The Exhibitor (1953)

NT-2 EXHIBITOR Berio Vending Company has air-con¬ ditioned its new office and showroom at 3023 Colerain Avenue, and officials are especially proud of the new closed-in popcorn department. Local theatres charging admission of 50 cents or less are now exempt from the city’s three per cent admissions tax, under an ordinance adopted unanimously by City Council. Councilman Edward N. Waldvogel and Potter Stewart imported 27 houses have closed during the last 18 months, and they declared the tax relief will make it possible for many others, now running in the red, to con¬ tinue operations. While the tax lift will cut city revenue about $63,000 annually, it was pointed out this loss is much less than would result from the real estate tax loss if numerous nabe houses were closed and the buildings torn down. Distinctive Theatres, Inc., former operator, Guild, nabe art house, filed suit in Common Pleas Court seeking damages of $62,500 from Mayme C. Vance, who holds title to the property. In its suit, the plaintiff charges breach of a con¬ tract entered into on Sept. 24, 1948, under which the house was leased to Sept. 6, 1955. It was charged that, after the plaintiff company spent $30,000 for improvements, the defendant “forcibly ejected the plaintiff,” and converted the improvements to her own use. On business trips were Edward Salzberg, Screen Classics, to West Virginia points; Jay Goldberg, Realart branch manager, and Gene Tunick, president, Tunick Releasing Company, to Springfield, O.; Harris Dudelson, Lippert division manager, to Dayton and Columbus, O.; William A. Meier, Para¬ mount sales manager, to Dayton, O., and Rube Shor, president, S. and S. Amusement Company, to Washington, D. C. Mrs. Philip Fox presided at the in¬ stallation of the following officers of Variety Wives in the Hotel Netherland Plaza clubrooms: President, Mrs. Sam Weiss; first vice-president, Mrs. Robert McNab; second vice-president, Mrs. Robert Jacobs;; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Harry Poelings; recording sec¬ retary, Mrs. Herman Hunt, and treas¬ urer, Mrs. Max Marcus. Following the ceremony, Mrs. Weiss reviewed the past year’s activities, and a gift was pre¬ sented to Mrs. Arthur VanGelder for having sold the most tickets for the re¬ cent “Donor” luncheon. In town were Jack Needham, Columbus, O.; Harley E. Bennett, Circleville, O.; Mce Potasky, Troy, O.; Louis Velas, Cambridge, O.; John Valaklas, Harrison, O.; Chalmers Bach, Eaton, O.; Dorman Law, Roseville, O.; Dick Meyers, Chillicothe, O.; John Gregory, Allan Warth and Lou Wetzel, Dayton, O.; George Turlukis, Hamilton, O.; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bowles, Beattysville, Ky. ; Joe Marshall, Danville, Ky., and Robert Dinkle, Raceland, Ky. Rube Perlman, UA supervisor of con¬ tract liquidation, was in. . . . John F. Harris is a new salesman for Manley, This street bally, leaning heavily on sex appeal, was used recently to attract attention to IFE’s “Anna,” Victor, Mc¬ Keesport, Pa., by manager Leo Mickey. The girl in shorts distributed heralds while the other two carried the ap¬ propriately lettered umbrellas. Inc., covering Kentucky and southern Indiana. . . . Charles Bashman, 20th-Fox salesman, resigned to enter another business. The ITOO, in a recent bulletin, asks exhibitors to cooperate with the SMPTE in its survey being taken at the present time. . . . TOC is booking and buying for the Mullins Drive-In, Hearndon, W. Va , G. D. Miller, owner. . . . Berio Vending Company moved to larger quarters at 3023 Colerain Avenue. The Guild, nabe art house, staged a “Cinema Art Mid-Summer Festival” with six British films being shown alter¬ nately over a six-week period. Willis Vance, manager, said the idea originated with patrons. Betty Sontag, MGM booking depart¬ ment stenographer, has been promoted to secretary to Mike Berger, office man¬ ager. She replaces Mary Kay Wolf, resigned. . . . Geraldine Wakeman is a new Paramount clerk. Vacationing were Janet Stalf, sec¬ retary to Gus Boudot, UA office man¬ ager, and Helen Hampton, clerk; Donald Benning, booking department, and Charles Scully, assistant shipper, all of Paramount. Herb Shriner spent a busy day here ballying “Main Street to Broadway.” . . . The MGM Club presented two June brides, Ada Brown, receptionist, and Lee Robert L. Conn, new exchange manager for 20th-Fox in Indianapolis, started with the company at the Kansas City ex¬ change in 1936. Christman, biller, with wedding gifts of electric clocks. . . . Mrs. May Scholle, State Film Service office manager, and her daughter, Joan, escaped serious injury in a traffic accident. Cleveland Fred Pfieff, Altec headquarters engineer, was assigned by E. O. Wilschke, operating manager, to supervise the CinemaScope demonstration at the Hippodrcme and to conduct a stereo¬ phonic sound clinic. The Altec stereo¬ phonic sound clinic at the Hippodrome is the seventh in the series inaugurated by Wilschke. About 200 exhibitors and represent¬ atives of affiliated industries came from all sections of northern Ohio to attend the invitational demonstration of CinemaScope in the Hippodrome. Sylvan Goldfinger, district manager in charge of buying and booking for the Hippo¬ drome, and Jack Silverthorne, Hippodi'ome manager, were delighted with the flood of superlatives heard. Alex Harri¬ son, 20th-Fox home office, explained the technique both before and during the demonstration. Harry Levey died this week. Since the coming of movies he has been a pro¬ jectionist, and his last assignment was at the RKO East 105th Street. Levey was a charter member of Local 160. The Dianne, Valley City, O., owned and operated by Henry Deutschlander, closed. . . . H. B. “Nicky” Arstein, long¬ time manager, Heights, left for a vaca¬ tion on the west coast. Greater Cleveland theatre owners agreed to make an audience collection for Korean Relief. The plea was made by Trueman Rembusch, Leo Jones, and Robert Wile as a good public relations gesture. Reuben Nusbaum, coowner with his brother, Harold, of the Sunset Drive-In, Mansfield, O., died suddenly while visit¬ ing in Mansfield from his home in Toledo, O., where funeral services and burial took place. . . . Sid Zins, Columbia publicity representative, was in for “Let’s Do It Again,” Hippodrome. . . . Lawrence Reese, 20th-Fox, left to report for the armed forces. Sam Lichter, 20th-Fox salesman, is opening his home and garden on the Lake Shore on July 18 for the annual Salesmen’s Club summer outing, and on July 20, 20th-Fox is holding its annual summer picnic, with Manny Glick in charge of arrangements. Ted Vermes contracted with Ben L. Ogron, Ohio Theatre Supply, to install all equipment necessary for wide-screen projection and stereophonic sound in the Yorktown. Henry Hellriegcl, theatre contractor, was in. Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, lyricist and composer of the music for MGM’s “The Band Wagon,” are cele¬ brating the 25th anniversary of their first writing venture together, and are making a six-city tour in connection July 15, 1958