Variety (March 1944)

VAUDEVILLE Wednesday, M«rch 29, 194-1 AFM Threatens Walkout on Ice Follies' As Owners, WLB Refuse 15% Pay Hike Following the refusal of the Arena Rosenthal Inducted, hei-ff,' housing the Shipstad-Johnson "Ice Follies," to grant a 15'"<, scale boost when the WLB refused to .certify, it, ' the musicians'; ■ uiiii>n -Served a 10-day strilte notice.' The; l7' local .musicians ■Want;increase from_$10^ to $11.50 per performance. for the i^ie"shows per week during the three-week run.- For a time it looked as though the attraction for its final nine days ^^would have to forego music. The : niaijagement was faced either with ■ Vtliat'pirospee^^ jukebox and p.a. system, or bring- Jng in non-union'musicians. However, a Hew WLB. interpreta- tion of the situation may aveit the Strike. After Stanley Ballard, the :■ iinlon's secretary-treasurer;-pointed' ou; thai the SU.50 per man rate .■ repre.sehls the' imusicia^is.''.: regular roadshow scale here, the WLB ad- ;..vised:, him' by . rnail. ..that th'e matter : .is not one for its jurisdiction. " Tjyle wiught, "Arena manager,'TIas informed Ballard that he'll refer the . new ruling, (b his . attOrn.ey and, ■ af- .ter /receiving the latter's; advice, will • (decide whether to boost the pay. AL BORDE AGVA Staff to Split Work Post of legal counsel of the Amer- iciri '-Guild; of;, .yariety ' Artisfs.; >vais. abolished when Mortimer S. Rosen- thal loft for vacation prior to army -induction—Duties w ill—be—divided among present staff with Doris Fleischman; who. assisted . Rosenthal; taking charge of claims, arbitration ■ and , .minimum ■ . basic,'' agreemeiits, >;hile /Murioi Abbott .• Will. ■■ handle agency contracts and franchises. Simultaneously AGVA starts its agency ^ control ■ department which will be headed by Phyllis Biscardi. This sector will see to it that AGVA fi-ari.cKise'd.;age.ntS::and spots hire: only AGVA members in good statKlir.g. : Grace Hartman's Illness Cancels Buffalo Cafe Date Buffalo, March 28. Engagement of the ■ Hartmans at the Hotel Statler for two weeks cur- rently has been cancelled due to Grace Hartman's alTliction with bur- sitis of the shoulder. Russell Swatin holds over for an additional two weeks instead. Barbaro Buys New Del BENTVY MEROFF IN HIS "FUNZAFIRE" COMFANX (FIFTH YEAR) • ^ Now Playing Jack Lyncli'ii WALTON ROOF PHILADELPHIA, PA PHILLY SPOTS MARK TIME ON 30rjAX HIKE Philadelphia, March 28. . PhiUy nite .spot.s are adopting a i'wait and. see". policy , on the ques- tion of eliminating acts and/or musiC; in view of the new 30% tax Which; goes into eflect April 1. A few of the leading hotel-s—nota- bly the Bellcvue-Stratford and the Ritz-Carlton—-are cutting out danc- ing while the Club Embassy has an- nounced that it would eliminate its show at. dinner so that diners would not'have to pay the 30%..levy;.-ShpwS; would go on for supper and riild- hight. ''',;\/V; ;S, :;'■■.:: .'-r''--'^ ■'■ '•■ .' Most of the other spots believe that, the added tax will not affect I business jri: view of the free spend- ing. . Consensu-s- of opinion is • that the sale of: liquor will drop off with patrons buying perhaps one or two less drinks each to/keep;;their checks within the same figure as before the' tax went into effect. Drop in liquor sales would come as a blessing-. in ..disguise to many spots, as they have been struggling along on short booze rations of late anyway. Detroit, March 28. . Frank Barbaro, whose Bowery in Hamtramck is one ol the phenomena in nitery circles, IS extending his holdings hy buying the equally big Grand Terrace Casino here. The huge club, centered in Detroit, where for years it had oper,ited as the Oriole Terrace, was revi,ved a year ago and put into successUil operation as the Grand Terrace. . ■ .• ■' Barbaro announced that he intends to follow his Bowery policy in. the new. spot-with extensive floor shows ■—at'the Bowery they run. continu-. ously from 9 p. m. to the 2 a. m. close—-and dub the theatre-restau- rant the Latin Quarter, However, his new spot may permit a spot of dancing since Barbaro indicated he might alternate a rhumba band: with the .show.'orchestra. : :. ;^ i ^:'^^.. ■ While .trie , d.eai .has boon made, it still has to get the filial saiiCtion .of the. State: Liqtipi" Control Cpmijiis sion, . Whieh . has ;shpwn. . some tencl- ency to frown on chain ownership ;'of niteriesi- .;■.; ■.-.''..V ':'• ''■■■ 'Ice-Capades' Finish Current .edition of Arena Man- agers As.sociation production "Ice- Capades" will close ; at. the Pan- Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, June .5. AMA is currently working on the fifth edition of "Ice-Capades" , for pre.sentatiqn in the fall: Chester Hale will again do tlie production. Saranac Lake By: Happy Benvvav.. . Saranac Lake, N Y, "\Iarch 28, ; A. B. Anderson, ox-oolonvite and now manager of the local : Pontiac theatre, was elected to the village Board of Trustees , by a majority oi 20 to 1. Hal Webster, former producer for Warner Bros., received -his : 0... K.- papers and left for N. .Yrlast week. Victor King;. former ■..symphpnic arranger, is a newcomer .at .the .'Will Rogers. Discovered aliment when examined' for the draft. Among those upped for meals in the main dining room are Hazel .Smith, Beri;. SchafEer, Ijouis ' Gold- shlag, Len Grotte and Goode. Holmes. Howard Levy upped tor two meals a day on the day that he celebrated his. 25th wedding anniversary. ■ : Milton Berle and Happy Benway irWill -bfr'4guest vColumnists foj;j,;the April issue of We the Patients, Will Rogers monthly mag. Write to those who are ill. PlUl lilL Announces the appointment of m TISnHM General Manaqer - - 1501 Broadway, N. Y. New York BR-9-20M mm TisHMM General Manager 912& Sunset Blvd. Hollywood CR-1-6022 mi SMitLL PRODIICTIIKS EMMETT R. CALLAHAN. General Manager "STARTIME" opens Aug. S, Curran Theatre, San Francisco "HALLS OF MONTEZUMA" (comedy) New In Preparation "YOURS FOR FUN" starring BILLY HOUSE and EDDIE GARR (For Presentation Houses)-^pening Apr. 18, Orpheum, Los Angeles [ ^♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦f»»»»»»«» New Acts JEAN CARROLL Comedy, Songi Vi Mins. State, N. Y. Jean Carroll is a singing comedi- enne who looks as if she has been around in the hinterland it not in the New 'Vork sector. She proved a smash here, largely with a rep <>f double entendre lyrics and dialog. Possibly a little too crude tor class spots, she's a cinch for the regular vaud6 stands. —Piaying^«r"aTi audience -composed to large extent of bobbysock and jitterbug .element,: she drew some heckling comments following lines such as "Do you get stiff in the joints'?" and "He tried to get under my skin." Her routine about masher inviting her for a ride m; his car is familiar but:effective, while a vocal imitation o£ Harry James playing the trumpat also cleaned up. In short, corny but commercial. . . Mon. ' STUBBY KAYE Comedian 10 Mins. Hotel Bclmont-Plaza, N. Y. Stubby Kaye is a 270-pound come- dian whose weight is a contributing factor to his foj;de-r01_and, inciden- tally, to his personality. "He's a "bub- biihg.fat bby who. tells, jokes'mostly, some old and some seemingly neW; but all get-overs because Qt his per- sonality, and delivery. Kaye also breaks out in song in one spot, and suggests that he has a voice that' Would warrant more, of it. For dates such as the.se, where the budget IS not too high, he's right, but for faster company he'll need a more .■varied roVltihe ■ -aM'd^ better/', iiiateirial. ■ Kaye, .i'ncidehtaily,' is bitC-jOf those unsung big ..'liftl.e'' guys' in '.sho biz who are doing a whale of a job oi;- tertairiing: ...serviceraeh.. .damestic.ajly and overseas. He recently returned trom a long :overseas tour. Kahn. SEKOB CAI(U;OS (3) Comcd.v, Instrumental 10 Mins. Slate, N. Y. ■; Senbr Carlos,, in, Mexican eostum,- ing, serves as a-filler suitable.for less Inipbf tant spots as , an, bpeher,- He, works .with, a teairiv dressed alike' in blue,: Mexican, costumes,, who, play the: harmonica while he accompanies on; a uke. Musical efforts are' okay, though much -is due to the excellent backjiig provided .here by the. Will Osborne orch. . Some pointless comr edy: material gets ;by, Carlos also, plays the jew's harp. Mori, 3 Stooges Help Set N. 0. Theatre Record, - 18G; Get 9G on 50-50 New Orleans, March 28 Three. Stodges' were held largely responsible for cracking the hoiis'e record at the. St. , Charles theatre here last week by $6,000. : Trio helped draw • about $18,000 and walked out with approximately $9,000. They had a 30-50 deal. Old mark of approximately $12,000 was held by Chico Marx's orclicstra. It's a 1,200-seat hou.se On the bill with the Stooges were Jane Sterling, Jed Dooley & Co., Grace Johnson;: m.c, and Max and His Gang. Film was a"''B." Dauphine, N. 0., Set As Nitery-Theatre nr^^''- ' New Orleans, :\Iarci-. 28. The Dauphine theatre, once the home of burlesque and musical sliows but dark for the past decade,:. will be reopened April 8: as the Riviera Theatre-Club. Theatre is being redecorated. Two bands will alternate in pro- viding . rnlisic- for dancing ;.and -ice- ' skatirig:,; Bii'l .Opening inciude^ '.'Ice FoUios of 1944" plus vaudeville. Renee Sheppard Back To G'wich Village Nite Life Rep.ee Slieppard, former var.de and musical . com.64y. actre-ss. as ■.w'ell as'^a- ■ pioneer in Greenwich 'Village, N. y, nite life entertainment during the so- called tea'room era, is returning to that, sector as nite-club; operator. •,. , -i Sbe-has. lease'd the building, which former!} housed the Log Cabir. nit- ery at Fourth and Cornelia streets .and: ', win, tonycrt it ' into. .,Reriee.*s., Boardv.-alk Casino. ■'■ Four Franks Split The Four Franks, standard vaude- ville act, split up after finishing last week at the Empire -theatre, Fall River, Mass, . Schism is an amicable one, pro- fessed reason 'being the desue of some members of the . team to have OUie Franks go it alone, as a single in; order tofilHhfer her. singing ca- reer. . ■■Bennett .Frank has lined up an agent's job and Leona expects to many shortly. Perry plans to con- tinue on the stage- in . a: dancing act with an as yet unnamed femnie partner.:.: Ollie will break in as a single in afjout two -weeks and. will fill engagements thi.s summer, as she did last season, at the Forrest Park Open Air Theatre in St. Louis. . NOW lONTHIlTMNINC XUK HOYM IN Sl'OXI.ANU WILLIE SHORE rermonnl Mttiinintinentt AL BORDE Broadway's Youngest Producer-Designer JOE CROSBY Louise's Monte Carlo New York City Second Year BOOKING AGENCY o(N(Mi ixtcuTivi ornets LOEW BUILDINO ANNEX 4M $1., N.y.C'Mytni t<-7N0