Evening star., 1951-08-09
On the Air
He Turned
Thot Urge
IntoCush
By Horry Macarthur

1t is amazing, when you stop
and think about it, how music
has come to occupy such a place in
our lives when approximately 81
per cent of us have either BIZ
zarre sense of rhythm or none at
all. This figure is not high. 1t is
Il if anything, conservative.
1t is arrived at by projecting
against the entire population the
average noted on Sammy Hayes
various vaudeville, radio and tele-
vision enterprises titled $50 You
Want to Lead a Band" This is a
larger sample than is examined
by most polls and rating services
A great many people have tried
to lead Sammy's band at one time
or another.
It was a number Of years age
that Mr.. Kaye came to the con-
clusion that a bandleader de-
served some reward for the trials
he suffered nightly at the hands
Iof ill-advised celebrants with an
urge to wave a stick at a bunch of
musicians.
$50 you want to lead a band"
said Mr.. Kaye to one of these peo-
pie one night. "Okay. Get up
here and lead it" The man did
and the Kaye fortune was as
sured. He had just come up with
an idea comparable to the devalu-
alton of the pound in reorganizing
his financial status.
Guy Lombardo discovered the
sweetest music this side of heaven.
Charles Boyer discovered the Cas-
bah. Arthur Godfrey discovered
the ukelele. Trade discovered
Mark. But Sammy Kaye discov-
cred something that has been
known to every bandleader since
Pan played his first pipes-the
unconquerable urge to wave a
baton at an orchestra, which over
comes even the most poorly
equipped for the task.
The way Mr.. Kaye has chan
nelled this urge for his own gain
ought to be fairly well-known by
now and it should suffice to say
that he is back on television again
with $50 You Want to Lead a
Band" If he has nothing espe-
cially novel to offer, he at least
has most agreeable manner with
the baton-waving contestants and
makes this an enjoyable half hour
The only real complaint. in fact
lis that WTOP-TV has this new
Sammy Kaye show scheduled at
10 pm. Tuesdays. There is moth
ling inherently wrong with 9 pm
Tuesdays-at least nothing that
l10 pm. won't cure-but this pro-
gram is performed Give" on Sat-
urdays. This means it is seer
here by kinescope recording and
the show hasn't come along YET
that's really worth watching on a
|kinescope recording.
X \ y +
Nothing But the Best: The big
igest laugh of the night occurs
on one of those television con-
tests when the announcer lists
the prizes lying in wait for the
winner. She'll have motor cars
diamond rings, fur coats, per-
fumes, wrist watches, pomegran-
ates, too, maybe, and all the
things that go with the life of
luxury. including a Florida vaca-
Ition-AND free trip to Florida
land return by bus!
X X X y
Praise Indeed: Fan mail prob
ably runs close third to better
billing and more money among
the things which cheer the heart
of an entertainer. A fan letter
like the one received by the Chor-
Idettes Of Arthur Godfrey's va
rious television shows, ranks ever
higher than more money, right
up alongside of better billing
This letter, written in longhand
Iread:
j Everybody likes to get fan
mail, especially if it's laudatory
and you deserve some for Alice
Blue Gown your recording o1
which I heard up here in the
Businesses of Northeast Nevada
A fine rendition, beautifully bal
anced.
"Say hello for me to Pops
Godfrey. We hear him, too, UP
here"
1t was signed, "Bing Crosby
Coming and Going: Red Skel-
ton was a Mor-day arrival on the
S. S. America and Jack Carson
is en- route to Europe now. It isn't
that the country isn't big enough
for both of them, but just that
their London Palladium dates
made it happen this way. Skel-
ton already has had his four-week
stint there and Carson is sched-
Iuled for two weeks starting Au-
Igust q.
Skeletons first act on arriving
back home was typica' one. He
Immediately took off for Law.
renee, Mass, with Father Ed
ward j. Carney to do a benefit
for the st. Mary's School there
The end of this week should FIND
Skelton departing New York fo,
Hollywood, to go into huddles
with his writer's.
That first television show or
INBC is scheduled for September
20 at 10 Pm. and Shelton wants
to make it good.
Carson, to get back to him Out
there in the Atlantic somewhere
seems to be passing up a yaca.