Variety (Aug 1940)

36 VAUDEViLLB Wednesdayt August 14* 194o BURNING AT BOOZE BD. ■ ■■ ;.U y Pittsbat-gh, Aug;/13. Growing resentmfent locally and eisewherb , among; date and restau- rant owners over Mictatorial'/attitude of Stiite Liquor GontM^ result in strong night ciub lobby at next sesMon of Pennsylvania liegis- ■ lature.; Talk of organization is al- ready widespread and is expected to. ■'assume moreconcrete form ill next couple of mbhths, ■ Nitery operators .clairt . endless new r^gul^^^^^ censees are making ! it tougher and tougher for them to rnalt^ a iivirig. Every other week or so, they ipoint out, control:/board comes up with . another one, each tougher than be- fore ahd all diesigned to make; an honest penny .in. the csife .fl^ ■ to" impossible^ v ^ ■ V ■ Latest ruling banning ail rnixing- with customers of house employes, in shovi^ or.. btherwise, has .c se- verely into, severiii spots - Jhere, since it's practically eliminated, the stags, upon whom: hot spdts could count foi" ia great ishare. "of their nightly , receipts. Even the father, of a chorus girl,- under the present law, can't in- vite her .to his table , for a spot -pf food or drink. ■ ■ \ It's : generally agreed that Penni- ^ sylvania licensees are the! toughest in the > country, aind understood, in the trade that this can be traped; .directly to Governor Arthur Janiesi knoyi/n to be. aii ardent dry. COLONIAL, DET., PLANS VAIiplRpMPTION Good boxoflice during the past season has prompted the return 'Of a stage show poiiey for the Colonial theatre* Detroit, starting Sept. 22. Riay- Schreiber,. exec with th^ Mid- west Theatres, Iiic., of which the Colonial is a link,: and Sol Berns, bookVt with the cirduit, are coming to New York Aug; 19 toi sfet talerit. The New York end, of the booking is being handled, by Charles Allen, long associated with Berns as hijj Gothamirep.: : Presentlyy the policy of the house is straight pix. Last season was the first for the Colonial With ^regular stage shows, - (SS BOOKING . A.rtiericah. Guild of ;yariety Artists has won- an award; of $4,304 a ' dispute . with .Cheistier Ki Canning and the defunct Iriternational Ca- sino,; in a ruling. handed down by: thie • American Arbitiration- Assn over claims for back isailaries. Con- tract virith- Canning,: as . operator of the Broadway nitery,. called .foj ac bitration. of . disputes; ; , Award involved: salary for:. 37, chorusers ($45 and $50 a: week), and ia.prinGipals ($100 to,$600 a week), pius> S% interest. Cahning claimed some of the performers involved signed". releases, but thait .Wai dis- allowed by the arbiters. However, the management waS; not held to strict application of an agreement : to -give a week's notice of intention not to pipk up the bast's •contracts for an additional \ four weeks. When the Casino closed, the . cast was paid oft -by checks, ^ on which payment was ; subsequehtiy stopped. r ^Philadelphia^ Aug. 13^ The court battle over who is to: run the swanky Arcadia Restauriant Wound up. in thev'appoiritm^irtt of a. federal' receiver.. Wednesday . (7). Federai Judge Guy k. Bard nanied Francis E. Webster, credit nianeigei; of' Abbo tt's /Dair ies, the coW-juice coiicei'h being a heaVy creditor With $10,519 in unpaid bills; Webster re- placed; ainother receiver ., appointed Week .ptevipus; by Common Pleas Court and will be the official boiiii^ face, for 14 . djays oiily '■ and 'then re port back to. court as to Whether the Arcadia>.: lOng • a fashionable down- town spot, should be continued. ■ NeW receiver' rejiresehts setback for . . Mrs. Anne Kugler Derhaim', daughter of the late! William BOpthby Kugler, prominent^^restaurant figure who took the : cafe, over after it faltered under^ .the : name.. band . and act policy' of Arthuir PadUla. . ' .' : . Harry Tully and John M. Roberts, former associates of Kugler, joinied. in .asking for the new receiver. It was against the; two that Mrs. Der-r ham directed: her suit in Comrnon. Pleas Court on. the ground they had proved. themselves: .'disloyal, friends' of her late father in seeking to, oust her .from control of. the club. < . . :T6 complicate the proceedings fur-; ther, Dayid'D. Goff, attorney for Al- bert M. Greenfield, agent for the Widener ; estate,. Which owns the Arr. cadia. property, tOld Jud^e Bard the "Estate seeks early-, repossession of the premises, -cafe tonipany asseirtedly being $21,()00 - behind, in: rent and ■ nearly $15,000 in arrears in' main- tenance charges for electricity, rie- frigeration artd elevator service. Columbia Artists Bureau,; subisidi- ary- of, Columbia^ network, will book the : Riverside, .Milwaukee,; starting iweek^ of Sept. 6;; MSarks first tintie in hiistory of radio and vaudeville busi- ness that; a .network artiiits bureiaU >viii book a yaude. house. ; Arrangenieht for the booking' was in^de through Riverside theatrie's ad- vertising agency . here,-, Gobdkind, Joiee 4^ Morgan. :! ■ M Weisfeldt, for many years niaii- ager of the-Riverside and; Who has: done' an outstanding job of money- making in a situation fra ught .\yith Obstacles^ particularly the lack of: picture product, ■ cohtinuies as direc-. tor of the theatre under neW booking setup and is in. conference already ; on first shows, ■which indicate Will include sevieral changes from present policy; • /Herbert i. Rpsehthal; execu- tive head Of''Cplumbia :Artists, Was in. Ghiciago to complete deal along with Newt Elliott, chief of Chicago office of Golurribia Artists. Lew Gbodkihd, /Weisfeldt and Chairles .Scli-werub, ow.nei' pf ;prop- ertyj , indicated .that hpuse will be booked out. bf Chicago ofTice .of (Co- lumbia Artists, by Nan Elliott,; with New York also handling for eastern attractions... :■■> SOUTH SEAS MOTIF SPREADING FURTHER Hont« Proser-Walt«f Batchelor, who operate Beachcomber niteriei on Broadway and in Boston, the Zombie at the World'i Fair and the La Conga in ifloUywood, will open two riiore Beachcomber spoti. One wlU be in ; Miami Beach and will preem in time for the winter son, the other Is to .tihshutter short- ly In Providence. ■• '.' '.' ^ (''^ . : ■ They're . also looking for an east side New York spot along the same South Sea . idea. Proser is addi- tionally partnered With Batchelor, talent agent, in the operation Of the Stamford . (Conn.) Community thea- tre, a. istrawhat. 2 Vaude Spots Resume in Cafe Society Sets Uptown Branch . Opening of Cafe Society Uptown, 57th St. branch Of the Greenwich Village, N/Y!, spot, has been set for Sept. 27. Jack Guilford, former m.c at the downtown Cafe Society and currently ,' , 'Meet .' the. People/, legiter, in San Francisco, will handle the reins of the new setup.. Rest Of . the show. will be moved up from the. Village and .will include Albert Am- mon.s, Meade ; Lux Lewis, Goldeh' :Gate; . Quartette and. Hazel Scott. Same boogie-wobgie music ; policy will prevail at both spots. '. Pete Johnson and Joe Turner will t-emain in . the Village, while Billie Holliday, Who Was there some time ago,' will be brought back. Small name band is also, being'talked for. • one or the other'of the niteries. . ' . IJhiladelphia, Aug. 13. Vaude returns to this locale soon at twO indie houses. Fay's here and the ToWers, Camden, N.J., but War- ner Bros., is evidently still adamant in its stand against the musicians union's demands. Camden house resumes stage shows Aug! 23, while Fay's relights Sept. 7; Latter house " operated and booked by Eddie Sherman, who also buys the shows for the ToWers. Jnd'ie Carmen here has.been oper- ating with vaude throughout the summer. Milwaukee, Aug. 13. Buying costly newspaper space to advertise the fact that its ace at- traction is out of its show is. sonie- thing unique in nitery.; promotion, yet this is. ^xactly what Old Heidel- berg, a; suburban roadhOuse, is • do- ing. In its. paid . space, the nitery announces: 'Due to illness,: Donna Lu Pae will not be here, for sev- eral weeks.' OPENING PERSONAL APPEARANCE TOUR AT QRIiENTAL THEATRE. CKlC^ \\ (Week August 9) Direction: DANNY GRAHAM CHI AGVA FAILS TO ' Chicago, Aug. 13. Membership meeting called Thurs- day ' (8) by local American Guild Variety Artists for. purpose of nom- inating a new executive secretary is the second session which had tb disband without conducting business. Less than 10 /paid-up menibers at- tended.-; ■ liBlame. for small, attendance. Was laid -tb: heat by .Officers. • ; Temperature has been over 100 in Chicago- • for past couple . w^^^ Thursday it was 85. 3-DECkER AMUS. CENTER? ',; '.';'■.' Atlantic City, Aug. 13.; .• On July 28 Mayor Tom Taggart and 50. cops descended' on Club Haf f lem, Wonder Bar and Belmpnt Club, three niteries With gambling rooms on the side,'and captured 32 prison- ers and three truckloads of gaming paraphernaiiai, . Last Thursday (8) the Mayor went back to the same places With a group bf detectives, broke in and found brand new gam- ing equipment had been installed and apparently the': places were ;feady to open up for biz again. New gadgets were taken to City Hall and broken up, but ho prisoners, caught.. • Mayor, is avpWiedly 'burned up' at presence, of men With crirninal rec- ords around; local night spots.. He hurriedly founded up 17 of them, in- cluding several night ;spbt pro- prietors, ^ ' Max (Bdo-BPp) HbfT, former Philadelphia night club/lumiiiaiy, is put Uridier $5,000 bail as material wit- ness in latest gaming raid. 'Nig' Rosen, another , Philly nightspptter, is being sought; Mayor announced. Spanisli Refugees Plaii Cinema- NUery-Vaude Spot In Mexico City • Mexico City, Aug. 13. Spanish political refugee interests are arranging to e.stablish in a prom- inent local downtown spot a three- decker amusement center, the first flpor to house a cinema, the second a European style cabaret and the third: a sort of cpntinental vaude- ville shPw. The center is to be knoWn as Magerit,. the Arabic name for Miadrid, it is expected to get going in midrwinter, ,v . - - 15YEARSAGO (Frovi Variety) Stage-struck youngsters were on the increase, and they: Were willing to pay ;. high as $1,000 to take courses in, theatrical schools. Indie vaude agents predicted that there would be over 200 U. S. the- atres, available for acts during the fbiHhcPming s.<;aspri. A blanket injunctiPri against nite- ry activities was possible for Texas Guinan following her latest brush with the authorities. " ' ' Vaudeville as an English product Was on the: wane, said William Mbrr ris, upon his returri from Britain. He summed it all-up by stating that American talent was the itieans^to keep the field alive there. . . . ; ^; Vaude .biz was io big that Bert LeVty was planning the addition pJE another agenting office. Levey was just prie. Of-, many agents riluUing a similaf. prpcedure, ■and for :the same reason. '.',; V British, yaude managem were willing to forgive Frank Van Hoyeri for broken ^ contracts. The result Was that the magiciaii-comedjan was. set for 22 weeks' j ' Margalp .Gillmore chosen for 'Thie : Green Hat'; rpie originated "by Ann • Harding, Who remained under A.;H; j Wobds' management and was to ap- : pear In 'The School. Mistress.' "■■ Saranac Lake By Happy Benway Saranac, N. Y., Aug! 13. Jphn Demp-sey, Who stage manages the, Fenway, Boston, !Mass., liere lot balance of s.Ummei: Ipr . o. and checkup. The Nat (Mprris Office) LefkO witzes are. creating a disturbance amongst the Lake Colby Camp Inter- mission fish; the rtiissus landing the fish While Nat is landing ai tan. Pauline Russell, Who came here years' agO: as' an entertainer and ozoned . for two years, is now the matron and housekeeper of one of the leading cottages. ^ She- was for- merly of the sister team of Hastings and'Russell. Ernie Wilcox,. Who claims to have tooted a sax with. Paul Whiteman years ago, here lor a general check- up. .:' ■ ;■ . .. The O. J. Bach shows, which Fair- grounded it here for a week, didn't click. Rained out the first three nights, while the bluenoses put .the damper on ;mbst everything the" last three nights. Francis Dee, hoofer, who' l>acked some, of this ozohing trouble at one -time, was recently admitted into, the U. S. Army. . William Headley, Wilmington,; Del;, ex-theatre . manager, here for . an examination. ';';;. ' Pete Miinn, who at one time was with the Mike Sack show, camping on St. Regis lake. \^ .■. / • / William (Duk^) Duquette, form with Ray Karn's orch. is now tooting the tuba' with the local; tbwn band: Nifty comeback for a; once : very sick boy, . :■:■■■ - ■'; .■ . Bob Fournier, singingv waiter at the Birches hiteryV called to Syracuse to attend the f.unei'al pf .his brother. Cblpijy. ,would; like to hear .from Chris Hagedoi^n;: Al. Bbrner.^ Bpbby Hatz and: FriscP DeVere. V Write ;!to those who- are ill.. ■ m WRY. Variety Kevue Theatre Assn., which If the layman group set up by Mayor LaGuardia back . in 1937 to regulate burlesque, evidently ha» the power to; stop showmen who plan to ent^r the field, or reopen t former house of that type. This jj evident by the assopiation's refusal to admit to meiTxbership Harlem Shows, Inc., involving Sidney Gor. dan and Dave Rosen, who. want to reopen thie Tribbrp theatre on :125th streets as a burlesk spbt (or 'Follies^' as now politely called in New York)! Association requires that each member .th(eatre post a $1,000 cash bond to., insure its living up to « nrvoiral codie; also another initial'$SO0 for q(Uarterly expenses, of adminis. tering the code, ' The 'expenses' ate: replenished each quarter, tht amount depending on'hbW^.niuch i« spent., If a house is:. found delin- quent, "or violating the : code, it is. fined. Latter comes but of the bond and goes into the general, or ex- pense fund..; Theatre must .immedi- ately kick in the amount of the ftnt so that there's :a.lWays a full $1,000; bond , on hand. . In. turning down Gordart and Rosen/-John G. McCohnack, who U. secretary of ' the assbciatiori, stated thai the :nix Was due. to the Associa- tibn*s : belief . thi?it the neighborhood was not suitable for burlesk, and that the house. was bne of those Which put on undesirable shows in the past, He emphasized that neither Gordan Rosen were: personally invplved in: the turndown, adding that relationships with Rosen, who , once managed the TribOro,, were al- ways good. ; Without; admission to the.: associa- tion, no burlesque theatre can get : a; permit from ..License Commissioner Paul Moss, Who pulled the original purge on burlesque, a^t the behest oif Mayor LaGuardia. ' Result: is , that. Gordah ahd Rosen have asked th« association for;a hearing, which Mc- Cormack stated will be granted soma time next: Week, .when other mem- bers of the association return from vacations. Board ih full is comprised of City Magistrate Jphn F. X. Masterson, chairnriart; Harry Zeitz, v.p. of Mar- tin's department store; John G. Wil- cox, who is with Iron Age, trade paper; Col. G: Ci Afckerman, Of the 101st . Cayalry .Regiixie'nt, National Guard, and McGormack,. who is a Brooklyn'lawyer. -"^ : ^ :• ; : In actuality, the association is th* only layman group of censors in New York powerful enough to crimp a theatre project. JOEY FAYE OWES $2,191, FILES IN BANKRUPTCY . Joseph Faye;Palladiho, jcomedian,: known as. Jpey Faye, who, with Mandy Kaye, replaced Abbott fiid Costello in the 'Streets of Paris' at the N. Y.: World's Fair, filed a vol« untary petition of bankruptpy in N.: Y federal court Saturday (10), list- ing no assets and liabilities of $2,191. Faye, is employed by Merle Amuse- ment corp. (Mike Todd) and aver* that from August, .1938, to August,: 1939, ;he earned $1,800, . ;afid. fro.in . August,. 1939, to date, $2,500. Among creditors - Harold, Minsky,. Gaiety: theatre,; N. Y.; $50; Edward Sherman, Inc., $500; Sam H. Harris Theatrical Enterprises, Inc., $200;- RUdy Vallee Orchestra Units Corp. and Rudy Vallee. $150; Henry Souvaine, Iric.T '$77; Merle Amus. Corp., $175, all on monies borrowed. WALTER (Dare) WLLY ROSE'S TRISCD AQUACADE LEE ILOMAY CHASE HOTEL, ST. LOUIS, MO^ IMreiHon:—NAT kAI.CHKl.M. U'llllnm Morris .Agwcy