Variety (Dec 1941)

^yednesday, December 3, 19*1 HOUSE REVIEWS 27 APOLLO, N. Y. (Continued from page 24) Jovner and Foster, comics costumed as^Army rookies, held stage with inild patter for approximately seven ""pctere Sisters, hefty colored song and dance trio, ganiercd a few lauKhs with terplng efforts. A stand- ard turn, the girls open with 'Russian Lullaby, followed with solo cntiUed •Embraceable You,' by smaUest of the three. Gershwin tune goes over well trio then scoring again •Spank the Plank* numper. Barlena Walders, easy - working hooter, and John Leopold, as m.c, fit themselves into the flashy produc- tion numbers, of which a lamp post flash and the 'Illusion de Faru* are tops. With the large number of per- formers the show has to move at a merry clip to Qt into an hour, and it registered big Saturday night (29), when caught Pool. with Mori. GOLDEN GATE, S. F. San FnuiclMo. Hon. 26. Roicoe Atcf (2), Copt John Tie- bor-i Seob, Joefe Lerer* Lee Donii, BinU & Btwltfn, Peoov O'NeiU Line (12). CTuiries Kaley Hot«e Orch (13); 'iMlt Who's laughing (RKO). Holding a flick for a third week with a new stage diow, always a toudi break for acts. Is the case this sesh, but despite sparse population at opener, bill chalked up an okay response. Fallowing house line, ice-breaker Is TStnll and Evelyn, boy-girl hand- to-hand aero team also using a teeterboard. Lifts are smooth, gal looks nice and pair earned a callback nice going under circumstances. Lee Don, billed as having done' a command performance before four kings simultaneously, deuces with his intricate ivory pounding. Chap's technique indicates he could chum out some really beautiful piano, but being a good showman he plays to the mob irith keyboard-shaking stuff that gets *cm every time. Bill con- tinues to build, witil Jack I^evere in trey. Affecting flawless gay 'SOs garb, Levere mixes patter with his port- able rig for sock laugh returns. Ex- cellent timing of gags and chair- balancing on the bar stamped this one as a winner here from the first moment. Bustled femme stooge also helps. Following band solo of 'And So It Ended' (plugged In connection with the Examiner's giveaway of tune), Roscoe Ates takes over. Screen comic wears tiie ranch roustaliout getup of film familiarity, stuttering out string of bluish gags for okay returns, Then goes into a card-trick routine with an unbilled femme, after which he clowns with trombone and violin. Ates displays an easy stage presence not usually .Associated with film guesters and dis3ies .out a satisfying act which lands. Closer sustains the pace, John Tie- ber's seal trio having, In addition to natural animal appeal, some new stuff. Including flipper-to-flipper aC' robatics. Fish-eaters reveal distinc- live personalities, as well as talent, and moold do okay anywhere. Line winds Slings up wiQi a neat flash. Wern. MICHIGAN, DETROIT Detroit, Woe. 29. 'Foltes Beroere* toith Cass Daley, Gene Sheldon, Lalase, Luctenne I Ashour, Andre Rafoucheff's Midfiets, 4 Algerians, John Leopold, Dorlene Walders, Helene IHac, Little Fred and His Football Dogs, Folies Line (18) House Orch. (12) 'Sfcylork' (Par) NATIONAL, L'VILLE FLATBUSH, B'KLYN Dicic Gilbert*I 'Havana Fiesta' toith Ciro Ritnac Orch (12), Charley Boy, Ettrelita, Itfiechita, Sant-Souci Dancers (8), Alztra Camargo, Harry Savoy, Desi Amaz; Shorts & News- reels. Louisville, Nov. 39. '45 Minutes jrom BroaduMiv* with Tommy HanJon, Nellie Clark. Al DeClercq; £xot><iues, Terry Stone & Victor Ben, Gruy Laurin & Ginger, Judy Starr, Jimmy Ainscough Orch; 'HttTTlcane Smith' (Rep>. St^e shows are hitting their stride at this spot, and what looked like an uncertain venture at 'the beginning is now shaping into a strong local entry.' Management evidently took the band off the old bankroll this week, bringing in Judy Starr, with rep as vocalist with Vallee and various name bands. Gal really gives the local patrons an eyeful of cute femininity and knows how to deliver novelty songs in sock style. Had *em i>ounding their palms plenty for her rendition of 'Where You Are,' "Mean To Me,' "3 Little Fi^ies' and 'Can't Give You Anything But Love.* Gal might in elude a new tune or so, just to keep from bein^ dated, but type of patrons here, typically family time, ate up everything Miss Starr dished out. Terry Stone and Victor Ben, tap-' sters and aero dancers, work hard, and score on two appearances. Guy Laurin and Ginger, lad giving out on various musical instruments, clarinet, sax. bass clarinet, and the like, and femm^ sticking to the squeeze box. give the patrons a fast, loud, and en- tertaining 10 minutes. Male garnered laughs with various sizes and shapes of hats and his goofy downing, com- ing on finally with a gigantic Mexi- can sombrero. House line. The Exotiques make several apoearances, but routines are standard. Stock players Al DeClercq, Nellie Clark, Tommy Hanlon, Vi Shaffer and Rex Moad walk through a tab version of '45 Minutes from Broadway,' and the' audience evi- dently enjoyed the dialog as sonie- thing pretty corny and t>ld tlmey. Plenty of booing and ribbing from the sheU, as the players delivered the trite lines in a serious manner. House orch directed by Jimmy Ainscough. is okay delivering sock accompaniments, with leader pacing the show in swell style. Show caught, second performance Saturday (29), had full house. Hold. OLYMPIA. MIAMI Miami, Nov. 30. BtUy De Wolfe, Vol Setz, Adriana & CTharley, Ridiard & Carson. Harlyn Stuart, 3 Harmoniacs, Charley Shay House Orch; 'The Feminine Touch*^ (M-C). Detroit doesnt see enough vaude ville any more to know if it's good or bad, but from the respoose Clif- ford C Fischer's 'Folies' is catching headed by Cass Daley and G^ne Sheldon, plus enough conventional material to string it out for the hour, the Midiigan hasn't gotten off badly with its resumtrtion of stage shows. It's pulling strong biz, nobody seems to feel it isn't great stuff and it has fast pace and elaborate dressing. The emphasis is on the comedy, with Miss Daley's broad burlesque registering highly, particularly in her 'Lament of the Laundry Maid'; and Sheldon next in .appreciation with his pantomimicry, his hand-sewing specialty leaving them wanting more. There's also plenty crowded into the show to build up to its two major turns. While the production numbers are in the French flavor, and the chorus is. undressed in the best taste (and. that's possible), about the only place along the other acts that one finds the title carried out is in the Apache number of Lucienne and Ashour, who click best when the art deviates from the usual pattern o£ such num- bers and she starts throwing him around. Little Andre Batouchefl car- ries over the flavor of 'Cliauve Sourls' when his midgets perform their "Parade of the Wooden Sol- diers. In line with the regular type of stage shows, but more than adequate, are Lalage, who climaxes with 51 hand turns in her aerial act; the Four Algerians, who have a Morocco flavor with their brief tumbling and Little Fred and his football dogs, who smash balloons and for a nice ■bit, knock down the back fly to ex- pose sundry chorines in still more undress for an added laugh. Both. „. Miss Mae, who does the solo songs; I week. For the Olympia's Thanksgiving whoop-de-doo Manager Al Weiss has whipped up a thoroughly satisfying bluejdate entertainment special, with the flicker as the entree and a palatable array of well-seasoned turns as the aperitif. Currently a fugitive from the Rainbow Room. N. Y., Billy De Wolfe provides both the wicket im- petus and the comedy highlight. He is an exceedingly clever mime and satirist easily accomplishing the transition from a class nitery to a mass vaudfilmer. Wolfe's boffy comedy is smart, yet not too much so to be above the heads of the average family house coterie. He's a howl from blowoff to bowoff. A tuneful trio, thef Harmoniacs, are highly accomplished mouth organ - ists. and likewise dicky. Ciurrently doubling from the Five 0'Clod< Club, Richard and Carson are feather-footed terpiers whose im- pressions of various cinema person- ages tripping the light fantastic are skillfully sketched and ably done. Val Setz is a standard comedy juggler, his manual manipulations being considerably more impressive than ills audible output Latter is very tired. With the big top folded for the winter, Adriana and Charley have taken to the boards with a portable spring net.. Circus acros formerly dove into the net from the tent cen- ter poles. Now the pitch is reversed, with the net serving as a spring board from which they soar up into the flies accomplishing variety of spine-tingling spins and twists en transport. It's quite spectacular. A luscious looking lass, Marlyn Stuart is a former model who has been warbling at a beach nitery Miss Stuart's voice has a nice tim- bre? and her range is adequate. How- ever, she needs additional experi- ence. • Lacks assurance in selling her wares and neither in looks nor per sonality is she suited for sock sing- ing. Her forte is stricUy on the sweet side. When she attempts to give out the effect is that she's work ing hard to get herself in the mood, but the cardiac pressure is low. Feathered species is only turkey recognized at house's boxofficc this ' - Leslie. With Latin tempo on the upbeat all around, it's no surprise that the jive-loving Flatbush clientele goes for this combination of Havana hot stuff headed by Dick GObert; WOV, N. Y., record jockey. It^s a long layout (approximately 100 minutes) with a few dull moments, but as a whol^ ifs a satisfying session, re- plete with comedy, good dancing and the okay music of Ciro Rimac's band, GUbert is doing his regular WOV evening broadcasts from the theatre, during wfaidi he injects his own vocals into the spinning of pop records; it jazzes up tiie pace of each day's lajst diow. He doesn't come on until it's half over, Rimac taking over the m.c.ing up to that time. Gilbert's broadcasts are from back- stage, station having set up si>eda] equipment for him. Opening with a negative session of voodoo dancing in one by the Sans- Soud Dancers, a meaningless piece of business that had this audience looking at one another in bewilder- ment scene shifts to a tastefully lighted, palm tree-decorated full stage for Rimac's four sax, two trumpet five rhythm combo, this setting re- maining mer^fterl biitial portion is devoted to various personalities with the band, a lively, actionful, enter taining group. Saxist Charley Boy, Rimac's son, displays nimble hoofery alone, with Rimac and with Miediita. Best dance routines, however, are done by Rimac and Estrelita, a particu- larly well done version of the samba, and the Sans Soud group in a smooth hit to 'Begulne,' all in a beau- tifully lighted band background. Estrelita also does a quaint comedy bit that was well liked and Miechita comes up with a Castanet sequence that rat^ highly. Alzira Camargo, tinger, sports tall, flowered, head-dress during'her several Latin tunes, done in fair voice and sold welL She uses 'I Want My Mama.' 'Cuckoo,' an audienoe-par- tidpation nuniber Hiat almost got out of hand, winding up with neat re- turns. Gilbert takes the reins at the Start of Harry Savoy's bit Ijatter, now on Schaefer Beer air'show, and a vaude vet, is just what layout needs at this point as relief from the bonga-bang- mg. His double-talk and fast patter with a blonde foil clicks solidly, though it's tinged with Uue here and there. Lot of his stuff Is strong for bdlylaughs and would' be better if he'd weed out spme of the chaff that doesn't register.^ Caps it all witii zany imitations. ' Desi Ainaz is a lively personalis on stage. Good looking, weU-buiU, he has a wealth of diaim for the femmes. He handles >iiTnc^if and projects his melodies in crisp, fre^ fashion and went over solidly when caught. Uses "South American Way,' Itancho Grande' 'Spic and Spanish,' 'Babalu' and goes through a short bit wi^ Gilbert offering a switch on an old gag. Gilbert himself sings an unbilled tune in ffngUch and Spanish just lie- fore Savoy, and follows it with 'I Yi Yi,' whose lyrics imply his liking for Brooklyniles. His vocals are fair, and he overcomes his apparent nervousness for a neat spiel job at the mike. Wood. on stilts. Youngsters need a revised routine to sell their straight tapping better, but generally, they're very capable. Stuart Morgan Dancers, In the trey, keep 'em thrilled by their adagio that has the girl zooming through long-range flights across stage and landing in near-impossible catches. Quartet is plenty smooth. Novelty act is Boy Davis, deuce, In his unique mugging impressions of such performers as Danny Kaye, Cyril Smith and Bonnie Baker. Working in front of a phonograph. Davis mugs and cavorts in unison with the sound effects, delivering astounding, authentic Impressions. Davis broke in here two yean ago. His new number, impersonating Danny K^e singing Dinah,' is a pip. Lany Illnt's house band, on stage this week, comes through with a commendable musical back-up job for the performers. Fox. Unit Review New Acts Karston's Show of 1942 (BBOADWAT, CHABLOTTE. N. G.) Charlotte. N. C, Nov. 29. Bolabonous (3), Al Ir Margie Calinn, Wilfred Mae Trio, Hector and Pals. Six Brucettes, Line (6), George Cooper's Band (6); 'Blonde from Singapore' (Col). Karston's <8how of 1942' is snappy, well-paced unK, and though it leans toward the. mnsde depart* ment it succeeds in pleasing local customers. Practically everybody but the stagehands ate turning cart- wheels, before it gets ofL The Wilfred Hae trio opens with a fast, hoop-juggling act tfiat pleases. Act moves at a fast pace, with best bits being tossing hoops and making them land on a string along with turning a couple of hoops' into jit- terbugs. {Raymond' Wilbert is gen- erally credited with originating this type of hoop jugglhig—Ed.] Mae' handles heavy juggling assignments, with man and girl assistanta nothing more than stooges. The Balabanows give the best per- fonnan^ with their acoordion'turn, keeping act at fast pace and with plenty of novelty. Brothers also ac- company instrumentally, sister Anna, who Tcturtis. for so-co tqi soio. Brother Valentine sbo does neat acros. Al and Margie Calvla mie pleasing in a comic turn.' Fair goes through standard '*<"»f'"g and winds up with '■D Aparhfi buT'- lesk that is sodco. f Hector and His Pals, dog ae^ draws heavy on jdaudits with stand- ard turn. Hector eontiibutei patter and numerous gags. Tlie' Six Brucettes, Amazons.-form the bul- wark of the line and do an acn> tun on their own. Although act Is a bit «tn«««MiriiJi at times; girts eom- bine musdes and a h^ty tjpe of beauty to please with a snappy gun routine; a two-gal balanoe turn avd a pyramid finale, along with bands' springs and other acros. The girls douUe in line and are pleasing in standard routines. (3eorge Cooper's band backs up acts nicely from stage. Fair house on show oaught ' Juft. FOWEBS MODELS (4) Elnora Hayes, Irmford Dawson, Pa- trlda DemieUy, Lillian O'DonneU Singers Stork Clob, N. T. Sherman Billingsley, boniface of the Stork, who certainly does things different, such as telling his bands to play fast—'because it excites the customers to drink faster'—or has girl vocalists In tears, pulls the latter stunt with fads four singing Powers Models. Their chores are really inci- dental as they croon pops alternately with Pat Banara's orchestra. Latter maestro is successor to and alumnus of Sonny Kendls^ combo, and now heads the major dansapation, aug- mented over the weekend by Fausto Curbelo's tango-rhumbaists. This latter, incidentally, is a switch for Billingsley, who figured that smart boites like Chez Stork' paced the Latin pattern, and now it's about time to put emphasis on forthright American jazzique, with only oc- casional switches into the bne-two- three-kick department However, this has been modified by addition of Curbelo to augment Barbara. As for the Powers Singhig Models no connection with the vaude turn of that billing—it's a good glamour touch for a class cafe luce the Stork, The girls come to the mike in se- quence for the vocal interludes and vocalize acceptably even if none manifests aivsiing socko, Incidehtally, sincei tbls'stunl; Helen (Molly) Horton. socialite daughter of (he. Chauncey Todd Hoitons of Gar- den City, L. t, has been added as another voeaIist>vith Barbara's tmlt Like Ann Kiess and other socialite warblers at the Stork, She's adequate and, at the same time> lends a dis- tinctive touch. Abel. KEITH'S, BOSTON Boston, Nov. 28. Hollo ond Vema Picfcert, Roy Davis, Stuart Morgan Dancers (4), Wall)/ Brown with AnTiette Ames, Martha Raye, Larry Flint House Band; 'Weekend for 3' (RKO). Martha Raye, back again after four years' local absence, is again knock- ing the customers for a loop with her socko delivery of songs, ad,libs and horseplay. Handicapjied by laryngitis, Miss Raye - opened a week's engagement here with such gusto that the voice fault didn't mat- ter. After coming on, she dives right into 'Great Day Coming." Follows with 'Mr. Paganini' and '5 O'Clock Whistle,' all terrific. Leaves 'em limp with her dizzy routine of rassling with the mike, faking dance steps and generally clowning. Comedienne has lost none of her zip and showmanly talent, and the return engagement will add up to a nifty result for the management, judging from the early turnout. Wally Brown comic, is another socko asset to'a bill that shapes up as one of the best of the local season. Weaving in and out of the lineup as m.c. Brown unloads a chunk of laughs each time he appears, but trims down the incidental material without stealing tinje from the other acts. WiU> his cute and dever part ner, Annette Ames, the comic whizzes through his regular routine which indudes a song, assorted swift gags, a hokum love scene and a peppy dance with Miss Ames. RoUo and Vema Pickert open show with conventional taps, nut didn't get full appredation until they finished in their novel jitter number Woods-Kobak ^Continued from page Is through them to the present NBC board. Sidney Strotz this week was trans- ferred from the program vice presi- dency of NBC after a U-month tenure. He succeeded John Royal just over a year ago and is in turn succeeded by his chief aide and fel- low Chicagoan, Clarence L. B^enser. Latter will be program manager of NBC with the question of any fur- ther tiUe left open. Hie Bed and Blue already have individual pro- gram heads, Phillips Carlin and Billy Hillpot, respectively. Strotz who came to New York from Chicago with great reluctance, is described by his close friends as leaving it with pleasure and rdiel' He will become the NBC vice presi- dent in charge of the Pacific coast, headquartering in Hollywood in suc- cession to Don Gilman. who has pre- sided on the coast from the begin- ning of that NBC division. Gilman will hold his v.p. tag while function- ing hereafter 'in charge of Public Relations.' All Pacific coast department heads and A. E. Nelson, the assistant vice president for San Francisco, will re- port to Strotz. The unique situation of the pro- gram department of NBC being headed by an executive without vice presidential rank would seem to place that department at a new low in importance but is probably exr plained by the pending separation of the Red and Blue in which eventual- ity two separate veepees would prob- ably emerge. Several meetings have taken place in the past week between David Sarnoff, Niles Trammell and Frank Mullen. EQUnXO BB08. (2) Aerebaliea-Siaglng U Mlas. Baxy, N. r. Here is a sodc act for either vaude- ville or niteries. The Equillos hav^' n <hdwmanly preaentatioa of their <'"<'*'pt a(9«- batics, starupg in a novel manner by aaunt^faig onto the stage in full- dress attire and ungliig a ballad. It give* the lint imprasi|>n that they're strictly a singing act And the voices are good enough to-give credence to that idea. After a couple of moments of war- bling at the mike, however, they strip to black diorts and go into their acros, all the 'wliile continuing the same tune. Tbe windiip finds them getting tnck into their original at- tire, whQh they've deposited with two of the l(he girls, and 'waUdng off on the tune's final chord in much the same manner in .'whldi tliey first oooie on. The flrst-nl^t crowd went for them big. Vote. I.E8TBB OMAN Pappctesr 1 MiH. aUamt, B i es Myn Lester Oman has been aroimd for some time with his marionettes, which be now bills as 'his UtUe people,' but he's not in the New Act files. He differs from usual presenta- tion of puppets, being shown in the spotlight full length pulling the strings, with the spot narrowing down entirely to the marionettes as he starts manipulating the colored jitterbug stepper. Skeleton dance, with the elongated skeleton covered with pho9horescent paint, is a trim novelty as the different limbs appear to come apart while dancing. Little old lady doll gives a change of pace. Finale is a girl dnun major, a bit stilted, but mops up when the puppet starts twirling her baton. Okay for niteries or vaudeville. Weor. BIG TIME CRIP dancing and Sang 3 MiJU. Apollo, N. Y. One-legged strutter had t'me to display only sample of his wares when caught at Apollo, but showed enough to click. Works in evening clothes and hoofs with and without crutch. Does taps, acrobatics and struts, too. Opens with a vocal which should be eliminated in favor of some comedy patter. Mori, RICHARD LANE . Ventrlloqnlst 9 MlDS. Roxy, N. T. Richard Lane is a youngster who shows considerable talent and okay talk material with the dummy. The latter is in the Charlie McCarthy idiom—brash, fresh and cute. Okay for the family-time vaude, where the act should be great for the kids,-but the big stumbling h'ock is the lack of novelty. Naka. Harry James' band scheduled for its first trip to coast next summer; date at C^talina Isle Casino, begin- ning in July. James leaves current stand at Lincoln hotel, N, Y., Dec. 31.