Variety (December 1954)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

66 VAUDEVILLE pfyfsmfr m . Wednesday, December 1, 1954 Gotham's LaM % Operators of La Martinqufc, N.Y., C 9 ulidn ? t revive the glamor this spot possessed in a former era, when it was one of the name cafes in the area. Spot* after two months’ operation, will run weekend shows only.. Weekdays it will attempt to remain open with Pupi: Campo’s band. Spot blamed its woes on the fact that the talent agencies failed to help it by shuttling attractions in : its direction. At the same time, the bonifaces declared that whatever acts were submitted to. them, were at inflated prices. Booking of Cab Calloway on the last bill was an at- tempt to cash in on the jazz trade. Nitery is fronted by Mike Rainey, who Will host at Cafe Soci- ety Downtown, -N. Y. Latter , cafe is set to repoen as soon as altera- tions are completed: It was orig- inally slated for a September preem, but contractors failed to finish by that date. A new contrac- tor recently took Over. TALENT AUDITIONS SET BY USO-CAMP Casino Shutters Again Pittsburgh,. Nov. 30. Casino, local burlesque house which, - reopened recently after 5 a shutdown, of nearly a year, () is still finding the going pretty fough and has shuttered again—for a month this time, the management says. Theatre closed'Thanksgiving Night (25) and said it would relight on Christmas Day. That’s the intention, anyway, but the last time the Casino darkened* in February, they, said the spot would swing back 'into action at Easter time. It didn’t, however, and the shuttering extended over a period of nine months. IJSO-Camp Shows will hold mass talent and auditions in four cities starting tomorrow (Thurs.i. Bert : Wishnewv production manager, and Charles Burgess, music director, have, emplaned for Seattle to hold the first mass audition there. They’ll follow on Dec. 7 at Dallas, go to New Qrleans the following day, and will close with a two-day stand in Miami Dec. 9 and 10. The auditions are being set up With the cooperation of the Ameri- can.'Guild of Variety Artists and the American Federation of Musi- cians, who will supply the halls. James Sauter, USO-Camp Shows j prexy, and Lawrence Phillips, exec veepee, go out to the Coast next week to put the final okay on the holiday shows that will tour over- seas bases. FOR LA VIE EN SHELTON Monte Proser’s La Vie (he is dropping the “En.Rose” from the Title), will be housed in the Hotel Shelton, N. Y., under an 18-year lease which the hostelry’s new" management has consummated. The Shelton ownership changed hands in the midst of Proser’s orig- inal negotiations, but the new con- trol has gone even beyond the bon- iface’s preliminary negotiations, because it. will ballyhoo La Vie as part of the.hotel’s appeal to out-of- town guests. Since Proser vacated his East 54th St, (N. Y.) spot, because the Gilmore’s Steakhouse ownership wanted it for an "uptown.” branch, the .showman has been concentrat- ing .on his Bucks County Inn, ad- joining the Playhouse in Doyles- town, Pa., and clicking with his Polynesian food policy Which will be transplanted to La Vie. Per usual, the spot will play names. Proser’s showcasing of Lillian Roth last spring! was largely in- strumental; for her signal “come- back.” Jerry Lester Clicks With Aussie Patrons Sydney, Nov. 23, Yank comic Jerry Lester is clicking with Aussie audiences nicely after having taken about a week to get a grip on the "Down Under.” idiom. Lester is expected to stay at the Tivoli, until Xmas, when the management will bring in French-type revue starring Jean Sablon, after a season at the Mel- bourne Princess, .where the show,,] "La Vie Parisienne,” opened Nov 20 . . Diavid N. Martin, impresario of j the Tivoli Circuit, due here from a talent-scouting trip to England, the Continent and U< S. early in December. He’s signed Winifred Atwell, Ja- maican pianist,, to open in Mel- bourne at the Tiv about Feb. 4. Cornell to Spearhead U. S. Scottish Vaude Trek Glasgow, Nov. 30. Don Cornell will spearhead the U. S. vaude trek to Scotland next spring, He’s.set for the Empire, leading vaudery, week of March 21. It will be his British bow, Disk singer will play vaude and concert dates in England from March to May. Cornell's waxing of "Hold My Hand” from the film, “Susan Slept Here,” is currently topping the bestselling disk list here. It’s ahead of Vera Lynn’s. "My Son, My Son,” in second slotting; and Eddie Fish- er’s "My Friend” in third position. STRIPPER Contact: DICK HENRY 1733 B'way, N.Y. JU. 2-0014 St. Louis Area Club Near 111. Racetracks St. Louis, Nov., 30. John Connors and Gregory Moore have relighted their Club Prevue near the Fairmount Park Jockey Club, across the Mississippi from here, and the Illinois spot is providing entertainment for guests at. hotels in downtown St. Louis who are sans such amusement since the Hotel Jeffersom (Hilton), discon- tinued floorshows. Club Prevue dimmed its lights when running races started at the Fairmount and continued at Caho- kia Downs, which inaugurated its activities when Fairmount closed. Races continued at Cahokia until mid-OcJ.ober. Each track has been Okayed for a 60-day meet next year, with Fairmount opening and Caho- kia closing. It. is likely, that the Club Prevue will close during the : racing session. New York Billy Daniels pacted for the Casablanca* Miami Beach, Dec. 21 ...Janik & Arnaut down for an April ..date at the Flamingo, Las Vegas. ..Ryan &■ McDonald start at the Ambassador,, Los Angeles, today ,(Wed.) . . Carmen McRae joins the show at the Rodeo Club, Chicago, Dec, 8 Don Cornell goes into the Monte Carlo, Palm Beach, Feb. 8 Jackie' Bright starts, at Steuben’s, Boston, Dec. 9 for tw weeks. Chicago Frankie Rapp, Pearl Eddy and Leslie & Whitehouse into relighted Preview in Collinsville, 111. Dec. 2 for two weeks . . Ginny Scott playing Park Lane, Denver, Nov. 27 through Dec. 15 ... Kaye Bal- lard opening MUehlebach Hotel, Kansas City, for two weeks begin- ning Dec. 17 . . . Bill Kenny, cur- rent at Vogue Terrace, in McKees? port, signed to personal manage- ment as a single with . Howard Christensen . Taylor Four inked for Eddys’, Kjqisas City, on Feb. 4 for fortnight, their first time out of Denver: 10G SETTLEMENT FOR Reno, Nov. 30. Settlement between the River- side Hotel, here, and Esther Wil- liams was reached prior to the scheduled opening of the show last Thursday (25). Operator Mert Wertheimer shelled out $9,000 plus $1,000 attorney fees to Miss. Wil- liams and her husband, Ben Gage, Who were to have Appeared at that inn for two weeks. ' Originally, Miss.. Williams was [.booked for the date, but Wer- theimgr, getting an opportunity to bring in Lena Horne, made a sec- ond deal. He was unable to post- pone the date of either performer, and would have had to play both on a single bill or pay Miss Wil- liams her contracted salary for .two weeks. Glaser, Coward Head For Coast Huddles Joe Glasser, head of Associated Booking Corp., together with Noel Coward, take off for Hollywood to- day (Wed.) to work out some film, tele and Las Vegas: cafe deals.. Coward arrived in the U. S. last Joe Glaser, head of a Associated week. Glaser .brought* him the $37,500 Vegas bid to London a fortnight ago. Heat’s on Again Alon£ Chi Strippers’ Row Chicago, Nov. 30! . Heat is on again along the strip- per’s row on South State St. here. Police raided the Staite-Harrison hurley theatre last Sunday (28) and arrested tljree peelers. More than 200 pati’ons were chased from the theatre and. their money refunded at the boxoffice. THE VILLAGE : VANGUARD * 7th Aye. at 11th St. CH. 2-9355 “20 Yedrs Is A Long lime” 20th Anniversary Celebration Sunday, December 5th Present Show: ROBERT CLARY - RUTH PRICE • Coming—December 14th: STAN FREEMAN SYLVIA SYMS Clarence Williams Trio Saranac Lake By Happy Ben way Saranac Lakey-Nr Y-. Nov. 30. Joe McCoy, manager of Loew’s i Victoria, Brooklyn, registered in as a new guest here; he was transr fered from a Kings County Hos- pital, Brooklyn, to the Will Rogers via ambulance. His wife Catherine and his brother James accompan- ied him on the long auto trip.v Technicians front RCA and other radio and tele companies finally have made it possible for the patients here to enjoy tv. pro- grams mostly from one channel. William Hartnett, staffer with Faipous Players Canadian Picture circuit, took six months to def- initely beat the rap; rated an all- clear to go. home. His ; father, Wm: Hartnett is business agent for the Ottawa Canada IATSE local. Camp Intermission flooded with messages and cards of congratula- tions to Mrs. William "Mother” Morris on her 81st birthday. Grady Graham, the Abemale, N. C. Drive-In manager, back at the Will Rogers resuming the cure after a 10-day furlough at home to Salute the arrival of a new baby daughter. Write to those wjio are ill. Molly O’Day, former head of the Molly O’Day Booking Agency in Oklahoma City, has joined the Chic Scoggin office, Dallas. She will specialize in Club dates and convention shows. Night Club Reviews mSmSSSSSS Continued from page 64 ssss Biinstmb’s, Boston cordial qhichat, resulting in a pleasant, satisfying, sesh. Surrounding lineup is excep- tionally strongy even for this spot, which consistently books topnotch sight acts. BiH tees off with John- son & Madill, ' a couple of male terpsters, who give out with fast routines atop a couple of drums and whip through some very fancy stepping, winding with a series of backflips. The guys work hard and score handily. In the-second slot, .Trixie, a diminutive blonde, un- corks some nifty juggling, skips rope while bouncing a ball on her forehead, and displays.. socko adeptness at tossing and catching several strawhats, rubber balls and dinner plate-sized mats. The Smetonas, admixed duo, nab terrific reaction with a perch act, the gal performing tricks atop a pole balanced on her male part- ner’s head. For a clincher, the .pair does a head-to-head while climbing up and down a 20-foot ladder. In the warmup spot ahead of Miss Page, Esko LaRue, with Hibbard & Bird* garner yocks with a zany ballroom. terp turn. LaRue, essay- ing the role of a tipsy ringsider, wanders onstage to inten;upt ..the pair’s dance routines, The guy does such a convincing job as a lush that it. takes some time before the. customers tumble to the gag. Michael Gaylord and his aug- mented crew cut a slick show With Miss Page’s foursome sitting 'in during her stint. Lou Weir purveys rhythms via the Hammond organ between sets. Elie. Sans Soucl, Miami B’cli Miami Beach, Nov.. 26. Arthur Blake, Ann Herman' Dancers, Sacasas Orch; $2.50 bev. minimum. Back to ; play his semi-annual date in the Blue Sails Room, Arthur Blake comes up with a tightened, ’ streamlined version of his series of lampoons on stage, screen and public figures. There’s still enough material contained, however, for him to divide the carbon-capers into a three-night session with a few requested re? peats. Blake has discarded the back-, grpundscrim Utilized heretofore, depending instead on sharply- timed lighting effects to help pro- ject the illusions he Creates while essaying “his satirizations on not- ables. What makes his staging high- ly effective is the manner in which, he applies the persons paraded to characters put of history, and With it, purveying a smart assemblage of specially-written lines to bring out the satirical or dramatic, values inherent in the portrayals. On for almost an hour, he winds into a begoff with his standard takeoff on Mrs, Roosevelt -addressing a lecture group. Ann Herman and her dancers tee off matters in zingy fashion with exhibitions of mambo and samba patterns. Lary. Bellevue Casino, Monf 9 1 Montreal, Nov. 19. Miller & Gibson, Lucienne & Ashour, Sons of Morocco (6), Roger Doucet, Nina & Valdez, Tadeo Gosden, Dorothy Moreau, Bill Degan, Casino Lovelies (10), BixBelair Orch (11), Buddy Clay- ton Quartet with Shirley Sheldoh; staged and produced by Mme. Komarova , music by George Ko- maroff; $1 admission. . Current layout at the Bellevue Casino is still another in a long list of socko offerings by bon if ace Harry Holmok and biz is steady with capacity houses on weekends, Outstanding in the present revue and new to Montrealers is the hafping-hoofing duo of Olivette Miller and Bert Gibson:. With the handsome Miss Miller at the harp, Gibson highlights all sequences with his socko terping. Act has polish and slickness combined with solid talent and this 'sepia duo could’ve worked another” five min- utes, judging from reception on night caught. Femme’s costurnes are vivid and theatrical and her fingering is out of the strumming groove. Finale with male barbed in' wig and identical gown aping femme’s movements is the- only doubtful hit In the routine. •: The six animated Sons of Mo- rocco impress with sheer volume and speed. All. males and all about the same height, their rapid-fire tumbling . and general acrobatics make them a cinch in this room.. Lucienne & Ashour, old faves around, this saloon, still pick up a Ifine reception for their Apache sessions, which get rougher and more legit looking with every visit. Vocal corner with Roger Doucet as headliner is adequate and tenor is backed by the chirping of Tadea Gosden and Dorothy Moreau nice- ly. The ballroomology of Nina & Valdez continues to score as they spark all the lavish production numbers. Bill Deegan, in - the emcee slot, keeps the show moving for a gpod 60 minutes. House orch is under the baton of Bix Belair for all performances and he splits customer dansapa- tion moments with the Clayton combo handily. Newt.' Agencies Mull ; Continued from page .1 55553. There have been ’ bids for pro- ducers such as Qeorgie Hale. In addition;, the Vegas hoteliers as well as the agencies are inulling such ideas as fashion shows. Oleg Cassini has already been proposed to one spot to hold weekly couture sessions to entice femme trade and Hollywood lammisters. Of course, production shows aren’t new iii that area. Hotels there periodically play, big units sans names, such as the "Latin Quarter Revue,” and have goite in for a pair of British units. A couple of years ago they went in for tab musicals. Agency thinking isn’t along- these lines at the mo- ment. Rather, they are. seeking to concentrate on name producers and gimmicks outside of show busi- ness. Hal Braudis, entertainment di- rector of the Thunderbird,*’has in- stalled a mambo layout. He’s also planning a« one-week concert dur- ing Christmas week by the Winged Victory chorus! One idea has been rejected— that of getting athletes of all kinds to give exhibitions there. The idea has worked out in the Catskill belt but, so. far* isn’t felt feasible for Vegas. In the Catskills, it’s pointed out, the idea is not only to draw people, but to keep them interested in the various attrac- tions. In Vegas, the attractions, whatever they be, are primarily to attract trade and keep the cus- tomers interested for short periods only. Then the idea is to whisk them off to the tables. Athletic demonstrations are much' too long to meet the Vegas requirements. WHEN IN BOSTON It's the r The Home of Shew Folk Avery I Washington Sts. When In laffalo Stop at thn ROANOKE APARTMENT HOTEL An Apartment for tho prlco of a Room . CompItttCooking facililiet M, Unchner, Mgr., 206 So. Elmwood Av. * ‘ • . . ‘ ‘ V . . | "that distinctive song due" herb and betty warner held over le rnfoan lileu now york management: BERNIE ILSON