Variety (June 1942)

MISCELLANY W^dnesdaj, June 3, 1942 General Tim O'Shenko Tickles U. S. Few gags In recent months have received the amount of wear and tear from radio comics as the one about the lUiely Irish ancestry of Soviet Russia's No. 1 general, Semyoii TImoshenko. A case In point was its appearance on NBC programs of last Thursday night (28). Listeners who kept their dials on the same NBC release from 9 to 10:30 EWT, heard the gag exploited not only on the Kraft Music Hall - hut on the succeeding stanza, the Rudy Vallee-Sealtest show. There s Hamola Even in Studio Biggies, And It'll Come Out in ParV'Rhythm' Hollywood, June 2. Shakespeare spoke a larynxful when he remarked that all the world's a stage and all the boys and gals are thesps at'heart Even the film execs, who sit on their thrones high alMve the stars and look down on . ordinary mortals,. occasionally come oR their lofty perched and do a bit of mugging on the sound Etages. Specifically, the biggies at Paramount, and a lot of the not-so- biggies, are wanning up for a ham's field day in 'Star Spangled Rhythm.' Their alibi for crashing the lens and nudging the professional play- ers out of focus is that most of the action in the musical play tgkes place on the picture lot As it they needed an excuse. When word of the free-for-all mugging tournament was grapevined around the studio there was a tremendous rush of voir unteers, all eager to sacrifice their valuable time for art's sake. Leading the lens poachers are Buddy De Sylva, studio production chief, and Cecil B. DeMille, who was an actor In the Gay Nineties and never quite recovered., Supporting them is a .star-spangled cast of pro- (Contlnued on page 49) '' British Fdm Exec Tells of Tiptop Biz in England By GEOBGB FROST Chatting with reporters, William 3. GeU, executive director of Pathe Films, England, told this week of' the smashing boxoflice records in his native land at a rate sSreater than even before in British filmdom's his- tory as a result of the United King- dom's desire to 'escape the war. GeU landed at New York's LaGuar dia Field aboard a Pan American Airways' transAtlantie Clipper. Sunrtanned Faulette ' Goddard rushed' through the Airport-on-the- Parkway on Memorial Day to the St. Regis hotel where she will rest a (Continued on page 14) Metro Signs Margetson, A Yet, and Hicks, a Tyro Metro signed and sent to the Coast during the past week two players, one a vet the other a comparative novice. First Is Arthur Margetson, English character actor, who has been on Broadway -for many years. He will play the role of Dr. Bennett in Metro's 'Random Harvest.' Signed to a term pact was Bert Hicks, who has been playing leading male roles in .Clilcago little theatres for the past two years. Before that he was a truck driver, shoe salesman and soda Jerker. He was discovered by Clarence Shapiro, Metro's mid- west talent scout. Tests of both the players were made in New York by Al Altman, M-G talent exec. LESSER'S UNIQUE DEAL WITH STAGE CANTEEN Hollywood, June 2. Unique deal was negotiated by Sol Lesser for production, In association with Louis Lurie, Frisco capitalist of 'Stage Door Canteen', although Para- mount, made a $40,000 bid for the screen rights. However,>. It was knocked down to Lesser for $25,000. He provides financing for film, as- sembles the talent and as his share receives $19,000 for supervising and 7% of the gross. Profiti' of picture are to he dis- bursed to charities designated by the Canteen, subject to Lesser's approval. Cab's Fnrst Film, for M-G Cab Calloway and his band get their first major film break in Metro's 'Cabin in the -Sky,' a deal with the studio haying been set for the orch last week by Eddie Sher< man. Film, starring Ethel Waters and Paul Robeson, goes Into produc- tion Aug. 19. Calloway himself will play an acting role as the 'devlL' Calloway's band opens at the Casa Manana on the Coast July 9 for four weeks prior to going into film. It wUl cost money to defeat Germany, Japan and lialy. Our government calls on you to help now. Buy loar saidngs bonds or stamps today. Buy them every day if you can. But buy them on a regular basis.. Grant Whytock Seriously Hurt In R.R. Accident Hollywood, June 2, Word has been received here of the serious injury in a Canadian train wreck May 28 of Grant Why tock, associate producer on Edward Small productions, and his brother- in-law, Robert Carlisle, producer of scientific film shorts for Paramount Pair were on vacation when their coach was rammed by another train near BaniT, in the Canadian Rockies. Both were removed to a hospital at Kamloops with Whytock more criti- cally Injured by broken glass and scalded by escaping steam. Propose Geo. M. Cohan Day July 3 in N.Y.C. Councilman William McCarthy, formerly connected with the one- time Cohan & Harris theatre, intro- duced ' a resolution into the N. Y. City Council Tuesday (2), naming July S as George M. Cohan Day. Star's birthday is July 4 but as the schedule for the nation's anniver- sary was figured to be jammed, the eve before to honor Broadway's favorite son was deemed more op- portune. Radio chains will be asked to play the standout Coh^ songs. Mc- Carthy's resolution was referred to the rules committee with indica- tions .that it wUl 1)8 recommended for adoption. RISE STEVENS SET AT M-ft TOURS JINTILm Rise Stevens has concluded nego- tiations with Metro and has just Inked a new contract calling for an I estimated $2,000 weekly. Met mezzo was dealing with Paramount at the time she finally'came to terms with Metro, for whom she made one picture, 'Chocolate Soldier.' - She opens ,her concert tour of 20 dates At $2,000 per in Denver Oct 5. She will sing 14 concerts to Nov. 6, when she leaves for the east, ap- pearing In Minneapolis the second week' of November. Negotiations are being carried on iot appearances with the San Fran- cisco Opera Co. Alter the close of her Metropolitan Opera season she pic^ up a half dozen concerts on her way back to the Coast arriving In early February. iiTHE BERLE-ING POINT I By Milton Berle Coin Rise for Pic Workers Sacramento, June 2. Workers In the film industry drew an average weekly wage of $53.63 in April, a weekly increase of $2.56 over March and a jump oft. $6.27 over April, 1941, according to figures is- sued by the State of California. Wage earners worked an average of 36.5 hours per week during the last mon'X ns against 35 hours weekly le March. ABBOTT and COSTELLO "Abbott and Coatello damonttrate conoluilvely once mor* that they arc th* funniast pair In Hollywood." ^HOWARD BARNES, N«w York Herald Tribune. Currently on National RtUat* —in— M-G-M's'RIO-RITA' Univtrial Picturaa Chase A Sanborn Hour, NBC-Red Under Paraonal Managament of: EDWARD SHERMAN i ♦«»♦«♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«♦♦♦♦♦♦<♦♦♦♦«««♦«♦♦♦♦♦♦>♦«««♦♦ BUokoat Over Braadway What ii to become of Broadway, now ^et wartime restrictions foirbid the use of iUumlnation on 'Orange Juice Gulch.' Is the 'Gay White Way* to ^ luiown henceforth as the 'Gay Dark Way'7 Just Imagine the hard- ships it .'nW'Work on.many, ot its inhabitants....During blackouts how can one wear his beautiful 'Zoot Sulf with the draped neoii buttons?.... Nor will you be ablk to carry the torch' during blackouts... .Drunks, who used to get 'lit' every night risk being hauled In by an air-raid warden ....In Harlem will they have to have a 'whiteout'7....Winchell will*fea- ture a new expression, 'I'll be back in the black witli a crack'..When the prodigal son returns he won't find a light burning in the window and Peggy Joyce's jewelry will have an air-raid warden assigned whose duties will be to sit on them in case of an alert. . Even the Luxor Baths didn't escape the ban on Illumination. Henny Youngman was made an air-raid warden, and his job is to extinguish the sun lamps there....During the last blackout one eleotric - bulb said to another: 'Where were you lest night?' 'I was out Uke a light.' Jack (Baldy) Zero solves his problem very ingeniously—when the air raid signal sounds, he presses a button on his vest and a black convertible, toupee rolls over his head, leaving not one ray exposed. Broadway Sam was hard hit After he'd invested in four suits with lovely rainbow colors that made the sun look like a cloud in comparison he was told by an air-raid warden that - he couldn't wear them on the street at night unless he camouflaged Uiem with leaves. The only ones not affected by the dark are the actois who have long been paid off in it. Nowadays, when a Broadway guy takes his 'sugar* out, she stamps bis ration card... .Every time you see a bowl filled with sugar it brings a lump to your throat (From the song, 'When My Sugar Walks Down the ,Street') Now take fuel rationing—a lot of leftover bootleggers from the Pro- hibition era jwill start making bathtub gas. Can you imagine walking up to a door on a dark street, receive a bottle of gas, forgetting yourself and drinking it by mistake. With the shortage of gas the subway companies have equipped them- selves with special trains that stretch after 9,000 people get in one car. The only one not worrying about gas is Joe Frisco. He's belong,ed to the 'horse' era for too long a time. Leo Lindy got together all the rubber checks he ever received, turned them over to the Government which extracted the rul>ber and made an experimental tire out of them, but no luck....the tu-e bounced. Now that vaudeville is back, Broadway Rose received an offer to double as one of Merle's Cockatoos. Moran & Wiser, the chapeau tossers, are overjoyed: they've just been booked to play the chain of Adam Hat stores. Understand 'Odiva' is sorry that she is 'uieoriTifl* those seals. Saranoff didn't miss vaudeville at all. He went to sleep in the big chair at the Friars, in 1929, qnd just got up. (So you see.) Alexander Brothers Sc Evelyn heard the call of the road and went to Albuquerque to get their Indian clubs back. Marshall Montgomery end Valentine Vox are so happy that vaudeville Is coming back they gave their dummies a wood alcohol rub. Things are really good in vaudeville. When they start using real money in the 'two tens for a five' bit things are terrific. Rocco Vocco, the music man, is publishing a new song dedicated to Tommy and Jimmy Ddrsey, titled 'After the Brawl Is Over.' . .. Cohan and Tankee Doodle Dandy I ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦4««««««-M<'M^ Show business precedent, established by a'film biography of a staga notable while he ia livviig, has pitched the interest of all show business, especially since it's George M. Cohan invoiced in Warner Bros.' filmiza- tion of "Yankee Doodle Dandj/.' The only other screen blog that approached the contemporaneous, RKO's 'Citizen Kane,' was spcci/icolly emphasized as NOT being that of Williom Randolph Hearst, despite suspicion and pttbKcitv to the contrary. . As result, showfolk have started drawing comparisons betuieen the WB screen treatment and Cohan's real-life career. Itfs for this reason that the following anecdotes are reprised. In World War 1 George M. Cohan headed the first organized attempt by the show business to entertain the service men. This was the Friars Club show staged at Ft. Meyer, Ya-. In June, 1917, and it's rather faithfully depicted In 'Yankee Doodle Dandy.' The camp's lighting equipment broke down at the show's start, but Cohan and the other Friars, undaunted^ ordered the sides of the stage broken down and autos run up, with their headlights utilized as emergency spotlights.. The entertainment was a ' Cohan's keen patriotism asserted itself within a month after the declare- ' tlon of war by the U. S. on the Central Powers April 6, *17. In May his 'Over There' was off the presses. First show biz well-known to sing the number was Nora Bayes. About three weeks after America's entty Into the first World War, Cohan presided at the first meeting of America's Over There llieatro League, principally formed to enlist the services of entertainers for over- seas forces. The Palace theatre on Broadway was the spot and It was jammed to the rafters. When Cohan made a plea for volunteers, virtually the entire audience responded. Eager to wait to see his own life pictured on the screen in 'Yankee Doodle Dandy,' George M. Cohan sought out Jack L.. Warner while the film was in production with an idea of finding out when he might see the finished property. Warner then estimated that it would be about May 1. Cohan saw it in Its entirety April 28. He has seen the film three times since. Order went to Coast Warner studio from New Ypr'k last week to rush production on five musicals which are on the schedule, this hurry caU following enthusiasm engendered by 'Dandy.' Musicals which are to be hurried through production stages are 'Life of George Gershwin,' Mark Hellinger's production, with script and songs by Arthur Schwartz, starrtog Eddie Cantor, a musical to be done by Vinton Freedley, and remake of 'The Desert Song.' » 'Dandy,' which may be one of the top grossers of all time in the opinion of film showmpn, and the largest receipt-getter Warner Bros, has had, cost close to $2,000,000. To this will be added from $200,000 to $250,000 In prints, advertising, etc. Warners is deferring decision on the sales policy for the picture for the moment It will wait until 'Dandy' has played at least four weeks at the Hollywood, N. Y., to study results, reaction, etc., before determining on policy, but very likely this film will be rbadshown-ln various keys on a (Continued on page 49)