Variety (Jul 1944)

32 ORCHESTRAS—MUSIC Wednesday, July 12, 1944 Bands at Hotel B, 0.'s (Presented herewith, as a iceeldy tabulation, is the estimated cover charge busitiess being done by name bands in various New York hotels Dinner business (7-10 p.m..) not rated.. Figures after name of hotel give room. capacity' and cover charge. Larger amduiit designates weekend, and holiday price. Compilation is based on period from Monday to Saturday.) ■-..,'.■■ ... Cover** ,-''• T«tul Vci»ks f-inert. Itilllll Hotel : ; I'lil.Vfil Week On l«»lf Tucker-Prima.....Astoi- (800: Sl-Sl.50) , . ........ 1 3,959 41,329 Lahi.McIiVtire. . Lexington (300; 75c-$1.50> . .....125 2.067 .228.442 Tony Pastor"..... New Yorker (400; $1-$1.50>.......... 9 2.224 18.724 Glen Gray ...... ..Pennsylvania (500; $1-$1.50>........;/ 11 2,632 27.707 Xavier Cugat.....:Waldprf (550: $2) : . . . . 2 3,102 -6,303 Dean Hudson......Lincoln (275; $1-$1.50).. - ..>.. 5 ■ ; 992; ; : ^,442 * Asterisks indictae a supporting floor show. New Yorker has. an ice show. Lexington, Hawaiian floor show. . Los Angeles Freddie Martin (Ambassador; 900: $1-$1.50). Grove still closed because j I waiters', strike, No orch. on bandstand. Joe Reicbman (Biltmorc; 900; $1-$1 50'. Pulling bulk of hotel trade-lor dinner. Rates 4,800. . - '..-'.'., •''••• ; ' : ". ^-V^: Chicago -^V--- George Hamilton (Empire ..Room, Palmer House; 700: $3-$3.50. itrin.'). Lack of turnover kept Hamilton and show headed'by Victor Borge frojrt. getting more than 9,000. ',..",. '.j {\-'■ . ' ' ]. ..' Woody Herman (Panther Room. Sherman hotel; .950; $1.50-$2.50\ Her- man packin* 'em in. Played to great 8.700. > Eddie Oliver (Beach Walk and Marine Room, Edgewater Beach hotel: 4.600 combined; $1-$1.50 admission to Beach Walk for dancing and show; 50c and 75c cover charge, plus $1.25 miri. in Marine Room).. Combination of band's popularity and spot's closeness to lake breezes kept total up to nifty 10,000. .-'■'' ;.'-' •'•".'>',:-' '.:'':'■■.''■•/■* : '\ ' V'' '-'v Bill Snyder (Mayfair Room. Blackstone hotel: 400; $2.50 min.). ,Irene Bordoni proving good draw. Pulled excellent 2,100. '"■'■ : '--Y, Benny Strong (New Walnut Room, Bismarck hotel; 465; $1.50-$2.50 min.). Biz holding up nicely with Strong responsible for very good 4,200. Location Jobs, Not in Hotels ..-'.".-."•'•'■••••-..'■"; (Los Angeles) '.-..'•' y Jimmy Dorsey (Palladium B, Hollywood, fourth week). Still clicking oft steadily at 35,000 peak. Jan Savitt (Trianon B, Southgate. fifth week). Gathering strength and wowing dancers to tune of 9,000 tabs. Frankle Masters (Slapsy Maxie's N. Los Angeles, first week). Holds Royal Flush from start with Merry Macs and Harmonica Rascals on floor. ... ■' (Chicago) . Gay Clarldge (Chez Paree; 650; $3-$3 50 min.). New show headed by Mitzl Green, which opened Thurs. (6) keeping up fine average set by Sophie Tucker. Capacity 5,200. Carl Havana (Blackhawk: 500; $l-$2.50 min.). Holiday crowds helped Ravazza account for swell 4.500. 10 Best Sheet Sellers (Week Ending July 8) Swingin' On Star...'-,.... . Bui Ice I'll Be Seeing You.. .'Williamson Long Ago, Far Away. .Crawford I'll Get By. ..,.. ;. .. .. .Berlin Amor .Melodylane Gl Jive... ..... . .. Capitol Goodnight Wherever... .Shapiro Time Waits For No One.Remick .Siln"' Fernando Valley... .Morris Some Day Meet Again. .Witmaik Ringling Continued from page 1 Band Review GI; ORG IE LOPEZ ORCH (13) .;•':;•')' With Elaine Vincent Dixie Hotel, N. Y. Georgie Lopez, who was featured trumpeter with Xavier Cugafs orch- i estra for the past five years, has branched out on his own and re- veals great promise, provided he de- cides lo play in a definite sweet of swing'style. As it was, the orch: did both- sweet and swing, when caught with just;'fair results, showing " the ecl for more rehearsals, and .'better arrangements. ' '' i. .' Composed of five sax, three trum- pets, two trombones and three rhythm, with Lopez oh" trumpet, the group was at its best when it -stuck to the sweet stuff with Lopez blow- ing a slicli horn, indicating Which way the road ahead should be. while in the jive vein it demonstrated a brassiness and cacophony that grew to loud proportions. Surprisingly enough, considering Lopez' back- ground in Latin tempi, it didn't fare too well when it assayed below-the- border tunes. Leader, who has a thick Spanish accent, confined himself to playing, with the emcee introing numbers and therefore didn't impress audi- ence with his personality other than musically. Her first job with a band, Elaine Vincent is a comely lass who is bet- ter than average in selling a song. Band could also use a male singer on ballads and novelties to lend more variety. Marty Schramm band into Club Brazil, Houston, Pa., after 18-month run at Hotel Henry, Pittsburgh. George Wells has replaced him at Henry. • ". ' , .,': showing under '-'canvas - again until the tent can be fireproofed, for cir- cus-goers, it's held, will have to be reassured against recurrence of the Hartford holocaust, . In fact, that tragedy may knock out all tent shows, it's figured. Couldn't Fireproof Tent ; : ; Recalling the Cleveland fire of 1942, when ■ valuable animals were lost (camel herd being virtually wiped out), Robert.Ringling tried to have this season's tent fireproofed. The DuPonts have a method of mak- ing fireproof canvas and there are chemical treatments for such protec- tion, but it's claimed that all that material is being used by the Army. Last year's main tent is in .Sarasota and there, is a possibility that prior- ity will be granted in light, of last week's disaster.. Ringling was not with the show and was not summoned to Hartford by authorities: He is primarily con- cerned with production, while James A. Haley, the husband of one of the owners, and general manager George W. Smith, are operational chiefs. Both are held under $15,000 bail pending the Hartford Hearing, along with other department heads. : It is possible the fire will be a financial knockout for RBB. Under the Connecticut law, maximum lia- bility for accidental death is $15,000 per person, and if full damages were awarded for '" ose killed, the total would be more than $2,300,000. In addition there will surely be claims by those 1 maimed, for which there is no legal limit on the amount of dam- ages. Show is said to have liability insurance of $500,000, but the liabil- ity of the insurance firms to pay is believed to depend on whether con- tributory negligence is proven on the part of circus officials. The entire loss of life was in the reserved-seat sections between tw'O steel runway exits for the wild ani- mal acts, which open the show. Be- cause of the runways two exits were shut off, leaving but one. for escape. If the show goes on again, some other method of getting the animals in and out of the performing arenas must be devised, or the animal acts will be eliminated. If the circus docs not resume, it will have been the second time that RBB has stopped in mid-season, the first having occurred in 1936, when' the sho\y was sent back to winter quarters after a strike of razorbaeks. There is some chance of the show being booked into big indoor arenas such* as Madison Square Garden and the Boston Garden. Around 75 staff newspapermen were rushed to Hartford; by eastern newspapers to cover the disaster. Negro Scenes Cut Continued from page 1 ing made known until inquiries reached N. V. home off ice, and news- reel companies declared they had or- iginally put: such scenes in.' ■'.-. This prejudice has also obtained w i t h all-Negro films.. "Stormy Weather" was h e I d up several months befif - Memphis permitted it to be shown. In several other cities, the 20th-Fox sepia-musical was only ok. yed after censors were assured that the film would play black and white theatres simultaneously, dfty- and-date. so that white houses would not get Negro partonagc. Normally, ofay .houses would get the film first. Atlanta is another key city that has been using a municipal censor- ship similar to Memphis, with less publicity. Crux of the problem is that although white southern au- diences enjoy Negro sequences in films for their entertainment value, they will not countenance any scenes showing the Negro on -\ basis of so- cial equality with the whites. Local censors wiil eliminate such scenes, regardless of the effect on the artis- tic side or the continuity of the film. If Hollywood producers continue filming scenes, implying social equal- ity, say certain exhibitors, there will be active municipal censorship all over the south. A practical solution, they say, disregarding aspects of ethics or social consciousness, is that if Hollywood producers wish to per- sist in filming such scenes, they must be filmed so that they can come out of the picture without disturbing the continuity. ji >» 25? 55 2 -J § 55 »* I i . S g ! 9 ballad of this or any V ear ■Si , im „- w The Boy* GEORGE SCHOTTLER RKO Btitt.6lNCi. NtW YORK" LEEDS MUSIC CORPORATION LOU LEVY, Pres. BERT BRAUN »4 W. RANDOLPH ST., CHICAGO' ' ' ' Recordedby Recorded by an* TC o^ HAPPY GODAY 1537 NO. VINE ST, HOLLYWOOD 9 m •< 2 to