Variety (Apr 1949)

4d Wedneaday, April 6, 1949 Circuit Bookers Still Mulling Plans For Return of Vaude in Faraway Spots Cii'cuit bookei-s are taking a cue-f- from tire success of vaude on the Scliine circuit and are studying the possibilities of playing stageshows sans expensive names in situations where there hasn't been any stage- Shows in years. ATW's VaiiHe Auditionis To Be Held in N.Y. Fri. (8) The American Theatre Wing's professional training program has - . , sclieduled second annual auditions 1 It's expected that the chains will ^ f^^. Pfi^iay <8) at the Charles Weid man studios, N/Nitery opera-1 tors, agency repis and prodXicers; have been invited tp attend. ' j Among those slated to appear are tapster Johnny Argo, singers J Dick Culver, Tom Relder, Bill Scully Quartet and IVIoi-ty Rappe. Also Beverly and Bobby, dance use higher-priced talent up to $1,- 000 per act for the experiments m the new towns. As one circuit booker declared, v ith the shortage of top names and lack of b.o. pull of some of the packages currently being offered, it would be best to start on a nonr name basis in the newer houses. [ team; Pete and Claire Hagan, song It's felt that the Schine bookings i dance turn, and Emile Faustin, have definitely proven that vaude ] ^ Cuban terper. as a substitute for second features | L^gt year's audition was success- is drawing biz. In cities which i f^i launching vKirJcwood and haven't had vaude for some time, Goodman, who attained some it would be poor judgment to start prominence in the intimeries. a flesh policy with top names and . , _ top bands, and then find it neces- l . q D ' 't sary to abandon the policy because \ ^niQ J)00Z6 I CmiltS of inability to follow with displays I _, »i •! i • n 1 on the same level. If the newer | .lirn/Pn lllltll LlflllfllT Kfl situations started oif with a five or * liiqUUI WU. six 'act policy such a policy .can be maintained without difficulty for a long time. ■ An example is provided by the. Capitol theatre, Washington, which rarely goes in for top names and . does consistently good business. ^ The Majestic theatre, Paterson, N. J.; The Rajah,* Reading; Car- man, Philadelphia, and the Olym- pia, l^Iiami, have found the non- name policy .to pay oil. Bookers -declare it would be comparatively easy to get business with low-pric- ed shows in situations where'name acts have seldom played. On the other hand. It would be difficult to lure patronage with middle-1 Trust Fund Being Set Up For Stricken Emile Boreo Lou Walters, operator of the Latin Quarter, N. Y., and Henry Dunn, American Guild of Variety Artists treasurer, will administer a trust fund being set up for Emile Boreo, who was stricken with a heart attack, last month while working at the 22 Club, Miami Beach. Wallers last week received a 31,000 check from Bennie Gaines, Blackamoor room, Miami Beach, operator, who is handling the funds collected at a recent benefit for Boreo. Upon receipt of the "check, Wal- ters^ called in Dunn to help admin- ister the fund. More coin will be forthcoming as soon as a final ac- counting is made .of the recent Miami" Beach benefit. Around $6,000 was collected. Boreo arrived yesterday (Tues,) in New York, for hospitalization at Mt. Sinai hospital. Midwest Dates Agents'Boycott Hits Philly AGVA Branch; Won't Deal Fith Dick Jones Mulls Revision'of law Columbus, April 5. Ohio Board of Liquor Control has frozen liquor permits at the number that will be outstanding April II.',A revision of all existing liquor regulations will be studied while the freeze is in force. Action of the board affects all liquor, beer and wine permits for both carry-out sales and sales over the bar. No new applications for permits will be accepted while the freeze is' in effect but the 1699 applications now pending with the department will remain valid. Liquor department spokesmen bracketed talent into a theatre ac- I said the freeze would be lifted customed to high-priced perform- i when regulation revisions-are com. ers. ' I pleted. ROLLY AND BONNIE PICKERT Held Over 12th Week BELMONT PLAZA, New York M^. JACK KALCHEIM Chicago, April 5. ' Jack Page joins his father Sid as head of the club department with Howard Schultz moving over to the Sam Roberts agency . .Fred and Susan Barry into the Beverley Hills Country Club, Covington, Ky., April 15. Paul Burke, cartoonist, set for WGN-TV Club Matinee, April 12,,. Sclma Marlowe line exits after six months at the Pea- cock Club, Jacksonville, Fla., and opens April 6 Glenn's Rendezvous. Newport, Ky. Dick Hyde joins the show as production singer.. .Jim- my Ames, comic, option picked up at Silver Frolics through May 19 -. Chase Hotel, St. Louis, is bringing in Carmen Miranda,.May 6, follow- ed by Dorothy Shay, May 20 ... Park Plaza, St. Louis, has Charles Trenet in for three weeks starting April 29. Sherman Bros., panto-diskers, held over at Brass Rail indefinitely .:: Cliff WinehiU, comedian, pairs with, Judy Manners, singer, to headline April 22 bill at Stork Club, DCs Moines, . .Joey Bishop moves south to the Beverley Club, New Orleans, April 14 . Lake Club, Springfield, ML, has the Charioteers for week of April 14 . .BiU Fra- zier and Elanor Gray spotted for Flame Club, Sioux City. April 18 . . Glenn's Rendezvous has added , Marie Neglia,,.violinist, to the Andy Russell show", April 8 and for April 22 have Sid Gould and Marie AuS' tin booked. May 5. brings in Pat Patrick and Tyrell and Winslow with Bill Robinson heading the June 3 show and Billy Vine follow- ing in, June 17. Philadelphia, April 5. Open warfare between the Am- erican Guild of Variety Artists and bookers organizations in this city, with a potential strike call and loss of franchises to the majority of the agents, looms as result of an alleged bookers boycott of an AGVA meeting called yesterday to discuss policies. Dick Jones, former head of the dissident Local No. 6 of AGVA, is the now national repvesentative of the union in Philly. As one of his first official acts, JoneS sent letters to all agents and their- associates, night club owners and AGVA members in the area to attend a three-day series of meetings called tor each group separately. . According to Jones, AGVA wanted to discuss such matters as the issuance of contracts on all engagement^, excessive benefits, minimum basic agreements, tele- Vision, exclusive agency contracts, clarification of matinee perform- ances, Wage scales,- etc. The AGVA's first meeting held yesterday in the Lulu Temple was attended by only four indie agents. Concurrent with the AGVA confab organizations of bookers, the Entertainment Managers Assn. and the Variety Bookers Assn. held a . joint meeting in the Belle- vue-Stratford. The meeting was. closed and members refused to discuss its nature. Jones charged the agents were summoned to the meeting by tele- gram, threatened with a $50 fine for failure to attend and that the whole thing was "a direct conspir- acy against AGVA.'' Jones further said ''no member of the AGVA can work for an unfranchised agency, and the bookers groups forfeited their franchises by refusing to talk terms with the actors union." Jones characterized the agents organizations as "unchartered I groups withouj, legal standing" and said AGVA would now deal only with individual agents. I The AGVA meeting with the ni- . tery ops is scheduled for today I and the general membership nveeU I ing will be held tomorrow (Wed > I Spokesman for the bookers con- I tend they have never been notified I by the National Executive Board of ! AGVA of Jones' appointment and as far as they are concerned, Fred Nerritt never left town. Privately the bookers are grousing "about dictatorships." Jones': letter to the bookers, on AGVA stationery was mailed out last Tuesday (28) and received in ' plenty time. It is understood here I that the agents balked at dealing with Jones, when they learned of his appointment several woek.s ago and asked National AGVA for the rights to deal directly with New York. ■ That Jones was aware of their attitude was indicated by the clos- ing paragraph of his letter of in- vitation to the meeting, which stated: "If there is any reluctance on your part to cooperate with ahd abide by the directives of AGVA, as based on the constitution, by- laws and rules and regulations of AGVA, it is hoped that your re- luctance will not: be of such ex- treme nature as to force a strike call of AGVA members to obtain contractual fulfillments.": Dave Apollon ppens at the Bevr erly Hills Country Club, Newport, Ky.. April 29. AMERICA'S NEWEST ENTERTAINER! ARTIE DANN Currently CAPITOL THEATRE NEW YORK (signed for return engagement) Week April 7th^ Adams Theatre, Newark, N. X Week April 15th, Carousel, Pittsburgh Week May 2nd, Olympia Theatre, Miami May 15th, Latin Quarter, Boston June 1st, starting Coast to Coast tour, appearing on reopening of vaudeville bills in Loew Theatres (Thanks to Sidney Piermont) GUESTING ON TELEVISION PIX RECORDS Personal Management MATTY ROSEN 143 West 49th Streef New York City N.Y. AGVA Branch Asks Hands-Qff by Nat'l Bd.; Cites Barto's Stalling Mertibers of the ■ New York' branch of the American Guild of Variety. Artists will press for a • resolution asking the national AGVA office to keep out of; branch atlairs. Resolution will be presented at a meeting slated for,; today (Wed.) at the Park Sheraton i hotel, N. Y. It's charged by several members, most ot them on the N. Y. branch board, t'hat national secretary Dewey Bartp is slowing up the functioning of the branch and de- laying action on various matters. Among the items that the N. Y. board would like to have cleared are disposition of the dispute with the RKO chain o\^gr dismissal Of Charlie Banks as emcee "at the Regent theatre without notice. Meeting will also ask for complete organization of the Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey circus which opens tonight (Wed.) at the Madi- son Square Garden, N. Y. Various members point out that when the branch is permitted to work out its own affairs, various matters can be settled. Examples of the setting up ot increased club- dale scales and increases for the Roxy theatre chorus were worked out without help or hindrance from national AGVA. NICK LUCAS Garr«utly KEN MURRAY'S BLACKOUTS Hollywood GENGO WITH GKEEN AGCY. Larry Gengo this week switclied from the Joe Glaser's Associated Booking Corp. to the. Leonard Green agency. He'll set up an act department at the latter. Gioen agency has been booking bands only, mostly Latin combos^ LENNY COLYER "MR. Sl'Ki'S ]|<)lhl':i I'" THE "NEW LOOK ' IN COMEDY CnrrcnUy mjyyf^y»5^ Exclusive Management-—li' BILLBOARD ATTRACTIONS, Inc. ■aikwIN fHILAbtlPHIA, fA.mmmmtm (LIINTON HOTEL ;T«"ur« aOO OUTSIOI ROOMS tfm '2 DAILY inCIAl WftKlY «*IH, HousfKfC^iNe fAcnifiti mmmvumma •ismhci of «ii iwt*""—_ DANNY BETTY HOCTOR and BYRD Currently Appearing Zri Smash Week STRAND, New York GENERAL ARTISTS CORPORATION