Variety (Oct 1943)

NI8CBI.LA1IY Wednesday, October 6, 1913 Jo( Milkr, Comics' Bread V Butter. Paid Homage on 'Top This' 1st Amii y GEORGE BOSEN ♦ ..Aflcv 228 yeiii's, they, finally Rbt: aroiUKl to . paying hpniage, to. Joe Miltfr fcirca 1715) on' Saturday niRlU (2) , when; upwards, of 200 ol tlie Broadway and :Radio Row mob put on their best nostalgic bibs, sat down to a supper or Why doe.s a Chickcii cross the road a la Kiiic at the Victorian-haunted Mui'ray Hill hotel, K, y., aiid toasted the "Mi Hon Boile of his.timc.' ' . . 'The- midnight . testimonial was tossed by the Ted Bates agency as n two-fold cohimemoralipn of the (list anniversary of the Satv'irda.v ninhl KilC 'Caii Vpu Top This?': program with its., three, ace: fiaijstersr—'Sbna- tnr' Ed Fprci, Joe Laurie, Jr„ Harry llershfield-r-and in • tribute Ip • the • guy whp gave them, their stpck-in- tiacle. As '(jhpst of honpr' Mjilcr^s spirit occupied the center chair on, the. dais', while Ford, yHcrshiieid; Laurie and olhei' top • entertainers expressed appreciative acknowledg- ment; of their debt to the gagsler who .first cast the gchi; 'Wh.p Was that lady I seen you with last night'." .The shindig developed into a free- for-all. ...with' the .dais occupants shooting the works on their own particular variations of Millci's art and tossing grcnade.s at the 'Top .This' trio of garrulous'joke ghouls in a manner somewhat ' reminiscent of Ihie bygone Friars Club Saturday . night ribtests only cleaner; ■ Hershfield emcee<l the ceremonies, broadcast via NBC, and'was scldb'm in beUer form. Laurie must have forgptteh his uplift shoes. He gave the appearance to the diiiers that he was wearing a triple toupee as he Stood before the mike and Vvent into an a.utobipg spiel of a. Joe Mil- ler jpke. .tracing it 'from • its birth through its hectic, career in vaude-. villc,: pictures' and finally radio. Aside trpm Miller's contribution to show business 'and- keeping plenty comedians alive,' Laurie kiidoesed. the . laterlamented gag writer for helping the food ration situation/.'As. long as there's a Joe Miller . joke arpund.' he' quipped, 'there'll always be eggs ' . Deadrpan Ford, owner and one of the trio of cribbcrs of Top This,' hit a new high on the' meter, be- moaning the iact he failed.tb click as well during the regular 9:3Ci stanza. ■;Fred Ston6, apropos tp radip, did a svyitch on a Pat and Mike gag; Lew Lchr came through .with his sput- tering, tpngue-lwistihg sound effects ill a refurbished Miller yain that brought it right up into shortwave; Tex O'Roiii kb slung a . vocabulary oT such magnitude and grandeur tliat it had. Laurie, Ford and Her.sh- field looking oh bewildered; but they came out of it.when O'Rourkc typified Ford as a humorist 'who coiild easily be visualized flpating apwn a river on a' marble slab.' He paid, tribute to the Three Blood'. Sweat and Tears' for .immortalizing the humor of a great man. Fraixk Fay' in.sisted he knew noth- ing about Miller, but wanted to do homage to the guy 'if only"for the fact he was the cause for Laurie. Hershfield and Ford going to work.: Kay .wound up in a bit with Bert Wheeler, lousing up his 'Laugh Time' partner's punchline, Howard Slid Shelton, and Smith and Dale added to the fun ^^ilh their standard routines, with J. C. Flip'pen also on biiefiy. . Hershfield 'dedicated''a plaque 'in - belated and worshipful tribute ' to Joe Miller' which he's going to try .to pal m o/I on the Museum of the City ot New, York. Par, Tufts Not Yet Near Wage Revision Sonny Tufts* $250-a-week: contract with Paramount is still far frpm.any rcailju.stment (ipwards,, says: Leo Morrison, Hollywood agent for Tufts. . , . ., .I\Iorri.<!on is now in N. Y. trying, ampng.Pther thing.'!;, to Set "a .'revival' af Ralph Spence'^s 'The Gorilla,' yes- teryear play aucceiis, which the au- thor has modernized. Price of YellenV Songs In Soph's U Fihn Deal HpUywood, Oct..5. Sophie 'Tucker's deal with Univer- sal for a stint in Three Cheers for the' Boys'\has becoriie complicated by the . demands of Jack Yellen, iuiiesiTi ilh of hiost of ' Miss Tucker's 'material. Yellen, in submitting two rongs for the film, 'Thei.Bigger the Ai'my and Navy,' and 'You Can't Cook liugs and Kisses,' iS'. asking $•1,000 for ' the. songs, although tht Dr.'ai I i agency, hjs reps, already siib- riii'ttcd them fpr $2,000.' • Yellen notes that Orsatti. never had the right tP submit :the songs for the -.price offered. Universal ofTered iP pay the' sum fpr licensing their use fpr the picture,., not pur- cha.sing outright, but Yellen insists that if MiSs Tudker thinks, (he sum «.sked of the studio is. too high,-he would rather give them to her for nething rathier than accept less. Only Producers Who Produce Get Screen Credit on 20th Pix .Hollywood. Oct. S. Beginning with Darryl Zanuck,:all: producers on the 20th-Fox lot will be iiod pr debited with their own ' roductions. From npw on «p- .bpdy . will:; be eniblazohed oh x the screen as Executive. Pioducer in Ghargi; of Productiph.' or' Associate PrPdi'iccr, or'ariy. kind of producer p.xccpt the fellow w:hp actually prp- 'duccs-the picture.' . Under the new regime Zanuck will produce 'Purple Heart;' 'Wilson' and 'One World,' , Isking the bp\Vs or bumps as they cpmc, without an executive ailibi.-- TANGUAY DOES CARE, SUES ON BIO FOR 75G ' Los Angeles. .Oct. 5. Eva Tanguay, pldtime' stage star, filed suit for $75,000 against Elza Schaliert. .writer,'a 'John Doe' and a 'Jane: Doe,' demanding .siich pay- ment pr the return of material deal-' ing with the story ol her life. Delivery .actiPn; registered in Su- perior 'Court, declares the biograph- ical material \vas turned over to the defendants last Jan. 1, with no rcr liu'ns since. Actress .declares the tale of. her stage career is worth at least $75.0,00 as magazine, book 'or serccn. material. Barrymore's 'Chinese Tenement^ Back in Court Los Angeles.'Oct. 5. John Barrymore's old- home in the hills, which the deceased actor once described as a 'Chinese tenement,' is in litigation again, this lime through an action for $i,925..brought by Mrs. Evelyn T. Sprager against Elaine tBarrie) Barrymoi'c, la.st of the. playefs wives. ' , . Plaintiff charges various works of art were removed from the mansion, after she had bought it. Chief bone of contention is a set of carved wooden' door panels which' the com- plainant .says were 13th century nudes which had mysteriously de- veloped garments of' a later day when she took over the house. McCrea Quitting Pix To Be U. S. Aide on Beef Hollywood. Oct. 5. Joel McCrea. passes put of .pictures for the diiration'of the war on his final take in 'Buffalo Bill' at 20th- Fox. so he declares. Bill Cody gained the name'of 'Buf- falo Biir by shooting bisons to rhakc beet for the construction gangs layr ing the first, tracks lor the Union Pacific across the prairies. McCrea ;s now raising cattlie in San Fernando Valley and is dickering with the De- partment of Agriculture for a chore as technical advisor on the produc- tion' of steaks on the hoof. . L.&H.^ Own Pix Hollywood, Oct. .' Indcprn^cnt producing. plans ' of .Laurel;;& Hardy are going forward and will take fPrm at the -expira- tion of the comedy team's contracts with Metro and 20th-Fox. , irst two on their own will be modernized versions of 'Don .Quix- ote' arid a rhuslcqlizcd 'Fra DiavoIP.' , BOOK ON THE DUKE ' George Frazier, feature writer for Life mag. doing a bpok on Duke Ellinjgton for Harper & Bi-os. .' ; Recommended by Maurice Zolo- tow; feature, writer, whp dicl the piece on 'th* Duke for Satcvepost recently. Now i Its 67th Week KEN MURRAY . . (; lackoiits of 15f43" £l Capitan Th.eatrej. H'yyobdi Calif. "Madmore i.iujjiis at your nIioW Ijian wc li;ive h.id since we've, been in , ridlfornla. The only difference l)ci\vl'<.n 'IShicKouis'' and .'J Ivll'/apop- pin' is wc shoot more KUii.-*." . Olsen and Johnson. Nilery Film With Paramount ( uddy de Sylva) planning a 'Stork Club' filmusical (Winchell says Par paid boniface Slierrnan Billing.sley $100,000 for the title), and Metro's musical remake of G rand Hptcl' bbcpm ing 'A. Week-, end at the .'Waldorf,' a cycle of nitery nni.sicals may follow. Lou Walters has long cherished a; film 'idea built around his "Latin Quarter.' Clirtord C. Fischer's ;Folies Bergcre' already was musicalized, in pix some years ago by Joe Schencki with Maurice.'Chevalier in the lead. Hunt Strpmberg has the Ed Siillivan story built arpuiid Arnold Reuben-; there's' another glorifying Liridy's. herring in the .work; and Billy Ro.se's 'Diamond Horseshoe' has likewise been discussed off and oh by Holly- woodians. ROCKEFELLER CENTER'S RECORD %l TENANCY Reflecting the war-boomed era pi PVO.'rperity and particularly the: ex- paiided requirements for. show biz activities. Rockefeller Center, for (he first time-since its construction, has attained a OB":',, tenancy. Figure has been reached in recent weeks, with a greater .concentration, of show biz offices ■ <agents, bookers, film com- panies and representatives, personal j)ianiigci'.s. etc.), partially responsible for the record upbeat. With il.s total availability of 4.000,t 000 square feet, only 30,000 feci re- main unlehantcd, despite the higher rental figures that prevail, at the huge. xlievelopment, covering, a sev- eral block area between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Likewise cited as factors are the coniplete cessation of building ac- tivity, in N.. Y. since the war, and the fact that .such tenant-corporations as U. S. Rubber, Standard Oil, Sperry Gyro.scope, American Cyan- amid and Curtiss-Wrinht. devoting full time to war'production, are also, expanding theii- administrative set- ups, requiring additional space. Chiefly, aimed at preventing a de- terioration of the sector by outside encroachments, the Rockefeller in-i tcrcsts during: the past few weeks, have bought'up.considerable adjoin-, ing property 'on iSiSth avenue, with piobabilily of a Rockefeller Center post-vvar expansion .program being undertaken. . Back-in-New York Runaround By/Radie Harris ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ » ♦ ♦ ♦ « ♦ ♦ Reflections of the Hollywood Scene after leaving it: . .No Holly\yood:pr6diicer looks like Vinton Freedley, Dwight Wiman or JohnC. Wilson. ,,np bistro has a piapp; playing host'with the'charm of Roger ;i23' Stearns..'.hp bpniface dispeii.ses largesse with the exlray.-i- gance Pf Sherman'Billingsley.. . .n(3 movie queen, with makeup' by Wcst- mpre, phptpgraphy by Hiiurell anii: clothes by Irene can approach the glaimpr of ^Gertrude Law'reiic:e...no one on Broadway boast^ as much 'compli' as. Hedy LaMarr, Paulette Goddard and Rita Hay worth.' The Berle-ing Point S=By MILTON BERLE sss My brother (Ihe one who drives the ambulance-for Dr. Kildarc) has a new. job. He sells iodine and Band-Aios to : horses that got scratched. Or us the cop-.said li'lien 'he. ar- rested the p/ioiiy /ortiiiie teiter/'Lo]/ llint crystal dou'H, Babe, lay l/iat crystal ddu'ii.' . The papers reported that in the Flprida eyergladts there is a tribe Of Indians which has a. snake as its God; That's not unusual. In Ger- many, they've been worshi ing a rat. for' years. • If love -nas rBtlbned like' gasoline would yoii be satisfied witb .two gaU a. week.. SigMsMdu'il never see: Mike RoinaiiOjff's •u'illiout Eddie Man« fj'ii Tuminy ' game; Uoxtis Shkrt u-ithoni Alex D'Arcy and Georges MciaXti; vlrdiur Lyoiis^ tDil'iou( Kitty. Carlisle; Georec Ra/t iuithouf a torch. . Thoughts to (ormeiit your dreonw: tii'the /qce o/ the; recent oi'erseii.s jaimts of such American enlerlainers as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Alnrilin Raye, Ai Jolson', Frances Lavg/oTd, Larry Adler, et ol., how can ceriai.i English bar/lies Mere cbiitimce (o line icit/i (licmselues?. .;iii onj/ popidnrity porr.aiiioiig his cp-ti'orfcers, Cory Grojil would win by a-'flollpp.' . These are not tubrlU fighting ior: parlies b]/ Elsie Mendl, • Cyr an Virginia Hill.; .ichy, U'il/i all the viiv^ical beauty of the outdoors, isix't there one restotirdnt that hos lafcen advanfdge of the scdiieri/?.... prertiction.' SyltJio. Fine's iiiiprpuisation of the 'Lobby' iiiimber . in 'Up Anils' (GoXdwyn) trill be one of the .most inseitious scenes (o hit the scfeeii., .and Danny Kaye's clowning (hrouphout the picture ti-ill 'jikiKc fii'm a big comedy find.. .as ' a successor 'to (he late. Lilian Tds/iTiidii for the tiest dressed' loomoii in 1/ollyi'oood, oiic. iiote here to Marjorie Galcsoii: ■■. iimost envieA Broadwayite in filmdomr the one u*6 has o trains reserrn- .ii6»t back ..to N. Y. ' ' Newest vogue among the glamor girl.s; marrying bpbies: instead , of hay- ing. ihem.; volcano in. a •'Lifeboat': Tallu'liih Bankhcad.... Ultimate in chic:; Mitchell Lcisen's jibrlable dressing lodm on the-,set of- '.Frcnchniiiirs, Creek'. .Southern wit in a Rcmiiigton key: Mary iSlullerin' Sinn' IDdwciI . .marital bliss in four words: .Lovctta Young'and .Major 'Tom Lewis:. . : the corner drugstore on.every Main street; ^Schwab's.. .youth, jaded with- sophi.s'tication: Judy Garlaiid. Diaiia ari ymorc, Nancy Kelly aiid 0"iia' 'O'Neill. : ~ •; Tlie traffic tcdst.e of W. C. -Fitld.s' larcnt.. .minlc puer slacks. ;.)ip.'i(csses u-lib iiirite Uymie Vinh to l/ieir parties be/ore they inuite iJieir gnests... the serenity and continued yood liiiinor o/ erery publicity: dept. iit (lie /ace of some 400 scribes all danioring. fair e.vclusiue istories. ...niy favorite 'characters': Jiminie Gleason, Eli:«bct/i Patterson, .Victor Moore fi,ii;l Ediiiund Gu;c.nn;. .'Elsie-Janis' neiy. rodio shoio. the result of Tony Stan- ford's unwavering loyalty ...castles liitilt on sand... .the /our »npst. brer- used words in the dictioiiory; '/'—'Me'-^'V'cs'-:-'Terrii'ic'.. .nclre.'s.'i miildi>a the most ropid strides: Anne.Baxter.. . the delighted pans of Alfred /JircU- cbcfc and 5ophie Tucker tuhcii .tlicy iiiect someorie who hiisn't seen thetfi since they've shelved all thai potmdage.. .Mary Pickford's 'great, big, licauti/iil dolt,' her one-year-old adopted daughter, Roianne.,.. the astittc- 'ness of L. fl. Mayer In engaoirig Nat Wolff to set up a radio dept. at Metro . . .Orson Welles' gorgeous hamming as Rochester in. 'Jane Eyre'. . .Dumt . Mae Whitty's .classic pbsCrualion; 'Thi.s-is (he golden age of mediocrity" ■ Another (x) 'ray'-of Hope!. .in Bob Hope's famous collection of over* seas souvenirs, there is none that lie eels a~ bigger kick' put of showing Iha^n' an eiilarged picture of a. messhall in Sicily with a huge placard tacked on the guest of honor chair... .emblazoned in big letlers is written: 'To hell with Bob Hope—this is where Frances Langford sits!' Robeson's Pitch Continued from pace 1 representing the American Federa- tion of Musicians,, who heartily en- dPrsed the plan, . apppinling Bill Fcinberg, secretary of Local 8(12, as the union's rep. Goddard Licber- .son, of Columbia Recordings, is af- filiated with Robeson in steering I'ne committee. Basic plan,'which is to break down the discrimihatiph being shown ne- groes' in such fields as grand opera, .symphony orchestras, theatre oiches-. tras, radio networks and on com- mercial radio programs, is high- lighted in a portion of the letter Sent out by Robeson:.. 'We in music know, how narrow and constricted is the: Negro's po- sition. As a professional, musician he receives no opportunity tp play in our .symphony orchestras, iii hotels or theatre pits. One radio network has thrown a sop tP him by hiring several Negro musicians on its regular staff. Almost np Ncgrp instrumentalists are heard on com- mercial radio programs. No Negro lingers are. Considered for major opera companies. Only a handful of outstanding Negro-artists have hiah- aged tp overcpme.all obstacles and make careers fpr them.selves; . 'The, oppprtunitie? for niusiciil educatiori'j fpr, musical 'scholarships, for advancement, are scarce. Thu.s, calling together of musicians to take actipn to form a cpuncil pf Negrp mu.siciahs and .Negrp music. Our aim.£ are tp seek corrtplele educatiphr al dpppvtuni'tics . for Negroes in niusic, and to gain for-the l^egro in mii'sic, equal Pppprturiities. pf cm- ploynicnt and to tirpvide the ab'un- dant talents of the Negro musicians with aciciqual'e mfeans of expression.' On Mr. Robespn's velurh to New York with - the Theatre Guild's; •Othello,' the Council will meet in its'; first : meeting, and plans tp take immediate steps, will be drawn up. REDGRAVE APPEALS TO BRITISH DRAMA CRITICS Michael Redgrave, British; stage and screen star, has publi.shcd in •appeal to the (Engli.slv drama) critics as a body; to aid, not to hiii- der, the . renaissance in the theatre . which \vc, as much' as they,, desire.' Itis views were contained in a recent article in The New Statesman and NatiPri, English discussion weekly. Denying that he was' raising the issue 'out of piqiie because of the failure' of Peter Ustinov's comedy, •Blow Your Own'Trumpet.' in which he- recently-: appeared and which failed in the West End after unfavor- able reviews, Redgrave cohcUided' his piece with the plea, .•We arc not asking foe milk and water ciiti- tisins.. .rather,' that professional Nvoi'k be judged pr'ofes.sionaily.' , , According to the actor, this 'is a moment when a truce in the cen^ turies' old .fictitious battle between artists and critics should be pro-' claimed.. .The- artists . rely oh ■ the critics to help sell their woi;k.' The critics,'as such, would nbtcjist if that, wpfk were npt. there for Ihcni to criticize.' He then proceeds tb dPplpre the tendency.. of critics to ovcr-pfaise frivolously popular com- edies arid savagely attack dramas of more serious iritention.: Redgrave suggests a fiyc-point re-, form program which, he cpnionds, •wpiild give, dignity tp the Critics' Circle, as well as to the art it sevvcs.' His live proposed reforms are, <1.) that all criticism' be signed;;'2i : theatre reviews, like those of film-S bP held uiitil the Saturday edition, to give the critic more chance-to evalu- atie the plays and allot- cach its prop-- cr share of space; (3) that -facetioiis • hbadlincs, making, fun of the play, be barred;' t4) that, in their weekly revie'vir the critics write britfly of '.some show already reviewed in full, to repPrLhpw well.the standard pf playing is* niaintained or improved since the first night; (5) that there liis soifie standard of competence Ip'" critics.