Evening star., 1951-11-15
IOn the Air
| NBC Marks
IA Birthday,
| But Calmly
By Horry Macarthur


weather. The temperature reached
SO that noon and the forecast
was for rain and colder. On Sun
day a pleasant day and tenn
perature of 64 in the afternoon
had brought the Zoo its largest
crowd ever, an estimated $4,000
visitors, to see some new animals.
DR.. William Mann had just
brought back from Tanganyika.
MANY, even among the older
people" noted a reporter in The
Star, never had seen giraffe be-
fore"
Notre Dame, with a fresh win
over Army. was being judged the
top football team in the country.
even though Navy, Brown. STAN
ford and N.Y.U. were still un-
beaten. Navy was announcing
that it would not schedule George
town, which it had just beaten,
next year. Notre Dame, Penn,
Michigan and Army seemed like
enough top-f1ight competition,
even if nobody had ever heard of
the two-platoon system.
A subcommittee of the House
District Committee was conduct
ing hearings on the municipal
administration and the supply of
whisky (medicinal, of course) in
the warehouses was running
aIarmingly low. Mrs. Elsie Barn
hard testified that day, according
to front page story. that her
sister. Mrs. Eleanor Mills, had
told her she loved the Rev. Ed
ward w. Halls little finger more
than her husbands whole body.
! James Barton was at the
National on November Is, 1926.
starring in that years edition of
the "Zeigfeld Follies" and Polls
was showing a special return en-
gagement of The Big Parade"
in honor of Armistice Day. The
movies hadn't yet become vocal
but moviegoers were being offer
ed such stalwarts as Gilda Gray.
In "Aloma of the South Seas"
at the Palace; Milton Sills, in
Paradise" at the Metropolitan,
and Richard Dix. in THE Quar-
terback," at the Columbia.
Back on Page "a of The Star
the vanguard of Washington's
radio listeners found program
hstings and news of broadcasting
events. Whether or not they
realized it at the time, they were
reading a note on history-in-the-
making in the lead story in
column one.
Millions of persons. read the
Associated Press story on the
radio page of November IS, 1925,
will be able to attend by radio
tonight one of the greatest free
performances ever given.
twenty-five stations, includ-
| ing WRC in Washington. will be
linked together for simultaneous
broadcasting Of pretentious pro-
gram. The event marks the for
NAL taking over by the National
|BroadcaSting Co. of Station WEAF,
which the company acquired two
weeks ago."
Whether that "pretentious" was
an early critics subtle estimation
of the radio situation or a slight
slip of the typewriter may never
be known.
The program was an elaborate
one, all right, when NBC cele-
brated its inaugural that night.
The festivities. taking place in the
grand ball room of the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel in New York, were
launched by Merlin H. Aylesworth,
first president of NBC.
The first music offered over
NBC was that of the New York
Symphony Orchestra and there
were further musical contributions
of serious sort by the New York
Oratorio Society. Pianist Harold
Bauer. Met Baritone Titta Ruffo
and Mary Garden.
Miss Garden did her singing
from Chicago and NBC, giving it
self whole e-heartedly to the i'm
pressive occasion, sent Milton
Cross out for the sole purpose of
introducing her to the network
audience.
NBC also sent an announcer
and technical crew to Independ-
Ience, Kans., to include in the
inaugural program a monologue
by Will Rogers, appearing at
theater there.
Bearing out that boast of one of
the greatest free performances
ever given, the first night schedule
also included light opera, a Ger
man band, comedy session by
Weber and Fields and music by
the orchestras of George Olson,
Ben Bernie, B. A. Rolfe and Vim
cent Lopez.
X X X X
Strangely. though it has been
openly celebrating it's silver jubi-
lee all year with Saturday and
Sunday night radio programs,
NBC is not turning somersaults
over the actual birthday today. A
luncheon was held in New York
today, to which a host of broad
casting veterans were invited, but
on the air 1t will be pretty much
business as usual for the network.
1t doesn't, however, plan to
make a secret of the occasion.
There will be special announce
ments calling attention to the an
niversary at every station break
today, with an extra special one at