Variety (May 1941)

SCREEN RADIO STAGE RADIO'S ST. LOUIS BLUES Yes, We Have No Borscht Circint Anymore; Resort ShowBizBigrime New York. JEditor, Variety: Maybe in this day and age of sen-- sltivities, we who are alumni of the summer resort strawhata are a shade hyper-sensitive about the somewhat libelous nomenclature ot 'borscht circuit'—but don't you think some- thing should be done right here and now to scotch not only an onerous appellation but a rank misnomer? We do. The simple fact is that it'^ now a thoroughly outmoded synonym, it's Invidious to a degree, and frankly, we think it's rather corny. It's about as corny, in. fact, as another lingering but conveniently retained cogno- men such as Tin Pan Alley. With ASCAP and BMI in the Radio City zone; with Cole Porter apartmenting in the Waldorf Towers and Irving Berlin equaU/ at home in Lindy's on the breakfast shift, as he is at his fashionable East 78th street resi- dence, there's neither Tin Pan nor Alley about the present-day song- writer. That hangover from the mauve decade referred to a West (Continued on page 52) Anti-German Opera Antipathy Reason For Slashing Met's Stars The Metropolitan Opera Co. is .understood to be planning to institute the most drastic pay cuts in the last :d^&de among its stars, Reasons for uie. plcnned cuts are fears of a ter- . rifle deficit which is expected to re- milt because of a growing apathy Ipward German opera, which has kept the Met going for the past six years since Kirsten Flagstad's debut. In 1932 the Met cut its stars ap- proxlmetely 25%, with all except Beniamino Gigli accepting the cut in •BBOd grace. Highest salary at the "housfe is $1,000, paid to Lily Pons, with others such as Miss Fla^stad, Martinelli, Tibbett, et al. receiving from $900 down. The Met lost about $25,000 this year, including $14,000 on its N. Y. season and $11,000 on the road, plus $160,000 it had to pay out in taxes. Boyer's British War Refaef Play in Mont'l Charles Boyer comes east for a New York vacation before embark- ing on c series of stage plays and broadcasts la Montreal, French screen star will appear for the benefit of British War Relief. 9 A.M. 'Defense' Mats 'Defense Shows,' to take care of odd-hour workers in defense industries, have been adopted by Loew's in a number of its New England houses. Idea is similar to that instituted by Warner Bros, in the Philly terri- tory. Loew's opens the 'Defense Show' houses at 9 a.m., charging regular matinee prices. Hotels'N.G. Biz Clue to General B'wayB.O.S]dd There has been no recovery from the weakness that most shows on Broadway developed recently. Last week some managements claimed that business was 'about the same,' but further declines were registered in a number of Instances. Hotel reg- isters point to distinctly offish jroom occupancy and when New York's visitor volume drops it is reflected in theatre attendance. In show circles there is interest in the makeup of the summer list, which will get only two more shows after this week. Indications are there will be four musicals on the (Continued on page 55) KREISLER PROBABLY NEVER TO PLAY AGAIN FATHEB-SON (HOLTS) CO-STAB Holljrwood, May 13. Father and son share leads in ^KO's "The Marines are Ready.'- Theyire Jack- and Tim Holt. Fritz Kreisler may never play the violin in concert again. However, from those close to him, it is under- stood that the Viennese master planned, anyway, to devote his time to composition, prior to the accident which resulted in critical injuries. Kreisler is in Roosevelt hospital, N. Y., with a fractured skull, sus- tained when he crossed the street against the traffic lights. Early this week his condition was reported slightly improved but he is still, on the danger list. SAIID-DANGING? A midtown Monte Carlo Beach club will be the new summer key- note that Felix Ferry and his as- sociates plan for the class Manhattan nltery. The 'Beach' part will be a new, adjoining cafe to the East 54th street Monte Carlo, arranged in a Riviera setting, with sand, etc. Ferry and Gene Cavallero (Col- ony restaurant, N. Y.) are taking over a nextdoor site for the summer room. L TIE SPOTLIGHT ASCAP and F.C.C. Issues Overcloud National Ass'n of Broadcasters Conven- tion in St. Louis'—U.S. Defense Problems and the Radio Industry NBC-BLUE STATUS? By BOBERT J. LANDBT St. Louis, May 13. This, the 19th annual convention of the National Association of Broad- casters, is the convention that wiU undoubtedly go down in radio his- tory as the one Mutual dominated. Mutual Broadcasting System stole the front pages of the nation during the prolog period by its bold strategy in lining up its affiliates to accept the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' terms. This left NBC and CBS in the awkward position of holding back and refus- ing to exercise leadership on a major industry problem in whose solution (Continued on page 21) 2-lN-l THEATRE, - MILWAUKEE NOVETY Milwaukee, May 13. Making two theatres out of one is the unique idea being given a tryout here by the Fox people, and the ex- periment, inaugurated Saturday (10), is being watched with unusual inter- est by chain execs. The Strand, used for extended runs of pictures that have played the Arm's ace houses, Wisconsin and Palace, in the same block, is the place where the novelty has been put into operation. After, the boxofflce closes at night, (Continued on page 55) GOVERNMENT W ON WILLIE BIOFF I Hollywood, May 13. Government is expected to uncap explosive developments in the Willie Bioff income tax investigation in the next • three weeks. No inkling of what it will be, but U.S. officials ad- mit 'something hot' uncovered. Guild and union leaders in the in- dustry are being quizzed. Newest development is said to have been touched off by a statement recently made back east by an important film. Industry figure. Realistic Approach to Army Camp Shows; Ed Wyim Heckled in Va. Wants More Vice Denver, May 13. KOA recently received a let- ter from a listener claiming it was violating the N.A.B. cOde in presenting religious programs. 'You are not giving equal time to sinners,' ran the complaint. Tibber McGee AndMolly Now No. 1 Crossley 'Fibber McGee and Molly' program has grabbed the No. 1 spot in Co- operative Analysis of Broadcasting ratings by the process of taking less | of a dive than Jack Benny, former, top-rater. In the latest C.A.B. re-1 port, Fibber McGee shows a 2.5 drop j for a rating of 34.1. Benny, on the; other hand, slid backwards 5.3 points to a rating of 32.8. It's the wax stanza's first crack at the ace-rating spot, long held by Benny or the Edgar Bergen show. Chase & Sanborn (Bergen) is in No. 3 position, with the 'Aldrich Family' (Ezra Stone) and Bob Hope in fourth and fifth spots, respec- tively. Besides C.A.B. (Crossley), the C. E. Hooper check also shows i 'Fibber' on top. | During the daytime, Kate Smith's; comment series continues to hold firm in first place. Fort Belvoir, Va., May 13. Ed Wynn got a lesson the hurd way in how not to stage an Army camjf entertainment here last Thurs- day (8). Playwright ftobert E. Sherwood, representing the Joint Army and Navy Committee on Rec- reation and Welfare, and the Citi- zens . Committee, sponsors of the show' starring Wynn arid Jane Fro- man, likewise learned the boys want more action and less talk.' [A real; istic plan for U. S. trainee entertain- ment has been mapped out and 1j detailed below.] Wynn was badly heckled through the start of the one-hour show, al- though reports that he was booed off the platform are exaggerated. He made a mistake in giving a 15- minute 'introductory address,' as It was described by one spectator, while the soldiers wanted girls and zip. Heckling so surprised the vet per- former, inasmuch as he was con- tributing his services and everyone, it was assumed, was duly grateful, he got rattled. Instead of playing along with the audience, Wynn be- (Contlnued on page 55) Mpls. Mayor Points To 'DuBarry' Ban as Good Reason for Re-Elecrion NAB MRS. A. B. MARCUS, DANCER ON mCENCr Sprlngfleld, Mass., May 13. Beatrice F. Marcus, 38, wife of A. j B. Marcus and manager of the Mar-1 cus unit currently at the Court i Square here, was arrested yesterday | afternoon (Monday) on a charge of; managing an indecent show. A dancer in the unit,- Bernice T. Tas- sin, 25, of New Orleans, was also arrested on a charge of participating in an Jndeeent show. Each was re-1 leased in $200 bail. . ; Miss Tassin, billed as Ha-Cha-San, presented a dance in the 'Contl-, nental Revue' clad in a coat of silver paint and little more. - KATE SMITH, MUSIC PUB Kate Smith and Ted Collins have formed their own music publishing firm, Collwill Music. Firm is starting out with three tunes, including Miss Smith's latest patriotic plug, 'We're All Americans.' Latter was written by Jim Mangan, of Mills Novelty Co., juke- box firm. Minneapolis, May 13. In his campaign to obtain renom- ination. Mayor George E, Leach is citing his 'DuBarry Was a Lady' banning as an instance of his 're- sponsiveness to public opinion with respect to keeping the city clean.' He kept the show out of Minneapolis, he Is saying in his addresses, liccause 'decent public opinion had repre- sented it to him as salacious.' The mayor's statements are in re- ply to opponents' charges that the 'underworld' controls the city and that vice is rampant. After 'DuBarry' was banned by the mayor, the company manager, in a statement to the press, - called at- tention to the illegal liquor spots. Sarah Bemhardt's Kin In Deal for Film Biog Vichy, May 13. Lyssianne Bernhardt, granddaugh- ter of the 'Divine Sarah,' is due in New York from France on a picture deal which Irvin Marks is nego- tiating in New York. Will be author- ized film biog of Sarah Bernhardt's life and career. Another deal set by Marks is Annie Vernay, French actress, soon due to sail from here for 20th-Fox. He also sold '800 Convicts March On Caraibo' to 20th, an original by Jacques Companees, now in Vichy, but who may go over to work on the script. However, Metro Is also Interested in the Russo-French au- thor for Hollywood.