Variety (May 1941)

44 VAUDEVILLB Wednesdaj, May 21, 1941 U.S. Talent BookiDgs h SA, Despite All the Bally, Behind Former Seasons Talent bookers for South America aver that, so far, despite all the hullabaloo of hemispheric solidarity and Pan-American good-neighbor BtufF, the bookings of American tal- ent in Brazil and Argentina are really behind former seasons. In other years the casinos and theatres in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, et al., not only booked U.S. acts, but also Imported French opera troupes and Continental names like Mistinguett, Marta Eggerth, Jan Kiepura end others. Thus, while it might appear from a few sporadic bookings that they're now going overboard, this impression is really due to the po- litical emphasis and publicity rather than actuality. It's true that $5,000 for a band like Eddy Duchin into the Copacabana casino, Rio de Janeiro, sounds like fancy coin, including transportation by clippers, but that also includes the cpst of eight Merriel Abbott Girls and another'act. The Pan-American Ice Carnival that the William Morris office is shipping to Rio sounds fancy, be- cause it's the first ice revue for the Latin countries, but in actuality .the skaters cost less than a .similar sized troupe of some other calibre. It's a novelty, true, for Brazil, be- cause it's the first tipe out Clifford C. Fischer's South Ameri- ean activity is not unusual, because the international sho'wman happens to know a flock of wealthy Latins who used to patronize his Ciro's and Les AmbassadeuTS, in Paris, and the London Casino in England, but now are keeping au courant with an in- ternational. flair by financing Fisch- er's proposed 'Folies Bergeres' tour. Ilona Massey to Bio Qona Massey is due at the Urea Casino, Rio, in July, following the .Morris agency's ice show, which Truly McGee produced. It's that dance-stager's first Ice effort, and features Guy Owen, Maribel Vinson, Bill and Betty Wade, Douglas Duffy, Alex Hurd and L'll de leers (7), featuring Jerry. Frawley and Gene- vieve Trojan. They open May 24 for six weeks,-with options, and thence to B. A. After Miss Massey, Fischer brings .his 'Folies Bergeres' to Rio, follow- ing which the showman wlU tour his unit in theatres, etc. Fischer and MCA, In fact, were dickering to send the St Regis' ice show to Rio for the. Urea, but instead of a package deal the Morris office merely put the top acts together and McGee staged it Meantime the agency's Sol Shapiro got back last week from a survey of the field. He had gone there with Fischer, but the latter returned to America ahead of him. What the talent bookers in New York do concede on the possible South American boom is a potential Increase in the standard of living, due to increased Pan-U.S. trade, plus the general excitement that goes with the sundry film stars being sent south by the Hollywood film indus- try as part of the Nelson Rocke- feller campaign for good-neighbor ballyhoo. But in the main the per capita spending of the different pop- ulations is small, due to the abnor- mal colored and low-income earners. Morris Agoy.'s Spots . Buenos Aires, May 20. . Signing of the Ta-ba-ris, No. 1 Buenos Aires nitery, and the Urea, one of the thre? big Rio casinos ,for girl shows lias been completed by Sol Shapiro of the William Morris Agency. Although Morris has prV- viously shipped acts to S. A., Sha- piro's visit was the first by a rep of the agency and is regarded here as an indication that the company in- tends to extend Its operations on the continent. It's understood Sha- piro has also signed some Latin tal- ent and like every other U. S. show- man to come here in the .last few months, had his eye out for another Carmen Amaya. Nothing likely, however, although he wouldn't say what he's signatured in BrdziL The Tab's show wUl be made up Of a line of six girls to be picked in New York for a. l?-week stay and an 'option vp to 24. Iliey'll start . from New York in June. With them will go three acts, a sister team, a •Ingle , and prpbably a couple. Tab b'as been running a loeial girl show and assorted acts plus talent from the States- whl^h comes in dtulng the three-day stopover of Moore- UieC6nna(dc New Yorlc-to-B.A. boats. Back in '^7» when there was more' cash around. Tab had" NTG's and Leslie's shows. Nothing like the old days, however, when French com- panies of 75 people were a regular feature. Urea's Joaquin RoUa signed for an Ice show to start May 24. Will have 14 people Including six girls, two comedy acts, two acrobatic acts and one featured name. Shoftr will be the first icer in S. A. portable floor to carry the act is being com- pleted now. Urea already has a line of girls supplied by the Morris Agency and has signed to take a complete show from Clifford Fischer later in the season. Gamp Shows 'Err' sContinoed from page 3; there. Maybe it was because it was only the second day, and a matinee at that, when the writer caught the performance, that it left the impres- sion it did; but if they are going to send around shows of a similar type they are going to find a steadily de- creasing audience. At this particu- lar showing the audience numbered- only, around 100. When you take into consideration the fact that it had been advertised, by the use of placards, throughout the Second Armored Division, numbering over 11,000 men, it is something to think dbout We are not hard to please— in fact, we grasp at entertainment like a beggar does at crumbs; but a show like that one was with a fairly weU-known orchestra (Johnny -Hamp) as the main drawing card and the resultant letdown after viewing is going to make us dam careful about what we spend our 23c on. Worse ai Beanregard Here, at Beauregard, the situation is even worse—this camp only about one-tenth the size of Benning. About once 9' week there comes to the Recreation HaU a group that usually consists of one or two men and tWQ or three girls. They put together something that abuses the word 'show.' Running about 45 minutes, it consists of stories by the men, one or two songs, perhaps a dance and gyrations of the bumps and grind variety by the femmes that runs the gamut of anything on view at the reformed 42d street burlycues. The only feeling when it is over is that you were robbed of your 20c. When you consider the low prices—^20c and 25c—the civilian may well think, 'What do they want for that—an N.T.G. unit?' What they forget is that the small SMm is actually about one-third of a buck private's pay— and find a civilian who very often spends a similar proportion of his pay for entertainment! This week we are promised 'Henry the artist magician, and his Mystery Girls.' Whether .this will be any better than the previous clambakes is a question; but where there is life there is hope. In short, while they worry over our morals, our morale gets the quick brushoff; Richard B. Stoeetser, Private, Headquarters and Head- quarters Co., 3d Armored Division, Camp Beauregard, Iioulsiana. Monte Proser Agrees To Drop Beachcomber Name A consent decree terminating a suit for an accounting of profits by Cora I. Suiid, doing business as Don's Beachcomber Hollywood Cafe, against the Beachcomber, Res- taurant, Inc., and Monte Proser, was agreed upon Friday (16). The de- cree provides that the action will be dropped completely provided the N.Y. restaurant chianges Its name within 45 days. .JPlaintiff claimed, copyright In- fringement not only of the name, but unfair competition in the use of same type dishes, decorations, etc. A loss in excess of $250,000 was claimed by the plaintiff. Proser will call his spot the Zom- bie, and meantime the successful Hollywood plaintiff has already serve.d notice on the other Beach- combers In Boston, Providence, Baltimore and jKlami. Student Cutups And Curfew Botf 2 Frisco Cafes Army Camp Show Plan sConUnavd from page 3^ San Francisco, May 20. Opening (14) of the new Joe Ten- ner-Lloyd Campbell Stairway to the- Stars at Fisherman's Wharf Is considerably offset by fold of two other first-string Frisco niterles this week. The veteran Royal Ha- waiian, operated by Bill Ashby, and Lindy's (Al Lindy), latter using BBB (Beiman) and "Ernie Heck- sher's band, gave up the ghost a couple deys apart. [Latter no affili- ate of the N. Y. Lindy's]. Strict enforcement of the 2 a.m. liquor closing law is blamed for tiie darkenings. Clamp-down Is out- growth of the recent sensational case, in which two Stanford, students were assertedly beaten by police after being mistaken for vagrants during a night of slumming. New Act in Theatre JOHN H1IIiHOLI.AND Haglo (2) 1 Hlns. Mnslo Hall. N. Y. 'Ais act, as caught at the mam- moth Music Hall, N. Y., offers just a few of the more familiar magic tricks, with merely a Chinese cos- tume and setting to differentiate it from any one of scores of mediocre sleight-of-handers. Only variation of the tricks is in the rope-cutting one, in which Mulholland bums a long, narrow piece of cloth Instead of cut- ting the rope. Otherwise, he opens the turn by bonging a (jhlnese gong, has his as- sistant and the on-stage gal gawkers togged In Oriental garb—^and seems infinitesimal In the vast hall. Hobe. . Thomson Stays as AGVA Coast Head; Local Bde Picks Travers as Exec Sec Hollywood, Iilay 20. Kenneth Thomson will remain as temporary administrator of the af- fairs of Los Angeles Local of Ameri- can Guild of 'Variety Artists despite opposition of several members of the AGVA national board. The L'os Angeles Local not only reaffirmed its confidence in Thomson but elected his representative, Lee Travers, as executive secretary, of the group. The local AGVA board at a special meeting denied reports from New York that Thomson had .resigned and handed out the followlnl; state- ment: The . Los Angeles Local of Ameri- can Guild of Variety Artists re- affirmed Its confidence In Kenneth Hiomson, .executive' secretary of the Screoi Actors GuOd, at t«mporaiy administrator of Its affairs, and elected Lee Travers, Mr. Thomson's representative, local executive. sec- retary. Reports circulated In New York that Mr. Thomson had resigned as administrator of the I.ocal Iios Angeles AGVA are In error. Mr. Thomson will pqntlnue to advise with Travers and'the local until their affairs are on an even keel. The AGVA local notified the na- tional board in New York of Its ac- tion. 'Since '.the new administration be- gan Its work with AGVA, revenues of the local have increased 100%, and the services to varlely perform- ers have been augmented by the ad- dition of a night representative who is oh duty from 8 pjn. to 2 a.m.'. Certain New York officials had criticized the appointment of Trav- ers, . whom niomson annoimced he was loaning to AGVA for 30 days. The local board promptly scotched this eriUcIsm by giving Travers the official office of executive secretary. duration. Trucks will be abandoned in the fall In favor of larger shows in camp theatres and field houses, which are expected to be completed by that time. Permanent housing for live shows Is not completed in many camps at present. Freedley said that he understood General Motors had a dozen or so trucks on which it sent out puppet shows and which it Is willing to con- tribute. These carry their own sound and lighting apparatus and a portable tailboard stage, making them ideal for the purpose. Following the Idea proposed by Billy Rose a few weeks ago, Freed- ley wants to get together units con- sisting of several name performers plus some entertaining fill-ins. These would be sent on circuits of as many camps as the individuals' time would permit. Freedley said he hoped Rose would take an active part in directing this phase of activities. He wasn't certain why the War De- partment had nixed It as impracti- cal after Rose originally suggested It Plan wlU function simultaneously In the east and west, Freedley de- clared, with Edward Arnold, prez of Screen Actors Guild, handling Coast arrangements. Hollywood' head- quarters will handle Texas and other southwest camps as well as those in the far west Freedley was at Fort Belvoir, Va, and Fort Meade, Md., a couple weeks ago when the' Ed 'Wynn show suf- fered some severe heckling from the troops there. He said he had learned a number of things which will be ap- plied to future shows from the un- fortunate occurrences. Many Wrong Ways to Do It One of the principal things learned, he explained, has resulted in his seeking to have the War Department approve the mobile performances. That's that not more than about 6,- 000 boys should attend one show. There were some 17,000 at -the out- door performance at Fort Meade, with ^e result that a large number couldn't see and disturbed the others. Even at the Radio City Mu- sic Hall, N. Y., with all its faculties, he pointed out, special type shows must be given to permit 6,000 pa- trons at one time to satisfactorily view the performance. With the. tmcks, entertainment can be re- peated two or three times in various camp areas to permit a smaller group at one time to see. Second thing leamed, Freedley as- serted, was that outdoor shows should be cancelled in case of rain. Fort Belvoir performance was given despite the weather, with dire re- sults. Another point is that shows must be rehearsed, at least briefly, so that the committee can control what's In them. It was a lengthy stay on stage by Wynn, plus the rain, that brought on the heckling at Bel- voir. Kllmlnato Girl Line . A fourth point will be the elimi- nation of lines of girls, Freedley I said, as a single singer or terper ! proves equally satisfactory and i much easier to provide. I With completion of adequate stage facilities in the falL the producer declared, there will probably be a small charge made for shows—at least equal to the 20c now paid for films In the camps. Freedley said he had been Informed that the Army had profited by criticisms of early theatre construction, such as that at Fort Dix, N. J., where 'Hellzapoppln' suffered, and had greatly improved stage facilities in the later ones. In' addition, $3,000,000' has been appro- priated for .field houses in 32 of the larger camps. These will have big floors with movable seats, other seats banked up against the wall, like miniature Madison Square Gar- dens, and stages at one end. They can be used for either sports or the- atrical events. Plenty of Vet Showmen With N. J. Signal Corps Fort Monmouth, N. J., May 20. Number of .HoUywoodltes, pro le- giters, writers - and musicians here have banded together to provide this home of the Army Signal Corps with what may be this war's first coim- teipart to 1918's famed 'Yip, Yip, Yaphank.' Production, now in re- hearsal, is labeled 'Bottlenecks of 1041.' Musical revue Is slated for preem June 8 at Elks Hall in nearby Red Bank, N. J. Producer and director Is Private Edmund Nbrth, whose Hollywood writing credits include Tm StlU AUve' at RKO'last year and collaboration on 'One Night of Love' In 1934. Assisting North on the writing end Is Private Franklin Coen, last a scripter at Columbia and before that at Paramount, RKO, Universal and Republic. Others coUabing on skits, songs and ilialog are Private Sol Shore, who scripted serials for Republic before Uncle Sam got him, and Pri- vate William Bloom, who was a member of Columbia's New York story department and wrote the original for Col's 'Flight Into No- where' in 1938. Eight original tunes have been turned out for 'Bottlenecks.' Jules Bricken, Shore and Bloom worked together on 'Pick Up the Pieces,' 'K. P.'s Lament' and 'Do What the Good Book Says.' Fred Bornet, French songsmith, now soldiering at the Fort, will sing and dance In addition to contrib- uting two numbers written in col- laboration with Coen. They ate 'Left Face-Right Face' and 'Squabs Right' AU musical arrangements are being prepared by Priyate James Madison. Among the acts will be the sword- swallowing of "The Great Linton'— at least that was his billing with Barnum Bailey and Sells-Floto. Here he's Private Alex Linton. An- other member of the cast is Keith Douglas, .who last worked for War- ner Bros, in "The Bride Came C. O. D.' and 'Passage From Hong Kong.' Also Private Robert Richardson, who appeared on CBS soap operas before his number came up. Sets are being painted by the ani- mation artists of the Training Film Production Laboratory, most of whom have been culled by conscrip- tion from Disney and other Holly- wood cartoonerles. This post' Is considerably more fortunate In getting production tal- ent than most other cantonments, as it Is g.h.q. for the army's fllnv-ihak- ing and radio activities.' Jolson OSeis ServUes Charlotte, N. C, May 20. Traveling shows for army camps, with big-name performers going through their paces on 'truck stages,' may soon be Inaugurated with the cooperation of Government officials, Al Jolson' stated while In Raleigh, N. C. Jolson said that he, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny and others would give their services free for the shows. "There Is a real need for enter- tainment in the camps,' the stage and screen star said. 'Many of the boys are a long way from home, and such shows as are being planned will fill a need In their lives.' Jolson stopped In North Carolina en route from Florida. 'Premiere' Ballyhoo Camp Stewart, <3a.. May 20. Carrying through all the first-night tradition of Broadway and Holly- wood, New York's 207th Coast Ar- tillery (anti-aircraft) regiment pre- miered its musical comedy, "Who Is Leslie?' here last night (Monday). Batteries of huge 800,000 candle power searchlights laced the sky as top officers and their ladies poured into the recreation hall for the in- itial performance of the week's mn. Public address system permitted each of the 'celebs' to 'say a few words' to the soldiers gathered about the entrance. Musical, with a cast of 40, has six original times' and a 'femme' chorus of eight soldiers. Jack Friend Noble directed, with Donald C. Livingston, T. Hall Keye^ 3d and John P. tiock- wood assisting^ Noble, and Well Lewis, soil of Sinclair Lewis, au- thored the comedy. ACTORS' SALARIES PAID OUTOFAGYA-HELDBOND Chicago, May 20. American Guild of Variety Artists office here stepped in with money for principals and chorus of the •Maid 'n' America' unlf when It closed sudderily In Dayton'last week. Jack Irving, chief of the AGVA office here, paid off from bond which AGVA had secured from the unit producer. Principals received week's salary In full and''the chorus girls were slated to draw down an extra week's pay on an agreement made orally between AGVa and the pro- du(;er. . . . With tmlts' closing suddenly throughout the territ6ry during the past few. weeks, the performers see In the AGVA bond a final solution to the problem of being stranded.