Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1960)

^Wednesday, October 5, 1960 Motion Picture Daily 7 mLoew's Men in D.C. Believe Public Service Part of Job By E. H. KAHN WASHINGTON, Oct. 4.— The men who represent Loew's Theatres in Washington firmly believe that public service is part of their job. And they have discovered that it pays off in dollars at the boxoffice. Orville Crouch, eastern division nanager for Loew's since 1950, and [ack Foxe, director of advertising irond publicity since 1947, modestly wissert that Loew's expects them to °? 'pull their weight" in the commut! lity. But a list of their activities ''■ ;hows they pull faithfully and cheer1(l:ully far more than their weight. The rtaffs of Loew's Palace, seating 1,365, and Loew's Capitol, seating K3,426, do their share, too. m No matter who gets elected in i-i\Tovember, an inaugural celebration ifWill be held in January and preparations are already underway for this tremendous occasion. The town will j.,be full of Hollywood celebrities who j. jiave labored in the political vines wards and who await a proper welcome in the Nation's Capital. l[j Crouch and Foxe, as co-chairmen of arrangements of the Citizens Committee appointed by the D.C. Commissioners go into action. parade — The rain or shine — is mammoth and flags and banners are needed. The Inaugural Ball — sometimes s o big that it must be split into several groups with the new President attending all — needs decoration. The Inaugural Show, a big affair featuring politically active movie and stage ;tars, also must be divided and sometimes the stage of Loew's Capitol is (jsed. • The talents of Crouch and Foxe ;ire amply exercised in managing ar-ivals of the stars, providing them »vith escorts from the film industry, getting them to rehearsals on time, md generally soothing ruffled temo i pers. For the two Eisenhower inaugurals, star George Murphy was :hairman and he found the services :>f Crouch and Foxe so useful that le settled down in the Loew's office :or the duration. One of the most glamorous sides if a Washington assignment is the 'eception of VIPs. For example, a ^ala evening is planned for Oct. 13. The stage of the elaborate Loew's Capitol will be the setting for the iloyal Danish Ballet with both King ■^rederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark and President and Mrs. Eisenhower in attendance— to the best )f the State Department's knowledge he first time that two heads of state lave ever appeared together in a moion picture theatre. Each official visit takes weeks and sometimes several months of prepara tion. As co-chairmen of a citizens committee, Crouch and Foxe meet with protocol officers of the State Department, the City Commissioners, local police, Secret Service, the Board of Trade, various civic organizations, and first secretaries or ambassadors of the country involved. Banners, flags, fire ladder arches, parade routes, and many other details must be arranged. The chief stage hand at Loew's Capitol is the foreman in charge of the placement of decorations. Such questions as whether a banner— perhaps in Japanese or Arabic— is right side up must all be answered. Messrs. Crouch and Foxe have been either behind the scene or on the scene in receiving officially the following personages: Dr. Albert Lleras, president of Colombia; Gen Charles de Gaulle, president of France; the King and Queen of Nepal. Produces Free Shows Crouch stressed that official receptions are only a small part of the work done in the community. As a public service, he recently produced a half-hour United Givers Fund television program presented live on all four Washington channels. On the program were Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Arthur S. Flemming, the Navy Band, Milt Grant, local master of ceremonies and tv personality, and Kitty Kallen, pops singer imported from New York. As a Silver Beaver of the Boy Below, Crouch with Mary Lou Healey Morris, president of the Board of Trade vessel, "Mercator-Roger Ship." RECEIVING VIPS: Orville Crouch, eastern division manager for Loew's, above (third from left) with President Eisenhower, Constance Snow, Mrs. Eisenhower, Sol Hurok and Rudolph Bing. Scouts, Crouch produces shows for the Boy Scouts of America. The National Guard Armory on these occasions is filled with about 6,000. Behind the lighting, tableaux, music and local talent is the hand of a Loew's man, Joe Margolis, manager of the Capitol. Crouch, Foxe and Margolis are also there for the Fourth of July fireworks on the Monument grounds when a crowd of 200,000 turn out. And they are there for arduous days during Washington's Cherry Blossom Festival when the city is overrun with visitors, some of whom must go to the movies. With all of this, both men have found time for the usual charity drives. They have worked to fight cancer, heart disease, and polio— the last with an iron lung in front of the theatre. Crouch is a member of the board of Big Brothers, an organization to help rehabilitate juvenile delinquents, chairman of activities of the Circus Saints and Sinners, and a commander of Post 20 of the Amer "Miss Summer Jubilee of 1959," E. K. , and the commandant of the Belgian ican Legion. He is also entertainment chairman of the National Press Club, located on the top floor of the building which houses Loew's Capitol. All this helps make for the best of feeling between the press and the theatre. All community efforts, these men feel, redound to the credit of the industry and help at least indirectly in box office receipts. One community effort started six years ago has made a great difference in theatre attendance. Hotels, theatres, and some restaurants pooled their efforts to promote tourist visits to the city during the slack summertime. Figures were compiled on the Washington weather, which is far better than it is usually thought. Space was bought in out-of-town newspapers and the press was called in to tell the story of how pleasant a summer vacation could be in Washington. Visitors Entertained With money contributed from the theatres and hotels, the American Women of Radio and TV were shown the town and MPA contributed its screening facilities to show a film "Invitation to Washington." Another year travel writers from a radius of 500 miles were given the same treatment. The result has been over one million visitors to Washington this August and this is very good business indeed. The recent TOA convention in Hollywood held a panel discussion moderated by Mrs. Margaret G. Twyman, director of community relations for MPA. Uncontested conclusion was that exhibitors could "win friends and multiply customers" by participation in community activities. The success of Loew's in Washington offers spectacular proof of that conclu Promote 'Hot' Records Two record promotion specialists, Milton Karl and Jules Losch, have been engaged by Embassy Pictures to augment the national promotional campaign for the four title song recordings of "Where the Hot Wind Blows."