Evening star., 1936-08-30


the season now closing has afforded
opportunity for number Of artists
to branch out in bigger time spots
and let us really learn what they
can do.
REPRODUCTIVE as the Summer
may have been Of new talent
and smashing new ideas, it has shown
us some old favorites in a new light
among them Richard Bonelli, letting
out his fine baritone to have fling
at popular songs as well as the arias;
Frank Black and his string symphony,
offering the classics in straightfor-
ward fashion without benefit of a lot
Of explanatory palaver; Carlton Ka
Dell, emerging on the network scene
with Amos n Andy as an announcer
without an affected Oxonian accent;
Harry Salter playing dance tunes
with enough sanity and restraint to
let you hear the melody behind them;
Kay Thompson and her vocal group,
making the sultry weather as breezy
as possible by reason of their lifting
songs; Charles Martin, doing an ex-
cellent job of rounding up adven-
turers for those Tuesday night thrill
interviews" and Jack Benny, to whom
is due a sort of back-handed hand
shake for going away long enough to
make it possible to hear the voice
10 oiv, kNry
the way, can sing his high notes and
still remain herman in his vocaliz-
ing. Speaking of Benny, we'll be
the first to welcome him back to the
network scene when he pulls into
the studio Tuesday, September 8,
several weeks in advance of the open
ing Of his own series, and gets the new
Fred Astaire series going for Tuesday
nights at $50 on the N. B. C. red
network. Astaire, back from Europe
this week, will fly to Hollywood and
take over the reins on the following
Tuesday, while Benny and Mary Liv-
ingstone then turn their attention to
the business of settling down in the
film capital, whence their own broad
casts will also come.
Kate Smith, also going in for pre-
view before her new program series
bows September II via C. B. S., will
do a couple of guest shots on her
former Columbia spot. She'll be at
the microphone in company with Jack
Miller's orchestra Tuesday and again
~, tha follouyinu Tn,rrcdou
IT ISN'T so much the program
builders as the listeners themselves
who are responsible for the current
trend which brings more of the clas-
sizes to the air What with the appre-
ciative level Of the dialers have gone
up amazingly in the past year, it isn't
surprising that a three-year radio con-
tract Is being dangled before the eyes
of Leopold Stokowski with view to
having him organize an orchestra of
100 men from a broadcast series from
the West Coast, nor that a group of
bankers has underwritten an air SER
les by the Philadelphia Orchestra,
which will probably open in Novem-
ber after the political campaign is
concluded and the danger of inter-
ruption of the programs lessened. Once
the program gets under way the spon-
sors plan to continue them without a
break, hence the choice Of November
10 as the debut date in order to avoid
conflict with any political addresses
that might come along before election
time
Hope the chance that WINS "Itty
Bitty Kiddie Hour" may branch out to
gather a network audience really ma
terializes. That show could do more
in a week to point out to broadcasters
the error of their ways than all the
educational campaigns that ever were
directed at radio. That clever satire
on some of the current shows Of the
air gets back in mid-September after
the Summer lay-off.
A MOTORS outfit is eyeing the new
Irwin s. Cob show Back
Porch" in which that writer is to
star. and may open the series October
II on an N. B. c. wire :. The spon-
sor of that old Washington Merry
Go-Round" shows will be back with a
White of late, that young songstresS
will be at the microphone with Nelson
Eddy for c. B. S. series from Holly
wood, beginning September q, fol-
Grace Moore's sponsor Of last year -.
If current negotiations work out Josef
Israels, I'd, will soon have coast-to-
coaster
A big biscuit sponsor grabbed that