Variety (May 1943)

WnlpcstUy. M»y 26. 19*3 PICniBES V Uncle Sam's CaUboaril fornuTly ciiiiisc. Tfonmine had inarsli'ucd over CBS. ]l:iri-.v Davis, former Broadw-a; l-i.^ ucMn; has been made a corporal i.i I he Special Service Office. For I hi' iiHRl f<^\v months Cpl. Davis has h.-cii direcliiitf plays, vnriciy and tidurr jiliows here. Dec Handel Goeii In New York. Ma.v 25. Ui'. I.oii Handel, director or ihc M.Miiin Hiclure Research Buri::iii. v.hii-li set up headquarters at Metro la.si .vear to check audience roavlion 111 iilcturp-!. reiKJrtcd for Army duly fiiitay 1211 at Fort Dix, N. .). The Re.search Bureau will vunljiuio tu operate under the dircclioii of Kiilh .McCoUum, a^'sistanl to Dr. II:iiiJol. but will weeks. return cu><l in a couple uf Lcvk' Slirrrell. tulent afient. Army. Gil Sirven.<. bund piiinist. Army Air Corj)."'. Geoi'se 'Builels' Dur^on. manager of blind sln|{er.>:. Ferry Coinm:ind. .Ii*i'i-y Burton, baritone DmiaUue'.i band, left the Si. Louis to join the Navy. with outnt it'll Capt. Benjamin New Robert S. Benjamin, who has beiMi ii'iAiiiy as lieutenant in tlie U. S. Aiiiiy Signal Corps, stationed at A.'iiiiria. L. I., has been promoted to i'aiit»iii. Ht'njamin was a inembcr of the law flrtii of Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin and Kniii, before entering the service. Ray Bathell's BUJ*rltjf> Seattle, May 25. ' I i s now Major Ray Botholl. for- iiifi- aiisistant manager of the Lib- oi-ty. Major Bothell Is in. the anti- ail-craft division, .Mavor Harry Cain, of Tacomn, is ni>» .Major Harry Cain, Belly Bryant Joinn R. C. Holly Bryant, singer at the Ruban Bleu. N. Y., has enlisted in the Red C'ros.s and e.xpects to be ."sent over- M'Rs as an ambulance driver nest iixiiith. .She li-rt Monday (241 for the Coast, Kendrlck at Camp Lee Camp Lec. Va., May 25. Rivliai'il Kendrlck, who took o\'er the I)«)iiald Cook role in 'Claiidlu* when John Golden'brought the )>luy back to Broadway at popular prices, has br^un ba.<Ic training here. <'abol, Preslon, l.ogan Advance Hari-isbiirg. Pa.. Ma.v 25. Film actors Bruce Cabot and Rob- ert I'l-eston and stage director Jo.>!hua Lnt;an have bcon graduated from Army Air Forces School here. The mun. all second lieutenants. left iin- inediutely for new assignments. Stover Wilb llawallaa Vnll Hollywood May 25. r\i. Hiirry F. Stover, West Coast de.-igner and prior to his induction connected with Parambunt's art dept., is currently on tour with the Cnpt. Maurice Evans Entertainment Section^ Special Services, in the Hawaiian Islands. Unit is currently touring the islaiuls with 'Hey, Mac' an original nnisical show: 'Boy Meets GirV and 'Room Service." Henry. Rowland, screen actor. Army. Dave Ilaima. drama critic. Marines Bcii Alexander, radio actor- commentator. Navy. Linn. Harbertson. icrecii actor. Army. Al Spar, screen cartoon unit man- ager. Army. Henry (Hank) Weaver, radio an nouiicer. Marines. Herb Sbriner, radio harmonica playing'^omic. Army. YA. MANAGER DIES OF HOLDUP GUN WOUNI^ Portsmouth, Va., May 25. Maro Terrell, Negro, manager of the Capitol theatre here, died last wi!i'k in King's Daughters', hospital alter having been shot in the abdo- men during a holdup of the theatre several days previously. A box containing belween $700 and MOO was seized from him by a Neurit ■ man and woman who e.'^vH|>ed. New Story Angla Newark. May 25. .\ now twist in th« old alibi game wa.i given by Nicholas SalerniUno, 10. who was arrested Wednesday I l»i charged with stealing $7M from the office sate of the Fox Tei-minal theatre. According to Salemitano. he was 'forced' to (teal the money by -three bandlta, who threatened to shoot my mother If I didn't come a<-i'o:>s' Ex^Stage Mgr. 'Reviews* America's Biggest Show North Africa editor. 'Variety': ■ Well. I Anally hit the 'big time.' This is. without a doubt, the biggest *name unit' I have over appeared with. We had the usual run of trou ble getting started. We went into rehearsal over a year ago. There was soma delay at flrst in getting wardrobe and props, but thanx to good management all tills has been remedied. The big show is produced by F.DJt.. tha greatest producer of all time—^he's even better than Bar ney Joffec or Mike Todd. The 'angel' behind the production is Miss Lib- erty; the flnanclal end of tha CX' travaganza is backed by Mr. and Mrs. America. What a production this has been; early morning and late pight rehearsals; and talk about Jumps—it's nothing for this unit to travel six or ten thousand miles Just for one show, This Is the most profltable unit I have ever been on—it'.s cooperative, everyone concerned with it realities _ IMU-c recovered $707 of the stolon _ . lioiiie. The theft was discovered It's a different 1'iirtday (IB) by the caretaker of the —one strange thing: the show is going tbeatrc, where Salernitano was em-' on now, ypi the Anal act hasn't been ON BEAM IN ALASKA Somewhere in Alaska. Edili-r. 'Vaiicty": Thank.- fur your letter of April 9 and the cli|>|)inB you enclosed re !icript material. Wc wrote imme- diately to S|>ecial Services Divi.sinn. Washington, D. C. Our most recent traveling USO show here at our isoUitcrl Alaskan outpifst. land I do mean Isolated' was. the Bert Wheclcr-Hunk Ladd troupe. Wheeler. \'.ho is as strong as ever, had the men in the aisles from the very start. The show was announced and mc'd by Ladd. who btoufiht Wheeler on to tumultuous applause. Tli.e usual Wheoler-Ladd dialog fol- lowed to terrific palm-pounding. Ladd brought on Franeetta Malloy iMrs. Hank Laddi, a shapely lass with a winsome personality .and plenty on the ball. Miss Malloy worked a bit with Wheeler and Ladd and then did a few songs on her o\\,n. "The stuff was solid, and met with a tremendous reception. She, Wheeler and Ladd had Just left 'Pri- orities of 1942.' and were all on the. beam. Music for the act was dished up by Penny Beaumont, another looker who made a smart impression with her syucopacioua accordionis- tics. To add to things, the day was one of our Arctic 'worsts,' and they worked uiuler • terrlflc handicap, but tlu'y were all trouper.1 from the ground up. and the'show went forth full blast. Wheeler reminiaced a bit about his earlier pictures and sang a song or two. Ttit show played about an hour and a halt and, per- sonally, it was one of the most en- tertaining periods I have ever spent. There was nothing weak atMUt it: it was well rounded from every angle, strong on l>elly laughs, and aocko from start to finish. Earlier this year USO sent up two girls, Nancy Healy and .fo Andrews, both dancers around whom I built • nine-act vdude bill that toured the command to a terrific reception. Other than that, as far as outside talent it con cerncd. all has been quiet in these parts. AmbHIeiis Pkuu We have an extensive Special Services program under way and plan to add to it as time goes by. We have a radio station under our control over which w« produce • number of live shows and are lay ing plans for more. We have sev- eral traveling vaudeville units. GI talent, and in cooperation with the Red Cross are sponsoring a number of other activities. One of them bC' -ing what we call • 'Fun Nite.' For this we dig up a few qiMcialty acts; ■ome Red Cross glrla^ • few games, gags and ao forth and whip out to an organization. ..thereupon comet our *Fun Nite.' There are gamea, singing, acts ' and refreshments. Nothing very pretentious...but the men go for it in a big my. Red Cross does most of the work on these affairs with tha girls planning the games, leading the community singing and serving the refresh- ments. The organization is encour aged to let itself go, so to apeak, and it does with a vengeance and we find '^SfiTSJNo Better Tonic Say U.S. Soldiers At Aussie Bases of Yank Vaude I Red Cross Brevets I {jSSS Conllnuti from iiane 4 ^^sj and Harry Kalchoim (Wm. Morris .'Veency)^ A\ Wilson (Edward Smith .Aery I, and Sonny Werblin and Phil Bloom (MCAt. and po.ssibly other:;. Various committees nn the benefit how ai)d R.. C. rallies are t>eing isked to submit any names that are deserving of citations in case they have been missed. The Shew Bb I'enlrlbaiUn With the procession of benefits, especially, tor war charities, it's ever a source of amazement to show biz onlookers how unselfl.sh]y and selt- lessly so many of the rank-and- filers, as well as tlie production top- pers, give of themselves. It's not mere token attendance to benefit powwows; it's an active participation and a realistic approach to the anuMth performance of gala shows. For the record. now. as well as for the past and future, here is an Oiscar in print to tireless workers, on the Job from the staging to the actual premiere, such as Bob Weitman, Marvin Schenck, Gus Eyssell, Leon Leonidoff. Arthur Knorr, Hassard Short, Ed Sullivan, Hal Home, Carl Erbe, Lou Woltson, Abe Lastfogel, Kenneth Thomson, Jimmy Cagney, Charles K. . Feldman, Jesse Kaye, Harry Mayer, Harry Levine. Milton Berger, Phil Bloom. Sonny Werblin, Sid Plermont (before he went into the service! Eddie (nowCapt.>Dowl- ing. Harry and Nat Kalchelm, Larry Puck, Alan Corelli. Vincent JiwMbi. Solly Pernick, Willie Feinberg. Bert Lytell, Al Wilson, et al. , , ... Morale is a serious problem in ncci' by Pv* EuReno Tobin. type of procluciion 11,^^^ pa^s the men are more others who do a clicko Job of en- ployed. Akron Theatre Bobbed Akron, May 25. Burglars entered the Allen theatre through a rear door, smashed the fi-iini of tlie safe and escaped with o\ er IVIIU. Soldier-WAAC Show Sells $180,000 in Bonds Rockford. 111., May 25. 'We're Tcllin' You.' mu.sical cnm- eily put on by WAACS and soldiers from Cam)) Grant, 111., last Monday al ilie Coronado there, resulted in the sale of over $180,000 in war bonds. Admission was by the pur- i-lia<e of a bond only. Many professionals were in the sho'.v. which was produced uiuler the aii>|iices of Brigadier General John ,M. Will.-i. Camp Grant's commanding olTievr. Outstanding hits were made \iy Pvt. Fi-cikly Wittop, former dano- iii-.; partner of Argcntinita: Pvt. Kreildie Hampton, ex-burlcsciuc C'inu-dian: Sgt. Alyce Coleman, of the \VA.\Cs. in a dancing specialty and the acrobatics of Corpls. Herciile.- j r-Viinomnii and William Harvey. One of the features was the auc writlcn yet. Tlie plot of the produc- tion takes i-arc of that, though. The audience reception so far has been quite favorable: they did throw things at us in a few spots'we pla.ved, but as a whole we have met with applause. Tliere is much drama, very niuch sadiK's'. and even comedy in our production. Yet. come what may, everyone knows -The Show Musi (Jo On' and everyone givc:> their all at ea<-h performance. One bad thing: the shows drags in spots—in fact, everyone thinks that it is too long now. Tlie producers are working on the finale now, though, and we know the curtain will eome down before very long, and the liKhts will go on again. f. Af. (Bi/I) Stein, P.F.C.. Btry. B.. '.iSUl C. A. S T, Bn. c o APO No. 700. C O Postmaster. New York. N. Y. I Formerly stai;.- maniiijer T'>-.vcr tliealie. Kaiistis City. Mo.i That Old Yarn Again Hollywood. May 2.'v .Tiih- Verne's old novel. •2II.;MK| j Thou-aiid Lea;{ues Under llio Sea." i.^ beiiiti re-commissioned as a reeC- than ever dependent upon Special Services for their entertainment <lur- ing off duly periods. We arc kept continually on the alert in search for new ideas and entertainment outlets. In addition to our afore mentioned Special Service activi' ties we aUso have a Ski Lo<lge in operation with an improvised me chaiiiral tow, a circuit showing 16 mm. sound movies to tlie outlying units, several traveling libraries, an extensive outdoor athletic program during feasible months. I .<>liall keep you posted and ad vised on all developments locally and III the event of arrival ol new troupes 1 will drop you a line glv ing the soldier reaction. In clo:>ing, once again through your columns I want to ask my friends, wherever tliey ma.v be. to drop me a line. Mail remains the best morale builder ol all. Lntirenre P. Lousing. Is; t.ieiii. Infantry, Special Service Oillier. Solier Mvical Hypos 360G Bond Sale kPI4r Philadelphia. Miy 39, The boys at the Induction center at New Cumberland, Pa., have wrapped' together 'Pennsylvania on Parade' which they call • It musi- cal' (that's what it ^pit to produce) and are taking it on tour of the State to h3rpo the aale of bonds and stamps. Initial stop was at the Erlanger here last Friday (21). Although the production is no This Is the Army,' the package proves surprisingly good entertain- ment. The cast is loaded with talent with about BO p.c. of it made up of show biz pros. The show title is taken from the tag of the weekly radio show emanating from tho in- duction center and broadcast over a State-wide network (locally over WIP». Many of the khaki-clad Ihespa are w.k.'s in Philly. Among them is Pvt. Alvin Rudnitzky who has ap- peared locally as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orch. He does a big- league Job on his Stradivarius with Sarasate's "Gyp.sy Airs.' Other long-hair item on the bill is the excellent tenor rendition of the Somewhere in .Australia. ^lil/.)r. '\'ariel.\': The March 10 eil.tion of 'Variety* just caufilit ii|) with iiie via Iici-.->eh- cll Stuart and I read with intcre.-t the titory about our USO Show written by Major Lynn Cowan. U Ls all true and more Inn there is an- other chapter that I will toll yon alMut when I gel baek. .\r.\ iroune of vaudeville actois goiii;! overseas to theatres of operation .«houlil have a stroitghandcd manager who w ill cushion and settle the iiuernal ai';;iu ments and trouble.^ to a point that the Army never liears about th":!!, much leks be bothered with tlu-ni. This troupe proved to all. hmvever. that there is no better lonie for tired KOldiers than vaudeville—our own United States brand. My Job Is an inievr<tins one and my experiences will make a very funny book. I k» into tlie various organizations and Ond the show- minded men—there is always an ex« night club performer, radio an- nouncer, or other, type of showfolk in every unit. I .sell (hem on the idea of doing a variety show. giv» thtm material it they need it and help them get started on their own. When they are ready I borrow a truck and send out a portable stage with lights, old fa>hion rolled cur- tain, etc.. that I built for the pur> pose and set up anywhere that is likely around the post—u.sually right in the woods, and give tlia show. Everyliody turns-out and you get some pretty good showj. Sgi Weiner. af Jamaica. I.. I. in one show called 'Bomb Happy* produced by the 22nd Bomb Group there is an m.c. named Sgt. Milton Weiner that can tell a story with the be.st of them and has some real ones to tell. He is a professional and from Jamajca, Long Island. When 1 gel a real good show I tour it to other posts, providing I can get an okay from the commanding officer of the unit producing tha .ohow. As this Is a volunteer leisurt time activity with no men actually assigned to the work. It is some- times difficult for the men to give much time after a hard period of work. The above mentioned 'Bomb Happy' is touring nearby pasts, the men (performer.s 1 knocking off whatever they are 'doing about 2 or 3 p.m. and hiking to the place of performance, helping a local detail erect the .set. giving the show, tak- ing set down and hopping back to the home post. I have to work as bard as I ever did in my lite, if, not a little harder, as I have .several of these rehearsing and playing at once and as far as 200 miles apart and there are many nights that my sleeping hours are limited to three or four hours; but when you sit under these wonderful Australian skies and watch six or seven hun- dred patients laugh themselves back to good health, well, I feel more than repaid for any lack of sleep. These audiences would cer- tainly make an agent's paradise If laughs, I tioniii|> of a radio script autographed I ham;er at Republic w ith William liy Paillette Goddard and Cunstaiicc ' 0'Sulliv:iii 3- skipiier. C'.illicr. which went to A. A. Buseh. I Serial MM-UoiiiR .eecnes will be loc ii jeweler, for the purchase of 1 niified at tv.ii inland luke-. Elsiiiorc "S'lOOO in Itonds. I ai"l Bic B« ar. PRC to Prodoce Own Hollywood. May 2.'>. Pi'idiiei-rs Releasing Cori). is or- gatii/.inu a company to prociiiii- il> ov.'ii pictures, starting in Jul.v, w ili Leon Fromke.<!s as production cliief. Nev.- j-ctup call.s for live units, lii'aiicvd by PnC. coiisi.tliiiit o( H'xi Neufeld. Jat-k Schwarz, Ripk-y-Mm;- Xrv. .A^'<:in'ler Stern and SAN. lertaiiilng are Pvtil Pud McKaskey an ulummis of Borrah Minevitch's Rascal.-, who gets some torrid licks out of a series of assorted hur- mnnicas: Pvt. Harry Segal, whose forte is imi>ersonations (Donald Duck. Jimmy Cagney. Fred Allen, et all: I'vt. .Tohniiy Condello, who croons in the approved fashion— 'Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer.' Pvt. Warren B<xlcn. w.k. to tho nitery circuit here, and Pvt. Buddy Williams, band loader, give out their siiecialties. songs and instrumental, respectively. Pvt. Eddie Shcridaii and Corp. Eddie Brach. hoofologists extraordinary, really pick 'em up and lf\y 'cm down in big-leaguc. fashion, v.-hile Pvls. Bob Decker and Irving Stutr. who doubles as emcee, warble pop tunes. Others on the bill include f*vt. Jack Russell, strong man act. and three unbilled lads who do a hiiari ous -Pansy the Horse' routine, and a chuckle-|)rodiiciiig iiiipre.'.h of the Aiidre-.-.s Si>ler.-. Hou.ic. which sold $:iriO.OOfr worth of bonds as adini.'-sions. scciiied to ijet H terrilir bans out of the thes|is ill o 'I. Forbes at Par Ilolly.vood, May 2.r Paramount signed Ralph Forbes, cii: re-"!!-.- Ir-urmn -A illi Itiilh Chat- lei-ii,i :ri ir.i- li'iit i-hiitt-. 'Private I,.\!•! pl;..v .(ip|iij.-ile Joan Fon- I- ;• <• :i. -Kk-k ' -. Creek ' Speaki-nit-i bout i augTis, rn^^fiT a ropy of 'Variety' that some fellow says that soldiers prefer clean humor. Well, I cannot agree. Sol- diers down here like what can be termed GI humor, which is a risgue joke told cleverly: not dirt for dirt's sake, but a good, raw joke with a really good twist or iioinl. We are rehearsing 'Three Men on a Horse.' 'Wv' means the Base Sec- tion Croiij) Theatre, which is a bunch of the fellows who take the theatre seriously—the 'Little Thea- tre' kind of folks. It's all been a great experience. Capl. Specialist. City, N. Y., Reinstates Men Project ioni.-!t ihembers of Local 3(Hi, Moving Picture Machine Opera- tor.< of N. Y.. which was sued last week for Sl.OUO.OOO damages due to a walkout, are back al the City. N'. Y.. following agreement of the Scoop 14th St. Corp.. 0|>crating the j hoii.-e. 10 reinstate a mainleiiance man. of the sluKchand.s' union, who had been bouni-ed about three wcck.s ago. Thcv went l)aclt Saturday ■ 2-21. Theatre had nrorl the maintenance man. wi'.li rc'^ult the staK*'hnnd.-( picketed the house, the operator- in turn refusing to cross the picket line. The SI.IMlO.OOn suit instituted a we.-k iiK'i ciaiiiu-d 'f,ii.<' ar.d fraud- ulent »taleii'i-i:i-' a.- well as dam- nses.