Exits

P: From the day he enlisted in television's army Sept. 20, 1955, Master Sergeant Ernie Bilko (Phil Silvers) was obviously just the sort of career soldier whom TV sorely needs. Week after week, the Phil Silvers Show gave Bilko a chance to prove that noncoms really run the regiment, and week after week Bilko proved that he rated his stripes. Bolder than the brass he heckled, brasher than the brightest operator in his informal command, Bilko ran his outfit with the earthy, barracks-brand humor that can make service life (and TV watching) tolerable. He was one of those rare peacetime soldiers, a guy who never figured to need any "shipping over" music; any Army recruiting sergeant could recognize him as a 30-year man. But Phil Silvers' sponsors (Reynolds Tobacco, Schick Razor) no longer agree. Lately, the Bilko episodes have become more strained, more cluttered with guest stars. With no one to pick up the tab, CBS last week gave Ernie Bilko his discharge. Next season Phil Silvers will surely be back on TV --but in civvies.

P: Right from the start, Your Hit Parade was a hit. Just by playing the country's top tunes--first on the radio (15 years), then on television (9 years)--the American Tobacco Co. sold so many cigarettes that it even produced a new brand: Hit Parade. Lannie Ross, Lawrence Tibbett, Frank Sinatra, Noel Coward, Fred Astaire, W. C. Fields all marched on the show with such regulars as Dorothy Collins and Snooky Lanson. Then came rock 'n' roll. The sort of stuff that Elvis sings began to lead the Parade, and American Tobacco apparently decided that kids who listen to that brand of song are hardly sophisticated enough to smoke. After long and faithful service to the pop-music fan, Your Hit Parade will peter out this month.

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