Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-11-05
| On the Air
|CoIorIess,
They'll Get
| Viewers
By Harry Macarthur

COl0fteSS-1QdC Ibo-1 UeCl-
sion to drop color telecasts will
mean, strangely enough, that
some performers will now show
their wares to a vastly increased
audience. So the programming
costs wouldn't be a total loss. the
network Is moving most Of its
formerly tinted shows into that
old-fashioned monochrome tele-
vision.
Scheduled to start today
(WTOP-TV) we're Mike and
Buff" a husband wife affair to
be seen Monday through Friday
at 3 pm. and 1.-THE Mel Tonne
Show" also a five-a-week affair.
at $3.50 pm. This leaves
Dorothy Doan without spot on
the CBS-TV schedule and
Dorothy Doan admirers asking
what's what.
Also graduating from the rare
fed air of color to the more
pedestrian black-and-white TV is
1.-THE Whistling Wizard" featur-
ing the Baird Puppets, already in
stalled in the Saturday-at-11 am.
spot. And another enterprise
being planned for the color
studios Is quite likely to end up
as a mammoth Saturday night
featurer on CBS-TV. This is
the big "Broadway's Best" pro-
gram. which was to bring a host
Of name" talent to tinted TV.
=. 1t looked so good on paper
as a color show that CHS officials
think 1t would look good uncolored
as competition to Sid Caesar and
Imogene Coca.
Competition-Any broadcaster
is loyal to the rating service which
shows his efforts in the best light
and there are cynics who claim
you can prove anything by manip-
ulating ratings. The istings OF
the American Research Bureau,
however, are generally agreed to
be a fair and accurate indication
of viewing and listening habits.
which lends some interest to the
latest set of ARB figures.
ARB, which surveys individual
city as well as network viewing
by daily studies. has just released
ratings Of Washington TV pref
erences, based on an october
survey.
AS you might have guessed.
Milton Berle is in the lead, with
a 45.8 rating. He was in the lead
last April with 60.4, however,
which is a fair indication that
the competition is getting to him.
Frank Sinatra chalked up a 10.1
against GA for the program in
the same spot last Spring. and
Charlie Wild" polled ST (com-
pared with 0.8 for the program
in that spot last ApriD.
Other Washington favorites, fol-
lowing Uncle NIFTY, are Red Skel-
ton, Talent Scouts" playhouse
OF Stars" "Hopalong Cassidy"
"Fireside Theater," "Show Of
Shows" Godfrey and Friends, I"
"Television Playhouse" and Com
edy Hour"
Good Trick-The Liberty net
work (WOL has launched a Sc
ries of Saturday afternoon pro-
grams which it describes as
"glamourizing intricate problems
in current economics and none
tary problems. That is real.
first-class glamourizing.
Preference-Don't feel too bad
ly about the Washington viewers
again electing Milton Berle as
their best friend. You could live
in Des Moines. Iowa, or nearby
Ames, where the one television
station serving the area is To-
Gated. The station asked col
umnist to poll the viewers to find
out whether they wanted "Kukla,
Fran and Ollie" or Captain Vi
deo." The first vote tally was
1852 to 80, so Captain Video" IS
what the viewers get. It's almost
enough to make the other ~
States consider seeding from
Iowa.
Programs and People-"Com-
missioners' Report" a new series
to be launched Thursday at 10
pm. on WMAL-TV, is designed
to keep Washingtonians abreast
of current civic problems. It
could get to be a busy affair,
since it also will allow D. c. resid-
ents to air gripes about the way
the city is run. Commissioner F.
Joseph Donohue will appear regu-
larly. Gene Klavan's kiss
of-Death" feature on his nightly
capitol Punishment" CWTOP-
TV, WTOP-12::30 PM caught
the dealer of Blue Tango" short.
Had no records with which to fill
the 1000 orders which followed
the Klavan playing of the disc
-. Gene Autry, in case you
missed the news, has filed that
suit against Republic to keep his
old horse operas off of TV.
The first project of the Radio
Television Workshop of the Ford
Foundation will be a U. N. docu-
mentary series televised by NBC
Sophie Tucker and NBC-TV
are reported close to the signing
stage. And CHS already has
signed the Quiz Kids" which
recently wound up on NBC-TV
:. 1t appears now that a weekly
show starring Ezio Pima is sched-
uled by RCA-Victor for the spot
the "Quiz Kids" have vacated
Friday at 8 pm.
Radio Report-Ronald Colmar
has written another Halls OF
Ivy" script, this one due to be
heard Wednesday at 8 pm
(WRC). Halls of Ivy" in.
eidepta1Iy NAV turn I'm peyt a,