Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1957)

] day, February 1, 1957 Motion Picture Daily 3 PEOPLE Joe Sugar, branch manager of nted Artists New York Exchange, Is been appointed chairman of the ;w York Motion Picture Distribute Committee on fund raising plans r the National Conference of •iristians and Jews Feb. 17 to 24. le MPDC is the amusement division I the NCCJ. □ Eugene Picker, vice-president of jew's Theatres, has announced that arry Meyer, manager of the droit's Fairmount Theatre, has been iansf erred to Loew's Post Road heatre, while Irving Gross, manager : the Post Road, has been moved to 'ie Fairmount. □ Sam Roth, for 30 years manager of ie Stanley Warner Baker Theatre i Dover, N. J., has retired. The next Hay he and Mrs. Hazel McConville, ssistant manager of the house since 945, were married. They have ;ioved to St. Petersburg, Fla., where Key will make their home. □ ' Elmer F. Lux, civic and industry leader in Buffalo and now associated ivith Houdaille Industries of that |ity, has been named secretary of jhe Greater Buffalo Advertising Club, iif which Floyd Crawford continues lis executive secretary. □ Roy A. Brobeck, a vice-president of he B. A. Shearer Theatre Equipment fl., West Coast organization, has fjeen named manager of the firm's offices in Portland, Ore. □ Myrtle Clemens has been named [secretary of Allied Theatres of Michigan, replacing Mrs. Jean Cupples. □ Norris Hadaway, until recently Imanager of the Alabama Theatre, Birmingham, has been nominated "Man of the Year" for 1956 by the i Birmingham Women's Civic Club. □ Donovan H. Tyson, vice-president I of Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, has ' been elected treasurer of the organization. Robert W. Norcross, general I credit manager, has been appointed ( assistant treasurer, retaining at the ' same time his present post. George I C. McConeghy, assistant controller, ' has been promoted to the position of controller. □ Jack Kirsch, president of Allied ! Theatres of Illinois, has been named ; -for the eighth consecutive year I chairman of the Theatre and Amuse' ment Division in the annual drive for the Chicago Council, Boy Scouts of America. R • D ' Ted Schlanger, Stanley Warner II Theatres Philadelphia zone manager, $250,000 of MGM-TV Put in Pilot Production Loew's, Inc., has budgeted $250,000 for the preparation of three or four pilots on television series for presentation during the 1957-58 season, according to Charles C. (Bud) Barry, vice-president in charge of television operations. He is currently completing a week-long sales meeting with his staff here. Barry, who said that the M-G-M television production will be started by early spring, reported here yesterday that his sales meeting has been highly fruitful for his department's entire sales, advertising, publicity, exploitation, station ownership and production program "was thoroughly discussed." Defers Trip to Coast The M-G-M executive said he has put off his proposed trip to the coast for a few weeks to hold further discussions here with aeencies and sponsors concerning his organization's television shows, initially scheduled to be based on "The Thin Man," "Scaramouche," and the Andy Hardy stories. "We are currently discussing pre and post pilot sales," Barry stated. Barry disclosed that his creative board is meeting in Hollywood with writers and people concerned with the preparation of the pilots. "We expect to have the first pilot ready within two months after production starts," he said. Investigations Affecting Industry Will Continue From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Jan. 31-The Senate has voted to continue several investigations of direct or indirect interest to the motion picture and television industries. The lawmakers voted to continue the special Senate Committee on Small Business, the Senate Commerce Committee's television investigation, and special judiciary subcommittees on antitrust legislation, juvenile delinquency, patents, and alien property return. WB Southern Division To Meet at Weekend DALLAS, Jan. 31 W. O. 'Ollie' Williamson, Jr., Warner Bros. Southern division sales manager, will preside over a two-day sales meeting Saturday and Sunday of the company's Southern district sales heads at the Statler Hilton hotel here. Attending the meeting will be Southern district manager Grover Livingston, with headquarters in Dallas, and branch managers Carroll Ogburn, Atlanta; John W. Kirby, Charlotte; J. B. Tomlinson, Jacksonville; Luke Connor, New Orleans; H. C. Vogelpohl, Dallas, Joe S. Young, Memphis, and Don Tullius, Oklahoma City. Home office executives who will be present include Roy Haines, general sales manager; Norman H. Moray, short subjects general sales manager, Larry Leshansky, supervisor of exchanges, and Robert A. McGuire auditor of exchanges. recently appointed commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority by Governor Leader of Pennsylvania, has been confirmed for that post by the State Senate. □ Sue Grotta has announced her resignation as director of press relations for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. She will leave shortly for a vacation in Florida and will announce a new association upon her return. levy Need Not Proved for Co-Prods.: Davis By WILLIAM PAY LONDON, Jan. 29 (By Air Mail). —In an outspoken article under the heading "Film Production Problems," in the "Financial Times," John Davis, managing director of the Rank Organisation and retiring president of the British Film Producers Association, refers to the participation of Americanproduced British films in the Eady Levy. Says Davis: "The need for the levy for British film producers has been clearly proved. The need for a levy for British-American films has never been shown. "British-American films are shown in most foreign countries as American. I feel that there should be an assurance that all or most of the overseas earnings of these British-American films, which are produced and exhibited in the United Kingdom under extremely favourable conditions, will come back to the U.K., if they wish to benefit from the levy. "In addition, native British film producers should be given the same dollar facilities for the employment of world stars who require payment in dollars as are available to BritishAmerican producers because of their dollar connections in the U.S.A." Dissolve Taplinger-Ruff Taplinger-Ruff Associates, Inc., the public relations firm which resulted from the recent merger of Robert S. Taplinger & Associates, Inc., and Carl Ruff Associates, will be dissolved effective Feb. 1. Carl Ruff Associates has moved to new offices here, while the Taplinger organization, now operating under the new corporate name Taplinger Associates, Inc., will continue to function in its present offices. Boehnel Joins WB ..JEWS minim1 Lewis To Speak on TV Roger H. Lewis, United Artists national director of advertising, publicity and exploitation, will appear on the "Between The Lines" television program this Sunday over WABD at noon, to reply to recent charges of "lurid and suggestive" motion picture industry advertising. Lewis, who is also chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America's advertising and publicity directors committee, will participate in the panel discussion with New York City Councilman Maurice McCarthy. ■ Approve SBA Limit Boost The House of Representatives approved a bill to boost by $80,000,000 the Small Business Administration's business loan limit in Washington yesterday. The increase, to $230,000,000, would give the agency leeway to make business loans through July 31. The Senate has passed a bill for a $65,000,000 increase, to carry the agency through June 30. ■ Set Brotherhood $75,000 Goal A goal of $75,000 for the fundraising campaign to be undertaken by New York metropolitan area theatremen during Brotherhood Week, was set yesterday by Samuel Rinzler, area chairman. Almost 400 theatres in Greater New York are pledged to participate in the inter-faith drive sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. A total of $L,000 in U. S. Defense Bonds will be awarded to showmen staging the best Brotherhood campaigns. Robert Boehnel has joined the newly-created special "Spirit of St. Louis" unit of the Warner Bros, home, office publicity department, it was announced by Meyer M. Hutner, the company's national publicity manager. Boehnel for the past 18 years was a member of the RKO publicity department. Mayo, O'Shea Will Retire Actress Virginia Mayo and Michael O'Shea, her husband, said yesterday in Kansas City they intend to retire from show business. They were there for stage appearances at the world premiere of "The Big Land" at the Paramount Theatre. O'Shea already has retired from television and Miss Mayo said she would quit the entertainment business when a one-year film contract expires. Dismiss $5,250,000 Suit An anti-trust suit against the major distributors asking $5,250,000 in damages has been dismissed in New York Federal Court by Judge Archie O. Dawson for lack of prosecution. The suit had been filed by the Allerton Avenue Realty Co. and Combined Bronx Amusements, Inc., operating the Allerton Theatre in the Bronx. It had charged discrimination by the distributors on first runs.