Evening star., 1935-05-12
THIS WEEK

Wcy' ludt yOuiiB iciicI dt tIe pldHny
couldn't play what I'm going to sing.
I'll sing a Come-All-Ye."
And he did - exceedingly well, too.
The imitators, for the most part. are
pretty poor. They favor David War
field. Stepin Fetchit. Joe Penner,
George CivOt and, OF course, Jimmy
Durante. 1t is remarkable that many
burly Irishmen have high. nasal tenor
voices. They run to Mother Ma
chree", when Irish Eyes are Smiling
and The Sunshine OF Your Smile"
One of the features of the afternoon
is trick fiddler. all the way from
Hartshorne, Oklahoma. He plays
with the bow under one leg, with the
violin on his head. then on his right
shoulder and behind his back. He
bends over. playing all the time -
bends over backward and picks up a
handkerchief with his teeth. All this
Uncle Jim has to explain to the
committee.
heard similar crowd in a con-
troll room at WABC while Ray Per-
kins, Arnold johnson, the musical
director. and Bill Sweets were trying
out selected forty. On the Ray Per-
kins hour they try to avoid gongmeat.
Instead of the gong they used to sound
a chord in G..
I'VE found audiences didn't like it,"
explains Perkins. Each time we
sounded that chord in G. letters came
in accusing US of cruelty. I'm sure they
represented only minority because.
as you know, most people enjoy the
spectacle of others being Inundated.
But you know what sponsors are -
one complaint is enough to scare them.
So we cut out the chord in G. That
puts it up to US to find performers too
good to deserve it,"
Perkins told me another fact that
thought illuminating. On the COL
umbia program the winners are
supposed to be picked by five judges
- professionals - supplemented by
an audience vote. Only three times out
of twelve has the audience agreed
with the professional experts.
Out of forty candidates Arnold
Johnson, on whose shoulders rests
most of the executive detail and the
responsibility of selecting. finds only
three possibilities to suit his critical
ear. Perkins declares that the hunt for
talent has become so difficult. accord
ing to the rules of the game as he plays
it, that it may soon be necessary to
send out scouts ivory hunters. as
they are called in baseball.
The bright young men of Variety
are openly charging that more than
one of these amateur prize winners
are actually professionals. The answer
in every camp is the same:
I'VE do the best we can. We can't
know everybody who has been in show
business. And the question arises:
What is an amateur"
The case Of Major Bowes is partic-
ularly interesting. As most people
know. until comparatively recently he
was celebrated principally as manag-
ing director and part owner Of the
Capitol Theater and Master of Ger
emonies for the Capitol Family broad
casts On Sunday morning. He started
these amateur contests last year at
WIN. the station owned by the
Capitol. and It was he who first dem
onstrated their possibilities to the
amusement world. Now he has one of
the star programs on the N. b. c.
network.
Il never intended to get into this
thing 80 deep" he says. when
put this feature On at WIN / IN
tended to let my assistants run it. But
] found that whenever didn't do it
myself it just didn't quite get over"
Bowes differs from the others in the
kindly. smiling. paternal manner with
which he treats his amateurs. He be-
gan this amateur business n n means