Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 79

SCREEN RADIO WEEKLY THE RADIO ER By Bernes Robert 14 REPORT sion being just around the corner number of commercial radioTpro- J. HIS Is the time pilky black hair, a pair of gener- grams and recordings. Later she of year when the broadcasting ously lashed and sang as soloist with Orville Knapp's companies start the buildup for eyeS( a tilted nose' which gives her band, and was featured at the Col-, next season's stars. A lot of new a Myma IToy look. That's what ony Club and other famous Holly-personalities are" they all-tell Jier, thaL she Jooks wood rendezvous.

voiceMire going on the air; new Myrna, Loy. Virginia give, credit to Dave programs are filling the sustaining V.rg.ma wag discovered" sing-, Bkmai, Columbia maestro at ing on "California Melodies, that station KHJ, for helping to develop XT CBS network show from station her style of singing. Virginia al- Columbia has picked Norman RH Lq Angeeg orf which many way carrieg melody of song Cheshire Cordon, for a big bet, othtf nQW famoug gtarg were Rnt herself, supported by strings play-and his baritone voice has been in- heard Bing Crosby, the Boswell ing a background of counter-chords, jected into the Wednesday evening Sigterg( and Vwa Van. She always whispers part of a chor-; broadcasts (10:30 EST) of Howard offerg from New york prompted U9( m4 pauseg for an orchestral Barlow and the Columbia Sym- yirginU and her mother, who man- interpolation. Her favorite type of phony.

ages her, to'pack. their trunks in song for melody, pace and mood Cordon, a rangy Southerner, re- about 1 24 hours, and" follow the is "Blue Moon." fuses to take singing too seriously, in suite of a considerable success. He refers to his operatic, ballad and folk song work as "yelping," calls himself lazy ole -Southerner" and nurtures a thinly disguised desire to be a gentleman Norman was born in Washington, N. and is a nephew of the present governor of that state, John C. Ehringhaus.

He made his first Eublic singing performance as so-rano at the age of "seven, in the church chdlr. He reports he had a eo'o part In the Magnificat. "Just as it came my time to yodel," he says, "my best friend, who stood next to me, pinched me to be sure I wouldn't forget to come in at the proper time. That fixed everything, I -came In, all right, very suddenly arid about four notes too high. The organist didn't get me down to earth again until about half way through." Norman attended prep school at the Fishburne Military Academy in Virginia, where he became ser.

of the corps. He went on to the University of North Caro-1 lina, where his real interests were taking trips with the glee club and the dramatic club, and fox-huntisg. He played in a saxophone quartet Norman Cordon, hart on tho Columbia program of Ho. Jar 1 Barlow and the Columbia Symphony, it tlattd for ttardom noxt toaton. with Hal Kemp, now a famous -f band leader.

It wai a tossup with Norman hunch and the offers across the whether to go on singing or bios- continent. Virginia turned down som out as a gentleman farmer in pending picture contracts to do it. his home state S'ngmg won so Norman studied at the Nasnvme Conservatory of Music for vocal Canyon, christened Catherine Vir-training under Hadley Outland; by ginia, the granddaughter of B. C. that time he felt fully prepared for Edwafdgi whose orjginal ranch a professional debut.

house was located in that pictur- -LICE FROST, The series of light opera broad, casts, over NBC, which has presented the Gilbert and 8ulllvan works, Is being continued to pre- He made it, in a manner he says esque canyon now known the world tent the operettas of other com-he'll never forget. For he had to over as Hollywood Bowl. No won- p0tert. Such old favorites as learn a score of roles in 15 major der "Vee" made her debut in pic-- Tn9 ChmM of Normandy," "Rip Arlene Francis, one of radio's busy young actresses, Is" getting busier and busier. She has Just become mistress of ceremonies on Phil Spitalny's all-feminine "Hour of Charm" program, and has also gone Into Beatrice Utile's Friday night programs.

She has long been a regular performer on the "Forty-Five Minutes in Hoi. lywood" and "March of Time" broadcasts, where her gift for has' made her. valuable. The "Hour of Charm," over Columbia Broadcasting System networks, Is heard Tuesdays from 9:30 to 10 p. m.

(EST), and the Llllie broadcast, a National Broadcasting Co. feature, is heard Fridays at 9 p. m. Columbia's "Hollywood irHotel" series, which has run steadily for Van Winkle" and "The Mascot" are scheduled for broadcast. operas, in wnicn ne piaycu v- lures wunoui sticcn icsn formances in five weeks with the rirector W.

S. Van Dyke of Chicago Civic Opera. Lifecon- M-G-M heard her singing on one of isted of a rush to the opera house her numerous programs, and sent bright and early every morning, hef a wire t0 report t0 the lot next The programs continue Tuesdays, 1:30 to' 2:30 who has distinguished many NBC comedy programs with impersonations, has finally won her fight to escape the mark of being "typed." She's recently been doing straight dramatic roles, notably in the Gibson Family. Alice had plenty of dramatic experience to back up her efforts a role with the Theater Guild production "Green Grow the few seasons ago; the feminine lead in "As Husbands Go," and parts in many other Broadway shows. She started on the stage in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," playing a chautauqua circuit.

Alice, born 25 years ago in Minneapolis, is the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran minister and on m. net- Vir-ESTi. over an NBC-WJZ with rehearsals oi a nan wn iw day Adrian fitted a dress on Vir-lasting until midnight, interspersed ginia 2q minutes after she arrived with sandwiches and milk. Learn- a(. the gtudj0i and ghe was rushed Ing half a dozen roies simuuane- to a get and on a toy pian0 w.avvw.iaht i- l.

i A Unrmm nftcii a i. t-x t. neavyweignt Max Champion oumy, me iwiv l0 ging Aa uo ig urara oi rrfurn. fo radj0 this time as v. a thm ro1 Vi wai sine- i i tsaer returns to raaio, mis time as as rn nwu.u i.

private detective in a series ing just before the JPwformance jo xh wa? featured the draPmatic proeramg over a NBC of a musical mother. Tin 1 1 -t-- mnntl. VVl.cn lie. IdMlC. UlCU, W.U.C 'S111 nui wnuiiuc tmuusu was a student at' the University, of the summer.

However, the time picture 'Hifle-ct." WEAF coast-to-coast network, the strains of R.goletto when the virginia doubtiessiy inherited tal- He's cast as "Lucky Smith," a orchestra was playing the score ot ent rom hef mother Aimee Mc. tough and fearieSg 8hamus, and Ada. Lea Verrill, once a vaudeville star, with him are Carson Kanin, who Tall, slim, with an engaging smile jater publicity director for the Pan- has been playing on Broadway in and pleasant gray-blue eyes, Nor- tages Theaters. Mrs. Verrill was "Three Men on a Horse" Stephen man Cordon presents a curious ambitious for her daughter to be- Fox, Ted De Corsia and Kenneth blend of the old South with a cos- come a violinist.

But though Vir- Daigneaux. mopolitan air. He is fond of Amer- gmja learned to fiddle more than Negotiations are under way to ican folk songs and insists on sing- adequately, her heart was in sing- have the series include a ringside ing one on every broadcast. ing. When she was only three, description of the Baer-Braddock Paul Whjteman, who was a friend fight on June 13.

The Eddie Cantor's CBS program, of her parents, lifted her up on the other broadcasts, which will cons- Minnesota, she went to work in a changea from 8 to 9 p. m. (EST) department store and studied act- ing at a small dramatic school eve- naays. nings. Then came the chautauqua Since the program opened last job, followed by an unfortunate uct 5, with Uick roweii as master venture with a stocK company form- of ceremonies, nearly every great ed to play in the vacation colony star of moving pictures has ap- at Miami, Fla.

The company went peared on the broadcast. lust closed, will be resumed In bandstand to croon "I Never Knew uuougn ju.y ai insi, arc broke. I Coma Love scarear, F. vul. She loved it.

It was only by prom- the fall, after Cantor and Nick (Harry Einstein) Parkyakakas finish making a movie in Hollywood. jsing a recurrence of the visit to Remember the time the King of Jazz that Mrs. Verrill phonograph 'occupied a when a spot in Ai cuuia get young Virginia to cai ne. spinach. She attended primary and John Marshall High in Hollywood, be- Members of "The Gumps" broadcast, over Columbia, have had to give up the tour to Europe they had planned for this summer.

Thejr sponsor decided to keep the program running. Apparently the summer radio slump, In which a large proportion of the sponsored broadcasts have previously been discontinued, is not going to cut as wide a swathe this year as in the past. Came 1929 and its unpleasant results. Alice modeled clothes and post. for advertising photos for a year, finally getting back on the stage with the Theater Guild.

Since then she has established herself in the theater, built a reputation as an impersonator on radio, and is now entering a third phase, as radio dramatic actress. In private life she is Mrs Robert Foulk, wife of a young New York' architect who is also art actor. Like young performer who" has a proml every parlor the spot where the radio now stands? Surprisingly, perhaps, there are enough phono-' graphs and parlors left so that NBC can broadcast a series of programs featuring artists and orchestras identified as "record-, ing stars." nent spot on Columbia's spring coming president of the glee club, buildup is Virginia Verrill, eighteen. donna of the annual op-l 8 eretta, Virginia began to smg blues year-old blues singer who has fre- over iocal stations when she was quently played voice double for 13, and at 14 doubled for the voice Hollywood picture stars. 0j Barbara -Stanwyck and other Nathaniel Shilkret and the Vic- so many stage players who have T.cnni.

Havton. Cairo De Lvs. A few weeks ago Virgirta arrived stars in her spare time. Occasional- tor Light Opera Company, inaugu- become attached to radio, Alice Kay Thompson and Johnny Hauser in New York from the Coast and ly she had to miss school classes, rated the series April 27, and 7 says she is domestic, likes to cook have started their new aong hit addict an Important note of beauty so a tutor accompanied her on jobs, other- recording --orchestras are and keep house and looks forward- broadcasts for a cigaret sponsor, on to Columbia's studio. She's the sort and she passed her exams with fly- scheduled for future broadcasts.

to raising children whom she prom- Saturdays at 8 p. m. of girl who tempts people to make ing colors. The time. Is 9 p.

m. (EST) on ises to bring up in the best tradi- The broadcasts are built around that ancient remark about televi- At 15 Virginia was handling a Saturdays. tions'bf the theater. 15 most popular songs of the week..