Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 29, 1946 VAUDEVILLE ss Chi Makes Up Its Mind to Stage 1st of Annual Fair Series Aug. 17-25 Chicago, May 28. Despite an earlier cancellation by Mayor Edward J. Kelly, the first of a series of annual Chicago fairs will definitely be held, only on a smaller scale and earlier than the previously announced October starting date. It's definitely set for Aug. 17-25, with next year's shindig skedded for two weeks, starting the Saturday before Labor Day. Committee previously announced still goes, with John Balaban, of Balaban & Kalz, the. only show biz rep included. Others are Chi civic leaders, bankers, public utilities execs," unionists and department store and mail order house heads. . Amusements, such as those that packed 'em in at the Century of Progress in 1933-34, are out for the first fair, with the $.5,000,000 planned to be spent to be concentrated on industrial exhibits on Northerly Island, site of the last fair, and.spe- cial displays in business centers such as the Merchandise and Furniture Marts,- There'll also be a water car- nival and; other athletic events.. Cueing • the committee's "take-il- easy" attitude, publicity will, for a starter, be centered, in the midwest, inasmuch as they don't want to ap- pear to be encouraging travel from distant points in the face of current room shortages/It'll be. a forerunner, in other words, of a World's Fair? - sized . event that should really be something by 1847, conditions war- ranting, and- that will eventually— Ihey hope—match the Mardi Grass and other annual regional events. Merger of Al Borde, Stan Zucker Agencies Out After Long Dicker Possibility of the Al Borde-Stan- ford Zucker agency merger ended abruptly when Borde left for his homeon'ice in Chicago, Thursday (23). Reason for dropping negotia- tions after several weeks of dicker- ing is believed to have, come over the division of stock in the new corporation and degree of. control . to be exercised by each of the com- ponents. Plan for the merger- included Frank; Sennes, Cleveland booker, coming into the fold. Sennes, who books some top-monicd spots, would have given the combine a powerful wedge into some of the larger clubs in the midwest. Sennes, however, dropped out of the deal as well. Under the consolidation plan, out- fit would have had offices in N. Y.. Chi, Hollywood and Cleveland, and firm would have Installed a film de- C partment. . It's said there's still the possibility that deal may be picked up again. However, that's unlikely unless Borde and Zucker agree to cut original , demands drastically. 'Rochester'to Shuffle Off to Buffalo at 5G Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Is booked for McVann's, Buffalo, at $5,000 weekly out of which he pays for a femme stooge. Date' at this spot hasn't been definitely decided upon but it has been agreed that the club will make room for the Jack Benny program comic, when he's available. Music Corp. of America is routing Rochester to play a series of cafes, but may sandwich in some theatre dates as well. On 5100 Club Sale Chicago, May 28. U. S. internal revenue dept. finally sold the 51 Hundred Club, northside nitery against "which they held a $21,000 Federal tax deficiency, but the Government netted only $4,425 on the sale. Furniture and fixtures- were bought last week for $6,525 by a finance company which held a chat- tel mortgage 'on . the fixtures to the tune of $6,500, so the G-men got only $25 on that deal. However, 1,615 bottles , of liquor went for $4,400 to a Chi tavern owner. Government had made a previous attempt to sell the spot as a going concern, but nobody put in a bid. SHORT TAIL FAILS TO SAVE LICENSE Columbus. O.. May 21. Though he claimed he was too abort to see what was happening through the crowd, George D. Sher- bon, who is flve-feet-lhree-inches tall, operator of George's Night Club ■near Coshocton, O., was deprived of his boor and-wine license by the Ohio Liquor- Board, on charges of having permitted a strip tease and a lewd movie to be shown in his club last Oct. 21. Sherbon said that the Coshocton Boosters' Club, composed of busi- nessmen interested in promoting high school athletics, had taken over his. spot and put on the show. He said he was told the films were to be of the Notre-Dame football team and other sports events, and his lack of height prevented him from seeing what was going on. License revocation was effective '■ Nny 11, the day after he was given a hearing on charge of exhibiting immoral .films. Billy Reed Buys N.Y. Spot for New Nitery; Monte Proser Partner Billy Reed last week purchased entire building at 70 East 54th street, N. Y., to Jhouse an intime nitery to be known as the Little club. Spot will be opened as soon as necessary alterations are permitted. Reed, recently discharged from the Navy, was producer at the Copaca- bana, N. Y. Monte Proser, Copa's operator, has coin in the new spot. Dancer Injured in Bus Smash Settles for $5,750 Pittsburgh, May 28; Under a compromise settlement, Francoise Patenaude, 19-year-old dancer, received $5,700 from Joseph Price of. Indiana, Pa.; a showman, for injuries she sustained last No- vember while a passenger in a bus owned by Price. Smash occurred near DuBois, Pa. • Miss Patenaude was a member of a small vaude unit enroute to Du- Bois at the time for a theatre en- gagement. AGVA, Pitt Owners Settle Bond Dispute With Local Agents Posting the Cash 20 Miami Gubs Run All Summer Despite passing of regular season arid exodus of lush spenders,. .20 niteries in Miami are continuing op-, eration through summer. All are operating on more moderate talent budgets than obtained during regu- lar season, but according to reports, all are doing profitable business. Among better known spots con- tinuing shows for summer are- Kitty Davis', Clover Club, Club Bali, Pad- dock. Club, Jeff's, Jimmy's-on-the- Trail, Sky Club, Beachcomber, Rip- tide, Bar 'oMusic as well as several of the hotels. Current talent budgets for spots range from $1,500 to $3,000 weekly, rated a ,modest sum in comparison to what they dole, out for shows in regular season. It Happens Every Year, So Forget the Flowers Palace theatre, Columbus, will drop its. stage show policy for the summer after the Glenn Miller-Tex Beneke bandshow June 24 for three days. House is a regular three-day vaude stand, and is booked by Danny Friendly of RKO. Scarcity' of top- flight stageshow material is behind the move. Prior to the summer vaude exit house will have several vacant stage show periods due to Friendly's in- ability to secure suitable fare. SQ R0DE0 FOLDS IN , PITT DUE TO RAIL BAN Pittsburgh, May 28. Gene Autry and the SQ Rodeo had to fold here Saturday night (25) following week's engagement at . Gardens on account of railroad strike, cancelling out two remain- ing dates on schedule, at New Haven, and Providence. Cancelling of the rail ban came too late for the show to revive the already dropped New England bookings. Rolling slock was all'taken to eastern headquarters at Waverly, N. Y„ by whatever means were available' and later be moved back west. Autry came here by auto. He pulled out immediately after final performances at Gardens for Chi- cago, driving all night to make his radio show out there Sunday after- non (26). Rodeo, incidentally, was a com- plete sell-out here, doing biggest biz in its history locally.' Gardens management was forced to stick in an extra matinee Friday (.24) to handle the overflow; Cleve. Industrial Heads Now Realize Value of Showbiz Showmanship Cleveland, May. 28. Biggest crowd-puller here this spring has proven to be the Mid- America Exposition, an 11-day ex- hibit of Cleveland's industrial prod- ucts at the Civic auditorium, which is part of the city's scsquicenlenniaj celebration program. At first some of its u'tra-conserva- tive backers fought against the idea of booking big movie . and . radio names for the daily shows, claiming they would overshadow the exhibits. They were voted down on the grounds that more theatrical show- manship was needed. Wisdom of.-the move was confirmed when Kenny (Senator Claghorn) Delniar emceed the kick-off proceedings last Thurs- day (23). . Pseudo-Southern politician pulled an estimated 8,000 to the initial ma- tinee an,d slightly over that oh his evening performance. To further glamorize- the displays. of industrial machinery and gadgets, the sponsors were scheduled' to bring- in Carole- Landis from Hollywood, for a p.a. and several radio units. Latter to include the "Ladies Be Seated" ra- dio troupe with Johnny Olsen as emcee, the Midwestern Hayride show from WLW, and the Boone County. Neighbors. After watching Senator- Claghbrn's mouthpiece gag up (he exposition, Cleveland manufacturers agreed that there must be something to this new-fangled business called show- manship. . • Recent sale of the Orpheum, Los Angeles, to J. Arthur Rank and the shift of the house's vaudfllm policy to the Million Dollar, L. A., by oper- ator Cherrill Corwin, have brought about a sharp clash between the lat- ter and Duke Ellington's orchestra. Corwin has Ellington under, con- tract for week of . July 2, the agree- ment calling- for the date, to be played at the Orpheum. Since Rank takes over the house Saturday (1), Corwin wants to move Ellington to the Million Dollar. Ellington won't go : Though the Million Dollar is a larger house than the Orpheum . and Ellington has a chance to earn more Puppeteers Meet Waterford, May 28. First national puppetry festival since the outbreak of the war will be held June 27-30 in Waterford. al the Rufus Rose Marionet theatre. Similar meets have been held an- nually since the .inception of the Puppeteers of America in 1937. Skedded to perform, are Frank Paris, Ted Mablcy, Bill Baird, Vir- tinia Austin and George Prentice. Desi Arnaz Set For Roxy, Para Stands Desi Arnaz, who came to the Copa- I cabana, N.'Y., as a bandleader, will [ double as a single when entire Copa show goes into the Roxy theatre, starting June 19 or 26. He's, also | been signed with his band to play the Paramount theatre next year. I Odd part of the Roxy deal lies in the fact that Arnaz as a single will draw $5,000 while his entire band gets $4,000 weekly while play- ing, the Copa. I Others included in the Roxy deal I include Raul and Eva Reyes, Julie 'Wilson and'Bob Johnson. General ' Artists handles Arnaz. but Music Corp. of America set the package. It's the Ihird time house' has used a Copa show. JOAN BARRY STILL CREATING NITERY STIR Youngslown, O., May 28. Joan Barry, former protege of Charlie Chaplin, did not make her- ;self very popular during her week's ■| engagement at the Pines Night Club :here (.15-20). Frank Mazzaco, man- ager of the club, requesting a press interview from Miss Barry, got his fingers smashed; She slammed the dressing room door on the manager's fingers. Later, John H. Auble, Jr., of the Youngslown Vindicator, was ad- mitted, and Miss Barry, reluctantly I answered routine questions in a mo- Imentary interview until, with an- ' Other display of temper, she flipped ! hcr music into a corner, disconnect- ing the lights. That ended the in- . tervicw. Duke in LA. Clash Over House Shift Pittsburgh, May 28. Differences between AGVA and local nitery. owners over posting of cash security bonds for performers, which haye: kept floor ssows out of town since first of the month, came to an end over the weekend when a group of local agents stepped into the picture and.agreed to put up the dough themselves. .Move was ac- ceptable to performers' union and each Pitt agent will shell out for the spots he books. Both sides are. naturally claiming this as a. victory, but there doesn't seem to be very much of that one way or the other. It's just a case of having the other hands. buck passed on to Earlier in the week there had been some indications of. a break when Pittsburgh nightclub owners guild gave the go sign to Schwartz' Nite Court of Fun and Allen's, mem- ber cafes, to post the bond. These places were slowly dying inasmuch as'they , had no-dancing but relied entirely for biz on a nuthouse type of entertainment. On the surface, however, owners said that would b» the extent of their concessions, that they intended to hold firm against putting up any cash. Then the picture^was additionally complicated when Nat Nazai;ro, jr., who heads AGVA here, announced that Joe Lieber, an AGVA member who refused to relinquish his mem- bership when he accepted position of guild exec, sec'y,. had- been placed on unfair, list for alleged activities against un.'on members and there- fore AGVA could not deal with him coin on a percentage basis, he feels j in negotiations. Guild in lurn »■.-» it.- _- . t gave Lieber a vote of confidence i; the form of a new contract for a that the newer location is tod far away from the trade he wants to play to. He has refused to okay the shift of his contract to the Million Dollar house, which is nine blocks from the Orpheum. N.Y. CAFES, NAME BANDS HURT BY RAIL BAN New York, nitery ops agreed that the two-day. railroad strike hurt business, but extent of damage can- not be determined Inasmuch as the rail tieup came at a time when busi- ness was. at a fairly low ebb. Boni- faces agreed that much out-of-town trade was missing, but some of it was compensated for somewhat by the fact that tourists stuck in New York took to the amusement spots. Greater part of the loss was regis- tered by the lack of suburban pa- tronage, much of which always comes in by car. Last week this type refrained from doing so be- cause they were fearful of not get- ting parking space. . Following settlement of the strike, business was still slightly off Satur- day, but normal biz, which has been said is off, came Monday (27). New York name band rooms, which have been off their feed for some weeks now, were hit pretty hard by the brief rail tieup. It had a more hurtful effect since it oc- curred near the end of the week, with partial resumption of service late Saturday <18> not in time to allow for patron-plans for tl^at eve- ning. year at a big boost in salary. . Few of the smaller spots immedi- ately made plans to get shows back as soon as settlement was made, but few. of the larger ones were in no hurry to resume entertainment. Sev- eral, including Nixon Cafe and Villa Madrid, already had j commitments with extra bands and announced they would make no decisions about resumption of floor shows until pres- ent contracts expired. Brazil's Crackdown On Gambling Cancels Many English Act Bookings London. May 17. With government ban on gambling in Brazil and closing of all casinos, there hss been wholesale cancslla- tions of big vaudeville and cabaret names. Quite a few English names are affected. Tho;e already cancolleJ \>) fisw edict, ,from this area, are Main lee Chevalier, Lucicnne Boyer, Anibn-.se and band, and Roberta who p ayed there last year and was due for re- turn dale. Long lists of U. S. acta previously were knocked out. Hollywood Cafes Pay Top Hope Tees Off Stadium Swing in Glendale, CaL Hollywood, May 28. Bob Hope's air-borne variety show, booked for ball parks and I stadiums throughout the country, I"nin fnr Nomoc 1 opened in Glendale, Cal.. and will IiUIU 1UI lldllICO | tour tne . p ac j flc Coast before head- Hollywood, May 28. l ing, cast Coast bookings include Despite generally- poor nitery biz] Fresno, June 2; Long Beach, June 4 here currently, top spots are found 1 Snokane. June 6: Tacoma, June -7 Surf Club, Va. Beach, Has Ice Show for Full Season ! Surf club. Virginia Beach, Va.,.has .booked an ice show for the entire ! summer. "Serenade on Blades" will : remain throughout a succession of name bands. Room has so far set Johnny "Scat" Davis, Jack Tcagarden and Bob i Chester. to be paying out more coin than ever they have before, in order to get j name floorsh'ow acts. '"■ Joe E. Lewis is getting $4,000 a | week at Ciro's, and Florentine Gar- ' dens is paying Jimmy Savo $2,000. : Larry Ad.ler, now getting $2,500 at Las Vegas, will get same when he j hits a local spot. Harry Richman I starts stand at Florentine on June 19 at $3,000 per. • Spokane,. June 6; Tacoma, June- Seattle, June 8; Portland. June 9;' San Francisco, June 10, and Oak- land, June 11. Other stopping places are Denver, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Hous- ton, San Antonio, Omaha, Minneap- olis, St. Paul, Chicago, Philadel- phia, New York, Syracuse Buffalo, Rochester and Atlanta. Filmsters in Coast Rodeo Hollywood, May 28. Hope In Dallas June 16 Dallas, May 28. Date for the appearance here of Bob Hope and a supporting group at the Cotton Bowl has been set for Top riders of the film industr> will fcun. M. With Hope will be: Skinnay compete in the annual rodeo to be • sponsored by the Sheriff's Relief ! Assn. at the Coliseum Aug. 25. j High nioncy prizes are expected to ■ draw rddco stars from all parts of ! the country. Ennis' orchestra, Jack Pepper, local comedian who toured with . Hope overseas: Paramount studio starlets and others! Troupe is skedded at Houston Juna 17 and San Antonio June 18.