Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1944)

IHOWMEN PERSONALS n New Posts: H. G. Boesel, Wisconsin; H. n.ingham. Palace : R. Roegner, Strand ; H. A. nus. Varsity ; Dan Pisropoulos, Miller, and H. ±maier, Princess, all Fox downtown theatres Milwaukee. Jerry Shinbach, RKO Palace, lumbus, Ohio. Harry Simons, RKO Grand, lumbus. Morris Schwartz, Warner's Lindley, iladelphia. lay Allard. Auto theatre. Fall River, Mass. . icent Wiggin, Eastwood. Hartford. Dorothy xke Kopper, Main Street Playhouse. Flushing, I. Margaret Shanahan, Palace, Watertown, Y. lappy Birthday: Frank S. Mickley, C. Ervine »ne, Frederick D. King, Jack Fields, Ralph odoll, Vaugh. Harmon. Jae Rollins, Bob Sprowl, rman Addison, A. H. Cohn. Ben Feldman, J. G. ney, James Snyder, C. Hays Foster, David laefer, Les Pugsley, Albert A. Sack, William Tac, Gustav Schumann, Barney Wiselman, Willi Kassul, Jack Foster, Ralph Armstrong. i. R. Logan, Edward O'Donnell, Foreman Rog, Arthur Stock, James Mason, Ralph C. Yale, D. Dorrel, Albert T. Johnson, Paul Barker, T. Adams. James Gamble, Ben Jacobson, Frank Orlando, Howard Sweet, John Floore, D. M. Dillenbeck, Nathan Wise, Morton Cole, Steve Cokins, Anna McKelvey, Steve Farrar, Jean LaRoe, Charles R. Burch. Showmen Dates: September 1, First air express service under auspices of American Express Co. 1927 ; 2nd, U. S. Treasury Dept. Established 1789; 4th, Hendrick Hudson sailed up Hudson 1609; 9th, California Became a State— 1850, Colorado Became a State — 1850 ; 10th, Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, 1813 ; 17th, Constitution Day (Const, of U. S. Adapted) 1787; 21st, First Day of Autumn ; 22nd, Nathan Hale Executed 1776, Emancipation of Proclamation issued by Lincoln 1862 ; 26th, Pacific Ocean discovered by Balboa 1513. In the Service: Les Gleason, La Grange theatre, Chicago. Henry Hatchett, Palace, Danville, 111. Junior Showman: Richard William, 2nd, on Monday, July 17, to Mr. and Mrs. Richard William Peffley. The proud father is city manager of the Paramount and Strand theatres, Fremont, Ohio. lough Started in Theatre isiness as House Organist starting work around theatres when he was een years of age, Halburton S. Clough, nager of Nasser Brothers Strand theatre, Alameda, Cal., had ^^■|^^ served his apprentice ^K^^^^^^ smP as doorman, porter, janitor, usher, ^^Hfl sistant and now manV9l a£er His first job was S^H working on an organ at a theatre in Woonsocket, R. I., and has subsequently played organs in various theatres around the country. Bert spent most of his career in showbusiness in houses in bany, Utica, Schenectady, Rochester and oughout New England, having worked for arner Brothers and Schine theatres in New irk State. Bert was born in Natick, Mass., October 25th, 1905, is married and the fathof one child. f, ischarged from the Army, owen Resumes Managership Wallace R. Cowen, manager of the State •atre, Ukiah, Cal., for Redwood Theatres, :., from 1932 until 1939, was with Paramount ;eatres in Utah and Idaho; with Redwood eatres in California and Oregon from 1939 1943. Wally then served in the U. S. my at Fort Lewis, Washington, from March til October of 1943, at which time, besides ' regular duties, he managed one of the my post theatres. Thence we find Cowen th Fox West Coast in Watsonville, Cal., in : fall of 1943 ; out of showbusiness until >ril of this year, at which time Cowen took ^r his present position with Redwood. "ien Arranges Giant 'ar Bond Premiere \ Bond premiere of no mean proportions s recently held by Lige Brien at the WarEnright, in Pittsburgh, during which time : enterprising manager promoted $625 in •nds to be given as prizes to the local ornizations selling the most Bonds for the pre miere. This was held in connection with the East Liberty Chamber of Commerce. Veterans of the present conflict were present on the night of the big show and each was given speaking time to address the audience and sell Bonds. Eight different merchants came through by purchasing ads in the papers to publicize the premiere and the ads ran from two-column five inches to four-column 12 inches. Tieups were had from the local Air Raid Wardens, AWVS, WAC's, Boy Scouts, East Liberty Minute Women, East Liberty Women's Club, Auxiliary Police and the Lions Club. These groups went from door to door selling Bonds ; the Lions Club winning the prize for selling the most Bonds. The premiere itself realized $321,000. Silver Uses Teaser Slant To Stimulate Bond Sales In connection with his Bond premiere at the Strand theatre, Lowell, Mass., Nat Silver received excellent publicity breaks on "Direct Hit," the all-service stage production touring New England in behalf of the Fifth War Loan, and which he featured as part of his show. Admission was by special ticket secured by the purchase of a $100 Bond. Imprinted paper napkins carrying copy : "U. S. War Bonds and Stamps sold day or night at," etc., were distributed to restaurants etc., a teaser slant. Nat distributed calling cards with copy : "I'd like to make a date with you. If your answer is 'yes' just keep the card. If it is 'no' just hand it back. One date to be at the Strand Theatre each week for your regular purchase of U. S. War Bonds and Stamps." A special booth was constructed in the lobby, base of which carried a large banner reading : "Buy Your Invasion Bonds Here." Booth was constantly attended by two female members of the staff. Harwell's Street Ballyhoo For his date on "Buffalo Bill" at the Laroy theatre in Portsmouth, Ohio, W. D. Harwell mounted six silk bannerettes on poles and placed them in standards on both sides of the main block on opening day. In addition, Bill had two horses and riders — Buffalo Bill and an Indian — tour the city. Numerous Tieups Are Promoted by New York House Several attractive window displays and outstanding radio coverage were among the highlights of the exploitation campaign put on by manager Irving Trencher, of the Gotham theatre in New York City for the opening of "It Happened Tomorrow." Among the windows, which carried complete credit for the opening, were: Hearn's Department Store, with ten effective windows, each containing a 30 x 40 of Linda Darnell, 11 x 14's and a special 22 x 28 window card. Busch's Jewelry Store devoted eight windows to the picture, utilizing scene stills with full credits. Westmore cosmetics were the means of securing breaks in both the Woolworth and Kress stores. The Willoughby camera store opposite Penn Station also got out an attractive display. Local barber shops carried stills of Jack Oakie, with credit line on both picture and theatre. Numerous Merchants Cooperate A tieup with Spotless Stores, Inc., accounted for city-wide coverage in the distribution of 25,000 imprinted shirtbands. Hearn's Department store carried special counter displays, with credit to the Gotham opening. Among the radio breaks were the following: Radio station WOR gave the picture breaks on three different programs ; WMCA gave the picture air time on three popular programs, and station WHN gave the film plugs on the Hearn Department store program. Stations WOR, WMCA and WHN arranged essay contests with prizes of War Bonds and tickets to the Gotham. Hamilton Invites Servicemen To "Home in Indiana" Night Front page breaks were accorded Al Hamilton's "Home in Indiana" night at the Empress theatre, South Norwalk, Conn. The ingenious theatreman cashed in on the publicity in connection with a group of wounded servicemen from Halloran Hospital who arrived as guests of the Norwalk Committee for Home Hospitality. Hamilton arranged a special bill for the Saturday night performance to include a stage show, music by a top flight band and some of the soldier guests whose homes are in Indiana and for whom the program was called "Indiana Night." An outstanding event of the evening was a telephone call made from the stage of the theatre by one of the wounded soldier guests, who was privileged to call his mother. Boyle Distributes Fan Photos on "Pin-Up Girl" For a week in advance of "Pin-Up Girl" at Loew's Poli Broadway, Norwich, Conn., Joseph Boyle distributed fan photos of Betty Grable at the theatre. A classified ad page tieup was set with the Bulletin and Record and window displays featuring hit tunes were landed. Peek-A-Boo folders were distributed and tied in with the War Bond Drive, with the folder to be sent to a boy in service by the Bond purchaser. A "Pin-Up Boy" display was used in the window of a local department store, with girls invited to display photos of their men in service. ONAGERS' ROUND TABLE, JULY 29, 1944 79