590 MIGHTY MEMORY #376

WARM @ 75 

When WARM was starting plans to go on the air, station owners decided to hire a Program Manager/Director who would be the person in charge of the overall operation. His main focus though was to acquire talent to fill air time. Even though there wasn't a lot on the local dial, the new outlet needed to compete with national broadcasts as well as the other local stations. Here is the story of the first Program Manager at WARM. 

PROGRAM CHIEF WARM SIGNS NATIONAL RADIO FIGURE 

CAPPS WILL BEGIN HOLDING AUDITIONS 

Selection of Charles R. Capps nationally known figure from the radio field as Program Director of Scranton’s new station WARM was announced yesterday by Martin F. Memelo President of The Union Broadcasting Company. 
Capps a native of New York City started as an architect and came into radio through an inherent love for the entertainment field back in 1924 with radio station WEAF now the National Broadcasting Company. His farewell bow as an architect and engineer was the famous 25 foot pool and recreation center in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with Keith Kiggins now Vice President of the NBC Blue Network and the late Amelia Earhart, famous aviatrix. 
In Hollywood Capps divided his attention between radio and the building of showplaces. His first association with radio was in the role o writer, director and actor. Being a technician at heart, Capps “wrote in” more sound effects than were available at that time. Consequently he had to design and build them himself. 
Turning to talent development, Capps served as Program and Production Manager at station WMCA New York for five of his seven years with that company. He has been associated with some of the foremost stars of stage, screen and radio including Dorothy McNulty, known as Penny Singleton, Beth Wilson of Warner Bros., and NBC, Jean Morgan of Columbia Pictures, Charles Martin writer, director of Hal Roach Studios, Don Costello of both networks and seen in the latest “Thin Man” picture, Joan Edwards of Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra, Alice Fost, Martin Gable and Betty Garde of CBS, Garson Kanin, Director with Columbia Pictures, Sam Levine. Capps also directed twenty six weeks of broadcasting starring Molly Picon who has appeared in Scranton. 
 Capp has already located here and will be in charge of the hu hundreds of auditions WARM will conduct as a result of a newspaper invitation issued at week. Pledged to the development of headliners he sincerely believes Scranton, Pa is as rich in talent as it is in anthracite.