Variety (Jan 1949)

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16 PICTURES Forty'third ijjpy Anniversary VedncsJay, Jannary 5, I949 Report to the Nation on Continuing Job Sliow Biz Is Doin^ k Disabled Vets By ABE LA.STFOGEL , Wre&Umt, Veterans Bospital Camp Shows, Inc.) ' ^...^ is a report on how Show j struct a. complete stage setting for in wards _as well as in the aiidi- Business has started its longtime j "Turn to the Right" and prepare This lob of entertaining veterans of two World Wars, who, in hospitals from Maine to California, are still pay- the price of our victories. Alerted to the anxiety that of- ficials of Veterans Administra' tion felt ■ when- they heard that ttSO-Carap Shows would pass out of'existence at the end of the year, leaders of the entertainment in- dusti-y, moving spontaneously and voluntarily, set up Veterans Hos- pital Camp Shows, Inc., in Sep- tember, 1947. They intended that it would take the place of USO- Gamp Shows' Hospital Circuit and through it they, planned to con- tinue entertaining hospitalized vetei-ans as long as their attend- ing physicians thought it would •id their rehabilitation. USO-Gamp Shows' units played their last engagement Dec. 31, 1947. During the next three weeks our Talent Advisory Board Sammy Rauch, Harry Levine, Sid- ney Piermont, Dan Friendly and ■ needed furniture for its local pres- entation. Circuit ot HZ Hospitals f When our' second series of shows, made up of 116 enter- tainers, went on the road in Sep- tember and October, they found that they were to appear in 112 hospitals instead of the original 103. Most of them are slightly less than half way around their circuit. To the end of the year, they have presented 684 audi- torium performances before 217,- 000 patients and 1,447 ward shows before 64,468 bedfast men. In Hollywood, meantime, the Screen Actors Guild and the Holly- wood Coordinating Committee were moving to give meaning and substance to a wartime resolution declaring that entertainers Would never forget disabled veterans who needed their services. When the Screen Actors Guild proposed that steps be taken to send screen and toriuih, This quality is very use- ful and- necessary to hospitals be- cause niany patients cannot turn out for mass entertaihi?ient . . ^ we I haye found the entertainers sent here by your oi'ganizatiori adaptitble to our requiremepts. We have Mot used this talent as a luxury or a frill. We attempt to adapt the particular acts of the en- tertainers to the particular thera- peutic-needs of the patients, using 1 certain parts of the program for one group and other parts for -difT. fcrent groups.'' ,' , Summing' up reports from all hospitals that we service, General F, R. Ke!il',J;he Veterans Adniinis-' trator's assistant administrator for special services, recently told, aji Entertainment ludustry luncheon in New York that "entertainment supplied by Veterans Hospital Camp Shows has become an indis- pensihle part Of hospital care." I Hosp Shows on Permanent Bas is I While all this activity was goiiig on, Veterans Hospital Camp Shows - expanded its board of directors. ceiyed. Film, radio and talent It now includes 42 men and agency executives held, a series of I women, representiiig 27 organiza- meetings-that formulated plans to | tibns which ebmprtse every group service all the hospitals in . two I active in Stage, Screen and Radio 60-day periods^ each spring and j and Television.: Behind this, proj- I ect is a coriipletely united and co- The first phase of this pro.iect "I'dinated industry, was carried out during October I From the first, the. Entertain- and November. Fiftythree person-! ment Industry has been concerned alities of screen and radio, tour-1 about ways aiid means to put ing under the auspices of Veterans j Veterans Hospiial Camp Shows on ~»...,.„„.,. ...V, ..^o- ^.w,.i>i., Hospital Camp Shows, devoted 285 a permanent basis and finance its Lowry produced two other units. 1 days to the project, providing 176 i service from year to vear It t^:^.'V}':!:L^}Jil^^.^!}^l^^J^''^ 106 hospitals in 43 ; named a committee to .study this Harry Mayer—helped to recruit a ! radio personalities out to the hos splendid group of artists. Gae I Pitals, the idea was warmly re Foster, Flo Kelly, Allan Zee, Dave Bines and Leo Morgan, giving gcnr erously of their time, fashioned them into seven splendid com- panies. Oscar Hammerstein II, 1 vju-uaj- • Richard Rodgers, Joshua Logan | each fall, and Norman Krasna granted us the use of "John Loves Mary," royalty-free, while it. was still play- ing Broadway, and Robert. H. Gor- don turned out an excellent road company. On the West Coast. Ed PETE SMITH Whose' "Specialties" were again voted Number Onejn live action Held of short subjects by.exhibitor readers of "Fame Magazine" and ■'Showmen's Trade Review" for the sixth consecutive year. able and energetic direction, we launched Veterans Hospital Camp Shows without any interruption of seryiee, 10 units opening Jan. 26, 1948, in widely separated sections of the country. Made up of 126 professional ar- tists, several of whom moved di- rectly from Broadway stages to hospitals and from the hospitals back to some of Manhattan's top television shows. They travelled a route 28,000 miles long on which wye located 103 hospitals in 42 States. AH were carefully chosen .by medical chiefs of the Army, I designated Administration | Men in a position to judge con states. Patients and stars alike j problem Sept. 4, 1947. Our "direc- are looking forward to the next ! tors, therefore," were gratified to series of visits in May and June. . hear Walter Hoving, chairman We also drew on a pool of nearly 1 alike of our two boai-ds, say that 100 sketch artists to keep five: of 1 "USO again has joined with Show ;their number in as many hospitals | Business and together they are as- each week of the year. These tal- ! suming complete responsibility tor ^"nn^ "^P^ ^"'^ viomen sketched Ihe financial needs of the organi- .i.OOO veterans, who were usually , /ation that your industry set-™^t solecled^ by ward physicians or j bring cheer and theraoeuti^ nurses because they knew that the iioinfni ov,tQ,.*o; * : experience would bolster their morale. We sent these sketches, without charge, to the loved ones at home whom these patients to make sure that disabled men, far from entertainment centers; got professional entertainment on a regular and dependable basis Following a schedule designed to give each institution fresh enter- tainment every three weeks, they provided 1,498: auditoriutli shows bcloro 485,067 ambulant patients and 2,184 ward appearances before 1S8,188 men too sick to walk to auchtoriums. Hospital reports and patient comment left no doubt that they were among the finest com- panies that ever covered the hos- pital circuit. stantly tell us about the' place that i our entertainment occupies in a 1 program designed to rehabilitate 1 war veterans; Dr. Karl Menniger, one of the I world's outstanding psychiatrists ; and head of the Winter Veterans I Administration Hospitals at ' iielpful entertainment to rhen fac- ing a long personal fight." USO and Show Business have been working together lor a long time but never was there greater need fgr energetic support of that great service organization by our industry than right now. Funds for all USO work come from Community Chest campaigns m 434 cities throughout the coun- try as well as from 150 independ- ently-conducted USO campaigns in cities that do not maintain chests, bo to support the Community Small Making Special Teletrailer for 'Magic' In Experimental Form Hollywood. Edward Small is making a special five-minute teletrailer for 'Black Magic," which is expected to extend into a 14-minute trailer. Decision i»ests on whether it's pos- sible to make a dramatic presenta- tion in the longer length without divulging the unusual plot of the Orson Welles-Nancy Guild starrer filmed in Rome under the original title of "Cagliostro." 1 Trailer will be turned out on an advertising scale, more or less as an experiment, since no trailer was ever made for video to run 14 minutes. Average theatre trailer of 225 feet runs about two niinutes; Theatre audiences will accept this footage, but a different approach in story offering must be used for j tele films. i Lighting is another factor in de- I termining whether the longer I length is okay, since much of I "Magic" is in low key, with tele losing from 25% to 30% of original density. Beaming "Magic" for (March 15 release, trailer wiir be ||i'eady hy then. Small expects dis- '-ibution deal within 30 days. COURT OKS WINDUP OF RKO-20TH'S K.C. POOL Topeka, Kansas, said that his ho.s- I Chest and'Council in its nation" Pilal's experience had shown that vvide appeal this fa " the HoUv- shows such as those your organi- wood Coordinating CommU^^^^^^ I zation furnished, to be of consider- Oct. 4 presented a coast-to-coast able value to patients, both frohl I show, "The Waking Giant OveV a^ therapeutic and recreational the Americaiv' bScSk G^^^ w''h."in i^"""" which'facilities. ConcS and directed As these companies neared the ^ adlptable ?o iiniosnTtrMh"r'''^^'^*u^"'S"'" ^■''^ designed to .d,of th.ir tours,, a new set of I nT^^ ru^:^ 'ntAi^n^^^^^^ ^he needs end of tlrcir tours, a new uj. 1 10 .<!hows were produced and went ! on the road during September ;md October. Tiirough long coopera- tion, the Veterans Administration's medical chiefs and our producers had pretty well identified enter- tainment ingredients that -were most valuable therapeutically— music, sight acts and the familiar so the seven variety .shows that were fashioned utilized these ele- jnents heavily. Material written by hospital patients themselves provided the basis for a 75-minute travesty on hospital life, which Ezra Stone staged during his sum- mer vacation from radio. John : Golden permitted us to tour his famous comedy, "Turn to the Right, ■• royalty free. So, too, Cheryl Crawford, Alan Jay Lcrner and Frederick Loewe permitted us ■ to use tho American Theater I Wings adaptation of their Broad- Way success, "Brigadoon." Knowing that the Veterans Ad- niinistration's medical officials feel that patient participation in a wide variety of activities is important, our producers recruited several entertainers skilled at drawing the men into their acts. During the spnng. we also conducted a script writing contest for hospitalized men at home and abroad. Exactly 165 veterans sent in 315 pieces of xvriting that ranged from lynes to BKltS. I'o extend hospital participation in tlie theatre even further, each lipspital is provided with a set of plans which enable patients to con- j Windup of an RKO-20th-Fox I pool operation of two first-runs in ; Kansas City has been approved by !the New York federal court. Order permits RKO to turn over Its 50% interest in the Orpheum to Fox-Kansas City, subsid of Na- tional Theatres. In return, the NT circuit is surrendering its half in- terest in the Main Street theatre to RKO. Under the agreement, both i houses will be operated as first- runs. Government gave its pre- liminary d'onsent to the breakup SELENA ROYLE My DrMm I. Your."—W.B. MB T'^i H«iri.M"—Par,, "Bud Boy"—AUied Artitta U Reabsorbs 16m Dept. To Protect 35m Opposish After a two-year trial-run in the distribution of theatrical 16m films domestically through United World iilms, its wholly-owned subsid Universal has decided to incor- porate the department again into Its regular sales organization. Harold Sugarman, head of the d^pt., as a result has moved into U s domain, taking his 16m pro- gram with him. Henceforth, he vvill be directly under the super- vision of William A. Scully, U's distribution veepee. Reabsorption of the 16m wing of theatrical biz is being maneuvered to avoid situations where the nar- row-gauge was booked into outlets competing with U's regular 35m customers. It's figured that keep- ing both gauges of pictures In the same dept. will keep the conflicts to a minimum. Pix Express Rates Up ., Washington. Kail express rates for films and theatre equipment will go up un- der new Interstate' Commerce Commission rates. Commission an- nounced that in the east and .south rates are being brought up to the levels in the west. _This means increases per 100 schedXs.^' ^^'^ Famous Firsts ' By ROGER IMHOF-i- Hollywood. It is with great satisfaction that I recall some famous "firsts"' in show business. On Dec. 30, 1799, at the Federal theatre, Boston, one Graupner blacked his face and sang "The Negro Boy." This was the first blackface act'in J(iiStory. The first minstrel show was produced at the Bowery amphithea- tre, N. Y., Feb. 6, 1843. It \vas "The Virginia Minstrels." Its mem- bers were Billy Whitlock, Dan Emmett, Dick Pelham and Frank Brown. The name "Vaudeville" was used for the first time in Ameri- ca by H. J. Sargent, at Weisiger'a Hall, Louisville, Feb, 23, 1871 The billing was "Sargent's Great Vaudeville Company." Group in-- cluded The Kiralfy Troupe Rigl Sisters, Gus Williams, Will Carle- ton, Charles A. Williams, Jenny' Benson, Kynock & Smith, Mor- risey & Emerson, Oscar Willis Prince Sadi D'Jalna and J w' Ward. ■ ■ Gus Williams wrote the first parody on a popular song. And published a book of jokes and parodies in 1902. The White Rats was organized ■ in 1900 by Dave Montgomery, Fred Stone,. Charles Mason, Tom Lewis Sara Ryan, Mark Murphy, Sam Morton, James Dolan and George Fuller Golden, who borrowed the Idea fram the English club, "The Water Rats." Equity was organized May 26, 1913, by Albert Brunning, Charles Coburn, Frank Gillmore, Milton Sills, Grant Stewart and William Harcourt. It was an outgrowth of the Actors Society of America. The Lambs Club Was organized at Brown's chophouse (Brown was an actor) at his first place on 4th avenue. , Mclntyre and Heath became partners in San Antonio, in 1874. Primrose and West joined hands in 1873 and first appeared with Simmons and Slocum's Minstrels in Philadelphia. ' The Rentz-Santly show was the first burlesque. Television was-first publicly in- troduced at Proctor's theaire, Schenectady, N. Y., May 22, 1930, by Dr. E. E. W. Alexander.son. who developed it for the Qentral Elec- tric Co. ^--^ Fir.st published review of a film was in Variety Jan. 19, 1907. It was reviewed at Pastor's theatre, N. Y., and it was called the Life of a Cowboy." There were no credits for the author, producer and director,' or the actors. Electric lights were first used to light a theatre at Harry Hill's concert hall on Houston street, N.- Y, In this same place the first meeting of the Salvation Army in I America took place. The N Y. Palace theatre opened I March 25, 1913, and "big time" I ended there May 7, 1932. On the I (n)enmg bill were Ed Wynn, Hy I Meyer. Milton Pollock & Co., I Four Vannis, Otto Gygi and Tay- I lor Holmes. . "Ach Du Lieber Augustine" was the first waltz ever composed, in 1770. Willlgm Austin, of Austin and • .Stone, Boiston, coined and first « u.sed "nickelodeon" after his split with Stone. He opened it on Scol- .lay Square, near Austin and Stone's Museum, Boston. Pastor's first theatre (he was a clown) was on the Bowery. His last was on 14th street near Third avenue. The first matinee ever given in America was on July 4, 1827', St' tlie Old Bowery theatre, N. Y. Tlie Mount Vernon Gardens was me first summer pavillion I heal re. It opened in 1800, in N. Y. Co- lumbia Garden. The second .sum- mer theatre, opened in N. Y. in 1823, at Broadway and Piinee. street, and later became Ni bio's Garden. The first American circus began at Somers, N. Y., when Hackaliah Bailey, exhibited "BET," the first elephant ever brought to Ainonca. Afterwards, with some strolling acrobats, the American circus, took form. Loie Puller originated the skirt dance; Papinta the mirror dance, Ameta the fire dance, Helen Kane' the boop boop-a-doop, Bee Palmer the shimmy dance and Pal Koohcy I the waltz clog.