''41147WURLOCAL WEEKLY GUIDE TV & RADIO LOGS AUG. 10-16 "I Defend Singing Commercials" MARIO LANZA: Hits Summer's High Note .11., LOVELY MARY MAYO, aregular on ABC's Saturday night "Danc- ingParty," ably proves that radiostill has a corner on theglamour market. (ABC photo.) ELIZABETH TAYLOR LEARNEDthe lb,intricaciesof Armed Forces Redo broadcasting when she recordeda recentprogram for overseas' transmis- SEEN ON sion. Announcer Jimmy Wallington (left) and AFRS Master Sergeant Rulon John- sonwereherwillingmentors.(AFRS photo.) THE RADIO SCENE MEANS QUALIT1 TV,..11AD10 LIFE All-purpose" (Formerly Radio -Television Life) Member Audit Bureau Or. Of Circulations A A BISKIT August 10, 1951 Vol. 23, No. 24 CARL M. BIGSBli, Publisher Published Weekly at Los Angeles, California. Business and EditorialOffices:6361 Selma Ave., Los Angeles28 (HollywoodStation), The California. Phone Hillside 9275. M IX TV -Radio Life was entered as Second Class Matter September 14,1948, at Los Angeles, under Act of March 3, 1879. Prepaid Subscrip- tion, $4.50 year, $2.50 six months in U.S.A., Foreign $5.09 year. Single copies on sale at all leading Independent Grocers in Southern Cali- QUICKEST fornia. Single Copies by mail 15e.Address all remittances and correspondence to TV -Radio Life. Subscribers please allow two weeks for change of address or to start a subscription. EVELYN A. BIGSBY. Editor Mix Edittirial Department: Jane Pelgram, Assistant Editor; Mildred Ross, Greta Greenfield, Ar- lene Garber; Art Director, Ray Wheeler; Log Editors, Hal Julian, Bruce Cameron. Advertising Manager: Walter 0. Miles. of All Circulation Manager and Sales Promotion: Jack Daly. Route Manager: Armando De Castro. Office Manager: Georgia Caywood. All material used by TV -Radio Life is specially 4., prepared by its own staff writers, and re- CO printinginwhole orinpart without pub- f1SNElFLOURilit lisher's permission strictly forbidden. Unsolic- ited manuscripts can oat be accepted or re- turned. AdvertisingRepresentative:RogersParratt, 37 Post St., San Francisco, Calif. August 10, 1951 Page Two 4.1E11-99 lip POWER OF THE LANZA VOICE IS SO INTENSE that he stands well -back from the microphone to avoid distortion. Below, he reaches for a tall tone with By Greta Greenfield the backing of Ray Sinatra's orchestra. Sunday,5 :00 p aa CBS-KNX my pro- gram, as through my films fandconcerts,Itryto bring about my life-long goal-of making opera live for more people. But this is a gradual process and so I hope that my future and the future of 'popular' opera will grow together." Mario Lanza, who can "sing like Caruso and sell records like Crosby," is currently thrilling Sunday after- noon listeners to one of the brightest summer shows on the airways. He's making musicalcomedy,popular balladsandopera live for a coast to coast audience who seem to be boost- ing his meteoric rise with the same overwhelming acclaim that greeted his films and concerts. And he's ac- complishing all this as an eighteen - week summer replacement for the "Bergen -McCarthy" airer. New Caruso? The "new Caruso," as many people believe him to be, bears a real -life career parallel to his famed prede- cessor, whom hesosuccessfully emulates in the current film. In 1921,boy was often asked to "sing likepiano into the Philadelphia Academy when Lanza's voice first issued from Caruso." of Music that Mario encountered a New York city nursery, Caruso's Stage Name William K. Huff, director of Philadel- golden tones were heard for the last It was from his mother's name-phia Forum Concerts. Huff had heard time. Both men had an Italian music -Maria Lanza-that AlfredArnoldLanza sing and was enthusiastic loving heritage, and Lanza was toCocozza derived his stage monicker, about his talents. He advised Mario share Caruso's vocal coach, alongMario Lanza, as the first step in ful- that Koussevitzky was in a nearby withhis tremendous voice rangefilling his life-long ambition to be-dressing room. "The walls are thin, (Lanza, like Caruso, can sing eithercome a singer. However, in Philadel- why don't you give him an aria?" tenor or bass). Even Lanza's impet-phia's tough "LittleItaly," where Koussevitzky uous, bubbling personality has beenMario grew up, it was safer to focus Lanza recalls that he was half way likened to Caruso's-but just how faron athletics, so while training histhrough "Vesta La Giubba" when this parallel can be drawn remainsvoice, he also became Southern High Koussevitzky burst into the room and to be seen. At the very least, LanzaSchool's star baseball, football anddemanded to know his name. is aiming for the same high pinnacleboxing champ. This and some post- A summer of work with the noted Caruso reached. graduate semi-professional baseballimpresariofollowedand Lanza Like Caruso, Mario was the son ofand football account for the sturdymanaged to give one concert-a con- a poor family. His father, as six -dayLanza physique, which he keeps incert highly acclaimed by New York bike racer until he was incapacitatedtrim today, despite a propensity forcritics-before another "master" took by World War I wounds, lived on apizza pie. The sports life he led socharge of his career. He served three government pension which his moth- successfully did not deter Mario fromyears in the United States Air Force er augmented by working as a seam-the thing he really wanted. He usedand a great portion of that time with stress. Mario inherited a love forhis earnings for lessons. And how hethe "Winged Victory" troupe. music frqm both his parents.Any began his singing career is a story Another lucky break, after he was spare money that could be scrapedthat, in his own words, "has all thedischarged, in 1945, brought Lanza to together went for records and concertelements of a class B musical." Sam Weiler, a New York business tickets. "Caruso was Papa's favorite," "My grandfather thought I shouldman with a fervent love for opera. and by the time Mario was ten heexercise something besides my vocalWeiler, today Lanza's closest, friend was thoroughly imbued with thechords, and got me a job as a pianoand manager, took him to Enrico plots and arias from scores of operas.mover in a music store." Rosati, a famed vocal coach who, At family gatherings, the teen -aged It was while he was moving a (Please Turn to Page 34) LANZA: Summer's High Note His Radio Debut Is Part of a Life -Long Dream August 10, 1951 Page Three AAli ildigisto (EDITOR'S NOTE: A few weeks ago, Hollywoodwas surprisedwhenMa! Boyd, an energetic, clean-cut young man, announced he was giving up his lucra- tive and promising associationin PRB (Pickford, Rogers, Boyd) to study for the Episcopalian ministry. A short time be- fore Mal's announcement, he had asked TV -Radio Life's editor if she would be interested in a story about Buddy Rogers' comeback via TV. Mal had just barely ?te4FoKa/ turned in his yarn when news of his in- tentions was spread. Asked whether he still wanted his story to run, Ma! re- plied, "I sort of planned itthat way. When I wrote the story, I had made up my mind I was going to relinquish my showbusiness interests. I wanted to write itbefore my departure as an expres- sionof my regard for both Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers, and for our associa- tion which I shall never forget. It makes eimeoad me very glad that you have liked the story well enough to includeitin TV - Radio Life.") Part I UDDYROGERS'great show - business comeback in radio and TV, which contributed an itemto trade history Told By The Chap Who during the past couple of Helped Him Make It years, made alot of people very happy. And it made me, standing on the sidelines, as happy as anybody. Buddy was the top box-office movie By Mal Boyd star in Hollywood in 1930. "Wings" catapulted him to sudden fame and he scored, again and again, with top pictures. Then, he deserted pictures and achieved equal fame as a band leader. His marriage to Mary Pick - ford was international news, uniting "America's Sweetheart" with "Amer- ica's Boy Friend." Shortly after Pearl Harbor, however, Buddy Rogers dis- appeared from public view. He joined Uncle Sam as a ferry pilot and came out of service, four years later, as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve. Groping for the right thing to do, and perhaps a trifle unsure of the la. BUDDY BY HIS POOL, photographed for the public'sresponse to him afterso women of America who kept him a top star. many years away, Buddy turned to He was tagged "America's Boy Friend," a label which movie production. As a partner in has lasted almost as long as the "America's Sweet- Triangle Productions and Comet Pro- heart" accolade granted to Mary Pickford. Allk. BUDDY STILL FEATURES A MUSICAL ROUTINE where he playsallthe ill's BUDDY IN ONE OF HIStypical instruments in the band. He's seen here in a scene from Paramount's "The magazine photographsofthe Road to Reno," made in the early thirties, where his musical talent was used by period (1931). He continued as one of the studio. the nation's top film favorites in "River of Romance" with Mary Brian. Page Four August 10,1951 ductions, he sat behind the desk andTom Breneman on "Breakfast in Hol-a few weeks ... and I was accepted. played producer on more than a half- lywood" followed a few days later, dozen pictures. at Breneman's Restaurant on Vine On Trip It was at this stage in his careerStreet. Buddy was planning to leave We flew from city to city in Buddy's that I first met Buddy Rogers.