Variety (Jan 1940)

Wednesd ay, Januar y 3, 1940 Thirly.fourth VARIETY Anniversary CHATTER 161 Broadway n S Moss favored AUanlic City /nr New Year's. fTnlversal held a big shindig at Uie .."or Friday (29). *1 Sind)in«cr, March ot Time s pub ,hkf. bedded by flu. <s Jay Kaufman is behind a new Bubllshing u.;derUking. Max Gordon went to Florida, but Is dSe back late this week. Walter Rcadc to California to al- lend opening of SanU'Anita , racing Ht^ Year's day. Jim Dunne of the Rivoli bedded ^llii a bad cold picked up during Christmas holiday. Mrs Jack Mclnerney, wife of the -Mhlic'itv-ad director, of the Para- Sounl out ot bed after a long illness. Stuart Stewart, now associated »iih Rosalie Stewart, his sister, in the agenting field on the Coast, due eart shortly Roy Limbert bought West End riahls of 'Dead Heal.' by Sir Robert '■ Vansitlart, dear .set by Eric Glass. I Play first done at Malvern Fes'iival. i Barry O'Brien, who is louring Mac Calto;s 'They Walk Alone.' made ■ offer for touring rights of author's I other play. 'Punch Without Judy,' current at the New. Stanley M.iy is also dickering. j Warner Bros. (London) has signed ; Sid Fields, r0vue comic touring sticks under Will-iam Henshell man- | agcment, to star in picture. Contract i calls for one pic with several op- | tibns. After having acquired seven Par- I amount house.s, O.scar Deutsch now ; dickering for three'more. These arc Paramount, Tottenham Court Road, and one in Glasgow and Birming- ham. Penelope Dudley-Ward, society gal who turned film actre.ss, wed to Tony Pclli.ssicr. son of Fay Compton and H. G.' Peli.ssier iwho founded the first Follies .show). Bridegroom is in the Royal Engineei's. Jack dc Leon transferring his modern dre.ss 'Julius Cae.sar' produc Hollywood planning Manhat- Boh Palmer nursing flu. Nat Carr recuperating from heart attack. Pat O'Brien bedded with bron- chitis. Joan Crawford tan vacation. Jack Kouvclis in from Australia on lour of U. S. Jamo.<: Hone in town for- huddles with indie llioalie. owners. Mickey Rooncy readying for Honolulu vaoalion. Clark Gablo rcciiporaling at home after .sie.ne ot laryflKitis, Joel McCrcas sore throat halted .shoolinR (It The Primrose Path' at : RKO. I . Harrison C."rroll limping i sprained ankle. Edward Schcllhorn back I after six-week battle with ' fee; ion. Literati on a to work eye in- roe vS°bnhe''& ''of At the former he also will stage, in vice . place left vacant B. L. Allen, H B MacKenzie, Western Electric manager in Argentina, back to U.S. for prolonged vacation. Sails back for Buenos Aires Feb. 15. Al Spink is agenting the Coast : company of 'The Man Who Came i to Dinner." John Montague being p.a. for the Chicago company. • Robert L. Graham-, Paramount I manager in Panama, arrived Thurs- : day (28) for homeoffice huddles. I Likely he'll be assigned another , foreign post. i Cli/r Hied. »."=socialc producer for] RKO, in for a couple werk.s' .stay | catching the legilcrs. He just | finished work on 'Saint's Double j Trouble'. I James O. Stack, one-time director and v.p. of Ihe Ritz-Carlton. former em. of the St. Regis, elected director and'prcz of the Rilz, succeeding the late Albert Keller. Henry Holms of the RKO home office auditing'department has been appointed cashier of the company to succeed David Thompson who died two weeks ago. ■ Joe Hummel, Warner Bros, for- eign manager, expected back in New York some time this month from South America, where he has been for about six weeks. Talk that 'Streets of Paris' may go on the road shortly, with Smith and Dale replacing. Abbott and Costclto, who are bound to New York by radio commitments. Willard Keefe leaving p.a. post •wKh 'Farn> and Three Echoes' to go out ahead ot 'Ladios and Gentlemen. Jean. Dalryniplc may take hi.s. spot with the Ethel Barrymore play. Al Jolson leaves this week for Florida, returning in a couple week.s to Start rehear.sals for new Vinton Freedl€7-Lee Shubert musical in which he'll appear around Easier. VInctnt G. Hart, formerly a mem- ber of the Hays office production code division, has been admitted to' practice before the Federal Com- munications Commission in Wash- ington. Elliston Vinson, assistant to Harry Leiber. RKO's studio publicity chief In Hollywood, in town for home of- fice confabs and the year-end hol- iday. Returning to the Coa.<t this week. ■ Kathryn Walsh engaged to Paul O'Brien. She's si.ster and manager of Mary Jane Walsh; he's .son ot Dennis F. O'Brieh, of O'Brien. Dris- ' coll A Raflery, and is associated with i the firm. ! •Jack Norworlh, stage vet. cele- .brates his 61st birthday Friday (.*>). Hadio salute set with some of his old | •nit tunes including 'Harvest Moo.n.' ; [Take Me Out to the Ball Game' and : 'Good Evening, Caroline.' association with the Daniel Mayer Co., a musical romance, '(Georgian Springtime,' based on the life of Richard Branslcy Sheridan, by Beat- rice Siicll, music arranged by How- ard Carr. Pittsburgh Ky Hal .Cohen Milton's New Daily \ George Fort Milton, Chattanooga, Tcnn., new.spaper publisher whose paper, the Chattanooga NeW's, was allegedly sold from beneath him and .scrapped, is .set to publi.sh a new daily in Ihr.l city. In association with a number of former employees of the News, Milton has formed the Clut- tanoo.';a NowFn;;pcr Corp. to bring out a new afU-inoon paper to be known as tho Evenins "Tiibunc. Allied .wi!h Milton in the project are Alfred D. Mynders. who was as- sociate editor of the News; Hcrry P. Clark. Jr.. mana.-'in;; pditc(r. aiid R.E.. Nicholson, director of circlilation. At the lime the Chaltanoo'ja News suspended rvlv.ication on Dec. l(i. Milton charged the act \v.-!s civ;!- neered by a number of slockholdt'r.s in behalf of a..rival i3ubli.-.her. Australia By Erie Gorrick Mahoney entertaining local staying' away Will troops. Exhibs !n general from giveaways. Only war pic to cop any major coin of late is Par's 'Bieau Geste.'. Switzerland Ice Show routed to New Zealand for Williamson-Tait. Charles Chauvel going ahead with '40.000 Horsemen' for Universal dis- trib. Night clubs generally continue to pull good biz in Sydney and Mel- bourne. 'Wizard of Oz' (M-G) hitting a nice pace with kiddie biz over Xmas vacation term. Dave Martin will probably stage a couple of U. S. musicals at the Mi- nerva. Sydney, Ihis month. Continental pix spotted here in- clude 'Maternitc,' 'La Bandera' and 'I Give My Life.' Biz so-so. Regarded as certain that Stanley Crick, former 20th-?Ax chief, will be Sydney's Lord Mayor next year. Aclors' Federation against Wil- liam.son-Tait spotting amateurs in revival of '.-Vrcadians' in Melbourne. In first three months of operation ' the Minerva. Sydney, earned a profit { of $1,200. M.nrlin has a working ar- j ranj^ement with Williamson-Tail for | legit shows. j Barbara Blane. U. S. dancer, re- cently on Tivoli loop, won a $1,000 verdict in .Sydney from Bob Ger- aghly, m.Tnager for Will Mahoney, : on breach of contract, i Syd Gresham, Aussie rep for A.s- ; sociated Talking- pictures,- to wed ■ Lola Kelly, New Zealand radio Gc-ne Kelly, of Time of Your Life,' holiday wcck-cndcd with his family here. The Saal Goltlieb.s, of the Metro office, are vacationing in Atlantic City. Phil Levanlls two-week stretch at Bill Green's extended for an addi- tional two. Johnny Lons's mother up from Charlotte, N. C, for a brief visit with the mae.slro. The Harry _Field.ses (.she's half of dance Aeam of Libcrto and Owens) are expecting an heir. NiizA and Ravel had to cut short Nixon Cafe run on account of her father'.s' death in New Tfork. Steve Rodnenck, Jr., son of the Oakmont exhib, comin<! along all right afler- an appendectomy. Pest-Gazette columnist Charlie Danver and Marie McDermott had the knot lied Friday (29). Dave Rose flew in from the Coast I to. spend the holidays with the I missus," Martha Raye. i Ted Blake spent his first New Year's at home in 16 years. He's always been on the road at that time. Al Ritz Kitted Piccolo Pete's band with an extension of their Club I Petite contract. Outfit's been there I IS weeks now. I Lyricist-sketch writer Alex Kahn in for short stay from east with news that he's peddled .some skits to Leon- ard Sillman for "New Faces.' SL Louis By Sam X. Hurst star. Baltimore By Howard A. Burman London T..eon Back to the Coast for a brief visit to his in-laws. Morris Mechanic leading Ihe local show coi\tingent to Florida. Hope Barioll off to the Eastern Shore for duck shooting. Fred Sticff in charge of the an- nual E.scofTier dinner menu. Ed Perotka taking command of annual Variety Club shindig. Eddie Sherwood mulling slint as foreign nc^w.s commeiflator for one of local stations. T.,eonard 'Chum' McLaughlin in a whirl with two shows. John ines and a cold on his hands. Bcrnie Seaman and Ted Roulson given a testimonial blowout and lakin.g con.sidcr.ible ribbing for the pleasure. , , j .• Lee Michael promoting local dept. store for extra heavy plug via New Year's di.splay windows for hit wcoklv 'Where to Go.' •Judge' Max (Oasis) Cohen host- ing pals from show biz, newspapers, raim —: sports and politics in the celebrated .G«.rge Black-sent over parly of ; backroom of his nilery New Year's fly. '. Ralph Coram an officer in the uie eotps. ■■ Sean O'Casey has written a new play. The SUr Turns Re*.' The Bare Idea' set for the Com- .edy, with Ellen Pollock in lead. Be.st setter A. G. Macdonell firiish- new play, 'Caledonian Market." Teddy Joyce goes into Bradbury- PraUs.botlVe club, Kit-Cat. for run. Louis Dreyfus vetoed revival of ^.Jfc Time,' planned by I-ee Eph- . Black' sent over parly "ra^e Iroops Beatrix Lehipann contemplating Broadway^jffer to play lend i4i 'They ' o»j '° Niven doing a hideaway, anq even executives of United tSS Mn't find him. wwJi- Carr, joint managing di-. rector o£ United Artists-(London) in /loipital for minor operation. . Sigmund Freud left $115,000 de- sPUe the popular idea that the Nazis "?? «on(iscated all his property. •■j,'^,']?"-.,, Buchanan turned down vjudeville dates to play for the irwps in France during Christmas. AJhambra theatre. Belfast, de- ■i.;J|ye^ by fire. Originally a music It had been a picture house for "■e past, nine years. oih^'^P" cinema, which has spe- :!*"fe<i in foreign films, has had a nn»w "i appointed. House clo.sed al outbreak x>i war, after five years. '.^ny Moment Now.' Princeton U's Triaiiijle Club mitsical, attracted SRO biz at opera hou.se in Municipal Au- ditorium. A dozen natives arc mem- bers of company. Sophie Tucker, itu Shapiro. Joe Richman and orc^^nd Capella & Beatrice were attractions for New Year'.-- Eve party al Club Chase. First local showing of 'Gulliver's Tiavcl.s' w;i.« to 100 .kiddies in Shrin- cr's Hospital. Fanchon & Marco ar- ranged showing. Charles Munch. French maestro, m'.s.sed American debut as guest con- I diic'.or with local >yinph becau.se of • delay in reaching -America from ■ France. Vladimir Golschmann, reg- i ular leader, who was skedded for a i short vacation, carried on. i Tommy Dorsey's band. Bill Robin- '.son. Bonnie Baker. Lillian Roth and • other vaiide ac',.-- have be«>n booked i for .annual American Retailers' Assn. ■to be held in opera hou.se of Mu- ■nicipal Auditorium Jan. 30-Feb. 5. \ L. Earl S'.epheason is prez of the I Mis.souri Theatre Corp.. recently or- gjinizcd at St. Joseph. Mo. M. Siegel Hies East Hollywood, Jan. I. J. Siegel. Republic studio head, has yonc to New York on his semi- annual jaunt for' production confer- ences with Herbert Yates. He'll, also look over 'the Broadway shows for new talent. Yales accompanies him back to the Coast around Jan. 1.^. in Detroit Val Set-.!, juggler, back in again for Saks show. . .' Frank.Gillen and his songs.in for Hund's Inn date. . Jackie Coogan joined Fifl pOr.say in New' Years Eve bill at the Bowery. , , j Sam Jack Kaufman, longsUnder at Fox here handling the music al Hotel Whittier. . , • , Merle Jacobs, formerly ot tne Cleveland office, heads the new MCA office here. ' George Kelly and Charlie Adler, ot the split Yacht Club Boys, here for Powatan's holiday show. Dick Tewsley is singing wilh maestro Paul Burlon in Cleveland i under the name ot Dick Roland. PEPITONE RE-ELECTED Now Orleans, Jan. 1. Jake Pcpitone was re-elected pre.s- ideul ot the Musicians' Protective Union. Local 174, of the AF of M :al the annual clRctibn here Friday (291. Other ofiicers named were ': Dave Weinstciii, vice-president; Robert Agui.lera. Sr., recording sec- i relary; R. L. C'habao. financial s^cte- jtary. and W. B. Miller, sergcant-at- i arm.s. ; I Board of directors was elected as 'follows: Jake Dcdioit, Leo Brocck- ■ hoven, Charles Hartman. Ettore iFoniana. Albert Kirsl, Jr., Jean Pa- qiiay, R. J. Papalia and A. J. Pa- ■ palia. Delegates named to the AFM . convention are Pepitone, Dcclroit and I Hartmann. Siema ncUa Chi ConlrHl I The best tall stories lold or heard 1 about newspapermen and their work ! will fetch prizes from Sipma Delta i Chi, honorary journalism fraternity, with Lowell Thomas, Irvin S. Cobb and Arthur Robb to serve as judges. First prize will be $25 and an in- scribed gold key: second prize. f]T> and an inscribed silver key; third. $10. and $1 each for the next 10 best. What may be considered a hitch to the compelish is that the submitted talei must contain no libel or ob- scenity. who published the famed Brann's Iconoclast AVilliani G. Whitlemore has cjiiit as as.sistant v.p. of the American News Co. after more than 58 years with the company. The American Thesaurus of Slang,' containing around 100,000 expres- sions, is to be published'by CrowtU. i in the spring. I William LaVarre sailed for South ■ I America with his wife and daui[;hler i to gather material and take pix for I a book on. Venezuela. I V/aller V. P.urle will forego scrib- bling for a while and will make his i home in the Virgin Islands in an , efTort to recover his health. I New Look carries picture story on I Dorothy Dix, who has been passing I out advice to femmes through- her i new.-ipaper column for 43 years. '■ She's now in 274 papers. I William Du Bois, of the N. Y. Times, who's had a number of plays produced, makes his bow as a novel- ist with a whodunit. The Case of Ihe Deadly Diary,' to appear this week. His former colleagues on the N.Y. World-Telegram at Christmas .saluted Murdock MacLeod, recently retired at 70, after 31 years of copyrcading. Composing the presentation com- mittee were Douglas Gilbert. Speed' Denlinger and Frederick Wollman. Pubs'- Trade Paper Editors and publi,<-hers ot school and college, publications, club and holise organs, community newspa- pers, fraternal mags and the like, are to have a trade paper devoted to their interests as a result of the de- cision of the new owners of the. Na- tional Printer Journalist to alter that periodical's- policy Burlesque Review CASINO, PITT. Pittsburoli, Dec. 28! 'flri7io On the Girls,' tcitli Mike Sachs, Marlane, Mile. Evalle, Sen- OTita Montez, I. B. Hamp, Beryl Cvffe, Alice Kennedi;, Gertie Beck, . Jack O'Malley, Billy Crooks, Wayne Lightner Publishing Co. of Chicago. Barris, Line (16). which recently acquired the National Printer Journalist from the William- son Publishing Co., is Changing the' name of the pub to the National Am^tteur Journalist.. National Print- er Journalist was e.stablished in 1872. LITERATI OBITS Jefferson D. Burke, 47, former night city editor of the N.. Y. Daily News, died Dec. 27 at Kings Park, tWv^Y. A son of the late John T. Burke, one-time night editor of the old N. Y. Herald, Burke begari his new.spaper career in Paris, wot'king for his father in the French capital's office of the Herald. He was on the staff of the N. Y. Times before going to the News. | Luis Philip Senarcns, 76. dime- ! novel writer who turned out 1.500 ! One Of these days burlevcue's go- ing to awaken to th6 fact that its cus- tomers are pushovers for clean com- edy. It's always been a theory among the peel-wheel clowns that if burlesk j is the medium, then the color must I be blue. Mike Sachs, who's the fea- tured comedian in 'Bring On the Girls,' should know different by now and the sooner his colleagues in the biz recognize the same fact, the bet- ter their chances of surviving, or even moving up. ■ Sachs' first two .sketches, as .sewery as anything that's come alon;; nil sea.son, virtually died. Maybe a few scattered laughs hero and there, but that was all. Then next-to-closing he came but for a comic bit at the piano, brought on his partner, buxom Alice Kennedy, and together they went into a two-act that was strictly vnude, and not bad vaude at that It k^uc ^i^A n«/. M ;„ nr^/.kiun ; turned out to be the bi.ggcst thing in books, died Dee 26 in Brooklyn. | the show and practically stopped the Known as the American Jules, si,ow. There wa.sn't a dir'.y line in Verne,' Senarens wrote under 27 i '.he script pseudonyms. Among (he mo.st What the wheel wits don't .seem to famous ot his Actional creations was I realize is that the boys from the pro- Frank Reade, whose exploiU thrilled ; f?sh who have moved up were es.scn- iuve readers a ha'lt-centurv aco '"""y comics, like Bobby Clark. ]uve reaaers a nan ceniury ago. . p^^j Silvers, Abbott and Costdlo, Newton C. Parke, 51, newspaper-j Joey Faye and Peanuts Bohn. Per- man and former war correspondent, haps a bit on the double -rnteiuire died Thursday (2«) in a iiinth-storv I side, but never anything out-and- phinge from a Washington, D. C, I ou' {fom the lavatory a.s ihc cnrrt-nl hotel A war correspondent for ; Jj^^^^^ f ^-^Jo ^ --e lernational , News Service, he also ^jide from Sachs' single^ .specialty, served the United Press and such I some first-rate acrobatic dai)cin« by new.spapers as the Baltimore Sun. ■ an attractive, frcsh-Iookfng Ingenue N. Y. Herald Tribune and Washing- | named Bcrryl Cuffc, and a bit of ton Post. Mr.<i. Chnrloftr Annie Kimhcrlcy, 62, known as The Queen of Melo- drama,' died Dec. 27 in London. She authorexl more than 40 novels, ihe best knowp of which were 'Little Gray Home in Ihe West' and "Sisters in- Sin.' GeorBe M. Sleejirr, ."iS. owner and publisher of the Mount Holly IN. J.) Herald, died Dec. 26 in thi.t city. Ve acquired the paper 20 years ago, after working in its mechanical de- partment. CUrfc II. Stover, 45. author of sev- er'al books and a"former director of WPA writer projects in several mid- west states, v.;:: found fatally in- jii:ed Dec. 'l-i on a Chlciigo .street i CHATTER Albert Spaldinf-.tl't violinist, work on his anlobiog. Henry Frederick Kern. Jr., the • scribblci', has a bride, the former ^ane* MacRenzie. George C. Handy, piiblisiier of th<!. Ypsilanti- (Mich.) Daily Press, on a cruj.se to Chile wit'h wife and daugh- ter. James Donahue, of. Kelly-Nason, on a South Americim crui.^c. He han- I dies Grace Line publicity thioiit;h ' K-N. Jack L. ilart is gbtlitriiig diita for !■ biog of Willitiin Cowper Biann, okay hoofing from a yoljngster who I may be either Billy Crook.s. Wayne I Barris or Jack O'Malley—he's never I identified—'Bring On the Girl.s' is a ' pretty dreary unit. Whoever the , hoofer is, however, lad can wis.'.-or Ihe accordion specialty or eliminate it altogether. He's not so hot on the, : squeeze-box and it merely reduces ; Ihe reaction to the other deparlmcnt j in which he excel.s. Strippers are a liability. Marian*?, I who's'featured, is a looker all risht. : a big, .sex-appcaling blonde, but .she's . on and off so quickly^ leaving a com- pletely negative imprc.'.sion. that no- body's quite sure she was present at. all. Gal billed as Senprita Mnnlez at ie.nst makes a preten.sc of knowing what's expected of a peeler, but Ihe' remaining, member oC the, peeling threesome, Mile. Ev^tte. is also a^ blank. Another thing burlesk should learn is to cut the old hoke about i 'foreign importations.' Casino pjt. is at I u.scs up a lot of white paper hailing ! the Gallic background'of Evel'ie and ' the Latin beginnings of Manlez, only to have Ihcm step out in sketches and speak in ,-iccents ranging from ■ Brooklyn to Tent!) avcnoo. If they're i .supponod "to be furriners. lea.st they ' canido is keep their mouths shut • Other comic is I. B. Hamp, who.se humor is entirely physical and diill ! most of the way, while the chorus I.t i typical of most burle.stiiic lines. Gals' '.-ipirils m.ay be willing, but their legs : are weak, and tho.se would-be pie- ci.sion routines have all of the snap I (if a regiment that's been on the inarch for several nights. ColM-n.