Variety (May 1936)

62 VARtEtY Wjednesday, May 27, ^93^ OBITli ARIES MINNIE PALMER Minnie Palmer, 71i ohcp one of the foremost soubretted of tjie American stage, died May 27 at the Percy Williams Kome, East IsUp, where she had been a guest sinie 1927. . She begani -her stage career in comedy, 'Home Erom, School,' and. In 1875 was a member b£ the Conway istock compariy at the Parle theati'e, Bfooikljm. She was In. the support of John T. I^aymond In 'Bisks,' and was. the original (Grrace BraTidon in Bartley Campbell's ^My Partner..' In 1880 shie married John .JR. Rogers a,hd appeared in 'M-ljf Sweet- heart,' which served >ier as a ye* hide" for many years. Rogers was one of the flirst theatJ rlcal exploitation men, as dlstln-^ gulshed fi-bm straight advance men, and his astute methods quickly put her into the front rank. He tpok lier to England and iriade her a suc- cess there. She toured Australia for two. years and returned to this country to tour In 'My Brother's Sister,' in whlcli she played both a. boy-and a girl: This was followed by 'School Girl,* but-neither scored the success of 'Sweetheart,' and she dropped. out for a time, to; reappear )n -the support of Frank Bacoin In the loner l-un of• 'Llghtnln'.'' 'It was her fijial assignrnent. ii^uneral «erylces were held Mon- da;^, 'followed by interment'. In the Actors' Fund plot in Kensico. i . HERB . WEIL Herb I/i Weil, . 49, one :qf Michl- . gan'.s most' widely kiriowti' theatrical eyecutiy^s, died Sunday (24) In his Hollywooci Calif.. <liomie. He had beeh ill for two years. • iBorn in. "Oklaliomtk, Miss., he mbyed- to Pbrt Huron, Mich.; where, after reporting several years for the Detroit Free Press, he built'the D6s- ttiond- -theatre > therei When tbe h(>us4 was sold ■ to the- Butterfleld chain, Weil becaiue general manager for the interests, a position he held ten years.; Illitess forced him t6 go to; Arljiona two ■ years ago. A short time later he moved to Hollywtjod; where he again 'becanae associated ivith Butteriaeld, He/ls_ survived, by the, wldowr a daughter, Gloria, two sons, Herbert and Charles. Burial in Poi't Huron. NlCkbiLAS CQGLEY Nicholas P^. J. Cogley, 67, on the stage more than quarter of-century and one of earliest screen' actors died May 20 in Santa Monica, Cal., following an operation. ' Born In N. Y., deceased appeared with' Lillian' Russell and other leglt stars of< that day. .• He swung over to' pictures with the old Selig com pany and later did character parts with Keystone. At. time he was ' stricken he wa«. writing history of s'ilent-Alms. Widow, a son and daughter, surr Vive. Biamond King," died in New York, May. .24, of a heart attack. His widow, Edna, survives. Lloyd, a mortologist, had made l§:..ti:ips abroad and on one occa- sion remained for 32 .gbhsecutive weelits'at the Leicester Sq., London. He has been inactive since 1919. CLAUDIA MUZIO .Claudia Muzib. 44, died in Rome, May 24, of nephritis. Her ;fatlTer was assistant stage manager, at the Metropolitan here and the Coverit Gardenv perform- ances, London. She made her der Jbtut at the Metrbpolltah In 191?, but had sung with the Covent Garden conipany for two years before that. Her last ■ appeaxmice here was in 1934. HENRY C. JACOBS HeniT C. Jacob?, 75, one of ^he firm of Jacobs & Jbrmon, burlesque managers^ died at his .'home in Brooklyn Moy 23; The firm at one time operated a theatre in. Philadelphia and also maintained a biirlesque company on the roadi Two nieces survive. JAMES W. THATCHER James W. Thatcher, 61, died In Lakeylile, Cbnn.*' May 24, of a para-; lytic stroke. His widow and. two daughters survive. He was -one of the owners of the Century Play Co., of New York, and for 18 years had been general man- ager jot the Pbli . theatres. He had lt)een ill for >bout four years. . WILLIAM'CLLINGPORD Wllllaift EOlhgford,'73, veteran of stage and screen, died May 20 In Los Angeles. In late years he played lead rtle in Mission Play on the coast. Interment in Morgan, Utah, GEORGE KEYS George Keys,- partner with/sVlIby- Kincey at Johnson City, Tenn.; died Saturday morning (,23) at his hbme. He operated the .Majestic, State and Liberty with W-K. Surviving is his wife. HENRY WELSH MILLER ' Heni-y ;Weash Miller, 72, magician, icommitted,. suicide Jast, week by jumping out .of a hotel window in Brooklyn. Was once a rival of T. Nelson ippwns,.. ROBERT A. BROWN •Robert A- Brbwn, president of the ;Alabania State Fair, died at Bir- mingham, Ala., last, week at the age .Qf 68. H!e was president of the fair for 18 years. Marvirt Wise, 16, son of Mrs. Sallie • Merrlt Wise, founder of a string of neighborhood theatres in Birmingham, Ala., died from an in- fected foot last week; MILO RUNNI .'•Milo RUhniph, manager of the Trianon • Ballroom' in. Toledo, was killed thene night of Mav 25' whert his automobile collided -with a street car. He was prominent in Toledo and Akron after. 17 years of the atrlcal experience.. 'Besides manager of the Trianon, town's largest, ballroom; he was manager of Toledo's Willow Beach recreation center. ' Funeral to be held, in Akron, Runnion's home town. Mrs. George A. Crouch, wife of the assistant to John J. Payette, War- ner zone manager in the Washing- ton territory, died in Washington, May 22. Night Club Reviews URBAN ROOF (Continued from page 46) band, one'of . which is Kavelin's own fiddling and .another some neat piano work. Still has a bit tbb much brass at times for tfils type of spot, but that can be corrected easily once he eets the • feel of the room. Carries three • vocaliists, Robert Paddock, Ethel Dixon and Virginia Gilcrest. Latter :only fair vocally, but so decorative she'd be an asset just standing in front of a band with her .mouth closed, Miss Dixon Is a Chi debutante who makes up for average pair, of pipes with vig- orous delivery and a salable per- sonality, ■vV'hili^.JPaddock carries the warbling burden and Impresses ' Urban Roof has no show, although Kavelin's putting on an informal little entertainment he could do without. It's a bit too casually prer sented for this large room and takes the edge off his othe^'^vl^e elegant dansapatlpn, Coheiii, MAYFAIR CASINO (CLEYELAND) Cleveland, Maty 22. , .-.Ever ialnce it opened the May fair's theatre-casino , has been Imown as the home of glorified nudity and leg-shows, but Ab'e Lyrhan Is changing a^ll of ^that. Manager Harty Propper . pushed all his nudists but of the door, dropped Maurice Spltalny's aiid Gene Beecher's brchestras, and turned the entire theatre stage over to Lyman's unit revue. . Lyman, whb was originally slated for the RKO Palace, Is proving he can put. on a rip-.snqrtihg . Show without. the help of any gals. Be- sides hia il instruments, he signed some , special ° acts for this date,, hiaking 34 entertainers in all. But It's the Lyman. pei?sdnailty that yanked in, iylOO customers with af $2.50 mlnimuhi iOn opening night,; packing them In again on a hot week-end. Ames and Arho set a fast comedy pace with ' a grand burlesque on adagio dan'cei:s. Girl in red gown, should be named Fanny, for she takes more . banging, funny pratt- falls than any acrobat recently seen in these parts, without killing , her- self. A darb for breaiclng the ic'e, Rose Blane lias a ribh volume in her pipes, which register heavily in blues. 'Tiny' Wolfe skips his 200. pounds around lively, hoking songs nicely. "Ward WHsoh makes a trombone talk. Harmonj' team bf Avie get the revue off -with a parody of 'Around , the World -with Mae West' that* carries a comedy wal- lop. Entire band turns glee-club- bers in a 'Student Prince' chorus. Three 'Beau Brummels' know how to sell slapstick hokum as a trio of long-haired niusidal ' pi'ofessOrs; Water-squirting and egg-laying gags a trifle strong for a casino, •but carefully built-up comedy at- mosphere puts thefh over for loud belly-laughs. Revue runs .46 minutes, two times a night, at 8, p.m. and midnight, and band also earns Its dough by play- .ng dance music for practically seven hours. Lyman's cut is $7,500, but house should-gross about $23;- 000 on week, more than many vaude spots earn; Week-day minimum Is $1.60, which helps. Lyman is-in for two, weeks, going into Fox theatre, Detroit, June 5. Mayfair is dicker- ing for Ted Lewis and Sophie Tucker to follow him. PuUen. Disc Reviews (Continued froni page 46) Paul Hell'mger, father of Mark Hellinger, Bronciway columnist, and Monroe Hellinger,, of WHN, died in New York May 24. Senior Helllnger was a retired attorney. PEHCy: MOORE. Percy Moore, 66, vaude a'geht. died in Chicago oh May 24. Moore; canie to Cliicago about 3b years ago with the George Webster ofllce and when Webster sold out tb Billy Diamond. More remained -with Diamond, Aboiit flve'^ years ago became aisbciated with the Franlc Gladden office, and last year joined the Tommy Burchlll agency. "Widow survives. Burial in Chi- cago. MRS. GODFREY TEARLE Mrs. Godfrey Tfearle, formerly • Stella Freeman, 26-year-old actre.sa. died in London, May .^Z, after pro- longed illness. A graduate from the Royal Acad- emy of Dramatic Art in 1925, de- ceased had appeared in a number of pliiys,, then toured with Godfrey Tetirle in.South Africa in 'Gynara,' 'Michael and Mary* and 'Seventh Heaven' in 1932, when she .becanle his wife. HEft&ERT LLOYD Herbert Lloyd, "T*. kno\yji during long career In vaudievllle. as. 'The Wife of Charles Gartner, liead of Paramoimt's foreign pviblicity staff, died In Forest Hills, N. Y., Sunday (24). Father of Frank Woodruff, pro- duptipn' supervisor of Lux . radio sllo■\^'S, died in Columbia, S. C. Balto Burley Closing Baltimore, May 26. Hon. Nickel's Gayety, only Balto burlesquer.v- playing wheel (indie) shows, will shutter for summer June 6. Has had an in-and-out year. Reopening late in August with same policy. liurlng hot months, only bur- lesque in Balto will be at'tli(? Clover, which plnys gi'lnd pix and flesh, lat- ter company a stock troupe. WROK's New Eqiiipment RockCord, 111., May 2^: A 239-foot vertical radiator an- tenna, new input equipment, and studlp filterritip\i5! being ordered by WROIv liere ih an improvenient program. ' ■'^ Works .will be read.v, by June 15, at, which time WRCTC will/also go. from part to full-time operation. • URBAN ROOM (CHICAGO) Chicago, May 21. This room has become the swing center of the midwest. Starting with tlie tremendous popularity of Benny Goodman, whose orcl-iestra revivified this room, the nitery has become the, hangout for the people who come to listen to the new rhythms, rather than to dance. Goodman's and Fletcher Hender son's jam sessions have taitight the public .to come to the room for modern musid concerts. /They come In to sit and listen to the latest harmonies, the new tricks on the cornet and clarinet rather than to shake a hoof. ' And in Duke Elling- ton and his orchestra they find an outfit which has been up near the top of those seeking new faces in music. Opening against stiff competition, Ellington still managed capacity biz here and is playing to around 500 people nightly, .powerful tr^de In this room. As ever Ellington has tlile latest in harmonies. Ar- rangements anid execution rertiairi top-notch in the top-notch Elling- ton manner. It's the new music and- the customers herfe want It as now as possible. Cold. Aussie Show Folds Melbourne, April 29. Ivan's circus folded last week here after poor biz. Acts were im- ported from ovei'seas, but circus failed to get going ,and'shut order came. Major Gonclbn sponsored Uie .uplt. 778, 'You Can't Live In Harlena' and "iqhat's What tove Did to Me,' via tlie Noble Siisle baton. Leana Home and Billy Banks vo.calize. Bright foxes bbth,. wltlr^somft nice bi-ass teamwprlc. Mary Loii Williams whips out 'Mary's Special' and 'Overliand.' both her own piano solos. In a brace of heated keyboard manipu- lations with a novel bass, celeiste, guitar and drums accompaniment. Decca 781, Novelty stuff. ^ Henry. Busse^revlves 'When. Day Is Done,' One of hisi tlme-l;bnbred. trademarks when with Paiil White- man, Obupled with 'On the Alamo,' another Busse standard,: -In -which the, rotund trumpet-maestro struts his Buescher. Decca 774. Smooth dansapation' by Richard HJmber with 'Would Tou,' waltz, by Freed and Brown, but of 'San Franciscb' (Metro), paired with I've Got a Heavy Date' (Gus Kahn-Jbhnny Green) -wherein, the sniooth, polished Himber technique asserts Itself on Victor 25208. No. 25299 pairs 'Celebi-atln' (Harry Woods) with''When Tou Love' by Moe Jaffe-Clay Boland out bf the 48th (current) edition of the U. of P.- Mask and: Wig undergraduate musical. Jaffe, Is the fennsy song- sniith -who, with .rjat Bonx, 'au- thored 'Collegiate''and little there.-, after was heard from him. Stuart Allen vocalizes' In all .with Himber., kay, KyaiBr's version of 'Would You' Is In foxtrot tempo paired wlth:a comedy ditty. Til Bet You TeU That to All the Girls,' Virginia Simnis and Arthur Wright vocaliz- ing. Both smooth aiid danceable; Another Mask and Wig tune, 'You Can't. Judge a Book by Its Cover,' and 'Small Town Girl' frbm the film of the same name^ via the Orville Knapp baton wherein the Waldorf-Astoria (N>^.) maestro highlights . hls^^teiBl guitar Inter- ludes. ,It's,.^s''^m.uoh a trademark to Knopp as HImber's , harp. Leighton Noble-a,nd Edith Caldwell vocalize on' Brunswick 7654, No. 7649 couples 'Robins and Roses' and 'Everything Stops for Tea,' Nat BrandWynne and his Stork Club (N. Y.) orchestra Is a smooth combo debuting on the wax with 'Happy-BnUing' with 'It's You I'm Talkin' About* out of 'Florida Spe- cial' (Gordon-Revel), with Buddy Clark vocalizing. The Dorsey Bros, are on competi- tive labels, but they know their dance licks. Tommy DorSey's "Vic- tor 25 314 versions of 'Codflsh Ball* and 'Rhythm Saved the World? are the last, word in orchestral niceties. Plenty on the ball ' and brass and sax sections. Edyth Wright vocal- izes with the Dorsey Clambake Seven. Decca meantime has comboed Soger Ellis as a feature with Jimmy: Dorsey on No, 782, -with 'It's Nb Fun' and 'Moonrise on the . Lowlands'; No. 776: 'Robins and iRoses' with 'Sing Sing Sing,' Louis Primd's own tune, done in very .swIngo*,'^No. 768: 'Is It True What They Say About Dixie?' with 'Welcome Stranger'; and 1^0. 784, coupling 'You' and 'You Never Ijooked So Beautiful,' both out of 'Greit Ziegfeld.' Bob Eberfe, Kay Webiar and the trio -vocalize. Bing Crosby's latest batch of Decca releases are all in tl\e best seller category with Victor Young's usually expert orchestral backing, iWould You' and 'Lovely Lady' on Decca 756; 'Twilight on the Trail' with 'Touch of Your Lips,' Ray Noble's tune. On No, 757; 'We'll Rest at the end of the Trail' with 'Robins and Roses' on Np. 791. Tlic latter Is the tune which .Crosby has parodied in a private recording as 'Robbins and Bregman,' and worked in the names of a host of Tin Pan Alleyites. Incidentally, the selec- tions, it will be noted, are a de- pa;rture for Crosby, who had long adhered to the principle of record- ing only tunes he fii'st Introduces, but with his fllmusicals spaced so far apart he has culled excerpts from other motion picture and pop soiivces, Frances Lahgford is another moderne song.stress, likewise avail- ing hei-self of, the""Vfctor Young baton, doing 'Hills Of Old Wyomin' and ■'I Don't Want to Make His- tory,' both by Robin-Rainger out bC 'Palm Springs' (Par), 'Melody from the Sky' and 'I.s It True What They Say About Dixie?' is ' her other couiilet, both Decca 783 arid 775 re.spec. Isham Jones' Decca 770 versions of I've Had the Blues So Long' (Joe Bishop) and Will Hudson's 'Tormented' are in ultra manner with some interesting trorribone ljas.saft-es by the maestro. Virginia Vorrill and Woody Herman are fea- tured vocally. Ted Fio Rito and his orchestra wax very smooth, and Duchin, as the pianist-maestro features his very okay Stelnwaying in the avr raiifrements. 'I'm a Fool for Loving You' and 'F.very Minute of the Hour' arc palrod on Decca 777; 'All .My IMc:' with /I Don't Have to Dream A.cralir'on ^R4. Stanley Hick- man, Muzzy x|yi^rcellino and the,trio' are yocally featured in these smooth foxtrots. Jinrimie Liinceford, -who is among Decca's best sellers, has orches- trated the old' Llttle-Mdtte-Finch turie, 'Jealbus,! andean equally, anti- quated DeSylva-Brown-Henderson show tune, 'The Best Things in Life Aye Free' (from 'Good News') in brisk swing manner. Dan GriMOh' and Henry Wells assist vocally, Decca 788. A corking novelty by Victor 25330!'"" Is 'Star Dust' baek : to back, but un- der two "different swing technicians, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dor- sey. Latter's version of ihe Hoagy Carihlchael-Mitchell Parrish -tune is naturally smioOther and mbre melo-. die foxtrotology, featuring Dorisey, W, Mercurio and B. Pickering on the trombones; Max Kaniinsky, S. & Kolnick, Joe Bauer on trumpets; Fred-Stulce, Joe Dixon, Sid Black' and Bib Bunch on saies; G. Traxler . bn the doghouse; D. Tough on the" traps; Dick Jones on the music box;, Bill Schaeffer on the plink-plunk, and Edythe Wright vocalizing. Benny Goodman's .version is more swlngo -with BG on the elongated meerschaum; Ai Rollini, Dick.Clark, Bill Depew and H.-Schertzer on the reeds; Joe Harris,'S.. Ballard on the push-pulls; Nate Kazabier, G. Irwin' and H. GeUer on the horns; Gene Krupa with the sticks; A; Ruiess, guitar; Jesse Stack, on the ivories, and H. Goodman slapping the swollen fiddle. A 100%^ item for the swingo enrollment. Adrian Rolliiii^ in between sitting in with GOodman o.n the saxes, gives out some ■ mean 'Tap ROoni Swing* and 'Lessons in Love,' both by the maejtro swinger, on Decca 787. Strong , on the reeds. Frank .Froeba^ the relief pianist .at the^Onyx club, N. Y. (In between Stuff Smith and Jonah Jpnes' Ts-a- Muggin sessions) has a swing bunch all his oym- on Columbia 3131. 'Just to Be ih Caroline' and 'It Ain't No- body's Biz'ness What I Do' are his chores, very tasty on the tempo,- "remple- King vocalizes. Henry Busse gives his trumpet the gun on Decca 789 with 'Ida Sweet as Apple Cider,' as Eddie Leonard never conceived it, backed by 'He's Just a- Horn Tootin- Fool' which, like the title, prbves'it Red McKenzie and. his Rhythm Kings (Decca 790) givc out 'I Can Pull a RabbltVand 'Can't Get Starts ed with You,' both In the resonant McKenzie style of vocalizing. Fea- tures bf Red's disks are his sini^ing in swing, fortified by. a strong in-, strum^ihtal team for tire hoof, and the modulations. Smooth foxtrotology , on Victor 25321 by Eddy Duchin and his or* chestra gives equal billing to Jerry Cooper, a Bingcrosbyish vocalist Titles are 'Isn't LPVe the Strangest Thing?', and 'Nearly Let Love'(3b Slipping Thru My Fingers,' spright- ly foxes in the best Duchin mariner, which meang^at that trumpet arid piano get tfieir innings, Guy Lombardo's reedy dansapa- tion highlights Victor 26322, 'Tlie Scene Changes' (Billy Hill), a peach of a torch, and 'Dream Time' (Benny Davis-J. Fjred Coots). In both Carmen Lombardo ^^^is sweet tenor. Victor 26323 revives. tne ol 'Speedboat Bill' (Kester-Noble) re- corded by Ray Noble in Europe when he was at the New Mayfair, done In the old Noble technique, with an 'odd annuricorial intro- ductory against which is set the snappy foxtrotology. Reverse is a rhythmic arrangement of 'Trees' (Rasbach) by Ambrose and the May Fair hotel (London) orchestra, smooth yet spriglitly dansapation, Roy Fox and his Band on Decca 786 bring from London 'Everything Stops for Tea' and 'There'll Never Be Another You,' waltz, vocals by Denny Dennis. Fox is the Ameri- can Jazzbeau who became a British fave much as Ray Noble has cap- tured U, S. favor currfently. From, the Jack Hylton fllmuslcal (British) bf that name comes 'She Shall Have Music' which Louis .Levy and-his,orchestra, the regular symphoni,sts for Gaumont-Britlsh pictures, have also waxed on Co- lumbia 3130, This tune like tbe 'Tea' nuj-nber above is by three' Americans, Sigler-Goodhart-Hoff- man, whom GB and Campbell-Con- nelly imported to England for filmusicalizing. Another American, Harry Woods, is responsible for the companion piece, 'Celebratln,' from 'Limelig:ht,' which Billy Cotton and his band do in a zippier manner. Asheville Court Programs Charlotte, N, C. May 20. WWNC, Asheville, preaches the doctrine of safety through broad- casts based on actual trials oC tv.'il"- fic cases, with Judge Sam Cathey, and Sollc-itor Phil Cooke of thp po- lice court, playing a leading role. A group of player.s from the .Stu- dent Theatre, directed by ^VilbLIr K; Morgan, present the tra c pi'f^- gvams. They i»rC'sent the grim hor- ror of accidents for the victini.s aii(» the remorse and the trnged.\ of pun- ish men t for the oft'endtrs.