Variety (May 1941)

Wednesday, May 7,. 1941 VAUDEVILLE 71 ARMY 'SHOWS' A MYSTERY Knittm'-for-Britam and Other War Aid Movements Clip Qub Bookers Philadelphia, May 6. The national defense effort and the aid-to-Britain movement might mean a boom in the heavy industries and increased employment in other fields—but they're a great big head- ache to bookers of talent for private parties. This branch of the show biz is al- most at a standstill in the Philly area. Private shindigs, particularly those staged by the social set are virtually nil. If Mrs. Astorbilt tosses a party at her Main Line menage, she expects the talent to volunteer their services 'in the interest of help- ing Britain'—because the party, in most cases, is fund-raising stunt for aiding England. Luncheons and teas which for- merly hired singers and other enter- tainers are now turned into 'knittin'- for-Britain' jamborees. The Junior League and the brawls formerly tossed by the horsey set after the hunts all have an aid to the allies angle. Society bands have also been hurt by this trend. Several of the more elaborate social events, including the Benedicks Ball, have been postponed 'for the duration.' The First City Troop, to which many of the city's gay blades and playboys belong, is in active training at Indiantown Gap. Womens clubs, which at one time went in for musicales, are now knit- ting and sewing circles. Other civic and fraternal organizations have cut out spending money for entertain- ment, concentrating their funds for aid-to-Britain and similar move- ments. If there's any professional entertainment at these affairs. In most cases its cufFo. Things are so bad in one of the booking agencies, which once handled the bulk of this type of busi- ness, the girls in the office have joined a Bundles-for-Britain unit themselves to keep busy. HIRSCH-KAH PLEAD NOT GUILH IN TAX CLAIM St. Paul, ^ay 6. Harry Hirsch and Harry Katz, managers of the Alvini burlesque house in Minneapolis, entered not guilty pleas in U. S. Federal court here to charges that they withheld payment of nearly $3,200 in emuse- ment taxes due the Government. Their case was continued to the fall term by Federal Judge Robert C. Bell. Hirsch and Katz are out on $1,000 bond each. The defendants contend that they have already paid about $1,700 of the tcxes due and had made ar- rangements for payment of the bal- ance. Defraodkg Antaleks Laid To Al Alien in Boston Al Allen, discharged by Edward Sherman, leading indie vaude booker, when he caught his associate clipping acts and agents for kick- backs, is apparently following the practice now in Boston, according to word received in New York. One act, the Six Antaleks, say that Allen walked in on them backstage at the Boston theatre there and promised them all the Sherman time. He then took $10 'In advance.' Antalek's walked into Sherman's office in N.Y. last week and asked for ^the date, expressing astonish- ment when told Allen had been fired weeks ago for doing to other acts the very same thing he did to the Antaleks. When discharged by Sherman, Al- len swore that he was leaving at once to enlist in the Canadian armed forces. Durante, Faith Bacon Into New Frisco Club San Francisco, May 6. Jimmy Durante and Faith Bacon are scheduled to reopen the old Em- bassy Club here Thursday (15). Em- bassy has been rechristened 'Stair- way to the Stars' and has been re- furbished to the tune of $40,000, ac- cording to reports. Spot has been dark since New Year's Eve. Lloyd Campbell, a local ite, and Joe Tenner are behind the venture. Campbell, who has some good local financial contacts, has been doing the introducing and Tenner hag been doing the talking to get some out- side coin behind the spot. Durante, who is in on an out- right deal, is said to be friendly to Tenner andiis accepting the engage- ment in the hope of helping him out. Earl Carroll, with whom Durante had a tilt over the use of one of his standard bits in a Carroll show, wanted Durante for his show, but Schnoz gave him the cold shoulder. Faith Bacon will introduce a new 'Dance of Lady Godiva' with 'white horse and everything.' Gypsy Rose Lee is reported following Durante. Barney Newman, formerly of Sally Rand's Music Box, will be maitre d'hotel. Many others of the per- sonnel formerly with the Rand hang- out here during the Fair will be on the staff. Boris Petroff of Holly- wood is producing the line. Inno- vations win be girl cashiers at the bar and a fur-lined ladies room. N.Y. AGENT UNIT MAPS CONFAB ON%CURB The Artists Representatives Assn. of New York, at a special meeting Monday night (5) at the Edison ho- tel, formulated plans for the imme- diate appointment of a committee to meet with License Commissioner Paul Moss on the threatened new regulation of agency commissions to 5%, as called for by State law. Lat- ter has not been closely followed in regards to theatrical agencies for the past 12 years due to a decision by the U. S. Supreme Court that state legislatures could not fix fees for getting somebody employment. The old decision, however, was tossed into the discard 10 days ago by a unanimous decision of the U. S. Supreme Court which entirely upset the Ribkin vs. McBride (New Jersey) ruling of 12 years ago. Latest ease involved the Nebraska law fixing commissions at 10%. The Supreme Court, in a decision handed down by Associate Justice William O. Doug- las, ruled that states are within their rights to fix the amount of fee* to be paid to employment agencies by job-getters. Last week. Commissioner Moss in- timated that he will henceforth po- lice the N. Y. State law, fixing com- missions at 5%, to the letter. This resulted in the calling of a special meeting by the agents. The special committee to call on Moss will be named later this week by the ARA board and president William Kent. Besides conferring with Moss, the ARA'; through counsel I. Robert Broder, is laying plans to initiate an amendment to the N. Y. State la- bor law which will ease the commis- sion restrictions on theatrical agents. The agents' organization points o.ut that theatrical agency expenses usually run more than half the amount of commission collections and that a 5% restriction would seriously impair, if not put them out of their business. NOT VERY ACTIVE The Dailies Also Are Get- ting Curious About the Designated Bureaus En- trusted with Providing En- tertainments for 1,260,000 Trainees, But Aren't Do- ing Much About It I Army Officials Laud Chi Daily's Plan for Successive Camp Shows SHERWOOD ELUSIVE While a cloud of mystery cloaks the activities, if any, of the groups handed major responsibility for getting live entertainment into Army camps, the nation's trainees continue to receive shows of fly- speck proportion to the armed forces' i,260,000-man strength. In six months of labor the official com- mittees have brought forth exactly nothing. Behind the curtain, which at least three New York newspapers and numerous groups and individuals un- availingly tried to pierce during the last week, lies inefficiency, bicker- ing and jealousy, topped off by in- difference of high Army officials. It is charged by Broadwayites. Body supposed to handle show business angle of camp diversion is a subsidiary, headed by playwright Robert E. Sherwood, of the Gov- ernment's Joint Army & Navy Com- mittee on Recreation. Actually, however, even the existence of the latter committee is vague, with no one who could be contacted in New York able to tell Variety where its headquarters are, who its members are, what they have done or what they intend to do. Where's Sherwood? The one man who everyone else connected with the camp entertain- ment situation thinks knows what's happening is Sherwood—and he won't talk. At his home he's said to be at his office and at his office he's said to be out. No one—including members of his committee and his secretary (she says)—ever knows where he is, so whatever is being done toward putting live shows In Army camps is apparently taking place in somebody's office-in-hat. George S. Kaufman is supposed to be vice-chairmarr to Sherwood, but his activities are apparently confined to infrequent consultations. Mrs. Emily Holt, on Sherwood's commit- tee representing the performer unions, whose approval certainly must be obtained before any prog- ress can be made toward camp shows, complained last week that the committee had never h^ld a meeting in its six-month existence. No Coordination An evidence, of the lack of co- ordination is the fact that Mrs. Holt,^ who's chairman of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America com- mittee on camp entertainment, first learned via newspaper accounts of the plans of Billy Rose, a fellow member of the Sherwood committee, for sending troupes into Army posts. Mrs. Holt was duly salved by Rose after he learned from a Vauibtt story of her ire. but she admitted at last week's end that she was still in the dark as to general activity concerning the camps. Mrs. Holt declared last week that the Four A's was most anxious to cooperate but couldn't obtain an iota of information from the War De- partment or anyone else as to wJiere to begin. Numerous other organi- zations and individuals find them- selves in the .same situation. Sherwood is said to be working with all stops out on the camp shows, making frequent trips to Washington, supposedly to huddle with Brig. General James Ulio, chief of the Army Morale Division. Folk.s on Broadway who are told that, merely point to the results to date— which have been nil. Aside from what enterprising commercial showmen have accom- plished in sending out units, and the Chicago plan detailed on this page, virtually nothing has been done in the way of live entertainment. Only (Continued on page 78) Wmton's Enlarged Orch Into N. Y. Rainbow Room The current Rainbow Room, V.. Y., floor show is holding over until May 23, when Agnes de Mille and Hugh Laing, dancers, open along with Barry Winton's enlarged orchestra, shifting over from the informal Rainbow Grill. Winton's augmented orchestra will succeed the incum- bent ' Matty Malneck band. Billy DeWolfe, mimic, and Mara with Clemente's Music of the Americas will succeed the current Velero Sisters,. rhumbaists. The Grill,' meantime, makes one of its infrequent show changes, opening tonight (Wed.) with Russ Smith's band (9), the maestro be- ing former guitarist-vocalist with Winton. The Ashburns replace Don Julian and Marjori, dancers, the lat- ter, too, being slated to open at the Rainbow Room later on, Agnes de MiUe is a niece of Cecil B. and daughter of playwright Wil- liam de Mille. FINAL RESULTS DUE THIS WEEK ONAGVAVOTE Final results in the American Guild of Variety Artists' national election, balloting for which ended Saturday (3), will not be possible until the end of this week. The Associated Actors and Artistes of America, which is conducting the poll, mailed more than J6,000 ballots and is now weeding out the 25% or so who are in good standing. More than 2,000 ballots were re- turned by the postoffice stamped 'ad- dressee Is unknown,' indicating that many members move without in- forming AGVA's national office. The election is strictly for a na- tional board, which in tiu-n will elect national officers and appoint a na- tional executive secretary to take the place of the recently dismissed Hoyt Haddock. The contest is chiefly in N.Y., where there are 22-nomina- tions for the board. Most of those named to represent out-of-town brancheis will undoubt- edly be elected, as the board calls for 45 members out of only a total of 70 nominations. Chicago, May 6. Following the announcement that the Hearst Herald-American wiU sponsor shows for the Sixth Corps Area camps, high officials of the army applauded the move as the best plan for morale promotion yet submitted. Herald - American, through managing editor Jack Mal- loy, went overb::ard on space and buildup for the shows and stream- ered stories and splashed pictures all over the rag in its excitement over the arrangement. So excited did the paper get that it over-played its hand in a few instances in the use of the names of high, union officials in show business, especially in the use of the labels of the"Associated Actors & Artistes of America affiliates and particularly Theatre Authority, which has of- fered its cooperation in the Herald- American plan. All recognized producers in vaude- ville are being given an opportunity to produce shows tor the army camps. Herald-American is opening a regular booking office to handle all performers for the shows, and all performers will be paid on the basis of the union scale. Show business people will be used all down the line; old-time perform- ers will be given jobs as unit and stage managers, advance agents and wardrobe mistresses. First show ^oing out will be 'Red, Hot and Beautiful,' with the cast in- cluding Vincent Gottshalk, Ballard and Raye, Frank Payne, Al Verdi and Dolores, Sally Sweet, Francita,. Tumble Inn Trio and eight chorus girls. Admission prices will be 15c or 20c top. TODD SELLS HIS PIECE OF CHI THEATRE CASINO Chicago, May 6. Michael Todd has sold out his in- terests in the northside Theatre Casino after a little more than four months of operation. Spot has been taken over by the original backers and they will operate in the future. According to terms of the agreement the Todd name will stay on the place for 60 days and then will- be taken off. probably to be called just Thea- tre Casino. During his stay with the cafe Todd produced two shows, one of which was the 'Gay New Orlcan.s' .show from the N. Y. World's Fair and the other a circus-type bill, Gcorire White's Plan Entire show at George White's ' Gay White Way theatre-restaurant on Broadway will be transported by White to various Army camps on Monday nights during the next couple months, producer declared yesterday (Tuesday). Opener will be at Fort Dix, N, J., next Monday (12), to be followed by a showing at the Brooklyn Navy Yard the next week. Company will do two per- formances a night with no admis- sion charged. Cast and Gus Arn- heim's orch are donating their serv- ices, with tran.sportation and other costs borne by White. He'll also act as m.c. Lack of large-scale facilities at the camps and Navy Yards means that actually only a small portion of the boys will bs lucky enough to get a gander at the free show. Dix, for instance, has a 1,000-seat theatre, so two performatices a night can accom- modate only about 7% of the more than 25,000 troops at the post. White is closing his Broadway spot on Monday, which makes the field trips possible. Making the army jaunts in addition to the band will be Bob Shea, Tommy Harris, Gloria Blake, Carol King, Miml Kellerman, Kay Penton, Coley Worth and line of 20 gals. Coast's Army Shows Hollywood, May 6. Edward Arnold has been author- ized by the Screen Actors Guild to appoint a committee for .slating en- tertainment at army camps. Other amusement chapters here have been-asked to cooperate so Ell acts will clear through the 4As. JACK LINDEE TO COAST Jack Linder goes to the Coast, fol- lowing a Detroit stopover, to go into the agency business in Hollywood with his brother Mark. He was previously out there but bad been in the east for some time. Georgian Indicted In Roadhouse Fire Columbu.s, Ga., May 6. Wallace Merritt is under grand jury indictment charging he torched the Drop Inn, roadhouse here, last month. Four girls at Inn narrowly escaped. Reported prosecution theory ii th.nt Merritt, engaged in similar busi- ness nearby, had elimination of com- petition as motive. He pleaded not cin'l'y. V '. ■ ■