Evening star., 1949-06-12
| News of Video and Radio
Benny Sets Date With the TV Cameras
and Other Comics Will Follow
By Harry Macarthur

Autumn is still some distance
away, but hints Of an invasion of
I television by host of name"
stars Of radio and films already
are abroad. One Of these is Jack
Benny, who has an opening date
set for his first TV series. accord
ing to Variety. He will come East
to originate the first two shows in
the CHS New York studios. then
probably return to the coast and
let the East see him via kinescope.
The Benny video series will start
on October and be seen on
Thursday nights.
Ed Wynn Is another comedian
due on CHS In the fall, though his
plans are not yet as definite as
Benny's. He, too, will telecast from
California, with kinescope tram
scriptions serving the Eastern and
Middle Western networks.
Buster Keaton, one of the
ablest comedians the movies ever
produced, also has announced tel
evision plans and a novel formal.
Mr.. Keaton is going to combine
drama and audience participation,
playing the lead in famous plays
with a member of the audience
playing opposite him. He will do
the shows on film, with an au-
dience. rather than telecast them
directly.
Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope and
Jack Carson are others likely to
be seen In the fall on television.
Cantor is definite about it. Carson
is dubious and is reported making
D test first to see how he looks on
video. Hopes plans are nebulous,
but he has enough faith in tel
>evision to have taken on the
Southern California distribution
rights for Du Mont receivers
through the Quality Electric Tel
evision Corp, of which he Is board
chairman.
Z How successful these kinescoped
telecasts will be and how long
they will be used are unanswered
questions at this point. The
leaning Of the comedians toward
them apparently is fostered by
the fact that programs on kline
scope have been the best seen in
California. Programming out
there is reported to lag consider
ably behind the East.
It LIS a fact noted by many
viewers. however, that something
of television show is lost by the
intrusion of the mechanics of mo.
tion pictures. 1t has nothing to
do with picture quality. It is that
sense Of immediacy. which is. one
Of TVS most beguiling features.
Because Of this. the coast-to-
coast yideo network may not be
as far off as some think. AS long
ago as last January spokesman
for A. r. & T. said unofficially
that the television broadcasters
themselves were the ones holding
up transcontinental TV. They
preferred. he said, to develop and
consolidate the networks now in
use in the ,3ast, Middle West and
on the West Coast. The East
West LINK, he said, could be sup
piled almost any time the tele-
casters want it. Other estimates
Of the time run from so days to a
year. y
****
VOL has two new Saturday
night programs on its schedule,
one local and under way, the
other o local origination for the
Mutual network, making its debut
next Saturday.
The network show will send the
i music of Baynee and the Max
J Lowe Orchestra from the Shore
ham Terrace to more than 500
MES stations every Saturday at
III pm. because of daylight time
tecilnicalities, VOL will carry the
broadcast an hour later. from IL
to 12:30) The Terrace being the
resort 1t is. the program will be
more than merely musical. Each
Saturday Barnee will have diplo-
mats, statesmen and legislators as
guests for informal interviews.
The local show on VOL Satur-