Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 8, 1946 VAUDEVILLE 53 WAR-INFLATED SALARIES DOWN AGVA Puts 20 Pitt Niteries On Unfair List for Failure to Sign Minimum Pacts and Post Bonds Pittsburgh, May 6. Pittsburgh was without a floor «how Inst night with one exception after. littery owners guild voted against putting up cash salary bonds demanded by. American Guild of Variety Artists. Performers union asked each spot for sum equal to average salary list for acts, but clubs wouldn't go along. As result, around 20 of them were placed on the un- fair list. Only spot not affected is William Fciui Hotel, where Terrace Room will continue floor shows. It's part of the Staller chain and dealings with it are handled by home office. It doesn't come under the jurisdic- tion of the AGVA local. Several clubs immediately booked in extra bands to pick up the en- STEVE EVANS OfTrrinir HAPPY TIMES I JOLLY MOMENTS Wrrk May ISIh . SCIOI.I..4 CAKE, HUM.. V.\. ROSEN-.AMIKH ANNOUIATKfl tertainment slack. Nixon Cafe got Johnny Kaaihuc's Hawaiians to al- ternate with all Mnrsico's orchestra while Villa Madrid pencilled in Bill Turner combo to relieve Mark Lane outfit. Vogue Terrace wasn't in- volved since it was dropping floor shows anyway for name bands. Most of the clubs affected plan to get along for time being with only regular bands for dancing, but were making plans to augment music in case differences with AGVA last any length of time. Five cafes were placed on unfair list by AGVA week ago both -for failure to sign basic minimum agree- ments and post cash bonds \vhile the others got their notices only yester- day. Nitcclub owners held a last- minute meeting yesterday afternoon and for a time there were indica- tions that they might agree to AGVA's security edict. ■ But when issue came to a vote it was turned down'. Nat Nnanrro, executive secretary of AGVA local here, said there would be no picketing of the spots, at least for the time being. Those placed on the unfair list were Nixon Cafe, Villa Madrid, Pat McBrides, Allen Cafe, Don Met* Club Casino, Tom's Cafe Club Cabana, Roman Hotel, William Penn Tavern, Nite Court of Fun, Dew Drop Inn, El Cabana. Club Casino, Blue Hidge Inn, Churchill Tavern. Liberty Cafe, Redd's Cafe,.Onyx Club and Riviera. "Curtain calls . . . to Eddy Manson at the Village Vanguard." -Walter Winchell. "The HeiMi el ih* Hatmonico" 6th WEEK and HELD OVER MANAGEMENT. GALE AGENCY 48 Wett 4ltb S»„ N. Y. C. BI SLUMP GUTS Buster Crabbe Revives Pool Unit for Parks Buster Crabbe will again head a pool unit this year. Crabbe plans use of a 10-people company includ- ing a six-gal line and three comedy divers. Stubby Krcugcr will occupy a comedy spot. Unit will open at Pleasure Beach, Bridgeport, June 29, for nine days. It's getting $750 daily guarantee. Some deals are being worked out on SGpp per guarantee against 60% of the take. ■Nitery salaries, excepting those of headliners able to draw the spenders, have dropped as much as 40% dur- ing the past few weeks. And the cut may be deeper by the latter part of the summer. Lower payoff-flg- ures may even become permanent, it's felt by nitery owners and talent agencies, who have been predicting for some time that a break.in act prices has been due. They were greatly inflated during the. war. Wage recession followed quickly on the heels of the b.o. slump that hit niteries during Lent. * Seasonal drop was much sharper this year than during any period since the war began and operators see in it indi- cation of more normal peacetime grosses. Hence, they are determined to make the cut prices for medium talent stay down. However, though they may cut costs by lowering salaries of medium talent, it isn't likely that the better clubs will lower their overall talent budgets. Owners are still, outbid- ding one another for headliners and any coin saved on lower level tal- ent is expected to be put back into top names. Trading in the latter continues to be a seller's market. As a result of the price-cutting for medium acts, talent agencies expect to see a large amount of agency- jumping by talent. Performers won't easily become accustomed to shorter dough, after four or Ave years of salary-inflation, and they'll be looking for greener pastures with rival salesmen. It will all even up in the end, however, as it always docs. One factor helping to reduce prices on all but top acts, is the. return of many acts from service, fewer USO tours, etc. This all created sharper competition, which may be further whetted by foreign talent. There are large numbers of acts in Eng- land, France, etc., which would like a crack at U. S. coin. They'll try for it, too, when transportation problems ease more. RENEE and EDDIE ROOT \ow .H'I'kaki.m; CLOVER CLUB, MIAMI, FLORIDA "Home mill Knot, diinoo U'ltm. tonk Uio plu.'o" by Klovtn. Tlu-y louU three «ncurcs opening nigM':"— l>OHOTIIY It.W.MKK, Aliuuji Daily News. "UKNICK AND ROOT were vnvipvril In this apace when l)u y weve recently at tlie.Klvft o'Cluck Olub. Hul ilicy stand out m> wry much better on the hich HiaRC'nt the Olovcr Club tlutt ll»'*y h:inlly npp^irctl HUn the s:imo team, tliiu plus ihe furt thftt Hoot \h Ki lling bark Into dam-iiiK l'orm following n long tjtrctch with T*m-1« Sain owis^is. Prior In his entry into tho Navy.Hoot i\ns one ot the top ilam-pr« In thi* i-nuinry, Itascd <»n last night's perform- ance, he ia again on his way to the lop."—TALI* M. IIKIL'N, .Miami Beach Kvi-nitig Sun. "Hcneo and Hoot were only recently at the Fivn o'Clcic Club on the Bench. "We liked ihnlr smart routines then. Hiul found thi-m (.-vcn more iMigiuful on tho rained flovor noor. Kor o»n thing Hcneo wor<» a flowing gown that did woudciH lor lluoi'.M lifting Bpins."—GKOM*iK BOCHKK, Miami llcrnld. Iturbi, Angling For Own Agency, Faces Union License Block Hollywood, May .7. Jose Iturbi is planning to Open his own talent agency here. Application for license already is on file with State- of California. Hurdle yet to be surmounted is ruling of American Guild of Variety Artists that union cannot grant fran- chise to pianist since he is a per- former. Only out for Iturbi, now said to be sole investor in venture, is either to get changed ruling from AGVA national headquarters or in- corporate with himself .holding but minority share of firm. Brazilian Government Shutters All Gambling Casinos, Cutting Off U. S. Act Bookings; Agencies Up in Air Closing of nil Brazilian casinos because of gambling, Tuesday (30) has caused considerable flurry among talent agencies here. Mainly affected is the William Morris agency, which several weeks ago flew a show in- cluding nine models, Ted and Flo Vallett, Gloria Gilbert, Alphonse Berge, in a privately chartered plane for a May 25 opening at the Copaca- bana, Rio de Janeiro. Acts worked three days, when the no gambling ukase hit. and are now en route back to this country. Acts in the show will be paid for the three days played. Otherwise it's believed they have no claim against the casino inasmuch as shut- tering is an act of public authority. Spots, however are bearing the cost of transportation. ' Closing had been in the works for some time. Since the current Dutra regime \v,as voted into office, church authorities had been pressuring to close all gaming in the South Amer- ican republic. At first it was thought there was little chance of interven- tion since the government gets a heavy slice of gambling profits and is reported to have invested heavily in the newest casino, Quitandinha, at Petropolis. In addition to the of- ficial slice, casinos are reported to have paid off local politicos to the tune of approximately $2,000 nightly. With that much protection it. was considered safe for talent offices to go ahead on the business as usual basis. Last week's action, however, isn't considered final. In some quarters,' it's seen that resumption will take place as soon as the heat's off. They point to the fact that lotteries and horse racing are still running un- molested. Consequently casino shut- tcrings are interpreted as a tem- porary proposition. However, American agencies will, in the future, be more wary of ex- porting talent to Brazil because of lack -of guarantee that acts will be able to play out their engagement. One agency expressed the thought that there will have to be'legisla- tive sanction before they'll go all out on South American bookings. There had been talk of consecutive circuits in South America with ca- sinos in Venezuela, Chilean cafes and Argentinian theatres filling out to provide around six months' playing time. However, all these plans must be discarded. Brazilian casinos formed the background of this wheel with the most playing time and big- gest salaries. One act, the Callahans; had already started to fly to Rio. to opeii at the Atlantico May 5. They were inter- cepted on a stopover in Florida and returned to New York. Max Roth, recently discharged from the Army, has joined the Ber- nard Burke office. Pre-war he was with Charlie AUeD. ARTHUR BLAKE Preieate Hit "SYMPHONY IN SATIRE" Csrrtatty CHICAGO, Chicago Opening Jnee 4 TROCADERO. Hollywood Just Completed LATIN QUARTER, Miami v Ami LATIN QUARTER, Detroit BEN JANE R0CHELLE and BEEBE "THE SATIRICAL MADCAPS" Now Appearing STRAND, New York MoMgemeat: EDDIE SMITH. Poramoaat' IMfr. New Ye* FRANK GALLAGHER NOW APPEARING STRAND, New York And Also Heard on "THE SHEAFFER PARADE" Sunday, Coast-to-Coast, NBC ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦>>> ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦« ♦♦♦♦>»■»♦ My sincere thanks to CARMEN CAVALLARO for introducing me to his personal I AAA L- ▼ ▼ T ▼ * fans on his current record-breaking theatre tour. ? ♦♦♦«««♦♦♦♦♦♦<♦♦♦♦«♦ »♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦<♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«♦♦♦♦♦♦♦« * Management: MUSIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA