The Exhibitor (1966)

The Plaza gets most of the Disney products, and is presently showing “Follow Me Boys” to well-filled houses. . . . Calvert Drive-In, Calvert City, Ky., had its last playdate of the season on Dec. 31. . . . Jack Durell, Rowley United, Dallas, visited Film Row, Memphis, recently. . . . Film Transit has a new address: 291 Hernando, much larger quarters. . . . Members of WOMPI participating in the January birthday event were Katherine Keifer, Howco; Lois Ann Boyd, Film Transit; Helen Guess, Exhibitor Services; June Creasy, Malco Theatres; and Bonnie Steward, an associate member. . . . Film Row lost in death a veteran in the business when Clarence Hugh Scoggins, Film Transit, died on Dec. 30. Mrs. Scoggins is a former employee of Malco Theatres. . . . Mrs. Margaret Irby, who resigned at Howco Exchange, was given a luncheon at the Variety Club. . . . Mrs. Louise Hughes, formerly of Exhibitors Services, is taking a maternity leave. Mrs. Helen Guess succeeded her at Exhibitors Services. . . . The new Cinema in a suburban section of Memphis began an “ex¬ clusive engagement” of “The Blue Max” on Jan. 13 with a daily “early bird” show from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. when are seats were 50 cents. George M. Smith is manager of this property of the Cinema, Inc., chain. He re¬ ports good response to the “early bird” promo¬ tion. MIAMI, FLA . Florida State Theatres’ Coral, Coral Gables, has been chosen for the southern premiere of “A Man for All Seasons.” The Dade County chapter of the March of Dimes will benefit from the opening, which follows by one night that of “The Bible” at the Bay Harbor. During the week following (Jan. 29), “Grand Prix” will begin its road show engagement at the Sheridan, Miami Beach. Wometco’s Carib will start the two-a-day run of “The Sand Pebbles” on Feb. 7. . . . Sandy Beach, local Walt DisneyBuena Vista representative, was in Burbank, Calif., checking up on BV product. . . . The Miami Review, local legal publication, reports that Maurice Revitz, Bay Harbor Theatre, has announced that plans are complete and bids in for the construction of Americana East and West, to be built on three acres in North Miami Beach. . . . Construction is progressing on Florida State Theatres’ Plaza Rocking Chair Theatres, in the Central Plaza Shopping Center, St. Petersburg. An early-March open¬ ing is planned for the twin, which will have a combined seating capacity of about 1,000 per¬ sons. . . . H. Richard Hiller, general manager, Wometco Vending of Tennessee, Inc., has been elected a vice-president of the firm, according to Van Myers, senior vice-president in charge of vending operations for Wometco Enter¬ prises, Inc., the parent company. Hiller has been general manager of Wometco Vending of Tennessee since it was first formed as a division of Wometco Enterprises, Inc., in February, 1965. . . . While Jose’ Smith, manager, Tower, is hospitalized, Alfred Caldwell is supervising the all-Spanish film house. Richard Fleischman is holding the fort for Caldwell at the Surf, Miami Beach, during his absence. . . . Admission prices at the 27th Ave. Drive-In were increased to $1.50 for adults with the first-run engagement of “Arrivederci, Baby!” . . . Jack Mitchell, Wometco Theatres’ pub¬ licist, has made a promotion with Peruvian Air Lines and TWA for a trip to Los Angeles and Lima, Peru, for the winning contestant in a “Surfari Contest” in connection with the showing of “Endless Summer” in local top houses. . . . Ralph McClanahan has been promoted from manager, Essex, Hialeah, to the booking department of Wometco Enter¬ prises, Inc., following the death of booker Plarold Popel. James Symons is now manager, Essex. Other managerial shifts include Charles Geick from Plaza, West Hollywood, to Boule¬ vard Drive-In; Richard Drovie, from assistant, Gateway, Ft. Lauderdale, to manager of the Plaza-Hollywood. Randy Covington, long-time Wometco manager, is leaving to join another former Wometco-ite, Elmer Hecht, in Nassau, Bahamas, where he will assist Hecht in super¬ vision of theatres on the island. In Miami, Jimmy Draughon assumes Covington’s current drive-in relief duties. . . . The Freeport News, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, reports the signing of an agreement between George Kates, president, Grand Bahama Development Com¬ pany, and James E. Magee, president, Inter¬ national Producers Centre Limited, which would pave the way for the building of a major motion picture complex on Grand Bahama Island. NEW HAVEN-HARTFORD George B. Cohen, Waterbury automobile dealer and son of Lou Cohen, retired Loew’s Theatres, Inc., Hartford city manager, and Mrs. Cohen, has been elected president of the Waterbury Civic Theatre, Inc. . . . Ray Mc¬ Namara, Hartford resident manager for New England Theatres, Inc., has been named to the communications committee for the Con¬ necticut \ alley Girl Scout Council s Camp Development Campaign. . . . Lockwood & Gordon has clased the East Windsor Drive-In for the winter and assigned manager Don King to the sister East Hartford Drive-In through spring. . . . Ward Angell, manager of the L&G Sky view Drive-In, Torrington, shut¬ tered for winter, is doing relief managerial work at circuit houses downstate. . . . Inter¬ state Theatres of New England have sold the Orpheum, Danielson, to Henry A. and Alma B. Mazzarella. Mazzarella previously was manager, Interstate’s Saybrook Theatre, Old Saybrook. He has been in exhibition 28 years. . . . Lockwood & Gordon’s Cinerama, Hart¬ ford, will bring in “Russian Adventure,” nar¬ rated by Bing Crosby, Jan. 18. MGM’s “Grand Prix” is tentatively slotted for late February. . . . American International College alumni association will sponsor Feb. 15 pre¬ miere of UA’s “Hawaii” at the Redstone The¬ atres’ deluxe Cinema 2, West Springfield, Mass. . . . Perakos Theatre Associates, inde¬ pendent Connecticut circuit spending upwards of one million dollars in theatre remodeling, have reopened the 800-seat Strand, Thompsonville, which is to be called the Enfield Cinema. . . . Pat Verducci, Columbia home office exploitation department, was in Hart¬ ford ahead of “Georgy Girl” premiere at the Lockwood & Gordon Cine Webb. He lined up a phone interview with star Lynn Redgrave for Allen M. Widem, Hartford dimes Amuse¬ ments editor. . . . The Ferguson-Shulman Plaza, Windsor, has installed a new screen. . . . The Stanley Warner Garde, New London first-run, is now providing free patron parking at the adjacent Mohican Hotel lot. . . . Open¬ ing night proceeds from the UA Trumbull Theatre’s showing of 20th-Fox’s “The Sound of Music” went to the maintenance fund of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. The Trumbull engagement, incidentally, marks first southern Connecticut booking of the Academy Award-winning attraction since record-shattering stay at the Stanley Warner Cinemart, Hamden. . . . Doug Amos, general manager, Lockwood & Gordon Theatres, has firmed up two reserved-seat, long-run engage¬ ments beginning in February at two Hartford showcases. UA’s “Hawaii” will bow Feb. 14 at the Cine Webb, and MGM-Cinerama’s “Grand Prix” is slated for the following night at the Cinerama Theatre. . . . John Perakos, assistant general manager, Perakos Theatre Associates, independent Connecticut circuit, married Marilyn Potter of New Britain. The projected $10 million downtown Hart¬ ford Bushnell Plaza Development, to contain high-rise luxury apartments, offices, stores, underground parking and an 800-seat motion picture theatre, has started construction. . . . In Torrington, Conn., City Councilmen, sitting as the Zoning Commission, have deferred ap¬ proval of zoning change request for a 100-acre tract along the Winsted road to contain a $5 million shopping center-motel-apartment house-motion picture theatre complex. Albert Rubens, Yankee Pedlar Inn, near the proposed site, registered strong opposition to plans of New York developer Marshall J. Stewart. . . . Donald J. MacDonnell, Stanley Warner Strand, has been reelected president and sec¬ retary, and Pete DeCarli, ABC Allyn, renamed business agent of Local 486, Motion Picture Projectionists Union. PHILADELPHIA The tub thumpers and wordage guys for the local exchanges have been burning the mid¬ night oil and riding the rails pushing their products. Over at Warner Bros., Irv Blumberg is gathering together a flock of local, and Baltimore, Washington, and Pittsburgh radio and news media personalities to squire to the Eden Roc in Miami Beach for a gala premiere presentation of “Hotel. . . . Paramount s Harry Schmerling escorted Sid Ceasar to the Mike Douglas show on KYW to help plug “The Busy Body,” and also arranged a coast to coast telephone interview for Barbara Wil¬ son of the Inquirer with David Jansen to talk about the Fox’s upcoming "Warning Shot.” . . . Over at Columbia, Milt Young is busy lining up a series of screenings, interviews, and stunts for advance publicity on forthcoming product including “A Man For All Seasons, Taming of the Shrew,” and “Night of the Generals.” ... At 20th-Fox, Hal Marshall arranged sev¬ eral sessions with George Segal, star of The Ouiller Memorandum,” and Mike Douglas; formulated plans for the opening of “The Bible” at the Boyd, with “The Fight For Sight” organization sponsoring the premiere on Feb. 16; and set up an advertising cam¬ paign for the neighborhood selective breaks of “Sound Of Music.” . . . United Artists’ Max Miller is busy with advance material and in¬ formation flooding the news media with ex¬ cellent copy and photos on UA’s new type of western, “A Fistful of Dollars,” which will break at the Stanton sometime in February. . . . Eddie Gallner at Metro has been busy with Jaokim Bonnier, auto racing hero, ar¬ ranging interviews with radio and tv stations heralding the oncoming hard ticketer “Grand Prix.” . . . Ann McDonald is walking around in a cast on her left wrist after a bad fall on the ice during the last storm. Ann is secretary at MGM. . . . Lynn Caufield, stenographer at Warners, was engaged New Years Day. . . . The fifty member staff of the Millville Jaycee Club took over the Levoy theatre in that town, purchasing it from former owner-mayor Simon Cherivtch, who operated the south Jersey theatre previously owned by several circuits in the area. The theatre is being staffed by volunteers from the civic groups and members of their families, and will be oper¬ ated as a non-profit business venture, with any proceeds to go towards providing college scholarships for local boys and girls. It will be operated on a seven day basis, with theatre being booked by Nathan Milgram in a wide open varied policy. 24 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR January 18, 1967