Week of June 15, 1954

President Eisenhower announces that Sir Winston Churchill will come to

Washington June 25 for an informal weekend visit, and says the visit to the White

House was suggested by the British Prime Minister to combat reports of great

rifts occurring between the two countries.

An anti Communist liberation army bombs and invades Guatemala in a fiery bid

to overthrow the red-infiltrated government of President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.

Ex-President Harry Truman undergoes a successful operation for removal of his

appendix and gall bladder and is doing fine.

The United States delivers a warning to Russia to ‘stay out of this hemisphere.”

Russia just vetoed a plan in the United Nations to refer Guatemala’s complaint

against an anti-Communist invasion to the Organization of American States.

Mrs. Barbara (Bobo) Rockefeller will receive $6 million

in a divorce settlement with Winthrop Rockefeller.

Pierre Mendes-France is voted into office as France’s

new Premier.

Sports - Keeps heavyweight title - Some 47,585 see

Rocky Marciano defeat Ezzard Charles in a close fight at

Yankee Stadium. Charles said he thought he had won it.

Marciano said, “It was my toughest fight.” Charles told

reporters - “I never was in danger of being knocked out and I thought I won.”

Plans for a September rematch are taking shape. Marciano will get $247,136.00

for beating Charles. Charles’ unofficial cut will be $123,568.00.

Week of June 15, 1954

The Copacabana wins an appeal in its action to

block the use of the name on a line of cosmetics.

The Restaurant-nitery appealed a judgment

allowing the usage, saying that it spends upwards

of $150,000 a year to publicize its name and that

when the film, “Copcabana,” was made in 1948, it

was paid for the use of its name. It also pointed

out that a suit of Radio Corp. of American blocked

rayon Corp. of American from using the RCA label

although the business were entirely different.

The construction of a multiple story office building

to house Capitol Records home office is disclosed by president Glenn Wallichs.

Building will be located at the corner of vine and Yucca in Hollywood. Capitol

Records is now scattered around town at the Sunset and Vince location, at the

Palmer Building and at the Melrose Avenue sound studios. These will be

concentrated in the one building which will boast the most modern recording

equipment and facilities. Capitol plans to move into the new location by next

summer.

Sammy Davis Jr. is breaking away from the Will Mastin Trio team, at least on

records, to record solo for Decca Records.

Baby Boom - There’s a baby boom going on,

according to the Census Bureau. Once every

12 seconds - a new baby is born in the U.S.

Every year since 1945, 3.5 million or more

babies have been born. Last year, the birth rate

topped. 3.9 million. In the same time period, the

U.S. toy industry has grown from a $210

million-a-year mini to a $900 million-a-year

giant. The baby furniture business has rocketed

more that 500%. It is estimated that mothers

spend an average $702 on their babies during

the first year.

Music news - Mambo and the Rumba are

becoming popular in places such as New York,

with more and more night spots such as

“MamboScope and “Rumbarama.” Many

Week of June 15, 1954

attribute it to the increasing Puerto Rican population in Gotham. Where you

would hear “Go Man Go” in jazz places, you now hear “Vaya, Senor, Vaya” in

these night spots.

New York radio stations and DJ’s are not happy over the decision of the major

record companies to convert their record service to 45rpm platters beginning next

month. It began with WNEW and other stations have followed. Stations say the

conversion was done without any consultation with them and without adequate

notice. Stations say they both depend on each other. Record companies say they

will save money with the smaller platters. The radio stations say they need to

convert equipment and that tracking and cueing are problems and still, DJ’s

prefer 78’s.

Stan Freberg has another satire record out. “Point of Order” is a satire on the

current Army-McCarthy hearings. His “Dragonet” sold over a million copies.

Week of June 15, 1954

Muzak, the 20-year-old background

music service is now converting the

bulk of its nationwide service to

magnetic tape playback machines

instead of records. Muzak says

they now can go into smaller

markets - markets that were

considered impractical under the

disc/record operation. The tapes

offered franchise holders would be

recorded Muzak music. Each reel

will play 8 hours, running four hours

in one direction, stopping, and

automatically reversing and playing

the additional four hours in the

opposite direction (1/2 track).

Television news -

All seven New York City TV stations are taking their Empire State Building rent

fees to court. All seven renewed their lease until 1959 upon their April 30

expiration. They had been paying a total rent of over $650,000 annually and it

was agreed at the time of renewal that a “fair rental value” for the new lease to be

fixed by negotiation or arbitration of signing. Stations claim their leases fall under

the state’s emergency business space rent control law, which provides a

maximum 15% rent boost. Empire wants more and denies that the law applies to

the situation. Amount of rent paid by each station:

WABC-TV - $90,000

WATV - $85,000

WNBT - $105,000

WPIX - $80,000

WABD - $102,000

WOR-TV - $109,000

WCBS-TV - $85,000

WOR-TV includes studio space and WNBT’s includes space for an emergency

transmitter.

UHF station WKJF-TV Pittsburgh (Channel 53) is suspending operations (they

say temporarily) as of July 2. Rival WENS (channel 14) announced suspension

of local live programming for the summer. Both compete with VHF Channel 2.

Week of June 15, 1954

“I Love Lucy” will be dubbed in Spanish within the next couple of weeks as the

keystone of an experiment by CBS Television Film sales to determine the

potential of the Latin American market for American filmed shows.

Shari Lewis, who combines ventriloquism, magic, music and storytelling

designed for the amusement of children, signs a multi-year contract with WPIX-

TV New York.

Jay Livingston and Ray Evans sign to write the music and lyrics for the NBC-TV

Betty Hutton Show, which debuts September 12.

Week of June 15, 1954

Sunday night television -

CBS - The American Week With Eric Severeid, You Are There, earn Your

Vacation, Play Time, Toast of the Town, GE Theatre, Man Behind the Badge,

The Web, What’s My Line?

NBC - Meet the Press, Roy Rogers Show, Man on the Bluff, Mr. Peepers,

Colgate Comedy Hour, Schlitz Television Playhouse, Loretta Young Show, I Led

Three Lives

ABC - You Asked For it, On The Boardwalk, Walter Winchell, Martha Wright

Show, Dr. I.Q., Break the Bank

Toast of the Town - Ed Sullivan is host to Jackie

Gleason, Art Carney, Rise Stevens, Rocky

Marciano, Hal LeRoy, Peg Leg Bates.

Break the Bank - With Bert Parks.

Dr. I.Q. is hosted by James McClain

At the movies -

The Student Prince - Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth,

Edmund Purdom, John Erickson, Louis Calhern

The Caine Mutiny

The Gladiators

Flame and Flesh - Lana Turner

Saskatchewan - Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters

Julius Caesar - Marlon Brando, James Mason

Pop Music this week in 1954 -

Little Things Mean A Lot - Kitty Kallen

Three Coins In A Fountain - Four Aces

The Happy Wanderer - Frank Weir

Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer

Wanted - Perry Como

If You Love Me (Really Love Me) - Kay Starr

Young At Heart - Frank Sinatra

I Understand Just How You Feel - Four Tunes

I Get So Lonely (When I Dream About You) -

Four Knights

My Friend - Eddie Fisher

Isle Of Capri - Gaylords

Man Upstairs - Kay Starr

Here - Tony Martin