Variety (Aug 1932)

HOLLYWOOD SCREEN-STAGE-RADIO BROADWAY PablUbed Weekly at IB4 West 4Sth Bt, New Tork. N. hr Vartatr. Ia«k Annaal autuMrlptlon; «. Slnsle copl«a. It cents. Batered as ■scond-elan matter December It. IMS. at tha Poat OOoa at Mew Tors. N. nnder the act ot March t. 187>. coPTBiaiBT, itst, variett, inc. aix bights beser^d iVGL. 107. No. 11 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1932 48 PAGES^ OVER-RADIOING THE U. S. Swank Carmel Set Can Lose Homes ^ If Serving liquor, Deeds Stipulate Carmel, Cai., Au^. 22. That swank crowd of artlats, au- thors and actors who have picked this 'nature's garden spot' tor re- otrlcted domlclllngr purposes, have just discovered. they, too, are xe- stricted. And are they squawking. .They've tound that It they serve liquor to friends—In their homes, they automatically forfeit the deed .to their property which reverts to {the Carmel Development Co., the promoter of this pommunity. '■t>eed includes a clause that 'the Bale is oh the express condition that jthe said purchasers, their heirs, ex- jecutors, administrators, tenants, pub-tenant, or any persons occupy- ing them, will not sell, exchange or jglve away Intoxicating liquors of ajiy kind, tinder the penalty that the property will immediately xe- yert to the development company.' Many of the deeds were trans- ferred prior to national prohibition as Carmel-by-the-Sea developers and residents flgured that saloons iii'their midst would be ungainly to look at and eyesores to the tour- ists who flock here. ° This local prohibition was brought (Continued on page 46) ilEWISH AQORS REBEL I ^VER PAPER RATTLERS Jewish actors in New York have iSecided that its high time to dlg- ii^ify the Yiddish stage. Aa a first step they want managers to get rid ^£ the candy and pop concession- aires who sell in the aisles of all ifewlah theatres. .Jewish Actors' Union had a iBtormy meeting Thursday (18) dur- ing which this matter was taken up. Most of the members of the He- #>rcw Theatrical Managers' Associa- tion belong to the actors' union anyway, so the request will prob- ably'be heeded. Another motion passed by the "lYIddlsh actors Is not being gobbled ti^ by the managers, however. It "TBTould have the house end of re- ceipts of all benefit performances turn 3d oviir to the Union. .Qmaha Bans Ringling Show; Local Opposition Omaha, Neb., Aug. 22, After RingUng Circus put up /boards, etc., announclne Us show- ing here Aug. 29, city council unani- mously refused a permit to show here as Interfering with all-star <sircu3 planned by Ak-Sar-Ben, local city looster group, scheduled for Sept. 3 5, 16 and 17. Council earlier In season said no outside show would be permitted in town during the local affair, a rather broad term meaning Septem- ber, October and November, gener- ally, and In this case, Aug. 29. RingUngs might go to court to test the case. Delay oh 'Mayor' Columbia -wanted to' get its •Night Mayor* out pronto and was all set for a week at the Paramount, New York, but Publlx and Columbia got to- gether and postponed the film pending the Walker hearing in Albany. r— — Another Columbia film:sub- stitutes. Open Air Specs MXOOOCast A Coast Dream Lioa Angeles, Aug. 22. Success of Olympic games, Holly- wood Bowl, Greek theatre and other al fresco entertainment here this summer has several coast show- men. Including Sid Grauman, fig- uring on staging outdoor spectacles next year. Those having the open air yen feel that mass entertainment similar to old-time lavish specs such as 'Last Days of Pompel' is due tor re- vival. Grauman's idea is to stage his spec in the 100,000 capacity Stadium and give the affair a Pacflc coast ballyhoo tying up with other coast cities. He would promote railroads, bus companies and steamship lines to stage excursions to li. A. during run of show. Cast would Include picture names and 3,000 extras; also herd? of ani- mals and other live props that lend themselves to publicity. . Riin of spec would hot be over 10 days and spotted .'t the height of va.catlon season. Democrats' Theme Song Democratic Party has made its selection of a campaign song. It is 'Row, Row, Row with Roosevelt,' written by Eddie Dowllng and Fred Coots. For a time Governor Roosevelt's own selection, 'Anchors Aweigh,' seemed the choice.: Tune Identifled him with the Navy and the World War./.-, Dowling and Coots have dedicated the song and all its profits to the treasury of the campaign commit- tee. It will be introduced at Sea Girt, N. J., next Saturday (27) when the Governor makes his flrst east- ern campaign appearance and, un- less somebdy stops him, Mr. Dowl- ing is very apt to sing It. lAGOUSTO oveh-ming Too Much High Power— Card Rates Don*t Permit Profitable Operation for Limited Community-— Leaser Stations Foils for Networks?—High Watt- age Ballyhoo as .Sales .^guments-——- CONGESTING CHANNELS Clamor among stations throuah- out the country for permito to build high-powered transmitters, regard- less of whether area covered justi- fies the biff expeditures entailed, is reminiscen* of that phase of the motion picture business when they rushed to build 3,000 and 4>000 seat doluxers in communities that stood no chance of supporting them. In those days theatre building operations were facilitated by easy methods of bond financing. Today the national networks are there with (Continued on page 40) B MARRIAGE' PROVISO IN CHI RADIO Chicago, Aug. 22. Two weeks after signing a con^ tract with his manager,- Robert K6rr,, including a 'no marriage' clause. Gene Austin on Aug. 16 sud- denly married Agnes Antilline, non- pro. Kerr laughed It off and went along on the honeymoon in liOuls- yille, Ky., where Austin Is playing A week for RKO. Austin, under contract to NBC Chicago, has been set for the State- Lake Aug. 27 as the first "name' headliner playing that house since its return to vaude. Names are in- variably shunted to the Palace. That 'no marriage' thing for some (Continued on page 39) 12 Panels—^3 Names Who are the 12 immortals of ' the picture business? Radio City executives can answer the question only so far as three are concerned—the late Thomas Edison, Marcus Loew and George Eastman. Architects have 12 panels set for the City's picture theatre, which will bo filled by the likenesses of picture leaders before the theatre opens. Grab $50-: Paper's Combo Rate Burlington; Vt., Aug. 22. . Burlington 'DailyNews,* owner of WCAX, la endeavor- ing to interest, advertisers in the combined aippeal of the air and the printed word. Advertising 4a sold for the' -.newspaper qriadlo ^ne or for both under a comblhatibnTrate;'' Acts Pass tlie ^ Plate at Free Show in Park Minneapolis, Aug. 22. Unemployed local vaudevililans needing funds have organized, the 'Minneapolis Showmen's Club' ahd are putting on free vaudeville shows at Lake Harriet, the city's leading park. Collections are taken and the proceeds divided among the members. Next fall and winter they' will take their 12-act show on a tour of Minnesota and Wisconsin towns, depending on voluntaiy collections in each town to carry them along. Ether fremw San Francisco, Aug^ it. Golden State Milk Co^ pulls a new one tonight (22) with a preview of a forthcoming program which hlta the ether in October over KGO and KFI of the NBC network. . DaliT company invited sill the ether reviewers to c&U at NBC headquarters, where they'll get ah advance listen of the serial. Depresh Nile Club .Minneapolis, Aug. -22. The Depression Night club has been opened in a large barn outside the city limits. There are private stalls for patrons. Furnishings in- clude kitchen chairs and tables. There's a Ic cover charge. Soft drinks are 5c; sandwiches 6c and 10c. Dance music la prcvlded by a radio. Place is doing business^ METERS EESUHES POUTIGS Seattle, Aug. 22. Vic Meyers, who got the political yen when he ran for. mayor of this town and gathered in bales of pub- licity, has set his cap for the lieutenant governorship on the Democratic tickfet. He has four or five opponents at the primary elec-. tion. San Francisco, Aug. 22. Flock of letouts Idl radio and shutdown of stage ishows has forced many performers Into the speak- easies, with numerous slngens, en« tertialhers and musicians dolncr their stints In front of bars and. tables instead of footlights or the microphone. "TC]^s a Iarge,~'arid~Bbmetlmeft'' lucrative field to work. Whisper- lows, miore plentiful here thai! else- where lid the west, offer employ- ment to approximately 200 pros many of whom, up to. a few months ago, were on transcontinental' and coastwise iiobkups or treadiniBr the boards In a«e theatres. And In some cases money is bet- ter than that lii'legitimate branches of show biz.. When the tips are hea,vy singers often knock, down as high as 100 bucka weekly, but the average Is 50. ■There are several w. k. pros war- bling for tljpB in loc&l spots and among the musicians are ex-leaders and m; c,'8. • , : To count the professional? who've gone in for bootlegging would be getting into big figures. But there are plenty of 'em, most prominent ones being an ex-song plugger, an ex-radio singer and a former vaude comic aON Cinr WOULD MAKE AMENDS AND PLUG FIGS Zlon City, Aug. 22. Zion City, the religious colony near Chicago, would like to put one of Its products, a' fig bar, on the Windy City market But it faces a probleih peculiar In merchandizing. Anybody and anything froni Zioa City Is apt to be unpopular Ih Chi- cago because - Chlcagoans driving through .this, town .hav^, been fined for speeding, smoking, swearing, flirting or Tooking'too prosperous. Aware of ' this imiiopularlty the Zion City- hierarchy, vested In Wil- bur Glenn VoUva, the 'overseer,* has been considering going on the air to build good will In the Chi- cago market. Zlon City has Its own B,00q-watt f3tatIon, WCBD, but does not carry commercial programs and couldn't ' consistently mix religion with fig bars. However, radio and advertising people who have discussed the pol- sibility of building a program for Chicago have had all their ideas vetoed by Zion^City as too frivolous, secular or smacking of sin. Zion City wants to go on the radio an4 sell its. fig bar, as it does its brand of religion, by shouting, thundering and converting by sheer strength of lung and zeal of purpose. The fig bar in other sections Is popular and has been a rich source of revenue to tho religious colony. Over 1,000,000 fig bars a day are mahufatftured. .1