Variety (Dec 1940)

44 yAUDEYlItiLE Wednesday, December 25, 19-iQ Ilildct-al-ae; baclc at the Savoy- Plaza hotel's Cafe •Lounge, N. Yi, •with Bob .grant's , snappy band sex- tet-^ who . is alsp marlcihg a, return, su.qceeciing Emile Petti-r^oriiinUeij. one df the'top ilitime cafe draws'; in town. Wisely eschewing the . Viien- nese and , kindred awkward clia- Jetic chanspris, the only recourse to - Hildegarde's former 'Continental style is "Tne Last Time I Saw Paris, which she piariologs sd. eitectively. She alno trailerizes her DfiCCa, re- cording thereof. Otherwise; rnorc-in; keeping- with the. Pan-American good-neighbor vogue, she recourses lu. ' I W ant N^t-Mamalan-the original Portuguese, and sticks itiainly to U S; musicbmedy excerpts, A holdover, however, from ancither season^ 'Little Cafe Down- the Street,' is fetching. Completely new. are the. Solo vox attachments to her own Steinway and to the piano manned by Leo Kahn,- her Rccompahist, so that some unusual novachbrd-like duet effects are ach ieved in between the, vocals. Miss Hildegarde, photogenic as ever, is also highly aware of her style assets, .and dresses uncommonly well in an evironment. where the-fernme patrons' p\yn sartbrial average;is,un- ■ usually.high;,- \ " ' i Sonny Kendfs keeps the Stork a-poppin^ with his energetic maes- troing .from his ovirri peppiery piano, Sherman-: Billingsley's svelte spot, onie of the town's high spots. i$ bemg augniented by the Stork .Cub, new annex, which ,iS sans music. for the leisurely diners who wiant peace-^ fUl environment in the /21'. manner; ' They cian . thereafter shift . over / into the Stork Club's/ more . energetic atmosphere; next-xJoor; for, dancing. Saranac Lake By Happy Behway- Jackie Gleason, ex-Club 18, emerges as a facile cafe funster, ias evidenced by his work at Leon . & Eddie's; N. Y., aWiay from ..merely stodgeihg for Jack White, et >!., at the mad fun factory across 52d street. For thait matter, the entire hew L&E roster is a brisk entertainment, apart from the ever surefire JEddie Davis, star and co-owner ol the spot. Dora Maugham, vet of Paris, Lon- don and smart U. S, niteries, clicks with her sophisticated lyrics. Betty Allen, ex-Ethel Merman un- derstudy in 'DuBarry Was a Lady' •nd 'Panama Hattie,' Is becoming a, inore poised comedietine on a nitery floor.The Colstons are one of those HartoaneSque ; dance teams; Rene Villon a terping stripper; and Flashe t Sunda, colored dance team with a inariiuana conception, to. round out , ■ well-balanced tevuette. There are •ight Bobby Sattford girls,for back^ ground, also, to participate in the conga, line which Nerida' Segarra leads.' and Lou Martin .holdis over with his effective dansa'patioh. Sande Williams, more or less a flxture at the .Hotel Astor, N; Y:: heads a very versatile band seixtet tn the hostelry's Qrangerie Room, wherein almost everyone of the com- bo doubles on more than his own basic instrument, besides cbntribur ting vocally. Williams violins at the helm, and the strinjg bass, sax. piano, accordion and traps support make for a brisk and sprightly yet proji- erly subdued unit in a room as inti- mate as this. With' Dick Kuhn's comBo in the Astbr's other room, the Broaidway Lounge, and Williams in the :Orangerie, both street flbor diner-, ies do an okay and steady grbss; : . ; Eddy i>uchin argued-with the Wal-, dor/-Astorla's inanagement that the 'dress, obligatoire' rUle at the Sert Room wasn't helping-.business, and so when Kay;Kyscr vacated the in^ formal .Empire Room, DuChin, plus Rosario and Antonio, moved across the hall: . •The rcsiilt is thait: the WaU- dorf's^ Empiie envirohmeM .still l;ets about 90?n of its piatroriage in 'dress', attire, but somehow the obligatory rule is no longer a hurdle. Biz has been brisk both fbt, dinner, arid sup^ per., leaving , the Sert Room 100% formal for dinner• with a Mischa Borr'society* band. '. . Bob • Neller;' expert ventriloquist, is an augrheritation to the Duchip set- up, arid the uhiisuial young Sp^anish dancersi ' Rosdrio and Antonio; who arc slated for a Metro filmusical as- signment, 'Ziegfeld. Girl.' /likewise continue, to, cbmrtiiind strong wprd- ;of-in6uth attention. ,. Nellcr's vcntrilbquial ..stylie, vworfcr irig .with' the .<!taridaril 'fresh; dummy Slong McCarthy lines, is however un- usual lintb himself. There's nothing. ■roadcompany' abbiit .Neller although, of cbiVrse, it's Inevitable that the Ber-: gen analogy comes up, His voider throwing is expert, his material strong, and the manner of projection, and presentation highly -efTective. Among, thei highlights, a.te the 'Peter Piper' routine and the hgikum take- off on Bonnie Baker's' 'Oh. Johriny.' DVchin's craick' band cbntiriues, to elicit. He. has. a new and good ,vocal trib in The. Eaibenders for comedy numbers; arid Lew Sherwodd'5 .own horn and .vocal-. opporturiities regis- ter as ever;. Duchiri goes to Palmer Houses Chicago, next month; prior to" his annual, theatre tour.. Leighton Noble-foUoWs: him at the Empire ph Coq Rpujre. N. Y., has two neW dance cpmbos, both - sprightly,' in:.thie 'society', manner,* i.e. - small units pf five and Six, hieaded by Johnny Oliver (accordion) and Harold Nagel (violin - . conducting) respectively. They're surefire dance-compelling combinations, Weli suited to Fi:ank Bohacchini's iritiirie. room on East 56th. ■ Marcella Hendricks (New Acts). is a.personality blonde song- stress with a nice sense of pop vocal values, likewise igood for a class .bolte of this calibre. Abel; WEISFELDT HAS RIGHT BALLY, BUT WRONG TIME Milwaukee, bee, 24, . .At any other. tim«( of the.year he might have gptten away With it, but when Ed. J. Weisfeldt,manager of the Riverside , theatre, put ^ a live- ele- phant on parade in front of his box- office to ballyhoo- his Christinas Week circus show Friflay (20), the holiday shopping traiflic Was all tied up in a knot right; on one of dipwn- tpwn^s busiest corners; , . A deluge of protests poured into the City Hall and .Asst. City Atty. Leo Hanley; basing his ruling on an ordinance which prevents theatres from using shows to advertise shows, rushed an order to the police de- partment halting the i>achyderm's performance pronto. ' . ■ Saranac Lake, Dec. i4. Paul Sorkiri, New York City boy Who . ozpned here less' then six months; got his first thjill by getting an okay f rpri^ his hiedico tp dp down- town shopping for the gang at the sari;'.' V.'. ' . Nat C..V Bolton, Pf old-timie musi-; cal act of iMassey arid Bolton; is try- ing to regain; good health- at 12l6: East lU.h street, Amarillo, Texas. Some pf you pld-time Gus Sun Vic- tors; might drop himi a line. ■ Henry ' Beckman, N. Y. agent, helloing and mitting'his'.frau;, CJalre; who . ■ ' prpgressing nicely . at - the; ,;Rogers;' - ■ ■. ', ' William Chase, formerly 'of Cihase and 'Vail,, beat' a recent .operStion and is doing. well Joseph Bryariti Jr., who is- bedding suaessfuUy at the Rogers; all hopped up over the, visit of brother Marion. •, " ■ Jack . Aitree, ex-New England manager who has 'staged a great cbmeback, now doing craiyph dravffi injgs between ,rest periods. V Jimmy. .Marshallj .w^ 6zohes In Gabriel, did a, nice job of m.c.'ing at the Spanish Fiesta Guild, assisted by Baker arid Harileyi dancers froin Montreal; arid Gonzaiez and , Pavori,: locals. Hotel Safariac's Bryce ,La- vign and rorch; tooted. As usuali evei-y patient in this Ac- tors Colony got his . annual greet- ing .from. Sophie Tucker : and it packed a wallop.. Write to those who are, JIL- . New Ads itt Theatres Night Club Reviews TERRACE ROOM, N. Yl (HO'TEL NEW YORKER) Woodv: Herman Orch (15)' :tijith Muriel Lone,' Ice flaUet .uiith Ema Anderson, Adele Ihge, John Kiiin&y, Mary Lee Bennett, Ronnie Roberts, Doraine Farley, Ballet Line (15j.: CiUtIS CROSS VENTRILpQllIS'I! 7 MIns.; . One - Paramount, N. Y. Alter .five years, doing *a -12-voice. one-iman r^idio show a la Phil Cook, Chris Cross took to vaude during the past summer. Personal appearance in a "theatre while doing his, air pro- gram brought him to the attention of orch lieader. Blue Barron, with Whom he filled ai half doien dates before he went on a 16-Weeks tbiir With Sammy Kaye. He comes fresh from that to the Paramount.; Although possessed of a number of dummies, all made by himself, trini Par show ieilloWs him to ex- hibit, only two. First is a large one in a cowboy outfit which is given voice and ,mannerisms on, the wbod- enhead .McCarthy pattern. Second is a small blackface doll Just about the size of Cross' hand. Lips, eye- brows, eyes and coat aire outlined phosphorescentiyi gleaming in a purple spot which hides Cross. , Big dummy is indulged in, a string of, gags of vary irig value, but which are frequently difficult 6t impos- sible: tp heai^ because, in the intier- ests of realism. Cross places the pine stick's mouth in front of the mike instead of his own. It's a point of technique which must be improved. Negro doll Warbles , the Ink Spots* famed 'If. I Didn't Care' In - an iirii- tation of the quartet; , Fidelity isn't 99 and 44/100%, but it's pretty good., ■Nutpbet clicks solidly to bring the rather pleasant looking ventriloquist back for a flock of bows. . Par bills the newcomer variously as Crls Cross and Criss Cross, but he insists it should be Chris- Cross. ; Herb.; TheJHEATRE of the STARS j ; H i t il BIN OENEJtAl MANAGER StDNEY H. PIEKMOMT BO O K t N O MA N A O CI WESSON BROS. (2) Imitations 5 MIns. Boxy,. N. T.• iSvo yoiing lads in Impressions of wellrknown personalities that taike on freshness through, the means eni- ployed, VOne of the boys, the smaller^ does the facial and Other expressions called fPr while the other is at the mike . supplyirig the voice. Only exception Is Martha Raye, when one of the Wessons does both vPice and expression Edward G.;RbbInsbn, Wallaide Beery, Fannie Brice.. Bergeii arid McCarthy, President and fileanor Roosevelt are among the takeoffs, all good, the Roosevelts espeeially, so., "The Wes- soris top It all oflf with a burlesqued dance.bit Iriiitation of; Berjgen-Mc- Carthy also stands but. ... Act scored strongly here, when cauight: ■:; ; : ■. Chdr., RHTtHM BROWN : Roller Skate Dancer 6 MIns;, -..-.^ ■■ Hippodrome,: Baltimore.; .. Well-dressed : in . white tux and handling himself; in : showmanly style, 'Rhythm Brown is a , colored bpjr With some possibilities fof; more ambitious doings. Lad whacks out three strong hoof:routlnes on roller skates, riiaklng each tap count legiti- ,mately and mixing iri some, okay aero stuff as. well. , ^ Highlights Session with set-to on tables top. : Shortening' of routines and polishing, Mp his tricks , would help' this lad into well-deserved recognition; Is hit of current 'Balti- more Follies;' annual local talent revue staged here in conjunction with , the Baltitriora News-Post by It Ted RoutSoa; , , Surm. The- Woody Herman "band went back jnto: this spot Friday C2(>): after being out pf it orily ,10 weeks, the fastest returri; bopking ever halnded, Bti: orchestra . at the Terrace Room. In returning it, to the stani, for ari- Pthef 13 weeks, the New,: 'Yorker is ^hnngln^f w l.selv because the Her man group finally seems, to be on its way. In its initial eight weeks here, ending eairly last; October wheii Abe Lyn^an-s band came,in, Herman ac- courited for 25% better business than the hotel had,ever done before.; :Nqw, however, the te.st will be riibre, definite Whereas in his :last date here.: Herman had practically ho opppsCtiori to spealc' of, this stretch pits him against Glenn Miller, who's to be followed by Jimiiny Dorsey, at this nearby Hotel Pennsyivahia. ' Bfefjnan's crew of four saxes, thre^ trotiibphes; three ti^umpets and four rhythm is, from a musical stand- point, one of the best bands avail- able; Its style is Unlike that of any other outfit and is imriiediately. recognizable. Its. playing Is; clean and:precisibh-like.in sWeet or swing and the arrangen^crits. written fpr it of pops, originals or -what-haveryou atre in solid, taste. At one time this band leaned mostly towards drive stuff with emphatic rhythms and! accent on brass. It,still rolls out enough' of that style to seite the sizzler-Ioving kids, but it's balanced perfectly, by smoothly and attract- ively done ballads. No more: could! be asked. Herman's work out front, sirigirig or lipping a clarinet or alto .sax. which he seems to do with equal facility, is augmerited. by a, riiew singer. She's Muriel Larie, undoubt- edly the best vocalist the outfit has had. Joining the band for the first tim^ the night it opened here, she Impressed very favorably/ with a clear and easy-rainged voice. Accompanying' Ice ballet seerris brett; much of a repeat of the rou- tines of the past.; All , performers, except Adele , Inge, are ^^ew .Yorker regulars. Latter is a skatei^of no mean ability, her aero and trick skating being capped by a full flip forward. She's billed as the only skater In the world doing it. ROn- hie Roberts, a familiar face, wOrks alpne and with Doraine Farley in acrobatic duos., John Kinney also skates solo and teams with Mary Bennett In precision autting. Erna Aridersoh repeats her speedy spins and twirls and introduces a smooth- ly-done piece using colorful. Simu- lated butterfly. Wings. Line of six girls adds color in snappily cos- tamed production numbers., "They're all lookers. Wood. BAL TABARIN, S, F. times have three,twirling as a unit It's a, fast, perfectly tiriied rbutirie which can work close to an audi- ence, ias here,, Where, the stage is a raised dance floor surrounded ori three sides by tables. , Maxeilos spice the act by inviting customers to come, up for, a bit of kicking around which is: good for screams aplenty. Whole gang works in close to prevent iposslble spills While the payees are given a few whirls and pratt-jarrihg tosses. ^ Contrast Introduced • nicely in shape of the Velascos^ ismooth ball- room team . opening with ; a tone poem nuiiiber , and,. closing / with (Continued on page, b4) Ifew Acts In Cafes San Fidncisco, Dec. 120. • Five Maxello*, The Velascps (2), More Bollero, ^foujord Nichols, Gary tlottingharn'a Orch. OLGA BACI^ANOVA IV MIns.. :-.-' 'Songs.,. ■ Algonqoln Hotel, Tv veteran, stage and sdr.een star,- piill a ietching blonde for all her I; ears; in the. spotlight, has been working in class Russe and 'contin- erital* cafes , of late, in and out of New York. She's: currently at.^the Algonquin hotel's Supper Club, suc- ceeding' Greta Keller, and is ^ quite,, a.'name'for a-cafe. Featuring . deep-throated chainsdns which; When they're-in the. Russian,, French or gypsy-camp , idiom. ,;are effective. Miss Baclanova veers into dangerous shoals when £he essays ballad pops in Eriglish..' If sKbws up' her Vpice which; for one thing; is best attuned to what is broadly terhied 'sophisticated! delivery, i.e. a husky-voiced rendition. In a forieign tongue it's a gootj match; when she tackles Tin Pan Alley excerpts her voicie Is' found wanting. .• Nonfe the less, in an environment such as this. Miss Baclariova is a good personality which, along with her general rep and showmanship. mPro than carries. her over, the Hurdles. Furthermore,. here . she has tiptop instrumental assistance . from Bela Bizoriy. corttinental: concert violin-: ist, and Renatb, guitarist. With Oscar Andree at the ivories. They giye her an impressive. ."preseritatiori.' spotlight all the attention on the vodka chanteuse. • Abel. MARCELLA HENDRICKS Songs 8 Mlns. Coq Ronse, N. T. Miss Hendricks must have had previous radio experience judging by the expert manner in which she handles herself at the mike., She doesn't permit the riiike to eclbpse her, attriactive blonde , personality,, and what's more, possessed of a full- ranged soprano, she doeisn't need it too much, she's sufficiently dis- tanced from the electrical pickup without in any way minimizing her vocal, effectiveness. Her repertoire Is more or less , surefire, opening with 'Smoke .Gets In Your Eyes,' thence into 'Our Love Affair.' "Parlez-Moi d'Amour' (in good PVench diction), flnaleing with 'Make Believe,' aihother. Jerome Kern excerpt,' ^ Her vocal ability, ,coupIed with her personality 'front,' makes her a.godd bet in any caife. She regi.stered handily here. Abel. Operaited by Tom Gerun arid Frank Martihelli, Frisco's No. 1 night club was inhabited so long by 'Grandfather's Follies' that a change of show Is news. Nottingham's band stays on to accompany the new unit, booked by Music Corp, of America. Spot boasts an NBG wire. Topllning are the Maxellos, three boys and two girls; quintet of acros who, are smash.. It's ill done with feet here, uriderstanders parkirig:' on backrests with elevated tootsies to toss the, others about. Plenty/of fo6t-to-fopt stuff,, midair changes, double ,flips'and loops which , some- Clarence Fahrman'a KYW house band to play for charity ball of the Cooper hospital, Camden, N. J., Fri- day (27). . Beat Coffee in England , QUALITY INN Lelcottisr Squaro LONDON. WEST-END J 25. 1940. to JUl My FHeiids i^^^^^ . H my personal xioi reached you in tiie mcdL 1 take this oppor- tuiiity tit wishing you oU thdi PEACE for which you so HiLbiEGAItDE