Variety (Aug 1939)

Wednesday, August 23, 1939 OUTDOORS VARIETY 47 OBITUARIES MARK VANCE Mark Vance, 58, trade newspaper- man, formerly on the staff of Variety, died Aug. 22 at the Will jRogers Memorial Home at Saranac. Ill for several years, Vance, was ad- mitted into the Rogers Home in 1937. He failed rapidly in the past few months. ... Vance entered show business as a press agent, first coming to New York as pa. for Frank Tinney. He had a brother in vaude years ago. His wife and a son survive. Fu- neral services will be held some time on Fridaj (25) from the River- side Memorial Chapel, New York. CAROLINE B. NICHOLS Mrs. Caroline B. Nichols, 75, mu- sician, conductor and vaude per- former, who appeared on the Keiih circuit -at the turn of the century, died in Boston Aug. 16 after a long illness. Native of Dedham, Mass., she studied music at leading conserva- tories and in 1888 formed 'The Fadettes," a female orchestra. With that organization she toured the country extensively. Surviving is a -sister, Jennie Daniel, of Canton. radio player, died Aug. 14 at his home in Rensselaer, N. Y. Survivors are three brothers and a sister. Mrs. Frances Slgsbee, 50, former circus press agent, died Aug. 12 in Milwaukee. Survived by widower, two sisters and three brothers. VLRIC B. COLLINS Ulric Blair Collins, veteran ac- tor, legit manager and long an as- .sociate of Williarn A. Brady, died in New York Aug. 18 after a long ill- ness. In the Brady production of 'Way Down East' he appeared in the juve role of David Bartlett and later toured for years 'with the road company version. He also had been business manager for Brady. Funeral services held Sunday (20) in N. Y. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. May H. Collins; a brother and sister, both of Berkeley, Cal. CLARA MORANDO Clara Morando, 80, died Aug. 20 in New Rochelle, N. Y. , Though not a pro, she was known in the trade as 'Aunt Clara' through her association with the Foy Family as housekeeper and 'mother' of the feven Foy kids. Her association with the Foys began in in 1918, .shortly after the death of. Mrs. Eddie Foy. She travelled with the act when it was on tour as guardian over the children, known even then for their miichievousness. Falber of Sam and Irving Fish- man, theatre operator and vaude agent, respectively, died Aug. ,22 in Chicago. He was 72. father of Lee Sholem, assistant director for Sol Lesser, died Aug. 17 in Paris, 111. He was first manager of Ambassador hotel, Los Angeles. Floyd A. Tomes, 48,,died in a San Antonio hospital Aug.~9 from an in- ternal hemorrhage. He was United Artists South Texas rep. Theodore Fees, 66, retired mu- sician, died at his home in San An- tonio, Aug. .15, at),ei a short illness. Charles Brand, 58, sound tech- nician^ died Aug.; 12 in Hollywood. EASTWOOD, DETROIT, SEEKING NAME BAND Detroit, Aug. 22. Ea.el wood Gardens, outdoor dance spot here, will slay open till'Sept. 17 if . negotiations for an additional band are fruitful. Weslwood Symph CJar- dens, run by same management this ytar, • is .<:latcd to shutter Aug. 31 witlri Jan Garber. Garber. currently at Eastwood, will be followed there by Vincent Lopez, Thursday (25), while Ted Weems comes in Sept. 1 and closes spot Sept. 10, unle.ss another band is obtained. Practical Evidence Washington, Aug. 22. Washington correspon dents who attended Leo Casey's'blow- out at the Fair Saturday (12) were deluged last week with as- sorted menus from Fair restau- rants showing , that you don't have io mortgage.the old home- stead to get a hot dog on the . grounds. , Accompanying menus were in- timate, personal letters from Casey belitting the 'high cost of eating' talk that has been going around. I^enus sent included Childs, Toflenetti's, Schlitz, and others in same price-range. • MORE PAYROLL CUTSATN.Y. FAIR Further slashes in personnel at the N. Y. World's Fair over the weekend indicated that the total number of employees would soon be down to '5,000 or less. Expo opened with nearly 9,000 on the pay- roll but early trimmed to 7,000 and later cut the staff to 6,000; AcQom- panying the reduction in employees was a new slash in pay. Publicity department received a 5% reduc- tion. Consolidation of various depart- menLs and elimination of numerous divisions outright from the top men down pointed to reduction of de- partments in the Publicity-Promo- tion building to only the special events and publicity staffs. Bands and Name Acts Hypoing Frisco Fair's B.O.; N Y. Looks Set for a 2d Yr. DON MATTHEWS Don Matthews, 56, a pianist who appeared In many legit productions, died Aug. 12, after a long illness, in Staten Island, N. Y. A vaudeville performer in his youth, he last was connected with Jack Blue's dancing school, N.Y. Burial in N. Y. Widow survives. Crosley's New Ball Team Birmingham, Aug. 22; Pa.<:.":in}! out of the hands of one radio station owner into the hands of another, the Birmingharh Barons, baseball team in the Southern League, was sold the past week' by Ed Norton, president of Station WAPI. Birmingham, to the Cincin- nati Reds, of which Powell Crosley, Jr., is chief owner. The close alli- ance between radio and baseball is thus maintained. Crosley made a visit to Birming- ham several weeks ago. at which time he became interested in the Birmingham ball club. SUE GREEN Sue Green, 37, screen player, died Aug. 12 in Hollywood. She had played in numierous Hal Roach pro- ductions during the last eight years. William WhiUcn, 65, veteran Ak- ron circus and theatrical billposter, died Aug. 11 at his home in Mans- field, O. For more than 30 years he had been with advance crews of circuses and carnivals. During the winter he had posted for .several Akron theatres. Widow and a daughter survive. Roscoc T. Sharer, 66, interlocutor, comedian and musician with min- strel showB a quarter of a century ago, died Aug. 11 at his home . in Alliance, O. Widow and three sisters, survive. Harry GenuDg, father of Harry Genung, Jr. (Harry Arthur, WSMB, New Orleans, announcer), died of a heart attack in Gulfport, Miss.j Thursday (17). Mrs. Olympla R. Corle, mother of Ann Corio, burlesque stripper, died Aug. 12 in Hartford. Leaves seven daughters, 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. MARRIAGES Eleanor Murphy to Carl Ward Dudley, in Norolon, Conn., vAug. 17. He's Metro writer and nephew of Bide Dudley. Barbara Sheldon to Ralph Ed- wards, in West Redding, Conn., Aug. 19. He's a CES announcer. Jean Dopson to George Wettling in Superior. Wis.. Aug.-14. He's drum- mer with Paul Whiteman's orches- tra. Rochelle Hud.<:on to Hal Thomp- .son, in Ensenada; Mexico, Aug. 16. Bride screen actress; groom's writer. Joan Fontaine to Brian Aherne, in Del Monte, Cal., Aug. 20. Bride is film actress and sister of Olivia de Havilland; he's the screen player. Jean Alleeson to Robert Bould, in Los An,?elef. Aug. 18. Bride is a singer; he's film .Hudio composer. Tallye Dunston to Jack McKee, in Green Hills, Pa.. Aug. 16. Bride is legit player; he's manager of Green Hills summer theatre. Beryl Scott to Johnny Weissmul- ler, in Garfield, N. J., Aug. 21. He's the film 'Tar,zan' and swimmer, pres- ently in Billy Rose's Aquacade at " the New York World's Fair. Florence Meyer to (Dscar Homolka, in Ml. K.isco. N. Y., Aug. 21. Bride is legit player, daughter of Eugene Meyer, newspaper publisher'; he's screen and legit player. Eda Rosenthal to Ken Gormin, New Orleans Tribune columnist, Aug. 22, in N. O. Mrs. Cora Belle Gardner, 71, mother of Bert Gardner, actor and member of the Lambs, died Aug. 3 at her home in Binghamton, N. Y. Harry Orammln, 26, former mana- Ker of the Webster theatre, Hartford, died in that, city Aug.'20 of a strepto- coccus infection. Mother survives. Harry Forbes, 52, film cameraman, 'lied In Los Angeles Thursday (17). Clinton Ten Eyck Clay, stage and BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Wiliam Srere, daugh- ter. In Los Angeles, Aug. 15. Father is indie theatre operator there. Mr. and Mrs. Al Ericson, daughter, in Milwaukee. Aug. 10. Father Is engineer at WISN, Milwaukee, Mr. and Mrs. George Hamilton, .son in Memphis. Aug. 12. Father is orchestra leader. Mr. and Mrs. William Buell, son, in Hollywood, Aug. 18. Father is in- dependent film producer. Set's Wallace Chides Whalen on U. S. Pledge Washington, Aug. 22. Grover Whalen was accused Wednesday (16) of trying to hitch part ol financial embarrassment of N. Y. Fair onto Uncle Sam's coat- tails. Charge was made by Secre- tary of Agriculture Wallace, U. S. chairman of N. Y. Fair Commission. He stated Whalen made a 'seriously misleading' statement regarding Fiederal. government obligation to- ward Fair. 'The financial difficulties of the Fair are regrettable,' Wallace said, 'but they can hardly be traced to any lack of generosity on the part of the Federal government' Wallace's statement was issued in reply to letter sent Aug. 9 by Whalen to bondholders of the Fair Corp., in which Whalen implied that the Gov- ernment had promi.sed but failed Io deliver about $1,500,000 to the Corporation. 'The Corporation expended ap- proximately $1,558,000 in construct- ing the Hall of Nations for foreign governments which were invited by the U. S. Government to participate in the Fair,' Whalen's letter de- clared. 'The Corporation had as- surances from the appropriate Fed- eral agency of a Federal appro- priation to cover these costs. Such an appropriation was , introduced into Congress, but failed of pass- age.' Tagging this statement as 'seri- ously misleading,' Wallace denied that any assurance Of further Fed- eral financial aid had been given by Commi.'^sion or , any Federal agency, and said that when Congress was asked for additional funds this se.esifin. appeal was made by Fair and not by U. S. Commission. Teacher's Penalty Mexico City, Aug. 22. Teaching an old lion new tricks co.st Enrique Gonzalez Suarez, ap- prentice trainer with the Interna- tional Circus, his right hand. The cat mauled him when he was trying to teach the animal how to hold a whip, his hand becoming .so badly mangled it had to be ampu- tated. San Francisco, Aug. 22. The' Golden Gate Exposition reg- istered its biggest non-holiday week for seven days ending Aug. 18, .with 364,958 paid admissions. For the first time, weekday attendance hit over 40,000, average being 44,928. The seven-day average was 52,137. Eddy Duchin is consistently out- drawing predecessors like Ted Lewis and Benny Goodman at the free afternoon shows' in Temple Com- pound and at the free night dances. Gayway's take is double what it was in the spring, hitting $90,000 last week. Phil Harris' orchestra, with vocalist Ruth Robin, booked to fol- low Duchin Aug. 29. Despite assurance.there will be no second year, rumor has it that auto license plates now, being manufac- tured will read 'California World's Fair—1940.' General Manager Strub, still in the east on' biz connected with his, racetrack interests, has been unavailable for comment. July 'railroad traffic into San Francisco was 100% ahead Of, last July, Local rail ,biz was up 15% over-all. United Air Lines reported San Francisco travel up 35% over last year at this time. Readjustments Food concessionaires are being given readjustments retroactive to Aug. 1 on expo's share of tl eir re- ceipts. Average kickback of restau- rants to the Fair is 12% on food and 15% on drinks, with stands paying sliding scale up to 20%. Plan of management to charge concessionaires for cost of demoli- tion at show's conclusion is griping some operators, who have appointed Julian Harvey, of 'World in Motion,' to head committee looking into the matter. Weaker Gayway shows are Slit to fold uflei' Labor Day. Deal to book Jack Benny , for a week is reported cold, though the comedian may come up for two days a la Edgar Bergen; that is, perform to tree audiences. Estonian Village was stuck up last week for $1,000 in what the press called 'First major crime on the Island.' Actually, 'Candid Camera' was mulctod of $1,500 earlier with- out publicity. Camera outfit has moved from the end of the Gayway to stall formerly occupied by 'Gloria,' nude painting show which folded. 'World's Large: i Horse' also has trotted off after months of slim pickings. California Auditorium, housing 'Folies Bergcre' will turn over profits to State of California general f. .id, inasmuch as the state put up the building. 'Folies' smash houses must counterbalance deficits of the preceding 'Ziegfeld Follies.' Dallicf Beef on Tieun String of neighborhood papers, which published .special expo sup- plement on promise of the Fair to allow it to handle special combina- tion ticket deal, quit when manage- ment was forced to back down by threats of big dailies to cut down on publicity. Chronicle, in fact, ha.s abandoned. four-page Fair tabloid supplement and is including Island news in regular section. Sept. 7 will be Showmen's Day on the Island, with Sally Rand donating talent for the Music Hall show. Ed Brown is chairnianning event, which will be attended by J. C. Mc- Caffery, prexy of Showmen's League I of America, and Harry Hargraves, president of the Pacific Coast Show- men's Assn. Esther ' Miller, San Francisco motorcyclist, suffered .severe lacera- tions last week when thrown in her turn at 'GIobe-a-Drome.' It was one of big show's few accidents. New Gayway girl show, 'Streets of the World,' is reported dickering wits fan dancer Faith Bacon. Long- clo.sed Greenwich Village still rumored as Sally Rand's next ven- ture. Current inter-union .squabbles among show people hot worrying officials unduly.' By sit;ned agree- ment there can be no picketing on Treasure Island. pean war which would automatically kick out foreign governmental sup- port in the Court of Nations zone and might make a second year's gate more dubious than now anticipated. Curtains for the Fair at the end of next October may be merely a rumor motivated by many factors. One of them might be regarded as a buildup to get a last-minute rush from thpse who planned to wait until 1940, But all signs point to a second year regardless. The vast invest- ment by 20 or more large industrial companies is the most certain tipoff that one year would not be sufficient. Spokesmen for several of the largest firms, with $2,000,000'or more sunk in their building and exhibits, claim they have pacts for two years, while others said they went in with the understanding that the exposition would rim at least two years. The 1940 N.Y. state license plate.s, as in California, have been stamped already, tfailerizing the N.Y. F?ir again. 3 ARRESTED IN INDPLS. ON MANN ACT CHARGES Indianapolis, Aug. 22. Irwin Lewis, of New York, and John Norton, Detroit, have been or- dered held under $5,000 bond each for the Federal grand jury by U. S. Commissioner Fae Patrick in con- nection with a carnival nude show at Boonville, Ind.,, two weeks ago. Lewis' wife, Rose, was held under $1,000 bond. Three girls, one 14 and the others 15 years old, testified they were taken from Indiana to Pana, 111., as dancers in the show operated by the Lewises. Norton drove the bus in which they traveled. FBI operatives arrested the trio on Mann act allegations, the first time the law has been invoked for such a purpose in this stale. SEEKS MEX EXPO FACTS San Francisco, Aug. 22. Joe Lewel in town from Mexico City, attempting to line up conces- sions for 1940 Exposition in that city. Has granted option oh amusement sectibn 'to Walter K. Sibley, operator of 'Headless Woman' show on Treasure Island. Malvern Plays . Continued from page 44_ the dealer willing to pay any price to buy him off, dead or alive. . Along with Knox, Sim makes his tired artist real; Frederick Bradshiiw provides a neat picture as the deal- er's front man; Margaret Withers has a delightful time as a tippling and titled art columnist BIG BEN Malvern, England, Aug. 11. Tn thrfe aoln (10 HCftnes). hv KvnOnp I'rlce .'ind Riihy Miller: prp.sentcil l>v Hoy l.lin- liert: Htagcd by H. K. AyllfT: at .Malvern KmUvuI. Auk. II. '•in. lii.st; Sylvia (TolorMife. iri>lrna Plol<iiri1. JliirKery I'lckaril, Mnrxum WUhtm. I tiind MoHH, PhylllR Shanil; II. |{. tlljcni il. I.urllle Slevrh, Dunithy .Smlih. \ru^\^.\ Thornton: Herbert I.«imiiii. Frnlcrk-k Jtt-»<]- fhaw. Antony C'luno. Krnf.xt Tlie^icrr, J<.'nl- fcr Ulx.' Jack Jl:ilnc, l*)eler ■ rnminiiortfi. June Melville. Ollvn Mllbnurne, Dnrmhy .Smith, HoHemnry Srot(. .Mnrv Monli-i-r, .''hIeiR ThompHon, Daphne Heard, .Michael Darbynhire, VETS SUE CARNEY Syracuse, Aug. 22. Suit for $2,700, charging breach of contract,.has been filed against Ideal Exposition Shows; Inc., by American Legion Post 268 of Oswego. According to the complaint, the (larny failed to keep an Oswego date the week of Aug. 7. N.Y.'s War Fears Despite the failure pt attendance this year to slack up to official ex- pectations, as well as disquieting financial signs and the hints that the city administration might make over the Flushing Meadows fair site into a municipal park, a second year for the New York World's Fair in 1940 appears as likely as ever. Biggest uncertainly is the threat of a Euro- Structural weakness never allows this play to do more than lift its head. A herculean task, it winds a cumbersone way, through 10 .scenes, a mass Of cast and Over a period of about 70 years. But the writers' greatest error, perhaps, is in the play's clo.ser a.ssociation with ships instead of people. A cold vehicle to keep warm. Play attempts to show the progress of the Hamiltons and their great fleet of ships. Interest of the sons is di- verted elsewhere; daughter has the business acumen and carries on the building of the name and its famous liners. This character of Caroline Hamilton requires more than Sylvia Coleridge can give it Play actually develops into a stagewait for the comedy appearances of Ernest The- . siger, as the dyspeptic second son. Cross and Dunn now head the bill at Riley's Lake House, Saratoga, with Jolly Coburn as the band attraction. Others in show include Jay and Lnu I Seller, Evelyn and James Vernon, I and Joan Brandon,