The Exhibitor (1966)

film had its first run showing Feb. 14 to May 1, 1957. . . . Services were held here for Clair E. Hilgers, 70, retired film distributor. He began his industry career as a salesman for Metro Pictures in 1918 and later was branch manager for 20th Centur\'-Fox in Kansas City and Dal¬ las. Prior to World War II, he was appointed European general manager for RKO Pictures, with headquarters in Paris. He then returned to Dallas as branch manager for 20th CenturyFox. He was one of the founders of Variety Tent 17 in Dallas. Survivors include his wife, three daughters, and seven grandchildren. . . . Some 4,000 Dallas teens responded to Danny Thomas’ call to help St. Jude Children’s Hos¬ pital last week and raised $23,000 for the Memphis research center. . . . Whit Boyd and Sam Chernoff are opening the Crescent with a policy of live stage entertainment and art movies. . . . Ramon Lence, operator of the Lido, the former Major, has inaugurated a similar policy with “Continental Varieties” on stage. . . . Rowley United Theatres held its 50th anniversary banquet and managers meet¬ ing to launch a Golden Jubilee Celebration for Rowley United Theatres which will continue through the summer. A promotional contest is planned with prizes to be offered the man¬ agers and other employees. Another managers’ conference will be held at the close of the Golden Jubilee celebration with the co-founder of the circuit, Ed Rowley, in attendance. John H. Rowley is president of Rowley United, which now operates more than 120 theatres in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, with 16 in Dallas. The first theatre acquired by the circuit 50 years ago, the Roof Garden in San Angelo, was an open air theatre, and the latest addition to the circuit, the Rebel Twin D-I at Carroll¬ ton, now under construction and scheduled to open this summer, will also be an open airer. DENVER Late in May is the target date Mrs. Vera Cockrill, owner of the Denham (downtown hardtop) and Wadsworth Drive-In, is setting for the opening of her new Havana Drive-In, southeast metropolitan Denver. Work was halted last year on account of Daylight Savings going into effect in Colorado — the first time since the last World War — but she has decided now to go ahead with construction anyway. . . . John Dobson, United Artists branch man¬ ager here, returned recently from a sales meet¬ ing in Los Angeles. . . . 20th Century-Fox’s Dick Fulham and his wife, Harriet, received news that they are grandparents of a baby girl born in New York City recently to their daugh¬ ter and son-in-law. . . . Most of the area driveins that do not operate during the winter are open for the summer season. . . . Les Laramie, Universal salesman, whose wife was the win¬ ner of a real gold mine at the recent Show-ARama convention here, apparently hasn’t started working it yet as he has been on the Western Slope digging for film dates for his company. . . . Claude Newell, MGM, was over in that part of the state on a selling trip also last month. DES MOINES Tri-States Theatres will open its second shopping center theatre in Iowa next fall with a 700-seat Plaza in the Linndale shopping plaza at Cedar Rapids. Tri-States earlier this year opened the Plaza in the Merle Hay shopping center in Des Moines. The new house in Cedar Rapids will be the first new indoor theatre to be built in Cedar Rapids in 38 years. TriState also operates the Paramount, Cedar Rapids. . . . David and Gene Kramer, owners. Plaza, Dyersville, la., turned over the entire receipts from “Four Days in November” to This model, attired os "Juliet Of The Spirits," was used effectively as street bally for the Rizzoli release by Dick Empey and Bob Kinser at the Trans-Texas Fine Arts, Dallas. the Community Hospital fund drive. . . . The Des Moines WOMPI club has elected Dorothy Pobst, United Artists, as president. Other of¬ ficers included Karen Bitting, first vice-presi¬ dent; Nancy Draper, recording secretary; Mar¬ garet Shields, corresponding secretary; and Pauline Mosier, treasurer. . . . Art Hulsing has purchased, redecorated, and reopened the Lake, Lake View, Iowa. HOUSTON Cornel Wilde paid two visits to Houston. One was to arrange for the opening of his new movie, “The Naked Prey,” at the Majestic. He came back for the opening showing which benefited the Laubach Literacy, Inc. . . . Actor Harve Presnell, who was recently married to Veeva Brown, had to postpone a honeymoon because of show business commitments. Pres¬ nell is scheduled to star in the opening produc¬ tion of the new Houston Music Theatre, “Camelot.” . . . Publicist Bobby Bixler of United Artists is in the city and headquartered at the Warwick on a promotional visit in be¬ half of “Khartoum,” starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier. . . . Local theatre goers may make a comparison of the screen and stage version of “The Sound of Music.” The screen version is now in its 59th week at the Alabama. The stage version opened at the Houston Theatre Center. . . . The Creegan Puppets, headed by Don Weekly, made a series of ap¬ pearances at local shopping centers to promote “Sleeping Beauty,” a new effort of Childhood Productions. The film was shown at the Gar¬ den Oaks, Santa Rosa, and North Main and all three of the Cinema I and H theatres at Gulfgate, Northline, and Meyerland shopping centers. . . . The Alray, Houston’s sole foreign and classic film theatre, will celebrate its sixth year of operation with a month long festival of its more popular films. Included will be “Zorba, the Greek,” “War and Peace,” “Point of Order,” “Big Risk,” “America, America,” “Last Year at Marienbad,” and “Phaedra.” Ray Boriski, owner of the Alray will follow in June with some first run films including “Banana Peel,” “High Infidelity,” “Red Lanterns,” and “To Die In Madrid.” JACKSONVILLE Barbara “Sunny” Greenwood, veteran WOMPI booker at Universal, rose to the occa¬ sion and became a society reporter when her son, David Michael Greenwood, married Miss Patricia Ann Smith in a ceremony at the Cen¬ tral Baptist Church of Gainesville, Ga. Sunny covered the wedding, and her long descriptive account of the formal ceremony, together with a picture of her lovely daughter-in-law, was published in the local Florida Times-Union the following day. . . . Harry Dale, whose Lake, Lake Butler, was destroyed by fire recently, has taken over the buying and booking duties for the Robert Cannon Theatres in Live Oak and Lake City. Leonard Vaughan, who formerly booked for Cannon, has reopened the Bran¬ ford, Branford, a small-town, independent house formerly operated by Harlow Land. . . . James LaLonde, Jacksonville, is now operating the Bunnell, Bunnell, which was formerly handled by Harry Dale. . . . Bud Schwartz closed his City Drive-In, Fort Myers, which leaves him with two operating units, the Fort Myers Drive-In and the Lee. . . . Howard Pettengill, Sr., free-lance publicist headquar¬ tered in Miami, spent a few days here mapping out an advance promotional campaign on the north Florida premiere of “Dr. Zhivago” for Sheldon Mandell, co-owner of the suburban Five Points, who will present the motion pic¬ ture with a reserved-seat, hard-ticket policy at advanced prices. . . . Richard Lewis, head booker at 20th Century-Fox, ended 13 years in the film distribution office by taking a Civil Service post with the local U. S. Post Office. . . . Mrs. Iva Lowe, WOMPI manager of the San Marco Art, returned to her full-time duties after several weeks of intermittent illness. . . . Sidney Greene has succeeded the late Gordon Hubbard, Sr., as regular projectionist at the downtown Imperial after serving there as a relief operator for the past several years. . . . The local WOMPI’s annual Founder’s Day gathering May 25 is being sponsored by mem¬ bers Sunny Greenwood and Sandra E. Sum¬ merlin, Universal, and Joyce Malmborg and Violet Davis, Allied Artists. They are planning a box supper for the entire WOMPI member¬ ship in the clubroom of the Motion Picture Gharity Club at the Roosevelt Hotel. A num¬ ber of door prizes will be given away, and Mrs. John Hamilton, Flower Box florist shop, is scheduled to demonstrate the creation of flower arrangements. . . . Film Row executives from distribution and exhibition offices are being invited as special guests of WOMPI at a buffet luncheon on June 7 in the Flame Room of the new Florida Gas Co. Bldg. The luncheon will serve as the kickoff session for the opening of the 1966 WOMPI membership drive, and a large group of workers who are eligible for WOMPI membership will also be invited to the luncheon. The non-members will be pre¬ sented with verbal and pictorial descriptions of the philanthropic and social aims and ac¬ complishments of the WOMPI organization on both the local and international levels. The WOMPI role of service to the industry will be particularly stressed, said Mrs. John (Mary) Hart, local WOMPI president. . . . Teams of WOMPI members were assigned by the group’s industry service committee to serve as hostesses at several advance screenings of “Born Free” held for school officials and civic groups in the Preview Theatre. . . . William Russell, FST showman in Ft. Lauderdale, is in Broward General Hospital, Ft. Lauderdale, re¬ cuperating from major surgery. . . . Terry Soliday is Hal Stanton’s new assistant at the Florida Theatre in Hollywood, and Hal’s new student assistant is Ken Kruger, who attends Broward Junior College. . . . New manager of FST’s Colony, Winter Park, is Stan Stanton. . . . FST’s Arcade, Fort Myers, managed by Gene^ Odom, is being completely remodeled and is scheduled for a grand reopening on June 3 with a run of “Frankie and Johnny.” MIAMI, FLA, A proposed ordinance would have allowed Dade County to issue just one building permit for each production of a motion picture com¬ pany to cover all structures and sets used, even 16 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR May 25, 1966