Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

6 Motion Picture Daily Monday, January 17, 1955 Okla. Video Circuit Meet To Hear Simons, Livingston ■ ■ ■ — ■ ■ ; V ' People John M. Borghese has been appointed director of the television and radio division of Magna Theatre Corp. here. n J. Raymond Bell, public relations executive of Columbia Pictures, lias been voted a member of the board of managers of the Montclair, N. J., Community Hospital. n Jack Weiner, M-G-M's Southern publicity representative, is off the critical list in a Jacksonville Hospital. He suffered a lung puncture in an auto crash near Jacksonville. n Dr. Hans Christoph Wohlrab, chief engineer of Siemens & Halske of Germany, will address a meeting of the Atlantic Coast section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers tonight at the Carl Fischer Concert Hal! here. n Ronald Baumberg, house manager of the Metropolitan Theatre in Boston for the last 10 years, has resigned to accept a sales post with Fruit of the Loom Co. in Connecticut. He had been with New England Theatres, Inc., for 14 years starting as a student manager. n George Y. Wheeler, II, has been elected a staff vice-president of the Radio Corp. of America with offices in Washington. n Harry C. Bilsborough, owner of the Audion Theatre at Capreol, Out., lias been elected a member of the town council there. □ T. J. Moon has opened the Grand Theatre, Tallapoosa, Ga. The theatre is on the same site as his previous house that was destroyed by fire last spring. n Harold Keleher has purchased the Roxy Theatre in San Francisco from George Nabhan. Goffman Installed As Phila. Barker PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 16.— Louis J. Goffman, Philadelphia attorney, has been installed as chief barker of the Variety Club of Philadelphia, Tent No. 13. George Hoover, international chief barker, formally inducted the new crew. Goffman, the new chief barker, is a member of the law firm of Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, which has long been associated with the amusement industry. His crew for 1955 consists of Maxwell Gillis, Philadelphia branch manager for Allied Artists, first assistant chief barker ; Harry Romain, Progressive Electric Co., second assistant ; George T. Beattie, an executive of William Goldman Theatres, as dough guy, and Myer Lewis of the National Theatre Supply, property master. OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 16. Mike Simons, M-G-M's customer relations director, and Jeff Livingston, U-I's Eastern manager of publicity and exploitation, will address partners and managers of Video Independent Theatres, Inc., when the circuit has its annual meeting here in the Skirvin Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both Livingston and Simons will speak before the annual Video meeting on Tuesday. About 100 partners and managers are expected to attend. Houses in 41 Communities Video operates theatres in about 30 Oklahoma towns and cities, and in 11, Texas cities. Henry S. Griffing of Oklahoma City is president, while W. T. Spears of Altusl Okla., is chairman of the board of directors. Other Video officers are Claude F. Motlev, vice-president in charge of operations : Claude O. Fulgham, vicenresident in charge of management, and Charles R. Guthrie, secretary Two M-G-M Victors At Denver Workshop Winners of the cash prizes for the b'st lew-cost ticket-selling ideas submitted to M-G-.M's . Ticket-SellingWorkshop at Denver were Owen West, of the West Theatre, Rock Springs, Wyo., and George Kelloff. of the Ute Theatre, Agaliar, Colo., it was disclosed here on Friday by ':he company. More than 250 exhibitors from the Denver territory attended the company's fourth Workshop. Louis Ingram, manager of M-G-M's Memphis office, indicated at the weekend that there would be more than 300 in attendance at the Workshop in his city. For the Jackson meeting, C. J. Briant, New Orleans manager for M-G-M, anticipates one of the greatest turnouts in any exhibitor meeting held in that city. Green Bay Mayor Applauds Industry _ GREEN BAY, Wise, Jan. 16.— Officially recognizing "M-G-M's 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration" and the twin openings of "Bad Day at Black Rock" at the Bay and "Green Fire" at the Orpheum on Jan. 21, Mayor Dominic Olejniczak has proclaimed January as the month for "There's More Fun At the Movies." In signing the proclamation, which was attended by Russell Leddy, manager of the Orpheum ; Harold Klika, manager of the Bay, and E. R. Brennan, district manager of Standard Theatres, Mayor Olejniczak stated that the motion picture theatres of Green Bay represent an important and unique civic endeavor, not only as a professional business enterprise but also as the center of entertainment. The Mayor also proclaimed that "I believe it fitting and proper to encourage and support the aggressive plans of the motion picture industry and particularly the men and women of this great entertainment medium in the city of Green Bay who diligently strive to provide the finest in entertainment." treasurer, all residents of this city. Other directors on the board are Miss Louise Wesson, W. B. Bill Turk, Kenneth C. Blackledge, Paul Cornwell, R. M. (Bob) Clark, all of the homeoffice, Oklahoma Citv, and Al R. Powell of Guthrie, R. F. Jack Wilbern of Duncan and Foster McSwain of Ada. Video was organized a few years back by a group of former Griffith Amusement Co. officials and employes. L. C. Griffith, president of the Griffith circuit of theatres in Oklahoma and Texas, is now retired and resides in Beverley Hills, Calif. Video took over the former Griffith situations, closing and selling some, remodeling others and building new drive-ins. Video Independent Theatres, Inc.. owns 12^ ner cent of the stock in Station . KWTV, Oklahoma Citv's CBS-TV outlet which has the world's tallest man-made structure for a tower This station went on the air about a year ago. CBS Cameramen Select IATSE Conflicting union iurisdictions in the making of films for television have been eliminated as a result of an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board in which the IATSE and Moving Picture Machine Operators, Local 644, AFL. were unanimously chosen as collective bargaining agent by film cameramen of the Columbia Broadcasting System in the New York area. Previously representing cameramen of all other networks, the IATSE two years ago signed a national contract with CBS. but this could not apply to the New York group because it was already under contrac? as part of a television engineering unit represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Work Called 'Separate' Last May, following expiration of the IBEW contract, the IATSE local, assisted by its International office, petitioned "the NLRB to establish a separate voting unit for film cameramen, sound men and lighting men at CBS. After a lengthy hearing, the board found that the work of this group was "separate and functionally distinct" from that of the television engineers and, therefore, granted the IATSE recjuest and ordered the election which that union has won here. The IATSE was represented in the proceedings by attorney Harold P. Spivak. $430,435 Is Raised For 'Jimmy' Fund BOSTON, Jan. 16.— General cochairmen Joe Cronin and Theodore Fleisher of the 1954 Jimmy Fund drive have announced that $430,435 was raised in 1954 by the voluntary efforts of the. friends of the Jimmy Fund, sparked by the team work of the owners, managers and personnel of the more than 800 theatres in New England. Since 1947, 1,491 children suffering from cancer have been treated and, at the present time, 224 children so afflicted are undergoing treatment at the Jimmy Building. News Roundup TV Receiver Sales Up More television receivers were sold at retail during the first 11 months of 1954 than during any similar period on record, the Radio-ElectronicsTelevision Manufacturers Association reports. For the first 11 months of last year, retail sales of TV sets totaled 6,223,332 units as compared with the 1953 figure of 5,600,423, RETMA reported. Wolf son, Meyer Honored Mitchell Wolfson and Sidney Meyer, co-owners of WTVJ and Wometco Theatres will receive the annual "Good Samaritan Award" from Variety Club Tent No. 33 at the annual banquet to be held at the Algiers Hotel in Miami on Wednesday. New B-17 Officers Named The new roster for 1955 officers of San Francisco's Local B-17 are Jack Jensen, president ; Richard Hamilton, vice-president ; Dean Malcomb, recording secretary ; Ann McNevin, financial secretary ; Andrew Larsen, treasurer ; Ann Price, sergeant-atarms ; Edward Geiger, business representative. On the executive board of the exchange local are Frances Kisgowski, Henry Przybrowski, Nick Ernser, Joe Kelly and Rubin Kasmaker. Set 'Bridges' Contests Television stations, radio stations, newspapers and supermarkets in eight New England cities are conducting contests among their patrons with the winners afforded an opportunity io attend the Boston premiere of Universal International's "Six Bridges to Cross" and to meet actor Tony Curtis, star of the film. Changes Policy The Park Avenue Cinema in suburban Park Ridge, Chicago, has established the policy of showing art films exclusively. Stanford Kohlbert, owner, announced that he will present films approved by the National ParentTeachers Union for Saturday and Sunday matinees. ■ Remodel Hartford Crown The Crown Theatre of Hartford, a downtown 850-seat subsequent-run situation, has closed for a three-week period for extensive remodeling. Canadian Gov't Says Film Imports Rise OTTAWA, Jan. 16.— Imports of films into Canada advanced to $7,230,000 in the first ten months of 1954 in contrast to $6,322,000 in the corresponding period of 1953, Canadian government reports. Such film imports rose to $706,000 in October against $650,000 in September and $531,000 in October a year earlier.