Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1941)

ID) IE N V IE R J^ICK RICKETSON, manager of the Fox Intermountain division of National Theatres, has been named chairman of the local Greek Relief campaign, with $100,000 the quota for Denver. Downtown headquarters were established following the visit here of Spyros Skouras in the interest of the drive . . . Frank Roberts, salesman at United Artists, has resigned and accepted a post with a former employer, the J. H. Cooper Theatres, with headquarters in Oklahoma City. Harry Huffman, city manager for Fox Theatres, has been re-elected president of the Denver convention and tourist bureau for the 12th year . . . R. J. Morrison, 20th Century-Fox exchange manager, was in the hospital with the flu, but is now recuperating at home. Several others of the exchange also experienced a siege of the flu, including Rene Buchanan, Hazel Morgan, Merle Gwinn, Helen Stone, while Hugh Rennie, salesman, is back on the road after being home ill. Christina Metzger was limping around a few days as the result of a turned ankle. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kerby of the Kerby Theatre, Worland, Wyo., passed through Denver on their way to California for a two-month vacation . . . J. J. (Jap) Morgan, manager of the National Theatre Supply branch here, left for Los Angeles for a sales meeting . . . Joe Stone of National Theatre Supply is back from a holiday visit with his mother in Cincinnati . . . Harold McCormick of the Skyline and Rex theatres at Canon City, Colo., and Miss Jean Rolfe of Denver were married here Wednesday. They will make their home in Canon City. The Coppell Amusement Co. has moved to 828 Twenty-first Street . . . Jack Price, Premiere exchange, whose mother, Mrs. Ann Price, has been an inspectress for years, expects to leave soon for at least a year’s training with the Colorado National Guard. Jack, a radio technician, will be stationed at Camp Forrest, Tenn. . . . Lester L. Savage, Columbia auditor, is here checking accounts. A one-day pep meeting was held by the RKO exchange, presided over by Leo Devaney, Canadian division manager and captain of the Depinet sales drive. With Devaney were C. E. Smith, western division manager, and Herb MacIntyre, western district manager . . . The Christmas party of the Paramount exchange was held this week — finally. It had been postponed twice — once when Chet Bell, manager, was called to Los Angeles for a sales conference, and again when he had the flu. The affair, with 32 in attendance, was held at Hillcrest, and was replete with all the trimmings of a Christmas event. Pauline Hall, Paramount secretary, went to the hospital for an operation for a growth on her ankle, occasioned by a fall about a year ago . . . Helen Liddeen, contract clerk at Paramount, also to hospital for an appendectomy . . . Lee Cronk, head shipper at Paramount and president of the Film Employes’ Union, is home with the flu . . . Commercial Film Exchange has contracted for six Fine Arts and three Coronados — Dorothy Page westerns — formerly released through Grand National. David four-year-old son of Charles Klein of the Black Hills Amusement Co., is very fond of salami. His mother thinks too much of it is not good for him, but his father slips him some extra on occasion. Now David wanted to do something special for Santa Claus, so with his own hands he made a salami-rye bread sandwich and placed it on the mantle Christmas Eve. The next morning, as David was looking at the crumbs, he said to his father, “Gee, dad, I forgot to leave Santa a bottle of beer! ” Seen on the Row booking and buying supplies'. Ted Kemper, U. S. Army post booker; Larry Starsmore, Westland Theatres, Colorado Springs; Marie Goodhand, American Theatre, Kimball, Neb.; R. D. Ervin, Romona, Kremmling, Colo.; Charles Klein, Black Hills Amusement Co., Deadwood, S. D.; Claude Graves, Coronado, Alburquerque, N. M.; C. G. Diller, Vita, Cripple Creek, Colo. Assign Busby Berkeley Hollywood — Busby Berkeley will create and stage two dance numbers for Metro’s "Ziegfeld Girl.” £JHRISTMAS paid a return visit to 104 employes of the Golden State and San Francisco circuits this week when $2,500 in prizes was awarded in the holiday scrip book drive. The checks were distributed at a breakfast in the Gold Room of the Fairmont Hotel which was attended by 233 employes of the two chains. R. A. McNeil and Ray Cooper made the presentations. Gordon Allen has checked out on a tour of the territory for Monogram . . . Abe Blanco is sending post cards from Mexico where he is evidently having a swell vacation . . . Perry Leiber, RKO publicity director, is on his first vacation in two years and is spending it in San Francisco . . . Crooner Dick Powell sang a new song this week. Powell served as recruiting officer for the Army when the mobile unit backed its truck up to the Golden Gate Theatre where Dick is appearing . Between performances he told prospective recruits the advantages of working for Uncle Sam. The branch managers and circuit heads met at luncheon on Tuesday to map plans for the “March of Dimes” which starts on the 15th. On Wednesday, Joseph M. Schenck and Milton Berle spoke at the Civic luncheon for the same cause. The Northern California theatres hope to duplicate last year’s record when they collected over half the money taken in by California theatres . . . Mike Newman in town for work on “This Thing Called Love” . . . Joe Smith was installed as president of local B-17 of the IATSE this week. Joe recently was promoted to head shipper at Paramount. Ray Kaliski was upped by Paramount from shipper to booker ... V. Preston, Warner booker, is confined to his home as the result of burns suffered extinguishing a small fire in his home . . . The Coniglio Brothers have taken over the Rio in Rodeo from Cecil Pace. (t ~ ft Starts New Year With Boxoifice Marathon San Francisco — Bucky Williams set a new record while greeting 1941. Business was so good at midnight on New Year's Eve that the manager decided not to close — sat himself at the cashier's board and started issuing tickets. Surprisingly, business was as good between 5 and 6 a. m. as an average day's matinee and so Williams kept right on going. His was a 36-hour marathon continuous run. k ■ J) Pre-Opening Inspection For New Circuit Unit San Francisco — A pre-opening inspection party was held Friday at the Fox WestCoast San Carlos Theatre. Invitations were issued and admittance was by reservation only. Charles Skouras and other circuit executives were on hand to welcome their guests. The theatre was to be opened to the public Saturday. The Golden Gate conducted a city-wide search for a girl singer in connection with the personal appearance of Bob Crosby and his orchestra. The winner teas Dorothy Fretwell, student teacher at the S. F. State Teachers’ College. She was given an audition with the band, plus several appearances on the stage of the Gate . . . The Golden Gate Turf Club has made a sucker of this correspondent with their continual postponements after our announcements of each scheduled start of the racing in Albany. We are trying again, as Slip Madigan, majordomo of the track, announces the 11th as the definite beginning of the 33-day season. Redwood Circuit opens its Tower in Marysville on the 17th . . . Herman Cohen and the missus are in the south for a short vacation. They attended the Rose Bowl game . . . Booking on the Row: Gerald Hardy, Hardy Theatres, Fresno; J. Lee, Town Hall, Quincy; Arthur Fukuda, Cochran, Cochran; Herb Harris, Mandarin, Stockton; Yates Hamm, Livermore, Livermore ... Ed Levy reports his new theatre in Dinubia will be ready soon . . . Jim Riley and his missus are absent from the office with the flu. George and Allen Harvey, formerly of Arbuckle, have taken over the Ferndale in Ferndale and will reopen on January 18 . . . The Row was saddened by the news that Ann Cramton, wife of Charles Cramton, manager of the Walnut Creek in Walnut Creek, was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Mrs. Cramtori and her mother were driving east when the accident occurred. Cramton’s mother-inlaw was fatally injured . . . Warner’s previewed “Four Mothers” this week . . . Sid Weisbaum is back at his manager’s desk at Republic after a holiday trip to Denver. BOXOFFICE :: January 11, 1941 34-C