Evening star., 1949-02-20

oy nolFy
There seems to be a great deal
of confusion in the broadcasting
industry right now-more, even,
than normally is present. The
almost sudden occupation by tele-
vision of position of eminence
in the broadcasting field is re-
sponsible for a lot of it. Some
more of it evolves out of those
CHS talent raids that inspired
Variety, the show business jour-
nal, to dub the network "Paley S
comet" after its boss, William S,
Paley.
The acquisition of Amos n
Andy. Bing Crosby. Jack Benny
Edgar Bergen, Red Shelton, ct al
undoubtedly has strengthened the
CHS position. 1t also has left
NBC with a large number of holes
in it's schedule and given the elder
network the task of developing
new talent and new programs.
Now, Mr.. Paley is smart busi-
ness man. He bought control of
CHS a couple of decades ago for
a sum that wouldn't buy one OF
its outlets today. There are those
in radio, however, who are ask
ing themselves if Mr.. Paley has
outsmarted NBC after all. He has
acquired a number of top-Hooper
stars, all right. But he has signed
them on at a time when all OF
them have been going along for
years and it is an axiom of the
trade that you have less chance
of lasting forever in the show
business than in any other. vi
Then there is always television.
You can get one radio man to tell
you that television will remain q
novelty for the next 20 years as
quickly as you can get the next
one to declare that video will
completely replace sound radio in,
say, three years. The chances are
that neither is right. The chances
also are that Mr.. Paley is a for
ward-thinking man and has not
been ignoring television possibil-
tiles in all his talent scouting.
The rub might conceivably come
for CHS, however, in the fact that
television is a new and separate
entertainment art, really apart
from radio and related to it only
through a common grandfather.
like DR.. Lee DeForest, the inventor
of the vacuum tube. It is bound
to develop it's own stars. Some OF
them may be named Crosby or
Benny but a lot of them will not.
This, according to one line OF
thinking, leaves NBC in a choice
strategic spot, not backed into a
corner. The new medium de-
mands new stars; NBC is faced
with the necessity for developing
new stars.
Apparently there are those
around NBC who look at it this
way, too. for the Sunday-at-7
opposition to Jack Benny seems to
be coming by way of video rather
than AM. The plans, according
to the latest word. call for in
stalling Evelyn Knight, Dean Mar
tin and Jerry Lewis and. Tommy
Dorsey's orchestra in the spot IN
the near future. The time Is
available and the starting date,
apparently, depends on lining up
q sponsor.
Miss Knight. a local contribu-
tion to the singing big-time. al
ready has demonstrated a winning
television personality on guest ap-
pearances with Milton Berle. The
Martin-Lewis team, also familiar
to local cabaret audiences, is ex-
tremely funny and fresh, new
comedy duo. They also have
proved that their style gets along
very well with the television
cameras.
NBC won't cut into Benny's
audience seriously right now by
way of television. but it knows
which way the audience is in
exorably moving. 1t will gain and
Benny will lose every time a new
dipole antenna goes up.
United States Steel's "Theater
Guild on the Air" (WMAL-Sun-
day, $50 PM will pay its an
nual visit to Washington a week
from today to aid in the launch
ing of the 1949 Metropolitan Area
Red Cross Fund drive. Vice Presi-
dent Alben Barley and ECA Ad-
ministrator Paul Hoffman will
take part in special program at
Constitution Hall, preceding the
broadcast of the program from
there.
The play to emanate from
Washington will be Payment
Deferred" the story of harassed
British bank clerk who turns to