L.aurie, Jr., center, and Harry Hersh field. "Seillo' spelt backwardl "Needless to soy. no other product spells TOllies'" could possibly make this statement.' W"nt to pop off your Address RADIO Bi:ST ~t radio p ...e 452 Fifth Avenue, W.'II " nl •• r your lehen, New York 18, N. Y. or print them If ponible. Addre.. lelte.. ond pidurel to Edilor 01 IADIO lEST, 452 Fifth A.en"e, Ne. y ..k II, Only .igned 10 The Story Of Iter Winchell Hew Yor.'s crusading newspaper summons over one th ird of this country's man who has made the "Broadways listeners to their radios. of the World" his battleground. AlmO!it 50,000,000 eager citizens bend a wi ll ing, and often npprehensive ear. to a series of short, plain-spoken items that run the gamut Every Sunday night at the exact stroke of of Rtl'aight newS, out-:md-out scoops by the ninc, one of the most nTresling though per dozen , exposes, divorces, births, deaths and haps not one of the most felicitous of the marriages. All of this plus a hard-hittin~ edi llreetings that signal the start of any radio tOl"ial on the slllte of the IllItion, the st.'lte of program, is the staccato ral-tal-tat of a tele the I{ove rnment. the slllte of the world, or the graph key and the cri~ply-enunt':iated words: state of anythilljC that Winchell believes cnlls "Good evening. Mr. and Mrs. North and for the merciless sllotlil{ht of his attention. South Amer ica, and all the ships at sea, Add to this incredible to1;11 of listeners, the let's go to press!" , sum of some 25.000.000 pe l·sons who avidly With that rapid-fire salutation. Walter read his daily syndicated columns throuj{houl Winchell begins his weekly radio brnndcasl the world and you'll have a parlial Ilicture of over the American Broadcasting Company net an individual who COIn do more to wield public work. His words are the rallying cry that opinion than perhAI>-' lIny other single citizen. Mr, Broadway has himself an informal momenl with Jane Runell and Sinalro "On location," • * * * * * * * • * • * • * * • * * * • • * • • * * • * * • • • * * • • If • • " r'"-- .--"''' , ~ Radio's Ace reporter talks things oyer with Winchell with some of nalion's top politicos ·Sn.rk Club's Mr, Billingsley with Winchell ond New York's Mayor O'Owyerotthe Siork Club, including Bob Hannegan /seen at for rightl. publishers Lord Beayerbrook, Roy Howard, .,. ~ * . * •• * * * •••••••• " •••• * * • It's diflicult to escape the uncasy thought It ill a sincerity that has carried him from charged to battle for the underdog, Item:> in that such 11 falltat;tic amount of powcr is un his start as the humble lIuthOl' of two pages his column, portions of hill hroadcast were safe in the hands of anyone man, that no of show business gossips tacked on a bllckst;lge welded tOJ,('cther to expose Bilbo, p;lra~OIl could make his way safely throuS(h bulletin board to his lu'e!';ent pinnacle as But tht, tin' of \\'inchdl's nttacks hal't' the myriad pitfalls that beset such personal champion of democracy, indefatigable cl'usader m,HI,\' times hlish'n'd tht, diplomatic <:in'I.':> of potency, It would be only nntul'al to eXI)eet agllinst "isms" of all kind~ and tireless de inl"I'ltational politics, The !';mokt' still hanJls a slil) somewhere, 11 sh,l(ling of ethics, a sub fender of tolerance to all races ;Iud all creed!;, low as 11 rt'sult of the .so\'iet's Vir:>t Deputy merging perhaps of some minOl' principle, A normally mild individual. Winchell ~ "oreigll :\Iinistt'l', Andrei Vishinsk,\"s hitinJ,(' It is here th:lt the voice of history ~I)eaks literally ruthless in hl" fervor for a chosell accus,ltion which Ilam,'d the AnH'rlcati re]).()r\('r to the millions who rcad and listcn to Winchell, cause and once he embarks upon a campaign to "" principal Amt'riclIll \\'armorl,lft'r," \\'indlt'll's Speaks to those who lovc or hate him, those riJ,('ht a wl'ong he tUl'lllj his microphone upou n'iJuttal. a le,.,.on in (adU,tl reportinl{, was a who fear and envy him, those who malign his op]}()nent with a fury that nevel' diminishes, tl'iiJutt, to AnH'rit.;an journali"m, f{,'pt'ints of and those who praise, from a record of 15 A case in point was the late Senator Bilbo, th., IIUW famous reply may "till h.' olit"in"f\ flawless yeal's, }o'OI' whether his voice falls on raucous champion of white supremacy. I'ed frum tht, Americ;1Il Broalkast!II,1! Compan,l', the ears of friend 01' foe, both l'ealize the fUII su!';pendered pillal' of I'lIcial superiority, Will Perhaps Winchell's greatt·st triUmph in a damental sincerity of Winchell. chell raised his banner of democl'llcy and long series of victories was tilt' fact that hI' MOlE ~> 12 An " on the lot" interview w ith ace diredor At Hollywood's golf tournament for the Damon Dinner with Yankee owner Larry MacPhail and Howard Hughe s while Lauren 8acall looks on. Runyon Memorial fund w ith Si natra and Hope. his Mrs. combines news and han d'oeuvres. • • * * * * * • * * * * • * * * * • * * • * * * * • • • * * * * • • * • * • • • • At speaker's table, Dinner of Police Chiefs in Winchell who started his private war on Hitler and Hirohl.o way 1946, w ith J . Edgar Hoover and To m Clark. before Peorl Harbor visits with Ernie Pyle and Jolson at Miami. * * • * * • * * • • * • * wal; the first to tnke up the cudgel against Jlitler back in 19;~2. Winchell called the new political party in Germany nothill~ but "hood lums. thugs and racketeers," and waded into the bHttle with such bare-knuckled relish that his picture landed on the frol,t pages of Hit ler's Berlin paper in 19:~4. It wall cHptioned: "A New Enemy of Germany," and perhaps marked one of Hitler's grossest underst.'lte. ments. U. S. based Bundist~ ranted that he had started the fight and Winchell promptly coun \ / t.ered, "You bet and you have my promise, I'll keep at it till that Ratzi ill dead and buried." Mother and dod ask Winchell to join them Saying hello to veterans of the PaciRc And Winchell kept his promise to the letter. at bedsi~e of th. ir mortally wounded boy. theater in his rounds of hospital wards. He pounded Hitler and his cohorts on the air and ill his column even though during the course of the right, he found he not only had to match wits with the Nazis but with Ameri can fascists, publishel's, and even some of his so-called f riends. He climaxed the battle against the "enemy of humanity" in September 1939 when he cabled Neville Chamberlain, Britain's Prime l\1 inister, this message: "1\111Y I ]·espectful1y offer the suggestion that if B]'itain declares war, the declara tion might be worded not liS 'War Against Germany,' but ill' 'War Against Adolf Hitler and 'his Personal Regime.' Such a declaration might bring the German peo ple to their senses, especially if it can be ma..de known to them ... " The Prime Minister read ,I proclamation to the German people on Septembe]' 4th stating that the war was not against them but against Greeting wounded .... ts flown in from two Playing the role of emcee at variety show Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Future Jima and Okinawa at Son Froncisco depot. held in hospital ward for disabled vets. Codht .. ed 0" Paqe 59 13 Dire ctor Hi Brown cash shows at Colbee-he re Anothe r waiting- place for radio lal ~ nt is at re laxes with Joan Alexander and Cora Smith. third floor NBC. " P .A." syste m pages a d ors. '. RADIO IS II CLOSED-DOOR II Facts gathered in wide survey establish authenticity PROBLEM! of editor's open memo Fr o ... : Franklin Ga.dner To : Edward BobIer For t he past couple of weeks I have played Boswell to actors, directon, and assorted functionaries and there is general agreement with yOUt figures, A few people disagreed, notaby Leo Shull, who publi shes "Actors Cues" and knows mot'e thespians than probably a ny other person in lown, Leo puts t he figure for actors at twenty-five hundred (count ing only t he people in AFRA, t he actors' un ion). About four hundred, says Leo, have A-B or aero!!!> the board, or Monday tbrough Friday jobs and t hey average from $200 to $ 1,000 pe r week thereby, Another t housand get single shows almost every week and average f rom seventy dollars a week up, Leo agrees, however. t hat many of the same actors are used again and again on many shows and puts it down to a matter of economics- using established talent is actually cheaper because it takes less rehearsal time and the veteran performers often get little more in payment. A telephone call (which was as close as I could gel) to Mr. GeorKe Heller, national presidentllf the radio actors' union, elicited the infor mation thllt ubout eighty percent of t he people in AFRA (American Federation of Radio AI'lists) are ell rning less than $2,000 pe r yellr whi ch is admittedly pretty low for a fiel d that requires the abil ity and training as does rad io. In t he ordinary course of events. a comparatively small grout) of actors are called for more parts than they call pOSS ibly play, Yet. every now and theil, the industry is hit by a wave of conscience and some directors get almost fanatic about call ing new people. T here's a lean period for some of the biggest acting names in the trade. 1'hcn these same directors al'e t he ones who ICO back to theil' old !-lystem of working with t he same fam iliar vo ices, and very few new aelOl'S have benefitted more than temporar ily, Frank Butler of "My True Story" and a f requent performer on "Studio Olle" says. "A lot of us who've been in the business fo r a long time still r un into tough sledding, You've got an impossible log jam in about t wenty-five hundred people in New York. who may han' plenty of talent. but there just a ren't enou gh jobs." MallY ,top radio writers agree with Mr. Butler on t he difticultie8. even at the top. including Everett Sloane. who is admittedly the most souj.{ht -artcr MOllE :, '->- ~ Even "Rosie the Bear" slicks oround 01 third "I WMCA program director Joseph Gottlieb Young Hopeful auditions for Joseph Daly, floor ofter (I television appeoronu. Hoping? lokes time out to advise one persistent odress. NBC producer. If she passes, still a long trail. shows octing aristocracy skims cream while vast talent pool remains outside looking in actor on the air-wll\'e~. Santos Ortega, a regu ality who has the backing of iI big 1I0ilywood lar on ~uch ~hows as "'nner Sanctum" nnd studio, "The Thin Man," lIdds, "AllY desirable field Hi Brown, dir~tor of "Inner Sanctum" will attr:lct many more people than there aloe among other shows, told me he had discon' actually jobs for, and obviously this will result tinued the use of lIny but radio lIctors with in a cry of 'closed door' 011 the part of those excellent results and much fewer belldachf'!i. who find themselves part. of the execs!!." It would be interesting to know what our Cameron And,"cws, who plays "Enor" 011 "Lone readers think of jlrograms which usc big Journey" sill:hs, "what kecils you out when Illimes for drnmatic l'olt!S, and whether a film you're out, keeps you in when you're ill. It's 11 slar at two-thous:U1d dollars I>cr broadcast highly competitive business. of course. Then' gives more listening batisfaction than a thor are IIOt live or six tryin!{ for the same job, oughly radio-genic vetemn like Everett S loan, but often as nmny as two or thrt.>e hundred." Bill thompson on fibber House Jameson, or Elspeth Eric. There was genl'ral agreement that the CIfId MoIlr, Old TlIMf. One fault is cleilr, Top r;ldio actor!! al't! kellt ranks of r1l1lio actoh:\ who lIrc IIOt able to in direct compctition with newer performers. makl.' l'ndlJ meet are swelled by Ileopic who Jimmie Lipton (Uobbic Dellawn on "Evelyn have notl'lufficient experience before they come Winters") fef'ls, "it puts a terrific handicap to lhi' biJo: production centers, where directors 011 younger actors to find themselves tryjn.l( ht'l'Iitatc to take chances because of the larKe for the same jobs as seasoned vetl'rans. Onl' l'Iums of money involved if an inexpcrienced solution might be for networks to put young performer makes mistolkes. actors under contract and then throw their Comcdy and dramatic r.ldio veteran Arnold Weight behind giving them the Ojlllortunity to Stan).:' ~1IYs, "the inexperiell(:ed actor, oftell develop." blinded by the 'lCliImour' of radio, or what Leading right into this dired competition S(.'t!ms :111 ea~y way \0 make money will be is the problem of "conflicts." In other words doinlC himself a favor if he IClIrns the hard all 15 , , , Three decades;s a long time to basic: in the popularity spotlight, yet Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians continue to stay among top ten in the band hit parade. O r iginality wears well- particulltrly on Fred Waring. Name bands have come and gone by the dozens during the "era of the perennial collegian." It's been a long, long "era," too-thirty years long. It was back in 1917 when Fred and his brothers organized their "Blinjattra," liS the band was naively called then. Today's big, smart enterprise known as the Fred Waring Show is a far cry from those early days. Yet. it was way back then that Fred came up with his "un professional" idea that musicians could sing as welt as play instruments. The band glee club has been imitated widely since. Another unique Waring thought was that a band could service as a self-contained entertainment unit, dis pensing with the guest star tradition. His band is full of talented musicians, who can double in comedy as well as brass. Partisans say that Waring's showmanshill has been the greatest thing since Barnum. They (.'ouid be right. For this organization is 1I1wlIYs good for a new musical idea. But over the decades it's been the emphasis 011 plain, un varnished entertainment that told the Waring success story . ..... h C.III".h."" Glori. Muddetl and J.a" Wh.. ,loy campo.. Wa,i", I,i •. Trado rna ... I. th. hi,hly .tyl.d WOO;", GIH Clulo, farn.d f •• it, i"lrnil.101o n.".lty arra.. ' ...... "". 16 Sporn ' .....IIfwI_ Jolt AII_ dees _nique ieb ·.AND A with his nw broadcast " On the Sports HeriJOft." CIVIL TONGUEI A GA INST THfo; synlhdic hardt4hips of a Carl Hixby Soap Opera blll M ~ a5uri n9 a putt. Bob rece ntly took Do n Budge, Fre d Perry e ach recei¥ed up golf, shot nine on par-fi¥e hole. ce n ificotes 0 5 "Athletes of Week." Bob interviewing Charley Grimm ove r first annual Roben G. Allman Award the air from the 5hibe Pork dugout. w e nt to 17-ye a r old Ralton Noyles. Hollywood On The Air Hln,., MO'IOn lind. , ... Ilrl .... ho .... on·' 10lk bo by favius Friedman MIKE SIDE Probably the oldest axiom in politics is, "If you can't lick 'em, jinl! 'em." Some of radios top personalities are currently doing a switch on that old !llIW with a new gimmick known as "co-operati\'e program ming," Unable to pin down a single big sponsor to a contract, shows like Abbott lind Costello. "'nformation Please," "Kate Smith Speaks," "~Ieet Me at Parky's" and others have reached out and with the back ing of A Be and Mutual have garnered as many as 200 local bank rollers ill this different kind of venture. What it meulis is that programs are transcribed like the Bing Crosby stam.ns, then sold on a local basis, with the individual sponsors Jo One of the few new personalities* * to *develop from a summer fill-in into a national entert.'l.iner is comedian Jack Paar. The comic, he;lrd on They put Henry Morgan* right.* in the* middle of a Hollywood de ARC's Wednesday night "power-house" line-up, is this month's recipi- Illirtmellt store window when the comedian came out on a short visit 10 the Comlt, making him keep that date he's been talking about. for SO mallY years. Being a mall of his word, Morgan finally met the Ill' la.bo'D full .. I. h ...,d bill lunlo.lunol.lyl nol ..an ) on hlIC'. "On. Man', fo ... ily:· No.... it ond .,ou con ho ... it. 0' .... hot.... , il i, it hoppen. wh.n Ed IA,.hi.i Go,dn., ond Jeff., Colonn.co g.el log.th., .... ith f.llo ..... on., I.d Sk.lton .. - ON THE AIR conlinuHi • A Jock h .... ~ I.iel 10 oulsl... . §:Ih •• o .. ~ linglng .o...... ial • :., quort.1 of 8i11 DaYI, Ma •••11 S",llh, Marty Spu.ul _d Go...... ~ Hall. Jock 1011. ScriptH, Morgan complained, definitelt cramp his style. "Some people, for example, don't like the word 'anld'," he said. "Some don't O.k lood... lo~d la.bu,n oncI Eddy Howa.d hav. a little like the word 'but.' It's surprising how many words there are that chal with Ma.ga•• t Whilir>g. people object to. On my show I can't mention sex, medicine, sex, med· icine, sex and several others." li.h..,d Iloston 81ocU., All in all, the Morgan man made a very favorable impression, even Kolltna. oncI lui., Wooc!l if he did shock some of the citizenry at the Vine Street Derby when find ~'"thing funn, in I.,.i. he tucked a napkin under his collar. lathered his face and proceeded thriller ouipl. to shave. Probably he was merely reminding the patrons that on his air ~how he's selling razors. "Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette"· ... Cliff Arquette, new comic on the Dick Haymes' stanzas. has waxed two remarkable children's albums for Columbia. Called "Let's Play Trains" and "Let's Play DIAL SPINS * * * Firemen," the platters let the moppets participate in the games to the Washing machines, diamond rings and refrigerators - in that accompaniment of Arquette's own narration. Listening to the discs order - are the things America's housewives want most of all, accord you feel you want to be a kid agnin, they're 80 much fun ... When ing to a survey made reeenUy by the producers of Mutual's "Your are they going to give pianist Alee Templeton a show of his own? . Hearl's Desire" program. Diapers. for some odd reason, ran 12th. The pendulum is swinging up again for songstress Ginny Simms, Wonder if there's any significance to that? ... Something else that whose spot on the Coca-Cola show, over CBS, lets her thrush her songs seems to point a moral is the preference of out-of-towners visiting without having to worry about carrying nn entire program. She's Hollywood for ducats to "Breakfast in Hollywood," "Bride and Groom" much happier that way, and shows it ... Just in case you didn't know, and "Queen for a Day." Ticket requests to these shows seem to tOll all Garry "Take It or Leave It" Moore's real handle is Thomas Garrison others among people from the hinterlllnd when they head for Holly- Morfit ... What big comic has Tefused to do any more of his shows in wood's Radio Row ... Singer (]omo's deal with Chesterfield gives New York i>e(:lIuse Manhattan audiences don't respond as hilariously him $6000 a wt'Ck for fWIl vellrs. really means it when he sings to his botrolas us the seat-warmers in Hollywood? Composer Dave Rose has* a new* composition * which he calls "March of the Pretzels." Says he did it to compete with a friend who wrote a song under water. Rose wrote his under beer! ... Peggy Lee claims a kiss is the shortest distance between two ... And egotism, according to CBS' Margaret Whiting, is nothing but a case or mistaken nonentity , I rtlil H-arril 90" hit diploma from the 01' ' . Chanteuse Lina Romay is eager to forget thn! she was ever typed as a fl(~ ry Latin songstress. She wants to do more American numbers. Actually, Lina is Mexican only on her father's side. Her mother came J of Norwcginn and Irish stock and Lina herself was born in Ullper Manhllltan ... Bet you didn't know that the "Voice of Prophecy" Is one of the biggest transcribed airshows. It's sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventists and is heard on 500 stations Dennis Day was at a party reeently when a gal boasted of her new "mYstery sweater." "Sister," cracked Dennis. "I'd sure like to unravel that yarn '" ... According to Parkyakarkus, characters with that Tarzanish look are gents whose eyes swing from limb to limb ... Rndio dramatist Arch Oboler will write and direct three dramatic albums for Decca, based t.d Malo_ b.ing, 010"9 mi" Oil his own originals ... Jo Stafford's contract with NBC's "SUI)llCr fo. b..aUall with lonald Club" has been cxtchded through 1948 ... Among the ix'st of the SC\· levon, M... I.gan Ua.... W~manl and their doug!!I., Maur•• n eral Hollywood gossip-dispensers on the air is :\!ulua]'!1 t-:rskint' Ca"',,, .... all H.", .... ~>- 19 "Skinny" Johnson. Besides his air show, Skinny's newspaper column During the four years the show has been on the air, nobody has ever goes into some 600 sheets ... Recommended listening: CBS' "My "fluffed" a line and no one has ever tossed in an ad lib ... What Friend Irma," which got itself a sponsor, and the same net's Sweeney hanpsome male warbler walked out on 11 rehearsal of a show on which and March, two comics who really deserve a bankroller. Orchids, too, he was guesting because the scripts were a half hour late in arriving? to Mutual's fine "Family Theatre" ... Jack Benny's Artie Auerbach, the Don't always believe rumors of "romance" between radio lovelies dialectician, has a contract with the Waukegan Fiddler that gives him and lads with big names. Sometimes the couple is in the same press a nice weekly check, whether he works or not ... They're calling Cathy and Elliot Lewis, husband-and-wife team who write, act and pr.oduce, the "one-couple network." Oddly enough, Cathy was born a Lewis, fell in love with another Lewis and married him, so she didn't even have to change the bath towels ... On "What's Doing, Ladies" recently emcee Jay Stewart called for married couples from among his audience to prepare for a skit before the mike. The first three couples called were named Bacon, Coffee and Bunn. The orange juice was on the house .. , Oscar Levant, of NBC's AI Jolson Show, was telling about an actor of his acquaintance. "Maybe he isn't a ham," said Levant, "but why does he wear a clove in his lapel?" Look for II famed blonde* thrush, * who* unwillingly exited a crooner's airshow at the end of last season, to open her own night club before "P.P .... t Young', fa ... ily" c.lebrole long ... Oldest daytime serial is CBS' "The Romance of Helent Trent," Ih.i. ,hirte.nlh yeor ..n the olr. A. now in its fifteenth year. So far the show has used up close to 4000 110 .. piano i. Eunice Howatd, ...100 play, scripts ... Seems they've at last found what to do with vice'presidents. lindo. Standing, lofl 10 ,ighl. Or. Elliot Lewis, starring in Mutual's "Voyage of the Scarlet Queen," is Ma.ian kmer 1M ... y ....ngl. lettr W'OIl! IPeggrl, Thama. Chorlme.. (Mr. Youngl. more than just an actor on the show. He's also a v-p of the prodUCing Ma ...n Adam. (Pepperl. and lurt group which owns the adventure series ... According to Bill Bendix, I,atier CCortor 'renll. his "Life of Riley" program has something few other shows can claim. agent's stable ... Song katirist Abe Burrows has 11 complete mastery of Latin, Abe is a Latin student of seven years' ,standing and has lectured in many New York City schools .. _ When chltntootsie Doris Day was told that pressure cookers can now cook spinach in two min utes, she merely yawned. "What of it?" she quipped. "It just means you have to eat the stuff 12 minutes sooner" ... An enterprising Hol lywood outfit is now offering' disc-jockeys a Cflmpiete mimeographed service of "ad libs" _ .. Colonel Stoopnagle has just invented a gadget that looks like an umbrella but isn't. It's to carryon days when it looks like it's going to rain but doesn't. All-American Tommy Har mon, sportscaster on the Jimmy Durante program, plays professional football for the Los Angeles Rams_ FI~ ••odio .Ieuth. Ther· ... gol prellr onu on dorlim, •••iab. Thi.·n i. Nancr G .. tu, NIC'. "M... que, .. de ... The fans have been quick to put their approval on RADIO BEST plans for a series of popular polls to elect America's favorite enter tniners and programs. Conclusive proof is offered by the avalanche Warb'e. Ja 5Iaff•••• h .... ."",e,hing ...... Ing with. one mo,ning fo. "Gong" m_t of early returns in the "Favorite .ono.. EUGlNlf IloilO now f.onk Slnol,o', new pO...... in long an NIC • .. HIII'...... " Nelson Eddy used to be a newspaper man, writing obituaries for a Philadelphia paper ....,.,",.;, he graduated out of the Fourth Estllte music. NBC's Mel Torme played drums And piano in kid vaudeville shows at the age 9f six and wrote his first song at 13. Conduc tor Victor Young got his start in music when, MAil THIS IA.UOT TO a boy in Chicago, he found a battered violin GAl WAhUt I'OU ....IMO NSf on the street. Repaired, the instrument ~rved 452 fifTH "'VI., N. Y. 11, N Y. to launch Young on a career which saw him develop into a child prodigy. Dave Rose/at 17 r------, played a tricky piano on Ted Fiorito's band. MY fAVOl1TE GiRl RAOIO SINGER IS I Tony Martin's first musical money was earned I in vaudeville around the San Francisco Bay tAMDIO"U ______I area, when he became leader of a hot jaz:r: I combo called the Five Red Peppers. The young ., NAMI sters, all around 14, got $66 for their first I I performance and had to pay their agent 1O~. OC:CI.Il'AtlOM ... Frank' Sinatra used a shrewd stunt to as I himself of plenty of singing engagements. "OIlllUS I got ~st set of orchestrations he could I cny AND stAn ______and when a band wanted to ~nt the I c ••" ...... P.,. 51 I 21 I ------_.... Dolores Martin got her big ()art in "f'inian's , Winner Loren Recker Rainbow" through Arthul'. makes guest aPlK'arance on Godfrey's A.M. IIhow. " JOHN GAU/sON "Which she never,ollce took," I grumbled. Bessie patted my \heulder in her motherly fashion. "DolI't feci I WALKED UP behind too badly," she soothed. the big, amiable red-head "She doesn't even take my advice," grinned Arthur. "Tell you standing at the rear or what, Johnny. If you have the time, why don't you just trail mt! around CBS Playhouse Thret!, and watch us put the Talent Scouts show together'!" watching a young marimba The young fellow on stage wtl6 still playing his Marimba. Arthur player rehearse with the strode purposefully toward the stage. "Here it comes," sighed Bcss, Talent Scouts' orchestra, as we followed. and tapped him on the The familiar Godfrey accents rumbled out. "Hold it, boys." Archie shoulder. Bleyer stopped the orchestra. "Is that your beslnumber, George~" "Hello, Arthur," George Guest, the mnrimbn pinyer, shook his hend. "I wanteQ to .. ,,'s not tho' good 0' a joke, John" gre(!ted him. "I'm doing a play 'Flight of the Bumble Bee: but everybody SlIid no." story' about you." "Let's hear how you do with it," said Arthur. Godfrey SWUIlJ{ around, eye!! twinklinlo(' "Hello, Johnny." We shook There was a short wait, then suddenly, the marimba Clime fnirly hands warmly. "I ~aw you sneaking up 011 me," he chuckled, "but I alive with fast, exciting rhythm. The music rose. to a climax, thell didn't wallt to spoil your fun. What do you want to know?" stopped. "Ever)'thilll{!" I replied. At Ihat moment, Bessie M 22 ••••'" ':.~M~ "'~ "" Arthur and producer Irving Mansfield discuu talent Bessie Mack, who takes a 10' of trouble to give new for the week's show as they hold on informal confab. tolenl Q (hance, coaches songstress Helen Manning. has nothing better to do than sil home all week remembering that 'Flight of the Bumble Hee' was played 011 our program'! Besides, that was a trumpet. Now the kid has a chance to win-lhat's what he's ou the ghow for. You Illay your best number, George." That ni)(hl. George Guest played "Flight of the Bumble Bee" on Arthur Godfrey's Talent St:oUla- and won! I followed Arthur into the control booth, where we lislened to the rehearsal over the mike. "How much rehearsal time do the!fe young sters get!" I asked. "As much 3S they need," he reillied. Somewhat hiler he went up on stage to the desk he uses during the broadcast. There are two chairs and two microphones, one each for Arthur and the vllrious talent scouts. "Come on up, Johnny," he in· vited, "and make like a talent scouL" "Do I get twenty·fIVe bucks for this?" I asked. I started to laugh at my own joke and Arthur gave me that "Huck Finn" look. "It's not thnt good of a joke, John," he reproached me. Ju.st then, there was a brilliant flash of light and I turned to see a photographer skulking away. "What goes on?" I wanted to know. "I've got a sponsor, now," Arthur whispered. "Every time I put on a new suit, they take a Ilicture. They've been doing it since the first commercial brO Normo G. Nilssoi;;;?---______.. Is t .. eri. IiH'. "CootIe" ' ..rd o. ""o"dI." series 24 RADIO'S "CLOSED-DOOR" PROILEM •• "ti"".d dr.lmatic programs work on II low budget, said M iss Druce, which nt'Ces..~itlites expert doublers ;lIId usually it's the old-timer~ who call play Norma Jean, last heard as "the little girl next door" with two p;lrts most suc(."Cssfully. Also due to the Jack Carson, has revealed a talent fllr beyond her nine busy low budK('t, it Ilikes a lot of ('ourage to ex yelln~. RADIO BEST is now periment which clin be costly. When you llike plc:uJed to rt:veal another facet highly tt.'ChJlic.1I scrijJts (such liS mysteries) of this enKaging youngstt:r'!! whose mood is intensely stylized, you must tlllents. The autobiographical have highly skilled technicians. story that lIppears below wall prepan:d and tYI.ed by Norma At the same time, she feels' new l>col)le Jean lit the behest of RAmo must bc used wherever possible and she her BEST'S editors. It ap self man:lgt'8 to get as many new voices on pear!! exactly as re<:eived her Ilrogram as possible. Miss Druce felt 11 without a word or com step in t}. , right direction might be the estub ma changt.-d and mllkes lishmt:llt of 11 cooperative venture to "show a refreshing departurt: casc" unfamiliar talent for all the directoTJ,. from the usulll drum "I'd ghldly give up one night ;1 week for ...... ,.., beating of the press workin", with new people," she concluded...... agent fraternity. -_ Fletcher Markle, director of "Studio One" ...... , ...... told me he used at least sixty Ilew actors in the first ten weeks of broadc:lst for the series lInti th;lt he intends to keep using new 1Je AUTHOR MEETS CRITIC pttl pm BIG BREAK! Everyone loves an argument, especially the kind where 110 punches TALENT SCOUT art.' pulled and the "literary" Itlood flows freely. Aut/1M' Meets' the CritiC8 is that kind of radio !:tre. There's nothing highbrow about thi8 entertaining and intelligent show. Yet. it lifts radio's Ilrestige still The professional entertainer has enjoyed two important boons in another notch. The format of this literary set-to is fairly SimlJle. A recent years. One. the unlamented end of network "amateur night.!l" currt!nt book is selected for dissection. The book's lIuthor is thrown which the late Major Bowes had elevated to unmerited heights, the into the same ring with two critic!!. one pro, the other con, and the other the arrival of Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" and Eddie fUll begins. The critics open the verbal clash in which the book is Dowling's "Big Break" which again IJut the professional on a IlaT with figuratively torn apart from cover to cover. The author is then c:tlled the amateur. For a time, with the rise of the amateur show, which upon to tnlk back. A bit of I'ound-table hair pulling ends it all and never should have left the intimate bounds of the neighborhood theatre everybody is sent back to his corner. Oh yes, the show hlts 11 referee, where it was born, it seemed that radio's big door would remain shut who is no such thing, He pitehe!! in on one or the other side, depending forever to the excellent trained talent that was beating Vainly for on his own feelings about the book. The decision-that's put up to the admission. Professionals were frantically seeking amateur status in IisteneM>, who, are invited to rush out to the nea~st book stRlis, if they order to gain a deserved hearing. haven't already read the book, and make up their own minds. Author Both Arthur Godfrey's and Eddie Dowling's shows have done Meets tile CritiCII is a great way to keep abreast of l'urrent literary much to heal the wounds suffered during the days of hooks, gongs events-and a great inspiration to catch up 011 your back reading. and Bronx cheers. Both shows attract seasoned professionals who lack nothing more than a "big break." In many w.ays the performers put to -'" shame some of the network's leading stars and combine to offer fine variety fare, in fact very good variety and a very far cry from the caterwauling amateur hours. Mr. Godfrt!y is It natural performer and has developed enormously as a refrt!shing comedian. But we'd like to see the anliable fanner find THE PAUSE a better instrument than his apiliause meter which is an inaccurate and THAT REfRESHES almost silly device for me:l!lUring the Cltlibre of talent. Mr. Dowling's one-man judge drafted from the theatrical fraternity is not the perfect device but is infinitely sUI>erior to cJaPlling and whistling. Both shows have alreldy spiraled quite a few performers into the Thank:tto the end of the lIug:u' famine, Cocll Cola has rt!turned to limelight. Yes, indeed, the professional is finally getting .a break. And the airwaves with a half-hour pause that I'eally is refr('shin~ The so is the patient listener who finds these half-hours pleasant entertain show is solidly music, reminiscent of the Andre Koslelanetz show ment in the best vaudeville-variety tradition. heard :1 few seasons ago. The addt'd rounds of pleusure include the _M' eXIll'rt le:ldership of Percy Faith. the ('frol·tless smoothness of Ginny Simms' warbling (St'C cover profile 011 page' 6) alld the easy mallnt!r of Roger Pryor's hosting chores. Mr. Faith is definitely the program's star. His distincti\'e al'rangemen18 lire calculated to produce the most 9:30 pleasing tone colors. Miss Simms' decision to discHrd her chit chat and ./ get down seriously to tbf business of singing focuses new attention on JIM BACKUS the fael that hel'e is radio's top ranking gil'l vocalist. List this program SHOW on your Sunday log of Jllem~lIlJt listening and you'll forget all about whistling or humming the jingle that claims to "hit the'sI)Ot." _Ela The elite group of listeners who Jlride themselves on having dill covert!d Garry Moore 'way back 011 CLUB MATINEE, may hUl'l'iedly twist their dials to Mutual on Sunday evenings for a hearing-acquain tance with another incipient big-mtme star. Not that Jim Backus is any stranger to radio listeners. He has long been a familiar voice to CRIME comedy fans in his many supporting roles for Alan Young (Hubert Updyke-richest man in the world), Eddie Cantor. Dunny Kuye, Jack PHOTOGRAPHER Benny, Fred Allen and nearly allY comedy show YOU'd care to mention. Backus is quickly demonstrating his nbility to hold his own with his former bosses. as star of an unpretentious half-hour of laugh-!ltudded Telling the whodunit fan what's good and bad is like telling kids entert.'1inment. It's all very casual, as working with a studio audience, that "Best Years of Our Lives" is better than 11 Roy Rogers picture. a hatch of records and a couple of people including his wife and his Radio's great crime colony, of which this reviewer is a charter member, announcer, he further demonstrates/something we've all suspected for di:lls for escape not edification. Some crime shows fare better, Hooper sor,ne time: Ergo-it does not take a corps of comedy writers, It high wise, than others only 1,J(.'Clluse some intrudeMl occasionally join in with priced cast and a fourteen-piece top-flight orchestra to make a comedy the authentic mystery lover audience making the regular evening program. It only takes a good comedian! Revolutionary as this may round8 among the radio thrillers, Crime Photogmpher, liS It case in 26 c-tf-.4 _ N.xt ,.•• B-+ SEAT ON THE DIAL (o ..ll .. ~d point. dOCliU't rate hight'f in the addict's uffection than BlIlIdnfl Drum· monti, lloop!:'r. lIotwithst'l1uling. C'lsey (Staats Cotgwor th) . Anni~, Ethelbert ,lIul Calltain Logan an' nire pC()plc and they solve their crimes in Ihl' acct'llted manner. but- it's OUf IIwlpicion th:\t this show draws unfairly til)()11 untnPP'-'d rC!ler?es ill thrill starved working newSlmpcr photol,('raphers who wish lhlir lives 1('f'n:' as eventful as Casey's. Announcer Tony Marvin's eloqut;nt assurances all his Ill>onsor's behalf thal bt..'t'r Ulslt's better in boUles than in Cl.tns carries conviction. So would the show if C:u*,y would only l>ermit c..ptain Logan of the Homicide Squad to solve ant' It''t.'ny Wl't'ny crime. JO:OO -THEATRE GUILD ON THE AIR S ince Ii!ollencrs who lIppn'ciah- good dnlmatic programs do not chool«! theil' evcning's l'lLteltainmcnt hy lloojJer ratings, Theatre Gu ild on the Air s hould continue to 1IUract 11 large adult theatre-Koing 1Iudielu..~. Not to be confused with the so:tJlY !let, well known players of !!taJ('t' and screen continue to Cllact succeSS-llrovcn literature of the theatre ill a way that SI)eIl8 quality entertainment. The dramas reach the audience at its highest, or more cultural level of inten'st, thus KiVing radio st:mdards in general a htmlthy boost. ,One suggestion aimed to eliminate iI point from the ncgative side of the ledger might reud like this: ... GENTLEMEN OF STEEL, (U. S. that is) your show makes us plenty "product" conscious, but since most of us :t'leT:ig-t' listeners find it quite beyond our Iwed!l to bounce out lind buy 11 girder or two. , , we respectfully ask to be allowed to :lb:wrb your good will with fewer interruillions. Meanwhile we promise, lIlways to look for the U, S. trade mark. In short, thl' play's the thing ... with not too much irony please, Sam Gifford, air-parent of Junior Jamboree, runs through script with his teen.dge staff. MEl TORME SHOW A professional touch marks original s".tche, and songs put on by these high school youths. Mel Tormc, dubbcd the "Velvet Fog" by disc jockey Freddie Rohbin!!. i:-; no Bing Cro.'4by, not c\'cn ;\ r~rallk Sinatra. But he's a cuh' guy who knows how to cut hims~lf a big Ilieee of bobby-sox llfft.'f:tiOIlS ;lTId will probahly s~1I n lot of Toni l}Crmancnt home wave packcts, (See Torme story. on page 30.) If you miss Mr. Sinatra's former crew of howling teeners, tune in carly for a failly good interpretation of simulated mass hysteria. I teen-age show has unn)'1ered 8Nnday raft of fresh talent. 8:00 pm High on big list 1It'c ..-/ (a) torch singe r A. l. ALEXANDER'S Carol !ojaunders, Ib) MEDIATION BOARD chanteuse Henee fiennett, (c) ba.ritone Kenny Kiester, (d) J ane Husser, whose Docs anyone miss John J, Anthony and his "Court of lIum1ln aspiration 18 Ollera. Desolation"? We doubt it. Maybe the gag writers who found this II subjt..'Cl for comedy for 80me deep, dark renson. Now that we got past An in'er.s'ing oR-shoo' of Junior Jamboree is the lct'n-age entcTiJrise thllt crisis in radio d~ellcy, we wonder whether we can't get by ::still known as Junior Achievement of America, Inc" which Ol~r:ltes under another. Despite the best intentions of Mr. Alexander and his self its own charter, rules and dues. The group ctlpitaliz\!s on memb,ers' styled mediation board, we honestly believe these do-gooders clin do talents by Im lting on their own shows lIt locul thcatCl">\ and SOC Ials. their belli by quitting the air. Parading human misery and pathos be fore our auditory sell!!CS is not our ide:1 of radio oI>erated in the best public interest. These circu!!Cs of Ilathelic and twisted lives Jlllllder to our worst side, There is a Illace for counsel and guidance for the mal. adjusted and anti-social II place that is well filled by public and "ri vate agencies staffed with coml>etent sociul workers, psychilltrists and leglll talent. Why couldn't Mr. Alexander, who docs seem to be LQuise " Ju,dy" E~ichon AuthentiCity is easily among the most desirable and yet the m06t often open. her day with elusive qualities in radio. The most successful shows on the a ir inevitably a typical t ult-Gge plume are those programs which prompt the listener to say, "that could happen to conver.ation - well armed me," or words to that effect. In short, t he shows most 1\1)t to strike a respon· with a bit of 'Murishment. slve chord wit h the listeners li re t hose which have the authentic ring of being t rue to li fe. S uch a show is A Date Ivitk Judy. As he roine of the show, blonde, blue· eyed Louise Erickson is really playing herself as well as the fictional J udy Foster. For, like her radio prototype, Louise is a teerHlger whose life fol· lows the mad teen·age paUem ' Qf dates, crushes, and battles with her 12-year--old brother. Like J udy, too, i:ouise has an archdebunker at home in her brother, John, a typical Randolph Foster. Louise joilled t he cast of Date in the summer of 194 1, and played t he part of Judy's girl friend, i"> litzi, until 1943, when she took over t he starring role. Born in Oakland, Clilifor·nia, Oil Febru:u·y 28, 1928, Louise came to Holl ywood with her family at the age of eight. She made her radio debut a few yea'·8 latcr when she won a part in a r-adio sel·ies ent itled Dmm.«s of Youth . Although devoid of lIny formlll dram:ltic trauling, she IIext appeared 011 a succession of Holl ywood programs, including COI·US.<; Archer, Cavakade of America and fAlX Radio Tlieuter. "Louise Erickson who "lays 'Judy' is a teen·afjer wltose lif. 'oNows fhe same mad paffern of dafes, Louise keeps up with her drama studi while Among her ac:complishments, Louiseranks high A familiar scene 10 parents of teens. Louise her fellow student Marilyn McColl lislens in. as pet fry-pan jockey of Hollywood epicures. and schoolmate Marilyn playa few favorites. Louis. listens dosely as former screen star, Helen Mock, producer of "Dote", gives her a few pointers. • •• • Seen left to right in this rehearsal moment ore Miss Mock. guest Joseph CoHan ond a v.ry excited louise. He, fan moil is no problem to Louise, who as any teen-oge girl, II an avid conesponden• . A very important day in the Iif. of our hero worshiping te.n-ager is engagingly refleded in Louise "Judy" (ricbon's face as handsome Joseph Cotton suavely asb our Judy for date. Dix Davi. (Iandolphl just con' t make out why louise eats 10 much-then watches her weight. 29 Mel ,ooth •• 'he ",avage" fi," wifh a song, 'hen 51,aighfens hi, fi., gives (Jllfog'(Jph5. To YOUR 1948 list of promising young show he left high school to join men, add Mel Torme---dubbed "the velvet fog" Chico Marx's orchestra as vocalist, drummer by disc jockey Fred Robbins, and the most and arranger. Later, he organized a vocal group promising heir to "Frankie's" wayward bobby and lIppeared ill movies, the first of which I~ sox legacy. I n the previous issue, we said was "Higher and IIigher." something about "the bobby-sox hubbub sub In 1944, Mel enlisted in the Army. After sides"- but we spoke hastily. Far from subsid his relellsc, he again formed a recording vocal ing, the bobby-sox "sound and fury" was simply group, culled The !\Ieltolles. A short time later, lying in wait for a new object of its affections. he was asked to make solo sides, which be That object !iCems to be Mel Torme (pro clime immedillte hits. Since then, his rise has nounced "Tormay"), whose every recording is been in the Sinatra tradition. sold out almost before music dealers have Now at the top of the heap, Mel remains time to turn around and ask for more. Chicago the unpretentious, likeable youngster who born Torme never studied music in the formal has made a raft of friends, not only among the manner, but at 22. has been a professional public. but among pt.'Ople with whom he's entertainer for some sixteen years. When Mel worked in show business. In his recent appellr was a mere six yean! on this planet, he was appearing with kid vaudeville shows as a drum ances at the Copacabana, Meadowbrook Coun mer, singer and pianist. At the age of eight, try Club lind New York's Paramount Theatrt!, he won a Chicago World's Fair radio acting famed show-ease of the stars. Mel was always audition, and for several years was a regular accessible by even his most frenzied followers. player in Chicago daytime serials. They may (;..1.11 him the "Velvet Fog," but At 13, Mel wrote his first song, "Lament to when the ceiling lifts Mel Torme will be found Love," which Harry James and Les Brown a solid showman and a really fine youngster. 30 I;on? '.Ii'd,"" a' random across 'he narion) Public "What type of program would you like to fee foru'" get more air-time?" Mrs. Maria, Conn ito ", Miss Isabel Nienow Palisades; N. J. Milwaukee, Wis. Secretory Christmas Card Busine5S "I'd like to hear more and varied mll "In my opinion there is a definite need sical progrnms. I go for Frankie's for more good drama and good dance warbling, but also appre<:iate the type music on the air. I really t!njoy both, but could do without much of the clap of singing done by John Charles trap and soap-box fodder currently be Thomas. J used to be a vocalist myself, ing offered. Radio ought to grow up." but my wise husband made me switch to secretarial work. Too many wolves." Nicholas Soussanin PiHsbufgh, Po. Mike loyer Actor-Producer Bronx, N. Y. "First of all, more radio drama, if it's Overseas veteran well done. Right now there's plenty of room for improvement. Secondly, "( go for gags and comedy like Bob more political and news forums and HOlle dishes out. But how many Hopes more better equipped news commen are there? Just one, I guess, and that's ators. Keeping the public intelligently bad for radio. I think most people like informed and entertained are radio's to have their sense of humor shanl first two important functions." ened up, and Hope's just the boy who can do it. I certainly wish there were Miss Mary Scholl more like him on the air." Edgewoler, N. J. Secretory "I'd like more real life stories and Mrs. Jean Nelson quizzes like 'Informlltioll Please:" Buffolo, N. Y. Housewife ... , "There aren't enough show tunes and Harry Harris memory songs on the air today, I love Hermosa Beach, Calif. to listen to cavalcades of songs from Fight manager yesteryear, not that I'm that old. May "I'd like to hear far more sports news be you can do something to promote on the air, particularly of the quiz it. Radio can win lots of friends with show variety, whel·e questions are memory tunes." thrown at outstanding sports person· alities. You might call the shows sports counterparts of the 'Take It or Leave It'tyPt!." Sol. W. Gold • Oakland, Calif. letter carrier Mrs. Mary Whitehouse SI. Pelersburgh, Flo. "Give me more mystery and detective Housewife slories like the 'Thin Man' and 'Mr. District Attorney.' Also, more music "Maybe a lot will disagree, but I'd like them to sing all tile commercials in on the heavy side and pop songs like stead of reciting them like speeches. those played by the Raymond Scott I think this would make advertising, show. Know what else? My wife and I which I realize is necess;lry, of course, always listen to 'Town Hall Meeting very entertaining. In programs, I'd of the Air' and Sammy Kaye." like more symllhonic music." 31 IN GUEST OF A GUll AND BRAINY Olga confers with writer Hugh Campbell-Duncan who authored the week's script ... but first bad to check the mystery story theme with her via the telephone. O'ga Druce Is 'iying proof that t.e arrogant ma'" who -"What was that again?" Hope hopefully asks one of talles about women who are llbeautifu' but dumb" ;s .r.tenJ who has r;uggeated a for use on Hope's NBC merely conversin, tI,roug" "/s over-size Itaf. program. Olga Druce. who edits, produces and directs House 0/ Mystery (Seat on the Dial review in No v'etnller issue) is not only beautiful and brainy. but a whole flock of Buperlatives. A graduate of Smith College, Olga also studied at several universities abroad and at the famous Max Reinhardt School of Theatre in Germany before the war. Later, she managed to find time, while pursuing a career in the theatre, for extra studies at the New York School for Social Research and the Washington School of Psychiatry. It was during the war, when Miss Druce was co-chairman of the American Thea tre Wing Committee for Youth in War-Time, tpat she turned to writing. She did a series of health - HQPE' takes .eeoond and considers the qual talks for use by prominent physicians, for two years wrote the Baby Institute for ABC, and was *he gag. The NBC wit psychological consultant on Thjs Changing Wortd needs eomething more it all before coming to House of Mystery first as a ponders on what is lacking. writer, now as director-producer. The foregoing might be expected to conjure up a picture of some prim, bespectacled damsel-the de spair of eligible, young bachelors and beauty experts alike. Well, it just isn't so. At present, a more sought-after young wOll'j3n, by the top-hat, tails and A, 'he studio, she first listens attentively to a few two-tickets-on-the-aisle brigade is hard to find. De- special recorded sound effects required by this script as engineer Jim Shannon operates turn-table. MOIE~ NBC comic a.sks for suggestions, knowing a ling~ word ean mMn the Id;'If ....", ... between a good and a Hope Show" gag. missing word supplied is good! Hope shows with laughter that lefore adual rehearsal begins, she gets toget~e;r for A 'ew more technical details remain to be checked be echoed by hi!. impromptu conference with John Griggs who plays with sound-man Walter Shaher. This script calls for NBC audienc:e. the starring role of Roger Elliot, The Mystery Man. the 8ou~d of a rusted gate which they both tryout. 32 More Beauty ' ••d •• ...,...... _...... , .... ,., ...... , ...... ~ ...... ceap ... ,..,... ..,..". -'...__ .,. .. .. ,--- ,...... Olga and cod prepare for the first full reading Seated on either side of her are actress Cecil Roy around the table in studio. She briefs actress Ann and Walter Shaber. With their backs to the camera Burr, as the other memhen of the cast al.'lo listen. are John Griggs, Bernard Lenrowand Peter Cappell. During this reodi"g, she stops the cast from time to Ann Burr hal a few questions about her role while time in order to expain some point, or clear up Cecil Roy, John Griggs and organist Bert Buhrman a difficulty in cueing. Then reading is continued. do some study on script. Peter Cappell scans the news. ~ •• spite all the invitations she receives, however, Olga has little time fot the l!ocial whirl. Most of her week is spent in selecting writers, working with them, checking details in the script, selecting cast, and putting on the week's House 0/ MysfM1J story each Sunday afternoon. As if that isn't enough, she even 'writes the commercials! And her commercials, FonDer aneen atar)l'" Ev just as the program itself, have won her acclaim and ... men gueeta f I w! awards. .1117 • . . nor do they mind Whatever free time Olga has is spent in Iislen· ing to other people's work on the air in her constant search for new actors and writers. Incidentally, if you might want to try writing a script for her pro-. gram, Miss Druce gives these hints: first, drop her a line. briefty outlining the idea or "gimmick." If the idea is good and has not been used on the pro- gram before, you will be invited to send in the script. If it can be used, it will be well paid for. But this was a profile of Olga Druce. The above sneaked in only because Olga herself gets off on these tangents of trying to help others win a meas· ure of success. That's one reason why these cynical fellows, who are 80 fond of disparaging career women, suddenly find themselves wanting very much to be counted among her friends. The other is ob· John Griggs ge,. a final briefing at mike before vious - but why not say it 1 Olga Druce, though the dress rehearsal hegins. In a moment, now, they brilliant, is also very definitely "whistle bail." will run through complete script as if on the air. 33 WILLIAM GA.CAN, star of "I Deal in Crime," was a bona fide 'tee in real life LtiGI aNlfests before turning actor. Rill's Dad was one, too. Thus for Gar. gan, it's a case where the gum shoes fit. ,.,wi""""".... ".. Cream or the Jests rrom Radio's THE CAST Top Comedy Prollrams pi.ayed by William Gargan ROSS DOLAN To a ilIrlC{' extt'nt. the job of JUSTIN CARTER played by Charles Seel NORMA MANNING pial/I'd by Jo Gilbert buildinj( lop·r;lting programs has CORSICA pi.ayed bll Erik Rolf m'cn tllken over by production cen· Mole Gue": Why don't women ters in Hollywood, Chil':tgO and use the old appeal to a man New York. Yet, every now and through his stomach? then, the bil{·budget boys ill their FlOience "ritche,,: Because mod plullhy offkes are astounded by the men don't halfe stomochs any Hoopt'r pulled through some un more. They ju" have ulcers. 1 Ilrctcntious local program which • • • is put across by a home-town ra· Edgar Bergen: You don'l wont to dio personality (working only wilb be on illiterate, do you? a slatT engineer a.nd thc material Morlimer: I dunno - whot are the ht.' himself is ;Ible to dig UIJ or hours? write.) • • • There has been a tendency to Ar,hur Godfrey: As for as I know. "~lutf otT" the efforts of these till· the rolling pin only has two uses entcd local disc jockeys, sports _ to roll dough, so it will be flo' and women's commentators and for pies, and to flatten husbands furm n'I)Orters. RADfO BEST fet'ls so they can be roUed for dough. that not· only should the future • • • IItars of nation-wide broadca!ltillK Kay Kyser; Gosh, I don'l gel to be drawn from the ranks of local meet many girls like you - after all, lK:nlonalitil's, but the importallrt' I'm just a shy little wallflower. or local programming nlust Girl: You're a shy little wallflower. m' more fully aPllrrtiated. If radio huh? is to refeuin thl! intimacy which Kay: That's me. made the m(>dium great. the work Girl: Well, then stop edging over or vi,rious local favoritl!S mU li t I",' like a rambling rose. treatt.od with as much reslw..'"C t :,s • • • thai of the Kate Smiths, r'n,,1 lena: My boy friend will drive Allt'lls and Bill Stt'rns. me home in his truck. He works II.AOIO tU;ST is aboul to laullt:h a right around the corner in .he elec lIatiOll1l1 radio listellt'rs' poll tu lit,· tric shop. Fibber McGee: Is he your current termine. ill l'aeh city and farm boy friend? , arc", the radio public's favoritt·s ROil Dollbn receives a hurried phone call at hi!! dellk When Carter arrives he askR Dolan to come with Dolan tht: 1l examines the spare tire and asks Carter, Dolan asks Carte,tto go along with him to I'ay a call amOIlJ( IOCll1 :lfM)rls-C:lstt·rll. wom· lena: Yes, he's al'ernoting be from Justin Carter. "DoIHn, I've been fra.med. I'm in him to his ga.nlge. On the way he tell!! Dolan that he "Who would be jealous of her and want to frame on the notorious gambling house run by Corsica. 'ween me and the girl next door. en's commt·ntlilorlii. farm rcporlt'rll lots of trouble lllld need your help badlr. Wait there had returned (rom a weekend at his country club you'!" Carter says that Norma received threatening They bully their way into Corsica's SWllnk office a.nd and diMc jachYli. • • • for me and 1"11 be up in twenty minutes to explain." when he had a flat and proceeded to change the tire. letters from her ex·boy friend, Corsica, the gambler. Dahill asks the gambler for his version of the crime. Doctors Question: HoW' can I get A RADtO HF.sT Lac.1I Prollrams my young potienfs to open their Commitlt>e has bt.-en form('(1 and i!-l mouths so that I can examine their currently slllyinj( up nightli to throoh? work out the detail!'! of how thi:l Diekie Orlan; Well, instead of us· 11011 call Ill' taken with mllximum ing throat slicks to hold down their accuracy and fllirne8:1. Local bl·o:ul· tongues, why don't you try lollipops? C"lIt IJerlionalities throullhout till' • • • country have been inforllled or Fred Allen: wen, Mr. Cassidy, this errort to highlight thl·ir work how are you tonight? :Inll hav(' agl·I.'('(1 to COOpt· rate. Tht·y Ajox Cassidy: Terrible, terrible, thcm!Jt'lv~ will bl'ing lilitcllerH tht' terrible. I'm 0 mass of frudrotion. details of how to vote and wht'rt' I just come from Fogarty, the psy to send ballob. So k~'ll tuned to chia.,j". your favorite local pt'r:ronalilil'1I Fred: Did Fogarty onalyze you? ;lIld walch future issue!! of RAI>IO Ajax: H. said as a boy I feU on !lEST for further information. on aile, and I grew up with a split personality. • • • GeGe Pearson: I'll buy the peanuts for us, Clem. Red Sire/fan: Nothing makes me THIS IS MY P£I PEEVE! madder Ihan to have a woman pay· ing my way. Wh." .,... ••• ,lHi"g quO-II., br .,.... GeGe; Well, then, are you going .odio, oM ho... 'I 1.. ..-0 po.,....I., f., • .,...... ,,,, ...I~. oil .f ° .1HIde" ttM ...... k to buy the peonvts? "...... p de".I'''' • lop.. of ,...... Red: No, but I'm going to get .ho".. ., .u...... WM" ttM ...... awfully mod. • ,.... ogo.,,_lf ,_II., II.... ! 0... w_ld • • • th",11 'M .0..... ".... WOI 01 ttM ...,,,,." Archie: Mrs. Nussbaum, you lhot .1 hod I. ... 1--' .. " ...e.. 10 owok." 1M Ii"...... Ttoo,. " ."It 0_ thing I. d •. can't marry Finnegan. He's been oM thol I. 10 0_1 .. p .nd .-..t.... 1100. spoken for...... Iu .... , ...... ttM" ... IIp °9.1" .M I,,· Mrs. Nuubaum: And who is my '" wen' for my tools," Ca.rter continues as they feet Dolan's 'rained eye quickly takes in every detail at Corsica smoothly denies all knowledge of the crime Dolan nods in /tgreement and then turns heatedly on ...... '100 ...1...... ",h... lite plor ,10'" 0,01". , .., ••, •• 1 ... ~ to the garage, "opened the back of the car and found the scene. He then exumines Norma's wril~ts lind and ridicules Dolan's belligerent Httitude. "You're Carter. "(;Jlrter, you're H bad liar. You killed her! ,...;.11., I...... ,.I •• rival? plo., •. Archie: The Smithsonian Insti Norma Manning, my son's fi:lIu:ee, tied up, as you observes, "She was dead more than an hour before barking up the wrong tree, smart guy. I can account You made one error ill planning your perfect crime." c. A. Ill.d., tute. see her, dead. They were to be married this Sunday." these ropes were tied around her wrists. Mr.Carter." for my time. I spent the day at the local movies." w•• t c:I •• ,.". 001•• U • •• ,.tl•• 1 s•• ,.,. S4 SI".v.porl. t • . 34 35 .EAUTIFUL AND BRAINY .ontlnued Oren rehearsal done, Olga and engineer Jim Shannon talk it over. "How did it sound to you?" she , a5ks anxiously. "It was fine," re plies Jim. Air Time is now only minutes away. Jerry Corter has no studio audience to swoon over him but the WTOP ~ The hands of the clock move secretarial doff gives 'you an idea of Jerry's "difficulty" with gals. swiftly. With the broadcast only Clockwise, starting at bottom, are Jean Eberman, louise Hardy, seconds away, Olga lights a cig Elmo Williams, Rita Stearns, Audrea Guthrie and Joan Miller. arette to relieve the tension. Out in the studio, the cast and tech nicians all stand by. Tenor Jerry Carter Captures .-Olga has just signalled the players that they have been a little too fast in their pace. She slands, lense and ready to throw the next Nation I s Capital cue. Under her skilled hands the plot thickens. Most people think of Washington, D. C., as a maze of impersonal government bureaus, offices and stately buildings. But there are one This is the climax! Olga, in the and one-half million humans in the area, and control room, feels the drama as even as you and I they have their likes and much as if she henelf were out dislikes, their beefs and their radio fllvoritcs. there, acting in it. Her intensity Thousands of W:lshinl{tonians. young and 01d, succeeds in drawing out a still ure fans of WTOP's tenor Htar, Jerry Carter. better performance. His weekly mail-baK adds UI) to a figure grat- /' both to the station's exccs lind to Jerry ._~t;~~!I'!;,What is his secret of success with the Olga asks photographer leon I Jerry is one fellow who really pu18 ard Halpern, "Are you ready 10 ~,":'tt';ng into a song. As Jerry explains. "AI start shooting? You've been carry every sonl{ could have .come from some ing that camera around all ofter ~~~::~mY life. I just think about the appro noon." He canfenes to hove al ' event while I'm singing." ready laken his "sholS;. H he sings "Summertime" Jerry thinks 'u.... , time he sang in public. It was up "Slng fr .... tho hoa"." lit a .camp in the Adirondllcks. Jerry's voice Thl' candid ,how, he', ..., .idding. broke in the middle of his solo and his ('lIrCt!r was' almost finished before it started, but II FleE wise counselor finally COQvinced him that it was SimlJly II case of voice-ch:lllge. He really puts his hellrt- into "Pennies From Jleaven," which means hill wife. Penny, to Jerry. He met her at the snme summer camp, but they weren't married until five years later (just before he went overseas to join the famous 1018t Airborn Division after his pam troop training.) But the song that really brings smiles to Jerry's voice is the Otemc song for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. "There's No Business Like Show Business." Jerry didn't win on the show lasl winter, but he did go over big with Arthur. The warm-hearted red head phoned Richard Linkreum, program m'lnager of WTOP and, in 11 few days, Jerry lind Penny were apartment huntinK in Washington while Jerry was working on his own I5-minute Mond.ly-through-SaturdIlY show. Since then he hlls built up ~ following in our nations C1IJlitoi that has astonished the people whose business lleems to be ~18tonishment at the success of sincere and polished performer!i. Many of his ardent followers are "mahty pritty" as the pictures on this page show. Does Penny mind'! No indeed. Jerry believes ill his SOIlKS . . and Pellny believes ill Jerry. It's a lovely ;lrrangement all around. 36 ADVICE TO READERS FOR B D 5 I Stop Worrying Now About Pimples, Blackheads And Other Externally Caused Skin Troubles JUST FOllOW SKIN DOCTOR'S SIMPLE DIRECTIONS By flWty vHemf'/d6 Have you ev.er stopped to realize... that the leading screen stars whom you admire, as well as the beautiful models wfto have lovely. soft white skin, were all born just like you with a lovely smooth skin? if it doesn't. Use it for only ten days. The truth is that many girls and women do not give their skin a chance to show You have everything to gain and noth off the natural beauty that lies hidden underneath those externally caused pimples, ing to lose. It is a guaranteed treat blackheads and irritations. For almost anyone can have the natural, normal com· ment. Enjoy it. Your dream of a clear, plexion which is in itself beauty. All you have to do is follow a few amazingly smooth complexion may come true in simple rules. ten days or less. Many women shut themselves out of fected and bring you the humiliation Use your double Videnn treatment the thrills of life - dates, romance, of pimples, blackheads or other blem every day until your skin is smoother popularity. social and business success ishes. When you neglect your skin by and clearer. Then use it only once a - only because sheer neglect has robbed not giving it the necessary care, you week to remove stale make-up and dirt them of the good looks, poise and femi leave yourself wide open to externally specks that infect your pores. as well as nine self-assurance which could so eas caused skin miseries. Yet proper atten to aid in healing external irritations. ily be theirs. Yes, everybody looks at tion with the double Viderm treatment Remember that when you help prevent your face. The beautiful complexion, may mean the difference between en blackheads, you also help to prevent which is yours for the asking, is like a joying the confidence a fine skin gives externally caused skin miseries and pennanent card of admission to all the you or the embarrassment of an ugly, pimples. good things of life that every woman unbeautiful skin that makes you want Incidentally. while your two jars and craves. And it really can be yours- take to hide your face ~ the doctor's directions are on their way my word for it! - no matter how dis to you, be sure to wash your face as couraged you may be this very minute A .creen .rar'. often as necessary. First use wann aoout those externally caused skin face is her for water, then cleanse wi.th water as cold miseries. rune_ That'. why she makes it her as you can stand it, in order to freshen, businelili to pro stimulate and help close your pores. Medical science gives us the truth tect her com After you receive everything, read your about a lovely skin. There ace small ple:cion against directions carefully. Then go right to it specks of dust and dirt in the air all the pimpleli, black and let these two fine fonnulas help time. When these get into the ~pen head. and blem your dreams of a beautiful skin come pores in your skin, they can in time ishes. Your face true. cause the pores to become larger and iii no different. Give it the dou more susceptible to dirt particles, dust Just mail your name and address to and infection. These open pores begin ble Ireatment ir needs and w"rch Betty Memphis, care of the New York to fonn blackheads which become in- thme skin ''''em Skin Laboratory, 206 Division Street, ishes go away. Dept. 318 New York 2, N . Y. By return mail you wiJ1 receive the doctor's direc The double Viderm treatment is a for tions, and h NBC UN IVERS ITY OF THE AI R Homer Heck, director-World's Great Novels. briefs Eleanor Engle, Arthur Peterson ond Kay Compbell. means a developed courses around the "Universily" has often hit a 6 or 6.5 Hooper rating. while registering granting credits toward a degree jUsl liS in one bro,adcust reached as high as 8- all of and dreary any accepted course. which compares quite favorably with so-cnlled esoteric lectures; A still more formal aspect of education "enterl 38 MOU ...... At'll eMir c.a. lIIIO tilt 110 •• Rehearsal session for ea(h episode of World's Great Novels begins in radio-drama style with first reading around (onferen(e table. Viva d ous Geraldine Kay (rightl reads a particularly dramat;( I .. th la.. IlncIs __. thlll9 scene with Hilda Graham. Below: Kay Campbe ll enters into her am ... I.., ta tho.. w ith role with enthusiasm while Chartes Ege lston studies hi , line •. Cha,!... 'f.. ll tOll, Ilta Al(ol. J_II Mow.." N...~C~; :~;;::~ _ nag.' to "" < ""11. .... sll ...... 0"ill9 en .... (09'" .f " , ipl. Later in the year, it launched MUSle OF+ THE NEW WORLO. The following year, the "University" moved on into political and economic affairs with the series FOR THIS WE FIGHT, written and directed by Arch Oboler. And in 1944, the rounded structure of five weekly broadcasts was completed by adding the fields of literature and home economics. THE AMERICAN STORY by Archibald McLeish, one of America's great poets, was presented in the literature category, to be succeeded by the WORLD'S GREAT NOVELS, which continues today wi\h increasing popularity. OUR FOREIGN POLICY (Sun. 4:30·5:00 PM, EST) a forum program from Washington, D. C. with leadi ng statesmen as debators; moderator is Sterling Fisher, who is also director of the University of the Air. YOUR UNITED NATIONS (Wed. 11:30.Midnight, EST) dramatiling problems connected with U.N. with Andrew Cordier and guest speaken. CONCERT Ot-' NATIONS (Thurs. 1l:30·Midnight, EST) presents music of various nations played by Americ:an and Canadian orehestras. WORLD'S GREAT NOVELS (Fri. 11:3o..Midnight. EST) offpr8 de· tailed dramatiutions of fine literature, adapted by top writers and actors. HOME IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT (Sat. 11.00·lI::JO AM , EST; 4:30·6:00 PM in New York only) concern:! various aspects of home and the family. dramatir.ed with narration by Ben Grauer, and directed by Jane Tiffany Wagner, NRC Home Economics head. Top ct' Ortlct... odors a ll; K.II N.rd' .... S...... II So, if ... oy·d lib to go ,. wh.oI or 39 Gift O'Gab Who's tile key man on any broadcast? WELL ... the question depends upon saw a different star or featured performer. If nouncer also often finds himself with the entire where you sit. The folks at home, listening to anyone class 01 radio people could be called responsibility of operations on his shoulders. their radios are most concerned with the star most important to the sponsor. it would un Anyone of the men shown on this Imge call -the fellow or gal who keeps them amused, doubtedly be the fellow who steps up for "a remember times when they were alone with or interested. To the star, it may be a writer, word about the product." only an engineer on a Sunday evening. or late a straight man, or (what a delightful love In the early days of radio. thf." announcer at night. Everything seemed smooth sailing affair) himself, To the network it'! possibly was of primary importance in almost every until it s\Jddenly developed that a "remote" the director. But to the sponsor, the man who way. He was a sort of catch-all for any job piCk-u!l has not cheeked back with only about pays for your ticket to fine entertainment it's that had to be done. from writing script to two minutes to air time. or the transmitter - you guessed it- the announcer. showing visitors around. In many cases. this telephoned with the information that some In many cases, the man with the "gift o' is still true of small stations. while even the thing was wrong and the station was 1I0t on gab" is chosen with even more care than the larg,e independents and affiliated stations hire the air, or the six o'clock record progmm was star. There are plenty of cases on the record their stnff announcers for much more than at hand. but someone neglected to .lssemble the in which the same announcer has worked year just a smooth voice. needed records. or a script had been lost. or after year for a sponsor, 'though each season At a small station. even today. the .m- anyone of a hundred things may have hap- 40 GIFT O' GAl conti ...... pened to precipitate an emergency. At such a time it is entirely up tc the .umouncer to meet the crisi~. As a staff announcer you must eXI)ed these emeq{encieR because so you want to get into radio t hey come up daily in every sta tion in this coulitry that does not subsist entirely upon network pro The ga/ew ays 10 stardom a re high, wid e ond varied in 'his grea test of all la 'en t field s. gmms. It's your job to jump into Th er. are n o set rilles for a dmission. YOII ca n profit mosl from 'he brief biographies of the breach with something to -. thos. w ho have tra velled 'he road to ra d io fo me. brin/{ your sw.tion back on the air, or keep it broadcasting. You may dash into the record library, if thcrc'H time, ami IlaHtily ilssemble a progmm. Sometimes there isn't where he 'I]lpe;\red in BlJI"n '1'0 HI' Bad with even time to plan lh;lt much, :md Lorett..'l Young and Cllry Grant. Then once the annals of radio are replete again he returned to Broadway (or a featured with storieR about announcers who role in J,lbilN'. Later J:lckie traded Ihe Pro hav(' simply gone on without a scenium arch for the Kilocycle IlIJectrum. Hi;; script and ad-libbed for fifteen introduction to network audiences came when minutes or more- a f:lr from easy ~ •• he had to I\.tand on a box: to reach the mike thing to do. You sit before the for his part of "Irving," Fannie Brit-e's SOli mike, talkinR to kill time while in Tlte CIIIIf"'/!. Since then, he's run up an en wondering just wh;'lt to talk about. viable record o( (elltured part.'i. Jackie hOi;; Maybe, you stall for a moment, been a child stooge with such still'S as Eddi/' and thc seconds tick by as you Cantor, Burns and Alien, Bert Lahr, Jack wlltch the inexorable clock in Benny, Walter O'Keefc, Fn.'()rgia. havinj( learn(.>t.I the value of show that remains is the "break" a manship, now carries out the "Her Nibs" local program that is carried by motif in costume jewelry. 011 her belt.~ and the network, the visit of II network wherever monoj,(ramminK is I>ossible on cloth('5 official or anything else which ;lnd accesl'lories she even IlUts it on the fur c • .,/• •• " •• 'I,. 64 niture! List." to "Ko'e Smi,h Speo"" !-___,~' •• Mel", tItru frl. 12:00 Ne" .. (lS'I ______...l COMING ATTRACTIONS Recen"y on your "Ko'e Smith Every American Clln help by taking an Q Speaks" program I heard you re active interest ill educationnl conditions ill his of RADIO BEST marie tho' 'her. ough, '0 be a community; by honorillg the teaching profes "Grandmothers Day" 0$ well as sion; and by get! ing acquainted with his chil feature stories a "MoIlle', Day." Why? Grand dren'lI tellcher:4. Ryall melll1S, join nnd work mothers or. moth en, 100.' They with your 1000ai P:lrent·Teachel' Kroup. * CRlTKS AIlE NOT receive ju" OJ many giHs and RADIO ACTORS honors os o,It., mothers on "m a 'een.oger, who ,hor Mothe" Day. oughly re,.",s many 0' the de A famous radio actor takes groding Ihings tho' hoYe bee" issue with the popular trend of I wish it were true that Grandmothers ,oid aboul p.op/e my oge duri"g radio critics who have joined the a aren't neglected on Mothers Day. !\Iy ob rh. post "umber 0' y.ors. Are casts of many loeal and network servation has been, however, that mostly the you among Ihose who regords programs. Should this policy be young mothers arc honored on Mothers Day. "bobbyso •• rs" as iuyenile delin adopted by the legitimate theatre. while the older mothers. grandmother!!. are quents, crOIY, and gongs,ers? he says, producers will make cer· generally overlooked, due to the fact th:ll their tain that every leading critic sons and daughter!! are 80 very occupied with No, honey, definitely not! ;\Iy experience gets a part in each new show. their own youngsters lind business problems. a with young men and women hU3 been that There comes to my mind a lovely old lady I they are intelligent and seek constructive crit * STAllS "IOvt" SPONSOR knew years ago who had eight children, and icism on how to be better citizens. Teen-agers BUT NOT MI._ lived to see many grandchildren lind great frequently write me for lIdvice on how to Radio's big names, commenting grandchildren grow up around her. Never was choose 1I career. how to Ket a job, and how to for publication, apeak sweetly there a more devoted parent and grandparent. hold on to it. about sponsor, network and Her love and s.llcrifice knew no bounds. Yet, as On that subjed, I'd like to put in my own agency interference, But off the she grew old and feeble her own children gr~w "two cents worth" right now. I'm no expert 011 record-wow! On the matter of to regard her as a burden. Someone had to the subject, but I think teen-agers are too program ratings they're ready watch over her and be with her nil the time. worried lIbout the difficultie3 they will face ill to blow their tops lInytime! The and her children lost patience with her. Her later life, and hav~ not considered fully the author of this piece comes up children weren't hurd.hearted. but it wasn't brighter side. America i3 still the land of great with many surprises. until after she hnd dcpurted that they remem· opportunity, where knowie<\ge lind skill are bered the good things about her. rewarded. We all have within us the ;Ibitity to * RADIO'S RQPONS.IIITY For this and other reasons I believe there achieve success. We call be what we want to 10 lXPERT OPINIONS should be II designated day in ~ach yeur to pay be if we hllve sufficient energy, determination Before launching its "Listener's tribute to grllndmothers- to make her f~1 she lind imagination. Life is only liS difficult as we is "the one" - a duy on which to shower her make it, not liS difficult liS we may think it is. Public Opinion Poll," RADIO BEST with attention and love. It is with great pride, We must always retain our !Jell-respect and has invited ten leading experts therefore. that I 11m able to report I huve independenl'e, strive for social apilroval. and to voice their opinions on accepted official sllOllsorship by the National never saerifice our honesty merely for the sake "Radio's Responsibility." And they pull no punches! Grandmothers Club of 11 camlXlign to hllv~ the of making money. Success will come your way Congress of the United States pass legislation if you work lor it. And the harder you work, * JIM IACKUS-UDIO'S designating a day in each year liS "Grand· the happier you will be at it. NlWUT COMEDY STAll mothers Day." I haye ,ead rhor you coll.ct You know him as "Hubert Up .ecen,'y I dec;ded to drop in Q on,iqu.,. Since you ore supposed dyke, Ill, richest man in the Q 101 a cho' wi,h my son's school '0 b. ° y.'y procticol woman, world," and you've heard r'tim in 'each., and wos ho"illed '0 se. will you 'e" me why you collect more than 6000 broadclIsU. Now li:"~ hi, clo",oom wos so oyercrowded on,iqu., when, by rh.ir ye,y ...., /'1. ,ho' i, wos impo"ible '0 wolk nolure, Ihey 0'. use/e,,? - ~ ~ 'rom on. por' 0' 'he clossroom ~Why do many people insist that all pos· '. .. . . ~ '0 o"o,h.,. Isn', ,here ,ome,hi"g . thor CO" be done abou' 'his? a sessions must be useful! ClIn it be that our ~ world has become so materialistic that senti The answer is that much more attenion by ment 110 longer has its place? A rose thnt a parents must be focused on the present-day climbs over a trellis ill not lI:4eful, but it spills school crisis. A ret.'ent survey disclosed that color and frllgranee and brinK:! joy to the eyes hundreds of thommnds of teachers are quitting and nose. As for myself, since I was a little their jobs because they are unrieqmid, lind girl I've treasured small things that had no there is a frighteninM' decline in the number of "va luI.''' whatsoever, but attracted me either qualified young men Hnd women who are study· by their size, color. or shapt!. I think that it's ing to be teachers. As a result, cllIssrooms are "good for whnt ailll us" to treat ourselv~s overcrowded and pupils are often pretty ne oecasionally to some liltll' extravllgllnce that he's the star of a bmnd new glected. There l\re 26,000,000 children in happens to strike our fancy. It lifts the spirit comedy show. And h~ doetl it schools in the United St'llt'~, lind anol,her lind brings a degrl!C of hal>lliness into our 2,000,000 who should be in school but lIren't. hearts. Anything t611t dot's that certllinly isn't the hard way; 110 battery of gllg Much damage il'l being dOlle thc8(> children as altogether ·'useless." writers, no 60 pi~e orchestra, a result of the teacher shortage, overcrowded no guest stars. classrooms, :lIld inferior facilities in many I.e"-...... 101 ... odd,., .. " .. MI" 11: ..1. Smith, ALSO: SUCH REGULAR schools. l\1l1ny tellchf'rs are trying Kamely to 'AOIO IU7, .U2 filth A ...... , fMw V.. k FEATURES AS SEAT·ON· carry 011 llkllinst disheartt'ninK odds, made City 11, N. V. Only .1 ....4 Iotft ... will be TH~-DIAL, KATE SMITH AD· even heavier by the fact that the public doesn't ••n.i ..... I .. ""bli... li.n. VISES, CARTOONS BY ZlB, seem to be interested. BEST LISTENiNG LOG, QUIZ ON KIDS, MICROFUN ANI) 15 OTHER DEPARTMENTS. Quiz on Kids radio stars have such interesting faces A diverting and informative " little" quiz eontesl presenting nostalgic snapshots from the picture albums of the stars. With the help r----~of the accompanying thumbnail sketches. see Give Onon Welles enough rope • .. • Did lob lums swallow bazooka? if you can name them. For the answers to "Quiz on Kids" turn to page 6~ . +-fiE CAN YOU N4Mf HIM? This wide-eyed youngster, theQ" ten months old, is now one ar our best special events reporters and announcers. He had visions of a stage career at eight, but landed a network announcing job fresh out of college. He's the "'otions of love" voice on Winchell's show. CAN YOU NAME HIM? B-+ Look closely and you'll see this famous band leader hasn't changed much since the age of seven. Think of a musical aggregation sprinkled liberally with family . talent and you'll have the answer. The maestro, by the way, has a weakness for speedboats. -<-fit CAN 'fOU NAME HIM? He's not a Sinatra or Crosby, but his voice has won as many admirers as his skill with" baioon. RADIO BEST has tagged him t~' e "air's affable baritone" (see last issue). In case you're still at sea, he's heard on his own network show Saturday nights. SPONSOR:s" /JOO1'H R~c:h'o best MONTHLY S ilver M ike Award Silver Mike Awards honor the month's oul standing contribution to the advancement of radio and television. RADIO BEST ed itor judges will observe the widest latitude in seleding Silver Mike winners. Every broad casting craft is eligible fo r these honors : induding adors, writers, announcers, com menlators, technicians, producers, directors. For Outs tanding Performance Jack Poar Joins Select Circle of Radio's Top Comic Stars While others were making their occasional sorties along the battle fronts entertaining our boys. there was one little fellow perched out ill the Pacific area in a regular G.l. uniform laying down a front line bllrrage of gags on a regular C.1. paycheck. The pay wlisn't good, but the jokes were, because this fellow got himself a big fo llow ing among the boys who talked about him all the way back. A standard gag in Private Jack Paar's repertoire at that time was that he "operated so far back of the front lines in the PaCific, if I had gone back any further. tbe Nazis would have gotten me." Gag number two was "The on ly battle star 1 got was for being booed at Bougaainville." Conditions have changed pretty strikingly for this leveller of brass hats lind all other phony social conventions, now on his own 011 the Jack Paar Show (ABC-Wed. 9:30 P.M.). He's proven himself definitely front line material on the broadcasting front and he's had his battle slar pinned on him by the listening public who agree that he did a great job fi lli ng the c~lJmc i ous boots of Jack Benny during his summer absence from the wave lengths. Everybody has his own ideas 011 what makes a great comedian. Add all these ideas up and you come up with the same answer: Personality, a warm, human quality that The sphere of diS( jockeying used to he strictly ingratiates one with his audience whether the gags are good or bad. Jack Panr has that quality in spades. He also has the' script, too, for a man's world, but during the war, the fair HeX which he takes a lot of the responsibility n la Fred Allen. You don't moved in and it looks like they'll stay--even into have to be a blockbuster to join the company of radio's rare comedy televi.sion heclluse most of them are worth liceing liS well as hearing. Until television reaches as mlmy greats, but you've got to have something on the ball besides good luck. homes as radio, RADIO BEST intends to give you the Jack P'lllr hns done it and that's a pretty good reason [or handing benefit of these gals' eye-appeal. Each month your this new creator of laughs the RADIO In:ST Silver Mike for Outstanding Performance. favorite radio magazine featUres a likely clIndidate for the "Miss Most Glamorous Disc Jockey" title. Jack Poor, ABC comic star, receives Silver Mike from Radio Be st's Hollyw ood cOffesp o ndent Fa vius Friedman ROSALIE ALLEN This mqnth's candidale for an eyeful liltle earful is hea rd nighlly in the Prairie S I ~ r S'o program over slolion wav in New York . Rosalie sounds os good 10 her lisleners as she looks. She talk, in a soft, inlimote ond gay little voice, sings to the occompaniment of Ihot huge guitor and yodels in championship foshion (in fact, she's the United State s' c!tamp gal yodeler). Blue·eyed, golden.haired and five feet two, Rosalie Allen has been singing ond yodeling since she was pint.high. She come to Way three yeors ago ond since has built her audience into one of the forged arrd most loyal in the metropoliton area. In addition to being the " Hillbilly disc-jockey" she hos scored successfu lly in television and recordings (RCA goes oround humming Th e Lo ne Proiree wi lh a smile of satisfaction at hovil\9 signed this lovely. little cowgirl exclusively for a second yeor but they can hardly be heard for Ihe whistle-calls of male fans when they see her!. Watch for RADIO 8EST com plete picture ballot which will b e featured o n these pa g es a fter all nominations are in . WE'll LET YOU CHOOSE THE WINNERI 44 ----- . ----~---~~.~~ your W [] V:m:::2l professor of -", thel'modynamics ... rred Robbins Hep-wise Professor of Thermodynamics wants YOU to join his thousands of listeners to the 1280 CLUB. You'll find Fred at 1280 on your dial, Station Way, New York, every Monday through Saturday. 6:30 to 9:00 P.M. Don', miss way's 1280 CLUB swing-jazz musical treat Monday Tuesday featuring a 5pecicd event every night between Collector'. Comer _ Fred'. 111_ 8:00 and 9:00 P.M. Here'! the line-up: " .. e Mo ...... '!'---'feolurlng 10m" " bl,," 'Kord, 01 pr"ven popu teners play their own .e FILL YOUR NIGHTS WITH MUSIC TUNE IN WOV - 1280 ON YOUR DIAL NBW YOSH 45 Name it and you ca n get it to trimming e mcee Jack Bailey to size. Ed Herlihy (giving away a w a she rl is a Walter O'Keefe e nte rtains his Who w ouldn't be foolish for whot Ralph Art linkletter hal a woy with ki ds and mighty good g uy fo r newlyweds to meet. contestants. One " took" $800. Edwards paYI? Highest so for $18,000. his prizel have a way with the adults. ,J Hurry . •• hurry • •. hurry Men and women wanted to carry away washing machines. baskets of crisp greenbach. gold watches, refrigerators. etc. info song. Apply nearest QUIZ SHOW! J ust about a century ago, Americans with a yen for quick, though uncertain. wealth, hitched up a brace of ox.en to an old Conestoga wagon and pointed the bovine noses west. Amid the cries of drivers, the sound of plod· ding hoofs lind the occasional terr ifying You Cll lI come to one of these broadcasts (at screams of attacking Indians, the stout·hearted any of four networks) empty-handed, or a set out for new opportunities llnd the bright reason1t.le facsimile thereof. do 11 bit of pros· gold of '49. In this atomic age, j ust ninety pecting before the microphone, and return vic ni ne years closer to the millenium. venture toriously to your home-town laden with cash, some Americans lire again milk ing the trek to merchandise and nil sorts of vlIluable stutr radio stations in New York, Ch icago and Hol sometimes including bits of broadClist equip lywood, to the accompaniment of just as much _ ment- if nobody stopped you. It is indeed the hullabaloo and racket as the wide-eyed quest golden opportUnity of this era, and there are of the "forty·niners." quiz and audience participation programs to Anyone can get into this "Gold Ru!;h Several times a day, you can tune your suit the most demanding tastes. receiver to one of these treasure-trove pro '48." To st.'lkc out your claim, just write for From the good humored ribbing of Garry tickets about a month in lIdvance of you r grams for a 1948 version of the frenzy of Moore's TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, the zany 1849 - screams of laughter from the studio horseplay of Ra lph Edwards' TRUTH OR planned visit to one or the big radio p,:oduc tion centers. Address all requests for t ickets audience, the stllmping and clumping of "high. CONSEQUENCE, the somewhat primitive spirited" quiz·master or M.C. and the cries of "gimmicks" of Art Linkletter's PEOPLE ARE to the particular network in whose show you'd ... . . and anguish coming from contestants who didn't FUNNY, and to the Midas atmosphere of Bert like to participate, listing your number one, to our cantostants two and three preferences. Once you get into for their unusual •• od luck tanl.h.,,, quite make the grade despite all the quizzer's Parks' BREAK T HE BANK - there is much broad hin~ . lucre to be mined. the studio, it's up to lady luck. 46 RQdio best FASHION BROADCAST Titlnision ingenue belyn Petenon dothts IMneH for G swim in loday's fashion pond. It is a long way- both in miles and thought ) - {rom San Antonio, Texas to New York City. "You never renli?',c how far it is," drawled pretty Evelyn Peterson, "until you get in New York and start to find a career," And that is exactly what Evelyn is doing. She is building herself a career in television. Brown-haired, laughing-eyed, lwenly-yellr-old Evelyn left San Antonio with her mother a year ago, and now she is olle of NBC's up and coming young television actresses. When questioned about her difficulties when she first came to the city. "Evic" (she likes to be called that because it "sounds like home") said she 50011 iearn£'d that you hnve to have courage, perseverance, a bank roll to (all b:ick on, and the right wardrobe. "Thnt's where I was all mixed up," she laughed. "u took me about three days to learn that the ri!'ht clothes count a lot when you • are hunting a job. Then it took me another three days to rC:l.lize that most of my Texas clothes were all wrong for the city." But being ,I srnnrt young lady Evie decided to do something about h:!r clothes problem. She allotted part of her precious savings ($175) for 11 clothing budget and then sought the expert advice of a Peck lind Peck stylist as to wh:lt to buy. A suit, a slim, smooth uncluttered gray one, was her first purchase. Since it had to last a long time, she bought a good one in a hard surfaced fabric for $60. "I wanted to buy a lot of silly things," she confessed, "but the stylist kept pointin)( out that J must buy things that could be combined with the clothes I already had." Her biggest purchase was a long, forest green great coat (this was the most expensive item, it cost $75) that could be worn over everything- suits, dresses and evening clothes. The next thing was an inexpensive date drt'ss in electric blue and black. This frock cost $15 and is simple enough to wear to a television show and then out to supper. "The outfit I really like the most," said Evie, "is the full black velveteen skirt ($16) and white frilly blouse ($10). The reason I like it best is because I feel 80 dignified in it. Blouses with frills on the cuffs alWays make me feel like a great lady." MOllE B-+ l klwn wit is tM rlfSt thing belrn bougllt when sh. (Omt 10 Nrw fori! 10 start looking for a jail in ltieyisian. The OM she ,how wen a gray, dos~ line dtUtn wttKh, wfth the odditioll of oUlssories, (on be mode fa look either drnsy or (awol. Here she dlrues it Ip with an aft·the·11K1 ItIt one! blOwn bog, shors and g!aYes. 48 " .0.... ,_,.. I plonnlng '0 ,-.blne on .Id w"h 0 ...w w .. rdrobe. Bul Ev.I~n'. bu limited budgeTs don't ollow mtKh for glamour dolhes, so ~rt ond preHy Evelyn weors a bIotlt draple;s gown Ihol she hod her losl year in high Khool. II does double duly lle In direet contrast to Evie's dignified white blouse are her rough -l.lnd ready cowboy boots, levis and plaid s hirt that she brought from San Antonio, There's a 10IKh of Tuos in Illis gol, "Sometimes when things go wrong," she ond (owboy bools, Inis ond a p1 0id shirt t winkled, "I pu t my boots on and clomp ore os mtKh 0 port of h elyn's around t he apartment for a while. You'd be as ller wi ls. She brought Illis IlUtfil with s urprised how straight I can think when I'vf' her from Son Anlonio and wean it enry got those boots on," she grts. c .... ,,,.... ,, on N ••, "og. ~ FASHION BROADCAST 'h. bI99." po.t of Ev.I~"·. doth•• TID MALONI IN 1I1SUU HOMI KITCHIN. b .. dg.I "'0" .oIloII.d to a '001. '0 .he choM 0'" Ihal co"ld be "'''''' a"...... ~thi "g . Thh g,.ol (001 I" a ,i. h .hode 0' .,e." ""ill 100. PROPER SEIIINGS ADD TO . q .. olt~ "".11 ""ith I .. ib, dol., d,enel Of ...... i .. g doth ... , .... hood ond .d... long I."gth PROGRAM'S POPULARITY h 10' added ""o.""h. The WOWO Modern Home Forum is broadcast every day from the Leisure Electric Home in Fort Wayne where an audience of 120 to ISO can see and hear Jane Weston. Parties are scheduled way into 1948. The famous WOWO Hoosier Hop broadcasts its Saturday s hows from Buck Lake Ranch ~ an 80 acre enter tainment ('{'n ter built es· pecially for the summer headquarters of the 1I0p. WOWO goes to the county fairs ~goes to the SUite Fair~broadcasts its 1uniorTown Meeting frum local and area high schools, airs college football games fmm midwest stadiums and high school basketball tourna mcnl~ fmm the stale capital. \ - H...... ADIO liST .011.4 to yo .. 1" 110 .... or offic •. Armchair enthusiasts get a re..... 1 thrill out uf these on '<:;: ~ SubscriptiDn $:ttJll for ontO year. ~ _ Addres,'1 RAI>IO Rt:ST the-sput bruadcasts~anot"er reason why WOWO is First in ·15:! Fifth A\'cllu('. New York 1M, N. Y. Listeners ill the Mid-West. • u~• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • iVllh CI'f'TY orJ~ II !)Qr • FREE {J~otl' plllr 0/ .1fll/(;hi',j{J • • Jo;IIrnT'fJlI u·jllt be/lllfi/IIlly rul 81"'1t'~. Ire/ful "fllue $;t.!}8 pllir. • • .~~~ • • ~~.- • • SIMULATED • • DIAMOIID Ind RUBY COCKTAIL BRACELET • • •• __...... _. D_ ...... e.oc .... , _. a..-..t _n.... _ ..... , ...... c_••• w. ___ "_'. so _",,_.-. Yo •••_ ..... , .. , ..t_ D ",_ ..... b .... c-...... , C ...... , ••_ ... ~_ ...... , ...... _ .... _ • • .,...:!""~:..:.;.::,...:..-:::. y_ ...... ';;:;::" _ .. w.:!~::.':':~"=.~__ - .... 1.. . .._ -:::.r:.='.-••• _," .._ ...... _._ ::",: -. _ ...... ~ ...... I~I .... - • So"" _, ...... lOf $2 .n .... po~ _,-, ...... C.O.o. ",... I 1190 IIC • JEWElL 'IOMDTIOItl, Dept. 1.1.. 1151 Sill!! An... , _fW YORK • M. Y. • UrUSENTID NATIONALLY IT NIC SrOT SALIS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 50 Smoley City Hillbillies As a Gift • • • To yourself BACK IN 19:0, Slim Rryant ell!;t ail ide hi!; ele<:trician'!j maintenance kit and hit the "Corn shuckin' round-ull trail" in delld earnest. Until then he had strummed his "gitlar" vigorously. if not lucratively, just as a sideline in hi~ home town of Atlanta, Georgia. Hill brother it I S best to give Loppy and hi s big bass fiddle went along with him und soon after two more musicians were added to form the Wildcats, 11 folksy galllo( or Radio Best hillbillies thllt are doing very well, thank you. Since 1940, Slim Bryant and the Wildents have been featured artistll at WestillKh~U8C Now you have seen what RADIO BEST is like ... Station KOKA in Pittsburgh. In addition. th~ group (now five) have earned a IlRlion;1 1 repu and this is just a sample, a promise of the many tation. They've put more than 240 selections bigger and better issues to come. Maybe it was difficult on wax, many of them original songs writtt!11 10 buy a copy of RADIO BEST 01 your local news·dealer by Slim, who has hundreds of 'em. Their tran .. that's because many de01ers sold oul their su pply scrilllions are being used by radio su:ttioml even before they had a chance to place their copies throughout the United States, Canada, South America and even South Africa. on the counter. The coming volumes of RADIO BEST R~cently Slim and the Wildc;tts recorded wilt be sold iust as quickly! eight tunc!! for Majestic a nd are slated to But you needn't min a single copy of this new make eight more. IncidentalJ y, Slim's mo!!t important family mogal.ine. Fill out the coupon popular hit, "Eenie, l\1eenie, Dixie Deenit''' below and mail it to us -12 picture-packed inues placed among the first ten in the Billboard moiled to your hame for $3.00. 24 iuues are $5.00 and 36 iuues are only $7.00. RADIO BEST will give you the best in radio ... guide you, month after month to a new concept of radio entertainment ... bring you eltciling There's no "mike" toll pictures of your favorite stan and programs, enough to toil SUm Bryftnt constructive articles an radio's responsibilities, gongly leoder ot the reviews and listings to give you greater listening pleasure. Smoky (ity hill singers. Send RADIO, BEST to your friends a s well. A subscription wilt make a long lasting gift Th. y..,ng 'uns go wild about Slim and hi, gang. H.r.', the I.od.r "Inlng some of hh; recordln9' a' KDKA', liII lrant .ft. that everyone in the famity wilt enjoy. Di!lc Jockey Poll last summer, and sold over 200,000 records. Slim is a big, lanky fellow who looks bashful, but really isn't. He's marril..>d and has a seven year old S o Check h ... if )'0" want ° ."b".;pUon .nt ••ecI for )'o"n.lf, and IIlI ..ddll ;o""t glfl1 on a IItpo ... t ...... 1 . 10". o"hido th. United Stal •• 51 .iII...... char t of favorite network shows from 6:00 p. m. - J J:OO p . m. Consult the daily program listings in your favorite newspapers for complete program logs_ All times listed here are Eastern Standard Time, 1f you live in the Central Standard Time zone, subtract ONE HOUR. If you live in the Mountain Standard Time zone. subtract TWO HOURS_ If you live in thc Pacific Standard Time zonc, subtract THREE HOURS_ * Proyra", /Icard ;)1(,", thrM Fri, 9:00-CRS-JoIIII lJllvia _ MBS-Stop M ti If YOlf HCUrfl Thla -" 'p *COMEDY 9:lO-NBC-Jlldy CallOI-ll *SPORTS *DRAMA -CBS-1'lIlIyllll M vnrl.le ~ * VARIETY lo:oo-N BC- Kily A lIafT ...... ,..·t"" ,,,,,.,' ,, - ... •. .""'6:-.lO-ABC--(irf'atut"",'" Story Told 6:I s-NBC--Cle-m MeCllrtl'll* ." , ·,"· D , ,~ · . , ~ NRC-HollIIJCood l'reviCl! , .J 6:l0-CRS-Htll 8url,e"* 6,oo--Mns-rhQlOt H'th,ter. *MUSIC 1:l O-A nC---StH36tional YeaTS < - , - AHC-Joe Haatl* - MRS--(;abrirl H tftllH -NH C-.ldl"t'llturfo'r of O;:;:ie 1:4S- M BS-/n.it/f vI -"IIQrla* 11111/ Hn,.,-itl 9too- MRS-Wflr Babita IPI Populo, III Ughl 10:00- 1'01 RS-f'iahi"y .(; H lolti n!) 9:l 0- ARC-TI.tatrt (;lIild 6:30-CR S-POIlllt That Relrea/lts 11,lS_ AHC-Joe HII.~el * 10:00-CHS-Chri'dO/JhtT Wells 7:00--cnS-(it'Ht Autry SholV S ' -_"-D ." . ' ·N BC-J"c/,: B I'II"y ' -' H'D_" - .,.,,,-,-. ,," 1.Jo-CnS- Ulurrdie ' ,OO-ARC-..')llnliIlY Evt, HOllr (5) 10:lo-A RC-r1mrriclln Sportll Pilge -N RC-Fifth Bfllld"'lIyon 9:00-NRC-M trrIJ-Gf1-oRolIl!fl (P) -N BC-Bill Stern 6:4S-NRC-Thrte Star £7"tra* 1:l0- AHC-Lo"e ':00 -N n C-f.'dUflr He'f(lr n 9:lo-NRC-Amtrican Album 01 Ra"gtr ':lo-NBe_ Frefl Ailt'il /o'(llIIiiillr Mllsic (P) S _tT'-IIU." , ' - NRC-Cn~'ulcad-e of ,Imerica . :oo--CRS---(,\.rfiSII .Irelltr lo:oo-MRS-Voiua of .')/ril/ga (L) 6tOO-M Bs.---:-..')port .... Po r(Hie 9:00-CRS--I.II.c Radio Thelltre 9:I S- MRS- Rtal MRS· Meet Me fit Parl.'Y'8 10:4s- A BC-Bertll Va via (I') 6;lO_ AHC-H(Ir'f'Y li'i>tl7ler StOTiell* 9,30--&1 RS-Jim Blleku8 Shol(' 11:00-ALL NETS-NIH/Ie B(lnd, -CB S-Spl.lrla Rt:I,ifU' 10 ,l O-CRS-Screell GIliu{ I'la/ler.... (Sun, thru Sat_) ·cn S-ToIIY Marlin T"";S",t " IO:JO-M nS- f~'dmltml Hockri(lye ."f'_'-",t ,- ':lo-CBS- Dr, Chrilliinn -NBC-The Big IJrtmk 6: 20- NRC-Sr'-f'I/I!(fr (I.) * 9:30-CBS-'SlIIlIio Ot/t 11 :lo-NRC-/Jfll'(' (,'/lT1'(//(IfIY Sholl' 7:00-NBC-Snpper Cillb (1') * *MYSTERY - M IIS-ZI!I/I" Grell Sliow 7:1S - MRS- Ihwcr Orch_ (1') * 10:Jo-CHS-Rct IiTn gllgngl"me"' -cnS- Jnck ~lIIilh (1')* .,.,.!,'D.. , " 7:lO-CBS-CII!b 15 (P) * " -IiD,VIiSD,t , - 6:1!i- Alle- BI/te! find .Ilbert* .:oO-A nc- p'lIIl II'hitl'lIl.IUI ( I') S,-_,-,,,." 1:l0-ARC- /~ont R(Inger 7:30 N BC--MIHlQr IlIm~t I'UT/!!* ':30-NRC- Voicl' 01 Firestone ( I.) 6:lo-MHS-Nick Carter ,:oo-A BC-Mullor 01 the Town 8:oo- A lle-/'llil Sih'fr" SJIt)It' 9:00-NnC-Telephone H,,"r (L) 1,00-M RS-."Jurll.lck Hoi1ru'JI 9:l0- MBS-I .e f .... (;0 to Mouiell NBC-. t rlllll r (iliff/Ttl' 9:lo-MRS--lh!y Lombllr(io (PI . :oo-CRS-Sllm Spade 10:00-NRC-Tlle Big St011l 9 :0o---A Be-Camlili M icrOIJ Hille 10:00-NRC-Cvllten /ed I'rvfl, (1') ' :3 0-CRS-Crime f)rxtor 11:l0- NRC-Yollr Vllired Nations 9.JO-ABC-SfWllnJl Kllye 10:I S-ABC-HIIIldy Il'te{1 Trio (I') 10:00-CRS-.1fll "'rit'llfl hmll 10:lO-NBC- Fred Wlirill!1 (1') ,Uf._,-,,_t " Till -liS" " . ' 1:00-CH!)-MlI.'ery 1.11 tI~ Wuk* 1:30-ARC--Clullltllfle oJ }'ukon T ' ".::'.... , 'I' T'-I!S " _t " ,:oo-MHS-Scotlll1ui Yanl -NRC-(;r""d Mllrquu 9:30-ABC-Bollton Sym/J/wnll (S) ' :JO-N IIC-.I IJIIIl' will, Jw/y -e n S-/ llnt'T Saneillm ' ,oo-MRS-Waterfro"t K'allBidt 10:00- ABC-Conc_lur "ol/ble>< (I.) . :30-M BS-Chariie Cha11 -ABC-TycIllIllry Allillt 9:oo -N HC-A nit''' 'II A mly 10:30-MBS-C{llil, MdOt:lieK fL) 9:JO-N HC-Fibloer ltkGtt-Molly IO:3 0-ABC---Weird Circle ' :lo-ABC-Tllt Clack 10:oo-NBC-Bob HopI:: w-,:"_, -,:s,,,t , 10:QO-ABC-Mr, Prtaidenl T I ' ",~D , '' ' MRS-Tlte f'al'llily "1'/' tlatre 10:l0-NRC- /(1'11 ~k~ftvn . :oO-Cnt::-Amer_MelQliy llvllr( I.) 1:l0- A HC--(irten Hornet -N BC-Rcader's Oilll'xi 10,30 MR~- udi ll Sereno(lr (I') W ' f: .,-,'f;'~ D ,' " , ;oo- lo1 RS-MII$!eriollll Troveltr 11 ;30 (·~S f:ifetn FIlrrtll ( I.) -CRS-Tlte 8irl Tou", "''''.,t ,- .:oo-N BC-IJc",,;,. OilY TII' -IISD,' , - ' :lo- MRS -Officilil /Jf'/eetil'tI 1:l0-ABC-£..one Rungtr .:lo-Nn C-(;reut (;i/l/tr"lff'l'e -CRS-_Ur_ .{; _Ura_ North 11 :lO-NRC-AmericllIl NO l',ls 9:00-A HC-A /,I",lt .(0 COlftflfo 9,00- ("I:~ IJiek Huymf' (I') -NRC-IJulfl"" Tln'ern 9,30- )IBS--R/rxk I'ortll fP) "-""_'-";'I!iD.",- ,. S,tT,'IID_.. " -CH5-Ofd (;vlri SlIolil IO:lO-AI:C-Hoollier H OIl (I.) ' :00-111 liS-Crime Crllb ... 1:00-CBS-ffull'k t(lrabfe 9:l0- A BC-Jtld. I'rlrr Silow - MRS-IlIHICl'MII'IiC (I') ,lO 111 BS- ()u;.t J'I ... ,, 52 * NEWS A proud G. A. Richords shows mobile studio built to his specifications to Michigon's Governor kim COMMENTARY Sigler, who christened WJR's radio city on wheels at the State foir where it was first exhibited. ~fll'" • .4I' 6:00--ARC-I)rew Pearlilm 9,oo-A HC-WfIIter Winchell 11,oo-MBS-Wilhnm Hillman 11 :Io--CRS--quincy Howe RADIO CITY 11 ,1s--CRS-lYlUhingto-n R~t _NRC-Cesnr Saerchinger H.-I."-." l' 6:00--CBS-Eric Sevareid* ON WHEELS 6:os-ABC-Kiernan', CQrner* 7:00-ABC-Headline Erli!iQt!* -MRS-f.'ulttm Uk'U Jr.• The farmer is a busy man these days with 7:IS-ARC-Elnur Dauit* limited opportunities to visit the city and -NRC-M(>rga" Belltt".. 7:lo--MBS-HeftTY J. Taylor ile<:omt' acquainted with the programs and 7:4S-NBC-H. V. Kaltenbon!* personalities that fill in the greatest part of -CRS-E'dward R. M!!NOW his leisure moments. "OO"-MBS-f,'/tbriel Heatterlc Aware of this keen .interest on the part 11:IS-NBG-Morgan Beauu* of the rural listeners, Michigan's wide·awake Tl f ,fi..~.tll· WJR has resorted to the simple expedient of 7:30--MBS-..trtl1uT Hoh bringing radio right to the farmer's doorstep ':15-ABC-I'ieU:1I 0/ the New, by putting a complete radio studio on wheels. W'£D,,'IESOA " This mobile studio is an elegant affair, too; 7:lO-MBS- l..eu'lId Howe it's equipment the envy of many a station with Tln'IIS.A ,"' less adequate facilities. Favorite flirm lIre>- 7:30--M8S-/lrOUlr Hale grams are transported to county fairs, 4-H IO.4S-ABC-Earl Godwin. Clubs, conferences and other cracker·barrel ,.'R'D,lI' meetings affording the farmer a chance to say 7:30-MBS- Hct!TJI J. Till/lor hello to the many familiar voicell behind SA.T,'ICD,t" WJR's mikes. 6:4S -ARC-~:arl (;Q(/will The Mobile Coach built to the specifications -CBS-JAlrry LelllulIT conceived by C. A. "Dick" Richards, President 11:IO-CRS-Qldncy HOIl.. e of WJR, WGAR and KMPC. contains four Morsholl Wells, WJR form director will be in large compartments, all air-conditioned and charge of the new mobile studio's rural tours. acoustically treatcd. At the head of the coach *QUIZ is the driver's compartment with seats for driver and four passengers, The center com partment is the main studio with two pane>- .~'·"\·D." " rama windows (six feet by four feet) on each IO:OO--NBC-Take It Qf' Lef!l'e It side, giving sped 53 It's still fifteen minutes to air time as Irene gets acquainted with her conte stants ..fleftl. Earlier, more than a thousand people wai'ed pa tientty 10 be admitted for anniversary broadcast. J It was a cold, blustery day on the first anniversary o( Grand Slam recently, but that did not deter well over a thousand people (rom lining up more than an hour before air time, their tickets clutched tightly, wailing im patiently (or the doors to open 80 they cou ld Here w e go - " Is it fun? Is it music? Is it prizes?" ... And Irene starts the show w ith pay homage to their (avorite Quiz program a couple who a,e a lso celebrating anniversary. Special priJ:el motlc ed special show, and their beloved emcee Irene Beasley. Everyone had a perfectly fine time, as the pictures on this page show, and the sponsor prepared (or another smash·hit year, perhaps .A'UIAINI .RAND N.W I even bigger. The success o( Grand Slam has been all the more surprising because it is, CHRONOGRAPHS first o( all, a daytime Ilrogram (CBS, 11 :30 A~.M., EST) and secondly because the prizes given are comparntively modest and not at all in the style of the lUSh, expensive items and double-handfuls of cash tossed out by some of the other I>opuiar quiz programs. A ""tol gulst of Irene's wos 10k ... logft Strouse helps *esl hlr fellow sto, Dion. (ourtnl,. up onothtr guest, Ward Wibon. r---SOLUTION ---,1 Less Ihan h~1I the "I Deal in C,inr.:, ,ellula, pllCt Thou The spare tire proved "he sands dlslubuled 10 Ihe U.S. A,my Alr Forte dUflnll Ihe Wil. A mus t tOI Ihe due ..that lead Dolan to the lIyef. sportsman. Use II tor all spor ts. solution of the crime. When lamn, rICn. na~la.ho n and lime .nd Dolan examined t he tire, it speed problems. hl,emety aUIl/ale was free of dust. If the tire hmekeepe r AlI,ac l r~e 51H t cue, Genu, had been in use in the last Ine tuther w(lsl shap. Miles pl'l houl 24 hours, it would have had call br.tlon. slop watch. sweep second K. StrItzI",er. P'el. Continental a heavy layer of dust on it. ",ocI. I.psed lime dial ..ncy Ene, Tom Homn ....., When confronted with this DIau-::::'C~':~ ..~n:.~.~a and Adv. Mil', L. M. Marshall. t ...UDQU AMlin ."Il Ola('$ ",O.'ILI/IIUD fact, Carter confessed. He 11m ,,/dill n IC. U ,1~"ho'lIC.WIU'PIo .... r said that Miss Manning had P"'u~ ut>d me ,hronollaph .t been blackmailing him arid $39 9~ nch It II unde,sl_ ,hll ,111m ""I It isn't done with mirrors, but with the wouldn't stop. So he took her sal,d,td. t "'I, '"u'" "', "",chue ••lh,n friendly personality that comes naturally to 3 d.". .lIft '«f'.'"1 .,1o, full rflund for a drive, knocked her out I fMIost S Ch«~ /IIon'10. 54 Commerc,ol Televl$,on S'o" on.s St.. lion eh ...... / ell, WPTZ #3 Philadelphia, Po. WNBT ., New York City, N. Y. WABD #5 New York City, N. Y. WCBW #2 New York City, N. Y. WRGB .. Schenectady, N. Y. WBKB #, Chicogo, Itt. wnG #5 Woshington, D. C. kTLA #5 los Angeles, Colif. WWOT Detroit, Michigan KSD-TV '"#5 St. louis, Mo. The following article wos written by Paul B. Mowrey, national director of television for the American Broadcasting Company. With his ground information. The cameras do all the youth, drive and boundless enthlUiasm for rcst. television, Mr. Mowrey is typical of the men Let me suggest an experiment for you and women who today are building this new some day after you have a set of your own. and exciting industry. Tune in a sports event, for instance a fight. Switch of( the sound dial and tune in the radio to the same fight. Compare the radio account Television is here. Anyone who has seen the pictures presented by post with what you see on the screen. Then and only war receivers will instantly agree. They are clear, bright sharp pictures then can you realize how hopelessly inadequate is a fight description with detail and contrast. Of course there will be improvements ... given by a radio sportscaster. It's not his fault. Some stories simply larger screens, still clearer images and eventually color. But television can't be told by words alone. as it is today needs no apologists. It does a good job. Television has also hit the jack·pot with drama and dance pro The long hard struggle to perfect television has never been ade grams; short skits; one-act and full length plays; comedy; tragedy; quately told and maybe ncvcr will be. Many different men in many and who·done-its. Producers have learned how to heighten dramatic countries contributed. to its development. Among the men who helped values by manipulation of cameras, changing from long shots to dose build television are some of the great names of science. ups and fading from one camcra to another. James Maxwell declared light to be. a form of electro-magnetic The first dance programs were flops. When the cameras dollied in wave; Sir William Crookcs obscrved electric, discharges in a vacuum; for close-ups which are so important to good television programming Heinrich Hcrtz found thc speeds of light and electricity to be identical; thcy found it impossible to keep all the cast on-camera. The people Marconi sent and received his first wireless signals across his father's watching thCS(' shows complained beeause thc dancers repeatedly estate in Italy; Albert Einstein would turn a picture into electricity; danced right off the screens of the receiving sets. and in 1907 Boris Rosing patented a television system using a receiver Cutting down the size of the dance groups helped. but the real an basically the same as those being manufactured today. Sinee then pro swer to thc problem was a new t)'pe of choreograph},. Producers rewrote gress has been rapid. dance routines, confining the movement to smaller space, and dance pro Out of all thc experimentation came lots of programs that are good, grams became an immediate success. Ballet, folk-dance, chorus line, tap some that are fine, and. well, all of us have laid a few eggs. But we and acrobatic danec shows are now part of televiRion's bill-of-fare. learncd about television and today we have ,II. Newscasts are as important in television as in radio. Sometimes backlog of tested shows and program ideas newscasters use eharts and diagrams, maps and still pictures to point-up ready for the rapidly growing television the news stories. audience. As more equipment becomes available television cameras will travel Most people would be surpriscd at the to scenes of special interest and put the news on the air as it happenR. many different types of programs being telecast Fires, floods, train wrecks, the arrival in this country of important today. Sporting events are among the most people from abroad, inauguration ceremonies, popular. Boxing and wrestling matches, tennis parades, celebrations such as the Mardi Gras, tournsments, track meets, horse races, football key political speeches and important political and baseball g~es, fencing, ju·jitsu and ping-pong have all been suc rallies and conventions. all will be targets for cessfully telecast. the television cameras. Sports are a natural for television. The cameras with the tele So far, television programs have always scopic lenses bring the wallop of Joe Louis, the drive of Doc Blanchard, played to small audiences. Receiving sets were the big bat of Ted Williams right into your front room. The people just beginning to reach the market when the seated around television receivers probably see the events better than war started and the manufacturers were askcd 90 per «nt of the cash customers. to convert their plants to fill emergency orders for that gentleman with We learned very quickly that the kind of sports commentary used the chin whiskers, the taU hat and the striped trousers. in radio, the rapid-fire, Illay-by-play, "he's up, he's down. it's a right to Today most manufacturel"S have licked their reconversion troubles the chin, a left hook, three rights and a left" sort of thing was entirely and sets are now reaching some urban markets in large numbers. out of place. The television sports commentator should limit himself to For better or for worse. television is here and will soon be filling an occasional comments and explanations and now and then a bit of back- important place in Amcrican life. 55 Records of the ~onth by Les Merman ~e4tS_ "OH, YOU BUUTlfUL DOll" Claude Thornhill & Orch. COLUMBIA 3759;J Feather-fingered Ilianist-maestl1) sticks his arranging- twill ill his cheek andcomcs up with an harmonic treatment of a standard tune that Musical Links I'~ks with good humor and bounce. A nostalgic ragtime piano introduc_ tion and eliding, neat tenOl' sax solo, by Harry Link \'ocal by Gene Williams and the anticipated Thornhill touch of genius in the ensemble arrangements blend t"I,oduting H.. ft., link, m",ic ..,..ul;v," ond wrile. of .""h hil into a most pleasant disking. Other • .,ng .... I'u Go' .. 'uUn9 /'m foiling, Animo/ C'o...... , 1/'It•• side, "Early Autumn," has Fran fooli." 1";1091 ond You',. ,h_ 0 ... I c ..,. for. Fo. th. pa.1 ""'."'Y Warren, best of the band canaries, fly. y ... to, Mho. be." .. lot.mol' ".po".,,1 of mu,i, '" ... dio ~<4 fJ-tz taking Olle further stell to stardom. ond I"e " ... 1... of probably mot. ",odio Itu,,"" '''on onyon. "ADAM BlEW HIS TOP" .1.. in m .. ol •. Starling with Ihl. ' .. "e, IAOIO nST bring. ill ..,ode._li"." ... HOI,,), lin. 56 so YOU WANT TO Rg1je; Disc Jockey AI Jarvis Creator BE AN ANNOUNCER by Ben Grauer unes co n!inu.d Radio's Best Hit·l of "Make-believe" Ballroom all lhest' thinj:("S. Today, thc trend i~ tuwanl sp,--eialization in only 0111' of thes.· fil,lds, Announcing, as such, ill now 118('d as a Slll"ingho:U'd illt" SI,!'cialization. CASTANETS AND LACE IRepublici N('wcom('!'S to the networks a!'e no So ...... y I 57 HOLLYWOOD ON THE AIR continued '-'ry COOrIO ....ops in 10 lOY .... 110 to V..... Willi."" ov•• Ih.Yo"'"H'~ \ w I R E I • • II,IInolto_ Yon, Ma,li .. plaY5 willing Mary Willon on AT THE INDIANA STATE FAIR arrangements for a seh~ dance or other event, Frankie would sell both the music and his services as a soloist. Later, he bought a public address system, which gave him three commodities to sell. And Gene Autry almost became a professional baseball player, except that the salary they offered him didn't quite match what he was making then 100,000 HOOSIERS as a telegraph operator. Of such do mighty oaks grow. sow Radio Station WIRE in action and participated in *. the WIRE activities. THAT'S HOLLYWOOD * * Where an inventor is now peddling a gadget that not only turns One out of every five people off radio commercials but simultaneously executes a Bronx cheer. who aHended the Indiana Where the Jubilaires, a singing group, are a "quartet" which actually State Fair saw and experi consists of five men .. . Where they have a night dab with nothing but enced broadcasting and tele midget waiters- to make the drinks look taller ... Where Will Wright's tiny ice cream shop that holds about eight people at a time is doing vision at Ih. WIRE fairground the kind of business the big 300-seat spots would love to do ... studios. Where you can buy yourself a screen test for as little as $7&-and a brcken heart ... Where Andy Russell, without a radio show of his own, can still pick up $8500 a week doing personals ... Where Hal "Gildersleeve" Peary owns a beautiful home and a swimming pool, but can't swim . Where Lassie now has a stand-in and understudy in her radio show. It's Lassie's own son, Laddie ... Where you see ads like this in the trade papers: "Hard-to-get Scott radio-phonograph for sale. You save $250 and I keep the wolf away another montb" ... Where an enterprising recording outfit on Tourist Row makes plat • WilE opened .tvdl•• 'n tho hoart of tfte fal'1llrouIMb ters of the voices belonging to people who take part in audience par • WilE featur.d personal appo.r."e.. of thel, favorfte ...... ticipation shows, then sells them the discs for a neat $2.50 ... Where conductor Mark Warnow has to empty his pockets of pencils, matches, • WIRE bl'1>uShl new lind o.dflng t.I.... ld... to .... fair cigarettes and other miscellaneous items before mounting the podium, • Willi mado 'ho ."lillo ..,o .tars "'oro ...... ufo .. c_ra for fear his gyrations will spray the audience with his belongings ... • WillE colt4lKt.d I~ rocord... clo",on,tratlon. In .... "'lin.M. Where too many of the gals' beauty comes from within-within jars . .. And where they've discovered, at last, that the best way to keep • WIRI oIl.pJayed tho '.10 ..., Plano. "Shoot'"_ Star" friends is not to give them away. Tbat's all now, boys and* girls. *See you * next month. WI RE N • C INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 58 THE STORY QF WALTER WINCHELL Winch ell used to spend a Jot of time with brother newsman Damon Runyon on their fomou s " Down Potrol" when the pair prowled IfIrough their beloved New YOlk bywoys on hunt for great humon Interest stories. Their young companion is Bill Mauldin, the G, I. cartoonist, 59 Pid ure Story by JJ_O:':.:':.~'~"_":~~.• ~<;;- ;;;:::::; ' Wo,king on Ihe job night and day J intcr vicwed thouslInds 1 well, lots of aclors who wanted to play me. Thi!\ fellow impressed me favorably. but df'jillitl'ly was not the type. My a ssociat.s tlsked me to cOllsider a certain radio actor , conside,e d Bill Powell because of his wide reputation 2 for the part, but I turned him down without an interview. 3 liS an immacuilite dresser lIlId authority 011 m:l.$Cu line wear. Still trying to win me over, he sent in this photograph. But when I stood next to W illitlm his reputation vanished. Gig Young brought Joan Crawford along to help with his I ne.,.., really considered Paul Henreid for the feature 4 audition portraying me as the great lover. Joan appeared 5 role-no Sllvoir faire. But I've always had II secret yen impressed, but I had to turn hi m down- hopeless amateur. to see how he would react when offered a third clM':m'ttec . 60 6 "hur' when I had to turn down my good 7 The nerve of t hat guy, Peter Lorre. He 8 That's a lot of ham, I told Jack Cnrson friend Gary Cooper. He wanted to play asked to tryout w ilhout a fedora. I was but you don't measure up_ "You mean I'm me so badly. If he were only a bit taller! my ·polite self and I listened patiently. not hammy enough to play you," he wailed. The Pulitzer Prize playwrights Russel Crouse and Howard , tried out Academy Award Winner Michael Curtiz to see 9 Lindsay are a couple of nice fellows and I wanted to let 10 if he would look the part of the director. Granted he knew them do the screen slory, but they Said, it was loo hard. what Mildred Piert:e did, he might even know what I did. One of my mod diflicull jobs was to disco¥er a youngster with outstanding 12 It's been a hard search and t have decided to 11 acting and musical t 6 1 THE STORY OF WALTER WINCHELL t o nlin... d he suddl.'llly took to the Broadwa~'s o( the time, he was handed a note Raying a Illan wall world. lIis own answer is the best ddillitioll dyinj.( for wanl of ;1 rare blood type. of that Rudden change: Winchell hroadcnst an appeal twice and "All we wallted in the Twenties wall (UII," the re~pol1se was tremendous. Radio IItations he says, "It was I)rohibitioll, nij.(ht clubs, the from coast to coast were flooded with cldts boom era. Then wham-the dCI)rC~'1ion and the offering blood. A man with the right type of brt!lldlinl.'!I. And my beat bt'Camc as long as blood ('hllrtered a plane to fly to l\1 iami ,wei the breadlines which went around the world." police were called to handle the traffic jam It was then that Winchell fir!!t noticed at the hosjJital. Winchell himself was dl'cply lIitler. pegged him as a world mClHlce by his touched at tht' humane response and w(lnt on wry words and as Winchdl ~ays. "no Ameri the air agailL two hours later to air his 111'1' can could possibly stand for his l)erst'<:uliol1 sonal thllllks, "to tho!!1.' without reiil)(.'Ct to ral1.', of minOI·ities." creed 01' color who offered to hell) an unknown." The usual storm arose around Winchell Right now, he's engitged in another heart· whl;'n he went to work 011 llitler. lie was warming CamllaiKn so typiwl of th(~ rca I accused of endangering our diplomlltic rl'la Winchell. Unbelievubly busy, pressed for timl', lions with Germany 1I11d Italy. frustratt'(l by well·meaning l)COple I;'very time "That's !to much hot air." hI.! ~coffs. "Ever)' he attempts to relax, he has become the Man citizen has the right of fn:(' speech lllld I've of the Hour ill the fight against Canet'r. said it over and over again 011 the air 'any In tribute to hi!-l deal' fril'nd and fellow Winchell opens New Yo rk's Da mon Run yon hq. newspaperman wo rth his salt rel('al"{lH it:l" his jou l·nalist, Damon Runyon, who dit'd uf the w ith 6 ror Da hlberg and Vi nnnt Impe ll etiere. ~olemn duty.' I spe;lk only for myself hut IIlso drelld diseuse, Winchell is the treasurer of the 110 one dse has the right to Slleak for mc." Runyon Cancer Fund. lIe's devot('ti himlll'lf And Winchell has kept to his credo of wholeheartedly to the cause and in le~s than 11 '"I (Ion't own a dime of the place," Winchell fn'e sllcech since. He has mnde !-Itronl{ state year, he's collt'<:ted 11 million dollars to help l~ays, ") like Rillingsley and' likl.' his place. ments about numerous public figun's and stood fight the disea~ lind is well on the way toward I get good food and a chalice to ('at it in by !!uch statements, he has criticized the gov another million. privacy. What more can )"OU want?" ernment where he thought criticism was due. Already overburdened by his· treml'ndous Winchell's car is I.'quilliled by 1}()1ice I)el" "i\ly right to criticize the governmeut of schedule, he's taken these additional duties mission with a short wllve I'adio rt'"Ceiver. red the United States alld its official serv:lnt!-l," in his stride and donated his time, hiii money, lights and a siren. Before the war, he used he SlIYS, ·'was given to me 150 yellrs ago alld ' .. lUs broadcast and his column to furthering the to ride around the ~trt't'ts ill the early hou l's I intend to keel) it." battle. of the morning going to fires, accidents and lie's as tough liS they come when the I n short, that's the Winehell saga. Modern holdups. Frequently he got to the s~ne o( the OCCII!!ion wllrrants but is equally as gl'nel'OUS, d;IY crusader, wOI'd warrior for toleranct', and crime bl.'fore the police. considerate and kind-hearted whell he flllds one of the j.(reatest living individual forces in Hut. it was when he wall at the height of someone worthy. Take the time he was broad the fight for the right W;I)' of life. his fame as New York's ;\Ir. Bro.1dway that casting from Miami, Florida. Just before ;lir- A Winchel!uva guy! * * * ~8, * * * *""' * * * * * * TELEVISION sports is its mainstay VISUAL BROADCASTING, still in it's infancy as all entertainment medium, has, quite logica lly, come to depend upon sports events as a major source of material with which to fill its screens. Sports. ob viously. is a '"natural" for television since it needs a minimum of expensive equipment while Ilroviding the sct-ownel· with exciting. interesting material to view, at the very instant of its happening. However, it takes quite a bit more than a video cumera or two to televise a football game as the picture sequence shows. A TYPICAL HOME AUDIENCE watches the game ovt!J' large-screen receiver. B PLATFORM USED BY CREW of television station WPTZ at Franklin Field in Philadell"Jhia. At right is the announcer with a monitor screen in the desk to show him what the home audience sees. C THE CAMERAMAN picks up a bit of action on one of the three cameras used for a broadcast. D HERE'S HOW THINGS LOOK from the WPTZ midfield camera platform. E TRANSMITTER CONTROL ROOM. At left is the video Ollerator who controls the picture quality. F MOBILE UNIT TRANSPORTS television equipment used to broa 62 • l ouile E.;( kion ond Oi. Oo,.-i, who ploy brother ond liller in NBC ', " Ogle W ill, Judy Having a chocolate ice-cream soda will never make the headlines, but there's a big story behind every sip. laugh if you like at lipstick on glasses, or at dirt and other contamination until the wrapper is foggy, smeary ones at soda fountains--or drink broken by the user himself. right from the neck of a pop bottle. But remember Wrapped straws are now required by law in when you do--you're inviting disease! Listen to this I A city health inspector recently examined the three entire states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and glasses in a well-known sandwich shop. He found New York, and in many cities throughout the the glasses, with their seemingly dean surfaces, country, thanks to the constant efforts of far swarming with bacteria-40 percent were di sig .... ed citizens and public health officials. sease bearing. Your kids like straws too and often will drink more Protect yourself and your family by asking your milk if they can use them--ond they don ' f get community for an adequate health code, Be sure tummy aches from gulping cool liquids too fast. you're sofe by insisting on individually wrapped Ask your doctor about straws-he'll recommend drinking straws which are protected from dust, their use in public places and at home. DRINHNG STRAW ASSOCIATION INC. • NEW YORK, N. Y. 63 • Records of the Month TWO PIECE SUIT! 'lim~ " THI PRETTIEST SONG IN THE WORLD" Hew longer length Dame May Whlny.lehman Engle Orch. RCA VICTOR A child's quest to hear the pret tiest song in the world is the theme of one of the most charming records e\'er made for the kiddie set. On two IO-jnch non-breakahle disks, this story is related with great charm by Darne Ma)' Whitty and cast, ami given ~autiful musical inteqll"eta_ ?Jut r/lllcrkAca tion by Engel. A perfect Xmas gift. "fREEDOM TRAIN " Also highly recommended: Ha)' Rolger's "The Churkendoose" on Bing Crosby & Andrews Sis lers Decca, cleverlr done by Rolger lind DECCA 2.'1999 a fine lesson in democraty for the This In-jng Rerlin song ties in youngsters. with the. touring Freedom Train sponsored by the American Jieritage Foundation and, aside from the demO<:I"atic elements, is all infectious melody VCl'r capably cut by Del' Rillgle and the Andl"CWS femmes. Song is eMY to take as l"endered and will probably be the best of similar ones by d"al companies. Racked by I Victor Young's interpretation of "Star Spangled Ranner," .~- Here it Is-your loveliest, 'lim (!ta •• «ct ~ 'lim "lIocal most importanl suit, "U,NTORIAL (HANn" ALlUM "A fEllOW NEED S A GIRl" to invite Ihe loveliest. most Mosh. Kwevihky Perry Como ace. by Ruu (ose Orch. RCA VICTOR RCA V ICTOR 20-2402 imporlanl events in your tife! New Interest in an album of Yiddish Pouring on the vocal romance, lonier j&ekel, flarini out at Ihe hips in liturgieai chants is normally lim ited Perry sings easily but with oomph. lu ll . flirtatious, double peplum. The lop but singing of this caliber rates any creating a mellow mood that should music lover's notice. Kusc\'itsky is spell another hit for the ex-barber. tier 01 Ihe peplu m and Ihe Jaunly eoll,r the Cantor of Warsaw and these Russ Case weaves touches of Debussy smartlr maleh the skirt. New, Jonier are his tirst American records. You'll and Delius into the backg-round can_ hS\'e to go back to Rosenblatt and \'ass with a lush string section that skirt willi zipper closing. Superbly before him, if you're that ancient, heightens the lyrical charm of this tailored 01 sleek, rieh rayon I.ille. In to Sirota to find a cantor who sings Rodgers and Hammerstein dittr. with such depth of emotion and vir from "Allegro." Other side, "So Fill" elKh.nling colors: tuosity. If Kusevitsky, who is multi is an equally mellow piece froln lingual and sang in opera abroad is same show and right down the Como IdJ Cr," • 1Iad;: 1'111 .. II(] 1Iad;; as good in other languages, he's-Met. alley. klttelllll .... ropolitan Opera material for sure. :...,'rttI ...... Ill" '·I1-1J·I5-11. QUIZ ON KIDS Answers EYEN IFYDU DOlT INDW I) BEN GRAUER 2) GVY LO:\IBARDO ANOTE OF MUSIC NOW ... :1J VAUGHN :\IONROE You Can Learn Your Favorite Instrument This Easy A-B-C Way EVEIEST , lOIII" I.LNI r.. __ ~ ~ "('fIEW fUII'. S. Do",. R,.12 ~ ; WHEEL CHAIRS z V~ So".. "" ...... Noo ... Ye,' I. III. r... , ,...... ~ 0 ~rln. In ". ~ . "" . n .. Send '''i. 1"""ly o,e" OIl ap· 0 ,. ,h. h .... Ie ...... p,...... I. 1"(1 pay 1>0>1""," S1.'l1 I" I z • plul po,'''O_ eno C.O.D. 0 po ~ r .. J,...... wt-lo-._ Z t~o,g~,. 1/ nel de(i\lhted. ! , may '~Iu'n o'e.. 10' rel.no , _.<-.od...d_ 0 "ith'. len ooy •. II p'epaid. we ____.sun 0• " ..""' ...... 0#_ Z pay ",<»Iogo. In N.... Yo •• Cdy < pl.,." ' .... 1., ~ odd 2'1. Sole. To •. ~ --.., ~ --'" ~ """II,!. ".ool. ... r .. J C~.I ...... -.. ;, ...... ~ "". __w_ -.loo...... c.w..- *--"..._...... -. -- ....., . GifT O' GAB ca .. 'i ...... d fllncy 1'llenl fcc!'!. double ,>OlY a!'\ l/fIfooI -.I Iff-' ...., 00Ir announcer and actor lind all lhe 0-1.- ...--~- ______...... U. S. SCHOOL OF MUSIC might bring you to the attention other trimminl{!'! that put most ...... - 113" a,.. nrictt a ..... II ... '1'''''' II. N. '1'. I - ,., ...... -.1 _ ...... 1_'...... , ,',I,I! ..... 1 1'1<1 ...... -_... -... of the men who can put you to first-rnle IIpielers into lhe Olle ~"'pI". I .. _M lit<> '" Dla, (Sa_ In-4",_O. I __'.J'-'_~ __ wor}t on the really 1);J.ying pro hundrcd-thou!ll.lnd-a-ycar income I gram~. Or you may get tired of bracket. ''filin . IINN'NOI. 0.", ... waiting ilnd bring yourself to lhe The !lulkc!'! are high. but it take!'! ... 1\ ... I attention of network executives. quite a bit morl' than a good "._-_ _.. - (I·Jo-a .. I ..lnij··· .. • , .. I Either way. it iii still 1t long, hard voice aud diction to bt'come a lop ------1 - L ':.:,....,__ __ ------' pull before you :;t.. art colleeling announcer. 64 CHICAGO'S INDEPENDENT S . STATION 65 • • •• It's Thot Fomous Tommy Dorsey Niding 8oston's Air Woves Over . .. Boston audiences are delighted! For the brand new Tommy Dorsey Show started September 8th over WHDH. Tune in to 850 on your dial every night from seven to eight.... Mondoy through Friday ... and listen to old TD as he personally spins your favorite discs, odds colorful chatter on ~usjc headliners ... and interviews the "names" in the music world. 850 ON YOUR DIAL 66 l , Listen With a Purpose WtIETIIEII YOU , realize it or not vou' are actuallv. endorsing a radio program when you listen to it. You may be called or interviewed and asked "To ) wha l statiOII are you listening?" By your answer you control what goes on the air. Have you ever thought that li stening was that serious? You can make American Iladio what you think it should be. , All you necd to do is to say to yourself, "Is this the sort of thing radio should be cloing?" If you don't think it is, tune elsewhere alld if that fails, turn ofT your set. Sometimes you can clo a distinct service to yourscl£ ancl to your community by not listening at all. When you turn your set back on, do it with a purpose. WSAI, a Marshall Field Station, Cincinnati, Ohio. • CONSTANCE lUfT Heod "f Ih HUHN e House of ~ creolar. 01 TO,ngeeRd ",nil"" 0 n , or,ek and Pelal.fini$h t ip- ~ suits ¥.i"is taste \" "'~ _,oY' MRS. DiCKTh riHAYMESllin glV o,,,o"i~e .... ih 01 ,hi pOplll ... V 1,,,g;"9 _I"" oufl9 fi"e f;1roallS (;\amOIl{OIiS s~a;" \l11~~G~~ This file including all text and images are from scans of a private personal collection and have been scanned for archival and research purposes. This file may be freely distributed. but not sold on ebay or on any commercial sites. catalogs. booths or kiosks. either as reprints or by electronic methods. This file may be downloaded without charge from the Radio Researchers Group website at http://www.otrr.org/ Please help in the preservation of old time radio by supporting legitimate organizations who strive to preserve and restore the programs and related information.