The Exhibitor (1961)

Industry Pioneers Honor Montague 57 Veterans Inducted As 23rd Jubilee Dinner Draws Second Best Attendance In Organization's History NEW YORK — A. Montague, executive vicepresident of Columbia Pictures, was honored by the Motion Picture Pioneers as Pioneer of the Year for his showmanship and hu¬ manitarian contributions to the film industry. Montague is the 18th industry executive to receive the coveted award, which was presented to him during the Motion Picture Pioneer’s 23rd annual Jubilee Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Proceeds from the testimonial salute and the raffling of a new Ford Thunderbird bene¬ fited the Foundation of Motion Picture Pi¬ oneers, Inc, an organization which provides financial assistance to needy veterans of the industry. Senator Kenneth B. Keating and Eric John¬ ston, MPAA president, addressed the assem¬ blage which included leading personalities from the entertainment, political, and busi¬ ness fields. Judge Ferdinand Pecora formally inducted 57 industry veterans into the Pioneers as part of the annual ceremonies. Simon H. Fabian, president of the Pio¬ neers, introduced the program, with Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., chairman of the dinner com¬ mittee, acting as official toastmaster. Night club and television star Sid Caesar and the Ivy League Trio provided the en¬ tertainment at the affair. Members inducted included Arthur F. Bald¬ win, G. Schuyler Beattie, J. Raymond Bell, Jack Bokser, Vincent Borrelli, Samuel Bronston, Samuel D. Brunk, Salvatore Casolaro, J. L. Courcier, L. W. Davee, Marcel Di Tommaso, James T. Dougherty, Gordon B. Dun¬ lap, Irving L. Eisenstat, Walter Farley, David Flexer, Joseph Freiberg, Thaddeus John Gaski, Bernard J. Gates, Morton Gerber, George H. Gibson, Harry L. Gold, Harry Goldstone, Milt Goodman, Maurice Grad, Earle L. Hendren, Harry Hollander, Fred Izzo and Harry Wesley Johnson. Also, Boris Kaplan, Jack Kerness, Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., Sam Levinsohn, Floyd Lewis, Milton London, Emile J. Lustig, Arthur A. Mayers, Charles McCarthy, Maurice J. Mil¬ ler, Ben Morris, Martin H. Newman, Ralph E. Pierce, Harry Pratt, Harry Rogovin, Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., Louis Rothstein, David R. Sablosky, A1 Schwartz, Walter Silverman, Herbert L. Smith, Henry Strauss, Leo Toner, Ira H. Tulipan, Samuel Weiss, George Wheel¬ er, James N. Yiannias, and Charles Zagrans. Said Johnston, “In all my years in the busi¬ ness, this is one of my happiest evenings. For it is spent honoring a man we all regard with vast affection, great loyalty, and undying friendship: Abe Montague.” David Loew of Hollywood won the Ford Thunderbird donated for the raffle held on behalf of the Motion Picture Foundation. Montague was grateful and overwhelmed by the tribute which was the second best attended affair in the history of the organiza¬ tion. One of the few wires that were read from the dais was one of tribute paid to Montague by President John F. Kennedy. Adolph Zukor, in a surprise address, waxed just as enthusiastic about the motion picture business as he was 50 years ago. He compared show business to a wheel — up at the top A, Montague, executive vice-president, Co¬ lumbia Pictures, accepts his silver trophy as "Pioneer Of The Year" from Simon H. Fabian, president. Motion Picture Pioneers, at the 23rd annual jubilee dinner ct the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel's Starlight Roof during which industry leaders paid tribute to Montague as the out¬ standing industryite of the year. Longest Day' Invasion Draws Editorial Fire LANSING, MICH.— The wisely-read “Lan¬ sing State Journal” last week took an editor¬ ial swipe at a segment of the motion picture industry and the Pentagon. The occasion of the verbal roughing-up was when a sequence of “The Longest Day” was being shot, which reproduces the invasion of Normandy during World War II. The govern¬ ment obliged the movie-makers by lending them 250 troopers to man the amphibian op¬ eration. The “Journal” noted in passing that the military had originally planned to make it 700, but when the move was severely criticized, had sought to soften the comments by reduc¬ ing the number to 250. The commander of the unit, Col. Joseph M. Conway thought the whole affair was a good thing, since it provided his troops with additional military training they would not otherwise have had. The newspaper made it clear the whole in¬ cident was, in its estimation, wrong. It be¬ lieves enterprise motion pictures and defense establishments should be kept separate, par¬ ticularly when the producer has a profit incentive. Stein Expands Holdings LOS ANGELES — Fred Stein announced that he has acquired all the stock and inter¬ ests formerly held by Sam Decker in 21 of the 29 theatres owned and operated by Fred Stein Enterprises and Statewide Theatre Cir¬ cuit, Inc. Statewide Theatre Circuit has rapidly grown into 29 theatres operating in the metropolitan Los Angeles, San Bernadino, and San Diego areas, and is now the largest independent theatre circuit in southern Cal¬ ifornia. Stein further stated that he and his family over a period of the last few years have acquired all stock and interests in the complete chain. one minute and vice versa the next. Never give up, he counseled his audience of over one thousand. Senator Keating talked of the Communist menace, and he was a bit nostalgic as well about the early films when the titles on the screen taught him to read. Jolson $40,000 Bequest Received By Hospital NEW YORK — The executors of the estate of the late A1 Jolson have forwarded to the Will Rogers Hospital a check for $40,000 which was bequeathed to “The Entertainment Industry’s Hospital” by the entertainer. S. H. Fabian, treasurer of Will Rogers, ob¬ served that a legal technicality was encount¬ ered by the indefinite designation, and it be¬ came the problem of legal advisors and the executors to establish the identity of the Will Rogers Hospital as the recognized hos¬ pital of the industry and the intended recip¬ ient. This recognition is now accredited to the satisfaction of the State of California, where the bequest was recorded, and the State’s approval was granted for the money to go to the Will Rogers Memorial Fund in New York City, which operates the Will Rogers Hospital at Saranac Lake, N. Y. Question of legal origin rose out of the confused early history of the hospital move¬ ment, which began after the first World War, and evolved into a chain of developments among vaudeville interests. NVA built the actual sanitarium in 1930. There followed a period of alternating success-peaks and eco¬ nomical crises resulting, in 1949, in a transfer of title and management to the Will Rogers Memorial Fund, administered by some 58 ex¬ ecutives from all phases of the entertainment industry. The operation of Will Rogers Hospital has remained in these hands ever since, and its healing service extended to cover all em¬ ployees in entertainment, and all chest dis¬ eases. According to A. Montague, president of Will Rogers, “This money will be put to good use in channels the beloved A1 Jolson, himself, would most desire — to enrich the contribu¬ tions his representative hospital can make to the health betterment of his industry’s own people, and to all mankind. This will be ac¬ complished through the three new buildings now nearing completion to pave the way for more patients, and in launching the new re¬ search team coming into the hospital’s pres¬ ently expanding O’Donnell Memorial Lab¬ oratories early next summer when the expan¬ sion will have been completed and the laboratories re-equipped and made ready for the greatly stepped-up research program. “For more than five years Charles Schwartz, one of the executors of the A1 Jolson estate, and partner in the New York law firm of Schwartz and Frohlich, stayed on top of this and advised the Will Rogers Fund on legal procedure in securing the $40,000 — and we are grateful to him.” Cinema 16 In 15th Year NEW YORK — Cinema 16, America’s largest film society and distribution center for 16 mm experimental films, has launched its 15th season. The non-profit organization will pre¬ sent its membership of close to 5,000 with 16 programs of shorts and features, many from abroad. Featuring this year the works of exciting new directors, the film society screens its offerings at the Beekman and Murray Hill Theatres as well as the Fashion Trades Auditorium in this city. More than 250 experimental and avant-garde films are included in the current Cinema 16 catalog for 16 mm rental. November 29, 1961 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5