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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 1963)
'J'HUKSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1963 AlUUt'OKU MAIL 1K1UUNK. MHDFOKD, OREGON ew TV Shovs Give Dmportamt doles to Negro Actors By RICK DU BROW United Press International HOLLYWOOD (UPI) - A striking fact of the new telcvi sion season is the increased use of Negroes in prominent roles. A Negro is featured in the "East Side-West Side" series. Others appear from time to time on the Dick Van Dyke show. Sammy Davis Jr. recently starred in a "Ben Casey" epi sode as a baseball player caught up in the racial issue. "Mr. No vak" scheduled a story about a high school racial incident. These are but a few of the examples. The pressures of the past cru cial summer, with its Negro de segregation march on Washing ton, are just beginning to have real impact on television. Lil Cumber, head of Hollywood's biggest Negro talent agency, says there is a definite in crease in the use of members of her race. And it is unquestionably just current new use of Negroes in the beginning just as the current new use of Negroes in commercials is sure to be only a start. When the Gillette Raz or Blade Company featured Ne groes prominently in its World Series commercials, it was an obvious major step. However, just as segrega tionists are sure to be unhappy with developments, Negro per formers do not feel the present state ot altairs is any millen nium either, though they admit , it is an improvement tor tnem. The Negro performer, from the star to the rank-and-file ac tor or actress, has taken aim on three goals: For Negro characters to be portrayed in terms that mem bers of their race feel is mod ern and fair. For Negroes to be used in greater proportion to their num bers one in 10 and to star in their own series. For Negroes not to neces sarily play Negro parts: that is, to be cast in roles that could go to any race, and not always to be caught up in stories that depend on racial aspects. Of these goals, the greatest hurdles are the "one in 10" pro portion and the starring of Ne groes in network series, or, for that matter, in many specials. In the September Show maga zine, Lena Home wrote:. "Sure, I can get on television I can have all the guest shots I want. But I have been refused the depth of television exposure that has been given others - wny can t 1 have my own television series?" This is the attitude that one hears most in questioning Negro enter tainers. Not long ago, on an all-night Los Angeles television program that offers movies and inter views, fcammy Davis said that aoout 18 months ago he pack aged a video special starring nimseit ana teaturlng Kay Charles, Count Basic, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin but that no network would touch it. He made clear he felt it was because he, a Negro, was the star. Mimi Dillard is not as big a name as Lena Home or a Dor othy Dandrigc, but she is more typical of the ordinary Negro performer seeking openings in television. She is in her mid-20s, dances, sang at the swank Beverly Hil ton Hotel in Beverly Hills, ap peared in a Jerry Lewis movie, has plenty of friends at the networks and through Holly wood, is the Negro girl on the Dick Van Dyke show and, among other assignments, re cently appeared In the new psy chiatry series, "Breaking Point." Her opinion is typical. Those in her position simply feel it is human nature that things won't change so drastically all of a sudden. However, she rejects curtly the idea of some whites that it would be. harmful to Ne groes and perhaps make them look foolish to be forced into, say, situation comedies that are now all-white. Her ar gument, like that of other Ne gro performers, is that there is no compromise in the area that Negroes must be accepted on the same terms as whites. "If the parts are those of real people, no on-: looks fool-1 ish," she says. A while back, some Negro inarWs in Hollvwood were re ported pushing the "one in 10" view in the area of casting and technical employment in video. This brought a back - stiffening reaction from many producers, most of them sympathetic but so deluged with strait-jacket restrictions on video that they resented any further ground rules. And at about this time, Prcsi dent Kennedy said he was against racial employment quo tas. Whether or not the President's statement had any bearing on the matter, there suddenly Higher Debt Limit Passage Expected WASHINGTON (UPI) - De- sDite solid House GOP opposi tion to a $6 billion raise in the national debt limit. Democratic leaders forecast passage today of a bill to hike the ceiling to record $315 billion. It was the third time this year that the debt limit came before Congress. It was raised temporarily In May for three months and again in August for a second three months to its present ceiling. The current debt is $307 billion. The current debt is $307 billion. Under present law the limit automatically will drop to $285 billion on Dec. 1 unless Con gress acts. Today's bill would be effective through next June 29. Republicans planned to try to send the bill back to commit tee, then resubmit a new meas ure setting a ceiling about $2 billion or $3 billion less than the proposed $315 billion. The debt issue is embarrass ing to the administration that is trying to cut taxes, retain what it considers important na tional spending programs, and fight off GOP attacks ol unnec essary spending. Shelley Elected In San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -Congressman John F. Shelley was elected mayor of San Fran cisco Tuesday by a solid plural ity ot nearly 28,000 votes. Complete unofficial returns in the seven-man mayor race gave Shelley 120,500 voles. His closest opponont, supervisor and acting mayor Harold Dobbs, polled 92,- 627 votes. Shelley, 58, is the first Demo crat elected to the city's top of fice since 1897. Although (he election was officially non-partisan, it had definite partisan un dertones. Shelley, a member of the U.S. House since 1949, will succeed Mayor George Christopher, who was prevented by the city char ter from seeking his third four- year term. : J, kL IN TOP ROLES - Negroes James Earl Jones and Diana Sniuls are shown hero In a scene from "Who Do You Kill," one of Ihc episodes of the "East Sldo-West Side" television scries. Increased use of Negroes In Important roles has been the most striking new feature of the TV season. (UPI). seemed to be an casing of this type of thinking, at least pub licly, and relations seem to have improved between the unions and the National Associ ation for the Advance.nent of Colored People (NAACP). There are those Negro per formers Miss Dillard, for in stancewho disagree with the NAACP's refusal to allow Ne groes to play menials on grounds that they are a "stereo type." Now that Negroes are getting more prominent and typical parts, say Miss Dillard and her colleagues, there should be a frank acceptance of t h e fact that there are Negro janitors ana servants, just as there arc white janitors and servants. A refusal of all "menial" parts would defeat the Negro argu ment for roles that are non racial. Deny Problems At the networks, you get co operation when asking now many Negroes they are using, but not much enthusiasm to go into such matters. At the pro duction centers, according to network people, it is even tough er, because the answer there is that there never has been any problem with the use of Negro actors. The fact is, however, that the decision of sponsors and agencies to show the Negro more prominently in the face of threatened militant economic boycott is the main reason for the new look. That and the overwhelming force of current events. And here are some of the cases: At ABC-TV, a recent quick spot-check by a network spokes man on the Hollywood-produced programs said that Negroes fig ured prominently this season in segments of "77 Sunset Strip," "Breaking Point," "The Outer Limits," "The Fugitive," "Ben Casey," the Edie Adams Show, "Day in Court," "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" and the J.rry Lewis series. "There will undoubtedly be additions as the season pro gresses," the ABC spokesman noted. Dancing Integrates Of ABC's Dick Clark show, the trade paper "Variety" said: "A noteworthy fact, in light of the current headlines, is that young Negro couples are shown dancing and sitting side-by-side with the white kids in the studio audience." A similar random sampling at CBS-TV offers these Holly wood shows (and again the list is by no means complete, be cause of up-in-the-air plans): Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Phil Silvers, Dick Van Dyke, Art Linkletter's "House Party," "Perry Mason," "Mr. Ed" and "The Great Adven. lure." At NBC-TV such shows as "Mr. Novak," "Eleventh Hour" and Jack Parr have seg ments with Negroes in promi nent parts. And of course Les lie Uggams is a regular singer on "Sing Along With Mitch." All these shows, of course, still amount to a rather small inroad by Negroes on network tele vision. But it was smaller last vear, and it will be less small n the year ahead. They know... 9 SOUR CREAM UTTAMPsJ ''J'' PIGGLY VVIGGLY HHP PIGGLY VVIGGLY 1 JeKj&3 r Pork WiTRoast Istam eni TAMIsJ loan and tender center cut pork chops from young, corn-fed porkers . , . lots of dolicious tweet meat. 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