The Exhibitor (1966)

ALBANY Herb Schwartz, Columbia branch manager for Buffalo and Albany, came in and with salesman Richard Deacey and booker Doug Hermans arranged an evening trade screen¬ ing of “The Professionals” at Fabian’s Cohoes, Cohoes, which is a week-end operation. . . . Mrs. Mary Romanzo resigned as Iselin DriveIn advertising manager. . . . Mrs. Wadad Boumansour relighted the Plaza, Malone, after modernization. . . . Gloversville virtually dis¬ appeared as an industry dateline with the clos¬ ing of the former Schine Theatres home offices there, the release of 30 employees, and the transfer of five top echeloners to New York City headquarters in the Paramount Building of Panther Theatre Corporation, operating lessee for 50 ex-Schine houses. George V. Lynch, Schine chief buyer, took a leave of absence due to poor health and is resting with his wife and father-in-law, former Congress¬ man Bernard W. Kearney at the latter’s Flor¬ ida home. Also out is Lou S. Hart, general manager of Schine Theatres since June, 1965. Servicing, maintenance and other areas long handled from Gloversville are to be contracted for. BUFFALO More than $135,000 was turned over to three children’s institutions by the Variety Club of Buffalo Children’s Foundation at the 1966 telethon presentation dinner. Checks in the form of “diplomas” were presented as follows: Children’s Rehabilitation Center, $118,000; St. Rita’s Home for Children, $13,000; and Sum¬ mer Camp coordinating committee, $7,000. Making the presentation was Harold Bennett, chairman of the heart committee of Tent 7. . . . Mercury Ballet is sponsoring a series of ballet motion pictures this season in the Dryden Theatre of the George Eastman House in Rochester. . . . Nathan R. Dickman, past chief barker, Variety Club of Buffalo, and managing director of the 1-290 Drive-In, operated by General Cinema Corp., has been named a permanent telethon general chairman by chief barker Albert J. Petrella. . . . Lewis J. Lieser is representing Embassy Pictures in the Buffalo exchange area. . . . Sidney J. Cohen, president, Allied Theatres of N.Y. State, Inc., announces that Ackerman Theatres, the North Park in Buffalo and the Riviera in Syracuse, have joined N.Y. Allied, as have the Civic Follies organization, operating the Allendale in Buf¬ falo and Omega Enterprises in Syracuse. . . . The Cooking Fiesta, sponsored by the Buffalo Evening News and the Iroquois Gas Company and staged in the Center, downtown Buffalo, was a huge success and brought Eddie Miller’s theatre a lot of good will. . . . Maurice Che¬ valier has been set by Rochester Civic Music Association for an Eastman Theatre appear¬ ance in Kodak Town on Nov. 9. . . . Rochester actor Robert Forster will make his screen debut in Elizabeth Taylor’s new picture, “Re¬ flections in a Golden Eye,” being directed by John Huston. . . . Carl Schaner, back from New York where he has been working on “Romeo and Juliet,” has tied up with the Re¬ tail Merchants Assn, and the Buffalo Evening News in putting the big fashion show on the stage of the Century on Nov. 10, 11 and 12, with Hildegarde as the star of the event. . . . The Rev. Joseph A. Mahoney, long time chap¬ lain of Tent 7, Variety Club of Buffalo, who observed his 68th birthday Sept. 28, died on Oct. 10. He had been expected to give the in¬ vocation at the telethon presentation dinner in the club that evening. . . . Vincent Slavin is the new assistant booker at the Buffalo Uni¬ versal exchange. . . . Harry Edelman, district manager, Motion Picture Advertising Corp., New Orleans, and covering the Buffalo exchange area, following a conference with Sidney J. Cohen, president, Allied Theatre Owners of N.Y. State, Inc., re¬ ports business good throughout his territory. . . . Billy Laney, general manager, Jo-Mor Enter¬ prises, Inc., Rochester, attended the press screening of “Hawaii,” Julie Andrews’ new United Artists production, in the DeMille, New York. The picture opens in the Towne, Jo-Mor house in Kodak Town, next Feb. 15. . . . The Shea’s Buffalo boxoffice on Pearl street has been reopened for that theatre’s pa¬ trons, and Loew’s city manager Frank Arena announces that there will be free parking for customers in the lot across the street from the rear entrance all day Saturday and Sunday and after 6 p.m. on weekdays. . . . Having completed a record-breaking 80-week run in Shea’s Teck, “The Sound of Music” is still not scheduled to pass from the local him scene. The picture now has been booked at the North Park and is expected to start its engagement there early next month. . . . Sidney J. Cohen, president, Allied Theatres of New York, announces that Frank Lindcamp, veteran Rochester exhibitor, copped national honors in the recent Will Rog¬ ers Hospital Fund collection. Lindcamp now is managing director of Loew’s, Pittsford, N.Y., near Rochester, and his patrons donated $10,234, a figure that won them and Lindcamp a standing ovation at the NATO convention in New York. CHARLOTTE Cy Hall, manager, National, Greensboro, N. C., will become manager of the new Ter¬ race when it opens in December in the Friendly Shopping Center at Greensboro. In announcing Hall’s new position, Neil McGill, Greensboro manager for N. C. Theatres, Inc., said the Terrace is expected to open on Christmas day, and that it will be a first-run house, emphasiz¬ ing “roadshow” films and “spectaculars.” Hall has been manager of the National for the past year. When the Terrace opens, the National, a downtown house, which was opened at Greens¬ boro in 1921, will close and will not be re¬ opened as a theatre, McGill said. The new Terrace will seat 750 persons and will have projection equipment capable of screening all dimensions. CHICAGO Harold Lloyd and Otto Preminger will make personal appearances to highlight the Second International Film Festival on Nov. 5-12. . . . Rod Taylor, star of MGM’s “The Liquidator,” was in to boost the film opening at the Oriental and appeared as guest at a fashion show in the Continental Plaza which was televised for Jim Conway’s morning show. . . . B and K opened sales for the closed circuit telecast of the Cassius Clay-Cleveland Wil¬ liams heavyweight championship bout on Nov. 14 which will be shown on a reserved-seat basis at the Lfptown, Maryland, Central Park, and State Lake. . . . United Artists will relo¬ cate its exchange on Nov. 1 at 203 North Wabash Avenue. . . . B and K managerial changes have Leo Brown going from the Up¬ town to the State Lake; Jim Current from the Portage to the Uptown; and Jack DeWiggins from the Luna to the Portage. . . . Teenagers are again making their protests known via the press. They claim that a teen rate should be charged at movie theatres for those between the ages of 12 and 18. . . . Herbert C. Sulli¬ van, film booker-buyer for Alliance Theatre Corporation, died at his Evanston, Ill., home. He had been with Alliance for 34 years. . . . Unfortunate delays caused the opening of Thunderbird Theatre in suburban Hoffman Estates until Oct. 21. . . . Joella Cohen has been promoted by Columbia Pictures as mid¬ west division press director. . . . Paramount’s “Is Paris Burning?” will open Nov. 10 at Cinestage following the reserved-seat run of “Romeo and Juliet.” CINCINNATI “Fortune Cookie,” opening at the Times Towne Cinema Nov. 2, will be a benefit for Variety Tent Three’s “Sunshine Coach” fund. All proceeds will go to the fund — UA waiving its film rental and Times Towne Cinema as¬ suming all other opening night expenses, which include a parade and the theatre’s champagne party following the presentation of the film. This is the first time that the public has been invited to attend a Times Towne Cinema black-tie opening. Donations for the seats are $10' each, and a special section called the Golden Circle will be reserved for donors and organizations paying $100 and more. The occasion will call to the attention of the public the great need for transportation facilities to care for handicapped children. Tent Three has had one Sunshine Coach in operation during the past five months transporting 3000 chil¬ dren. Because the need for more special trans¬ portation facilities is urgent, the Tent is to buy another coach which will help to relieve some of the pressure on the parents of the handicapped. . . . Jack Kirchbaum, Lhiiversal Jack L. Warner recently announced the signing of a multi-million dollar co-production agreement between Steve McQueen's Solar Productions and Warner Brothers for six motion pictures to be completed within the next five years. Shown, left to right, are Robert E. Relyea, Solar executive producer; McQueen; Warner; and Walter MacEwan, vice-president and executive associate of Warner. October 26, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 19