Variety (Dec 1940)

Wednesday, Deceniber H, 1940 ▼AUDEYILLE 47 SALUTE TO BOJANGLES In .recent months much has been said and -vv'ritten about the charges of alleged Communism and racialism in actor ranks. It bcgaii to appear^^ schi$m was developirtgy but Sunday night (8);;iit York, it was: madle very evi- dent that" the shmy people had not altered their democratic way ■pf life^-:r;-';'^^:^v^ .0"...^ ■■ . l^ie bcGasiOtl was the testiihpniial dinner given Bill Robinson by the Negro Actors Guild; the audience, colored; and white, ; evenly, divided, and all-eyen in thieir tribute to arid approbation ; 0f the Negro da^^^^ 5P years ago irom JRichmond, iya;, where hie was a tagpicket. : V if there ire .any :$iOcial;b^ racisil prejudices in the ishow busineiss .they, certaihly.^^'^^^^^^^ nbt: in evidence. at Mecca Teinple. The dais glittered with James T, Walker^ Eddie Cari-^ tor,. ex-Police . Gonimisisibher: Ed\vard P.. Mulroqney; Judge Jonah J. "Goldstein arid N. Y.jLicense Goniinissioher Paul Moss; Telegram^s Lehman and kids in: an ; orphanage rounded ottt the tributes to BojingleSj: both; a$ ji; peffbrnicr arid a man; : \{ ; ' BiU Robinson was- importaiif to the dinner^ but equally im- portant to the times was the audience. No Mexican Standoff Mexico City, ijec. 10. \ Beverly Barger's Chicago bur-; leBque company; - current at the. Jiis- toric Teatro LiricQ here at $5 XMex;) top, encountered a quirk of Mexican show biz when, the national union of theatrical. . authors 'idernSnded, . a'rtd got; 1;% of. the gross.' , this: nickj the union. explained, ts tp, cpnipehsate, the. outfit's: members 'for. the dlsplacteiiient of .Mexican, authors' with the presentation of this entirely Americiin siiow. Bill Robinson Dinneir Gets 4G, Me Baker's on Ne y^^^i^^ Double Actibii . Philadelphia, Dec,\ 10. .Paul Klinger, mana^^^ of :the :' RiaitOi Lewistpwii,. ?!a., fptind the perfect film to round out a bur- ley show featuring Ann Corio. . , The fllni he chose was'Chero- • kee Strip;' ' mChi as • Executive committee of the-Amer- icaii Giiild of y,ai;iety Artiste/Mon- day (9) voted to relieyie immediately Graham Dolani executive secretary of AGVA's Ghicago local, and Lee .Traver, national representative, now located there, of: their posts. ; Suc- cessor will probably be' Jack Irving, foriiier president of the local. Committee also voted two other letovJts, Joseph Ehrlich and John Veliasco, both organizers in ,N. Y. These, however, -will, not become of- ficial until the return to N. Y. of Hoyt Haddock, national executive secretary. Haddock will then be in- structed to make the changes. He is expected back today (Wednesday) or tomorrow, having planed to. Ft, Worth to bedside his mother, .who is seriously 111, with a stopover in Cincinnati on the way back. Another letout made official by the cprhmitteie ■ is that of £d Hivrrison, AGVA's. press agent, whose chores were greatly curtailed some weeks ago when - the. house organ Was dropped for economic aiid other rea- sons. '■' It's stated officially by AGVA that Mildred Roth, its counsel, will re- main with the organization. Had- dock.and others, maintain that .ishe is a. conscieAtiouis and hard worker for the actors'union. With these changes, the reorgani- zaition of AGVA is now virtually complete. All those employes and officials of the. union who haVe fig- ured in the past to be an injurious (to the union), factionalism arie now ieliminated. Once the new official and econoinic setups are working smoothly: to the satisfaction of the executivie comiriittee, the latter body will again invest the power of run- nirig AGVA in the national governing board. This, however, probably won't be possible for at least two. or three more months. . . Miriheapolis, Dec. iO. ■ - E. J.. W'eisfeldt will reopen thie 4i- 000-seat Minnesota theatre, now in bankruptcy, starting ; Ne,w ; Year's week. ■ ■■ • . \ . He will use same vaudfllm policy ais .at his Riverside, Milwaukee.. STORK'S $20,000 PER WEEK; ROSE'S GROSSES Billy -..Rose., cites . his Diamond Horseshoe, ■ N. Y.,' grosses in refuta-; tion of allegations, that he is No. 2 to any metropolitan riltery as -a bus.irie.<;s-getter. Past month's figures: Week of Nov. 2, $18,00() intake; Nov. 9, $15,000 gross; Nov, 16, $16,500; Nov. 23, $15,800.; Nov, 30, $15,200. . - • Sherman Billingsliey points .to his past Sunday's (8)^$4,400 gross, and a $20,000 xveekly average—at the. rate of $1,000,000 per annum—as evidence that his Stork Club, N. Y„ business is by no means slipping. This despite Monte Proser's new Copacabana. N, Y., haying done a $15,000 take end claiming No, 1 biz for one wieek re.- cently. . : "Testimonial dinner to 'Bill.' .Roblh- soh 4t the Mecca "Temple, New York, { Sunday night (8) grossed approxir . niately .'$4j000* . the . profit, going; into the fund of the. Negro Actors Guild, i sponsor^ of . the affair. Robinson is: honorary pre.sideijt of the oiitflt. It was a $5-per-plate dinner. Former New, York .Mayor James J: :Walker was .thfe toastmaster, arid , .•jpe^ifikeirij included .Eddie Cantor,:, who. Avas oh a bicycle between the Robinson affair .arid that tendered to. Belle Baker, at the . Waldorf-Astoria hotel; Judge Jpnah J. Goldstein, New York License ebmrnissiOner Paul Moss, Walter White, .Head of the Na- tional. A^sn, for,the-Advancement of Colored People: former. N. Y. Police- Commissioner Edward P. Mulfooney; Rev; A. C. Powell, Jr., chaplain of the CJuild,^ arid Marty Forkins, for more than 30 years, manager of the dancer. .• . . Acts who performed- were: Noble SLs.sle's band (Sissie is prez of the Guild )', ' Wini; Shaw, Hafland Dixon, Mabel Scott, Eddie Leonard,' Lane Brothier.s, Art Tatum* Gilda Gray, Blanche Ring,.Negro Melody Sing- ers, Elmer/Carter. Bill Banks,. John Garr, 3d. Dan Healy shared with Walker the m.c.ing. WINS airied ihe event. ; Belle Baker's Testimonial Testimonial .dinner given Belle Baker Sunday night in the Starlight Room of the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, grossed around $13,500, with a net of over $7,000. Ladies Wel- fare League of the Hebrew Actors Union sponsored the affair for, its own charity fund. Dora ■ Welsman, performer, :is this ..organization's founder and prexy. Harry Donenfeld contributed the joitfnal for the dinner, which meant a saving of over $1,000 to. the spon- sors of the affair! Irving Berlin, Eddie C|antor, Donald Flamm, among others, were on the dais.. .WMGA i)roadcast the event. VS. N. Y. Lowell Bernhardt has bhanged the name of his Detroit nitery from Blue Lantern to Club Casanova. Temporary; Closing, f Syracuse, Dec. 10. Schirie-Strand, only vaiidfilmer in the city, shuttered for repairs, sched- uled to. reopen Christmas Day. . Manager Harvey Cocks was tem- porarjly transferred to. Schlne-Eckel. Lorig-awaUed action against Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine of New: York :by cabaret employes, to restrain enforcement of .Valeritihe's edict requiring flngerprintirig. of em- ployees ;6f night clubS: and cabarets, broke last Wednesday; (4) in the N. Y; Supreme: Court, Then,. Samuel Friedman, president of. the N. •: Y. Local Joint Board of the Hotel & Restaurant. Ernployces International Al'liarice; and the. Bartenderis: Iriter- natibnal League of America, together with Lorenzo Carares, cook, erri- ployed at Billy Rose's Diamprtd Horseshoe, and Frank Fratangelo, vvaiter, employed at the Terrace Room of the Hotel; New; Ydrkeri filed an action to restrain enfoircement of the la^. Arguinent '\v.ill take place Dec. 18 in the N. Y. Supreme Court. Plaintiffs claim that Valentine an- nounced' his decision of ordering eri-^ forcement • of the law last Aug. 14 and on Oct, 1 ordered employes of cabarets to report.and be fingerprint- ed. Valentine at that tinie informed owners^, maniagers and olperatprs ot, cabarets that their licenses would be revoked If they; employed any per- son who was hot. fingerprinted. Also that any cabaret owner ejnployihg a person^ whose record ^yas unsatisfac- tory to the police would have his license revoked, as well as any per- son not carrying an Identificajtion card. ■' ' •':..■ Atlanta Vande Back Dec. 23 at 1. & J. Capitol Atlanta, Dec. 10. Atlanta goes back on a vaude schedule Christmas Week (23) when the Capitol, owned by Lucas & Jen- kins and Paramount, rieturns to a fuUrwieek policy. Dan Fitch's 'World of Pleasure' unit is set for opening week. T. D. Kemp, Jr., of Charlotte, N.C, is doing the booking. BALTO HIPP DROPS Izzy Rappaport's vaudfllm Hipp, Baltimore, this \yeelc dropped its ' production . setup instituted seven | Weeks ago as a, break In .straight vaude diet,. Fanchon & Marco line 1 of girls was eliminated by the I switch. . . ' I Houie fdUrid that the lihie .of girls ' precluded, its chances. of paying for some, name attraction, when it came along, the cost of playing both be- ing proliibitlve. ;:/f :•:■ Cliff fischerVlM)li^^ To Open Vaude Tour Clifford G. Fischer's 'Folies Bcr- ;Kere' Aviil begin a tour of Vaude houses in Dallas, Dec. 24, \vith: the full^wqek Interstate, houses in San Antonio and Houston Imriiediately following. ' • . ShoW, which played the Frisco • expo and Los Angeles,as a legit re- vue, will then be routed north and «:ast by the William Morris office. Jt'a playing on a guarantee and per- ■'"cntiige. of USUAL ADVERTISING RATES PREVAIL ditdtibn "+■•.- Reservations and Copy May Be Sent to Any Variety Office NEW YORK 154 W. 46th St: HOLLYWOOD CHICAGO ■ 1708 No, Vine St. 54 W. Randolph St. LONDON 8 St Martin's PL Agreement between the New York circuit: arid: indie validiaimers .with the' Arhericari Guild of Variety Art- ists was -flnally signed late y.estierdtiy •(Tuesday) .afternoon , and, delivered to the union via lioew's liegal office. The Guild-shop deal,; running for; ;fi.ve years, goes into effect at. once,, but AGVA doesn't intend enforciiig it until Dec; 24, giving the theah-es and abts more ..than two weeks to prepat^e for. the first Guildshops In ■the histori' of the vaudeville busir ness. ;.V\..■ \.• :•. f'-. -.: ■ ■ pifterence b'etweeri a closed shop. and. a Guild .shop is that;any worker can-be hired for Si job m a -Guild shop and - become a member ,of the union within a reasonable, anloitint.of time, whereas in. closed shops . only those who are first members of a union caii secure jobs. . * Those signing the deal were Para- mount, Fabian, iSkouras,: Farichpn. & ■Marco,: I>oew's; Warner Bros.,; the Brandts and Eddie Sherman.; Lat- ter signed not oqly for the Skourases' Academy', N. Y., but also for Fay's, Philadelphia, wliich;: he partially owns and books. Carmen,: Philly and Hipp, Baltimore, which Sher- man also books, are also expected to sign; ..the agreement. , ■ ; The : agi-ecment was .first; .'tenta- tively agreed Upon a Couple of months iago. Then the. illness of Major Li E. ThoiTipsoh, of RI^O, held up-the-signing- in concert,-and- sub.- sequently." some minor changes phrasing that were finally cleared up late .last week. . v Agreement: considerably strength- ens. AGVA's hand in organizing tal- ent and maintaining a paiid-up meni- bcrship of considerable siie. .There's little doubt that the variety actors' union \yill soon be able to. effect deals with vaude theatres nationally. . The union, in fact, gained another edge Sundoy night . (8), Avhen ,Leon & Eddie's^ one of N. Y.'S most success- ful niteries, signed an AGVA agree- ment. There was a very brief strike at this spot late Jn the summer, but this was. quickly'stifled when L. St E. agreed to negotiate.: AGVA's situation with the niter- ies* was considerably eased a coupl* of weeks ago when the Theatre Au- thority pissed a ruling ' that . only those niteries haying agreements with AGVA can hold celebrity nights. This may have; prompted Leon & Eddie's to come to terms, and it is expected to quickly force Boston's four largest night spots, Cocoanut Grove, Mayfair, Westinin- ster and Latin Quarter, into AGVA iagreenients, AU four 'places hold 'celebrity nijghis.' THUG WORSE HEADACHE TO MGR. THAN BILLINGS Indianapolis, Dec. 10. . Bill MacElwaln, manager of th« vaudfllm Lyric, was dreaming Wednesday (4 ) that somebody. has invented a system of ecjual billing and that all spots were next-to-clos- ing when he awoke to see a shadowy shape pass before the open window Of his apartment. - Leapine from his bed, he tussled with the burgiar,:lh-;. .tending to hold him :for the arrival of 'the police. But the burglar didn't want to stay arid gave MacEUvain'. face a knuckle rnassage which hadn't, been ordered.. MacElwain turned the .thief, thi? way and that way and finally turned him loo.se; He slipped out the: win- : dow into the night and was: gone.. .MacEiw.ain ;looked into his bathrbom :and. sav^ a face which, looked like it had been.'top close to a threshing machine. One .cut/rec|uired. four .stitches, and other patches needed beefsteak. Now, while the house is playing iHollywood Hotel R.eyue' on: the stage, the manager is lending atmosphericsupport by. wearing. dark gla.s.sos. ' ' cers ■ Artists Representatives' .A.^sh. ©f New York Monday lilght <9>; via its governing, board, elected a hew slate of officers. Wil.liam .Kent rcmi^Ihs as president :fpr a siecond- year; Herman Bernie, Herman Citron and Miles. Iiigalla were .elected: v.. p.'.s, whiie- Sartuel Shayon (Fanchon & MarcoJ! was re-, tained as secretary-treasurer.. t. .H^l^l(-^( nrridor- hPlri a.s ,r''''rS7.'H.or.