Television

Gene Autry, CBS television and radio star, announced today that he would use full color in shooting the last two films remaining on his current production schedule for the CBS-TV "Gene Autry Show" (CBS-TV, Sundays, 7:00-7:30 PM, EST).

The famous western star indicated that this may be preliminary to putting all his future CBS television productions on color film.

Autry, currently appearing at the Boston Garden as headline attraction in the World Championship Rodeo, said that he and his staff have long been interested in the possibilities of color television. He pointed out, however, that his announcement would in no way affect the scheduled black-and-white broadcasts of his present series.

The color films would be seen during the special color broadcasting periods which CBS plans to establish, in conformity with the Federal Communications Commission decision authorizing color television service beginning Nov. 20. The Sunday evening black-and-white broadcasts will continue without change.

"Working outdoors with cameras," Autry said, "I've always regretted that most people couldn't see the beauty of the natural color that we see everywhere on our locations. It looks now as if we're going to have a chance, at last, to show all that to the television audience. We don't want to pass it up because most of the stories we tell in our television films have a lot to do with the beauty and the bigness of nature in the West."

Twenty-two of the 26 half-hour films on the current production schedule for the CBS-TV "Gene Autry Show" have already been photographed in black-and-white. Twenty-two others are in the planning stage for the program's 1950-51 season.

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