Variety (Aug 1939)

Wcdncfjilay, Angiisl. 2, 1939. VAUDE-NIGHT CLUBS VARIETY 47 Night Club Reviews Leon & Eddie's, N. Y. Jnu C. Flippeii toifh Jerri; White, MarjoTie Caivsworlh, Bonrbdn & flniie Alilfs, Starr & Tracy, Armanda & Lita, Paul Marin, Gloria & Cook and LaPlaya Dancers (6). Modestes (6); Lou Marlin, Pepito & Codoy's OTc'uestrus. ^ , In the absence of EcUIie Davis, v,nMtioning, Leon En ken has brought in a good substitute show headed by Col. Jay C. Flippen who is an 'impressive conterencier. Flip- pen has the manner, carriage and aplomb for an al fresco nitery like LitE's, and yet is possessed of all the polish to pace his proceedings with distinction. Current lineup is one of the best Bt this 52d street institution. Mar- iorie Gainsworth. comely soprano, is costarred with Flippen. She handles 'Hungarian Rhapsody' in swing-sing elyle, plus 'My .Hero' and contem- poraneous' pops like 'Winter Comes,' making nice impression throughout. The comedy hors d'ouvres are pep- pery as done by the Three Playboys, Mills, Starr and Tracy. Incidentally they might forget that 'Playboys' tag and bill their names solo. They have ia deft comedy flair and get to the customers pronto, starting first with the impromptu heckling of the m.c, and thence into their own specialty. Their 'Minnelonka' swingeroo , is a standout as is their Clayton, Jackson and Durante impression which trio they suggest in manner and style of working. Armanda and Lita and Paul Marin, both -New. Acts; former with ballroom hoke, and Marin with B novelty>,quick-sketch turn. Among Flippen's own specialties is Jerry White, a jittery stooge, who muggs and whips over a good eccen- tric dance specialty. 'The Modettes (6) are a comedy line in general suppoi't They're Walter Wanger's troupe. One of 'em is Alicia Quiglcy, blonde looker, who is the wife of I.ee Dixon, the dancer. 'Follow the Leader' is a Paul Jones, terp routine with the customers that is also paced for Iaugh.s, and Gloria Cook-Bob Conrad, heading the eight LaPlaya Dancers, do ensemble ball- roomology (Viennese waltz, conga, etc.), later also engaging in audi- ence participation. It's a nominal buy for the house because its tied up with the D'Avalos dancing school, Pepito and Godoy'.s rhumba-conga band flgures in the Latin terp dem- onstrations. Lou Martin's band, per usual plays for straight dansaoation. Abel. mation routines. Ross MacLcan makes ^n effective m.c, mike-an- nouncing and shownxanly pointing up the sundry ice niceties. Peter Kent's relief combo is an ex- : pert sextet and also has a piano- i logist speciali.st in Kalhryn Tate, : more on the Ramona side with her | swing-sing interludes. Abel. RAINBOW GARDENS (STRAFFORD, PA.) PhtladeJphin. Jidy 28. Leo Zollo orch (10), Ralph East- \cood, Mildred Rooers, Capitalizing on a.prime location in Philly's most heavily-populated so- ciety sector, the Main Line, the old Covered Wagon Inn has opened an outdoor adjunct which it terms the Rainbow Gardens. Spot is osten- sibly pperatea, by Margretta, 22- year-old, coUegergraduate-daughter of the Bachmann's, who for the jiast six years have run the Covered Wagon, strictly an oversize grog parlor. Apparently no expense was de- toured in making the al fresco dine- and-dancery a top attraction for the uppity nabe trade to which it caters, as well as something worth a 15- rhile ride to Philadelphians seeking a cool and pleasant spot. One of Philly's best known (and most ex- pensive) architects was employed and reproduced a domestic version of the famed San Souci in Havana. Joint has terraced decks on three sides,' with S band house on the fourth and a generous dance floor in the center. It will seat 525 with a little crowding, although the tables are oversize for a nitery. Aside from the general b3autv of the col- orfully-awninged terraces, a strong point is the good visibility... Food is excellent, prices extremely reason- able (which is more important in building up a regular trade along the heavily-heeled Main Line than in the midtown rookeries), and bu.-ii- ness is commensurate with the assets offered There is no .^how, the diversion being merely Leo ZoUo's orch and a boy and girl vocalist. Zollo's crew, which for a long time was .standard at the Benjamin Franklin hotel here, is a well-balanced combo of three rhythm, three brass and three reeds, with one of the horn tooters doubli.iR on a fiddle close to the mike for nice effect. Music is Avell on the sweet side, a^; would be expected. ; Mildred Rogers is the femme canr ai-y. duiXe a looker, the small blonde fial is in ■ many respects a vocal ringer for Bea Wain. Her tone, diction and phrasing are reminiscent of the ex-Larry Clinton chanteuse and she goes over easily. Also a good bet is tenor Ralph East- wood. He specializes in the Irish ballads, but is also very acceptable in standard oops. Unfortunately there's • bad show- manship in presentation of the band and Ihroaters. Colored lights on the footer crew are okay, but they leave the batoneer in the dark. Same is true of the warblers, and particular- ly so working behind a big mike, for which one of the modern eight- balls would be a welcome substitu- tion. Herb. N. Y. Nitery Followup Skelton Settles with Agent Chicago, Aug. 1. I. Robert Brpder, New York attor- ney for Tom Kennedy, came here to straighten out the contract diffi- culty involving his client and 'Red Skelton. Dispute was settled with a cash payment, Kennedy continuing as the comedian's agent. Nul for nought is Billy Rose's Dia- mond Horseshoe the No. 1 cabaret of New York and has been for eight months with the present show. With Broadway looking more and more a Coney Island, and its big-capacity niteries doing spottily, the mauve decade-themed floorshow, in the basement of the Paramount hotel, is a consistent business-getter. Joseph E. Howard with'his yester- year song hits ('I 'Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now,' etc.); Fritzi Scheff reprising 'Kiss Me Again'; Emma Francis tapsteririg as strong, as ever; and such moderns as Tom Patricofa, Frank Libuse (a minia- ture 'Hellzapoppin' in himself with his nut pianology); Clyde Hager with his pitchman's routine, and Noble Sissle doing a bangup job ma- estroing the whole works, are high- lights of the cavalcade that goes from Delmonico's to the Ziegfeld Rodf. There Buddy Doyle does his standard Cantor; the Anna Held milkbath is reprised, and in Delia Lind's spot—now that she's shifted to 'Streets of Paris'—is Lucille Johnson, personating Lillian Russell. She too is blonde and personable. Second take of the Horseshoe evi- dences-that it's been kept right on its toes, and there is no stalling. Michael and Marlynn, in their 70th consecutive week atop the Rainbow Grill, informal room on the 65th floor of the RCA Bldg., backed by the latest In the succession of bands —this time Barry Winton's nifty en- semble—work In yeoman fashion with their 'champagne hour.' This is the 9:30-10:30 stopgap when the Wintonites are..laying off. End the customers are "offered a choice of wine or free dinners to those who win the applause honors. Guests alternately dance with Michael or Marlynn, former doing the difficult spieling, and both demonstrating the succession ot Vi- ennese waltz, tango, rhumbi, polka, etc. Then the eliminations, and fin- ally the popular applause-winners. It's gotten so that many regulars now schedule themselves just to catch the 9:30 fun, after having din- ner elsewhere, or ju.st before start- ing out in the supper clubs. Sonny Kendis' .'tiptop dansapation . at the Stork Club continues as stand- ard as does Sherman Billiiigsley's general good taste in running his room. That Billingsley has made the Stork a nationally known institution is somehow taken for granted, but not until the visiting Hollywoodians, and those from London and Paris have really started coming in this past month, does one really become impressed with the club's widely known vogue. Of course they're in for the Fair, for one thing, but in the nocturnal rounds, the retiuest to be taken to Chez Billiiigsley's seems ' a universal must Uniform also are the two major impressions. One is the first com- ment, 'Just what has the Stork got that makes It so popular,' and two, at the end of the evening, comes the qualifying conclusion that apparent*- ly it has a basic charm all its own.^ Of course there is also that otheif intangible quality—the 'human mu- seum' of interesting customers—and so that ends that For instance, other than Kendis' indefatigable; piano-maestroing and Jose. Lopez's equally good rhumba-conga music, the entertainment ends' there. But the same thing applies at El Morocco, where the people make their own fun, fortified only by two crack dance bands. , Abel. HOTEL NEW YORKER (TERRACE room; { Shep Fields' orch wilh Claire Nunn, Jerru Stewart, Vera Hntbo, Nathan Wollcy, Edith DtUilman, ■ Ronnie Roberts, DuReine Farley, Douglas Dtiffy. May Judels Ice Bal- let (6), Ross MacLean, Peter Kent's • orch with Kathryn Tate. Shownianly handling of the Hotel New Yorker's Terrace Room sharply contrasts the indecisive policy of that other Hitz hotel in midtown Manhattan, the Belmon.t-Plaza's Glass Hat. Tliis being the flagship hostelry of the Ralph Hitz chain probably explains the topnotch at- tention given every detail, from maitre Max at the door, who has a flair for handling his patronage well, to the name bands. Shep Fields' 'rippling rhythm' marks a New York comeback after two years away from the east part of which time he was rather seri- ously ill. His unique 'rippling' terp style' is, a.e ever, distinctive and cer-~ lainly gets them out on that dance •floor fast Jerry. Stewart vocalizes and Claire Nunn. at the Steinway, ■whips the keys deftly for pianologic Interludes. The ice show is more than ever a JiRttiral for midsummer, especially with the recent drought weather. It's a compact 25 minutes, headed by 'Vera Hruba, personable Czech skater, with a strong .supporting lineup. Nathan Wallev is an adept funster on runners: Edith Dustman and DuReine Farley do solo arid- double .specialties; Ronnie Roberts is the handsome Juve on ice, with some v^hi^Iwind routines, also doing a waltz double with Miss Farley, and there's a choral sextet for the for- LORD& STEWART Tailors of Today — Arid Tomorrow LONDON: 19 Albemarle Street "p'rCCADILLT, W. 1 NEW YORK: eCO FIFTU AVENUE To Everyone connected with my personal appearance tour, please accept my gratitude for your help in making it both successful and enjoyable. Sincerely, BOB HOPE Oh, yes, I'll be back again in the fall for both Paramount and Pepsodent. *'Thanks for the Memory 99