Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-22

pretty close to the facts in the case.
But the situation had a sequel.
Ray Perkins, Of whom have spoken
before-he's the Old Topper, you'll re-
member-was q captain in the Army
during the war. and in the same outfit
was Irving Berlin. a buck private and
later a sergeant. Both had been in the
popular music business, but Berlin had
been a partner in big company and
Perkins had just been writing songs.
In uniform, though, Perkins took the
salutes
After the war Perkins went TO work
for Berlin: I imagine Berlin must have
chortled with glee as he pounded out
that tune, which took the country by
storm. You can hear delight in the
music as well as the words. Later
much later. in fact--Perkins went to
Hollywood to take over the music de-
partment of a motion picture company
When sound came along and every pic
ture had to have its theme song and
two or three other good tunes 1t was
inevitable that Berlin should write
theme songs, and 1t fell to the lot of
Perkins to accept or reject them for his
company; to tell Berlin, il he felt like
1t. that his chorus was bum and his
verse terrible. Even though Berlin was
writing songs for big money, it was the
Perkins back In his old Job as captain.
That's the sequel to the song Of
which 1 was thinking particularly, but
the story isn't ended.
Now that Perkins is on the air. he
often works Berlin song into his pro-
, grams l don't know whether Berlin
has any Of Perkins songs that he is
about to publish, but II that were so IL
would seem rather fitting. II the Incl
;7tlts in wsS 49, we're properly worked
out, with tie leading characters por-
trayed by the two men who actually
took part, it might make rather anus
ing bit OF drama. But, after all, the
story hasn't really come to an end yet
and perhaps we'd better wait.
kk&
The second award of the medal for
good diction on the radio went to a
veteran, just as 1t did last year. Milton
j. Cross, winner of the first medal be-
gan 6roadcasting in 1921, and Alwyn E.
w. Bach, who gets 1t this year. has
been on the air since 1922.
Both men are singers, both do their
best work in announcing programs of
classical music, and probably no two
/ announcerS so closely resemble each
other in quality of voice and manner
OF delivery. The similarity is a coinci-
dence, for Bach's style hasn't changed
SO far as l can see, since the first time
l ever heard him announce. That was
several years ago when 1 happened to
pick him up when he was announcing
q program OF the Boston Symphony
Orchestra.
1t was this series of programs. Incl
dentally, which brought him into prom
inence in the radio world. His work
was first rate, and 1t wasn't long before
ne began to be spoken of favorably in
New York. From that point his ar
rival on the networks was more or less
assured, and 1t took place about two
years ago.
Bach, who was born in Worcester.
Mass, and was educated in the high
school there, set out in life to be
printer, but he had fine baritone
voice and studied singing on the side.
A magnetic personality made It posi-
pie Tor him in the very beginning TO
lead choruses which sometimes con-
tanned singers whose musical training
far exceeded his He never lost that
trick OF leadership, and after the war,
during which he saw action in France
ne very soon got out of the printing
business and spent all his time singing
in concerts and conducting choirs and
community choruses.
1t was this which first brought him
into contact with broadcastins. and
very shortly after his microphone debut
as a singer he was hired by WBz, in
Springfield, Mass, as an announcer
Four years later. in 1926, he was shifted
to the stations Boston studios, and
there he came into prominence through
out the East.
Bach has never been and has never
tried q
the uniform excellence of his work has
built for him an extremely wide fol-
lowing. He is 6 feet tall, weighs ITO
pounds, and has black hair brown ewes
and dark complexion. He is married
and has daughter Z years old.
*
Now that Mary Mccoy is back in the
studios, the pages, who, incidentally
don't dare sit down these days, for fear
OF getting the white linen trousers OF
their Summer uniforms wrinkled before
the end OF the day, are constantly on
the lookout for stray kittens. some
how or other, they seem to follow her
wherever she goes.
All the time Miss Mccoy was in Chi
cago, playing in "A Wonderful Nisht,"
not kitten was seen about the studios
out now that she's back there's almost
always one around which has followed
her into the building.
During the New York run of that
piece a photographer decided to take
picture OF her, surrounded by kittens
Animals, as any one who has ever tried
to take a snapshot of them knows. sell
dom stay put long enough to allow
snapshot, but this time a whole basket
ful of kittens stayed contentedly where
they were placed and hardly twitched a
WhickaT
several times trying to smuggle q kitten
she had picked up somewhere into the
studios. The other night at the inau-
gural OF an important new program
John Young heard a faint mewing Just
before they were to go on the air In
spite OF the reproachful looks from Miss
Mccoy, the kitten went out into the
corridor.
Cats don't seem to be especially pop
ular as pets among the broadcasters
Kathleen Stewart, the pianist, has
about half a dozen OF them, but She
also has about the same number of
ducks swimming around In n pond at
her home in Palisades. N Y Nav
Singh Breen has all kinds of china
cats. but her live pets are a family of
snails and bowl of goldfish. Reinald
Werenrath has couple of cats, but he
balances 1t with two dogs. Dogs seem
to be most popular. Al Bernard has a
bull pup, Walter Damrosch has a couple
of dachshunds, Virginia Gardiner has
an Irish wolfhound, Mary Hopple leads
a spitZ, Olive Kline owns two police
dogs-one Of them saved her from
drowning up In Maine last Summer
and Judson House has O pekinese; Baby
Rose Marie, of course, has a pair of
rabbits. 1t wouldn't be quite right to
call Dickie and Blus Boy, the canaries
are broadcasting artists In their own
right; but Marcella Shields. the come
dienne. has one which is a real pet II
won't sing when she is out Of the room.
y
Frequently these DAYS I am asked II