The Exhibitor (1966)

Memphis State University student, in Florence, Ala. . . . Arrow Drive-In, Steeleville, Ill., closed after the playdate of Sept. 24. Skyway DriveIn, Forrest City, Ark., has closed, as has Riverview Drive-In, Morrilton, Ark. . . . Johnny Gannon’s Park, independent house out after first runs, finished showing “The Wrong Box,” and then “Alfie” was booked into this suburban house. . . . The local WOMPI supplied per¬ sonnel for the Heart Booth at the Mid-South Fair. Mrs. Marianne Bartlett, president, an¬ nounced the November charity project would be gifts of candy and cookies for inmates of the Sunshine Home and the Crippled Adults Hos¬ pital. . . . Fank Heard, Lee Drive-In, Tupelo, Miss., made a substantial donation to the charity work of WOMPI. . . . Richard Arlen, speaking before the local Executives Club, stated juvenile deliquency is directly linked to many of today’s movies, books, and maga¬ zines. . . . National Movie Month got under¬ way with 40,000 heralds being distributed in shopping centers, free newspaper, air, and store window publicity. Serving as area directors are M. A. Lightman, Jr., Memphis; J. T. Hitt, Bentonville, Ark.; Jack Lowrey, Russellville, Ark.; and T. G. Solomon, McComb, Miss. . . . “Sound of Music” left Paramount on Oct. 11 after an 18 month run. “The Blue Max” opened the next day. . . . Elias Drive-In, Os¬ ceola, Ark., closed. . . . James Martin has re¬ quested Film Transit to begin transportation service for Cameo Theatre, Collinwood, Term. . . . Carroll Drive-In, Huntingdon, Term., and Skyway Drive-In, Humboldt, Tenn., closed. . . . In a ietter to the membership of the local WOMPI, president Marianne Bartlett, 20th Century-Fox, stated the delegation attending the 13th annual WOMPI convention returned home “very enthusiastic about the future. You can’t imagine the outlets that are available to us in our charity work, and also in our work for the industry. If we just put our minds to it, we can have a wonderfully exciting year for WOMPI and for ourselves.” MIAMI, FLA. All the “Alvarez” and “Kelly” folk were in¬ vited to a special screening of “Alvarez Kelly” at Wometco’s Miami Theatre. Herb Kelly (nicknamed Herb “Alvarez” Kelly for the duration of the run of the picture), Miami News amusement editor, issued the invitation in his column to the 270 Alvarezes and 271 Kellys listed in the Greater Miami telephone directory. Radio station W.I.O.D. cooperated with the News in issuing the invitation. . . . Ballet fans in the area were lucky not only with the booking of “Romeo and Juliet” at the Mayfair and Sunset, but also with “The Sleep¬ ing Beauty” presented by the Leningrad Kirov ballet, which was booked into the Gables, Shores, Suniland, Hollywood Florida, and Ft. Lauderdale Plantation Theatres. . . . The Boulevard Drive-In is the display area for “Spacerama” attraction: 106 feet high, 32 feet in diameter, 70,000 pounds in weight. It is a mock ride in space, with John Glenn narrat¬ ing. . . . Employees of Wometco Enterprises, ' , Inc., donated through their payroll con Itributions $200 in August and September for Variety Children’s Hospital. . . . Wometco En¬ terprises, Inc., has expanded its vending opera¬ tions in north and central Florida with the acquisition of the principal assets of Auto¬ matic Vending of Gainesville, Inc., for a pur¬ chase price in excess of $150,000. The new operation, to be called Wometco Vending of Gainesville, Inc., will serve, among other in¬ dustrial and institutional accounts, the Uni¬ versity of Florida. Charles F. Cunliffe, general manager of Wometco’s vending operations headquartered in Jacksonville, will supervise the new acquisition. . . . According to the St. Petersburg Evening Independent, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has tentative plans for $1 million in improvements in their “Bounty” exhibit area, including a recreation of the waterfront of Portsmouth, England, the opening scene of the film, “Mutiny on the Bounty.” . . . The Mayfair, Miami, was the setting for a special showing of “Years of Lightning, Day of Drums,” sponsored by the American Jewish Congress. . . . Richard Wolfson, senior vicepresident, Wometco Enterprises, Inc., was named chairman of Unit F for the 1966 United Fund campaign. . . . Approximately 60 students from the Florida Presbyterian Col¬ lege, St. Petersburg, attended a showing of “Dear John” at the Crossroads as part of a college discussion program. . . . Wometco Enterprises, Inc., directors voted a 10.7 per cent increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend to 15p2 cents on class “A” stock. Dividends on class “B” stock were raised to 5% cents. . . . Discount tickets were distributed by members of the Southeast Florida Dairy Institute via its milk deliverymen, for the showing of the Ivan Tors’ production, “Namu” at the Olympia, Gables, Shores, Suni¬ land, Florida (Hollywood), Coral Ridge, and Plantation (Ft. Lauderdale) and Florida (West Palm Beach). ... A benefit banquet for the Variety Children’s Hospital will feature Van Cliburn performing at the Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach, Dec. 13. . . . The Play¬ house, St. Petersburg, was due to reopen after a five-week shutdown. Bill Boardman, opera¬ tor, has gone into partnership with the RobertArthur Corp. Robert Moscow, Atlanta, and Arthur Barnett, New Orleans, came to St. Petersburg to assist in the reopening. The theatre has been repainted and a flash front and new signs installed. Boardman announced that the Playhouse will operate on an “im¬ ported exploitation picture” policy. . . . The Royal Ballet production of “Romeo and Juliet,” with Fonteyn and Nureyev, was set for three performances daily, Monday through Friday, at the Mayfair, Sunset Art Theatres, Greater Miami, and the Park-East, Winter Park, and the Plaza, Gainesville. Saturday per¬ formances will be at 2:30 and 8:30 only, and Sunday performances are scheduled also for the 2:30, 5:30 (student), and 8:30 hours. . . . “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” has been announced by Florida State Theatres’ Harry Botwick as the opener for their new Sunny Isles Twin, in mid-December. NEW HAVEN -HART FORD Sperie P. Perakos, vice-president and gen¬ eral manager, Perakos Theatre Associates, in¬ dependent Connecticut circuit, has announced appointment of Joseph Tilenda as manager of the deluxe Cinema One, East Hartford, suc¬ ceeding Paul Macbeth, resigned. Tilenda will work under the circuit’s metropolitan Hart¬ ford supervisor, John D’Amato. . . . Louis B. Rogow, West Hartford, partner with Frank McWeeney in the Pine Drive-In, Waterbury, and Mrs. Rogow have pledged $100,000 to the Newington Hospital for Crippled Children. . . . Alfred Alperin, metropolitan Hartford supervisor for General Cinema Corporation, is now incorporating the circuit’s two drive-ins, the Meadows and Blue Hills, in a daily com¬ posite ad containing the circuit identification line. . . . Perakos Theatre Associates, inde¬ pendent circuit, will expend a sum similar to that used to completely remodel the Eastwood, East Hartford (now the Cinema One), at the Hi-Way, on the downstate Stratford-Bridgeport line (approximately $125,000). Actual theatre shut-down time — as at East Hartford — will be kept to a minimum. . . . Sperie P. Perakos attended the annual board of directors meeting of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. . . . Milton LeRoy, president of LeRoy Enterprises, owner of amusement interests (including the Blue Hills Drive-In, now leased to General Cinema Corporation), has named Hartford restaurateur Sal Carpenteri to the newly-created capacity of sales promotion di¬ rector. . . . Janice and Alphonse LaBounty have opened the newly-built 250-seat Cinema in the rapidly-expanding Manchester, Vt., Shopping Center complex. Construction cost was not disclosed. The LaBountys previously operated the old Playhouse in Manchester Village. NEW ORLEANS Varity Club Tent 45 entertained at a dinner party at the clubrooms those who voluntarily gave hours of their time and work on the re¬ cent telethon which garnered over $100,000 in Have YOU Contributed to THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATES FOUNDATION'S 1966 WELFARE DRIVE? Did You Buy Your Tickets to \\ HAWAII r r Friday, October 28, 8:30 PM STANLEY THEATRE, Phila.? For Tickets, call STANLEY ADLEMAN, WA 5-3944 NEW JERSEY MESSENGER SERVICE, MEYER ADLEMAN, President October 26, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 21