The Exhibitor (1966)

Paramount Proxy Fight Called Off As Dissidents Sell 143,000 Shares Interstate's Mabey Exits At Gala Testimonial Fete BOSTON — A testimonial dinner was ten¬ dered retiring theatre manager Arthur Mabey, manager, State, Milford, Mass., who has worked for the Interstate Theatre Corp. for more than 40 years, and was manager of the State Theatres for 30 years, at the famous Anthony’s Pier 4 Restaurant, with a large at¬ tendance from the motion picture industry and top executives of Interstate Theatre Corp. Heading the list of distinguished guests who gathered to pay tribute to Mabey were James ' M. Stonenran, vice-president of Interstate; Malcolm C. Green, treasurer of Interstate; James F. Mahoney, general manager of Inter¬ state; William S. Roster, executive director of the Jimmy Fund and Variety Club. Preceding the testimonial dinner by motion picture industry executives, another testi¬ monial dinner for the retiring theatre man¬ ager was held in his home area at Lake View ballroom in Mendon, Mass., attended by 300 friends, community leaders, business asso¬ ciates, and relatives. They gathered to pay trib iute to the theatre manager who was well known for taking part in many community activities over the years. Elmer C. Nelson, Nelson Motor Co., located next to the State for more than a quarter of a century, and the former Republican state committee chairman, was toastmaster. He presented Mabey a purse of money on behalf of the guests, and Mrs. Mabey was presented a bouquet. Among the speakers were House Speaker John F. X. Davoren, Selectman Louis P. Bertonazzi, Police Chief William F. Fitzpat¬ rick, James F. Mahoney, Interstate Theatres; Supt. of Schools David I. Davoren, Judge William P. DiVitto, State Rep. Nathan Rosenfeld, president Anthony E. Allegrezza of the Rotary Club; president Anthony Rando, Kiwanis Club; president Ernest Richards, Lions Club; chairman Joseph Scolavino, Bellingham selectman. Committee members who planned the testimonial included Miss Margaret Hayes, who has been manager of the theatre ticket office for many years, and Mrs. Pauline Rou¬ leau, also a former State employee. Buyse From UA To Fox NEW YORK — The appointment of Emile Buyse as director of advertising and publicity for Europe and the Middle East was an¬ nounced by Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., vice-presi¬ dent and director of advertising, publicity, and exploitation of 20th-Fox. Buyse will be stationed in Paris, headquart¬ ers for 20th-Fox’s Continental distribution. He replaces Daniel E. Chamberlin who has designed. Buyse, who leaves the comparable position with United Artists, is a 20-year veteran of the motion picture industry, starting with RKO Radio in Belgium in 1946. Bookers Elect Officers NEW YORK — The Motion Picture Bookers Club of New York has elected Marvin Friedlander, president; Alan Pinsker, first vicepresident; Etta Segall, second vice-president; Lillian Bloomberg, secretary; Harold Lager, treasurer; Lee Herbst, financial secretary; and Harold Rosen, sergeant at arms. Fred Mayer and Lee Kaye are trustees, while Eddie Rich¬ ter, Harry Margolis, Max Fried, Jerry Horo¬ witz, Jack Birnbaum, and Kitty Flynn com¬ prise the board of directors. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton recently gave a press conference on the Italian set of their new film for Columbia release, "The Taming Of The Shrew." Gainesville Welcomes New FST Luxury Theatre GAINESVILLE, FLA.— Many of the lead¬ ing figures of Jacksonville’s Film Row moved here to this university city to help Florida State Theatres with the grand opening of the circuit’s newest luxury theatre, the twinauditoria Center in a suburban shopping cen¬ ter area. Opening attraction for the new play¬ house was “The Trouble With Angels.” An opening address was delivered from the theatre’s stage by LaMar Sarra, FST vicepresident. It was particularly fitting that Sarra welcomed opening night guests to the theatre, following an afternoon cocktail party. Sarra formerly lived here and was captain of the University of Florida football team back in the mid-twenties. Fie later became president of the University of Florida Alumni Associa¬ tion. The new theatre is conveniently near the university’s campus and its 15,000 stu¬ dents. The Center is the first north Florida the¬ atre to be equipped with rocking chair seats spaced three and one-half feet between rows. The auditoria are named the Blue and the Gold, and they present new shows every hour to provide less waiting time for patrons. Manager of the new theatre is Bill Duggan, who formerly managed FST’s local Florida, also a first-run operation which is being man¬ aged by Bill Goewey, former FST relief man¬ ager in Jacksonville. The Center is well-provided with an auto parking area on the theatre’s own facility. It is equipped with stereophonic sound, a “laundered-air” air conditioning system, two of the largest indoor screens in the south which ex¬ tend from ceiling to floor and wall to wall, and unusually lavish lounges and powder rooms designed especially for college co-eds. Moss Assoc. Expands NEW YORK — Moss Associates, Inc., Ad¬ vertising, has moved to new, larger quarters on the fifth floor at 415 Lexington Avenue. The new offices were designed by W. Fontaine Jones, AID. The physical expansion was neces¬ sitated by a substantial increase in the agency’s business and by the addition of new accounts. NEW YORK — The two dissident directors of Paramount Pictures Corp. have sold their 143,000 Paramount shares and are resigning from the board. The stock controlled by the dissidents, Herbert Siegel and Ernest Martin, has been sold to Gulf & Western Industries, headed by Charles G. Bluhdorn, Chairman. The announcement was made by Siegel. Bluhdorn was put on the Paramount Board by the management, March 24. The stock sale puts an end to a threatened proxy fight and leaves the management in unchallenged control of the movie company. The 143,000 Paramount Pictures shares had been owned by Baldwin Montrose Chemical Co., controlled by Siegel and by Feuer & Mar¬ tin Productions, headed by Martin and FMf Ltd., controlled by Feuer & Martin Produc¬ tions. The Siegel and Martin companies had bought through a tender offer last May some 125,000 Paramount shares at $65 a share. They subsequently bought more stock lifting their holdings to 143,000 shares. Paramount closed prior to the sale on the N. Y. Stock Exchange at 73 1/2, up 2l/%. Gulf & Western Industries thus becomes the largest single holder of Paramount stock. Gulf & Western earlier agreed in principle to a merger with Universal American Corp., with Gulf & Western to be the surviving company. George Weltner, president, Paramount Pic¬ tures, announced recently that the company’s inventory as of last Jan. 1 was $90,893,000, the greatest since the corporation as now con¬ stituted was formed Jan. 1, 1950. This is $26,000,000 over the inventory of a year ago and includes $12,971,000 as the television portion of released films. During 1965, the company repaid $1,970,000 of funded debt and bank loans outstanding at Jan. 2, 1965. Paramount disposed of its 50 per cent owned interest in Talent Associates-Paramount at a loss in 1965 of $143,000; but the wholly-owned Plautus Productions continues to maintain its stature as an important source of television programming. Variety Honors Frankovich LOS ANGELES — M. J. “Mike” Franko¬ vich, first vice-president and production head of Columbia Pictures, was honored with the coveted “Heart Award” of the Variety Club of Southern California, Tent 25. The award given to Frankovich at a special Variety Club luncheon was for “his outstand¬ ing humanitarian efforts in behalf of Variety Club, not only here in Southern California, but also overseas in England where he has served as chief barker of the London Tent” The honor also cited the Columbia film execu—i five’s instrumental role in making the recent fund-raising tour of England’s Prince Philip “the remarkable success that it was.” April 20, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 13