Variety (Jan 1946)

S4 VAUMKVIIJLB Wt'dneailay, Jamiary Ifi, I94ft Sam Salvin, Briilgiiig 1 Years of N. Y. Nitery Hosting, Compares Then 'n' Now By JOE COHEN Probably the Vpiily boni&co Jodaj^ L idaiiig the era between the dajt 0, Kectov's. Shaiiley's, Eeisenwcbei's Healcy's. and JVIun-ay's, with tlie pioscnt day is Sam Salvin, who toc-'ay is still active in the operation ol tlie cla^b Monte Carlo, N Y.. nitoiy There are other presenl-day cafcownors, who . were around duriii ■ that time but as : far as io Bracken on Theatre four Holly wood; Jan,, 15. •Eddie Brac;riNiv''',Pariimoiint film star, .shove.-; otl' Feb, d wilfv his own pac-kagc show on ;a coast 40-opast theali-e toLir. TrPW^e.; is; inade up oC sinser.s, :da-«cers aiici" rioH-cUy acts, T^^^^. { av.irheedVby;.the'; TO^ «crc not in on the operating end of tl.e business., Sahuj, who together with lu.-, father, Paul, and Timmy Thompson, Operated 14 leading New York cabarets 30 years ago with a. gross busi' noss .nmhing, between $4,800,000 to $5,200,000,; isn't : living in tht^ . pjist of his previous glory, Nitery biAsincss then, .as it is today, is still a,,busiiicf.sprono.siiion If he preferred -iiostal{,1.1. then perhaps the Monte Carlo tivciay, whieb he took over m 1342 as a c'efunct institnt-on gro.'ising around SlO.OOO weekly, wouldn't be c'oip'j; an animal gross ■■ bB.siness of $1,500,000, 01 around $34,000 weekly. Salvin 's Operation stresses the kitchen and atmosphere and sorvice -^otliers are secondary. These three iiems, he olaimSi are the basi.s of any iuccesslul nitery, no matter what the talcs t budget. Public Will Catch U]« on 'Em Any operator, he claims, that -neg ^ locied these items during the war ' year.s. is going to find hard sleddins once the flush of wartime prosperity • wears off. Tlie nitei'y and restaursjrt .| bi.\sinefs, he claims will be hard hit, ' when the family .help and marketing j piqblems are solved. There won't be as many eating out then, and rcs ', taurant owners who've gloated over i these things, will probably have : more empty tables then than those that kept up standards. I The great line of division between : the Rildcd era of 30 years ago and ; present Clay operation, according to Salvin, WPS the, decade of Prohibition. This^ of course meant the end of the big operations that flourished up to that tim^',' '"""S^'t the business underground and created . profound xhanges that affect the business even toc'ay. For one thing, it swung the business over to the East Side and ended | Broadway as the swank spot sector. I In this respect Salvin helped bring about the chEnge with start of ' the Club Pioyale, 9 E. 52d street, on the site of the stables of Robert Goelet. Start'Cd during .the early days of Proliibition, it encouraged other spots to settle in that area. Among them the Stork and El Morocco. By that time. Prohibition was no lontier the noble experiment. It had failed in the eyes of the people and it was no longer co»!5i4ere^:a criinQ to hoist a drink. With: repeal, the East Side, stayed on as the site for the swankeries. • Otiwr Besiilts Another result of the dry era, was the lowering of the average age of niteiy patron, l^rior to that, it was infrequent to see anyone under 23 or 24 in the night spots. It al.'--o accustomed people to higher prices for lood and liquor. The straight restaurant couldn't make up any food losses on liqnoi because the legit spot couldn't serve any. The speaks . charged fancy prices because of 1^ high cost of operation^ protection^ ; W ■ Prohibition alsoVmeant the end of ^ the lashionable era in cafes. The {lUPflionable charaeter.s who took o\ er .speak operation kept the loEsitimu'.o trade a-way, according to Sal. \ :n. and tivis persisted until the end . 01 the If.th amendment was in sight. But it did open the way for mass trade getting people «accustomed to paying higher tariffs' for drinks. . Cost of a night out today eomDi'.red with pre-World "VVar I \h considerable. Finest dinner oblainal>le ll!cn was $.5 tops; champagne sold lor $5 and .S'G a bottle, and :liighbalT.s and cocktails were from 30 to 40e The cafes run ty the Salvins and Thomp.son reads lifce the Blue Book oC cafedom. Among them weie Rector's. Palais Ro.vale; Moulin Rouco. Mon imai'trfi; Plantaliciii'. Little C'l tih. Club Roya]e,,:Pavilldn Eo,vale fiong Island), 400,: Cafe dc Paris, Carltoti: Terrace and Pekin. He gave John Mui'ray Anderson his fir.sl chance to produce a sho\\2 at. the Palais Roy ale'. Anderson then vvas . the dcriee part -. licr of Cynthia Periot. The show clicked. ■ ■ . OC tlic trio that opca-ated this slrhi,g, only Sam Salvin is .4111 active in the business. The seiiior Salvia died ill 1927 and. Jimmy Thompson is retired. ' . Agency ■ . Tiine eloroent ot the tout: lias bt-en so arranged that it will not interf ei-O' \Mth Buu'kcn's work at Paramount. New Playdium Club Pulls Cleves Most Classic Dive in 1 Wk. Cleveland. .Tan. 1;>. !• Quickest and reddest nitery flop Of the season was registered here by the Playdium, Norman Khoury's I new theatre-cafe, which snapped off its lights exactly one week after it . opcnett. sans liquor license. ; Impresario claims he lost only i W.OOO durinfi tluit unhappy : week, i biit figure is considerb,ly underStated. .Show included Georgic Townc's orchestra.; twelve acts, a line of givls, payroll for a staft' of 40 employees as well as costs of remodeling the COO-capacity room. Aacl to this a reported $70,000 spent covivertmg spot into a nitery, with teiiaccd tables and a' kitchen under the large siage: ■ Goiiipjexities . and bad breaks that botclif d Up tlie club's premiere arc unparalleled in Cleveland. Spot had; boon scheduled to open two weeks: before Christmas, but scarcities of certain building materials cau.sed a Dostponcmcnt. Then the stale liquor ; board demurred when the operator, who owns 22 other bistros heie. tried to . have one -of his liconsos transferred to the Playdium. Owner pot into hotter water when one of the daily newspapers, tipped off about the multiple booze permits, began shooting at him. Sheet ran a sizzling series of exposes, calling him a "monopolist of liquor licenses, in Northern Ohio," a "czar of the hot-spots" and demanded an investigation of his many permits. Governor Frank J; Lauschei of Ohio; also rapped the promlsciious method ot is.suing licenses to.. such big cafo operators and recommended that his, permit be held up. Delay kept approximately S.'i contracted performei's and musicians marking time for three days, with no place to perform. Figuring he had to pay them any way, Khoury finally decided, to take a long rfiot and opened the Playdium on NeW Year's Eve,: with nothing stronger than soda-pop at the bar. Flagi raising at $2:50 cover charge per person hardly drew flies^ Biz steadily pUunmeted to the cellar the rest of the week until the owner pulled down the. curtains; Despite the classic fiasco, Khoury said be would re-light his now theatre-cafe as soQti as a booze license was granted him. Ohio'.s License Cheukiip Columbus. O., Jan. 15, Ohio Liquor Department has ordered a state-wide investigation of the number of liquor permits held] by individuals. Checkup followed the ] filing of two applications for transfer by Norman Khoury, Cleveland nigh't club tycoon. They are being delerred pending the outcome 4if the investigation. Weatherman Fools B.O. Rochester, N. Y., Jan. 15, Remembering last winter's paralyzing snowstorms, MUnagor Dave Hamill decided to clase the EmbasKN '.s burley shows for two months, only to have ho weather man csme up with two weeks of springlike warmth and dry highways, Dorainiek Bosco and Rocky Lawrence, two local promoters, have taken over the house foi eight weeks of weekend vnudo shows, seven acts | booked lucally playing four shou.s a day Avilhout filhis.: :■,. ' ■' ■ ■ :, '; Night Club Reviews Ethel Merman's First Nitery Date in 15 Yrs. Just Won't Jell It's now doubtful that the Beach Riviera; IXiiaini, will'*' (jpch -for 'the season because of Crafikdciwh ,on gambling ii. D.kIo County, whcie siiot IS located. As a result, Ethel. Merman, .who was . scheduled, to make her. first nitery appearance m 15 years at the spot, is reported as ready to sue lor two weeks' salary at $(i000 per. ' When it apijearcd that, the club wouldn't be ready iii time, club operatcirs tried'" to' work out; a (JeaV whereby slie would open in.stead at the Colonial. Inii, Hallendale, Fla.. which wanted hei to open for a, later .show. Miss Mernijin couldn't accept . tliat deal masmucli as she's slated to start rehctrsals in the forlhcoming musical "Annie Oakley" late in February. Attempts are now being made lo transfer her contract to the Mocumbo, Miami Beach. NEW HEARING ON SUIT BY EARL CARROLL Chicago, Jan. l.'i. New hearing in the $1,50,000 damrgp suit by Earl Carroll and the Hollywood Theatrical Gorp^ against Morrison Hotel Corp,, Chi, who are charged by Carrol! with breach of contract, was set last week for April 8. in Federal Court. Judge Michael L. Igoe will preside. Carroll sued the Morrison Corp.; Lcondrd flicks, general manager; A. E. Bolt, treasurer, and Frederick J. Best assi.stanl treasurer; on ^ the grounds that they backed out of a lease on the hotel's Terrace Room, which Carroll had planned operating as a theatre-restaurant. I.« !llar<i«i<|ii«N V. Dmmt Thovta^, Toiii Gnri, Line (()), PhU W(i!/m and Savassaa Oichs; $3,50 1)1 i, 'I i mi' III, Ab.iut a monlli a;<o Joe Jacobson of tno Cliez Pareo. Chicago, was telling the Toots Shor roundtablers tliiii 'HlW greaufct: ciife :; cpfiiedk'li' :'''' Aniei'i.cH is woi'kiivg iii my :join,t right how." JaCtibson Wi)s refei'i'ing to Datinv TiK)n,ui,s. And , the Uvt.lcr ■prove.S'. that, full : well at LaManinique m his return to the bistro where he. like Danny Kayo, (irst caino to big' league aUenlion: : ,^ :, , 'IhoiiMs oci lainiy is among the top fivti call" Iniinymen. ,. . : He,hold.s iv floor iwith the aplHiiib 01 a diplomat and (he insouciance ot a guy who knows where his next million IS coming from. Hardly a bead ot perspiration as ho fulminates at the bosses iD;irio and Jimmy Vei'iiOiV, :wlib tire, liusy counting' up their .nitery pi-pjlls); at :the. niill:it>.n'; airo'' (111 1 inyside and llie poasatitK in the back who, he assures, "comes tlie revolution" will be silting rhigsulc; and ip between uncorks a br;ind ot humor which is truly unique and a tribute to Jerry Sceltin, who scripts' jiiouia.s' ' material. ' The ' stVaghotti ' dialectician' .wliO; talks his own p(-r\ cried brand of solid-Jacksnn jive talk; the "mummy" catchphuiaes: the authentic Lebanon and Syrian wails (Thomas is Of. Syrian extraction^; .the truvavl of Die dialoctieiun borrowinf; a .lack, and all the io;l. are tiiitop and unusual and. by the way. Thomas i.s tlio present-day Jimmy Hussey because of his kosher brogue. Incidentally, what the comedian throws away as an intro — "that, because ot Iho radio, I've cleaned up" — is a definite change for the better. He requires none of that. As part ol the radio intro, a patter routine about sponsors' products and the like is a gem in observation and a goodhumored rib at radio's stcaiuup for this or that product, : Toni Gari is an energetic Mexican tenor who gives the forepart ot the show a fine lift with his AfroCuban songs, Ellsworth and Fairchild are out because ot running time, this line terp team's bookings being set back until some future date. The 6 Martiniqueens handle saucy lines besides showing them. Phil 'Wayne plays a line show accomp besides being teatured in that boogierwoogie finale with the line. Alternate Latin combo. Sacassas, is likewise good. Dano and Vernon have another b.o. boff show. Abel. f 'Iro's^ llolly%vootl HoJIyuiood, Jnii, 11. Dcsi Anmt ' Orph (20V. witli Aiimiido Ldiie; hatry Siorvb; cover $2 ' Lionel Kaye Vice Ailing Balbntine for Rose Lionel Kaye, "The Daffy Auctioneei-," went into Billy Eosc's Diamond llor.seshoe. N. Y.. show last night (Tues.) as permanent replacement of Ama7ing M,. Ballantine. compelled to withdraw because Of illne.'is, Latter's medico has prescribed an indefinite rest for the comedian, who recently recovered from an attack ot flu. It's a repeat booking fof . Kaye. who played a year's run in the show picreding cuirent "Teast of the Town" at tlic Horseshoe, with new liact setting the domic until next June, with options, ' Troc to Spend 30Ci On Renovation, SA Band : Hollywood, Jan. 15. Ti-ocadero nitery will spend iSSO.000 on remodeling and will change it.s policy to L'atiniAmerican bands, following the departure of the cms rent Russ Morsjan crew. Understood, the first musicrew under the new policy will be Bobby Ramos band, , now being enlarged V, itii bacliing from the Troc's ov/ner. Chuck Laiidis, Renovation calls loi a new down.stairs room for late hour.^. I to repli:,ce the Cub room, Which will , be used lor private parties. Charter 2 Planes to Fly Nitery Show to Fla. Transpoilatjon situation to Florida being what it is, George Wood, of the William Morris office and: booker of the Colonial Inn, Hallen.. dale, Pla.. , chartered two , -planes Thursday (1,0) to get a nGvysfapw south, iit tiiiic for rchearsaJs at" that spot. Co.st wasn't revealed. Show opens tonight CWed.l, Two planes were necessary becau.se ol the L.ict that a complete set I of costumes lor the choi'tis Went ' alon,'?. Pcoplo packed 'into< the planes :,werc Rose: Marie, Paul llaakon. the Clics;evfields (3i, Wood Al White and the Ihic. After several .years , in the Army and a screen stint prior to that, Desi Arna? . returned to his first love; batoning and singins with his own musicrew. Outfit, consisting of four strings, four reeds, five brass and .six rhythm, is tops in the Latin department and superlative in the society song .section. Arrangements are solid without beinjj hackneyed and the chiliboWl flavor is kept by ArnaK having his Latuncs: arranged in Cuba. Surpri.se .song is South of the Border version ot "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" which lends itself to mnraccas. In the show. Arna/. does drum number, "Tabu," which slacks up to any production tune of its tyne seen locally tor some time. Amanda Lane, a luscious thrush, is about the most effortless femmc singer to warble in the nitcries-along the Strip in some time; Her vocal work rates with the Tiffany crowds and is up to any ol the top Icinme vocalists chanting today, : Larry Storch, just out ot llie Navy. IS the iihow.stopper at the nitery with his vocal impressions, Storch stays away Irom the caricatures and stale iokes and presents his impressions straight. He opens wilh lettorpsrtect vocal : likeness ot Gabriel Healtcr and works up to end ot the war speech delivered by Churchill. Final imitation brought down the house and left, no. dry eyes opening night. ; , Hills. Jackie Coogan Perst:nals Jackie Coogiai, former chiJd filmstar recently discharged from the Army, will make a series of per.sona!h starting Feb. 14 at the Capital theatre, Washington, ai following .Willi Locw's State. N. Y,. Feb. 21. Reported getting $1^00, State, N. Y., Show H.O, Current State thca'tre. N. Y., layout with Frsmlt Jcilks. lirtty Kallen and Joe IVTaKtila septet i,s b^jna heid a socoiirl week. As a rcs'iilt the Kdmund IiOv.p .show, which was to have stai-led tonioivov.' > 17 1 has ixvn po.'-lpo'i";i until Jan. its al.'^o loi t»vo vveelts.' ■■■ i'»]iacaBli»na, Miami Miami Beach, ./an. 12. .7oc E. fieuvi.s-. Fred & Elaine Barnj Hul Winters. Dixie Roberla, Jack Harvood, Horri,'! Trio, Line (7) Dawe Tyler Orch (10), Cattihiio Oicli (10): Stfiffcd by Bcmiy Davis; miii. $2 fliid ?4. An alread.y fabulous ..season reached, full;, bloom with, the return ot Joe E. Lewis to this' swank bistro. Sjores wove turned away, and thev were still'trying to get in after the second, and lastuhow. Murray Wcinger, who invested plenlv nioola in con\erting the room mio a Hollywood prodl'lcor's Version of a iiitcrj^. should get his inve.'itmont baok.'biit i fs.'-'t. with a , gros's, oi .over , :.$50.0oo I ucekly practically a.ssured. And he I hrsn'l held' b'lek in. providing a toto I .si.tpporffng . bill to make lor oho of I the best shows in thi.s club-crowded I town. . j, -Ckcy , came: to see Lewis 'and he I di.rln't: let Dumr dawn. ' Slay'cd: on for Miii'ly an houi'. and Itad to beg Off, Ire re. option he got ttl on lie earac 00 wi's. indeed ftu ovation. Comic hr..-! new batch of songs, opening with "Bring Back Burlesque" aiid following with nine numbers ton, pers being "Gen. DeGaulle" \ howler about postcards, "Lonu; Lone Time," a lament about h.s 'horse nlaym-.; tendencies and then i-ocks tliem with his ditty on the guv who never let failure go to liis head All :'re perfectly tailored for tlie puirui :;ge he draws. He's money m the hi Ilk lor Weinger Benny Davis :has set up a hiftv ■ P'v-oduelion to pvecede Lew is Youn/ster Hal Wiiitcr.s scores solid Int with hi!5 pipes and porsonalilv -Follow s the open ng product ion nutnber, "Tills Is Miami," in which 'Di's'e Roberts and Jack Uarwood go hirr with (heir ace tapology. Winter.s tenor.s three iiumbeis and really se\\-s thinn^ up He .lUo works ill the p;odiu-linii number";' Frod and Elaire Bany click w'-ith their easy, graceful terpiii'" Took se\eral encoics, and bofT<'ri with their Brahms Lullabye bow -oil to healthy palm poundmg Show is neatly prodiictd' and choiu.s pals arc oiu^ ol the betiorlooking lifics in town Ilariis Trio do a niSe job on the pioouclion nunibeis with ihoir harnion es and their singing ol "Ovcuure to Love" a new Benny Davis tune. Dave Tyler and his orch. b.-ckground the revue in supe.b st^le Between show music is provided bv Cataliiio and his Latin addicts ' Lory. t'ilfz l*ariM>. Clii Cln'cayo, Jiiii. ]l. Fi-mipcs Faye. Henniy Yoinif/iiin)! Tommy Di.r, Fred s'lilly Hnr/iiel!,' Liiic (10) tril/i Vii'irtii Jtldrtiji, Gay Cluridve Orch (13) Liicio Garcia Oich t5>; $3-$3,!)0 miii. : :irs not just being chivalrous to^ say thtjt Frances Favc settles the billing dispute at tlie Che/. Paree this semester— which had Joe Jacobsen and Mike Fritzel givini; Tommy Dix the "added attraction" spot iii the ads and promising top billing to Miss Faye one week and Heiiiiv Voungman the next. Fact is that the gal decides it once and for all by getting out tlTcre and mopping up tlie top applau.KC M: tlie evening. : la the closing .spot, Mi.ss Faye demonstrates her right to tlie headlines by quickly establi.shing that old intimate contact with the cu.stomers, and then holding sturdily on to it. She's never been much ol a singer, and it she could juggle a ba.ss chord or two she might be eftUed a pianist. What gets 'cm is the illiisioii she creates of singing for the individual— that, plus a kccn -.seii.se ot timing, and, of coui\se, those roiigli, tough lyrics. Does "Gotta Be This Or That.", "Come Back to Sorrento." "Tico Tico" (with smatterings ot "Beguine." "Horstf,," and "Holidav tor Strings"). "A Man Will Always Be a Dog," "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoii" and "Za Zu Za," with bandleader Gay Claridge stooging on the letter. She begs off. . Trouble with 'Voungman is that he doesn't have much new material, following too clo.sely. apparcnllv on his recent stints ' at the Palmer House's Empire Boom and the Chicago theatre. Many ot the gags are tired, but he winds up pretty well; anyway with the "Road to Mandalay'' bit, encoring wHh imprcshes o( lighthouse, typewriter, test pilot, etc. DiX, in trev spot, quiets the always nojsy Chez crowd with his powerlul baritonings ot "I Got Plenty o' .Nothin'," "Because." "Rodger Yoiuig" (with a nice nod to .song.-iniitli Pranlt Loesser). and, of course, "Buckle Down, Winsoeki," When and if the youngster's .showmanship becomes as authoritative ns those pipes, he'll be the best in the bi/,. ■ Fred &. Sally Ilavtnell. precedini? Dix. sock over a trio of fast ballroom steps, including some fancv ballet -jitterbug stuff'. The Adorablcs, in some pert Olive Bernard-designed routines, are aided considerablj this time by some .sock chirpini! by Vivian Martin in their "Winter Carnival" and "A Woman Is a Rascal" stinf.s. Claridge remains a suave emcee, and his band is no to pai-, as are Lucio Carciu's rhumba bovs. Mil.-e. i'asa Mamana, Bosion Bo.'stoii. Jan. IS. Li Did: Richards & Adair Dtnicerx Balladiers tij) . Pc'f/f;;/ fiiirf.-p. i^Tiie (8). Billy Pamc. Ted Fhniivs Orch (7), ConttueHtaLs (3); $2 wiif. Bought from Jack Brown k.st Septembt>r by a tno ot real est.ite pperatois In town, the Casa Manara IS making a bid as a class spot with ii LatitirAmerican accent and. l« .ludge by th.is layout, showing some promise. : ■'> , ■ ' . Oldlune melodramas, formei ly plugged liere, are oul in favor ol tlii' conventional line ot gals plus a couple of name acts, m,o, and cmitinuous music by the Phillips band with a relief trio, ' Used three produclions wVu'ii caught, all originals bv llelcne Mai tin. with added mateiial by Presl''"! Saudiford (local prole.*, ioiial ccathcr and arranger) and Jerry Capodi-: Um>, one ol the three ownei'-iiavl iieis Fiist on a Grand C'r-'.'i'i • theme \;ith a song pli!,>ged by Uvo (CoiitiuUcd on page tmx