Variety (Jul 1946)

Wednemlay, July 17, 1946 VAUDEVILLE Atlantic City, Saratoga Forego Name Talent for Their Niteries m situation Saratoga Although the gambhng Atlantic' City, and wrings present different Pictures, SP rln e?. y 1J niteries . at both -'" ieropt to go through this Sly niteries . at both will at. femPt to go through this season Without benefit of name performers. S City operators feel that with fhe heavy vacationing crowds aug- mented by those coming in for the ^ racetrack opening Monday (22) 15 miles outside the town, there'll be little necessity for name luxes, Sara- toga bonifaces feel that they can't afford to splurge this year because nf the gaming shutdown which cuts off the most lucrative part of the operation. As a result of the uncertainty at Saratoga, bonifaces are hoping to »t by with accent on, the menu. They can't see their way into shell- ing out heavy talent coin when there are no casino activities to under- write dining-room losses. Talent go- ing into the cafes there will be in the medium brackets, although Max Selette, who'll operate Piping Rock, m ay take a flier into name perform- ers. There can be no long-range program in that area because of the fact that Saratoga racing runs only four weeks, thus limiting visitors to that period. Atlantic City cafes aren't expect- ing a free-flow of money because of curtailment of black-market money and cutback in mass spending. Con- sequently most are reluctant to shell out for name performers. Curious angle in the Atlantic City picture is the fact that the sole nitery with name talent in the area is the Copa (sans casino), which had opened recently as the Aquarium. Spot has used Willie Howard and Benny Fields, and currently has Jackie Miles, with Sophie Tucker slated for the next show. Business at the Copa is dismal during the week though okay weekends. They are hoping ' for additional crowds coining in for. the bangtail runnings to get them out of the red, WANGER PAYING OFF SALARY CLAIM Bert Wheeler Tops list Of Miami Vaude Awards Miami, July 16. -Miami columnists balloting in first annual listing of all-star vaude show from acts appearing at-the Olympia theatre, named Bert Wheeler as leading comic Others voted'as bests include John Boles, best male sing- er; Raul and Eva Reyes In dance division; Ben fieri, best novelty, act, and Grade Bar'rie leads femme sing- ing contingent. Eligible acts appeared- at the Olympia. from period between June of last year to July 1. Winners will be awarded silver plagues. $300 ' Wally Wanger, producer of shows at Lou Walter's Latin Quarter, N. Y. nitcry, has been tagged by American Guild of Variety Artists for $300 on a salary claim of Michael Neal, show girl. Latter had appeared in line Wan- ger had at the Macomba. Miami, 'last winter.' When spot closed for season all performers were paid off from'cash bond at AGVA. The line, however, had been booked in as a package- by Wanger and had not been included in the bond money. Consequently 'he was held respon- sible by AGVA for payoff. He has since adjusted all claims save Miss Neat's. He paid off $75 and will liquidate the remainder due via weekly payments to the union, which will be turned over to Miss Neol. AGVA, L A. Niteries Clash on Security, 6-Day Week Stance Hollywood, July 16. Showdown may eventuate here Fri. (19) in battle between group of town's top niteries and American Guild of Variety Artists over union's demands that spots confine selves to' six-day week for performers and post cash bonds covering two-week salaries for all talent on tap. Ten niteries, Earl Carroll's, Florentine Gardens, Band Box, Charley Foy's, Trocadero, Ciro's, Slapsy Maxie's, Bar of Music, Tom Brenemans and Larry Potter's, form . the embattled group, and attorney Max * Sisenwein has been tabbed to rep the spots in Friday's discussion with Arthur Kaye, roving assistant to national AGVA director Matt Shelvey. Niteries arc arguing that they are "financially and morally respon- sible" businesses and should not be subjected to putting up bonds. An- other sore ppint is that AGVA re- fuses to accept surety bonds. Sisen- wein will argue with Kaye that all AGVA. contracts held by niteries in past contained cash-bond clauses, but that union always waived stipu- lation and that the 10 spots which have grouped have never failed to pay off an act. Sisenwein's united front states it thinks AGVA justified in exacting bonds from unstable or new spots. 0PA Suspension Continued from page 1 the customers, but are fearful of do- ing so, as current level of business doesn't warrant any price hikes and menu tilts may set off a wave of public resentment. One consequence of the current dilemma, is the lowering of prices, at the Zanzibar, N.-YV Toward end of the week, cafe will advertise dinners from $1.76 instead of the usual $2 in an effort to entice more diner-out trade. Management con- cedes it's a desperate step, but hopes to gain in public estimation by ad- vertising effort as a public service to compensate for higher living costs. It's felt that summer trade cuts will go even deeper,: and fall may not see a full-scale comeback. Con- sequently, operators will attempt to cut costs elsewhere—namely talent. Salary slices have already taken place in several categories of' acts, mainly in the middle brackets, but bonifaces feel that further slices will be necessary if they're to sur- vive this precarious period. If acts are unwilling to cooperate, then some club owners declare that less acts will be used per bill. Ops expect., some relief if Con- gress puts back controls' on food prices. Currcat bill exempts many food -items- and expected veto by Pres. Truman will subsequently pro- long OPA suspension, and work further hardships on the cafe trade. Wave of Nitery Closings Slicing Talent Agencies Revenue Plenty Slapsie Maxie May > Talent agency revenue has been |sliced considerably by a wave of T t n r n k 18 MV " H * ry i,losings ' degree, laKe UVer C1UD 10, IN.I. i oss 0 f revenue from urban spots Permanence of the Club 18, N. Y., nas been compensated for by the shuttering is still being debated. scasonal wor k In resorts, but with Club, which closed the main room i lowel . talent budgets prevailing in last week, is currently operating the U he SQmmer <. afe8 and hotels, in- bar only, and its held that unless ' come dip to the agencies is consid- new dough comes in room may not ■ era bie reopen in September , rridteatiw of the loss being sus- Freddie Lamb, spot's operator, Is tained tnl8 summer at ^ - ta i ent . currently reported u attempting to- 0(tices is seen in the Philadelphia sell the spot to Maxle Hosenbloom. situation where all major centre- No deal has been set. city spots have buttered. Jack Lyrich's Walton roof, closed last n e\_ month when the Walton hotel was (iTOQD UPPOSeS condemned as unsafe, by city au- ™" " thoritles; Coronet is presently closed and slated for an August reopen- ing and the Latin. Casino is un- dergoing repairs. AH used name talent. Chicago, July 16. | The May fair, Boston, is another A "civic committee and the city'summer, casualty as is the 21 Frederick Bros. Will Take Yates Case To Court of Appeals Frederick Bros, last week ap- pealed the decision of the Appellate division of the N. Y. supreme court which denied the firm an injunction preventing Charlie Yates from work- ing elsewhere. Case is likely to be heard in the Court of Appeals some- time in the fall. Suit is based on Yates walkout of a 10-year pact with FB after three years.. FB got the nod in the lower court on the ground. that he was •"unique." Appellate division found Yates possessed of no such attribute and reversed the decision. Argentine Casinos Cough Up Cool $6,572,187.11 Tax Buenos Aires, June 25. Final annual figures released for Argentine casinos of Mar del Plata, Miramar and Necochea, Atlantic beach resorts; show a. profit for the state of $6,572,187.11. Total coin played by gamblers amounted. to $53,195,025. Exploitation costs •mounted to about $1,200,000. Barber shops, eateries, dance halls, ttc., which form part of the Casino, gave a profit of $436;300. Twenty percent of the year's profits will be spent on hospital con- struction. $1,000,000 will go to the Labor Secretariat for welfare work; $100,000 will take care of welfare work among Argentina's few re- gaining. Indian settlements, . and balance of coin will go on road building, hotel construction . and ."With- improvement in Province of Buenos Aires. Casino concession was formerly held by Don Miguel Machinandiarcna °» San Miguel Film studios, but was reclaimed by the Peron Govt, two years ago, after 'dramatic charges of embezzlement were made by the Provincial authorities. Betty Bellly, slated to open at La wmga, n. Y., last week, Instead snifted to the Riviera, N. J., where ™e opens tomorrow (Thursdny) on »'U with Willie Howard and Jack .wrla' band. BECKMAN, PRANSKY ON UNION'S UNFAIR LIST Beckman and Pransky agency, N. Y., which books so-called cream spots of the mountain and resort circuits, were placed on unfair list, of American Guild of Variety Artists and had their AGVA-agency fran- chise suspended this week (15) for "conduct unbecoming a franchised agent and other violations," accord- ing to Dave Fox, chief aide to Matt Shelvey, head of AGVA, and head of N. Y. local. Action against the agency was precipitated, according to Fox, by many complaints from AGVA mem- bers that agency was not issuing standard AGVA contracts for the borscht belt dates and was also at- tempting short payoffs upon com- pletion of contracts. Some cases re- ferred to the union brought out thai the performers had been given im- proper contracts. When no adjustment was forth- coming from the agency, AGVA notified the 12 resort hotels that the agency had been booking, and with whom AGVA holds closed-shop pacts, of the unfair listing. Acts and other agents were similarly notified lo this effect Monday (15). Talent Time'Folds "Talent Time," produced on the Coast as a vaude unit and which recently folded after a week in Wilshire-Ebell theatre, Hollywood, was paid off last week from cash bond posted by producer in national AGVA. Money was forwarded to Hollywood branch of union for pay- off. Although unit worked only one week performers were paid two weeks salary under basic contracts. ' Las Vegas Spots Plunging Las Vegas. Nev., spots are con- tinuing to shell out heavy coin for headliners. El Rancho Vegas has signed Benny Fields to open Aug. 7. He'll follow run of D>. Giovanni, opening there July 24. SEPIA SHOW POLICY SET FOR CORONET, PHILLY Coronet . Club, Philadelphia, pur- chased recently by Joe Kravitz and Joe Fine from Stanley Schwartz and Bob Wasserman, has booked its first all-sepia show, to ■ open Aug. 2. Initial lineup will include Cootie Williams' orch, Tholma • Carpenter, and the Brown Dots. Second group- ing will take in Ella Fitzgerald, Tiny Bradshaw orch, Son and Sonny and Bobby Evans. Femme line and re- lief band will back up. Coronet had been operated for some time by Schwartz and Wasser- man under n white talent policy, at first using the best acts available and for a brief period used name bands. It's the idea of the new owners to follow policy of the Zanzibar, N. Y. council arc at odds over the'fire pre vention problem in Chicago, with the committee appointed by Mayor Edward J. Kelly to investigate the LaSalle hotel fire urging in a report on its findings last week strict en- forcements and institution of more safety measures and the council passing an amendment relaxing the fire code by permitting reopening of three of five niteries closed for vio- lations soon ifter the holocaust, one of the worst in the city's history. Spots are the Cuban Village, Play- house, arid McGovern's Liberty Inn, which have. been operating as tav- erns since, but without music and entertainment. New amendment permits them to accommodate no more than 250 patrons, however. It's also explained by Chi building com- missioner Paui Gerhardt, Jr., that the. bistros are on the first floors of fireproof buildings no more than four stories high, as provided by the ordinance. Previously such' spots could operate only in structures no more than throe stories high. Committee's reports .on the whys and wherefores of the fire, incidentr ally, declared that the construction in 'the LaSalle's Silver Cocktail Lounge, where the fire started, was in violation of Chi's building code, and that there was "an unexplained delay" in calling; the fire dept. on the night of the blaze. It advocated modern alarm and sprinkler systems in hotels here, plus frequent fire drills for hotel employees. • Guild Puts Tap on Duke For Extra Performances Los Angeles, July 16. American Guild of Variety Ar tists has demanded that Duke El ljngton pay three acts, used on his unit show last week at Million Dol- lar theatre, for six performances which exceeded weekly maximum of 30 permitted by contract between vaudifilmer and union. Turns are Patterson and Jackson, singer Al- bert Hibbler and terp twain of Jesse and James. Ellington put on 36 shows during stanza, and AGVA argues acts should be paid pro rata added stipends. Booking was package deal, with batoneer hiring specialty acts himself arid being responsible for salaries. Currently one-niting upstate, Ellington has not as yet responded to AGVA demand. Haymes' Hub Date- Dick Haymes is set to play the RKO, Boston, Aug. 22, on an old contract. Haymes .was to have played house last season, but was called back for picture work at 20lh-Fox/ Roxy theatre, N. Y., is hoping to get Haymes to ploy a date while he's in the east. Civic License Renewals To Trio of Chi Niteries club, Baltimore, and Town Casino, Buffalo. All these spots will reopen either next month or September. One of the heaviest dips sustained was the summer closing of enter- ta : imvi- it rooms in the.Stutter hotel chain. Except in New: York where this firm operates the Pennsylvania hotel, a band spot, the chain has folded talent operations In Detroit, Buffalo and Boston. Statler hotels bought most of their . talent from Music Corp. of America, but other agencies were, able to break through when name talent was available. In addition, agencies are feeling income dip as result of summer closings of New York cafes such as La Martinique, Blue Angel, Club 18, Greenwich Village Inn, and the Em- bassy. PHIL SILVERS, RAGLAND PACTED FOR COPA, N.Y. JWonte Proser, operator of the Co- pacabana, N. Y., has set sufficient talent to take care of the spot far into the winter. Phil Silvers and Rags Ragland well teamed for a January opening to follow run of Joe E. Lewis, slated to bow Oct. 3. Proser has also signed Lecuona Cuban Boys band for Aug. 15 as re- placement lor Desl Arnaz, who leaves to go on a vaude tour. Sole hitch to the Copa's plans Is the houldout of Lewis who is seek- ing $5,000. He worked last year at $3,500 weekly. The Copa has made some salary concessions but is hold- ing put on the 5G figure. Lombardo, Martin Hotel Switches Get Nixed JOAN BARRY TAGGED BY AGVA IN CONTRACT JUMP Joan Barry, nitery . songstress and former protege of Charlie Chaplin, was this week. suspended from membership in American Guild of Variety Artists for "conduct unbe- coming a member." However, she was not pulled out of Chez Paree, Atlantic City, where she's in on con- tract pacted prior to unign action. Suspension was meted out to the chirp for having breached a. con- tract with Greystone club,. Maris* field, Ohio, some weeks ago; Song- stress was ordered by union to pay damages of $150 to club operators to: compensate for advance buildup they had given her before she can- celled out. Further disciplinary action of the union is being held in abeyance un- til return to N. Y. of Matt Shelvey, national head of AGVA, later in the week. At that time she may be cited as unfair and subjected to additional penalties. Hollywood, July 16. Long-bruited deal definitely is out through which Guy Lombardo this coming winter would shift from his Roosevelt Hotal, N. Y., spot to Am- bassador^ Cocoanut Grove- here, and Freddy Martin would switch to the site Lombardo has played for past 14 winter seasons. It is understood Music Corp. of America tried to push the idea, but both maestri nixed. Definitely Martin, in fifth year at Cocoanut Grove, shied from such a shift. Still possible is a deal whereby MCA can get Lombardo into the Grove sometime late this summer, when <Martin and his crew take an- nual four-week vacation. No orch has been set as substitute, and MCA is interested in trying to Induce Lombardo. Latter would probably be. sold for film chore concurrent with Cocoanut stand, If agrees lo the booking. Carnival, N.Y., Slump Nicks Berle's Take Home Pay Indicative of the nitery slump that has hit New York is the fact , th.it for the first time since he ] opened at the Carnival, Milton :Berle last week failed to hit the '■ average mark. Comic is booked at a $7,500 salary with mounting takes after house gross hits around $42,000. Berle has made at various/times during his term hit more than $10,- 000, but Government got $9,000 for income tax. LeRuban Bleu, N.Y., Spots New Show for Summer Le Ruban Bleu, N. Y., will preem its new cooling system simultane- ously with new floorshow tonight 'Wed.), marking the first time that spot has run through surhmer since 1937. Ruby Hill, sepia songstress fea- tured in the musical, "St. Louis Woman," which recently folded at the Martin Beck theatre, N. Y., heads the new layout, which in- cludes Bob Howard, . Cedric Wallace' .Trio. Wallace Puppets and- Wally Blacker. Chase hotel, St. Louis, will attempt, a name band policy in the fall, batoneer I Claude Thornhill goes in for two i .weeks Sept. 20.