Evening star., 1951-06-27
| On the Air
|AduItvideo
|Agoin Seen


1AtHeorings |
By Harry Macarthur
The familiar probing counsel
flanked by a battery of Senators
has again been part of televi-
sion this, week. Since one of the
conditions Of the televising of the
Senate Crime Investigating Com
mittee's narcotics sessions with
WNBW feeding NBC and WMAL-
ITV and WTOP-TV herel has been
that there would be no CONNER
cials, this must be set down as
completely altruistic television.
In carrying this portion OF the
narcotics story to the Nation at
|large-at least to the coaxially
linked part of 1.-THE television
industry is again demonstrating
the mediums value as an adjunct
to democracy. There is nothing
spectacular here to attract the
wide attention given the business
of this same committee when the
Costellos and the like were stellar
performers.
There is, though, far more
serious problem than horse race
bets and one undoubtedly worth
more serious attention in this pol
hutton of our national bloodstream.
about which the television au-1
dience learned at first hand yes
terday and today. The decision
to put the open narcotics hearings
on TV was a praiseworthy one.
This is a story which should be
put before the people and tele-
vision is a highly effective means
of putting it there.
You can read about the inroads
of the dope habit among the
young and feel concern, but you
are truly impressed and to a far
greater degree when the appalling
information comes first hand, by
way of TV. When you hear ad-
diets calmly admit that they had
to beg, borrow or steal-or do
anything else necessary-to get
|heroin and when you hear the
head of a Government hospital
say that drug addiction is a con-
tagious disease and watch him
prove with his charts that it
has reached epidemic proportions
among the young men. the fright
Iening facts have clear reality.
Television has again used itself
to q good advantage this week.
II
A Success At Last: Singer 10
Stafford feels that she truly has
arrived and she indeed has at
tanned a position that might we'll
be envied by a number Of people
in show business. Miss Staford's
most recent and most notable po-
sition has been on the receiving
end Of a hve-column, highly un-
complimentary editorial In the
Communist Daily Worker. The
Worker charged the singer, who
is a mainstay of Voice Of America.
with such heinous capitalist
crimes against the people as the
ownership of q mink coat and q
convertible. It also found some
thing definitely sinister in the
fact that Novelist James Hilton
is on record as calling Miss Stat
ford's "the voice I would like to
listen to IL lived in Shangri-I4a." ;"
Miss Stafford hasn't been SO
happy about anything since she
succumbed to "Tim-tay-shun."
II II \
Retort Negative: There has
been some talk in the trade that
Dave Garroway might, when he
moves to a new time on NBC-TV
next season, also move to New
York and do the show before an
audience in one of the networks
theaters. Over Garroway's dead
body, he will. Some pressure in
this direction may have been put
on him, but he came up Sunday
night, on his last show Of the
season, with a firm and unmis-
taxable answer.
1t was contained in the Gar
roway version of one of those big
variety programs, with master
of ceremonies carefully averting
Ibis eyes from the camera and milk
ing the theater audience for ap-
plause. while lights and cameras
went mad. It was a masterpiece
of satire. Better than any critic
has been able to do yet it pointed
out exactly what is wrong with
those televised vaudeville shows
which are performed principally
for the audience the entertainers
can see and hear.
/ Garroway would be lynched on
a mike boom If he showed up in
New York after this, which is a
generally happy state Of affairs.
It means that the Chicago style"
| in television still is safe for awhile,
at least in one quarter.
/ u X u
! Programs and People: The sec
ond half-hour of the Comedy
Hour" time on Sunday night, this
| the $3.50 to 8 period. will be filled
| during the summer months by
what promises to be a welcome
musical interlude. Titled "Tele-
vision Recital Hail." it will present
(starting this coming Sunday a
| ~~b</%~w~~~