Evening star., 1950-12-31
TeIevisiOn-Rudio
Last of First Half Century or First
OF Last, 1t Was Good Year for TV
By Harry Macarthur


a man who publicly disliked Can
tors performance the last time
he was here and was publicly de-
nounced from the Capitol Thea
ter stage a number of times for
expressing his opinion.
1t would be a firm and foolish
prejudice which failed to fall,
though, before the high enter
tainment of Cantor's first telecast
and those which followed it. This
is a man who has realized in
stantly what television is - a
means of communicating with a
few people gathered in their liv-
ing room-and he has aimed his
talents at entertaining them.
1t could be said, without too
much room for argument. that
Eddie Cantor was the best thing
that happened to television in
1850.
Jimmy Duronte Also
frightened TV Scene
An almost equally good thing
that happened to television was
the arrival on it's scene of Jimmy
Durante. a veteran of several
decades in show business, If not
as many as Cantor. Unlike Can
tor, he did not adapt himself to
this new art, but the result was
a thoroughly refreshing one.
This has happened-and prob
ably could happen-only in Du-
rante's case. He knows that his
stock in trade is himself and he
wisely doesn't try to be anything
else. He is the same Jimmy Du-
rante whether sitting in a hotel
room being interviewed or stand
ing in the middle Of the Copaca-
bana dance floor being watched by
a capacity crowd. His clowning
art is not aimed or channeled in
any particular direction: it just
explodes from him in all direc-
tions. Point a television camera
at him and it explodes into homes
all over the land.
United Nations Coveroee
Was Noteworthy, Too
The year also has been notable
for several other things. To name
few at random, it was the year
When television discovered what
a current-events reporter it was
as hordes of its followers de-
manded and got coverage OF
United Nations General Assembly
and Security Council sessions.
When people stopped calling the
radio editor to ask the name OF
the mystery melody" though
Stop the Music" and those other
giveaways just seemed to roll or
and on.
When Jack Benny, Bob Hope
Burns and Allen, Edgar Bergen
Frank Sinatra and a number o1
others came to television with
shows that were the delight o1
studio audiences, thereby exas.
perating televiewers who coulc
see that the talent was there il
only it would be properly directed
When Fred Allen Topped enor-
mously, went to Chicago for a
brieflng in the TV art from Dave
Garroway, came back and discov-
cred that scripts as we'll as tech
nique were necessary and departed
to lick his wounds and think
things over.
When confusion around one
program reached such heights that
the filmed Christmas show was
telecast in mid-December and the
mid-December show was put on
the air just before Christmas.
When Writer-Producer Max
Lehman proved himself some
thing OF genius by continuing to
turn out top-notch Sid Caesar
1mogene Coca shows on Saturday
Night Revue"
When Wendy Barrie seems to
have disappeared, which isn't a
good idea at all.
When Faye Emerson remained
out in front in her particular tele-
vision field, though many tried to
best her.
When CHS went around for sew
eral weeks with a red face after a
competitors commercial turned up
instead of the sponsors in the
middle OF a television program.
When Milton Berle proved he
could change his pace by becom-
ing subdued-subdued for Berle.
at least.
When a night club comedian
named Jerry Lester became one
OF the seasons sensations and en-
riched the language by two words
George and "Dagmar."
A good year, all told. May tele-
vision have more like 1t.