Evening star., 1952-01-08
By Horry Macarthur

as dull collection of cliches as
I've ever heard"
All over the audience playgoers
leaned over to whisper to their
neighbors. EFT certainly is that"
Yesterday morning, the new ex-
panded schedule of NBC-TV was
barely under way when it walked
into a trap. Fellow named Mel
Martin was conducting some
thing called breakfast Party
when an old music hall type
Italian appeared on the scene. He
was warned by Mr.. Martin that
the show wasn't local any more,
but was on the TV network.
This is a television program?''
he asked in surprise. you could
have fooled me-"
The script writer probably
thought that was a joke, too.
Dut to circumstances entirely
within our control, we arrived
a shade late before the screen at
this launching of 10 am. tele-
vision by NBC. but there are no
serious regrets about anything
that might have been missed. BY
the time the set warmed up. Mr..
Martin had a full head of steam
and was yelling and chortling
over brood of women wolfing
breakfast, for all the world as if
he were the late Tom Breneman.
l He told them and the tele-
viewers about a little Brooklyn
girl who had written song and
Eileen Barton sang ''Snowfakes. "
He read a telegram from the lieu
tenant governor of Ohio congrat-
ulating him on bringing this mid
western variety of television C"The
Mel Martin Show" which he calls
Breakfast Party" originates in
the studios of WLW-T in Gin
cinaatD to the entire Nation.
He bet one of the more at
tractive members of his studio
audience a dime that he could kiss
her without touching her and you
know the answer to that chest
NUT lose, here's your dime and
it was worth it. HE gave an Or
child to his oldest visitor and he
permitted another one to call her
son-in-law in Savannah, or some
such place, while the TV audience
was allowed to eavesdrop. He had
a crooner pass among the au-
dience to sing a love song to var
ious members of it and the girls
stopped eating to giggle like mad.
Mr.. Martin, in fact, managed to
get in as many of the standard
ingredients of these things as a
half-hour would hold. The lieu
tenant governor of Ohio, who had
commended him for broadcasting
this SO widely, had better stick to
his lieutenant governing.
| Il -
Mr.. Martin was followed closely,
at 10:30, by "It's In the Bag"
which may be designed as New
York demonstration of what Gin
cinatti television is better than.
TITS In the Bag" is conducted by
man named Jerry Toman, who
yesterday maintained the atmos-
phere of forced joy by shouting
GOOD morning, friends and neigh
bors! We're going to have some
REAL fun this morningi"
This REAL fun consisted Of
sitting in the parlor and looking
on while Mr.. Toman pressed
canned goods and household ap-
pliances on women from his
audience as they identified song
titles and other things acted out
for them. At the conclusion one
of the contestants won a jackpot,
or doodle bag" full of more
canned goods and household ap-
pliances for knowing approx
mately what time the sun rose in
New York yesterday morning.
MIR. Toman is not one to take
no or any other wrong answer
from a contestant. One girl, for
instance, was asked to name the
title of a famous play and movie
from a little pantomime. She
hadn't the faintest idea what it
was until a colloquy which went
something like this:
whats that famous play,
recently made into a movie?" I'm
afraid I don't know" what was
the man doing to the other man?''
Trying to give thin things?'
'Not GIVE him things" !" Trying
to sell him things?" Right. Now
what did the other man do to
him?" II guess he shot him.
Fright. And what was he after
he was shot?" ''Dead?" You're
absolutely right! Death of a
Salesman is the title"
Mr.. Toman is not going to be
stuck with any canned pears at
the end of a day.
II 4 + 4 =
i Early in this hour, at a station
break, the announcement was
made that Ernie Kovacs, the
Philadelphia wit, raconteur and
comedian" was back on television
and we all were urged to await
him eagerly. Sure enough, there
he was at II am. He did not
seem to be any of the things he
III Are You Ashamed
OF Your