Variety (Jul 1939)

46 VARIETY Wednesdaj/July 19, 1939 OBITUARIES FRANK HABDma Frank Harding, music business vet, died in Kew York, July 16, aged 7S. A pioneer music publisher, his publishing business, was originally established in 1865 by his uncle, Edward Harding, a well known bari- tone singer. Frank Harding suc- ceeded his uncle in 1879, and. op- -crated as a publisher until shorUy betore his passing. His Bowery headquarters was fa- mous as the home of Harry Ken- nedy's hits 'Molly and I and the Baby,' 'Patsy Brannigan' and 'Say Au Revoir But Not Goodbye.' Jim Thsrnton's best songs were also pub- lished by Harding, noUbly, 'My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon,' popularized at Tony Pastor's by his vile, Bonnie Thornton. In one ot the side rooms at Hard- ing's, long before the advent of to- day's Tin Pan AUey,' all the song- writers of the day congregated to write and sell their songs to'Hard- ing. Among them were Charley Graham, writer of Two Little Girls in Blue,' and Monroe H. Rosenfeld, FBANK B. LOCDIS Frank R. Loudis, 77, one-time or- chestra and band leader, died at his home in Albany, July 10. With his three brothers, he formed a string quartet which played at the old Globe hotel, Albany, and on the Al- bany-Troy boats. He was in retire- ment during recent years. Survivors Include wife, five sons, four daughters and three brothers. JOHN D'GIOVANNI John D'Giovannl, 34, actor, died of poisoning at the WiU Ro.iyrs Me- morial hospital, Saranac Lake, N. Y., July 16; A patient at the hospital for the last three years, D'Giovannl was a suicide according to verdict of the county coroner. GEOBGES DOBIVaL Georges Dorlval, 78, veteran char- acter actor who consistently appeared with the Comedle Francaise since 1917, died In Paris July 16. He planned to retire in September. In private life known as Edouard Le Marchand, he came to the Com- m MEMORY OF MAURICE $TAUB 'A life-long friend and business associate whom we M loved and will never forget Jack Mills and 25% by Disney. In the foreign field. It Is understood, the theatres bare the majority of the advertising expense Involved. Ad bill on 'Snow White* was small compared to other big grossers, since the picture had been well publicized over a long period, vastly reducing the necessity of selling it through paid space. It has been estimated that publicity reached a \otal of be- tween 60,000,000 and 70,000,000 peo- ple. In addition to the advertising share it deducts from its end, RKO has to charge oS the cost of sales on 'Snow White' from Its gross return of around $1,875,000. This still leaves it with a net whichi it Is said, wiU run twice that of any picture the company has ever had. An unusual feature of 'Snow White' was that in the domestic market a rental of $4,000,000 is realized from a comparatively low number of accounts played, 7,800. It thus becomes the highest money- getter per account Ih the history of the business. Getting lon^ runs In first-run accounts, in some cases the deals were as high as 60% of the gross from the theatre. A peculiar, ity .of the picture was that in its first* runs it gobbled up nearly everything in sight, in many cases drawing from a radius of 50 miles or more, due, it is l>elieved, to the fact that many people figured they'd have to wait too long for it on sub- sequent run or ik smaller towns. There was one situation in Pennsyl- vania where the total attendance at the first run was greater than the whole population of the town. Disney's second cartoon . feature/- 'Pinnochio/ will cost around $2,000,- 000. RKO also releases this one. House Reviews author of Take Back Your Gold.' The sentimental J. F. Mitchell wrote for Harding 'Lay Me On the HiU- Bide,' 'A Letter From Ireland' and *Her Own Boy Jack'—all very popu- lar in their day; Ed Marks published "December and May* with Harding before he started his own publishing house with The Lost ChUd' and 'My Mother Was a Lady.' WiU H. Fox. Bill McKenna. WU- liam Lorraine, Joe Sullivan, Pat Rooney, Delehanty & Hengler, Bobby Newcomb, Tony Pastor and Gus Williams wer0> a few of many famous oldtime varied stars and performers who were also song- writers and who contributed popu- lar successes to Harding's catalog. Harding's book of 'Oldtime Jigs and Reels' was celebrated as the authority on the subject. Harding leaves a daughter, Grace W. Chambers, of Richmond, Va., and two brothers. Funeral services, under auspices of ASCAP at Uni- versal Chapel, N. Y., July 19. FBANK D. BILL Frank D. HiU, 59, for many years manager of vaudeviUe and picture theatres here, once a singer In Prim- rose and West Minstrel Shows, as a protege of George Primrose, died In Reading, Pa., July 17. Born in Utica, Hill sang In amateur nights where he was heard by Primrose who gave bim singing parts in' his show and helped him later to get a start pro- fessionally. Later Wilmer and Vincent, singing in vaudeviUe skits which they wrote themselves, opened a vaudevUle house and put Hill in the. box office. When Wilmer and Vincent, who have four, theatres In Reading, opened their first house here, HiU was made manager and played every b>S time act there for seven years. For several years he was on the road In 'Actor and Hobo'. • Later he became builder and part-owner of the Lyric, but returned to Wilmer & Vincent and managed, in succession, three of their, houses. He leaves a widow, Katharine Menges HUL ETHEL SML^LL Ethel SmaU (Schatz).~43, wife of Archie Schatz, golfer and comedian, and former vaude performer in act known as Johnny SmaU and Small Sisters, died in Wheaton, HI., July 12 after a long illness. She had lived in Wheaton for past 29 years and operated the Club Side Inn with her husband. She was in vaudevUle for some 16 years, re<^ tiring from the-profession about IS years ago. Three chUdren and hus- band survive. Burial in Wheatoa edle from Odeon where he achieved prominence for his Interpretation of the Grand Duke in 'Chantecler.' His final stage appearance was'in the role of Montfleury in 'Cyrano de Ber- gerac' last May. BEBNABD E. BABLOW Bernard E. Barlow, who with his wife, Margaret MoUe, danced in aU the major theatres of. the United States and Canada as the De Muths, and who later operated a studio in New York, died in Albany July 13. Residents of Albany for 25 years; the De Muths, as they were gener- aUy known, conducted a dancing studio in Harmanus Bleecker Hall, after running the Broadway studio for 17 years. Widow survives. MOBET DBISKO Morey Earl Drlsko, 55, former legit actor and director, died July 13 in Los Angeles after a brief "inogg, Simon Barrls, 63, father ot Radie Harris, radio film commentator, and Howard Harris, script writer for the Phil Baker program, died of a heart attack In New York Sunday (16). Also surviving are his widow and two other daughters. Mother, 62, of Nathan M. HaU, treasurer of American theatre, St. Louis, died last wee*. Widow of Nat M. Hall, tormer AJdemtan of the 21st Ward. Ont daagbUir and two sons survive. Mrs. Csrollo* Meyer, 72, mother of F. W. Meyer, manager ot KLZ, Denver, died July 14, 1939, aft^sr an lUness of three months. Mother of Roy Bruder, manager of Balaban & Katz Chicago theatre, died in Chicago, July 13. Grandmother. 94, of Jean Arthur, film player, died at Rotterdam, N. Y., July 13. Disney '« Gross (Continued.,ffom page 1) ordinarily Includes Canada, but also for every other country the picture played, based on the amount of money he had Invested In 'Snow White'. Out of the $6,625,000 In gross rental to Disney comes the cost of the pic- ture and prints, amounting to $1,950,- 000, In addition to aU trade and fan magazine advertising which he agreed to assume. Other types of advertising, under the deal, includ- ing participation In campaigns with theatres, were borne 75% by RKO Rubbernecks (Continued from page 1) with the tipper-ofters on the Inside. Result is that location troupes find themselves pestered- by regiments of tourists and lose a lot of valuable time signing autographs and answer- ing questions. Studio execs can't do anything about this guerriUa warfare, but they are doing a pretty good lob of blocking at the gate, where they are attacked by swarms of visiting news- paper workers, exhlbs and conven- tion delegates, accompanied by wives, children, sisters, cousins, aunts and sundry in-laws. This is where the studio defenders do a bit of strategy on their own hook. The sound stages, where actors are at work, are closed to aU but local newsmen or others who have definite assignments. Those who manage to crash the mahi gate are entertained at lunch and man- euvered around to harmless spots far from the sound stages. In this way the visiting firemen are prevented from Interfereing with production schedules, and at the same time they can teU the folks back home how they visited the studios. It's a poUte version of the brushoff. BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. C. Louis Murray, son, in Pittsburgh, July 10. Mother's the former Betty Smiley, nltery dancer. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Murray, daughter, July 8 in Los Angeles. Father is studio superintendent of KHJ there. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bryant, daugh- ter, July .10 in Los Angeles. Father is KHJ studio engineer there. Mr. and Mrs. BiUy Baer, son, Jiily 12. in Milwaukee. Father is or- chestra leader. Mr, and Mrs. Roy Allen, son, In Evansville, Wis. Father is associated with United American shows. Mr. and Mrs. R, S. (Skinny) Pryor, daughter, in Austin, Texas. Father, theatre owner. Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Presley, daughter, in Los Angeles, July 13. Father is with Walt Disney studio. Mr. and Mrs. M. Coates Webster, son, in Hollywood, July 10. Father Is 'writer at RepubUc. Mr. and lOis. ' Frank Nathan, daughter, in Hollywood July 12. Mother is former Elinor Harriott, radio actress. Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Thompson, daughter, in Hollywood, July 10. Father is with BeU Syndicate. Mr. and Mrs. George O'Brien, son, July 15, in Hollywood. Father is film actor; mother, former Marguerite Churchill, screen actr'ess. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Myro, son, In Brooklyn, July 16. Father Is a com- poser; mother's former Beatrice MUls daughter of Irving MUls. Mr. and Mrs. John Wayne, son, July IS, In Los Angeles. Father Is film actor. APOLLO, N. Y. (Continued from page 30) Only a minor portion of her turn is spirituals, and out of that idiom she's hothing more than another shoutin' colored gal with a guitar^ Nifty number by the house line follows, femmes doing a kind of terping jam session, various mem- bers coming out of the chonis for solo bits. Then there's a specialty by BUly and Charley tappers. Two tall boys do precision and challenge work that's not half so clicky as the showihanly appearance they make in all-white top hats and tails. Latin-American scene follows to Save way for Renee and EsteUe, uban dancers There's a skit first by the house comics that's fairly funny, but blacks out with the usuail poinUess finish here. The Cuban terp duo is strong. Aside from be- ing nice lookers, they have widely- varied and original routines. Guy is much more active than the .usual male ot dance teams, while the girl shines with educated hips and shoul- ders in the South American motif. Cooper's Savoy Sultans band Is an exceptionally Ustenable Negro jive unit Although made up of but four rhythm instruments, two brasses and three reeds. Its excellent arrange- ments and'solid-sending are mindful of Larry Clinton: It's fuU, biit weU- controUed aU the way. . Vocalist with the crew Is Evelyn White, a weaker edition of EUa Fitz- gerald. She sings in the same idiom and is in many respects a plenty okay warbler. Scoring against her, .however;' is her mouthing of lyrics and careless pronunciation. Went over solidly when caught at dinner show on opening day (Friday). Biz fair. Herb. EMBASSY, N. Y. (NEWSBEELS) Nothing startling on this biU. There is very little hews, and what there is isn't particularly suited to camera treatments. 'What the reels need right now is another thrUler. There are only six genuinely in- teresting subjects in tht current bill. Last week's all-star ball "ame (Fox) was one, although basebaU isn't an ideal sport from a newsreel point-of- focus. The mounting tension In Danzig provides Paramount with a lengthy clip. Purportedly 'uncen- sored' film, it contains nothing ex- plosive, but has more than routine significance simply because of what may happen in that territory any day. Shots of the German fleet are fairly graphic. Views of the Jap capture of Swatow (Fox) are passable, but nothing like the nerve-tingUng stuff from Shanghai two years ago. CUp of a couple ot youngsters doing a song-and-dance turn at a moppet show (Metro) Is okay for a novelty, while an 'interview' (Pathe) with the new Federal Security Admlnls- t:.-ator and possible presidential can- didate, Paul V. McNutt, and shots of Harry Bridges on his way to de- portatlon hearings (F;.the) iafe of Interest One thing is immediately evident about McNutt, he's a hand- some gent who's a terrific scenery- chewing spellbinder. Among good , but unexciting clips are those about gas-mask manufac- turing and U. S. coast defense (Metro), arrival of French battle- ships in New York for Bastille Day ceremonies (Fox), Kentucky flood scenes (Pathe), the couple stuck aloft on the New York World's Fair parachute jump (Fox), soap box derby and girl sea scouts (Ijoth Fox), H''^'* °* heat.resi-*ing glass (Pathe),. autogH^o airmaU (Pathe), Montauk auto rtfees (U), girl boxers (U) and a slighfly better-than-aver- age horse race (Metro). Hobe. MARRIAGES Frances Taylor to Elbert Walker, KHJ transcription enghteer, July 15, in Los Angeles. Amand*) Duff, film actress, to Philip Dunne, screen writer, July 15, in Virginia City, Nev. Helen Carroll, of the 'Merry Macs,' to Carl Kress, NBC-rfaff guitarist and owner of the Onyx Club, N. Y., in New York, July 16. Elizabeth Marvin to Douglas Cor- rigan, in San» Antonio, Texas, July 17. Bride is active In local dra- matic circles. Mildred McKee to Joe Weeks, In Middletown, Ind., July 10. He is an- nouncer at WJR, Detroit Elaine Cox to Willy Pogany, in Las Vegas, Nev., July 11. He Is por- trait painter and film art director. Betty May Warner to MUton Sper- ling, in Beverly Hills, Cel., July 12, Bride is Harry M. Warner's daugh- ter. Nathalie Hanunerstein to Tom Gerety, in New York, July 14. Gerety is Metro pubUcity; bride, secretary there for years. Paula Stone to Duke Daly, July 16 In Los Angeles. She's the actress- daughter of Fred Stone; he's an or- chestra leader. Bernlce Garbl to Homer SklUion,' July 17, in San Bernardino. He's manager ot the Strand, Pasadena. BULY CONN WRESTS TITLE FROM BETTINA By JACK PULASKI Fight fans sizzled In Madison Square Garden last Thursday (13) through 15 rounds of corking flstu cufis which ended with handsome BUly Conn of Pittsburgh winning the 175-pound or light-heavyweight title from Mello Bettlna. AU th^ bands In Beacon, N. Y., where the beaten boy hails from, couldn't help him. .- Leading a couple of thousand townspeople, the looters marched across town from Grand Central. putUng up quite a show with ban- ners, badges and gay music. Betore the Introductions the bands blared forth from both" ends of the arena but had Uttle chance to go Into ac- tion thereafter for their idol was up against a master boxer, and the haU was a hot box. The small town bunch took all the 13 to 5 offered against MeUo and had nothing left but their tickets home. After the match, several sports writers opined that in about two years Conn, who Is no relative to Harry, wUl be ready for Joe Louis. By then he will have gained pound- age and may develop a heftier wal- iQP. Other fight experts have a dif- ferent opinion, however. They In- sist he is a cream-puff puncher without the wUl to wade In and mix It as a champion should. Had Bettiha waged the same bat- tle throughout as he did in the first five rounds the answer would have been different He changed style at least three times, resorting to a crouch for a time but that did no .good, for. sharp-shooting Billy promptly straightened him up. Go- ing In close, Melio did weU in the early third ot the match and the odds dropped to 2 to 1. Conn was somewhat out of order with his mitts but nine rounds were easUy in his favor in this first appearance as a heavy after twice licking Fred ApostoU in the 160 division. Even though Conn is not supposed to have a hefty waUop, he shook up Bettlna more than once with right counters to the chin. Those socks generally came during punching flur- ries that had the sweating fans up on the chairs and were the only in- stances when the upstater was forced to back up. Billy's footwork was far the better, while his left jabs and hooks were the bacon-getters. De- spite all the mUling and the counts less times that Bettina stopped leather with his kisser, there was Uttle claret Conn's right eye was opened In the 13th but he was other- wise okay and caught many blows on 'his arms. Jimmy Grippo, who Is a magician and manager of Bettina, couldn't do anything about the licking his boy was taking. Grippo (who looks like Phil Loeb) tried to put' the evil eye on Billy but that didn't work. He stared at > Conn's corner between rounds, then concentrated on his man when his stuff flopped. Last time that Bettlna was In the Garden he stopped Tiger Fox, Grippo getting some credit for the win. It seems, however, that Fox had been knifed in Harlem just previously. The colored socker was on the bill again Thursday and still under standard. Dave Clark, another browa bomber from Detroit, copped an eight-rounder from him without much ado, cutting the Tiger more than anyone around here in a long whUe. . Next major boxing event is carded for Aug. 22, when Henry -Armstrong and Lou Ambers meet again at the Yankee Stadium. Legiter To Radio (Continued from page 4l) programs originated at the Ambassa- dor theatre. Vanderbilt has been operated by Martin Jones, who, with the backing of O. H. Olmsteed, bought the house. Last season It was remodeled and the stage enlarged, but the spot was unfortunate in bookings. 'Someone', has been guar- anteeing the theatre for some time. Another closing this week Is the revival 'Outward Bound' at the Playhouse, where it is In lU 31st week, 14 more than the original Broadway engagement. Play was aimed Into August, but business dropped to a slender profit margin and cast withdrawals made con- tinuance risky.