Evening star., 1951-04-30
On the Air
Latest Try
BY Bergen
Success
By Horry Macarthur

By Harry Macarthur
Edgar Bergen. as Jack Benny
did before him. has come up with
something close to the proper tele-
vision showcase for his comedy
talents. Also. as Benny did, he
has turned to situation comedy
with far more satisfactory results
than he achieved trying to tele-
wise a stage or radio show.
The ventriloquiSt still remains
convinced. apparently, that he has
to have an audience on hand to
gauge the effect of his comedy
which may or may not be true
If he is sold on filmed rather than
live TV shows, which he obviously
is, it does seem that the laughs
could be timed the same way a
director and cutter time any film
comedy.
This is not a point to argue
about, however, since Bergens S
most recent television try, last
Friday night at 9:30 on WTOP-
TV, was such an improvement
over his first one. He has dis
covered, it should have been fair.
Ily clear to any viewers. that his
primary audience is seeing him
through the eye of the camera
and not from those pews where
the welcome laughing is being
done.
| What he did this time, in case
you missed the show, was get of
Iof that theater stage and into
a film studio, where cast and
cameras could move around and
where some semblance of reality
could be achieved. Charlie Nc
Carthy is much more effective
when he is surrounded by reality
! The sketch Bergen and crew
performed, is not likely to find any
permanent niche is dramatic liter
ature, but its dream of a ghost
town come to life did give Berger
a chance for some of his better
repartee with Charlie, Mortimer
Snerd and a new associate named
Effie Klinker. 1t also provided ar
opportunity for Dorothy Kirster
tc make her TV debut and SHE
Is quite a decoration to both the
audio and video portions of
television program.
Evidence that Bergen is willing
| to work at being a TV performer
soon became obvious Friday night.
He is willing to work at being
ventriloquist again to do so. He's
using discipline on those facial
muscles when he is supposed to
be listening instead of talking.
I 4 X X X
No Complaints: Some comment
on the radio acting debut of Mar
garet Truman probably is expect
ed of the radio-TV editor, but
there really isn't much to be said
She made this widely publicized
debut, as every one in the Western
Hemisphere must know by now,
last Thursday night on Screen
Directors Playhouse" (WRC-10). =.
The play was Jackpot" a radio
version of the movie about a man
who won radio giveaway shows
jackpot. Its most notable in
gredient was neither Miss Tru-
man nor the business of radio
spoofing radio. It's most notable
ingredient was an namely ludi-
crous sound effect purporting to
represent James Stewart falling
downstairs. This drove the studio
audience to gales of hysterical
laughter, the idiocy of which al
most drove this listener back to
WTTG and the ball game.
But Miss Truman represented
duty. Her performance was no
match for Chico Marrero's, but
then they were playing in differ
ent leagues. In Miss Truman'S S
league she came up with role
which certainly would not have
taxed the talents of Helen Hayes
and she proved adequate to it.
She read her lines with the
proper emphasis and without
stumbling and. altogether, did
quite as we'll as any of dozens of
fother aspiring young actresses
would have done on their radio
debuts.
| Happy Birthday, Everybody: A
rash of anniversaries has turned
up in broadcasting circles. One
popular performer and five we'll
known programs are about to
observe, or have just observed,
these milestones in their lives.
The performer is Kate Smith,
the Greenville, Va, girl who made
her first public appearance in a
Washington church choir at the
age of 4. Miss Smith will take
time out tomorrow during "The
Kate Smith Hour" (WNBW-
Monday through Friday, p.m.)
to celebrate 20 years of broadcast
ing. Her first regular radio pro-
gram was a 15-minute song ses-
sion launched early in 1881. One
Iof her birthday presents" will be
Ia special citation from the Red
Cross in recognition of her service
during those 20 years.
Today it is ''One Mans Family"
which is celebrating, this one a
18th birthday. 1t started on April
I29, 1882. Yesterday it was "The
American Forum of the Air" now
a simulcast (WRC, WNBW-Sun-
day, 1:30 p.m.), which marked a
I23d anniversary. Also today.
Queen for a Day" the MBS give
away. IS celebrating the start of