Played Out

Singer Nat "King" Cole, the first Negro entertainer to get his own TV network show (TIME, July 15), quit last week in disgust after a 13-month run on NBC. Reason: advertising agencies had failed to turn up a national sponsor for the show, which has been sponsored regionally. Cole charged that "many, not all" of the agencies had deliberately dragged their feet in the belief that a Negro "performer would hurt any national client's sales in the South. Said he: "This is nonsense. As an entertainer, I know I'm salable to all kinds of people, not just one race." Cole's decision was triggered when NBC proposed replacing him with a quiz show to bolster its Tuesday night ratings. The network offered him a Saturday evening spot instead. Said Cole, who had nothing but praise for NBC: "I decided not to take it. I feel played out."

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