Variety (Apr 1939)

4S VARtETf TAUDE—MIGHT CLUBS Wednesdajt April 12, I939 HOTEL NEW YORKER Henry' Btme, Frazee Sisters (2), £dna iSedffwicIc. Mark Plant. ' Henry Busse's new orchestra, re- formed under Local 802 (N. Y.) ree- ulations, is working Into shape nicely under Its tnunpeter-maestro whose now standard 'When Day Is Done' signature gong nicely sets the 'shuf- fle, (or Busse) rhythm' style. The hew band differs in personnel from the tfeam he had when here last fait That unit now forms the nucleus of Dave Apollon's iitage orchestra After the usual preliminary rough edges, Busse's combo is now clicking, with guitarist Dick Wharton- handling the. vocals nicely and.Vi Mele doing the femme vocals into the mike. ' Supporting show at the Hotel New Yorker's Terrace Room Is a nice blend. The Frazee Sisters -(2) do their mike harmonics in standard style. Edna Sedgwick, who has terped in fllmusicals, gives out with ballet and taps, in two different takes, latter a bolero routine to 'Be- gulne.' Mark Plant, a big boy bary- tone, who, too, has been in revues, and also had a Metro film oppor- tunity, also ULc's, although handi- capped by a cold on the night caught Jan Garber's band comes in after Busse, latter going into the Broadway Paramount April 26. Abel. NIXON CAFE (PHTSBTBOH) Pittsburgh, April 6. Al Mars^eo's orch (9), Bob Corfer, Jimmy Ran, Seror Turfns, Darrvl & Dale, Angelo Di Palmo, Claire Ray Girls (6). . Tony ComfortI keeps giving the Kixon Cafe patrons standard, snappy entertainment. He takes his cue in that respect from Joe Hiller, who's been servicing the spot wisely for couple- of years now. and Hiller's steering the acts nicely and mixing rem up for town's most prosperous aitery. Up until 10 p. m., the Nixon's prl- marlly a restaurant with. probably biggest dinner biz in town. After that, -it's strictly hdt-cha and it's Hiller's job to spot turns versatile enough to give the customers just the right thing for each session. So far, he^s done It, whether by accident or otherwise, and current layout ia no exception, - AI Marslco, a local maestro who closed an 18-month ■ engagement at Show.Boat recently, is in with his okay nine-piece crew for an indef- inite stay and ifs a band that fits JOE TERMINI with JEAN HAMILTON - •nd BOB DU HART BAIIiED 8.B. BUMHATTAM AFBIIi B OPENING LONDON COLISEUM APRIL 17 spot's needs nicely. Right In there on the sweet, which is what the din- ers want; the swing stuff is service- able enough for the later needs, and he plays a show like a veteran. That comes natural to Marsico, since he was conducting Dick Powelljs En- right theatre band for those de lUxe units 10 years ago. Orch's carrying,'as featured vocal- ist. Bob Carter, of the air waves, who also doubles into the show. He's got a corking tenor voice and knows how to use it, hitting those high reg- isters like a canary and putting plenty of pash into the ballads, his specialtYi for the femme ringsiders> Show's m. c'd by Jimmy Ray, clev- er hoofer who turns iit a good ses- sion- of eccentric, soft-shoe dancing. That's become practically a lost art, but Ray should do much to revive it, at least in these parts. He's there on the pedal end and a nice engag- ing personality to boot. Seror Twins add a French music hall atmosphere with their act, a bit of hoke magic, some hoofing and the phoney mir- ror dance, all of the bits built around their striking similarity. Only trou- ble here Is that Nixon's so built only half of the customers can see the best sections, but that's not the Ser- ors' fault, Darryl and Dale are a slick ball- room team who look good and are graceful In waltz, foxtrot and rumba, and spot has its best line in long time in six Claire Ray girls, Theyfre ni.ce-Iooking, well - costumed -and; what's niore, can dance. Swing sym- pliony with Albertina' Rasch over- tones Is .their best number and one of 'em does a tap' dance specialty, while another. Sherry Saunders, dis- plays a good blues voice when she croons one into the mike during the yip^-yi-ee finale. Angelo Di Pal- ma,' operatic tenor, is in his fourth year .here now and a fixture. It's still half a dozen platters of old fav- orites before mob permits blm to get away. Nixon's got a 50c eouvert, except In case of regulars, when it'a usually lifted.. Incidental^, regulars .make up practically 75% of Conforti's trade. Cohen. BROOKLYN CLUB (BBOOKLTN, ILL.) St. Loub, April 7. Cliff WinehiU, £dioards & Arnold, Roberta Roberts, Fritzt Lure, Four BrooklvTtettes, Joe Winter's orch (7). This recently opened nitery. across the Mississippi and onlv 15 minutes from downtown St Louis, is operated in conjunction with a casino and a high percentage of-its. clientele is from the local. vppet crust With gratis motor trEuisportation provided to and from a dowhtowii point and no minimum or eouvert the Brook- lyn Club is weaning customers away from St LouU class spots. Sam Magin, manager, has wisely un- strapped the bankroll for A-1 talent and newspapers ads,, the latter .great- ly overshadowing those used by local nlterles. ■ Cliff WlnehllL formerly with the King's Horses, Is ni.c, and, besides keeping his . gags up to the minute and doing a single that clicks, keeps the show moving at a fast tempo. The only fly in. the ointment is ue house line. The girls seem to hsv^ but recently matriculated from the tyro ranks and their work, at show caught was just so-so. Spot seats 300. The'buildlng Is un- pretentious, but plenty of kopecs were dished out to fix up the In- terior, Wlnehill starts show with some nifty patter, some of which borders on the blue, and then the Brooklyn- ettes do the first of two routines. Fritzl Lure, a looker In an evening gown, does a neat acrobatic danc- ing turn that Includes a whirlwind finish. Roberta Roberts, a blues songbird, does best with the old tear- Jerker, "You Made Me Love You.' Edwards and Arnold, vouthful tap team in evening clothes, scora Wine- hill, in his single,-clowns through 'He Shall Die,' grotesquely garbed as a caballero, and follows with a ven- triloquist turn with a somewhat weather-beaten dtmimy. He closes. The 60-mInUte show i brought to an end by t'e Brookljmettes doing their second routine. Joe Winters, batons ai smooth orch and uses good judgment In keeping the music soft in the small room. Club boasts excellent cuisine, -with dinners starting at $1.50. Sahu. Cocoanut Grove, N. Y. (PABK CENTBAIi HOTEL) Will Osbome"* orch (17), toith Lynn Davis, Richard 'Stinhv* Rog- ers, Three Peppers, Enrico & No- vello. Will Osborne's and his 'slide mxislc* orch resumes the name band policy interrupted by Curt Houck's Cataliha Island band, which followed Chick Webb. Osborne outfit the Three Peppers, Enrico an I Novello and Lynn Davis and DlcK Rogers (band vocalists), constitute a four-week flU-In until the room closes May 9 for a rearrangement prior to lArry Clinton's entry May 17. ' Osborne'and. his curtailed show Oreally only i^rico- and Novello) as (Continued on page 48) HVood, Broadway Nftery, Owes 150(^ Assets Hollywood Associates, Inc., oper- ators of the Hollywood Restaurant on Broadway, which' had filed an appli- cation for reorganization in N. Y. federal court last January, filed a schedule showing assets and liabili- ties Monday (10). Current assets are $7,635 and liabilities are $150,554. The liabilities are made up of $04,634 in unsecured claims, $46,771 in se- cured claims, $5,000 In wages, and the balance in state, government and city taxes. The.largest claim Is held by Mar- shal Bronner, $35,866, for • chattel mortgage 'on the fixtures. Among the assets are $211 in cash, $3,542 in stock, and $3,431 In personal prop- erty. TheJHEATRE of the STARS H'wood's Refugee Theatre Hollywood, April IL German refugees who performed in Bierlin cabarets and thea^es have taken over the Hollytbwn theatre. Nightly variety sho-ws will be given. House has ben renamed the Ref- ugee theatre. 15 YEARS AGO< (From Vabiett) ' Strikes among the transit systems were hitting London's legit bard. The Increase of bands In vaude- ville discredited rumors that orches- tras In vaude were on the -wane. . The Loew-Metro, Goldwyn and Afoyer merger was about ready to be completed, ' Marjorie Rambeau -made her vbud^vUle debut at the Palace, New York. Just another case of a ^tar carrying an ordinary sketch. Max Relnhardt was planning to return to acting In Berlin, his first role in years. George Biddle, of the Philadelphia society family,: reported himself en- gaged to Grace Moore, the 'Music Box Revue' player. Her answer was tliat she Ijtad opera aspirations. Lack of road musicals Increased the ranks of the jobless among the chorines to a point where cabarets were hiring them at pre-war pay. An opera troupe was formed for the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt Paris, which included Rosa and Anna Pon- seUe, Kathleen Howard, John Charles Thomas, Nanette Guilford, Richard Bonelli and Mario Chamlee. Ah attempt was to be made to get the picture Industiy back to Fort Lee, N. J. CAIRO'S BAD SEASON wife of IT. S. Flyer, Freed by Fniiie*^ Alone Doing Well Cairo, March 25. Ray Leda, Belgian warbler from the Paradise Club In London, Is at present singing at the Dolls Night Club, th^ nearest competition to Edith Rogers Dahl, wife of American aviator captured by Franco, who 'is at the Continental and is doing w611' with her orchestrations by Fletch<e'r' Allen, ex-Noble Sissle sax player.'' The Continental cabaret (loses un- til next winter at the end of this month after a very unsuccessful sea- son due In the first Instance to a bad orchestra which has since, been re- placed by. Maurice' Toubas,' aild' in the second place to war scares which have been' particularly acute in the Near East all along since September. La Belle Marquise nitery, opened four months ago with Ramon Cortes band, alr-condltloning and gigantic publicity, has been declared officially banlmipt CAFE OPERATOR SEEKS INJUNCTION VS. UNION , PhUadelphla. AprU 11. Injunction has tteen asked by the Little Rathskeller to prevent the mu- sicians union from orderltag .Victor Hugo's band.out of the nitery. Union seeks to have closed-shop agreements with six other unions inked by the Rathskeller. . Max Kallner, operator of the cafe, declares he has a six-month contract with' the band, executed and signed under the supervision of the union. Termer, KaUner declares, was sig- natured March 8 and on March 31 Frank Lluzzi, prez of the local, told him the orchestra would be forced to withdraw unless contracts -With six imlons covering other employes of the nitery were signed. ..KaUner selys his'employes have refused to join the various unions, all AFL af- filiates, and have formed their own labor organization. Bette Baker^Helen Morgan Set for Lamaze's, HVood Bell* Baker and 'Helen Morgan have both been set for three-week runs at Lamaze's; Hollywood, by the William Morris office. Miss Baker opens AprU 19, with Miss Morgan Iniimedlately following. Saranac Lake By Happy Benway During the bank nite drawing at the local Fontiac Russ Kelly won $50. ^ After bedding at the French hos- pital. New Yorli, Myra Blake is back at the Rogers. 'Hank' Heam, who cams back here, has been shifted from At- lanta to Charlotte by United Artists. Moe Gould, Sidney Grill, Emma O'Nell, Josle Barrows, aU WiU Rogersites have been upped from the infirmary to the walk-around class. Anna C!omerford and Frank How- ard In hospital for operations, while Mrs. Teddy Stewart and Eddie 'Vogt are out of there after successful cute. The John Orrs, Pete Smith, Mrs. J. J. Johnston and Buddy' Snyder of Rockaway Beach, ogling the Rogers and heUoing Agnes Orr, who's doing well. Ray Cameron, orchestra leader from a nearby Plattsburg radio sta- tion, brought his band and a gang of entertainers to the Rogers to enter- tain the curing gang. Alan Oahe and Milton Weeks passed another birthday at the Rogers. According to reports it wont be lohg before they both hit the Big Street again. (Write to those who are IIL) Hale to Stage IntTs Reopener; Sbbert Qoits Partner Deal The deal was set last week by the William Morris office for Georg* Hale to stage the show at the Id. ' teFnatlonal Casino, on Broadway, now an Alex Finn operation^ which is scheduled to reopen May 10. Finn, who operates the Mayf air Club; Bos- ton. Is not in partnership with Joe Moss at the International, which is contrary to previous reports. Hub coin is behind him. '-'.:. Originally, Lee Shubert was to have been partnered with Finn in the nitery's operation, but the legit operator stepped out Moss' con-- nectlon will be strictly In a salaried position, his Job l>elng to' promote parties ' and club events. Charles Washburn will press-agent. Hale will use 36 girls in the show, the ensemble having gone into re- hearsals last week. Al 'White and Ted Adolphus are his assistants. Thus far no acts have been con- tracted for, but the International will pursue a name policy. Same goes for the bands, though nothing definitely has been lined up for the music end, either. Agency is trying to line up a Hollywood attraction.' The International has been closed for several months after first going'' into receivership. Understanding is' that Finn had to put up $50,000 to getth'e keys, . Hale is guaranteed at least $10,- 600 for staging, including salary and a percentage of the profits. ARCADIA, PHIUY, INTO BANKRUPTCY PhUadelphla,. AprU 11. The Arcadia-International, . erst- while top PhUadelphla nitery, closed since Jan. 21, has been thrown into' bankruptcy .by its 63 major creditors. Sale of Its physical assets to satisfy a landlord levy a few days after the spot shuttered was caUed Illegal by Judge Klrkpatrlck In U. S. District court and set aside. New sale at public auction has t>een ordered for AprU 27 and 28. Jack and Jean Melville DrMMd br SIDNEY FISHER 76/77 Shaftesbury Avenue PICCADILLY, .LONDON, ENO. Be$t Coffee in England QUALITY INN .Leieaatar. Square ■ LONDON, WEST-END HARRY RICHMAN Seat *LORD & STEWART, 19, Albemarle Streetf LONDON, W. 1. Arc EngUmA'.a Best Taiton.' "Heart of the Loop** BREVOORT HOTEL Madlion, east of LaSatle, Chicago Special Theatricfd Rates fl. TALENT [2 YOUTH 13 BEAUTY 14. STYLE fS. SINGING i6. DANCING AU Total Entertainment Arag. 14 CmCLE, INDIANAPOLIS -jtPBIir^n. - VTTVTTga3i<x'150£llMSTO" Aran- 28 PALACE. AKRON MAY 2 . PALACE, YOUNGSTOWN Direction: MAX TISHMAN 325 West 45th Street New York Gty drde 6-0430