Evening star., 1951-10-09
On the Air
Mere Man
"A Hazard
lon Video
By Jay Cormody

By Jay Cormody
\ The amateur is an outrageous
lily overworked character in tele-
vision-radio, too--but he is in
dispensable. He and his wife-or
his girl.
/ On any evening Of watching
program after program. one gets
the idea that the unintentional
entertainer is far more entertain
| ing than his professional host.
This is because he is the honest
one. Whatever he is, he is Just
that, and the sincerity Of it con-
Itrasts sharply. sometimes painful
ily, with the professionals studied
lfakery.
| Certainly a strong candidate for
the most infectious personality on
the air Sunday night was Bobby
Thomson, the Staten Island Scots
man who hit the home run that
Iput the Giants into the World
Series. In his appearance on Ed
Sullivan's CHS Toast of The
Town." Bobby was q guy who
obviously had not recovered from
an ecstatic experience.
/ He was not a hero in his own
eyes whatever the mob thought Of
him. He was just a tall, smiling,
shaky-voiced lug who hit base
ball over a fence under preposter-
ously dramatic conditions and he
had not got over it. Clearly he
would not get over it for long
time and his demeanor was that
of any average human who has
done the improbable.
He did not have to act the guy
who was shy, delighted, and awed
by the strange. unsuspected per-
Iformance destiny had arranged
for him. Bobby was 1t and any
professional trying to act in the
vicinity of that performance was
hopelessly overmatched.
/ Maybe the latter had better
watch out for these amateurs.
%%&
Reds Going Strong-The longer
Established television clowns must
have spent and uncomfortable
half hour between 10 and 10:30
pm. Sunday. This was the interval
during which Red Shelton was on
the job for NBC (WNBW).
| 1t was Reds second TV show
and it underscored the fact that
he is an extraordinarily funny fell
low in any medium.
Highlight of Skeletons program
was the sketch in which he dem
onstrated the routine of bathing
baby. routine in which everyone
has one or the other experience.
and many persons both. The best
part of this rough-house which
neither could survive in real life
was Reds sudden explanation.
This is not a real baby"
/ 1t is the sort of aside that Ed
Wynn once did so convulsively
until he did too many of them.
Incidentally, the ballet sequence
which might have been a carri-
cature on Ray Bolger's famous
Slaughter on 10th Avenue" was
one of the most neatly imagined
this televiewer has caught in a
long time.
AS we say. those clowns had
better look to their material. Red
is better than his material. which
is the happiest thing a comedian
can be.
/ Everybody in The Act-The lay
Iman-anyone who owns a televi-
sion set-can now get into the
color controversy if only on a
modest scale. Heretofore, he has
been pretty well excluded by virtue
of the technical nature of the con-
f1ict between RCA and CHS.
The changed relation of the
ultimate consumer to the televi-
sion product is established in
RCA's To-day color television test
which starts at 10 o'clock this
morning. These test programs,
broadcast from New York will be
sent to Washington by microwave
RELAY and coaxial cable and will
be receivable on standard black
and white sets. No change in the
Iexisting set is required.
Putting it squarely up to the
Iset owner to report on how the
test programs-set daily for 10
a IN. except Saturdays and Sun
days the next two weeks-strike
him. Says RCA, as simply as pos
sible:
1T will be helpful to us, in our
efforts to test RCA's system of
compatible color television, If we
can find out how these color
broadcasts appear in black-and-
white on existing television sets in
the different sections OF the Wash
ington area"
There are 100000 set owners in
this area and RCA is counting
upon their interest in color to
provide it with some down-to-
earth information.
Z y \ 4
: Martha's Got Another-Martha
' Rountree who keeps having some
4 of television's best show ideas
such as Meet The Press" ano
Leave 1t To The Girls" will come
n up with another this very night
This one is called, alluringly
enough, Keep Posted" and it viii
be on Dumont, WTTG at $3.50 p m
Miss Rountree is starting rather
captivatingly with Henry Wallac,
in her question box, and Senator
William Knowland, California
and Nelson T. Johnson, formel
Il Ambassador to China, and a pane
of II guests. The latter are de
Iscribed as characters in a Shakes