Variety (Dec 1944)

^Vdiicsday, December 20, 1944 UBIETY PICTURES Lefty Sez P.U. to Modern PAs, But Likens Billy Rose to Zieggy By joe Laurie, Jr. Goolacves, Oal. Dear Joe:— Me and Aggie readiog about.the big hit Billy. Rose made wilh liis "Seven Lively Arts" and reopeniug of the Ziegteld theatre with "breathing people" on Ihe stage, got us gabblhg ot the great showmen wbo were "engines of notoriely" and brought shekels to the grated window in the.lobby, Billy Rose, the Baby Barnum, goes in the book, because he is a threat ihqwman. He's proven It a.d»z«(h times with his cafe shows, his Aquacade and his stage shows. Always grabbed plenty of space in the papers, al- ways surrounded himself with top talent—actors, press agents, directors,, scenic artists, niusicians and writers. Arid he Just has enough to. kinda insure 11 all. He has vision and imsigination. .That's what great showmen aie wcaiiied on. Sure he had flops; that's what makes hini a good show- nian. Talent, money, etc., don't always make a good show. You got. to get a sjice from Lady Luck's Loaf, tod. The little man will always be dompared to Zlegfcld, .especially since, he took over the Ziegteld theatre, and walking doWn the aisle opening night with Billie Burke wasn't,bad showmanship, either, brother! Zieggy was a .natural showman. Wheh he was only 22 he became ah International impresario. His father leased the old First Regiment Armory, which he rechristened The Trocadero, for the purpose of presenting high class concerts at the old Chicago Fair. He sent young Zieggy to Europe, to engage musicians and also to import foreign bands for exposition pm' poses. He brought back the, best, but the concerts didn't attract business •nd the elder Zieggy-decided to closi up. Young Ziegfeld went to New York, where he saw a guy by the name of .San'dow doing a strongman's act ■I the.Casino. It was just ah ordinary act.and far from a sensation. He put him under contract, went back to Chicago; got control of the Trocadero and began circusing jSandow. They got themselves almost $30,000 a .week all through the exposition. He then brought Sandow to Koster ii Bials, New York, and ran him into a bankroll for three years there., He caused a sensation when he had women come up from the'audience to feel.San ^ow's mii.scles. He made him the greatest matinee idol J in the country. Women went nuts about the guy and his niy.scles! You know what that fncahs to a boxofTice. He then look Sandow to the Frisco Fair. He got a bright Idea of having a Hon and bear Tight it out to the death (for an ad- jnission fee, o( course). 'The editorial comment was terrific about how Oruel it would be, and the sporting pages wondered who would-win.--- Everything was all set when the cops stepped in and stopped it. That got another gob of printers ink, and Zieggy, not overlooking a bet, imme- diately challenged the lion ownor to sut the lion In a cage with Sandow for a fight to the finish. Yip! They had to build an extra slarid holding 10,000 suckers who wanted to be sealed while "taken." On the nlght of the ■xhibilloh, Zieggy had men all around the cage with hot irons, crowbars, pistols aiid shotguns, in case, of a tie. He even had a gold medal all ready for the winner (I'll bet he had Sandpw's name engraved on .it). Sandow Stepped into the cage. The lion just looked at him and'showed no interest In Sandow or the gate. Sandow grabbed hhn by the ears and the King of the Jungle just laid down and woudn'l even feel Sandow's muscles. The mob by now was yelling "fake.'" "robber.'''"the lion is doped," and the usual squeal ot Ihe sucker. Thai's the trouble with the suckers; they <Jidn't realize that this was bread and butler . . . and jam for Zieggy and Sandow. And they smeared $18,6o6 worth of Jam on their breaid and butter after the exhibition. 20th-Fox's Xmas Party Thurs. (21) for 1.200 Spyros iSkouras, Tom Connors, W. . Michel, Mui-ray Sllverstone and other topflight 20lh-Fox executives, will host 1,200 company employees, enlisted men and women and of- ficers of armed forces and the trade press at a Christmas luncheon parly tomorrow (Thursday) in the Aslor hotel grand ballroom. Radio, stage and screen slar.<;, in- cluding most ot Rpxy theatre acts current, will entertain. E The Mllk-Balh Plant I liked the way Zieggy placed the "-niilk-bath" story on Anna Held. ' He ))ad a Jersey dairyman deliver a dozen lO-gallon cans ot milk to Anna Held at the Netherland hotel, where she was stopping. People in the hotel saw all. the milk being delivered and maybe figured the place was gonna be turned into a foundling home. They had ho house dick at the Nether land. Anyway, the next thing Zieggy did W9s to start a suit against the dairyman (or delivering sour milk. The smart reporters smelted a good story and soon, the world was talking about Anna Held's milk baths, and thousands ot dames all over'the gountry were washing their faces with milk. It was a great year for. cows and Ziegfeld. Then Zieggy pulled the stunt of having Anna save a prominent judge from a runaway horse while she was riding a bicycle in Central Park. Nobody ever saw it happen, no more than-anybody ever saw Sieve Brody jump oft the Bi-ooklyn Bridge, but the papers" went for it plenty, and Zieggy made a profit.' Even on the day that Letty Louie and' Gyp the Blood were being executed for the Rosenthal murder, Zieggy shared headlines with them, He married Billie Burke. .'Writing 2,000-wOrd telegrams to people 100 feet away, taking his own barber to Europe were other space-grabbing tricks which make guy the Phi Beta Kappa Of showbusiness. Zieggy wasn't the only great press agent of the early '90s. There was plenty ot com:yetition those'days and the p.a.'s were on their toes or else would be on their heels. The lostrjeweh-y stunt was worked to a fare- thee-well. It got so that even the actresses-themselves wouldn't believe they lost their jewelry. Remember the time they put tanbark outside the theatre so the star actress wouldn't be annoyed by outside noises in her "big scenes'"; Remember the time Mrs, Fiske pulled: an aigrette from a lady's hat on the street, and told the newspapers how cruel it was for the poor birds, and it started such a controver.sy that a law was passed banning aigrettes'.' I believe there was a bird in Mrs. Fiske shosv at the time. Subtle'? Remember Harry Reichenbach's slunt for the Tarzan picture, when he had a-lion register at,a big hotel? But these days sees- the press agent satisfied with gdttirtg their clients' name in a Broadway column, they send in a joke wilh the guy's name on the answering end of it, and. they make guys—guys who .don't evei) under- stand a joke—into wits. Then there's the Hollywood press agents -Aho have lheir dame clients being "seen!" with different guys , every night. At the end of the season .the gal was "engaged" to thousands of guys, which in the old days would make her a "chippy." What do they prove by it'? That the dahie is gUmorous, or that the dame is dizzy and cian'l make up her mind and is playing the field'.' Then she plays a mother part. Then, of course, there's the regular "file stuff" of the client writing play, or a book, or going to appear as a"guest star" at some cafe. Or thei client's hobby is to save "burnt matches" or "knitting with porcupine .needles." 'But the one that gets my goat is.the one -we've been.seeing in all the.columns since the war. .'You know, so and so, the star o! so .'and so pic-, tures, will positively join the army (Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine—fill in as you wl.sh) right AFTER his next^. picture. And the ones pbout the glamour gals kissing » G.I. or dancing with them, or handing him a doughnut pr selling bonds. There are'thousands of gals doing that all pjrer the country, and doing it better and getting no publicity. I can't believe that the press agents have run out bl materiaL Most of^enri are PreUy smart guys and good writers. The topnotchers prove that! But some of'em lack'that spark that sets off the Imaginatioh, That's why I like guys like Billy Rose, It's Bi(!« to ,see great showmen like Cohan. Hammerstein, Zieggy, Pastor and Barnum reincarnated. I like great showmen! . Sez LEFTY. Mayors of All Minnesota Cities Ogle Boxoffices for New Amus. Tax Rap N. J. Indies Talk Booking Combo The forrnation of a new booking combine of importance, embracing upward of 20 theatres in nortliern New Jersey which buy film out of N,. Y. exchanges, is under discussion ampng a group of leading independ- ent exhibitors. Meantime,' Brandt circuit added another three houses for a toUl of 123. Jersey group of indies held a meet- ng last week in Newark tb discuss the organization-of a ljuying com- bine among themselves, with pries- ent indications pointing to a. mini- mum of 23 theatres. Heading'. the' grpup is . the Lee Newbury circuit pf 11. hpuses. "They are the Ocean, Asbury Park;, Lpr- raine. Bay Head; RialtP and RiVpli in Belmar; Palace, Bfadley Beach; Lavalette in Lavalette; Algonquin, Manasquan; Arnold and (Jrove in Point Pleasant; and the Colonial and Strand, Seaside Park, Two circuits of four hpuscv each involved are Dave Snaper's Strand, Keypprl; Capilpl. Sputh River: Em- pire, Sputh. Amboy and the Strand. New Bruiiswick; and Harry Hecht's quarlcl, the Lincpln and Palace in Passaic, and the OPlaza and .Capilpl in Paterspiv. Others mentipned fpr the cpmbine are Irving Dellinger's Plaza in Linden and Liberty, irving- Iph; Eddie Lachman's State in Boon- ton, and Lou Gold's Rivpli. Newark; The three new theatres fpr which the Brandt circuit will buy and book henceforth^ are the Beacon, N. 'Y:; the Rialto,"'Paterson, N. J. and the Decatur, Brooklyn,' all controlled by Murray Ginsberg and as.sociateis. St Louis Exhibs' Retaliation Move Vs. 2-Boothinen Rule St, Lo.i'is. Dse- 19. "Tlie first; retaliatory move by loca.I flicker house exhibs against the un- authorized .strike of projectionists and film exchahgiS workers was made Friday (15) when it was announced that the Board ot Aldermen will be requested; to repeal the .ordinance that requires two projectionists , in every booth in the city. As.'seriuig that it is motivated by a desire to help provide manpower for the war effprl, a statement issued, by Lpuis K. Ansell, chairman of the exhibi;' "defense'' committee, declared- it was not" the intention of the com- niitlee to make any effort "lo cO'ect the rempval of the ordinance" but that in;, the interest, of. i"''''"e and patribtisnj. the BbarS should elim- inate the ordinance "in order that men of the skill and experience ot these motion picture operators niight do more vital woirk.". The exhibs declai'ed they -rt'ould be "willing to loan a man in each projection booth of every theatre to a plant engaged in vital war .mate- rial and reiniburse that man our- selves for any deflcit in salary which he might be forced to accept in giv- ing his skill to his country." The ordinance which was put pn thei bppks through the efforts, of Jphn P. Nick, deppsed C7.ar pf lA'TSE.. Lpcal Np. 143, ppses a tpugh jpb for the Aldermen. Half pf the 28 mem- bers and the prez are up fpr re- election next April and the repeal ot the pi'dinaiice' is certam tp wean away support from union organi- zations. It is thought that the Board .will conduct a series pf public hear- ings befpre taking final aclioii pn .the request. The St. Lpuis, Fanchpn & Marcp dclu.xer in midtpwn, was the last of the larger houses to relight after the cessation pf the Strike that tied up 78 lipuses and eight film exchange's and the IPcal branch pf the Nntipnal Screen Service. Unraveling ' film 'Indians' for Sale As Bronston Drops Deal ' Hollywood, Dec. 19, Samuel Brpnston, currcntlj' hos- pitalized with stomach ailment, lipids DP further interests in film rights to "lb Little Indians." Rights are iipw pffered tP majpr and indie prpducers by the Frank Orsatli agency, repre- senting the, Shuberts in the. sale pf screening privileges. UnderstPPd Bi'pnstPn defaulted, pn payments and the rights reverted Ip the stage prpducers. Meanwhile, Rene Clair, cpntiacted as directpr pf the film, still maintains ptlice's in the Brpnstpn unit. L. A. Id N. Y. Betty Asher. Miltpn Biow. Joan Caulfleld. Jack Cole. John M. Considine; Ned Depihcl. W. R. Frank. Hugh Harman. Otto Kruger. Albert J. Law. Leo Lefcourt. Jules Levey. .Jean Louis; . Charles B. Newberry. Gregory Pe.ck. . Howard R, Philbrick., Otlo Preminger; N. .Peter Rathvon. William Saal. Mark Sandrich. Allah Scott. Charles P. Skouras. John Whittaker. Herbert J. Yailes. bookings delayed many house?. . The spectre of daihage suits against both unions siill is in the picture although mum is the word alpng film rpw. Aiisell has asserted that the flicker hpUses Ipsi approxi- mately $100,000 in receipts during the strike and that the wages o( approximately 700 projectionists and lilm exchange workers would cpii-. siderably swell that figure. Exhibs are. still highly incensed at the ac- tion of members of the two unions in pulling the strike ;.nd suits, are expected to' be filed. Minneapolis, Dec. 10. The exact business that every the- . ati-e in the state is dPing wpuld ba public prpperty if an admissipn laic bill being sppnspred by mayprs pf . the slate is' passed. The measure ■ takes the fprm pf an enabling act to . permit, all municipalities tp levy a tax pf Ic pr i-nprc pn every . 10c of -• admissipn' price, in additipn tp the ' federal tax, and. tp require theatres to file: returns shpwing number of tickets sold. It is the fact that all theatres' box- office figures woijld be available for anybPdj"- interested ,that has exhlbi- tprs .greatly disturbed . and deter- mined tp fight the move ' bitlei-Iy, • However, the exhibitors also argue that present admission, prices- aie as high.as. if not higher than, the traffic can bear. The feeling is not only thai any further tilt in scales would be sciiouslj' injurious to many oper-. aliens, but also that prices must drop to lower levels cis soon ns possible. In fact, the exhibitors have an iindcr- •standing among theniselyes to seek a reduction in.the federal admissibh tax when the tih->c is considered pro- pitious. The present proposal was conceived by the mayors of Minneapolis and St.' Paul, who called a meeting pf all. Minnespta mayprs and municip.nl^u- thprities tP cpnsider it. Tlipsc in at- tendance enthusiastically approved it.. and pledged themselves to use their ' influence with members of the slate legislature to obtain passage oC the enabling act, and the campaign now is in full swing. The legislature con- ' vencs.next rnpnth. In literature distributed at the mayprs' meeting, it was poinled put that "if the city of Minneapolis were lo levy an amusement tax of Ic per 10c admission or fraction thereof,- It is estimated that the revenue frprn such a tax wpuld be apprpximately $.')00,000 per year.'- It's explained that "this estimate is based .pn rcc- prds as tP revenues- pf amusement places in thcf city pf Minneapplis and : on amusement taxes reijcived by the Federal gp\/ernment in the slate pt MinnesPta, 'as rcpprted by the U. S. Census Bureau and the Trea.-Jin-y De- partment.]' , ■ The ppint'is made in the circular thai "pne spurce Pf municipal i-ev- enue which has npt been tapped in the .stale pf Minnespta is the tax pn the ppening pf'admissions in amusement places." . NW Variety's Fme Work; ChildrenV Heart Clinic Mirmeapolis, Dec. 19. Northwest 'Variety Club, which re- cently raised nearly $90,000 .for the Sister Kenny institute for the treat- ment of infantile paralysis and be- fore that $29,000 for war sufferer."!, has made an offer tP the bpard pi cducalipn here Ip buy a -clpscd school for $50,000 and convert it into a heart clinic for childrien. If the offer is accepted en addi- tional $100,000 would he raised for equipment , and the building would be turned pver to the University of Minnesota. «E'FOREIGN BOW DUE FOR NEXT MONTH David O. Selznick's "Since You Went Away" is.scheduled for relcasa abroad early in January in about a do/.eii world capitals. Walter Gould, | United Artists foreign manager, ' staled yesterday (Tues.i that tha" firsl foreign shpwing will be held in Havana on Ncvy Year's eve. Picture will'be shown in two Lon- don theatres, the Marble Arch Pa- vilion and the Gaumont Haymarket, Jan. 14. Openings are .scheduled in two theatres in Bombay and one in Calcutta. India. Latin-American openings are set in Panama City, Panama; Caracas, Venezuela; Vina Delmar, Chile; Lima, Peru; San Juan. Porlo Rico; Cplon, Canal Zpiie; Ppri Pf Spain, Trinidad and Buenos- Aires, Argentina. N. Y. to L. A. Edward A. GPlden.. Bert Kalniar. > ■ Sir Alexander kprda. G?oucho Marxi Harry Ruby. Doris Stein. J. C. Stein. Major Meredith Willson. Darryl P- Zaniick. VlrelntaZaniiclt. 'Velvet'Scratched Hollywood, Dec, 19. Metro's,, "National Velvet," Pflen mentipned. as an entry In the 1944 Oscar Derby, has bean scratched be- cause pf Ipcal stable shortage. ; Owing tp previous bopkings, the tpp-budget Clarence Brpwn prpduc- tipn will not be shown in this area before Dec; 31,. the deadline for Os- car nominations. BAG SET 26 MEMBERS . Hollywood, Dec. 19. Screen Actors Guild recorded 184 withdravvals in the last 30 days, as against 158 neW njeniberships, of which 15 were In Class B, eligible for extra \vork. Withdrawals Included 22 for mill tary reasons, partially offset by re instatements of 19 discharged service- men. Guilds Beef Oyer 16 Mm. Amateur Pic Footage ; Hollywood, Dec. 19. Film crafts, headed by the Screen Actors Guild, are readying an official protest against the purchase of 16 mm. shQrts, which studios blow up to 35 mm^ size and. work intp stPck ma-, terial. Many pf these shprts are pro- duced by amateurs, with npn-unipn help. - .One pf them, recently viewed by SAG representative.s, was repprt- edly bought by Warners frpm a girl in Cplprado as a rodep shprt, . Guild cpmplains that these filma are turned out by non-union camera- men without the aid of other unipn- ists, causing Ipss of employment t6 Hollywood players and 'technicians. •No objection is raised to the pur- chase pf shorts or other pictures turned out by union crafts. VANDALS SLOUGH IHD. HOITSI Fort Wayne, Dec. 19. Vandals caused considerable dam- age to seats at Family theatre hera recently. Upholstering was ctit, springs and upholstering pulled out, and wooden arm rests of seats. whit« tied,