Evening star., 1950-10-10
By Harry Macarthur

The last place you'd ever ex-
Ipect to find Dwight Fiske-one of
the last, ANYWAYS right in the
middle of your television screen.
The art of Mr.. Fiske, who current
ly is engaged in filling the Sazerac
Room at the Old New Orleans
with nightly throngs of Fiske ad-
mirers, is not for general con-
sumption. 1t is all right in its
place, but it is not the sort of
thing to be broadcast indiscrimi-
nately, falling on the innocent
and the lecherous alike.
In fact, irate mothers might
form clubs and chop down tele-
vision stations with axes if they
found Mr.. Fiske's salty songs and
violent leers being served up to
the Hopalong Cassidy fans.
No, Mr.. Fiske is one entertainer
you do not greet these days with
the usual query about television
plans.
Knowing this as well as any,
body, he is among the first to
forgive an expression of incredu-
lity when he admits casually that
he has made several TV appear
anceS.
"What in the world do you do
on television?" it seemed proper
to ask only a little more force
fully when he made this admis-
sion the other night at the Old
New Orleans.
"I play the piano and sing
songs" said Mr.. Fiske. for all the
world as If he were Morten
Downey and what else did you ex-
pect him to do?
"You sing your songs?"
Certainly" he said. "Up to a
point, of course. Matter of fact,
find television most satisfying
medium. 1t probably does more
for me than for most entertainers.
I sing my songs up to a point and
then everybody who wants to hear
how they come out has to buy my
records or come hear me in per-
son."
Mr.. Fiske, incidentally, starts
the composition of these songs
his mother never taught him with
synopsis. The lyrics to tell the
story and the music to point them
up come later. He is not one to
take this composing chore light
ly. either. The success of one
song and the constant demand
for it from his customers never
finds Mr.. Fiske resting on that
set of laurels. Mrs. Pettibone"
and ida, the Wayward Stur-
geon" may be dependable stock
items in his repertoire, but Mr..
Fiske does not take any chances
on audiences getting tired of a
song before he does.
This time around he has a
whole set of new ones, all in the
old Fiske style and a couple of
them funnier than anything
you've heard him do in a long
time. Mr.. Fiske. as a matter of
fact, is a pretty funny man.
though you will find this hard to
believe If you ever have been
trapped by a group Of those cult
lists who sit on the floor and
giggle while playing his records.
In a night club. he's fine.
A telegram on the desk this
morning says This will be
Dwight Fiske's only appearance
in the Nations Capitol at the Old
New Orleans this season." How's
that again?
IF you missed Walter Long the
last time he was around here
probably at the Club Kavakos-
all you have to do to see him now
Is brave the Washington -Balti-
more raceway. He's over there
now, at the Club Charles. Fine
tap dancer.
Another graduate. along with
Perry Como, of the orchestra of
the Statler Embassy Rooms Ted
Weems. is Jack Cory, an old
Monessen (Pa.) boy who has be-
come popular Washington band
leader. Mr.. Cory thought he was
going to be a doctor right up to
the end Of his first year of pre-
med, when he discovered music