Variety (November 1954)

52 REVIEWS Wednesday, November 3, 1954 ( onacabana. N. V.. | high rides on a Victor Herbert-Vin- Nat (King) Cole & Trio, Morty cent -Youmans olio following GuHtv Four Lads, Pete Conlow, I. which Viola crashes through for a -- UJ ~ - - >,x= big score on her several.hot drums Bob SweeneyJean Stevens;- :Mi*. t . . .. . . ... _ chcici Durso,Frank Marti; Bands; An. a rich,lyrical contralto, Gwen-. $5 nriiTinmm. Jules Podell, now marking his 3.5th anni at the E. 60th St. hospice, is Seemingly goiiig all out .to. make, this a fairly ; memorable .year.. Opening the. season with- Joe E.. Lewis.. lie’s ' followed..that display with the 'current batch, marking the'first appearance of Nat. (King) Cole in the downstairs, room. Cole, It’s remembered,' during his. climb played the upstairs lounge, and now ' he’s not only topping' the show... but he's recognized;, as one' of the. leading Negro singers , of the da That’s been the story., of the Copa. Here’s a spot that’s a must in; the itinerary /of most, of the top cafe performers. A singer- un- willing to depend on the vagaries of the record-buying public feels that he ought to make good at the Copa if. he’s to be around show business for any length of time. Otherwise, it could; be an in-and- out proposition, depending upon the spin of the disk. Cole’s been a long time in. coming here, and In the meantime he’s near the point Where the, failure to connect on any of his Capitol.. diskings can dd him 'no harm, on the pefsohal- .appearance circuits,.. Cole,, aside froi being a cafe lure, is also a dr when going opt with the pig are liar styled shows.. Backed by an instrumental trio, Cole is associated with long Series of hits which have been done in a style that combines sen- sitivity and rhythm. He’s a singer With ch rm and ease, and knows how; to impact color arid individu- ality. to a tune. He does a stint lasting, approximately 40 minutes, to the crowd’s satisfaction, .Comedy spot is held by Mdrty Gunty, youthful newcomer, who has been making a mark locally. Gunty was viewed about; a year ago at .the N. Y. Celebrity Club and has progressed considerably since then. He - has a. good line ] of material, Which includes remi- niscences of a tenure of teaching in Brooklyn, which Contains a lot of laugh material.; He’s good now, and . at the rate of his develop- ment. he’ll fracture the customers the next time he plays here. The Four Lads, who record on Columbia, similarly have moved a long way since they first show- cased at Le Ruban Bleu. ; These four youngsters, originally from Canada, are good on the rhythm tunes with their current plug tune 4 Skokiaari.” The. Lads are surpris-, ingly .good at their version of spirituals, and they endow a ..rhythm, with a lot of. entertainment .vitamins; On . their first show- here .they were probing the audience tastes. It took a long time, so they overstayed, but generally they show an impressive line of tunes, Copa's. production holds up well w ith the Doug Coudy line routines stIn . |, re fa i ing 'their original spark c The production dance solos are ably interpreted by Pete Con* lovw and Bob Sweeney and Jean Stevens bat _out. the songs com- petently. v Jose.. dolyn sensitively essays “Sorrento” in Italian,,“I Believe” and“Sum me.rtii.ne,” the latter against choral backing by 16 members 1 of the orch. Pianist Louise is fluent on. a version of the. Tchaikovsky B Flat Concerto and, to prove she’s no square; .segues: into .an infectious “Bumble Boogie.” Top. r.elie.f is tossed in by a Span- ish dancer named Rosita, whose, slick flamenco interps aren’t .as ex- citing as they might be but pass as okay.. Choir handles a nicely .gad- - geted version of “Hernando’s Hide- away,” done in dark to a traveling spot, which .ushers- in the featured attraction, Evelyn. ... Her fiddling, sells, capitally, on “Gypsy Airs/’, a current pop ballad, arid “Perpetual Motion.” 'Maestro laces, the format together cordially, if hyperboli- Orie of the best dance orchs this roOm has showcased this year turns out to be local band of Benny Sharp, which really makes the cus- tomers feel their dancing shoes. This unit; Was hired to. sub for r eg* ular relief band Of Jack Cavap, which is currently engaged by the. Olsen & Johnson legiter, “Pardon My Antennae;” Les. Hotel Ambassador, L. A. Los Angeles, Oct. 28. Estelita,. Buddy Lester, Los Bar- rtmeos, Rex Koury Orch ' (15), with Peggy Dietriek; $2, cover. . “It, will be .a long three weeks,” as Buddy Lester remarked,- for this new Cocoanut Grove, show. There’s nothing above average enough to indicate a hearty., turnover of covers; Estelita occupies the nominal top spot, being the closing apt. with 22 minutes of song. She played this hotel room just over a year ago and during, the interim has lost, some of the sparkle arid vivacity that, made her a click before. Not that she doesn't still work hard at selling her songs, bub the previous warm naturalness and snap has been replaced by a surface, slick- riess, so she doesn’t pull the audi- ence* With her. Buddy Lester is ,a funny, man, but ' often during his 33-minute turn he Worics hard at disproving it, with some questionable mate- rial arid routines hardly for the dowager pr, debutante sets. The rest of the time he is a. rough and rowdy comic, dragging down some good : . laughs with his routine with the hats, throwaway lines and gen eral tomfollery. He goes serious for art; encore with a takeoff on Ted Lewis doing.'“When My Ba<by Smiles.. At; Me.” If any oldtimers have wondered what happened to those marathon and jitterbug dance teams that used to. tour the country, the an swer is they are now 'mambo ex- perts, as represerited by derriere (Tiro's, L. A. Joe! Grey, Amin Bros;, Viuiar. & I TaSsi, .. Tin* Louise,. L<ne /IW th 1 Barraneos, the blonde. Dick Stabile . (iQ) & Rob by Rariios (4). Orchs;. $2 cover. Eilgenafer llcacli, riii d. •, o x , c , hi cago, Oct. 25. Plnl Spitalny s All-Girl Orch and Choir (.20), featuring Evelyn and Magic Violin; $1 cover. $3 50 minimum . Automatically good biz is in the making with this two-framer, as. Pml Spitalny’s yearly distaff dis- play regularly means meat-and- .potatoes for the Edgewater’s Ma- rine Room. Another fortriighter follows this show, and then the room boards up for remodelling. .Whether it -will resume its show policy after renovating, is still up u° l -?v. ■ s * Prohibitive talent costs, headliner shortages and a general slackening, of business has the man- agement huddling over a possible change of character for the dinery winter. Packed room that howled its delight, over the effervescerit antics of the . talent-loaded. Joel Grey opening nights must’ve shared the same sentiment, that this lad is going places arid nothing can stop hi hi.. In four years, since he was first discovered by Eddie Cantor and maestro A1 Goodman as an unseasoned youngster in “Borscht- capadeSj” lie has come, a long way, and the son of Mickey Katz, vet comic of the Yiddish, stage, is ripe and ready, for the big time at 22. . To composite his talents is to conjure tip such; top performers as. Danny Kaye, Donald O’Connor and Sammy Davis, Jr." He can rattle off gibberish with the speed of Kaye, mimic like Davis and get off a fast step or song in the mari- ner of O’Connor. All these he did on the opener and the plaudits must still be ringing in his ears. As a rribnoiogist to rank with the likes of Bob Hope, Jack Benny and other. staridup humorists he needs but sharper, material arid more relaxed timing, which should come with professional maturity. Grey’s best musical number, for. which special lyrics were written by Ray.Evans and .Jay Livingston, is the “Straw Hat” specialty, which affords.hiiri latitude to impersonate Jerry Lewis, Billy Daniels, Mau- rice Chevalier, Eddy. Cantor arid: George M; Cohan. .All are bright facets of impressionistic art. His satire ori folksongs, and sentimental spoof singing to a large cutout of Betty Grable are paw-pounders. No bigger than a minute, he’s a bundle of energy- that explodes all over tli .stage. The line of 10 scantily-clad dancing girls flashes through one number with Tina Louise as vo- calist. Amin Bros, spin and whirl through their by-how familiar bal- a !? c i?. g . act ’ and the juggling team of Vivian & Tassi rourids out the fortnight booking. Dick Stabile and Bobby Ramos look after the production arid dance music. Helm. Giilinraii, Ottawa Ottawa, Oct. 29. --Four Guys, Brurinar & Lorraine, Paid White; Harry Pozy Orch (8); $1 adriiission. the Los . Barrancos t the blonde distaffer and partner shake their way .through seven , minutes of rea" fast mambo beats.: Their.musica arrangements are good. Rex Koury arid orchestra do a good job of backstopping the acts and luring the customers on the floor between shows. Conducting for Estelita. is Armando Herrera with Jack Costanza on the bongo Nick Castle staged her act. Brag; S" 1 lor. the nonce, the Spitalny slotting js made to order—a choice item lor the regular family clicn* • tele, being colorful and slagefiliing I yet with- dif nity and reserve. Gats • are good (o look at, handle their music /in., man-sized - fashion, and slack up nicely in dual roles as in- strumentalists and choir chirpers Its a fast-moving hour, getting diversity from shifting musical moods and from the spotlighting of soloists. It also makes the custom- ers feel they’re tasting culture, al Insertion of okay tap terps arid instrument-playing into a general- ly clicko: chart turn sets the Four Guys high in the quartet roster. ■Fresh, lively bbys, (two colored) work hard at selling disked (Mer- cury > and other, .tunes to collect j hearty milting. Closer, with Bert ^Carroll on piano and Dee Carroll with, sax accompanying Billy and Larry Austin’s tapping, gets begoff reception. Beverly Hills, Newport Newport, Ky., Oct. 27. . Hal LeRoy, Mary Meade,.. Jay Marshall, Earl... Lindsay Dancers (10), Dick Hyde, Gardner Bene- dict Oi*c)i (10); $3 'minimum, $4 Saturdays. Hastily put together due to the illness-enforced cancellation of Helen Traubel, the current lineup is one of the most entertaining at this Greater Cincinnati swank nitery in a long span. Cincy-born, Hal LeRoy, fills the star spot with his customary, ease and superb lejblogyi His assort- ment of softshoe; tap, chair and ballrobm stepping is enriched with a contagious personality. Socalled breathers, of Bill Robinson and Fred Astaire takeoffs; permit him to give his all in energy-absorbing specialties. He seemingly enjoys his 30 minutes ori the boards as much as the customers. Jay Marshall gives the show a fast, start:with masterly showman- ship mixing of light magic, excep- tionaliy bright patter and a self- styled “prepared encore” of ventri- loquism in which his haridkerchief- covered left hand ‘ the bunny puppet. A fast 20 minutes. ■ Mary Meade, sophisticated chirp- er and impressionist, on her first visit here, wins friends readily. Her song cycle is smoothed with special numbers by her piano accompanist, songwriter Ted Grouya, who treats with a medley of his ow tunes, including “Flamingo.” Three gay routines by the Earl Lindsay line, Dick Hyde’s emceeing and singing, and splendid backing by Gardner Benedict’s combo pep the proceedings. Kdll,. Last Frontier, I„as Vejgas Las Vegas, Oct. 25. Ed Wynn, Step Bros. (4), June Rosselle, Dagenham Girl Pipers (12», Frontier . Girls (10), Gar- irood Van Orch (11)or minimum.-. Ed Wynn enicees the current' layout, for 70 minutes that are somewhat entertaining. The lisp- jnfl/ giggling “Perfect Fool” ..with the high-pitched laugh, as remem^ bored reverently by oldsters, dis- ports himself onstage in a zariy coli lection of hats,.costumes and tramp shoes. That he has the affection of the diners is a credit to Wynn’s 50 in. the - .theatre,. His cafe ma■ TH Lc »if j as is the show’s staging. Star, has no big spot of his own aside from sorrie isolated mornents for briefly typical Wynn hysterics with comic props,- and he serves mainly to in- tro and wind the acts, as he works together with one, Iris singing pro* tege, blonde June Roselle some cheese , . . . ven, ture into operatic arias. 'The sing- “shadow,” Paul White is here with a standout single in a ,solid, fast stanza. White makes effective use of terps, gab, impressions and chant to keep the mob with him all the way. Held over are thb socko adagio and chant pair, Brun* I bar & Lorraine. Harry. Pozy band, er is Wynn’s foil arid she scores best atop the comediari’s peram- bulating piano oh which the young charmer belts "Shine On” and “Tea For Two,” while Wynn bi- cycles it arpund the stage. Her best . thing is “Ebbtide,” because the star allows her to essay the whole thing. Generally, he makes a big intro, then interrupts the gal’s vocals and the spell,, if any, is dispelled. Wynn’s idea of a sing- ing.'foil is obvious enough. This one, a gal with promise,' actually is cause for. impatience by the audi- ence that she.be allowed to sing. . Wynrfs biggest show lag comes with liis drape, scene, in .which he Uses a pair of chorines to drape gowns specially .styled for him. This portion consumes about. 15 minutes that. are slow. The . end result, beautiful gowns indeed, hardly justify the destruction of valuable entertainment time. 1 The Step Bros, are a big aid ill lifting up the siiQWi The four tap- sters are superb in'slides, glides, challenge dancing arid comedies to: entertain . and thrill at lightning pace. A rriarribo ifi taps number is boffo. This act would be the logical closer in the display; for there’s nothing doing in. the supper room that can rightfully follow, it. The Dagenhani Girl Pipers, col- orfully arrayed iri Scot kilties, are pleasantly and loudly deployed arourid the stage in maneuvers. Clean-looking youngsters are bag- pipe and drum expects who. exude a genuine breath of old Scotland in a, brief ; chore cliiriaxed by ‘ rousing “Loch Lomond;” ;. The Last Frontier Girls move well enough, in a pair of numbers. Polish will come with: ajdded per- formances, which should insure, the avoidance of the jostling that was detected at the opener. Garwood Van orch is up to its usually effi- cient par with the show’s score. Bob. Baker Hotel, Dallas Dallas, Oct. 3.0. Sophie Tucker, with Ted Sha- piro; Joe Reichriian Orch (9 ) ; $3 cover. :. Sophie Tucker is back in high stride. A Galveston caricellatiori due to her wardrobe loss in the Balinese Roorii fire there oppor- tuned a 10-day rest and acquisition of new gowns here. Results are highly rewarding. She appears younger than ori her two previous dates in the Mural Room here and she’s ridded bounce to every ounce in kidding her weight,- Also, there’s fresh material to abet the, new drapery. After standing ovation at walkon, in a startling leopard gown with orange-lined matching cape, the sellout room opening night was in her upraised,, trade- marked palm. Her talk-songs vary in mood from innuendo to serioso, with resulting blushes, bellies and pindrop silence iri tribute to the master showwoman. Stint includes banter with . Ted Shapir , her accomp for 33 years, a. discourse on Dr. Kinsey’s reports, and a dramatic discourse to .encourage the youngei; generation, Miss Tucker, now marking her 60th show biz aririi, gives a serious onceover of her life with “My Golden Jubilee.” Supercharged finale rates another sfandiiig ova- tion for her sock 40*minute stint. Her 12-night stand here follows with a tour extending to N. Y. next Easter; then -she’ll: rest through 1955. Maestro Joe Reichman, via expert 88’ing, leads his new crew in floor-filling terp sessions. Bark. Thunderliir& Lus Las Vegas, Oct. 28 Ellfl Logdn, Don Tannen, Catron Thunderbird D'ancers (8), AlJahns OrcJi .'(11); no covlr or minimum . i. This playspot, which for some time now has been rated behind the competitively highpriced ex- travaganzas, on the Strip, hits back with the current Hal Braudis lav* out, in a rev.ue' that rivals the best that’s been presented on Highway 91 all season. The reason is Elia Logan. Still the bombastic hovden of “Firiian’s .Rainbow,” the Broad- way vet with the. big pipes earns a solid ovation after socko rendi- tions. Belter .can deliver an old song in which the lyrics have: been taken for granted for. years arid make you believe them all ovei* again.. She proves conclusively that every moment she plays else- where. is Broadway’s, loss. (See New: Acts). ■' Don Tarineri, satirical comedian carries a good wallop iri the second spot: and winds a solid act in a begoff .He comes on \vith a dummy whose face, is an exact replica of his own—even to the bulging eyes —but soon dispels the idea he’s solely a Ventriloquist when ha takes his counterpart apart and works with the head alone. Dispos- ing of the ventro chore, the clever comic, does socko impressions of Ezio Pinza rind Peter Lorre singing ‘Some Enchanted Evening.” J$n* tertainer Sings “There’s No Busi- ness Like Show . Business” French for yocks rind does a moun- taineer version Of. “Night And Day” for big returns. As. a Nazi officer with a mdnocle and whistle, shouting commarids at the audi- ence, Tannen produces the laugh- topping' bit of the fast-mOving revue. :• . fresh youpg Catron Bros., singing, tap-dancing dUo, are. pleas- ingly versatile, managing to sock over clever comedy routines, be- tween musical chores. Some of the . gags were lost at. the opener du to obvious jitters . but the Vegas newcomers will emerge okay with a few performances under the belt. The ’ ThUnderbird Dancers score i . a nicelyrcostumed masquerade number, with a member Of the line performing an eye-pleasing ballet. Bob. Ankara, l*itt Pittsburgh, Octi 28. Blackburn Twi?is & Genie Ston * Phil Richards Ice Revnie with Alls Foster, Chiickie Stein: .and '.Lin (4); Jimmy Confer, Walter Gable Orch (7); no cover or minimiivi.- lloiol Raalifusori, Mpls. , Minneapolis, Oct. 30. Jan August, Don McGuire Orch (8); $2.50 minimum.. Jan August iis an annual, Wel- come visitor here. In the toriy Flanie Room, where his piano-play- ing supplies especially suitable en- tertainment, they had extra tables UP: to accommodate. the throng at his second' night’s supper show. And, the fact that he was called back three times and wound up to a begoff after .45 minutes of spiel-, ing, bold the full story. As always, August goes uripre- enliously and graciously about his business of playing the piano well. Smart routining and topnotch ma- terial, as well as outstanding ivory massaging talent, are in their usual evidence; Much of it again is in a mellow mood and all of it stacks Up as highly listenable. Classical as well as pop numbers, ranging from concertos to jajzz, are cal- culated. to hit almost everybody’s fancy; And the pianistic changes of pace arid diversity spell audi- ence, dividends. Haridling tricky and difficult ar- rangements with technical profi- ciency arid warmth, Don McGuire and his orchestra back up August I silperbly, as well as providing Boff h customer dancing music. Rees; Blackburn Twins could organize quite an Alumnae Assn., starting with Janet Blair and going, down through Martha Stewart, Vivian Blaine, Pam KaVafi, Marion Colby arid, Evelyri Ward; Now they have a -new partner, Genie Stone, and the boys have struck gold again. She’s a blonde looker, straight out of the Marilyn Monroe. school, and although this is the Black- burns’ first engagement with her after* a month of rehearsing, Miss Stone already handles herself like a vet. The dancing can still stand a bit of polishing, especially since she’s with a couple Cf the best hoofers in the business, but the singing voice is plenty okay and her deportment in the other de* partments is, too. But even if Miss Stone, until recently the produc- tion singer at the Sands Hotel Las Vegas arid before that the vo- calist with bands of Harry James and Jerry Gray, couldn’t sing a. note or knock off a time step, it’s probable no one would mind any- way since she’s so easy on the eyes. As for the Blackburns them* selves, they’re still genuine class, with styles and personalities which grow., iri; stature each time around. They have a lot of new material, smart and salable, but of course their standard, the mirror dance, i still in the act and probably al- ways will be;. It*s a trademark by now and they’d be loco to drop it. Blackburns and Miss Stone take over the last half at. the Ankara, with Phil Richards’ ice revue on at the beginning. It’ff 20 minutes of good skating, flashily presented, well costumed and With plenty of attention to fine production values for. so small a layout. Richards hiriiself knows the showier skating: tricks which earn him dividends in applause and Alis Foster is a looker who is long on technique and flash, and a topdrawer soloist. Other principal is Ghuckie Stein, for a long time in “Ice Capades’ and “Ice Cycles,-’ but the little fel- low’s value is in novelty stuff, and he’s not being used to best ad- vantage. Jimmy Confer sells his fine voice well in a couple of num- bers while the movable rink's com- ing on and also doubles asxrii.c, and vocalist with Walter 'Gable's house •band, a versatile* Combo with a quick ear for all of the ’ dance rhythms In thlc cataldg. -'Cohen.