Show Parrots Mice l Make Mal Circus Out of Radio Animals Give Headache to Broadcasters but Lut Its It's All Good Fun By fly HOWARD NELSON m b by Western N Newspaper paper Union STEW NEW YORK Ordinarily Ordinarily 1 speaking the European war is more important than thana a singing mouse That was why without why without reflection reflection reflection re re- re- re on the vermin's qualifications qualifications qualifications the National Broadcasting company recently recently recently re re- re- re answered No to the following radiogram Still interested in singing mice A A. sensational one in Nieu Nieu- wen urn Rolland Holland sings like a ca nary A white mouse to boot I Its It's only a few years since radio held its first singing mouse contest More recently recent recent- ly star performers from every available avail able genera and species have been Invited to appear lest leit mice gain a monopolistic grip on the micro micro- phone Today's Today list of animal anima performers per formers reads like the Index of ot book Who at the Zoo Everything from Everything from a boa constrictor constrictor con con- to a bird Public interest is responsible which Is the same reason municipalities municipalities maintain zoos A Headache to Radio Men I But Dut while the animal kingdom fascinates fas faa radio fans tans the scenes arrangements have been a succession succession sion sian of ot violent headaches to broad casters The wire and letter Jetter correspondence correspondence cor cor- relating to these arrangements arrangements ar ar- ar look like the legal briefs brief in a Supreme court suit Worry No 1 is animal anima tempera ment meet If It a comes into the studio minus microphone manners there ensues petting coaxing cajoling cajoling cajol ing and perhaps a merry catch catch-as- catch can Production men assigned to such programs have evolved their own technique learning the language lan Jan guage of ot birds elephants and lions i They well remember when Horace the Hippo made her radio debut with witha a snort from Jinja Africa John JohnF F F. F Royal NBC's vice president In charge of programs was crossing the Atlantic when he be heard from a I Are Arc We Mice lUice or Men My fy Friends t ai r w v 1 GET BACK THERE AND n ln SING In canine language that's that the warning learning Peggy leggy mouse singing coach gives the roaring rodents auditioned for the international contest oj of vermin virtuosi i passenger fellow how Horace enJoyed enjoyed en en- Joyed the wave short music from New York Every time a familiar melody was heard Horace would move his four tour tons about the golf course at Jinja making appreciative grunts Royal decided to serenade Horace with a special broadcast from Radio City They chose Jerome Jerome Je Je- Je rome Kerns Kern's The Hippopotamus for this occasion She Has lias an Understudy I Canary birds are among radios radio's most seasoned performers Six years ago one sponsor signed up Blue Boy a virtuoso with a repertoire repertoire reper toire of songs It was the first bird according to amateur ornithologists ornithologists to sing tunes other than Its Us natural natura ones Blue Boy was considered considered con con- so valuable that her sponsor engaged another canary as an un un- First heats in a new Olympic canary canary ca ca- ca nary tournament were broadcast in December from San Francisco where birds participated National National Na Na- tlona and international contests are scheduled to follow A. A A. A director of ot NBC special events once thought a talking talk ing log parrot contest would be fun for radio fans When parrot fanciers got wind of the plan their suggestions warnings comments and parrot pedigrees pedigrees ped pede poured In en masse Wrote one Californian Our parrot Is basking basking bask bask- ing In the sunshine ready willing and able sans bronchial bronchia and I w I 4 I t 1 HERE IlEllE TRY THIS The THIS' The announcer gives suspicious suspicions squawkers squawk squawk- ers en a whip whiff of the tie microphone in order to prevent mike fright during the t talking parrot contest monia germs to chatter guzzle whistle and snap at a cracker Kindly send prize at once Mabel Up and Died Final Fina auditions of the talking parrots par rots were presided over by a group of at speech authorities Secretly was passing the buck He lIe didn't want to hear any more parrot talk He had received letters from Local Loca No 9 of ot the New England Association of ot and from guys who signed themselves Bob White R. R U. U etc The New Englanders maintained that Oscar Is the best of the lot but admitted that he is most discouraging discouraging dis dis- at times From Columbus Columbus Colum Colum- bus came praises of ot Mabel Mabee who was coming along In fine shape until until un un- un til she died unexpectedly From all points of ot the compass came Ive got a parrot Ive I've got a macaw Ive I've got a talking crow crowl Ive I've got a warbling pigeon Then at the height of this parrot fever wrote to his special ape vial cia events men throughout the network net work Dr W. W Reed Blair director of the Bronx zoo has advised us there Is decided danger in holding the contest at this time Tropical parrots are susceptible to bronchial bronchia pneumonia etc etc we will therefore postpone the contest to the warmer month of May The broadcast actually came offIn oil oft oilIn In May de de- declared Glared a holiday for all hands Radio Becomes a Circus There is considerable speculation about what future radio holds for the animal kingdom Going down the list of at past events historians already al 01 ready espy programs featuring Clyde Beatty and a cast of African lions jungle snakes and crocodiles encountered In South America by bythe bythe bythe the holden Hoden Hold en expedition a zoo ship arriving in Boston with specimens of the animal anima kingdom from Africa a frog jumping contest a trout fishing fishing fish fish- ing tournament a words word's view of a busy beehive a debate between be tween turkey gobblers no holds barred a whaling expedition in San Francisco harbor and a convention of ot crickets on the hearth Radio these days is a menagerie an aquarium a zoo In other words its it's a circus |