Even If You Don't Wear Stretchem's Garters, You Can Still Enjoy Their Radio Programmes All For Nothing!

Radio Record, Volume XI, Issue 1, 10 July 1936, Page 20

Even If You Don't

Wear Stretchem's

Garters, You Can

Still Enjoy Their

Radio Programmes

All For Nothing!

Nola Luxford, Well-known

New Zealander, Living In

Hollywood, Writes of Radio

And Big Stars In America |

is. somewhat of a large order. Radio to-day is one of the major forms of entertainment, and . radio stations in the United States, differing from stations in Great Britain and other European countries, are not Government contro!led. The private companies which own the stations sell time on the air to firms desiring to use this means of advertising. Consequently, while sometimes the advertising becomes annoying, many times we have to thank sponsors for magnificent broadcasts. The. large firms are able to pay huge sums of money to artists, and consequently it is an almost every-day occurrence to hear symphony concerts, grand opera and the like given by the very finest musicians and artists. The two largest network chains of broadcasting are the National Broadcasting System and the Columbia Broadcasting System, released through -KFI and KHJ respectively, in: Los Angeles. These companies:.have stations spread throughout the. United States and Canada, so that a coast to coast hook-up means entertainment for millions, and tremendous advertising for the sponsor. In and around Los Angeles there are about twelve radio stations, outside the network stations. Of these KNX and KFWB (owned by Warner Brothers of picture fame) are next in impor-. tance to the chains. Ts paint a picture of radio on the Pacific Coast

N my recent. visit to New York I broadeast over the. . NBC on a fifteen-minute interview. I was shown ali over the NBC ‘studios-the world-famous Radio City: It was hard to realise that this child radio is only some fifteen years old. What strides it has made! There are 27 studios-in the NBC radio city headquarters. All the studios are built like boxes within boxes, raised from the floor by felt-covered steel springs. Walls.and ceilings: are. constructed of thick rock-wool covered. with perforated asbestas board and cloth for the purpose of sound insulation, At one time practically. every broadcast ‘of importance: originated ‘in New York. However, ‘to-day at least 50 of _ these programmes originate:on the West Coast. At first, -picture people did not enthuse about the radio, much in the same manner, I would imagine, that stage people at. first did not enthuse about the new child "motion picture," some twenty-odd-years ago. But time changes many things, and picture people are now ever so eager to appear before: the microphone. . With talent, therefore, practically sitting on the doorsteps of the Hollywood broadcasting studios, many. excellent: broadcasts come right from ‘the heart. of filmdom, Apart from the wonderful musical broadcasts . ‘with large orchestras under the leadership of men: such as Toscanini and Stokowski, we repeatedly hear such’ artists as

Lily Pons, Lawrencé Tibbett, Richard Crooks, and others. There: are many of these_programmes to be had, just by the mere twist of a dial. Popular music, too, has:its place, and to-day orchestras of popular music are playing much of the "swing" music, which has caught the public fancy. The variety type of broadcast has great popular appeal. For instance, Rudy Vallee has one hour a week. Rudy has been on the radio continually for about six years, his popularity undiminished. This programme originates here in Hollywood‘ when Rudy is making a film here, and from the East when Rudy is on the stage there. : On: programmes of this type-there is the master of cere- *. mtonies, which, in ‘this. case,-is Rudy himself. He sings several numbers during the broadcast.! His orchestra plays several numbers, he introduces guest stars, who usually re-enact -a-scene from some play or picture they are in. Guest: comedians supply :the humour, and ofttimes some visiting celebrity. has a’ word or two to say. This week Rudy ‘had ‘on his broadcast that beloved character-actor, Jean’ Hersholt, who plays the doctor in the film "Country Doctor;" featuring the Dionne Quintuplets. With Mr Hersholt appeared ‘Peter Lorre, the, Huropean -character. actor, who.goes in for horror pictures, and who, it is said, has even: frightened Karloff! "Hollywood Hotel" is-another: weekly: programine whieh

originates right here in our fair city. This programme is sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company. Dick Powell, the picture star, is the master of ceremonies in this broadcast, and the action supposedly takes place in the orchid room of the hotel. Raymond Paige is the orchestra leader, and Louella Parsons, newspaper columnist, introduces fhe guest stars. This past week the star guest was Bette Davis, who gave a gorgeous performance of several scenes taken from her picture, "Dangerous," which won for Bette, last month, the academy award. A little romance is injected into this programme each week, and Frances Langford and Igor Gorin add tremendously with: lovely singing voices. This programme is one of the. most popular. of its kind to-day. * Other broadcasts on this order which come direct from here are "Parties at Pickfair," with Mary Pickford as hostess. ‘The. "Shell. Chateau," sponsored by the Shell Oil Company, with. Wally. Beery or Al Jolson as master of ceremonies, With television not as far around that well-known corner, these broadcasts with film stars take on an even greater significance, NE radio personality many Antipodeans have been hear- " jing’ for ‘a’ long time is Sam Hayes, "The Richfield Reporter." He has been doing this work for over five years, and at ten each night,-.- (Continued on next page.)

tain or shine, there he is ready to give the news of the day. I have known Mr. Hayes for more than four years, and he is a most likeable person-de-servedly popular. . There is a growing popularity here for commentators on the air, They are usudlly men, two of the best-known being Hdwin C. Hall and Alexander Woolcott. These men, with a natural gift of story-telling, weave magic pictures with words-and, providing they have pleasant speaking voices, they are eagerly: awaited each broadcast, Writing of voices, I find that ever so many people. do not care for women’s voices on the air, saying that they are either too studied, or too affected, or too high pitched, or too something. So it is rather -a feather in her cap for a woman to be popular ag a speaker over . the air, A ‘comedy team which had popularity on the air for something like six years: was the Honorable Archie and Watanabe. I tnderstand they send records to Australia and New Zealand. They only recently stopped broadcasting together, and now Watanabe is appearing in a series on another station, and he is, of coursé, the star. The part of the Honorable Archie was played by Reginald Sharland, the Englishman, who was known in New ZeaJand when he played with the J. C. Williamson Company in "Hit the Deck" and "The Girl Friend." Watanabe is played by Eddie Holden, an American who learned not only the pidgin English, but the psychology of the Japanese from a Japanese school friend. SHALL never forget the perfectly screaming act these two did for me on the programme I sent as "Cali-

fornia’s Farewell" to Admiral Byrd. They had the entire studio in such fits of laughter that I held my breath for fear those titters would be heard through that microphone. This year the air is cluttered up with political broadcasts because of the nearness of the next Presidential election. ‘The station is paid for the time on the air by the political party, and the announcer is always certain to announce very carefully that the station does not take any sides in the issue, and is not a party to the broadcast. Sometimes these programmes become a_ veritable seething battleground. Writing of polities. There is only one person in the United States for whom the air waves are cleared at any time-and that is the President.. He can broadcast. almost whenever he wishes. President Roosevelt has a particularly pleasant radio voice and manner, and his charming personality seems to come right through the microphone, He almost always starts his broadcast with the words "My Friends,’ and he immediately wins friends everywhere. Of the other broadcasts which I cannot go into at length in this article, we have religious programmes, the country church of Hollywood having quite a following; the amateur programmes, of which I will write you later; sports events, condensed dramas, dance orchestras, and educational, the latter being ofttimes excellent. Last, but not least, we have the women’s programmes, which: are usually given during the daytime by Women broadcasters. These tell everything from cooking to please the entire family, to ways of keeping that schoolgirl complexion,