Evening star., 1943-12-19
For Rad;oL listeners
By Ben Kablan.

DJ OG1
Who is the Lon CLANCY of radio?
It's not Boris Karloff, not Peter
LORE, but lovely lady who quail
fies for the title of Radios Actress
of Thousand Roles On the air.
lanes, no male can match laurel
wreaths with Mercedes Mccain
bridge, ghoul-girl who has made
the average bogey-man seem as
tame as Little Lord Fauntleroy. A
tall and beautiful brunei. Miss Nc
Cambridge emotes on the I Love
a Mystery series.
No gaga ingenue, however, she
portrays everything from neurosis-
ridden spinsters to weather-b beaten
ranchwomen, with an occasional
fling at south-o -the-border sinister
senoritas, complete with flashing
eyes and ditto knives. Her early life
was not spent in London's Lime
house district. Mercedes didn't even
serve an apprenticeship as a bobbed-
haired bandit, and as for strait
jackets-on that subject, the gal
really knows from nothing. She
was, however, graduate of the
now famous prep school for en-
bryonic sinister characters, the
Lights Out program.
In the current adventures of the
Al Detective Agency, Miss Nc
Cambridge plays Yoganda, the
child of nature, but in comparison
with her past roles in the CHS
thrillers, Yoganda is all sweetness
and light. She was Ellen Monk,
dope addict and invalid turned viii
lainess in The Decapitation of JET
ferson Monk" And in Murder Is
the Word for It. she raised a
bumper crop of goose pimples with
her shuddery version of a psyche
pathic spinster with homicidal tend
encies.
Remember Blood on the Cat?
Well, Mercedes was Louise Potter,
the psychosis-ridden, hysterical girl.
| She was a sultry menace in The
Graves of Whamperjaw. Texas" In
private life she is married to Nov
eliSt William Fifield and the mother
of a 2-year-old, who probably re-
fuses to go to sleep until mamma has
given baby a pretty bedtime story
far removed from murders and mys-
lteries.
Inside the Airside. Fanny
Brice is doing her Baby Snooks"
broadcasts from wheel chair these
days. . Miss Brices foot fell asleep
while at the Brown Derby in Holly
wood. and as result, when she got |
up, she fell down, >. She sustained
fractures of bones in her leg. !
Frank Sinatra, having been classified
4-F in the draft. will star in his own
radio show starting January 5. =.
The series will be launched in Holly
wood where Sinatra will shortly be-
gin his second movie. =. The fab
ulous Dunninger, who has written
new chapters in the science of men
tai telepathy, demonstrates his
mind reading ability in a weekly
series of sponsored broadcasts to be
launched over the Blue Network jan
uary S. :. The program will mark
the first time mentalist has ever
been presented on commercial
network show. . Next starring mo-
ton picture for Abbott and Costello
will be "Harem Scarem" . Every
thing is in readiness at the MGM
lot, waiting for the two comedians
to take over. Arthur Hale's
Confidentially Yours has received a
three-week extension of contract for
its broadcasts over the Mutual Net
work.
It's a fact
Teddy Walters, new Tommy
Dorsey vocalist, first played the
drums, although a guitarist since.
He took up the percussion instru-
ment in study with his father, who
played in Wayne Kings band.
Len Doyle, able assistant of Mr.
District Attorney on the air, is still
blushing because he turned down
the comedy lead in "Oklahoma,"
which became one of Broadway's
biggest hits.
Mitzi Gould of the Parker Fam
lily creates, produces and manipu-
lates the puppets in her unique
marionette plays.
Dr.. Frank Black, general musical
director of NBC. plays the hottest
harpsichord version of "Dinah" ever
heard.
With insufficient gas, and cabs
rarity in suburban New York, a
certain commuter had an acute
problem in getting to the West
Nyack Railway Station miles
from his home. That is, until one |
morning when he virtually shang-
haied a certain cabbie. Enroute the
driver turned on his radio and
talked loquaciously of his favorite
programs. Il like Big Town BEST"
he confided That fellow Pawley |
is great as Steve Wilson. Sure isl"
At the station the passenger paid
his fare. then shook hands with
the driver and tremendously
thanked him.. What for?" asked
the bewildered cabbie. For the
compliment" explained the COM
muter. MY name is Edward Paw
ley" And that explains why the
star Of Big Town has cab wait
ing for him each morning.
Some time ago Jimmy Durante's
Hollywood home was ransacked by
robbers and among the stolen goods