The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

THE EXHIBITOR NT-1 NKWS or THIS Chicago Hal Stevens, Paramount exchange manager, came out sparkling from his recent operation. Miss Dorathy Veness, secretary to William J. Devaney, MGM resident manager, enjoyed vacation gardening at her home. ... Frank Rogers, Jr., Ampro eastern division manager, came in for conferences. ... Rockford, Ill. , theatres paid $3, 000 to the city trea¬ surer for the first month’ s amusement tax, recently voted by city council. Sylvia Adelman, secretary to Henry Stickelmier, Great States Theatres, Inc., was married to Irving Peingold ....John Dromery, mayor of North Chi¬ cago, majored in the opening of the town’ s new 700-seat De Luxe, at which Sydney Schatz, owner, was greeted by many friends frqm Film Row. ..Les Walrath. Uptown manager, vacationed in Iowa in his brand new car. The La Salle, Les Stepner manager, reopened with beautiful decorations and a new fireproof, acoustic ceiling ...E.F. Jelinek commissioned the Hood Construction Company to build a 600car drive-in at Elmhurst, Chicago suburb. Van Nomikos, theatre circuit head, took a west coast business and pleasure trip. Mrs. Gertrude Fischer, Norshore, won a six-week battle with virus in¬ fection through blood donation aid from Ted Regelin, Norshore manager; and Tom McEvily, assistant; Lee East¬ man, Varsity manager; Harvey Shapiro, Granada assistant, and Johnny Weber, Valencia. ... John Miljan, Jr., son of the actor, joined the staff of the Varsity^ Evanston, Ill ... George West, Monogram official, was here en route to Hollywood with his bride, the former Elsa Hock of Detroit. Betty Gleason, (Mrs. Bill Conroy), Paramount office staff, is taking time out for the stork. AsCAP moved to larger space at a South Michigan Avenue. .. .Ruth Shirley Lemasky, daughter of Sam Lemasky, business agent, lATSE Film Row unions, was married to George H. Werner. About nine neighborhood theatres advertised triple features to push apparently sagging business. The Star, West End, Midway, Woodlawn, Ray, Chelton. Harvard, Atom, and Ace advertised the threein-one shows. J. H. Hoffberg, vice-president. Cinema Stamp Collectors Club, announced the acceptance of Leonard Utecht, manager, Essaness’ Lake, Oak Park, Ill., as anew member .... Nicholas Butera, assistant manager. Southern, Oak Park, Ill., res igned . . . . J immy Smith, assistant manager. Lake, Oak Park, Ill., returned from vacation, Dallas Altec signed sound servicing deals with the following Texas houses: Elm¬ wood Skyline, Abilene; Rivoli, Strand, Waco; Ucca Drive-In, Lamesa; Chief, Midland; Delman, Lincoln, Ervay, Dal¬ las; Tojas Drive-In, Victoria; Reel Drive-In, Rockdale; Ritz, Floydada; Texas, McGregor; Colonial, Rialto, Texas, Greenville; and Select, Mineola. R.J. O’Donnell, vice-president and general manager. Interstate, was in Mayo Brothers Clinic for a check-up ....Herb Pickman, Warners, New York office, was helping George sannan, southwestern exploiteer, arrange the Texas premiere of “Two Guys Prom Texas’’ at San Antonio on Aug. 4. The Boys Ranch Foundation of the Variety Club has been bequeathed $2,500 from the estate of W. G. Under¬ wood. Underwood was senior partner of Underwood and Ezell. Denver Dore Schary, Metro vice-president in charge of production, vacationed at Troutdale-in-the-Pines, and put the finishing touches on “Hollywood and the Writer”, delivered by him at the University of Colorado Writers’ Con¬ ference, Boulder, Colo. Theatre and film men were prominent on the initial week'-long ride of “Roundup Riders of the Rockies”, an annual event, taking in the mountains and ranches west of Denver. Theatre men were prime organizers of the event, and predominated in the number riding. Among the theatre and film men on the ride were Prank Ricketson, Jr. , Al Gould, Mel Glatz, and R.J. Garland, Pox Intermountain Theatres; Joe Dekker and Tony Archer, Civic Theatres; Claude Granes, Albuquerque, N, M., theatre owner; FredKnill, Gibraltar Theatres, and Kenneth MacKaig, branch manager. United Artists. Mrs. Lee Mote, former Acme, River¬ ton, Wyo. , owner, is recovering her eyesight following a cataract opera¬ tion. She was in Denver recently being fitted for glasses. Tom Baily, Film Classics district manager, went to New York for a sales meeting following a Salt Lake City trip....Al Kolitz and Joe Emerson, district and branch manager, respec¬ tively, went to San Francisco to at¬ tend an RJO sales meeting. ... C.M. Alderson and J.W. Barton expect to open their drive-in near La Junta, Colo,, about Aug. 15. Colorado, because the light, scenic, and weather conditions are well-nigh perfect for outdoor filming, can ex¬ pect to be the scene of more and more technicolor westerns, according to Louis King, who at present is direct¬ ing “Sand” near Durango, in the state, for 20th Century-Fox. Dan Thyne is building a 400-seat $55, 000 Poblocki and sons quonset type theatre at Cheyenne Wells, Colo.-, to be called the Wells, and opening on Aug. 15. He has engaged Ross Bluck as manager, film buyer-booker. Al Andersen, Paramount head shipper, has been promoted to assistant booker, and is succeeded by Roy Hopkins from U-I, whose job goes to Malcolm Snapp, Denver Shipping and Inspection Bureau. William Albright, assistant booker, U-I, resigned. .. W. J. Porter, Monograii; home office representative, was view¬ ing accounts at the Monogram exchange. Al Clark, student booker, RKO ex¬ change, resigned, to set himself up as a piano instructor at Hugo, Colo.... Civic Theatres, after a thorough re¬ modeling job, will reopen the Rex, closed several years, about Sept. 1, as the Coronet. Des Moines The Variety Club will hold a benefit dance, and give away a new automobile and other merchandise, on Sept. 3 at the Val-Air ballroom, it was announced by Nate Sandler, chief Barker. The money will be used for the general charity program of the club including Arlington Hall and the YMCA summer camp. The club will also sponsor the Horace Heidt NBC broadcast from the KRNT radio theatre on Nov. 7, with the club members handling the sale of tickets and publicity. Proceeds from the show will be divided with the Ray¬ mond Blank Memorial Hospital and the nurses home at Mercy Hospital. The Iowa C. I. 0. labor organization’s executive board is urging theatres to adopt an “in-between” age admission price for children between 12 and 15 years of age. . . . The strand, cedar Rapids, la., has been sold by W.a. Olson to Sara E. Miller. ... The Para¬ mount is being remodeled without the house being closed. Bill Sobel and Arnold Berger, Mid West Drive-In Theatres, were visitors ....Edwin Sandbloom, formerly associ¬ ated with Paramount, joined Warners as a salesman. ... Ruthven, la.’s new the¬ atre, Palo Alto, will be completed about the middle of August. ... Carl Benson, Benson circuit, purchased the Anita, la. , theatre from Tom Brooks, Des Moines. Kansas City Altec signed sound service deals with the following state houses: the DriveIn, Great Bend; Anthony, Anthony; Southwest, Johnston; Electric, Kansas City; Lakin, Lakin; Electric, Larnad; Meade, Meade, and Drive-In, Dodge City. Los Angeles The Pacific Coast Conference of ITO was awaiting word from its attorney, Robert Graham, regarding the impact of decision and status of the anti-ASCAP decision in N.Y. PCCITO had filed to intervene in the New York ITO suit against ASCAP, ... Will iam M. Pizor, new Screen Guild vice-president, was due in for a vacation. August 11, 1948 National