Variety (Jun 1934)

Tuesday, June 5, 1934 fHE LADIES VARIETY 57 Night Club Reviews (Continued from page 46) decided that a name entertainer rather than a band wag a good Idea, and it's working out. ' The band, Freddy Berrens' expert combo, is secondary, . So is the rest of the show, Not that It isn't, a. big flash. There are li' in the line and 12 Bhowglrls, in- cluding a number of real lookers. There are 3peciallsts in Dixie Dun- bar, soubret; Ann. Boland, prima;; George Tapps, tiptop tapster who is the second single clicker to Rich- man; Pearl Twins, number leaders; Dolores Farrls, okay toe dancer, who does a nifty carioca on her tootsies; and Stanley Meehan, effec- tive tenor Who warbles the vocal in- troductorles and incidentals with the Berrens band. Walter Brooks staged it and Mc- Hugh and Fields fashioned the spe- cial songs as they did for the more elaborate Palais Royal last winter. The sequence this time isn't as pro - ductiony; it's more a succession of numbers, and' split up into three nightly sessions—dinner and two after midnight. Constance Carpen- ter and Georges Metaxa, new ball- room dance team,"come .in next But the show is all Richman. He Is unquestionably the best single song salesman in New Tork these days. Something in the Richman delivery makes' a novelette out of an ordinary tin pan alley pop lyric. He injects new meaning into and exacts wider scope from the- texts of his ballads than most of his pre- decessors, regardless of the new ness or otherwise of the pop dit ties. . .. This, of course, harks back to Richman antecedents. He's essen- tially a cafe entertainer and in the intimacy of a restaurant he unquestionably exercises a more gripping effect on his audience than in the abstract of the radio or across the footlights from a ros- trum. No couvert, but a $2.26 dinner ($3 shore dinner) with a $3 and $4 per person minimum after 10 p. m. On weekdays and weekends respect. Some nights Richman has had to work on the band stand and there was no floor show,, with supplemen- tary tables monopolizing all of the dance floor. Layout of the Riviera is a cinch lor the house. It eases the demands for ringside locations through the outer fringe tables overlooking the Hudson and making those, farther from the floor, equal- ly as desirable. There .are three bars .and supplementary lounges which are all doing heavily. New dog racetrack being erected close by has Marden interested In it, and not likely to hurt the roadhouse, which Is attracting local trade to* luncheons. It's an 86c table d'hote and strictly a builder-uper for the house, as otherwise there's no profit in the straight food. Abel. BILTMORE ROOF, N. V. The Hotel Blltmore has wisely discarded the Cascades Room as a sub-billing for its roof garden (it always was a confusing identifica- tion) and it's now simply the Bllt- more Roof, with Paul Whiteman en sconced again as the dance attrac tion and drawing handily. In the contemporaneous mariner, "Whiteman has With him a miniature roadshow in Goldie, Jack Fulton Babe Hauser, Ramona, Bob Law- rence, the Rhythm Boys, et al., augmenting the usually expert Whiteman dansapation with fitting novelties. Blltmore got the jump on the Waldorf, its nearest competition, which.brings in the GuyJLombardo- ftes" June 7, by bowing'in last week. Between the two they should catch all the smart on-the-hoof roof biz. The Cascades room' has been completely renovated into probably the smartest penthouse dancery in the N. T. hotels. It's a gorgeous interior, a very a la a Hollywood set, and 100% on the romantic side for the Whiteman. terps. Opening was a social gala with tails and white ties belielng the sea- sonal call for flannels, etc. How- ever, the kid'll come soon and often, and in informal summer toggery, for It's one of the nicest dance parlors In town. Among the premiere added Wrinkles was Peter de Rose's 'Deep Purple' special overture, and Estelle Taylor*s charming vocalizing. Be- cause they don't expect a screen femme to warble so well, the effect was heightened. Miss Taylor was an individual click with her nice manner, style and soprano. Abel. ZIG'S, NEWARK Newark, June 1. A well known eatery for fifteen years, Zig's has become, since re- Peal, the class spot of this nearby- New York section of New Jersey, Situated about a mile from the bust* ness part of Newark, Zig's is a com- bination roadhouse and city nite club, it possesses both, but goes stronger on atmosphere than show f or the trimmings. Much of the draw Is now coming from the ritz N. J. suburbs, such as Montclair and the Oranges. The founder and owner is Joe. Zlegler, reformed vaudevilllan. After playing vaude with Eva Shirley and other. acts, Zlegler. switched to the nitery business, opening in 1919 with one room and two employees. The 1934 Zig's has six dining rooms-and two bars. Entertainment is in the rathskel? ler fashion, no production, but plenty music, table singing, etc., plus dance orchestrating. Each din- ing room has a different decorative motif. One bar is modernistic in design, the other resembling an English tap room. The advantage in that is that It holds the customers all evening; when weary 6f one bar, or dining room, they shift to an- other rather than go elsewhere. Most of the entertainment is dished out by Irving Rudmann's orohestra. Joe Ponte does the vocals. Ah Idea of. the impromptu entertain- ment that livens up the place is that contributed, now and- then by Ed Mulcahy, state motor vehicle depatt- ment inspector. He's a devotee of the art of ribbing, using the monick- er Count Dumbrowskl, and 'giving it' to the guests of Zig's in dialect Is his fav pastime. Food and liquor excellent, and prices not stiff. Dinner is $1.25 and cocktails start at 25c. Spot has be- come the rendezvous for show people playing Newark, and that the names can be seen there helps considerably in the draw. On the evening caught, both bars were packed and all the dining rooms holding heavy. Bige. CLAREMONT, K Y. Every so often there happens along a natural. The Casino de Paree.was one. The Riviera, over looking the cliffs of Englewood, N. J., is another. The Claremont .is. in that category. It's a roadhouse in the heart of the city and will do land-office biz. Whatever the City of N. T. got out of its leaseholds to past concession aires, it's bound to do much better under its hew 6%-of-the-gross deal with Arnold Schleifer, vet restau- rateur, who is the new incumbent. . The Claremont, like the Central Park Casino (currently under fire from the city fathers) was formerly one of those ultra spots. High tariffs and low turnover to maintain Its exclusivity. Now It's the re verse—land-office biz oh a pop scale, and they'll be turning 'em away, for its 124th street and River side Drive location alone makes It a cinch for mass patronage.. With the buses passing the door, the city folk don't need motors or taxis to get there, yet it's a cool retreat overlooking the Hudson, with beau tiful new outdoor gardens to sup- plement the former interior. There are spacious private walks for the .patronage and a $1 luncheon, $1.50 table d'hote dinner (teas BOO and pop priced likkers to attract 'em. Capacity 850 without and 360 within, the latter now only for emergency when weather threatens, as It did at the opening. It rained that night (last Tues day) and was a tough' break for Roger Wolfe Kahn and his orches tra. The late Otto H. Kahn's jazz- beau son is marking his dansapa tion comeback at (bis spot. The at- mosphere and the Kahn combo are a natural mating. Kahn-always had a good band and evidences it anew at this spot. The supplementary talent comprises the S Marshalls, Joan Blane, Evelyn Doe and Vincent Calendo, vocal special ists. They're all slated to Interest a lot of diners-out. Abel Did You Know That— DEAUVILLE CASINO Philadelphia, May 29. ■This new nitery opened its doors here this week, with the Avadon brothers of Atlantio City bankroll ing. PUre Is situated on Broad Street, far north of the metropoli tan central district, where many spots have started and tailed mis- erably. Although only seating about 600 on street level, the room is im- mense, considering the capacity, Prices lack minimum and coven Liquor at half a smack for cock- tails, and food slightly high,. With the level maintained throughout the week. Crowd is drawn from the mixed residential sector, young col- legiates and wives and hubbies Usual Philly nite clubbers will prob ably stay away. Floor show is a Jack Pomeroy unit, headed by Joe Cappo.as. m.c T3pehB withT^h^rei^ lowed by a ballroom Bolero from Pasquale and La Dor.. Charlie. Dane a baritone, falls to click with an over-Interpolated ditty. Joe Cappo and a blonde, Frances Knight, take the next turn with an okay strut number, leading into a production of 'April in Paris' by the company, with Babe Alvin coming out of the line for a neat vocal. Selma King, a torcher, lands the only show stop in the few bits that follow. Show as a whole is a good Job, but Billy Seeman surprised Phyl- lis Haver with a brand new garden for their penthouse.., Dorothy Fields was exasper- ated, on the opening night of Harry Richman's new place, when there was such a mob they were unable to put on the stage show she had written Mickey Zukor will spend the summer in California.. .Neal Andrews' initials are N. R. they; say that the ex-king of Spain is leasing the. Italian, villa of Countess deFrasso (the walls were done by Raphael)... Ray Perkins plans a trip to Europe soon. . .Horace Braham made those marvelous masks in Dorothy Hall's new home ... Herb Fields and Joe Ray are Hollywood bound after palnt- . ing the town.. .Regina Crewe leaves this week for Europe... O'Brien, Ruth Morris' distin-- .gulshed Irish terrier, has a - stunning new summer costume* a clipping, and plucking by Holden's. It is not true that O'Brien bites actors, and: writers.. .Emily Paley gets her lily-gilding suntan week-end-. Ing at Red Oaks.. .Golly Hayes believes sheer mesh stockings the most flattering to shapely stems. ...Alice Reinhart to the coast. . .Edna. Ferber, Margalo Gillmore, Lenore . Gershwin lunching at the Algonquin Decoration Day ... Whitney Bourne in light blue suit and dark blouse, Gloria Vanderbilt In black with silver foxes, and Wide-brimmed black hat at the Ross-McLarnin bout... Fay Marbe at Sardi's in a spectacular Peter . Thompson ensemble. . .Mrs. William Mor- ris left for Camp Intermission, her Adirondacks estate, Mon- day night.. .Mrs. Goodman Ace plays the races with a woman's .intuition : system... Bland Johansson's black taffeta picture hat with Bird of Para- dise waving from'its crown is something to yearn for... Fannie Brice has a jewel of a. dressmaker and tells her name. Going Places By Cecelia Ager British Makeup N. United by a common bond—their unanimous lack of glamour—-three English actresses turn faces toward the screen in the British made 'Sor- rell and • Son,' wherevpon the art of make-up as developed in Hollywood takes another bow. Three English actresses carrying on like orchids looking all the while like hardy per- ennials. They may have, Winifred Shotter, Margpt Grahame, Hope Davy, the souls of orchids, but picture audi- ences don't care about that; they want to look at tangibly orchidace- ous exteriors. They look in vain at the Misses Shotter, Grahame and Davy for even so much as a clue to the script's assertions that, these ladies really are beguiling. Miss Grahame's blonde hair doesn't fool them, nor her slinky, bare-backed dresses, American pic- ture audiences aren't taken in by blond hair in conventional, stiff marcel waves. Low decolletages be- long today in costume pictures, they know. -Smooth skins, long eyelashes, full curved bewitching lips, mysteri- ously shadowed eyes, arresting coif- fures—all the achievements of pic- ture make-up—that's what con- vinces picture audiences of glamour; The Misses Shotter, Grahame, Davy's timid, sketchy make-ups; ignorant of which features to em- phasize, which to repress, denies them all claims. That's the way the American picture audience looks at it. Cappo works too hard and too much for the type of crowd and the place. Club is a compromise between ah eatery and a nite spot that lands on neither side of the fence. Result Is that the size of. the room prevents the show from clicking as It ordi- narily would in a better location, al- though the crowd, mostly yokels, think they're getting a squint at real big. stuff and so shell out for it. Place will do biz for that reason, if nothing else. Barney Zeeman's . band, In from the Chez Samakan, is augmented to ten, and plays sweet dancing. Plenty of dough has been socked lntp. this spot by the Avadons, and the only thing that may break up the picture will be poor ventilation. Three floor shows offer entertain- ment almost continuously, and the fact that the folks sit on their hands is ho Indication of the quality of it. Gosch. Radio Showmanship (Continued from, page 41) stead, and announcer tells when next game will be played. Both parks co-operate by notifying sta- tion promptly of. cancellation of games, and both rUn a boldface line In their score-card calling attention to these announcements. Announcement is ho sacrifice on the part of the stations, as it Is given during the station Identifica- tion period. It's just a listener getter. islog Announcements 'Cincinnati. Dialogue, announcements are be- ing used with good results by the Nu-Enamel paint stores in the Cin- cinnati area, with WCKY as the exclusive medium. The. announce- ments, written by WCKY's own continuity department, take the form of conversations between hus- band and wife; or friends, with the subject the painting of autos, fur- niture or houses; Nu-Enamel finds they are better pullers than stock one-announcer continuity. Inside Stuff on Radi itee Hollywood. Dishing inside over the air on radio personalities is a new gag for the Coast. KNX is inaugurating a flve-times- a-week 'Gossip Club' at which ques- tions Will be answered as to re- quests on air personalities, similar to the film fan mag stuff on picture players. - Program is being handled by Eric Colville and William Lawrence. the show's single plaza set, for its dawn-on-the-imesa lighting, for the pretty Spain-inspired costumes of the ballet corps, for the sombreros smartly, briskly flicked-by the Rock- ettes, for the' Spanish words that frolic mysteriously amongst , the English ones on the program; *Lar- garteranas,' • for instance, says the program of Conchita Vila's number. Well, 'Largarteranas, is a dance travesty performed by a young lady convinced that the more often one reveals knee-length white cotton bloomers tied with red ribbons'lurk- ing beneath one's skirts, the fun- nier the whole process gets. The subtleties of Miss Vila's perform- ance dwindle off into the vast spaces of the Music Hall stage. Since 'Fiesta Mexicana* is a. 'little' show, the Rockettes and Ballet Corps yield their love ..for new clothes to the exigencies of the bud- get, and wear costumes that they've worn before. But the Ballet Corps is lovely nonetheless in Its swirling white lace, with mantillas, and the Rockettes brave and bold in their painted grey tro'users, bright green blouses, and red silken blankets slung rakishly over their shoulders. ressers Starting off on the right foot with Betty Jane Cooper, and • bolstered by the competent versatility of its Own Chester Hale Girls, the Capi- tol stage show mounts worthy Its high spot—the grace and technique of Patricia Bowman. Miss'Cooper, chic and dashing.in a gold on black lame long fitted coat, with puffed sleeves and go- dets swirling out from the knees, skims about in delicate tap rhythms as the curtains part, presenting an interesting suggestion as to what a young woman might do well to wear when she goes out on a terri- bly Important date in the evening. The Chester Hale Girls follow her, done, up in long black, satin skirts, sleeveless white pique pep- lum jackets with black and white striped reveres, and black satin 'off - the-face wide brimmed hats. Theirs are cocktail costumes, they point out, diligently rattling cocktail shakers. Meanwhile Miss Cooper has shed her coat, comes forward this time in one-piece velvet py- jamas, high waistline marked with white insertion, stiff white Wing cape sleeves, white bow at the neck, black velvet cap with white visor. This ensemble is an idea for tap .dancers yearning for sleek working togs, but with something more, contemporary good style adapted for stage wear, say. Miss Cooper takes, her costuming with commendable seriousness. Patricia Bowman offers her ex- quisite Angel ballet, In a stylized white satin and chiffon costume, her arms first encased in huge satin wings traced with sequin embroid- ery. When the angel longs for mortality and sheds her lovely wings, crimson chiffon draperies flutter from her arms* wind about her body—but red floodlights, alas, merge the contrasting crimson and white into a murky sameness, nor do they achieve the carnality that they had hoped, The Chester Hale Girls In blue tulle ballet skirts on flesh net basque foundations, close, . with Miss Bowman's second offering, a smart, class show. So Spanish 'Fiesta Mexicana,' announces the Music Hall, interpreting its modest little stage show this week. 'Fiesta,' no doubt, to explain the laissez falre policy of the set-decorating supers, who stand by variously en-. grossed while Thalia. Zanou and Asya Kaz, dancing Spanish, get mad at each other.- Soon one young lady gets so mad she seizes a long l^iFafra'wfaps ltTWffd^tiie^gTa^" ful form of the other young lady, meanwhile ripping off her clothes, until at last the lashed one believes that fun's fun, but she's had enough. So she sinks a dagger into the lasher's back and runs off stage. Nobody runs after her. One doesn't, it seems, at tie's tan. Certainly it ISn't done at Music 1 Tall fiestas. 'Mexicana' but of course for (he cacti that zoom off at angles from From the South To the Palace come the Pickens Sisters. From the South, they are. List -to those Southern drawls swelling through the mike. See how the littlest Pickens Sister climbs upon her little box, the. better io be' as. tall as the others, the better to sing and hum and hot-cha Into the mike on an even keel. Dear mike. Dear, sweet, helpful mike. What- ever; would little ladles from the .South do without you? One Pickens Sister is an actress. She throws her head back, she feels the songs, she's got expression. Two little Pickens Sisters look straight ahead, two little Pickens Sisters got conscientiousness. One Pickens Sister got ambition, one Pickens Sister wants to bea diseuse. Three nice girls In glistening white satin dresses. Rhinestones round their necks, „rhinestones edge their gleaming shoulders, that peek out from apertures in long wide' sleeves. Slim hips. Skirts sculptured to young figures swish when they'walk' off, hands high, Waving, so friendly. Harrison and Fisher dance at the Palace. Serious, "Moderne/ even to a minuet. The lady has style, lines her brown velvet sheath with beige lace ruffles, wears a brown velvet tricorne with a beige headed crown. The lady has a white dress, satin. Stark, moody, high-checked, long* sleeved, splendid figure revealing. Wound round, with a twisted cord of green velvet 'Sophistication' at the Palace—four times a day. Cour- age, sophistication. An acrobatic dancer stands on her hands, coaxes feet over her armpits, while Sidney Page softly sings. Blonde contortionist in pale blue ruffled leotards. With the blonde tap dancer in saphire blue velvet leotards, the Company of Sidney Page and Company. At the Palace. New Business (Continued from page 23) spot announcements for 30 days. Placed locally. WSJS. LOS ANGELES L. A. Railway Co., Glendale, 12- 12:10 p. m. dally, Radio Press bu- reau news bulletins. KD3V. HARTFORD Bteiger's Department Store, 39 day time announcements; Placed direct. WTIC. Eagle Dye Works, Inc., Hartford, 13 time announcements on Women's Radio Bazaar. Direct. WTIC. Dodge Motor Cart, one week spe- cial announcements. Placed by Ruthrauff and Ryan, WTIC. Binee Beauty Salon, Hartford, 13 time announcements on Women's Radio Bazaar. Placed direct. WTIC. Clicquot Club Ginger Ale, 62 an- nouncements on Wrightville Clarion Hour. Placed by N. W. Ayers. WTIC. -■=—TiwnvT^soda—mJnt^-4ablets r ^ 13 -an^. nouncements on Sports Review. Placed by Ruthrauff and Ryan. WTIC. Spencer Shoe Stores, Inc., daily baseball scores throughput the base- ball, reason, both major and minor leagues. Placed by Broadcast Ad- vertising Company. WTIC. Michaels, jewelry, chain stores throughout New England, six flashes dally for 365 days, a total of 1,825 announcements from May, 1934, to May, 1035. Placed direct. WTIC.