Mrs. Know-lt-All

Human minds fuddled by wartime problems have become a new audience for cosy-talking Mrs. Know-it-alls. These ladies are airy irrepressibles who chat on a hundred different subjects, answer questions, take listeners on a heady gossip-go-round of meeting people, going places, doing things.

Highest Crossley-rated Mrs. Know-it-all is a short, voluble bit of human voltage named Bessie Beatty,* a onetime San Francisco newspaper reporter, writer for women's magazines and editor of McCall's. From rough notes, busy Bessie ad libs over Mutual's WOR (11:15-12) on food, books, fashion, war news, people, places. Sometimes she gets kidded by Announcer Dick Willard and Husband Bill Sauter, a quiet, wisecracking ex-actor who contributes a felicitous conjugal note that draws plaintive queries from mismated listeners. Sometimes Bessie whips up half a program with prominent guest interviewees.

Part of Bessie's program consists of answers to listeners' queries. Typical questions from the Beatty mailbag: 1) What is Vichyssoise? 2) Why are they so cruel to horses in Western movies? 3) Where can my daughter stay in Toronto? 4) Should I have a baby in wartime?

Starting her working day in an 8:30 tub, Miss Beatty dictates for half an hour to one of the "angels" (secretaries) who handle her voluminous mail. At breakfast, she confers with staff members, collects ideas from Husband Bill, her No. 1 legman. Grabbing a cab at 10:30, she reaches the studio in time for a brief powwow with program guests. After the program she goes to teas, movies, dinners, the theater, often gets home past midnight and soaks up more information by reading in bed until 2 a.m.

Of her eleven sponsors, Bessie plugs all on each program. She herself does the commercials, sugared with household hints that fans find easy to take. Her fans include the well-heeled and hard-up in almost equal numbers. They also include men. Yelled a bartender recently, when customers switched off Bessie's program: "Don't youse guys want to learn nothing? You listen to Bessie Beatty. She'll teach you something."

* Other well-known Mrs. Know-it-alls: CBS's Adelaide Hawley; NBC's Mary Margaret McBride, Blue's Nancy Craig.

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