The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 49

1 I Woman's place Heat-related deaths A troubled witness The News-Journal papers Wilmington, Del. Thursday, July 31 ,1986 Sigml rivsilry New station broadcasts into crowded field On the tube by Gary Mullinax ANEW CHANNEL IS swimming in the sea of Delaware Valley television stations, offering much that is familiar and a few things that are not. Floating past the viewer on WTGI-TV (61) are 20-year-old re-runs including a block of adventure programming known at the station as "macho theater" and direct mail ads for bug killers and records "not available in stores. That's the sort of thing we would expect on an independent UHF station such as WTGI. But Channel 61 is also offering less common fare.

We find bits of news about the Wilmington metropolitan area, commercials for stores here, the voice of a long-time Wilmington resident and slick "on-air presentations" between shows that include a streamlined, gleaming "61" logo and the words "Wilmington-Philadelphia." Channel 61 is that rarest of commodities: a com- "LfA 'I ii i -f AP 4 I vr mercial broadcast television station licensed to Wilmington. The last time we had one was 1958. It joins WHYY-TV (12), a public station licensed to Wilmington, and the two stations operated by Wilmington's Rollins Cablevision, all of which offer some locally produced programming and advertising. But WTGI is also that most common commodity: an independent UHF station in the huge Philadel- fihia market, which includes Wilmington. There are ive of them.

Viewers who don't like its re-runs have only to switch the dial. A year-and-a-half ago, the Philadelphia market had only two such stations. But optimism about this growth might be tempered by a recent report in Variety suggesting that a decline is due. Reasons for concern include competition caused by a glut in some markets and a recent court ruling that cable systems do not have to carry all the stations in their area. WTGI could fall victim to both.

The market is well populated, and Rollins Cablevision has no plans to include Channel 61 unless the recent decision is overturned (a matter now under consideration by the FCC). WTGI has been on the air about two weeks and is "still getting the bugs out of the system," according to general manager Dan Slape. That's not long enough to know how the station is doing in the competition for advertisers and ratings, but it is enough time to let viewers make some judgments about what they find From 8 to 10 p.m. on weekdays, they find "Run for Your Life," with Ben Gazzara roaming the country in search of adventure before his character's terminal disease catches up with him, and "Combat," with its soldiers dodging bullets and crawling through mud. "We did an analysis based on what's going on in the marketplace and determined there was a niche out there of what we call the older male demographic," Slape said.

"We looked at what programming was available and how we could package it in a such a way as to appeal to the audience." Slape said other "macho" programming includes such weekend sports shows as wrestling, auto racing and roller derby. In the fall, re-runs of 11 "NYPD" will arrive to appeal to the same 14 audience. Current weekday programming also includes re-runs of "The Bold Ones" from 6 to 7 p.m. and "It Takes a Thief" from 7 to 8. "The Jackie Gleason Show" is re-run week-nights at 10:30, and movies are scattered throughout the schedule.

Slape said such programming is "very expensive in this marketplace." He said the cost ranges from $500 an hour to $9,000. He said the most expensive show will be "Dynasty," which goes on the air this fall. The nighttime soap opera may not appeal to the same crowd that likes wrestling (then again, it might). But Slape said "Dynasty" will be the station's most prestigious show, since next season is the first time re-runs of the show will go into syndication, "and WTGI will be the only station in the market to carry them. Many of the spots that come between the programs are public service announcements telling us what's good for us or how we can help our fellow man.

They will decrease when more ads are sold. The commercials for area businesses already on the air include one for a Ford dealer in nearby Pennsylvania, which features a pitch by former football player Bill Bergey, and a clever ad for a Wilmington comic book store that warns the viewer of the threat of a mutant invasion of their neighborhoods. Many commercials for area businesses are produced at the station. The voices that accompany them usually belong to Frank Baker, who owns Teleduction Associates next door to the station on A See STATION D2 Stall photos by Pat Crowe Ron Reagan, son of President Reagan, does his bit in an American Express commercial. President's Teflon image sticks to son By DONNIE RADCLIFFE The Washington Post WASHINGTON Ronald Reagan might be the Teflon President, but don't say it doesn't rub off.

Now we have the Teflon Son. You do know him. Just turn on the tube and there he is, Ron Reagan, newest of those American Express card unknowns doing his part to eliminate anonymity for an undisclosed sum rumored to be in six figures. He's the 101st Do-You-Know-Me? in the 12-year-old series, and as he puts it in the 30-second commercial you've been seeing him a lot. "Every time I appear on a talk show, people ask me about my father.

Every time I give out an interview, people ask me about my father. Every time I pull out the American Express card, people treat me like my father. Pause. Come to think of it, that's not so bad!" A card with Ron Reagan's name flashes across the screen. He's standing in an airport phone booth saying, "The American Express card, don't leave home without it!" And then, into the phone, he says, "Hello, Dad?" and "Excuse me" and closes the door, supposedly to carry on his conversation with the other Ron Reagan, who is, of course, the president of the United States.

The response to Ron's pitch? A modicum of clucking over luncheon tables and some not-for-attribution sniping about his going strictly for the buck. But mostly people just say, "Oh, isn't he adorable?" How does he get away with it? To some Washington insiders, it looks like a case of "Like father, like Nothing bad sticks to either of them. Even brother Michael Reagan, who was criticized for trading on the Reagan name early in the administration, is forgiving. "Sure," he says, with a laugh, "if someone wants to pay me, I've written my own: 'When I go to dinner, they think I'm my brother. When I go to the ballet, they treat me like my brother.

If it wasn't for American Express, nobody would know whose brother I His version would clearly distance him from any commercialization of the president because "I'm not using my dad. I'm using my brother," he says. A spokeswoman for American Express says the White House asked for a copy after Ron's commercial started airing, but that no one there saw it or the script ahead of time. For the record, the White See FAMOUS D4 Dan Slape (above) is general manager of WTGI-TV. At the production controls at right are Karin LaMarche and Jeff Mortimer.

if fl Dipj Out-of-date shades shed 'nerd' look as sales soar Movie helps tinted glasses find their place in the sun GNS photos By JOHN CAMPBELL Gannett News Service Eyes of the hip and trendy in search of cool shades discovered an old favorite of your Uncle Harry's the Clubman Art-Rim sunglasses. They're known as "nerd" glasses, because they were once considered suitable only for grandparents or the odd teen-ager with a shirt pocket full of pens and a slide rule. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson, and fried-chicken magnate Colonel Sanders all wore Clubmans, the company that makes them proudly recalls.

And the Clubman's lens shape, which fits difficult prescriptions, and its sturdy build have endeared it to generations of gray-haired customers, said Jeff Raub, a frame designer with Art-Craft Optical Co. Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. The durable "combination" A close-up view of the popular Clubman Art-Rim sunglasses. glasses thick plastic eyebrows secured to metal-rimmed lenses have been produced since 1951 by Art-Craft.

Now the firm has been pleasantly surprised to watch the Clubman shades become a certifiable fashion item, fueled by their appearance in the summer film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." "We're increasing production of Clubmans daily," said C. Thomas Eagle, president of Art-Craft. "It's not our biggest-selling product, but I hope it can be." Optical-store owners say the fad for nerd glasses seems to have started about two years ago in Los Angeles and Santa Monica when fashion-conscious teen-agers snapped them up in a few vintage clothing boutiques. Then Ferris Bueller's movie opened in June, starring Matthew Broderick as an adolescent playing J. Lomb also in Rochester.

Sales of Wayfarers increased after "The Blues Brothers" movie opened six years ago, then exploded last year when they were worn by Jack Nicholson in "Prizzi's Honor" and Tom Cruise in "Risky Business." The Clubman Art-Rim, comple-See SUNGLASSES D4 hooky for a day, accompanied by two friends and their nerd glasses. Sales of Clubmans retailing from $50 and up took off. Korean and other Far East manufacturers followed with knockoffs sold by sidewalk vendors for as low as $4. The sudden fondness for nerd glasses recalls the revival of another pair of sunglasses the chunky Wayfarers made by Bausch Matthew Broderick (center) wears the "nerd" sunglasses in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." With Broderick are Alan Ruck and Mia Sara..