Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

how he cut down thefts of speakers by taking the license numbers of cars, or often pretending to take them. In some cases, when it was noted that a speaker was missing, it was picked up before the driver left the theatre or, later, when stopped on the street. The drive-in panel consisted of Mrs. Juanita Foree of Alcoa, Tenn.; Thomas Smiley, Denver; Claude Schlanger, Doylstown, Pa., and Kamsky. The panel on art films and art theatres took the position as a whole that the term “art film” today was a misnomer. The same went for art theatres. Richard Brandt, president of Trans-Lux Corp., declared that every theatre, at one time or another, played a picture which once was called an art film. Today, he said, theatres were “commercial art houses,” switching frequently from American pictures to foreign pictures. Sidney Deneau, vice-president of Continental Distributing, said there no longer were any limits to audiences for specialized films, while Bosley Crowther, of the New York Times, said good films from any country should be made available. Other speakers were Melvin Brown of Atlanta and Norman Levinson of Dallas. TOA Convention Sidelights QNCE AGAIN, American International stole the show with its Halloween luncheon on the final day of the convention. Morey Amsterdam gave out with his machine-gun fire of quips and there were “trick or treat” packages on each table. * * * Pepsi-Cola offered a big surprise at its cocktail party and dinner by having Joan Crawford at the door to greet each incoming guest. * * * Preston and Laurence Tisch, top execu Charles Okun, right, retiring vicepresident of the Coca-Cola Co., is shown receiving a life membership in the National Ass’n of Concessionaires, presented by Burt Nathan, past president of NAC. tives of Loew’s Theatres, Inc., which owns the Americana where the convention was held, did not attend the Tuesday luncheon. They were at the rival Astor Hotel where they were being honored by the Broadway Ass’n. Referring to it, Arthur Tolchin, toastmaster, said he called that democracy in action. * * * Monde Steinman of MGM, who was brought here from St. Paul to promote the company’s “World Famous Musical Hits,” had a choice spot on the meeting rooms floor with a trailer device which kept in action throughout the convention. He also passed out heralds on the program. * * * It seemed like old times to see Pat McGee around. Pat, formerly an active TOA man, now is with Cinema Distributors of America with headquarters in Denver. CDA kept a hospitality room open throughout the four days. * * * Other hospitality rooms were those of National Carbon (as always), Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola and Reade-Sterling. * * * A “relaxed” figure was A1 Floersheimer of Reade-Sterling. Until this year, A1 was director of public relations for TOA and had a big load to carry at the conventions of the past. This time he was just an observer, while his successor, Herman Silver, carried the ball. * * * Mrs. Ed Fabian did a bang-up job as head of the ladies committee, keeping the wives happy with tours, fashion shows and luncheons. * * * Pepsi-Cola’s Ed Finneran had a job on his hands. He had arranged for 1,000 table setups for the company’s dinner, but there were more than 1,300 tickets out. He had to do plenty of maneuvering to keep everybody happy. Coca-Cola’s Charley Okun had a similar problem. * * * The tradeshow was the biggest ever and it was packed every afternoon. Lou Abramson, NAC executive director, said that the 125 booths represented capacity, but that if there had been room, there could have been approximately 30 more exhibits. * * * NAC started the festivities rolling on the Sunday night before the convention opened on Monday with a cocktail reception and dinner for members and the press. Dealers attending the Strong Electric Corp. meeting at the TOA-TESMA-TEDA-NAC convention, meeting were: (left to right, standing) : A1 Boudouris, Theatre Equipment Co., Toledo; Harold Plumadore, Strong Electric Corp., Toledo; Frank Strange, Charlotte Theatre Supply Co., Charlotte, N. C.; Ernest Comi, Capitol Theatre Supply Co., Boston, Mass.; J. W. McBurnie, Charleston Theatre Supply Co. Charleston, W. Va.; H. J. Ringold, Ringold Theatre Equipment Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.; H. J. Dusman, J. F. Dusman Co., Baltimore; Carl White, Quality Theatre Supply Co., Omaha; A1 Mortensen, Southwestern Theatre Equipment Co., Houston; Bob Tankersley, Western Service & Supply, Denver; J. Ed Miller, John P. Filbert Co., Los Angeles; E. J. Peterson, Abbott Theatre Equipment Co., Chicago; Bill White, Strong Electric Corp.; Jake Elder, Modern Sales & Service Inc., Dallas; Roy Smith, Roy Smith Co., Jacksonville, Fla. Seated: Arthur J. Hatch, Strong Electric; Cliff Callender, Strong Electric; John J. Kenny, Theatre Equipment Co., Detroit; Lloyd C. Pearson, General Sound and Theatre Equipment, Ltd., Toronto; A. D. Turnbull, General Sound and Theatre Equipment, Ltd., Montreal; E. H. Geissler, Wil-Kin, Inc., Atlanta; Phil Wicker, Standard Theatre Supply Co., Greensboro, N. C.; Armand Besse, Besse Theatre Supply, Montreal; L. M. Wutke, Pembrex Theatre Supply, Los Angeles; G. Nadeau, Besse Theatre Supply, Montreal; George Homstein, Joe Hornstein, Inc., New York; Hal Hornstein, Joe Hornstein, Inc., Miami; Charles B. Kinney, Modern Sales and Service, Dallas. BOXOFFICE November 11, 1963 17