Variety (Jan 1943)

208 VAUDEVILLE Thiriy-aeventli P^KIBTY Anniversary January 6, 1943 As Cafe Biz Improves, So Do Agents' Worries Wartime Jitters — rontinued from page 207 — By SAM BRAMSON (.William Morris Agency) Any aijenl in the flpld will con- firm thai the better business be- comes, the more problems accumu- late. The over-all picture in the cafe and night club field is good. Except for those places affected by gas rationing, because of their location, or by the help situation, most spots are doing better than they have ever done before. New clubs are con- stantly opening all over the country and cashing in on the increased amount of money in circulation, and a growing number of people who have rarely visited night clubs be- fore are getting into the habit. The war boom has created two completely new categories of cafe- goers—w;ir workers with increased salaries who now cannot spend on durable goods; and men in the armed forces looking for relaxa- tion on their furloughs. The new customers, when added to the siz- able middle and upper income groups who already have the cafe habit, add up to an impressive patron list to draw on. At the de- mand end. in short, the situation is cheerful. It is when you get into the matter of supplying talent for the clubs around the country, old and new, that problems develop. There is a terrific scarcity of per- formers suitable for a night club floor. The reasons for this short- age are fairly obvious. First, se- lective service has cut into the rank.v of the male entertainers; sec- ond, the increased number of clubs willing to spend money on acts spreads thin the existing supply; third, name. acts, always tough to get. are even tougher today. That problem of name acts de- serves a paragraph of its own. Only a limited group of box office at- tractions are acts that do well in a club or cafe. Of this gtoup, a great many artists who could be booked 52 weeks a year are unavailable part of the- time because of other commitments, like pictures, radio, theatre dates and gratuitous camp • shows. We have that problem with quite a few William Morris stars, who must be written off the books for 10-15 weeks a year, because of camp dates. NAMES—YF.S. WHERE? bothersome lo other branches of show btisines. is not yol loo severe ii the safe livid. It is sound policy, hcwcver. for every act—even a single—to make train reservations a*" soon as the contracts are signed. Further, many entertainers arc pro- tecting themselves against delays by taking their wardrobe and music with them, so that they can open even if their baggage is delayed. The Pacific Coast, which formerly drew heavily on its local talent, is hiring more acts Irom the East—a further drain on the entertainment supply nationally. I Demand Exceeds Supply { In common with all business today, in which demand exceeds supply, salaries for performers are going up, along with prices in general. As always, comedy acts are especially hard to And. There are plenty of comedians around, but too many of the mare suitable for theatres only. Might insert here that despite the g'eat demand for acts, some types of entertainers just don't go in a room and can't be booked for that reason. One answer to this is for performers to get material directly slanted for a floor show, just as they would get a vaudeville act for the- atre dates. Here's a thought for potential cafe owners who are opening new spots. We have found that most impresa- rios,, when they plan a new club, lavish attention on every detail of the layout except the entertainment. This isn't good business policy, be- cause the show is what brings cus- tomers into a spot. Therefore, a club man should make sure his floor is situated so that patrons can see the show comfortably, that his light- ing and sound systems are adequate to production needs, that the artists haveenough dressing room space, and that he hasn't spent all his money before he gets around to buying a show. Since prospects in a luxury field like cafes are closely bound to pri- orities, rationing, curfews and the like, we do think that night clubs are pretty generally recognized as a desirable form of relaxation from war pressures; and that the new audiences created by the present boom are likely to remain cafe- goers. Cafe srd club owners will under derstand how difficult the matter of names has become. Owners of new spots, or of old spots now pioneering with expensive shows, keep calling for a list of available attractions or other acts, and they get very an noyed when such a list isn't on hand. The plain fact is that no such lists exist today—an agency is lucky to find any suitable names at all available for his customers. To counteract this, though, there are neiv stars being developed whom club owners find profitable to book. With several spots usually com- peting for attractions, the con- scien;i3us agent runs into difficul ties. We h!)ve a responsibility to our arli.-ls 10 recommend the job that will best further their careers. We alsu hzvc an obligation to service «" ery cafe owner as best wc can. The condicl makes for plenty of hejdachcs. Usyally. we try for a compromise that will help the artist and airo enable the owner to do the kind of business that will keep his club prosperous and consequently in the marUct for entertainment Here are some random thoughts on other aspects of the cafe scene: The cocktail unit field is enjoying boom times, with more and more he tcis and clubs in the market for vocalist-piano teams and small in st>-umsntal combinations. This i£ all to the good, because it solves the booking prbolem of some artists nut strong enough for a floor show, and provides a break-in opportunity for younger acts. We arc somewhat surprised that Vtashington. potentially a great cafe town, has so few spots. The space problem there is terrific, but the city seems wide open for new clubs, both in the class and popular-priced brackets. The failure of Florida to open up on any large-scale has been less disastrous on entertainers than was fepred, because there are so many other places t otake up the slack Thetransportation problem, very OFF-SHORE USO TALENT MUST FILE INFO America us good neighbors, and we are busily absorbing its culture in many different fields. It is not sur- prising, then, to witness the popu- larity of the Rhumba and other Latin dances in their era of Pan-American- ism. Biggest New Dance, Samba. Biggest new dance from South America is the Samba, an importa- tion from Brazil. Following on a wave of Brazilian music (and Car- men Miranda), the Samba made its bow in the smarter hot spots and soon caught on, like most dances, in the rural dancing centers. It's a big thing in New York right now. and every wide-awake bandleader in- cludes a few sparkling Sambas in his "Lntin medley.' And they dance it. lor! Whether the Samba will parallel the thort 'n' snappy career of the Consa remains to be seen. The Coni;a. a recognized novelty d2.\co. is already passe in the ni^^ht ipnt.s, as everyone has expected. It is our offhand opinion that the Samba will remain with us a bit longer, sincj it is not i-i simple as the Congr. nnd danccrr will not grow tired of it in .so short a time. The Samba is more complex than the Rhumba. and >>n with all complex dances, once mas- tered, it continues to enjoy a meas- ure of popularity. Wc do not ex- pect it to hit the heights reached :n earliei' .seasons by the L:imbc(h Walk, for example, but her;; again the simplicity of the latter dnnec. which was responsible for it; rapid rise, v/a:; likewise respon.-iblc f)r ils utter demise. The foxtrot continues to hold tlic American championship in the night spots. Most of our -Tin Pan Alley output—war song and all—are writ- ten in foxtrot tempo, and. anyhow, that's what everybody's been danc- ing, so what can you expect? Ws a different foxtrot from th; one Dad and Ma danced in the last war. nut it's still the basic step—and the mool popular—in the gay places. It took many people a long time to learn the various steps connected with the foxtrot, and—no sir—you're not go- ing to get them to switch to some- thing else! ' Wc may expect to see plenty of participation dances when dining out this year. With so many young men in uniform, the spirit around town is lo get 'cm to mix. In Canteens, in Recreation Halls, in public places, the gals want the bashful soldiers and sailors (can you picture a bash- ful sailor???) to make with the heel-and-toe department. And they find participation dances do the trick. When that old Conga line begins to form on a dance floor, and the band swings into a solid beat, the lads fall in line as promptly as though the old Top Sarge himself has blown his lovely whistle. House Reviews PARAMOUNT, N. Y. Abe Lastfogel. president of USO- Camp Shows, is making an appeal to all performers to fill out question- naires necessary for clearance be- fore they can perform at U. S. off- shore bases. He's directing the ap- peal at both paid and volunteer tal- ent. Entertainment needs for soldiers overseas are growing daily, but it usually take."! 21 days before a per- former's questionnaire is cleared by the Government. USO would like to have a reserve pool of okayed talent on hand to shoot out wherever nec- essary on short notice. FIREMEN SAY NITERY COULDN'T BURN; IT DID! Minneapolis. Jan. 3. * Minneapolis had its night club fire, but it occurred during the after- noon when the establishment, the Persian Palms, was not crowded, anj], although the blaze spread like lightning and the place was gutted, there were no injuries, let alone casualties. Fire department officials re- ported after the fire that none of the club's elaborate decorations was inflammable, bUt that didn't pre- vent the flames from sweeping through the place so swiftly that employees were enable to salvage the'ir possessions. Polka Big In 1943 The participation dance most like- ly to succeed in 1943 is the polka. Spurred on by many excellent dance recordings in the polka groove— 'Beer Barrel Polka.' 'Pennsylvania Polka' and 'Strip Polka'—this type of dance has got off lo a good start, and we may expect to sec many polka 'jam sessions' in the ni^ht spots this year. In addition, many of the boys in uniform come from homes where some foreign polka is a familiar folk-dance routine, so they'll feel just a little more at home when the orchestra or jukebox pours out a rollicking polka. The civilian population, too, has indicated a oar- tiplity towards the same dance. In the Hotel Roosevelt'.s grill, in New York, where nightly participation dance .sessions are on the schedule, the polka is perhaps the mpst popu- lar. The waltz still has its fans, par- ticularly among the a.k. trade. Some of the soldier boys, too, were not very good dancers back home, iind when they do essay a dance (apart from the 'participations'), it is gen- erally the waltz. The Peabody, which requires plenty of room, is out for the duration. Can you im- agine a roomful of Peabodies. in a jam-packed club on a Saturday night? ■Tilterbug dancing is coming back, to a limited degree. Just as the fast dances won wide support in the last war, so have the spirited routines come back to popularity in this war. I believe, however, that the Lindy Hop, the Shag and other such panty- waist routines will not soar to the very top because we are still too close lo their recent popularity wave. ' Your dance. Mr. Printer... Betiriy Coodtiian Orch (18) tiiith Peggv Lee; Moke & Poke, Radio Royues (3), frank Sinatra; 'Star Spangled Ahi/tlini' (Pnr) reviewed in 'Variety' Dec. 30. To resurrect a timcworn cliche— 'wonders will never cease.' Benny Goodman's band is not only playing a novelty number here CRosie the Riveter,') but the leader sings the lyric, and for a guy who doesn't often show his tonsils he's not bad. Goodman's large band, with which hc'.s still having personnel trouble, particularly among trumpets, backs this otherwise good show in just a fair manner. The combination U car- ried a great part of the way on the leader's clarinet, as effective as ever. Perhaps the supreme .test of comparison between the current .!;roiip and the Goodman of the past IS in the flnale, 'One O'clock Jump.' It doesn't generate a fraction ol the reaction the standard piece of jump material h:'s in the past. However, regardless of this particular opin- ion, the audience when caught loud- ly enjoyed Goodman's music. His band is comp::s2d of five sax, four trumpets, three trombones, five rhythm (bass sax is among latter). Peggy Lee, pert blonde vocalist with the band, does, an able sing- ing, but lacking sales job up front of the 45-50-minute show. She opens with 'Don't Get Around Much Any- more.' then 'Why Don't You Do Rislit.' recording of which is becom- ing a resounding click for the out- fit. Audience could have taken more of her, but Goodman cut into ap- plause with a band number. Lee Castle. CN-bandl:ader-trumpeter. is now with Goldman, getting sever.-1 solos; so is Jess Stacy, pianist, Miff Mole, tiomborist. and Hank 'D'Ami- co. sax-clarinet. Moke and Poke, Harlem jiair of dancers-comediiins. click solidly in their soot. Two i!ninhibited artists make the best impression with their dancing, which consists of a tap routine, followed by a jitterbug bit wherein one Is outfitted as a gal. Their songs are effective mainly be- cause of the mugging that goes with them; words arc indistinguishable. One of the m-^st effective turns of its kind is the Radio Rogues. This trio of impersonators rings the bell consistently with a neatly paced string of vocal aoings of variou.": personalities. List is too long to de- tail, but the outstanding ones are Walter Winchcll. Paul Muni. Wall- ace BrK-y. Peter Lorre (best), and F. D. R.<^ Frank Sinatrr.. rx-Tommy Dorsey vocalist now on h s own and due to step into Lucky Strike's Hit Parade soon, rates as the outstanding c'ick of the bill. Desoitc an apparent nervousness in his voice this show, he hit the customers solidly with 'Where or When.' 'There Are Sur'i Things.' 'Craziest Dream." 'For Me And My Gal.' and 'Song Is You.' He sells tunes easily and he possesses a wealth of smooth salesmanship in his voice, phrasing and shading per- fectly. He's a definite comer as a soloist. Bi7. big. Wood STATE, N.Y. ventriloquist act. Clowning is su predominant that few realize until the act is over that this is strictly a vet ventriloquist turned comedian He's usmg two stooges per usnai with only one • session with the familiar wooden 'Charley.' This is excusable because it's an outstand- ing bit of work in this category. The heckler in the audience and his final appearance on the stage'in typical zoot suit to warble a song (with Gaby doing the actual vocal) is top. flight stuff. His doubling for the femme's vocals also is clever work. An ace turn anywhere. Romo Vincent, who intros the acts, is a bit feeble on his early repartee but solid when he starts his own string of songs and imitations. The 'Five by Five' tune and 'No. 29 In the Middle of the Line' are favorites, and nicely clickeroo. The 'Lone' Ranger' song with a variegatiid string of takeoffs seems a bit over- done or at least badly strung to> gether.' Withal, though, a nicely re- ceived act. Cat>ot and Dresden, class ball- room team, offer a smart array of dances featuring those airplane twirls. Youthful combo, both attrac- tively garbed, appears as much at home on the vaude stage as in night clubs, where they have been most recently. In number one slot ij Adriana and Charly, classy tram> poiin team. Man is dressed in sailor outfit while femmc works as under- stander to catch him on his leaps off the net. Nicely gaited with suf- ficient comedy to make it differ from similar turns. Ruby Zwcrlini;'s house orchestra works on the stage for this show, with tasteful stage mounting to set off band. Biz near canacity at first nieht f'-'-.v. New Year's eve. Wear. • FLATBUSH, B'KLYN Elln Fitzgerald & Four Keys, Roriio Vincent. Frank Gaby (3), Cabot & Dresden. Adriana & Charly, Ruby Zwerling's House Orch; 'A Night lo Remember' (Col), tc- vieived in current 'Variety.' Typical holiday-week lineup here and geared for pop appeal for New Year's stanza. While only five acts, there's sufficient variety for this season of year. Ella Fitzgerald plus her foursome and Romo Vin- cent arc tabbed for top honors, but Frank Gaby's act actually steals part of the laurels. Since Miss Fitzgerald, "the tisket- tasket girl.' gave up the orchestra she's been batoning ever since Chick Webb's untimely death, she has car- ried on with this male foursome. Combo is patterned after the Ink- spots and Mills Bros., but stands on Its own—a smooth-playing instru- mental-song group, consisting of the usual bass fiddle, piano, guitar and one straight warbler. Four boys furnish effective vocal back- grounding for Miss Fitzgerald's vocalizing, long her forte since joining the Webb outfit. The Fitz- gerald-Four Keys combo has been around in the east in nitery and vaude date!:, but this is the first ap- pearance in a major N. Y. vaude house. With the rep from disks, present act measures up to the fondest hopes of her -admirers. Paced by clever arrangements, with the foursome dovetailing trimly on all numbers, she romps through an array of tunes that includes 'White Christmas,' 'Heigh. Ho,' and This Is the Army, Mr, Jones.' 'Xmas' is a particularly novel Interpretation, while 'Heigh, Ho' is a typical swlngeroo nifty. Crowd here clamored for more, whole turn being a top click from the opening song. Gaby mops up with his comedy Bennv Rubin, Rnniona. Winik & Mae. Harmonica Rn.<;cals. Tnniniy Reynofds Orch (15); shorts. Just a so-so show this week, pos- sibly because the band never gets started. The Tommy Reynolds crew is a young outnt. with irvost of the side- men looking, and aclin.i: their age. Even the vocalists never get rolling. Martha Ann Cooper, a looker with- out a voice, docs "Mr. Five by Five' and Jack Wyatt. the bass player, steps down for a frog-voiced chorus of "Whatcha Know. Joe' The instrumentation has four sc:;es. four trunipets, two trom- bones, bass, piano, drums and Reynolds on the clarinet. In addi- tion to playing the show, they do 'Stardust' and "Dark Eyes.' neither particularly good. Reynolds is okay on the clarinet but everything else is uninspired. Benny Rubin m.c.'s the show, tells some gags, and hoofs. His hoofing is expert, as is to be expected, and delivered in efTortless style. Par- ticularly good was the stepping that illustrated 'the time I followed a dog art.' He doesn't however, give them enough dialect yarns. Only other hoofing on the bill comes from Paul Winik and Edna Mac. good-looking team. The boy works with taps while the gal does a modified soft shoe step. Makes for a tricky and interesting combo. Ramona does her usual deft job on the ivories and vocals with 'Blue Skies." 'I Had the Craziest Dream.' 'Baby. Won't You Please Come Home." This Is the Army' and 'Smoke Gels in Your Eyes.' Latter is done as a piano solo. The piano, mounting a long fluorescent lamp over the keyboard, is turned toward the audience. With every lamp in the house dark, the fluorescent glares like a million-watt search- light. The Harmonica Rascals, closinu show, are the one solid click. They've got a straight man where Borrah Minevitch used lo l>e. a new shorty and a fat boy who sings. Their music is still tops, with the comedy a close second. Timing is perfect, especially in the 'feud' be- tween shorty and fatstuff. and shorty's silent swish routine. , They do There Are Such Things. 'Always in My Heart.' 'The Ameri- can Patrol' and 'Beguine.' Biz good. Frnh, SMAU SETS VAUDE SHOW AROUND DURANTE Hollywood. Jan. 3. New Paul Small vaude unit, built around Jimmy Durante and titled 'The Big Time.' Is slated to open at the Curraii. San Francisco. Feb. 15, with same Itinerary as its predeces- sor 'Show Time.' Show will move into Los Angeles in March, prior to hopping off tor Broadway. Lou Forman is assigned as musical conductor.