Variety (Oct 1940)

Wcdnesdayr Octoiier 2/ l94c& CHATTER 61 James Proctor press agent for Yid- dish Art Theatre. Lester Siantly adding another room lo JSiS'hbuse at: Atlantic Beachi- — Catherine Jolihson back this week to join Chic and ♦Hellzappppin.' Jake Lubin made his iSrst visit ilnce June to his office at toew's early this week. „ John Maion Brown, drama critic of the Post, beiiig booked lor lectures on'Broadway in Review.' ; , George CLefty) Miller started cele- brating his 25th wedding anhiver^ary last wee*- Still celebrating. - ^ ^Henry HuU's^oungest soHi Shel-. lev stage manager ol 'Second Help-, due at HUdsbn Oct JO; ■ Georgci Roth, assistant to Harry Goetz, annoimced .engagement last week to Vivan Scahdron, non^pro. V, Harry Schumer tossed . . -dinner party in honor of recently arrived grandcbildreh at Cafe Lpyale last -friday.:(27)..- Andy "Who silently backs ^dependent theatre operation in the east has developed a hdbbuy can- ■■ ning .peaches. ■• ;■■ Agent Bill Dozier due In New 'ITork from the. Coast around .Od 15 . for a look at the plays ieind other --new-material. -. :■ :■ Mrs. Rufus Le Maire and Mrs. Edith iSIinohs will be the guests <rf Mrf. Buddy De Sylva ; for the Tanama Hattie' prwhiere. : Carl Erbe meriely p.a.ing^ the new Miami Beachcomber; Aiobt in/behalf of Monte Proser, and \i hot in for a piecie thereof; as previously teported. Joe Bernhard, Warner'^ general theatre Qperatbr, made'ai memher of the advisory . committee of the New Jersey Defense Council by Gov. Moore. Otto Bolle, 20th-Fox manager- for South Africa, in U. S. for hpmepffice. huddles, hais'gone to Detroit for vai- cation and visit to friends there. He formerly headquartered in Detrpit. Joe SheiB, of . United Artists exr ploitation department, ^and officials . of .Interstate . Theatres^ Texas,. ; te- ceived gold cigaret lighters Monday (30) from Samuel Goldwyn for work on /Westerner' opening. Bob Milfprd will be bompiEmy: manager of 'Hi'ya Gehtleinen.' the Alex Aarons-Bob Ritchie musical that: will have Max. Baer .in the cast. Harvey D.; Gibson seiit out formal thanks to press for the 'success of the . Fair,' parrying seal . of the . WoirldVFair cbrpoiration'. . Cafe iSociety Uptownj hew 57th ptreet branch of the Greenwich Vil- lage hitery, which debuts next Tiies- , (Wf: (8)» will have li 'Columnist Room* on the second floor exclu- ilvely fPr use of . Fourth Estaters, equipped with typewriters,, copy-! paper, i>hones:i and a : buzzer for : z Officers of the Warner club for the . coining year, chosen at annual meet- ing. Of the board of governors, in- clude Nat D. Fellman, . president; Martin Bennett, Bernard GPodman, Harry Mayer, F. L. Gatis, v;p.'s; Mbert : Salomans, treasurer; Sam WPlowitz, assistant treasurer, and /' Stuart Hi Ajirons, secretary. NeiUIaTeii v By Harold M. Bone dpck^exhUSirSvith^ivietheatre^^ Portland, Me. The. Johnny Joneses (he's ye olde ' yme; dance'; impresario) celebrating 37 years of marriage. . W;arners screened 'Khiite Rockhe' ;pr Jock Sutherland and his Brobk- yri Dodgers pyeinyeekend.-^^^—— Dscar Levant flew. in frPm New York few days agp tO: spend some ime with his ailing mother^ .. • . Bassist Jack Kalish has quit Billy Yates' band for a single spot atXen- mar hotel in New Kensington.. ' Jimmy Balmer- flew , down to VTiew < Orleans to help get 'Icecapades' stiarted north again. It's due here in •lovember. Frances Burke,. Miss Arnterica . of 940, making personalis at The Gar-: dens, tiiis week in connectioii .-with Boiler Derby. V ■ Jerigr Kurtz; Libby Holman's/ iac- coinpanist last season in' 'Burlesque,' jack hPme to finish Course , at Car- negie Tech draiha. school. Geprge King^s wife, Helen Honan, stage niimic; .uniable ' to accompany >and ;;leader ' here. She'ii in New York recuperating from an operation. Arena Sii.hday vaude a heavy click. _^ Burt Shevelbve again directs Yale Dramatic Assri. New Haven Symphony Orch scheduled a full season of concerts Bill Reisinger's Bijou in for ih- other siege of bne^day (Saturday) ■ vaude. ■■ - Boyd Smith back at Vale drama _school-postt-^fter--»-sumnier-^^ Maine farm; Convention of New England Ma glCians* Clubs brPught 250 hocus pocusers here. ;., ■ Nate-Rubin-^ls -flirting ^Ith -si-re- turn date; at hosp due to lingering effects of injury. _Shubert has . preem of 'Second flelpmg'^set for Oct. 7-9 and Tins and Needles' cbmes in Oct. 10-12. Ruth Gordon, Thoirhtbn Wilder and Elsa Lanchester/ (Mrs; Charles Laughtbn) In for a look at ^George Wa^ngtoh Slept Here.' : . Cnianning Pollock is slated to at tend performance of his 'The Enemy, ^^'^^ Blackfriars' Guild Oct. 28-29. . ";'.--/v- ;■ Walter Pritchard Eaten is gather- ing between, cbveirs a group Pf radio scripts written by his stiides at Yale orama school. ; By Hal Cohen Al Mercur Ibokintr for a dbwntbwn location .forJt>is_subittbanJ>Jut. House ^ Mother of Havey Boyle, sports i^di- of Post-Gazettei died last week at 80. • . M-G explbiteer Charlie Baron's PeKe won two ribbons in a local dog .mow.-;- ■ ■ V_Singer Billy Leech and his missus ■J^ >stening to the fla^^^ of stork's rtJ^ Maganotti has Joined Carlo fiSeJa* management of the ?*|n.Hahauet, Be^Ver- Falls exhib, " -i^'«d-m a-faU iwhiiriHspeetlnirhis- ^ new theatre. Gray Carpenter, son of the Brad- B^way at .Cpntlnaed from pace 1.. : he number of tickets fpr hits than :is allotted them. v;>';,. The incoming march bi .mUsicials is proceeding on ; schedule, . w^ straight plays . lag, reasons; ascribed being either 'f a ; lack: pf production mPney or scarcity of scripts.- If it is :he fonner, there should be. a; spurt during the fall; period, what with he. nearness of a; satisfactory agree-, ment between Hollywood and Broad- way which Will, agaiii find' picture money flriaricing legit prpductipn;; Jblsph'a $36,AM, Advance ; That the siiirge of patronage to the theaitreis is no fltike is/clearly indi- cated by the advance sales. Althovigh Hold On tp Your Hats' (Al, Jblson) has played only . three weeks, . the advance sale pf tickets is weU over $30,000. Biggest advance is fpr Louisiana Purchase,' the cbiuit being more than $50,000. It; has. eairhed >ack its prpductibn Putlay bf apprbx- imately $90,000. Among the straight plays, Tafe With Father' has an ad- vancie Pf $15,000, which is considered phenomenal tor a show-: during its Second season. :■:.:•■ •■-.•■;';;: ■ ;'.'.Seven' $4.40 Masicals;. ■ The number; of musicals, with a $4.40 top price'is. one of the season's: most interesting developments. There will be at least seven shows at that scale on the : list.,. Currehtly the four-fortyers are: 'Boys and- Girls Tpgether' (Eld Wynn), which opened at the Broadhurst yesterday (Tues- day), ♦Du: Barry Was a Lady,' 'Hats' and; 'Purchase.'; Othiers; similarly scaled due in are 'Panama Hattie,' 'Ypur Pal Jbey'; and 'Hiya Gentlie- men.' . Last Spring , Broadway ;C0uld not /support half that many highr scaled; musicals, two. ('Higher' and Higher* arid 'Keep Off the Grass') siispending. It was 'evident that the shows were not good enoughj how- ;ever, .for 'Higher- tried to resume; and folded quickly, . while.' 'Grass' never commanded reail business and disappeared completely. Despite those fiiiysi 'Purchase' .caihe along aiid / has been the top grosser since the start. . . Reports from the road are on. the upgrade also. -Although few attrac- Gregg Toland liud up with flu. Joseph Scherick In from the east. Prank Capra vacationing in Ore- 'gbn;;--7—-7—; ;v~-:-^--—:--r'—; ;- Jack Benny motored in from Chi- cago.; ; Donald Crisp back from an Alas- kan crifise. - ,-■ Ricardb Cbi-tez takinjg time off for the World S.erieis. Terry Howard east tb. open 20- wbefc.'vaHde-tpur. "■;■■■;.. ■■ ,; S. Sylvan Simon Checked in alter si Honolulu siesta. ; Hedy Lainarr granted a divorce frPm. Gene .Markey. : .- j. J. Nolan back to work aftei- a Connecticut vacatiori. John Barrvmore ;fiied suit; for, di- vprce from: Elaine Barrie. ■ Karl Esmond changed his scr^efj name to Charles Esmond. ' :; John Gbhh. trained in frorh New York tb ogle hew-product. , Sarh.Hellmah Vacationing from his writing chore at 20th-Fox. . . Teet Cairle shifted from .the Metrb publicity staff to Paramount. :. Arthur . Horman to Mbritrieal to script ia Canadian production, ; ■■■■ Rpbert Montgomery laid up . with; flU: while. RKO shot around him.. . Jon Hall and Frances Langford go. east in two wieeks for a stage toiiri . Dave Werner .lirnping - on;; 'i, isfiirained ankle, the reisult of a istudio fall.;- ■-;;■•.■.::;■■;■■:-■■'• ■ ■ Nat; Pendleton heading east. for stage - appearances: after, seven years at Metro. ^ - Sam Goldwyn back from- New Ybrk where he took care; of legal questions. ; Edward ; Small; returned Irom a business ; .and play-bglihg trip Xo New York. ., Ann; Pehningtori doing a darice se- quence inThe Bad Man From Rio' at Universal,. Mervyh Leroy back froiri Broad- way,; where he ogled* stage plays aS possible screen, material". " Cniarles 'Crrapewih plans .his: first, trip to Manhattan in 16 years when he .finishes his current film job next :Week. ''-. Four oldtinie names, Maurice-Cos- ttellb,. Wyhdham Standing, Rosemary Theby and Ann Luther, are playiiig in 'Tin Pan Alley' at 20th-Fox. : ,Guhhar . Norberg,. former • New York .arid Chicago . mag editor, . has .become publicity .rep fbi: the Carmel Playhouse,-operated by Edward G. Kuster. . Spot - offers occasional legit productions, second-irun: domestic pictures and foreign ;imports. . Kinr Features . DenfcB Report that the verdict recently won in N. Y. supreme court by Mrs. Mrytle Segar, widow of the creatpr of the ■ 'Pbpeye' ;cbmic strip,; against King : Features ■ syndicate - would ampuht to.;$i200,000; is \denied- by at- torheys; for the defendant,.. who aiSr sert tiiat the figure to be decided by countries from the; times of Dickens ■to the.presenti.^ •■ ■ - Benchley-4s^-starred -.ih-^:he-^ short- fllms, which Herman has. scripted.;; Rnmania'a Press Curbs \ ; The RumMian goycrnmerit's anti- Seniitic drive has rieiacbed the presSi . with a new; goVernrricnt; orc'er for-? an accbunting will probably total [ bidding Rumanian Jews to .work for not more ;than $5,000. ; Fanny Holtz- i foreipi newspaper or p^^ mann, attorney for the -plaintiff, esti- 1 The edict affects ■ three veteran Ru- mates that; the; $200,000 amount may ' tnanian newspiapernicn; one of whorh prpye as. correct ' ^ Is Eiigen Kbvacs, Cbrrespondent .for According to, the : ;Hbarst : (King Features). attprneys, no .. injunction was granted; by Supreme Court Jus- tice; J;;Sidney'.Berhstein; who denied Mrs! ;Segar'a contention;; that she should be held the bwrier-of the cbpyiight to the 'Thimble Theatre' illni; car toon and entitled tb all re- publication, picture, radio,, toy,; stage arid. Other subsidiary rights in- the cartoon or its characters. He ruled that under the contract n^ade by Segar arid Kihg /Peattireis, the fpr- mer's right to be piaid miPney termi- nated ; at :his death, except a;s to; a part;; pi income received, - .after; his death pri cpritracts made by the syn- dicate before; that time on the final contract. tions are. .tourmg, attendance is ex- celleiit, and that indicates that money, being expended for defense is flowing. It had been predicted; that the vast-Speiidihy fpr pre would benefit Brojadway. Jjockridge^ Contlnaed from page I. would be better if, inbre melbdra- iriatic and ;proceeded tb take, piit the light humor.. HoweVer,- it was ofried out at ISkowhegah during the sum- mer arid as soon as Davis; saw it on the boards.; he realized; hp had made: a .-mistake;, . His deisirc now is; to do it oyer with the comedy touches of the;book.:.; ■■■'.•.■;■;:•/-->.■.' Harris, . who; has specialized in melier mysteries, also saw the s^^^ at Skowhegari iand It, •was aftetf ; that •thit he obtained th. option, through the. Brandt & Brandt agency. Davis can hold up Harris' plans under stipulatiqnsv j^ the minimum basic agreeinVnt. beTweie^^ri^"^^^ matists GJuild and the producers by which the author hiust give his ap- prbyal' of any* ^ script changesi and the easting. ; There's a prpvisioh, hoWever, that the, producer can de- mand arbitration if; he; thinks the author is being unreasonable in with- holding his apprqyal. When "the .ar- bitration takes place, Davis pf course, will have an opportunity tp state htg «itriP Result of the- ar bitration lip doubt; Will determine Hit fatrior the play. By Sain X. Hiirist Stanley Schirmer; appointied techr riical director of the St. Louis Little theatre. . Virgiriia Haskins, Ibcalite; will sirig role; of Nariette in 'Falsteff' with Chi- cago Opera Cb; The Drive-Ih theatre at DesPeres, Mo., only orii^ in this state, will con- tinue operation until Nov, 15; . Phir Spitalny and his all-rfemnie Prch skedded for a; week stand at F&M's Missouri starting Friday (II); Lou Wblfson and Clem Ward back to New York, irfter producing 'St. Louis Cavalcade' for local Are lad- dies. ;-" .■■ '■ Twelve spectators , Injured, four Seriously, when two motorcycles rac- ing at the East Side Motor Speedway hear East St Louis, crashed through a fence. Fraricis Kaimann, associated with his brother Clarence in the operation; of a stri ng of J^Inrth ,St Trf)nis-Jiabes. wed to Garnet Kasal. Honeymooriing on the Coast. : . ;An, inventory Of this estate of the late Alex , Papend,, talker house owner,. shbwed a~valuation-bf $34,936 when filed; ;in Probate Court.: . The bntire; estate , was. bequeathed tP his widow,. Josephine. . John Guthrie, Oklahoma rodeo promoter, and Don Abbot, 19, a cow- bbyi irijured duririg performances of 'St. Louis Cavalcade' at Murilcipal Auditorium, Guthrie suffered. ; a .sprained- knee when he ffell beneath horse iand Abbot wais dragged by his horse.'- ; / By Les Bees . Laurel and'liardy arid their revue into the Orpheum Friday ;(4). v .. John J; Friedl, Minnesota Amus. Co. president, in-Chicago oh product ;deail.; •; .;". ' '-'- v. '- . ; ElynQr^ Faley; defeated A;, Selby Carr for Pairiambunt exchange tennis film and: stage show reviews, excepti ing legit stage jattractioris.- ; : 'Nickey' Goldhammer, RKO dis-. trict mariager, closed 100% product deal;with eentral States (Blank) ■circuit in' Io'wa. • .Gang to tb,ss party Oct. 25 for' Ben Ashe, forniier Berger circuit general manager and Indie leader, who's moving.to Everett, Wash.' „ , Bob LaPiner, ■ Minriesota . Amus. CP. executive; after laying off song- On Parade/ . -.;HavaaV.■Fay-'Wrangle ' Additionial' severance pay is being aslced by the New York N^wspiper Guild for three of 14 iemployes of the Manhattan office pf the HavaS (French) news service fired June 23. AU of the Amierican staffers were dismissed at that tinie, the ;agehcy carrying oh since .the capitulation of France to Hitler with scyeral French employes. They haye instructions to continue as best they can; until the future ot the Putflt, which ranked high among the major hews services of the wprldi can he de- termined. With release of sufficient French funds iri this Country by President Rbosevelt a few Weeks ago, all the; disriiissed staffers were, tendered the severance pay called, for in an bral agreement made in 1938 , between Havas and; the Guild. Three of the employes, Harold Isaacs, Frank Dpr- sey arid; Willard R. Espy, claini they served longer than- Havas has of- fcsred to pay them for. Coin has been put in escrow until the dispiite •is settled., ; Gustave R; Garfield , is attorney for Havas and Joseph Good- win for; the; Guild in the matter( 14; years'of the New Yprk Times arid for 10 years; YARiBT^ir'^; correspPriderit in Bucharest. Order gpes into effect imriiediatelyy^; .'■ - '■; ■ The ;Pthers whbVn the ; decree throws but, of jobs are Alex :.Coler^. Associated; Press,: cbrrespbrident in Bucharest; for 20 -yearsi: arid , Liviu Artemie, Internatibnal. News Service, rep.-.: ' ;;'.;:.' V;: -'^'';\:;:IiuiO€chce. Defiled ■ .New and lurid •titles on old.: and vei7 innocent stories was what layV behind : Mayor. LaGuafdia's . ;wrath last week in ordering the; ;arrest ,pf Julius Stolz, h<^ad of Interborough News Co., N. Y.i for distributing a mag. called Man to Man. . ; Material in th^ ^publication iri-;. eluded stuff by : Robert Benchley, James ; Thurber,Stanley Walker, Lebhard Hall iand other name- writ- ers, AH of it was five to 10 yeiars pld, ; having appeared Qriginally ; in such standairdriiags as the New Yorke?:. Benchley'S story appeared 'also' in::a;bopk.' : ;Man tP ;Man| accprding'to Bench- ley, switched titles pn the piibes to indicate :a lotmorie than actually wa$ in them. - Libel Suit Dismissed ; Libel siiit for $iOO,000; brought against . The Milwaukee Journal by former Milwaukee Mayor Daniel W. Hoah, Socialist, was dismissed by judge. Otto H. Breidenbach in. circuit: court.;. Trial Of the case was held iri June when a jury; returned at $20,000 verdict; against the newspaper, biit this, was set aside by: the Cpurt bn the ground that the jury'S answers to questions hOt sustained: by the evidence; Hoan . based his siiit ph a Journal interview with Mayor. F. A. Leightoh pf Sheboygan Falls, Wis., Hpan con- tiending that Leightpn was quoted as holdirig him (Hoan) 'to blame* for a series Pf bbmbings here in 1935. ' -H—-"Pick-^^bng^-Post-Grad- Dick Spong, who banged put a li5p0-odd wotd coliimii:: In the Eve- ning News,; Harrisburg, Pa., and was -the-Jocal^VARittY -mugg, -has^ g up, the plush pf local theatre seats as Well as his .reporter's trick ori the News for a; desk at Columbia Uni-: versity. Ohly man in history of ^ev^s' squeamish copy desk to sneak wbrd 'yclept' iritb tsrpe, Spong will take tb . the books in the hope of emerging next year with ari M-S; in: journalism. . iieir to Spbng's .theatre column and Vabiety niugging is Rbbert" W[is- trand, also on the News staff. • : Dismiss Libel Suit vs N.Y; News 'New .Ybrk -Suprenie Court Justice Lloyd Church last week dismissed a $ 100,000: actibri against the News Syn- dicate Co., Inc.; ;publisher of - the N.: Y. Daily News, by; Robert ; Red- wing, Ihdiain , ,filni! producer. Action, sought damages^ alleged, libei. Redwing charge that in the Oct championship --Morning :-Tf ibune^has--!^liniuriate.d iJ,^JL^ acciised of being ^a- bogus; Ipdiari 'chief,. Action, "was dismissed • ..fbr. failure to prosecute. '• Anthology of 'Fiih' Robert' Benchley and Justiri Her-, rnari; whp are iaisspciated in the seribs of short :comiedies Parairipunt is c.ur^ fently making, are among the au- thors represented in a new anthology of humor, called 'All in Fun,' piib- wr ting fqr 2 2 years, has cortie back ;^v~iT 'liJ -^fV ' 1^.^-^p^i-^^nX^^^^^ with ' f T old ^ou a Lie ' and ' Go^ erg- ^ished-by--Macbr-ide.—It-Includes^- Canada. -Jteturns^-to-his-Ma^lai^^^^^ Simpljes pf humorous Writings pf ;all '5tb Coliiibh Stbirli^^ ;;The atteridarit publicity ;accPm« panying the. fifth cbluninist .inpve-. ment has resulted in the publicatibn of a riew diirie pulp mag by the Mun* sey cpinpany but of New York.; . Called Fifth Column Stpries, edi- ted ; by John -E: Davis; it coritaihs, subh fictibn in its;; first: isisUe -out this week as 'Wake Up America!', sub-, titled 'the serpent is: readyytb strike.*. UTEBATI OBITS Gama Gilbert; 34; staff wtiter for the niusic department of the: New: York: Times and formerly engaged In similar wprk; fbr the N. Y, Evening Post arid :the P'hiladelphia Record, died Sept. 2* in New York after • long illness. Burial was in :Phila- delphia. Widow and mother survive. He had been a, violinist with a con-.; cert string quartet befbre goinig; in for music criticism. W.;W. HoUahd, for years business manager ; iand part Owner of the: Spartanburg (S. C) Herald arid the Spartahburg: Joumail,; died: Sept 25 at his hbme in:^artarihurg of gas iasphyxi^tion,"-^ ^^'•;' ■ :■:'y James Donirlas, 73, formbr editor Of the Londoh Sunday Express. and The London Star; died Sept. 26 at his home in Devon, England. • A vic- tim of; bronchial trouble, his widow survives; . They recently celebrated itheir_goldehiwe ddirig anniversary. Thoniias J. Cassldy, 39, for 12 years a reporter for the N. Y. Daily News, died Sept 28 at his home; in-New York.; .A. nativit of, Bos tori,; he, started, as a reporter with the Boston .Arrieri- can, later worked for, trzide papers and >ya3 once hianagirig editor of the Newark. (N. j.) Ledgei:. He Was y.p* 0% the; New York unit of the Ameri- can' Newspaper: Guild at the tiriie; of his deathV Widow arid riibther ; sur- vive;:-'-; ..;.';:■- •■'; ;^■■•■■■... ;■ ■;' .'■-■/''':: ; Mrsv SUnley A. iBIalla, 27, society editbr. of the Moritelair; (NiJ.); Ti™*is» •was :ifatally Injured Sept ;29 when thie autprinpbile in •which she was rid" irig struck a tree In Cald^well, N. J. . Cpilrtncy Ryley Cooper, 53, author, inagazine contribufor and one time .circus agent: committeed siiicide. iSiept. 29 by .hanging in a New; York hotel: - rObrii. - Mrs. Cpbper ascribed his act ;tp failure of the FBI tp con- isider hiis . recent findings on Mexican fifth colunih activities; : . .; ■' John Pan! Lucas;; Sr., former editbr bf. the Winstbn-Salem (N.G.) Journal arid. Charlotte <(N,C.) Everiing Ghrbri- icle, died Sept. 28 -after illriess of several months. ;" -■■■ ;., CHATTEB Ed blmstead sold his story, 'No Jihgo^v. •tb'' Collier's,, ..-:-•':;-,'::. Hugh Wiley, the author, rema,rr4ed his wife in Carson City, Nev-V^Sepfc 28 .eight days after she divprced him. Van: Wyck-Msisbh mbosehunting in. (Continued on page 63 )<