'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...
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