Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

THIS WEEK SCOTT E. CHESNUTT Atlanta — Affectionately known as “Scotty” to everyone in the territory, Scott E. Chesnutt, division manager of GB productions, and one of the most colorful figures in the industry in the south, has added another highlight to his colorful career by being appointed Lieutenant Colonel on the official staff of Governor Rivers of Georgia, and after only a year’s residence in the state. Into Film Business in 1918 Scotty entered the film business with Paramount Pictures in Atlanta (after the baseball season closed in 1918) when their office was on Luckie St. He traveled out of Atlanta until 1923, when he was transferred to the Jacksonville office as salesman. later being made branch manager. In 1935 he was returned to the Atlanta office for a short time before resigning from Paramount to accept the post he now holds as division manager of GB Pictures. Ardent Sports Fan Scotty is an ardent sports fan, a flair which dates back to the time he was covering sports news for the Birmingham News, following his graduation from Howard College, which job incidentally lead to his umpiring career, and later resulted in his being cast in a Paramount Pictures “Casey at the Bat” as the umpire. The Atlanta-Georgian carried a story by Ed Danforth, sports writer, Sunday, April 25 issue, “How Scotty Chesnutt Broke in as Umpire.” Quoting Danforth: ‘Scotty Chesnutt was standing by, dressed in all the modest simplicity of George Weeks, general manager of American distribution of GB, and Scott Chesnutt, southern division manager for GB, with headquarters in Atlanta, caught in front of the Lincoln Theatre, Miami, recently. WE MEET a Neon sign. His suit of champagne tweeds, flecked with red and green, his beige shirt and his green-and-red plaid tie were talking for him. ‘That Matty broke me in as an umpire. I’ll never forget him,’ he said. ‘I was writing sports in Birmingham when Carleton Molesworth had the club and they were playing the Giants an exhibition game. I went down on the field and asked Moley for his batting order. He gave it to me and offered me a copy of the Giant’s hitting order, too. Matty was to pitch. ‘Who is the umpire?’ I asked. ‘Hey, I forgot to get one,’ Moley answered. ‘Never once thought of it! If you want to make $20 you can have the job.’ ‘Well, I never had umpired a game, but I would have cut a man’t throat for $20 in those days, so I accepted it. ‘I got by all right for two innings standing out there behind Mathewson, and he had nothing to say about my decisions. I’ll admit I was guessing when he was pitching, for his fast ball looked like an aspirin tablet to me. A lot of them were low, around the knees, and I had him in several holes, but he got out with his high, hard one. ‘As he came out for the third inning, Matty said to me: ‘Mr. Umpire, that low ball I am pitching is what is called the fade-away. You may not have seen it before. It comes up to the plate, just above the knees, and breaks downward sharply. I believe I am correct when I say that you have been mistaken in calling several of those pitches balls instead of strikes.’ ‘All I could say was thank you, sir. And we got along fine after that. The Birmingham club did not get a man to first base and the Giants won, 5 to 0.’ However, he made good, and umpired the Southern League and the International League for several years. Lecture Tour at 19 That’s only one incident, Scotty can tell you hundreds. Ask him sometime about the lecture tour he made when he was 19, lecturing on “The Works of Shakespeare.” Or the time he ran for Lt. Governor of Alabama on the wet ticket and was defeated by the dry candidate, who Scotty discovered celebrating his victory in advance in the town saloon and helped ^HEATRE business in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas is in better shape than in many years, say business experts, and apparently so, judging from the reports brought back to Memphis headquarters by film and equipment salesmen. New movie houses are springing up all around and those in business for a number of years are on a remodeling and equipment buying “spree.” The new Leper & Sharp house at Linden, Tenn., has been operating a week with a 200-seat capacity . . . Charles Monts opened improvised theatres in Nettleton arid Shannon, Miss., two weeks ago . . . Charles Ward, opening the Ward at Corning, Ark., this week has purchased modern equipment from the National Theatre Supply Co. . . . Earl Vandiver, operator of the Palace at Kennett, Mo., has ordered a raft of new equipment including a cooling system and projection parts . . . Dave Flexner and Bernard Haberfeld are installing cooling equipment at their Ritz in New Albany, Miss. Page M. Baker, RKO manager, is just back from Nashville where he accompanied Vernon H. Adams, public relations man. Incidentally, the two received the governor’s endorsement of the RKO Photoplay Study Guide, RKO educational feature. Page will leave Memphis June 12 with his two salesmen, Norman Colquohoun and Steve Stein, to attend the opening of the RKO national convention at the Ambassador in Los Angeles June 16. Nate Bernstein, popular co-owner of the Monarch Theatre Supply Co., is making a week’s business tour of North Mississippi . . . Wayne Brenkert, of the Brenkert Light Projection Co., at Detroit, spent last week in the office of Monarch, distributors of his Suprex lamps. National Theatre Supply Co. is in the throes of a $2,000 program of remodeling that will be complete within a month. The office space is being increased, the walls redecorated and air-conditioning installed . . . Mae Browning Heaton, the manager’s personable secretary, whose marked resemblance to Myrna Loy is the talk of the town, found the noise too much for her and moved into the Columbia office next door. Republic Pictures has a new contract clerk in the person of pretty Helen Huffman . . . A. C. Bromberg of Atlanta, president of Republic Pictures Corp. of the Southeast, is visiting the local branch for several days . . . Smith Brothers are installing a new cooling system in their Imperial at Pocahontas, Ark. smuggle him out the back way to his hotel to save the party’s honor, even to rescuing his derby from the familiar cuspidor. That’s Scotty Chesnutt of the red carnation-boutonniere and patent leather shoes, who, though he hob-nobs with kings or governors will never lose the common touch. Congratulations, Colonel Scott Chesnutt. 94 BOXOFFICE :: May 8, 1937,