The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-12-15
WAVELETS
BY ED LEAMY

Future Admirals of Americas
Navy - the midshipmen of An
napolis-now working night and
day to complete a four-year course
in three years, will take time off
from their studies to relax and lis
ten to the music of Benny Goodman
and his orchestra on Wednesday,
December Is, over the Blue Net
work at $50 p. m. on the Victory
Parade Of Spotlight Bands.
The historic gym on the banks
of the Severn will be damned to
the doors as the middieS cheer
Goodman and his famed clarinet.
Goodman, incidentally, was the first
band leader to give formal swing
concert at Carnegie Hall. In set
ting this precedent, he made such
a hit that q short time later he ap-
peared as soloist with the Rochester
Civic Orchestra playing Mozart and
DebusSy.
The Victory Parade of Spotlight
Bands" is heard Monday through
Saturday, at the same time. On the
following night, Dec. 16), the pro-
gram will go right on saluting the
Navy when the show will come from
the Atlanta, Ga, Municipal Audi
torium. The program will salute the
the Atlantic Steel Co., now engaged
in the manufacture Of steel products
for the Navy.
Women who are viewing the
Christmas shopping season with
alarm, dreading the bargain base
ment commando drill, and just plain
throwing up their hands in despair,
ought to meet Mrs. Parks Johnson
The wife Of the genial senior
Fpartner Of Columbia networks
coast-to-coast "Vox Pop" program
has 52-weeks-a-year Christmas
shopping job, to provide the gifts
which her husband and Warren
Hull give away each Monday to
their guest interviews.
Louise johnson travels 1000 miles
a week by plane, train, auto
mobile, boat, bus, horse and buggy
and on foot, to buy the many I'M
usual and costly gifts which service
men, women and other microphone
guests receive.
She probably has visited more
department stores, specially shops
and out-of-the-Way merchant estab-
lishments in one year than any COM
parative shopper in America.
And Mrs. Santa Claus" undoes
her pursestrings to the tune of
$500 week.
For the dubious salary of nothing
a-week. Mrs. johnson has given up
a comfortable life on the johnson
ranch nat Kimberley, Texas. Her
son is on active duty with the Ma
rines and her daughter Is married.
She doesn't know exactly how she
got the job Of shopping for the "Vox
Peppers but she has a suspicion
that it started with one or two re-
quests to pick up this or that item
for soldiers mother, sailors sweet
heart or marines wife.
Now she's corresponding Secre-
tary for the entire "Vox Pop" crew
Parks johnson, Warren Hull,
program director Bob Balm, pro-
Queer Dave Grant and CHS liason
man Rogers Bracket.
She did 1t before and now she
does 1t again. Dinah Shore, Just
married to George Montgomery,
received as one of her wedding
presents the news that she had
won another poll. Dinah, starred on
CHS Thursday nights, was selected
as the number one female vocalist
OF popular songs by more than 600
radio editors and columnists in the
eighth annual poll by Motion Pic
ture Daily.
Nora Stirling will be regular mis-
tresS OF ceremonies on DR.. Frank
Blacks new music series, "Serenade
to America" over NBC.
Hugh Thompson, baritone who
will be male contestant on the Dec.
IL program of the metropolitan
Opera Additions of the Air" received
fine notices from the New York crit
les for his singing of one of the
misers in the Columbia University
production OF Grety's opera THE
Two Misers" which premiered Mon
day December 6.
Ted de Corsia and Ned Viewer
both heard on mfr. District Attor-
ney,' are in the running for the
leading male role in Two On a
Clue new mystery series which
starts on CHS Jan. 3.
Kay Kyser and his college of
Musical Knowledge heard Wednes-
day nights on NBC, have been re-
newed for next season.
Now that James Melton has ended
his Sunday night series on CHS,
the tenor is due for a number of
guest appearances on major pro-
grams. The first Of these Is on
stage Door Canteen" Friday night
when he replaces the previously
scheduled John Charles yhomas,
who is Ill.
Quincy Bell Of the sportsmen