The Exhibitor (1966)

Rapid City, S.D. The firm also runs the Elk and Rapid houses and two drive-ins in the city. Former owners were John and Tom George. . . . Theatre manager Lyle Fodnes of the New Roxy, Hemmingford, Nebr., has been ap¬ pointed principal of the local high school. . . . Paramount Film Exchange is now in its new location in the Lincoln Towers Bldg., 1860 Lincoln St., Denver, having recently moved from the Hilton Office Bldg. ... A special Movie Month complete motion picture and en¬ tertainment section was published by the Rocky Mountain News. ... A new screen has been installed in the Star, Imperial, Nebr., by man¬ ager Newton Lippitt. . . . Howard and Doreen Jensen’s son, Rick, who is attending University of Nebraska, was married in Oshkosh recently. The Jensens manage the Silver Hill theatre there. . . . Metro salesman Claude Newell has been promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Reserve. . . . “Alvarez Kelly,” which opened the newly remodeled Webber theatre here, will be replaced at the end of its run by another Columbia film, “The Professionals.” The house, since its refurbishing, has been operating on a semi-reserved seat policy — that is, the loges are reserved seats at all performances, while the orchestra is first come, first served. Lou Kolocheski, manager, appears to feel the arrangement is working out well. DES MOINES The 20th Century-Fox exchange in Des Moines has moved to 1216 High Street, and with the move went the last remaining screen¬ ing room in film row. . . . Heartland Produc¬ tions will produce “The Tattered Hawk,” a classic western by Ron Honthaner. Lleartland has its first film. “The Hostage,” showing in Iowa. . . . Frank Rubel, Central States, is re¬ covering from an operation in Rochester, Minn. His wife is also having an operation in a Des Moines hospital. DETROIT The Variety Club of Detroit, Tent 5, will be closing their clubrooms at the Tuller Hotel Dec. 15. A big sale of the furniture and fix¬ tures is being offered to the members Nov. 29. The Variety Club will still function, with many outside activities planned as well as their main charity, the Growth and Development Center at Childrens Hospital. . . . The Music Hall Cinerama Theatre opened with “Is Paris Burning?.” The premiere performance Nov. 17 was sponsored by the State Fair Kiwanis for the benefit of retarded and underprivileged children at the Forney-Clement Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., one of the beneficiaries. HOUSTON Publicist Jerry Ribnick located over 25 men and women who were in Paris in 1944 when it was liberated. They were feted at Tony’s prior to the local premiere of “Is Paris Burning?” at the Gaylynn. . . . Andre Previn has been named conductor-in-chief of the Houston Sym¬ phony Orchestra under a two year contract, beginning with the 1967-68 season. Previn has many film credits, among them the scores for “Kiss Me Kate,” “Elmer Gantry,” “The Bells Are Ringing,” and “Kismet.” He won the Berlin Film Festival award for the score to “Bad Day at Black Rock” and has won Oscars for his orchestral arrangements for “Gigi” and “Porgy and Bess.” He was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer until 1960. . . . Jack Valenti, president, Motion Picture Association of America, took time out from a party in his honor to deliver a note to Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, publisher of the Houston Post, and David E. Milgram, president of Milgram Theatres and a past recipient of the "Torch of Hope Award" for humanitarian activities presents the honor on behalf of the City of Hope to Philadelphia builder, developer and pioneer in space medicine Martin M. Decker. Mrs. Anna Rosenburg Hoffman, former presi¬ dential advisor, both members of the Presi¬ dent’s Committee on Selective Service. The note was from film star George Hamilton, fre¬ quent escort of Lynda Bird Johnson. Hamilton in the note said that he was ready to serve “and will be right behind Cassius (Clay) when you give out uniforms.”. . . Talk has again been re¬ vived concerning movie premieres at the Hous¬ ton Astrodome. The projectors and screen, probably the world’s largest, have been in¬ stalled and tried out. Various movie people are being shown the way films are being pro¬ jected at the Astrodome. . . . About 1,200 per¬ sons turned out for a testimonial dinner in honor of Jack Valenti, president, Motion Pic¬ ture Association of America, and former aide to President Johnson. In attendance were many from Washington, the film industry, local city officials, boyhood friends, film personalities in¬ cluding Warren Beatty and George Stevens. Valenti arrived in Llouston late because of a mixup in airplane schedules. . . . Earl F. Schreiber has been named manager of the Strand, Henderson, Tex., operated by East Texas Theatres, Inc. Prior to joining the cir¬ cuit, he was associated with the sister circuit, Jefferson Amusement Co., Beaumont. JACKSONVILLE Fred Mathis, Paramount branch manager, selected the conveniently located downtown Center Theatre for his special two-part screen¬ ings of “Funeral in Berlin” the morning of Nov. 15 and “El Dorado” the same afternoon. A large group of exhibitors attended the invi¬ tational screenings and a luncheon party which served as an intermission between the two showings. . . . Bob Pate, Jacksonville Journal film columnist, has highly recommended to his readers the series of Thursday only show¬ ings of motion picture classics which A1 Hil¬ dreth is presenting at the San Marco Art Theatre. , . . Jimmy Bello, AIP district man¬ ager from Atlanta, reported to friends here that his son, Jimmy Bello, Jr., is one of the pitching aces with Oglethorpe University’s Petrols. . . . Patty Hart, freshman at Brenau College in Georgia, enjoyed a weekend visit here with her mother, WOMPI president Mary Hart, and her father, John Hart, na¬ tional chairman of the Co-WOMPI group. . . . Betty Barrett, wife of Kenneth L. Barrett, traveling auditor with Florida State Theatres, has retired from her position as a music teacher after long service in the schools of Jacksonville Beach. . . . A1 and Betty Rook, independent film distributors at Jacksonville Beach, have traveled widely in the southeast during the past few months while booking their current films. . . . FST’s Florida Theatre at Ft. Lauderdale has been closed and will remain dark except for scattered special en¬ gagements. . . . During the entire month of November, Florida residents are being invited to the all-new underwater mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs entitled, “The Watery Wizard of Oz.” Jack Mahon, Weeki Wachee publicist, said that Floridians coming to see the new production by Gloria Hamilton of New York may identify themselves with their drivers’ licenses and be admitted for a service charge of 50 cents Monday through Friday and 75 cents on weekends and Thanksgiving. NEW HAVEN-HARTFORD Owen (Buddy) Horan has terminated his association with Buddy Horan and Associates, West Haven advertising-public relations firm, to become resident manager of the Art The¬ atre Corporation’s first-run Webster, Hartford. He succeeds Gabe Valenti, resigned. . . . Twentieth-Fox’s “The Sound of Music, now in its 70-plus week at the Perakos Elm, West Hartford, will conclude Dec. 13, Specie P. Perakos, circuit vice-president and general manager, has announced. Paramount’s “Alfie” will have its Connecticut premiere at that deluxe showcase on Dec. 23. . . . Major John L. Calvocoressi, U.S. Army Reserve, com¬ pleted two weeks of active duty training at Fort Devens, Mass. He is attached to the Post Information Office. Calvocoressi, partner in the Manchester Drive-In, served as a civilian with the Office of Strategic Services and in the U.S. Army before receiving his Reserve appointment. . . . Joe Tilenda, Perakos Cinema One, East Hartford, offered reduced admission for all people named Kelly opening night of Columbia’s “Alvarez Kelly.” And on his first Saturday matinee, Tilenda distributed free copies of the Columbia recording of the film’s theme to first 100 patrons. . . . Leonard Sampson and Robert Spodick, Nutmeg The , atre Circuit, reported completion of extensive remodeling at the first-run Crown, New Haven. . . . Judge Joseph A. Adorno, counsel for the Adorno Theatres, Middletown, has been re¬ elected a director of that city’s Rockfall Cor¬ poration. . . . Lockwood & Gordon has closed down the Cinerama Theatre, Providence, R.I., for extensive remodeling. Reopening is antici¬ pated just prior to Christmas. . . . John Scanlan III, operator of the Strand, Winsted, came up with an “Old Fashioned 25-cent Matinee,” showing Universal’s “Johnny Tiger’ plus five cartoons, on a recent Saturday. . . . Bruno Weingarten, E. M. Loew’s Norwich-New Lon¬ don Drive-In, exhibited the famed AstonMartin car used in UA’s “Goldfinger.” . . . A1 Swett, for the past six years advertising and publicity director for Stanley Warner The¬ atres in New England, based in New Haven, has resigned to join Rothwell Advertising As¬ sociates, New Haven advertising agency, as account executive. James M. Totman, S W zone manager, has shifted William Decker, for the past year and a half eastern Massachu¬ setts district manager, headquartered in Wor¬ cester, to Swett’s local post. Decker, with S W for 30 years, will also supervise the zone flag¬ ship, with Roger Sherman Theatre. Joe Quinn, formerly with S W and more recently with General Cinema Corporation, has rejoined the circuit as resident manager of tfie deluxe White City Shopping Center Theatre, Wor¬ cester. . . . Sal Carpenteri, for the past six months sales promotion director of LeRoy Enterprises, Hartford-based amusements firm, has been promoted to the newly created ca¬ pacity of executive assistant to Milton LeRoy, corporation president. LeRoy area interests include the Blue Hills Drive-In Theatre, now leased to General Cinema Corporation. . . . 16 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR November 23, 1966