Variety (May 1936)

46 VARiETY Wednesday, May 27,' 1936 lyight Club Reviews TROCADERO (SYDNEY) Sydney, April 29. Trocadero, Sydney, Is the Ijlggest success ever knpwn in this country. Class dance-restaurant enters Into tbird..week- on...complete -selUjout—..™ J. C. Bendrodt (Ariierican) has been operating dance ha.ll3 and cab- jarets In Australia for' jhany years and states that he has never before seen such biz. Night caught, Bend^ rodt had turned down-500 bookings and was forced to stop further Biiles. Trb.cadero claims, to be the world's largest dahce-restkurant and can cater to a,O0b. Area covert 30,000 square leet; Situated right in the heart of the city, aijd iii the main theatre zone, the Trocadero cops both' early and late trade. Most amazing fact is that the Trocadero caters to, and gets, all classes of the community, including some fam- ily trade; Matinees on every day, with scale of around 35e, including a floor 'show. Society nights the charge goes higher, with supper charge Ox trfli* ehaney and Fox, dancers, are the tnain attraction currently, clicking strong.'. Trocadero is the big kick right now in the city's night life* An American sold the idea to the back- ers; an American .1^ in cliarge of the catering (and how the: locals go for the ekts!), and an American act provides the main entertainment. Gorrick. RIVIERA (ENGLEWOOD, N. J.) Ben Marden's Biviera at Engle- wood, N. J., .ju>t across the Greorge Washington bridge from Manha,ttan, fs a natural show spot,, hanging on the Palisade cliffs, and meriting its billing as 'the Bivlera of America;' Wihein the- Riviera opens iw new i- ahow, suihiner is ofIlcia,lly here. . Current . floor show, produced , by Gebrgle. Hale, is . the tops of the Marden. divertissements .at this spot ai^d -iamong. the most ultri-nltery shows extant. The revue will rate, a terriflce w;ord-of-mouth on the t>ulchrltudiB alone, boalsting 12 in. the line and' 15 showgirls, all champ ibeauts. It must havie. been, quite a problem to assenible .such a set of lookers* .With that, there;s a flock of talent. Acts comprise, Dolty Kay, Rosita- .and Fontaha, " Al Bernie, iJdlth Roark, The Hartmans, Joe Dorris, the Bobbins Trio; Frank Parish, • Enrlc Madrlguera'S orchfes- tra, with Patricia Gilmore^ and Val Ernie's Continentals for the relief rumbk-tsingo rhythms. That's quite ,a lljaeup for a .no-couvert $3 and .$4 ihlhimum spot* Show*, runs" longish, but . with pruning wUJ shapei up,into a cork" Ing revue. The succession of three dance acts, one after another-^ Rosita and Fontaha, The Hartmans and DoiTis—^is bad routining. Latter will have to go into the. finale or into the opening groove where the .RQbhlns_,Trlo. holds..f9rth...;. . The. Hartmans, with their grand burleskiiig of the adagio and ball- room terpers, are a natch on the. heels of the straight baliroomolo- gists, Rpslta and Fontapa. Latter was an emergency flU-ih when Gomez (a;nd Winona) became In- disposed. As ever, Bosita. (ex-and Bamon) is a looker, but. a bit over- board on the avoirdupois. She should trim it; Roslta's too fetching a per- sonality to . handicap—irerseif- that way. Georges Fontaha (the late Marjorie Moss' former partner when that team was in the $3,000 brackets at the swank El Mirador, N. Y.) is an able vlrf-a-yls. The Harthiahs are running over- board, although all veryj good, but in view Of the general trimmings they should be pruned. Open with a hoker magic-dance routine; then their travesty routine and finaleing'with a burlesque bolex'o, Bosita. and Fontana also have three routines, waltz, tango and fast foxtrot lihale; one number will have to go Out for sake of timing. After the Bobbins Tiio (two men and a woman) in fast aero-stepping, Al Bernie with his takeoffs. Young mimic has lots of .new material, which is a bright idea'as he had been overboard on doing the same stuff before, but some of it Isn't up to par. Has a lpt> also, so he. cian safely sacrifice .W< C; IJ'ields, aniong his poorest. Laiighton, Bichman, Fetchit, Selassie, Mussolini okay. Joe Dorris ..doeS an announced takeoff on Bay iBolger, but that's his sole speciality. He . might open with somethiiig definitely his own; then do thie Bolger,' but- c;.;? Jinled. He looks very much like '.he 'On Your Toes' comedian. Dolly Kay has been away, from ,N. Y.' for some time, latterlj^ in Chi and a local nitery. fave there. Per usual, she's ^ robust songstress with Phil Phillips at the ivories. Mar- den's idea is to revive iirer as 'the femme Benny Fields.' Miss Kay Is a lusty biueser who works with a mike throughout^, which leaves, no dou^t as to her lyrics. The cus- tomers liked. Her. Frank Parish and Patricia Gil- more, latter last at Leon & Eddie's, and.- now singing with the Madri- guera band, do the vocal doubles, Edith Boark is a nice personality as m;C. :Hale's production highlights in- clude a stunning lace number with radium-paint effects, and a wired- hooped dance routine.; also a num- ber with' red-hearts as the sar- torial backbone. No matter what the girls did, however, they'd register o.n, their Svelte chasslses and phizzeis.t^pecial songs by Bernie Maltin, Harry Stiide, Milton Drake. Marden's 'Blvlera Follies' looks to be the best i'oadhouse floor ishow bet in the east. Aiel, [< Greetlnirs to JOIS KEICHMAN '.nnil Mft orcliestra iit' tlin JtoM .jpennsylvniila Boof Id »~w Yorl:,' f«aturlngr tlie HItfi: 'THE TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS" •'SUNSHINE At MIDNIGHT" "THE STATE OF MY HEART" "NOTHING'S BLUE BUT THE SKY" "I'M PIXILATED OVER YOU" SANTLY BROS.rJOY, Inc. \ei9 BROADVyAY- • N Y-C- Close Harmony Hollywood, May 20. Just to prove that song writers- and mu&ic publishers are one big happy family. Jack Bobbins, Metro music allj', is tossing a party next month to honor., ibrls Mofrps, head ol! the Paramount music , dept. Harry Wai'reni Warner tune- Bter, will m.c. Core a crowd' of about 1,000 Sat. (16) nifht, m.c. did not show, arid Burman handled duties. Betrays his Ibhg-time service as a p.a. by the flair of fancy language he uses to Intro the acts. Fact Is, no real reason why Burman couldn't con- tinue chore. Band is capable 10-piece crew batonned by Freddie Drew. Un- known here, but on merit should build following. Sho' Boat prices for drinks pegged one notch above levels in force in the better baiTooms. The smart idea>...is " the door admlsh of 25c week-hights and 40c. through weekends.. No stags, correct for this place spotted, as is on grounds of amusement, park. Since building is ice-hockey hall during winter, it Is excellently cooled from pipes be- neath the dance-floor. Scharper. S.S. SHO' BOAT (BALTIMORE) Baltimore, May 23. John J., Carlln, operator of the town's northslde amusement park, has apparently Invested quite a chunk of change in spot he has opened for summer months on grounds of the local approximation of Coney Is. And looks like he'll have a decided click. As may be gauged from the name, spot Is arrayed in the r-^utlcal mo- tif. Howard Burman, kIiow biz vet. who has been away~t om the pro- fesh and publishing a prospei'ous weekly newspaper here, sold Carlln the. idea axid bosses the place for him. And Burman displayed astute knowledge of show biz When he con- ceived sort oC spot this Is. The ice- hockey hall has been .turned into a vast layout that seats 1,400 and has ample room for biggest dance- floor in any nitery . in this area. Isaac Beriesch, who "toils in shop of Donald Oenschlaeger, N. Y. legit deslgr did the decor and turned In. ijiiftlest job seen here as yet. No skimping discernible, which is a mark of merit in Balto. Interior has effect of having three deckr levels as oh a boat, and this gives swell view of happenings. Lot of i'opes, ship riding lamps, life-buoys and similar sea atmospliere judl- cIou.sJy strewn around for ' dandy decorative effects. Band Is up on w^hat looks like a bridge of an ocean liner, located at head of huge room Lighting on walls high up reaemhles rippling dark wavos with sky above Floor-£hows;being changed weekly Burman Is .^pending about ?500 Cor each bill. Oppning lineup has the 'Stepping Along' flash, with A) Mandel and four feinines: Burns. Baker and Burns, hand-balancers and lapdancers; warbler Pattie Pal- mer; dance team of Lorraine and Carlos; and Renee Villon, specialty dancer who does a peacock number with lighted plumes. Routine is partially a fan waving affair a: cIoi»e. ^Whole show a fnst, cleav. • crackling cllcki When caught be- ANOTHER LEGEND QORN Hpbart Campus Thinks It Krtows Aiiout Suicide URBAN ROOF (PITTSBURGH) , Pittsburgh, May 22. William 'Penn hotel's pummer room still the. class dance spot of town and should have clear sailing during tiie warm months. Last year It was the . Urban Room. Now it's the Urban Roof, despite fact that it!s Ave floors, below the top. But that's of small,^ consequence since it's up: high enough and sufficleritly windowed to give the desired im- pression. Few changes this season, but they're hardly needed, since it's a good-looking room the ustomers have cohie to know r like and feel at home in, which is all any- body can ask.' A couple of new dec- oration schemes, particularly a sil- ver, draped background over band- stand, are striking while still man- aging to retain original design of late Joseph, Urbaii. Management, too, has wisely decided to continue minimum check system inaugurated last summer instead of convert re- tained through good times and bad. Charge has been tilted four bits this year (now $1.50 minimum week nights and $2 Sa;turdays and holi- days), but that'll make little or no difference to class trade Urban Boof draws. At any rate, it's the music that's always been the important thing here, and looks like Gerry O'Neill has made another excellent choice In Al Ravelin's outfit. First time for this ork here, previously known only IhrougK airings, and Kavelln's instruhientatlons are flexible enough to pacify them /ill. Urban Boof's audiences plenty critical and tough, but present maestro should have little trouble winning them over ■with plenty to spare. iCavellh gives 'em a bit of every- thing and all: of it A-1. Swing, rumba, straight jazz and synir phonic jazz, dreamy dansapation and hot licks are all generous in his repertoire, and he never sticks at one long enough to grow tire some. What's more, he has stocked up a flock of classy arrangements, and they're smartly designed to bring out the best points in his (Continued on page 62) Geneva, Ni May 26, Although 'motive uniinowli' Avas written in the official verdict of the suicide of Piiillp Tangier Smith- Cooke, Hotaart College senior :who ended hia life by shooting, he is listed -by -class^nates . as the .'first American college viotlm of Buda- pest's 'Gloori^ Sunday' feulcide song, —Witnesses at the Inquest testified to Cooke's fascination by/the. song, and that on the-preceding Sunday, he had driven into the country 'with the intention of committirig suicide. Two hours before the suicide, Cooke- told a group of friends, 'It's gloomy Sundaiy: I'm going to do It tonight.' Cooke, son of a Springfield, Q., minister, was awarded a diploma posthumously Monday (yesterday). Vallee Hopes for $7D,000 In 3 Weeks of 1-Nighters Budy Vallee orchestra boolced three ^eeks through isouthwest by Badlo Orchestra Corp., starts June 26 In St. Louis, and will go through Texas and Oklahoma. One-nighter jaunt starts when band concludes engagement iat Astor hotel New York, starting Jurie 2 for two weieks, Bandsman's Flelschman yeast bi-oadcasts will be picked up ih Dallas; and Houston while enroute. Trip is figured to gross about $70,000. Dance Team Quits Stage To Op. Nitery in Detroit Detroit, May 26. Alexander and Swanson, dance team which appieared In several musicals, including 'Good News,' have retired from stage and y?Ill open a new nitery here. To be known as Esquire and will replace Den of Forty Thieves. Associated with the -Alexanders will be Lester 'Nig' Gruber, op of the Deri. Opening show will feature Paul- ine Parker. holdlexjotery op. on shooting charge . . « SJt, Louis, May 20. Joseph Hathawky, former opera < tor ,pf Jthe "VVedge, now Dante's In- ferno, midtown nitery, is held by the police on a. charge of shooting and-•seriously...injuring Mrs. Hilda Vogel, beautician, In her shop la^^t Ayeeif. Affray allegedly r^sidlt of Mrs. VogeTs attempt to discour Hathaway's courtship. After the shooting Hathaway fled In his auto, hxit was nabbed by cops when his overturned a mllo away* Nix Femme Wrestlers Detroit, May 26. Warned to abandon 'beef trust' wrestling matches, which caused the charges, Myt-en B. Lloj'd, bp of the Oasis nitery, was freed by tlie State LlQuor Conti'ol Board this week without a fine. Two heavyweight women, total- Irig around 450 pounds, were arrest- ed, two weeks' ago because they didn't possess a wrestling license. Becbl-der's Court jury dismissed the charges. Irene Keefe Moves Boston, May 26. Irene Keefe, 20, blonde nitery warbler, sighed for indef ticket by Morey Pearl, singing Sundaj' show from WMEX, Boston, and from he li'ent, Quincy, Mass. She has been with number of Hub maestri—Jack Brown (Wonder Bar); Hughle Connor, (Blue Train, Hotel Lenox); Casa MIra Band (Westminster); Karl Bohde Cas- cades Roof. Disc Reviews By Abel Green Good assortjnont of swing on the current crop of releases. Kenneth (Red) Norye and his swing sexte.t reprise two Gershwin tunes, 'Lady Be Good' arid.'I've Got Rhythm' in swingo manner on Decca 779 with Red's xylo setting a very interesting pace. Fats Waller whips out his rhythms oii Victor 25296 with 'It's N'o Fun' and 'All My Life,' and on No. 25295 With 'Christopher Colum- bus,' current swing fave tune by Andy azaf-Leon Berry, paired with 'Us Oh A Bus' by Tot Sey- mour-Vee Lawnhurst from the short-lived stage .comedy. 'Summer Wives.' Nice orchestral backing to Waller's pIa,nology. Benny Goodman is now on the Brunswick label but among his finales for Victor (No. 25290) he too resurrected an old sly)w tune, 'I Know That You Know' (Anno Caldwell-Vincent Touirians), with a peach of a Fletcher Hende'-son orchestration, coupled with tlic old Creamer and .Johnson hot tune. 'If I Could Be With You Tonight,' wherein the Krupa traps, the Good- man clarinet and the whole brass and reed teamwork of the Good- man cor s scintillate. On Bruns- wick No; 7645 is Goodman's, version of 'Basin Street Blues,' another f^wingo fave, and 'Beale St. Blues' done in the Goodman manner. Fletcher Henderson himself sliow.s now on Victor 25.297 With 'I'm A Fool for Loving You' (Sam M. Lewis-. Pete Wendling) and 'Moonrise -"on the Lowlands,' niftily. orchestrated to show off the advanced. Hender son 'jazz technic. Brunswick's ne^y full-range i*e cording Is highlighted by a new designed Jabel No. 7655, by the Hudson-DeLange orchestra, fea- tures two of Will Hudson's ul- tra modern compositions, 'Organ Grinder's Swing' arid 'You're Not the Kind,' Ruth Gaylpr vocalizing the latter, a pash torch. Per usual, the highly intricate Hudson-De- Lange arrangements distinguish their recordings. Louis Prima's Brunswick 7656 revives Shelton Brooks' immortal 'Darktown Strutters' Ball.' paired with the equally sturdy 'Alice Blue Gown' by McCarthy and Tierney, wherein 'Alice,' under the Prima paprika, turns out to be a very torrid gnl. especially as the bovs manhandle the fiwollen fiddle, the hot trumpet (Prima) ' ' the rest of it. Finer orchestmtions ag.Tin. this time by Duke Ellington with his own 'Eclioes of llaileriV and 'Clari- net Lament' (Brunswick 76,")0), a brace of vigorous foxes in inspire^ man nor. Another dii.sky niao.'^lro slrnls his fiiticy orchostratlon slnff nn Dect-u (Continued on [Kiy:(< (i2) Carolina Band Dates Ghorlotte, N. C, May 26. Bands booked for Carolina dance dates include: Ted FIo-Blfo, under auspices of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, due here June 1; Hal Kemp at Sariford June 2 for the Sanford Cotillion club. Bay Noble,, annual' German club series, Univer- sity pt North Carolina, June 4-6. Others, just in 41ie territory in- clude: Jan Garber, for the Green Parrot club at Wilson; Mai Hallett, for the Azal(E>a Festival, Charleston; Joe;. Haymes, with Loretta Lee, Charlotte; Fletcher Henderson, for a negro dance, Charlotte; Harry Beser and. his Clicquot Club Eskln, naos; for annual clads dances at the University, of North Carolina; Bob Popie, George Vanderbilt hotel, Asheville, and Clyde McCToy and his Sugar Blues orchestra, University Of .North Carollnci May Frolic dances.: N. 0. Blue Room Shut New Orleans, May 26. Blue Boom, swank night spot In the Bopsevelt. hotel, went dai'k Thui'sday night (21). Spot will be closed for months for renovations. j I I THE BEST IN MUSIC NEW YORK CHARLIE BARNEH AT THE GLEN ISLAND CAS1K0 Kew .Roclielle. FEATURES The Greatest Lyric Ballad in Years "THESE FOOLISH THINGS (Remind Me of You)" "I'M JUST BEGINNING TO CARE" "MY FIRST THRILL" "CELEBRATIN "THE MARTINS AND THE COYS" (The Modern 'Gallagher and Shean'l And, Of Course, Americans No, 1 Song: "ROBINS AND ROSES" harhy liwk C P m- IRVING BiRLIN 'Nc 7«7<7-7tm AVE . N-V-C- .HE.HOUSEOF MUSICAI NoVELTieS- LITTLE JACK LITTLE And His Orchestra Oil the Air Wiives from the f'A- SINO nt CATALINA, CAL., |»lu>iuip th« ^Vestorn Bnllad "WE'LL REST AT THE END OF THE TRAIL" Henry ItuRse'N RefidlHon o.f "I'SE A-MUGGIN'" Mitli tlie Musical Arltlimenc Om" l-2-3r4-5-0-lI|I—tt-O-WOOr Xt'ft Quite n Hit—Ti«e "SwinBT*" "RHYTHM SAVED THE WORLD" N«»v Kenrty—Astnlre's 'I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO