Evening star., 1951-12-10
On the Air:
| Network TV
Will Invade
Mornings
BY Harry Macarthur


were asking themselves if people
really would look at a television
set in the daytime. At the time,
of course. it often required cer-
tain amount of fortitude to look
at television set at night. ANY,
how. the program schedules grew
and station sign-on times ad-
vanced steadily to earlier hours.
The broadcasters' question
seemed to be answered in the af-
firmative and now NBC-TV is
prepared to bet that lots of peo-
pie will look at a television set at
7 o'clock in the morning. Shortly
after the first of the year it will
be serving Dave Garroway up
with the scrambled eggs and, as
Red Skelton says. 7 may be corny
but I'm gonna pull that gag.
The Saturday schedule will be
the first to be expanded by NBC-
TV when. on January 5, "Rootie
Kazootie" will be presented at 10
am, Cactus Jim" from Chicago)
at 10:30 for an hour and mid
western Hayride" (from Cincin-
nati) at 1880 for another hour.
On the following Monday, Janu-
ary 7, NBC-TV will light up any
willing screens within range of
the network at 7 am. for the new
two-hour Garroway program. Gar
roway will move from Chicago to
New York to do the show. which,
according to the early word, will
include information, newsreels, re-
corded music and other miscel-
lany in a formal patterned after
the early morning radio shows.
This, like the other new morning
features, will be seen Mondays
through Fridays.
The 9 am. hour. according to-
the present schedule, will be To-
cal-station time. with the affiliates
providing their own programs. At
10. the network will be back with
''The Mel Martin Show" This will
be followed by a new drama on
film at 1890. Dave Wilcox and
Cliff Arquette at 1880. Richard
Hardness at 11:45. Ruth Lyons at
II and Ralph Edwards from 1890
to / pm. And still, only Is min
utes can be spared for "Kukla.
Fran and Ollie"
All-Star-A four-star cast has
been signed to do Thornton
Wilders "The Skin of Our Teeth"
when Pulitzer Prize Playhouse"
returns to ABC-TV on December
10 = Thomas Mitchell, Peggy
Wood, Mildred Natwick and Nina
Foch. :. That new Gian-Carlo
Menotti opera commissioned last
year by NBC-TV and announced
again this year, finally has been
completed and fitted tentatively
into the schedule The exact time
hasn't been set, but the network
will telecast it sometime during
the Christmas holidays. Title is
"Amahl and the Night Visitors.
=. MY Friend Irma" will bow
on television over the CBS-TV
network on January 8, to become
a regular Tuesday feature. Marie
Wilson and Cathy Lewis of the
radio show will continue in the
new version.
The Big Picture" Army tele-
vision venture seen Sundays at
1870 am. has gone National
after a 10-week local test on
WTOP-TV, where it was devel-
oped. It's put on film now for
distribution to more than 80 Of
the country's TV stations. !
The city of Oakland CCalif) uses
a kinescope of you Asked for 1t"
as. part of its school SYSTEMS
visual education program. IT'S
the first city to do that sort of
thing with a commercial televi-
sion show Last nights tele-
play on "Television Playhouse, ;"
Money to Burn" was a dual eff
fort for Actor Walter Black. He
played a leading role and also
was co-author with William Men
drick of the comedy.
Change-There's rumor that
Milton Berle has seen the times
calling for a change in his Tues
day night "Star Theater"-so he's
about to make the first major
change in formal. The story has
it that Sid Stone, who's been do
ing the Pitchman on the show
since it started. will be leaving
after the Christmas night pro-
gram You don't think Berle
would change his own act, did
you? Sophie Tucker will get
the biographical treatment when
she appears on Ed Sullivan'sI
Toast of the Town" next Sun
day night Donald O'Connor
has been signed for four more
Comedy Hour" appearances.
Sam Levenson may get that
show of his own again on CBS-
TV after the first of the year ;.
Herbert T. CODY. author of ''TheI
Blonde Corinthian," will be inter-
viewed and Iona Massey will
model gowns inspired by the book S
title on WMAL-TV's Modern
Woman. program tomorrow at 3
pm. :. Dinah Shore will do her
Christmas night show from her
own living room in the San Fer
nando Valley, which is a fitting
enough setting. She has the magic
to make you think she's in your
living room every Tuesday and
Thursday night San Francis
cans will be the next to be served
a prizefight at pm. because of
television, when the joey Maxim