Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1946)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, November 16, 1946 29 REGIONAL NEWSREEL SAID SO-LONG AT STAG PARTY. Film men of Washington and points East, West, North and South, gathered in Washington at a stag party to say farewell and hail to Al Benson (center) before his departure to take over as branch manager of Paramount in Cincinnati. In photo above, George Dembow, National Screen Service, and Earle Sweigert, Paramount divisional manager, flank the guest of honor. groups will appear in the theatres to aid the drive for raising funds to send underprivileged boys to Camp Thacher in the Helderbergs during the summer months. The Union College Glee Club will sing at the Strand Theatre Nov. 20; the Russell Sage chorus will appear at the Palace Theatre on Nov. 21 and the following night will see choruses of RPI and State College at the Palace and Strand respectively. The Skidmore college's 60-voice chorus will appear on Nov. 25 at the Strand Theatre. As in previous years. Variety campaign workers will solicit funds from civic organizations, industrial and State workers and from Albanians in all stations of life. NEW YORK INDUSTRY FORMS PHILATELIC CLUB; HENRY HOKE ADDRESSES AMPA MEETING; WB PLANS PARTY Thirteen stamp collecting enthusiasts met last Friday at luncheon to form an intra-industry philatelic club. The only resolution to come out of the meeting was a decision to ban shop talk. Among those present were Ed Aarons, MGM; Leon Bamberger, RKO; Nat Cohn, Columbia ; Albert Deane, Paramount ; Jack Hoffberg, Sidney Kulick, Howard Levy, MGM ; Jack Levy, National Screen ; Robert Maroney, RKO ; Henderson Richey, MGM ; Joseph Seiden and John Wenisch of Film Classics. Paramount Pictures Club has announced the formation of an amateur dramatic club, believed to be the first to be backed by film company for its employes. Working under the direction of Gene O'Donnell, the club expects to have its first effort ready for display by mid-spring. Go-chairmen are Irene Scott and Paul Nathan. Direct mail authority Henry Hoke addressed an AMPA meeting last week, stressing effective letter writing and criticizing sample letters submitted by the audience. Among the 100 members and guests present were child stars Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, June Lockhart, Cathy O'Donnell, Rutgers Neilson, Leon Bamberger, Si Seadler, and Vincent Trotta. Century's Avalon, having been completely renovated and featuring a tid-bit bar as well as the latest in sound and projection equipment, will reopen on Nov. 20. Mike Nicholas is manager. Warners' home office will open its clubroom Nov. 22 for a special Thanksgiving Festival Dance. Vice-president Harry Mayer, will arrange for a program of Broadway entertainment to enliven the festivities. On Nov. 26, the Ambassador Theatre will switch its policy to one of international films, presenting as its first attraction a French version of the opera "Carmen." Twentieth-Fox general attorney William T. Powers was swept into the Supreme Court of the Second District by the Republican landslide. Powers has been with Fox and National Theatres for the past 14 years. Funeral services were held last Sunday for Newcomb F. Thompson, contract representative for RKO. Prior to his RKO assignment, Thompson had a long record of newspaper work. Carol Brandt, eastern MGM editorial head, returned on the Queen Elizabeth from a sixweek tour of Europe. United Artist salesman David Douglas has been transferred to the New Haven exchange, Henry Owen, salesman for Republic, will return to New York from a tour of duty with the Philadelphia exchange. Jack Price, owner of Price Theatre Premiums and Farm Boy Popcorn, is taking his first vacation in 20 years in Hollywood. , Alice Karnes, secretary to Republic branch manager Max Gillis. was given a dinner at the Famous Kitchen prior to her leaving for a honeymoon in Canada. She will return in two weeks. Brooklyn booker Hannah Eckstein has also announced her engagement. Monogram boasts of a 100 per cent donation to the United Jewish Appeal. Eleanor Lowenthal, has returned from her honeymoon. Wedding bells are creating quite a din along the Row : Bea Weiss, of United Artists film room resigned last Friday to become Mrs. Sylvester Baehr, and Muriel Roth, of the shipping department, is honeymooning in Atlantic City. Lee Savitzky, of RKO's contract department, has announced her engagement. Paramount has added Irving Prepas and Louis Martin to its accounting department ; 20th-Fox's contract department now includes Martha Kafka and Estelle Hernan and Sylvia Sussman is new in Republic's accounting division. The scheduled luncheon of the Amusements Committee of the National Conference of Christians and Jews has been postponed to 12 :30 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Waldorf-Astoria. HARTFORD INCORPORATE NEW FIRMS TO PRODUCE TELEVISION PROGRAMS ON FILMS; LOUIS LaVORGNA DEAD Several new business firms have appeared in the Hartford area. Up at Springfield, Mass., a new outfit to produce public relations and educational shorts and television programs on films. Film Group, Inc., has been organized, with Edwin H. Kasper, Kasper-Gordon, Inc., Boston, radio production and transcription studios, as president. Down at Westbrook, Conn., Radio Corp., Inc. (which has filed a certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State's office at State Capitol, Hartford) is tooling up a plant for the manufacture of television equipment, radios, phonographs, and combination radio-phonographs. Incorporators are Robert Currier, John S. Muskatello, and Armand Pichc. Irving Hillman. manager of the Empress Theatre, Danbury, and Helen Saulsbury were married recently. Bill Heely of the United Artist exploitation staff was a visitor the other day at the Strand office of Manager Jim McCarthy. The two arranged radio station breaks, truck banners, and displays at book and music stores for "Mr. Ace." Over at Pittsfield, Mass., William Powell oi Western Mass. Theatres, Inc., circuit, has been named theatre representative on the merchant* committee of the Pittsfield C. of C. One of Connecticut's pioneer projectionist* is dead — Louis LaVorgna, projectionist at the Plaza down in New Haven. LaVorgna went to work at the Bijou, also New Haven, in 1905 when the Bijou was first opened. VANCOUVER THEATRE DEALS ACTIVE IN B. C. SECTOR; ODEON SHIFTS MANAGERS Sam Laurie of Hussar Alberta has purchased the Gem Theatre in Fairview, Alberta. Fairview is in the Peace River district, a good farming community. The Odeon Circuit has leased the 449-se« Cambie Theatre a surburban house, from Saul Baril. Including the Cambie, Odeon now has 18 theatres in the Vancouver area and 29 in British Columbia. Howard Boothe is in charge of the B-C district. Two new houses are planned for Victoria and West Vancouver. {Continued on Page 30)