The Exhibitor (1954)

NT-2 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Lone Star, on his way home from hunt¬ ing: trip in Colorado. Ed Rowley was in California to attend the services of Charles Skouras. Attending' the joint convention and trade show of IPA, TOA, TESMA, and TEDA, in Chicago were Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Darden, Associated Popcorn; Mr. aand Mrs. Dan Lawson, Sterling Sales and Service; Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Elder; C. C. Hoover; Kendall Way; Jimmy Skinner; Joe Caffo, Frontier Theatres; and Mr. and Mrs. A1 Reynolds, Ezell and Associates. Denver A small fire in the lounge of the Center interrupted the show for an hour. The fire caused about $200 damage and was caused when a careless person threw a cigaret into a large potted plant in the lobby. There was no panic, James Fleming, assistant manager, said. Out of business the past couple of years due to a fire, the Variety Club, Tent 37, expects to be reactivated in new quarters by Dec. 15, with the final decision being left to the new crew, in the process of being elected by way of a mail ballot. Clarence Olson, formerly manager of exchanges, is now account executive for KIMN. . . . Paul Thompson, recently with Lee Theatres, returned to Film Row as bookkeeper for Knox Theatres and Service Theatre and Supply. In his spare time, he operates a restaurant and cocktail lounge on Lookout Mountain. A local group of churches took dis¬ play space in the dailies urging at¬ tendance at a local theatre. The Denver Council of Lutheran Churches ran a two-column five-inch display ad urging all to see “Martin Luther,” Aladdin. M. R. Austin, United Artists branch manager, was in “Bighouse U. S. A.,” being shot at Canon City, Colo., as a tourist crossing the Royal Gorge Bridge. The film is being made by Bel-Air Productions for United Artists release. . . . Donald Cook, Paramount assistant booker, and Miss Bernice Ashton are to be married. Claude Graves, partner in the Flat¬ iron, Boulder, Colo., a member of a hunting party that included Joe Dekker and Tony Archer, Civic Theatres, shot what was said to be the biggest bull elk ever to be taken in these parts. Dekker and Archer each got a buck deer. Drive-ins are starting to close for the season. . . . Patricia Hill, manager’s secretary, followed Marvin Goldfarb from RKO to Beuna Vista, where Gold¬ farb is district supervisor. Offices have been set up at 737 Twenty-first Street, in the Paramount building. The secretary job at RKO went to Pauline Martin. Mrs. Elsie Knox, Service Theatre Supply office manager, is serving on the federal grand jury. . . . About 70 people took advantage of the offer by Fox Inter Mountain to “admit you and a guest if you will say to the cashier: “A Fox Theatre is the place to go.” The offer was made in fine print in the local dailies at the top of the listing ad and was good one evening only. Jerry Pickman, Paramount vice-presi¬ dent in charge of advertising, was here for “White Christmas,” Denham. . . . Frank H. Ricketson, Jr., president. Fox Inter-Mountain Theatres, went to Los Angeles to attend the funeral of Charles Skouras. Seen on Film Row were Mrs. Bert Lewis, Holyoke, Colo.; Mrs. Marcia E. and Miss Elizabeth Zorn, Julesburg, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Mills, Espanola, N. M.; Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Smith, Johnson, Kans. ; Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Kelloff, Aguilar, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Anderson, Eaton, Colo.; C. G. Diller, Ouray, Colo.; Mi-, and Mrs. Paul Heeney, Kremmling, Colo.; Robert Smith, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Elden Menagh, Fort Lupton, Colo.; Neil Beezley, Burlington, Colo.; Lin Harrington and Lester Dollison, Amarillo, Tex.; and Merle Gwin, Benkelman, Neb. Des Moines Earl Stanton, 62, owner, Fox, Nora Springs, la., died of a heart attack. . . . Paul Swanson, owner, State, Max¬ well, la., died. . . . G. O. Dunkerson, who has operated the Victory, Fontanelle, la., since 1948, has discontinued operations. The Chamber of Commerce at Moulton, la., is working to reopen the Mole. The chamber has appointed a committee to w-ork with Marvin Howard, owner, in an effort to reopen the theater. Bob Fridley leased the Easttown, East Des Moines and A. M. McCaulley, formerly of Lake City, la., will manage the house for him. Fridley is coowner. Varsity. Kansas City The Lyceum, Leavenworth, Kans., owned and operated by Durwood Thea¬ tres, reopened after being closed for the summer. The house is managed by Bryon Rawler. . . . Gertrude Miller, Warners booker, was married to Robert Rittenhouse at the Holy Name Church, Kansas City, Kans. ... A. L. Kolitz, RKO district manager, Denver, was a visitor. The Jo, St. Joseph, Mo., a former Dickinson-operated house, has been leased from the circuit by the former manager, Carl Murphy. . . . Harry Gaffney, owner, Dixie Enterprises, left for a business trip to New York. . . . A. F. Flaherty, owner, Kaw, Hanover, Kans., died. Mrs. Flaherty is continuing to operate the theatre for the present. The Isis and Hill Top Drive-In, Marys¬ ville, Kans., owned and operated by Eddie Henderson, has been taken over by Mr. and Mrs. Ray Winch, Winfield, Kans. They also operate the Nile and Regent, Winfield, Kans., and the Star and Skyline Drive-In, Clay Center, Kans. Visitors were R. C. Davison, Pattonsburg. Mo.; F. G. Weary, Richmond, Mo.; O. C. Alexander, Kiowa, Kans.; Doris Doty, Cainsville, Mo.; and J. Leo Hayob, Marshall, Mo. Los Angeles Southside Theatres booker Joe Sinay was vacationing in Honolulu. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Harry Popkin celebrated their 30th anniversary. . . . Boyd Lowe, man¬ ager, Lyric, Monrovia, Cal., resigned. . . . In town was Marty Foster, Guild, Portland. . . . Vacationing was Joe Wayne, assistant shipper, Warners. . . . Back from a business trip to New York was Morris Safier, independent distrib¬ utor. . . . Floyd Brethour, MGM booker, was presented a seven pound baby son by his wdfe at St. Joseph’s Hospital. . . .Barbara Sheftel resigned as clerk at 20th-Fox. . . . The Major has been taken over by Sid Pink. The Burbank, Cal., house was formerly operated by Mike Rosenberg. Pink also operates the Ritz, Inglewood, Cal., and the Center and Boulevard, East Los Angeles. . . . Ralph Moyer, former manager, Picfair, joined the Dietrich and Feldstein office and has been appointed manager, Ox¬ nard, Oxnard, Cal. . . . Phil and Mildred Kassin sold their Valley, Camarillo, Cal., to Howard Bayer, former operator, Iowa, Scheswig, la. . . . Bess Emanuel, independent film exchange operator in San Francisco, stopped off after vaca¬ tioning in Florida. . . . Jennie Pence, Warner contract department, was vaca¬ tioning. . . . Booking and buying on the Row were Earl Calvert, Lompoc, Lompoc, Cal.; Dick Sims, Bay, National City, Cal.; and Burt Kramer, Village, Coronado, Cal. Plans for a proposed drive-in and snack bar have been submitted to the Fullerton City Planning Department by W. C. Sangster and David Miller on property at Harvard and Orangethorpe Avenues. A planning commission com¬ mittee, having studied the plans in ad¬ vance, states it has no objections to the location, but merely to the design of the development. The property is now zoned M-1 for light industrial use. Milwaukee Cinema, Inc., which operates the Fox Bay, Whitefish Bay, Wis., is now also operating the Downer, Sherman, and Varsity when its operation partnership with Fox-Wisconsin Theatres expired. Gerry Franzen is supervisor of the four houses. Cinema, Inc., had the operating arrangement with Fox Wisconsin for several years. Cinema is a subsidiary of Trident Corporation, a real estate and property management firm that built the theatres. Ben Marcus, general manager, Mar¬ cus Theatres Management Company, offererd $95,000 for the closed Century and L. F. Gran, Gran Enterprises, offered $92,500. Harvey Hartwig, thea¬ tre attorney, had petitioned the Federal Court that the Century be recognized under the Federal Bankruptcy Act. Sale of the theatre was scheduled to take place early this week with bids being sought prior to the sale so that the creditors can be satisfied. Owners of the house are John Freuler, Glencoe, Ill., and his family. November 3, lOSJi.