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» 8 fb: “TONY WEBSTER, AUTHOR OF LAST NIGHT'S NBC-FV stereme play “The Greatest Man n Alive,” may have Soshianad the dullest drama of the year. ‘It was arch, coy, cute, preten- * Mj _ tously simple, precious but not valuable, selling syrup without 'a Heense—and a shame, to drown the tried and tremeri- cous.talents of Bert Lahr and Ed Wynn in anything so trite . «It was a “comedy” about . nape and a slow and deaden- | hour, Oy 3! oo - Re ee Be s 4 i BOB _STACK_WON ” “THE - WEEK'S nice-guy. plaque by — _ asking co-star billing for An- - thony Gearge ‘his featured- billing pal of “The Untouch- “ables.” ... Ron Ely (Gardner .McKay’s TV star in “Adv. in Paradise") weds Janet Trip- - Jett March 9 in Amarillo, Tex. °.- sae That fame sonEy seagoing . CAROL BURNETT --:# | saga . W: 8 rating * am swamped Steve Allen’s bottom- ; She Made an Impression . i . petieed whatzis with an 11.74... “Cheyenne” was’ another ' ABC-TV opus to out-Trendex the opposition—sank NBC's. : “Riverboat” in its new Mon, hight berth almost two to one: | 22.6 to 13.1... Cheyenne got a lasso all the way ‘round Kate Smith and tied her up to Trendex ... ABC-TV beat NBC- ’ and almost tied CBS-TV for the full Monday night sched#ie in ghe Trendex countdown, now covering 29 cities, nn oe . . . arn s 8 ¢ DON DEFORE, FORMER “OZZIE & HARRIET” Tv V neigh- bay, takes over.the FDR role originated by Ralph Bellamy in “Sunrise at Campobello” (Ralph played precisely two years * in the role, to the day) for a six-week W. Coast tour starting ‘ in Santa Monica ... Defore bought the Theatre Guild preduc- tion’s sets and hired ghe cast, except Bellamy .., Ralph's in ¥ort Worth talking business with his oil well partner F. Falur- num Hodge, prior to a Hawaiian vacation before the “Campo- bello” movie is filmed. .- ~. 20th Century-Fox’ TV operation ‘ts filming three pilots: : “Home. Town,” “Home Team” and “Down Home,”.... ..George Burns is negotiating (for his next TV spec) with Ginger Rogers . . and Julie Andrews ... Harriet Hilliard. Nelson's observation on a - the way sons Ricky & David have taken to circus trapeze tricks: . ‘ . “It's a lot safer than drivng sports cars.” ... Sickniks: MGM-TV: has “Dr. Kildare” with Lew Ayres; Desilu plans “Believue Is My Home," another scalpel tale: and CBS-TV. has Sidney | aa Kingsley's “World in White," stemming from Sidney's honor- able old Pulizer Prize play “Men in White.” .« Let's not revive “Medic,” please? * * . . RED SKELTON, A GREAT CLOWN, ‘Kept forgetting his _ &cript last night and you couldn’t much blame him... Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly will be reunited for the big-band NBC special “The Swingin’ Years.” «.. Ed Wynn did a won- ‘aerfully typical actorish thing last night: In.the Startime script he said (as the character in the play) that he was “22.” ",... In real life, Ed’s 74 . . . Ike’s heart Specialist Dr. Paul “Dudley White will “Meet the Press” Sun. ‘ eo re ro gl “wRe's. OFFER Or #8, 000 ‘000 for a San Francisoo tv station was snubbed .. . Broadcasting-Telecasting mag says } <u: +: TV screens will be free of wild medical claims in cigaret ads: | all but one ciggie firm has agreed to quit the “doctors-say” bit | . .’. » Looks like another TV jurisdictional battle over TV tape | ~ between AFTRA (TV actors union) und the Screen Actors Guild... Bet on AFTRA. . sae e ® , ols BING CROSBY SOLD HIs Los Angeles TV station ‘for. ry : ‘big stack of stock in an automobile parts mfg. firm’... Bob . _. Considine will air a series of “Spotlight on South America” ~ yadio broadcasts during his trip through the cities Ike-expects - to visit (Feb. 15 through 18)...5en. Kenneth Keatirig, anothe Re ub ‘veep possibility, will be queried on the subject Line,” Ch. 4's 10: 30 telephone inqulatoe at wtatn is ,