Variety (Sep 1946)

2 MISCELLANY We<1ne8ilay, September 1ft, 1946 Cain's Proposal Lights Fuse For Authors Leape's Faction Blowup Spoft* Shorts TicUel sale for the Joe Loiiis- Tami Mauriello heavyweight title fight at Yankee Stadium tonight (18) spiirlod over the weekend and indications that the gate will top $300,000 at $30 top. Newsprint shortage, due to: the trucking strike, -held down-; ballyhoo in tliG dailies and thC- Louis-Conn busteroo early in the summer crimped general in- , terest in this eveninss's bout. There aren't nearly as many fans from out-of-town and the chances of the pudgy Bronx 'barkeep are expected to be slim;-. However any lioavy. with a sock, should not be totally discounted, and there have been upsetSv especially when the betting odds are between 8 and 10 against Tami copping, Dhy after Bill Dickey was out as manager of the Yankees •limmy Powers of the N.Y. Daily News'printed: ''Memo to Larry McPhail—Why not make Babe Ruth manager of the Yanks:" That was his whole column. Johnny Nuen replaced Dickey as a stop-gap. After 34-.vears of cautiously avoid-' Ing political issues, the Authors' League of America suddenly found itself the center of a bitter factional struggle last week as right and left Wings went to work on each other over the issue of James M. Cain's proposed Authors Authority, Fuse for the blowoft was lit in the headlines of the nation's dailies by 50 squawking Authors Leaguers '^vho let out a highly publicized cry that the AAA was "communistic" arid a form of "totalitarianism/' Supporters of-the Cain plan coun- tered with charges that a red her- ring was being dragged into the is- ■ siie ' which: was irrelevant to the iherits of the AAA. As battle • lines . \ver6 ■■being drawn across the 7,000 members of the Authors League, the 36 member-executive council of the organization began preliminary dis-. cussions today ('Wednesday) . at its New York national office which would decide the ultimate fate of the AAA. Proposal for the AAA, which was originally mapped by Cain, and for- mally by the Screen Writers Guild at last month's membership meeting, called for the creation of an au- thority which would act as sole, copyright repository for writers in every field of authorship. Under the plan, every writer in the coun- try hoping for sale of his work would ■be compelled to send his work to the Authority for copyright, as a method of preventing the writers from being shortchanged in their dealings with publishers, film pro- ducers and radio stations, A com- i „. , . , . . ^„ . ,„ mitlee of five directors, headed by a PuUing in all the biggest names m "tough mugg" (Cain's expression) showbusiness apparently has <Jone ,^ouM be set up-to, cbhtrol opera>- the firm no harnr Since the article .jiong /'■'■''''i ; I has appeared, MCA has gobbled up Opponents of the plan, who hur- riedly formed the American Writers 222nd WEEK! KEN MURRAY'S "BLACKOUTS OF 1946" El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood, C«l. "An oreht(l to Ken Murray's deft .showmanship in h)H 'VllaeUouls' now in its 5th seasson, Cwacity houses always." WALTER WINCHELL. The Berle-ing Point -By Milton Berle. BAKER FOLLOWS BENNY INTO MUSIC CORP. FOLD The recent Satevepost serial on Music Corp, of America, in which MCA was pictured as the octopus Association, comprising 50 prorai- rient literati, last week charged that the plan is monopdlistie and would set up a flve-man dictatorship over literary expression and opinion in this country. In a six-page letter (Continued on page 54) Jack Benny, and now has grabbed phil Baker, who joins that agency Oct, 18, when current pact with William Morris agency expires. Reason. for Baker's shift is ascribed to the fact that he's had no work in fields other than radio and wants to do pictures. Martin Good- | LATE JOE COOPER'S 86 HOLSTEINS FETCH 216G Herd of 86" purebred Holstein cows which the late Joseph H. Copper, theatre operator and Paramount partner, maintained on his Mill- brbok, N. y., estate, were auctioned Monday (16) at the highest price ever brought in the U. S. for dairy animals. Total sum realized was $216,025. Cows were sold separately, highest single price being $10,000. Sale was ordered by attorneys Austin C. Keough and Arthur , F. DriscoU for the estate. Cooper died March 20, 1946. He operated 23 houses in Oklahoma, Colorado :an(3 Nebraska, some in partnership with Par. Pat McGee, of Denver, is now running them for both Par and-the, Cooper estate. Went to the Martinique to welcome ex-G. I. Harvey Stone. The place was reiilly'jammed, so much so everybody had to synchronize their breath- ing. Dartce floor was crowded, loo; one couple could hardly spread their dance chart out on it. It was great to sec how well Dario and 'Vernon trusted each other...all night long they worked together hand-in-,pocket. Told 'Vernon that I thought the prices were kind of high, but he .said, "It just seems that way because of the low ceiling." Everyone seemed to have a giand time, especially the comics at the ringside. They were pickled pink to hear their next week's material going over so well. . The Greiit Wit Way, . ■■„■.•■.,,-'■■;,';■■',■ 1st dfunk (ot college reiiiiio/i); Ydle '36? 2a drunk: iVope, Vnt 69. ■ Understand Barry Gray will do a picture titled, "Malice m WoiKkr- land." Ist cotnic; What do they itiemi bv .soiiietJiitifli old, soinethiiio new. thino borToioed, soi'ietltirifii blue? ^ 2d comic; your acti There's Ne Truth to the KumOr That Westinghouse is backing "The Ice Man Cometh" ...That William Saroyan is writing Phil Harris' dialog That Barry Gruy's baby calls his father "Pater Pan"....That "The Big Sleep" is ba.sed on Rip Van Winkle's life. ' Hsng'nail Oescriptions Gromyko; Kremlin gremlin Wo.stmore Bros: Pan handlers.. . .Re- torded hypnotic routines: Trance-scriptions.. , .Mailmen's pop tune; "To Each His Zone".., .Russian wine: Moscow-tel. Observation Department Jack Gilford just invented a toothbrush with a whip attached, lor people who want to beat their gums: Whispered at Cafe. Zaniibar: \ "He's shy and reliriufi. ' "Yeah, he's shy $20,000 in his ttccouiK.'! . . . thai's why he's reiiriini.'' Understand that most butcher shops .are hirinir mideets easier to work under the counter. When a film script called for a battle between armed knights, the pinch- penny producer phoned Central Ca.sting for a few free-lancers. "Can I see l/oii (I. 771 mute?" "SoTry, got no time." "Oh, a nelxcork. eh?" Understand that when a rookie cop was making his first arrc.Kf lie took his prisoner to the movies, .there was,a sign iri the lobby tliat .siiici. ■■('(kiUt Inside." Moss-Amiers Babe Ruth Deal May Segue to Major Alec Hugh- Moss, flack "The Outlaw. for Howard will not him- SID SKOLSKY'S SODA SOIREE AT SCHWAB'S Hollywood, Sept. 17.' This town went back to the Era of the Great Experiment when the Brothers Schwab, proprietors of a drug store, tossed a non-alcoholic party for Sid Skolsky, as an after- math of the press preview of his <ir.st film production; "The Jolson Story," filmed at Columbia. The Schwabadero, made known to fame by Skolsky in his syndicated news- paper column, was crowded by 150 guests'and flocks of scribes and gate erashers, who put on an orgy con- sisting of ice cream sodas, spiked with pineapple, strawberry and whatnot. It was one of the most peaceful parties ever held in Hollywood, al-. though the Schwab freres had taken precautions to insure their windows and showcases against the possibility of human bodies crashing through the glas.s. There were no casualties, even though the guests drank deep of chocolate malt and other soda fountain libations. In the deception line with Skolsky were Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest and Bill Good- win, all connected with the picture. Among the outsiders and well wish- ers were Frank ' Sinatra, Mickey Eooney, Bette Davis, Sylvia Sidney, Ann Miller. Lucille Ball, John Gar- field and Dick Powell. man, ex-Morris office and now of - , ,. ^ », t ade the deal \ produce the life story of Babe I Ruth, to which he last week ^ac- rights , in association with the MCA radio sector with Baker. ■ Despite the Baker .shift in October, commissions on his "Take It or Leave It" air show for Eversharp will go the Morris office as long as he continues with that sponsor. Jack Benny Indies Hollywood, Sept. 17. Jack Benny is going into produc- tion on his own. as head of an indie unit now in course of formation. J. C, Stein, prez of Music Corp. of America, will be his partner. Understood the new outfit will tie up with major studios in package deals, with Benny appearing in^ several of the pictures. Savo Recuping Quickly After Leg Amputation Jimmy Savo, the comic who planed in from Hollywood for a leg amputation at the Memorial Hos- pital, N. Y., last Thursday (12), was sitting up two days after the purgery. Stitches are to be removed today (Wednesday), Savo is chuckling over the many gadgets sent him by well-wishers. A pamphlet teaching "The Art of Dancing" especially tickled his sense of humor. A delegation from the Lambs vis- ited him and more than 50 baskets of flowers were sent him. A bouquet from the "Bench Sitters A.ssn." was especially amusing to the comedian, "members" of the lat- ter having watched Savo feed nuts almost daily to the squirrels in Cen- tral Park. Ex-Nitery Prop. Saved From Electric Chair Chicago, Sept. 17.- Julius <Dolly) Weisberg, for many years manager and part owner of the local Colony Club where many top acts appeared, was saved from the electric chair last week when the Illinois .supreme court granted him a stay of execution Tuesday (11) pending a review of his case. Weisberg was .sentenced to die in the chair Friday 113) for killing auto .salesman Joseph McKnight in a tav ern last Oct. 23. NEW YORK CAVALCADE IVa Not a llciillbr Situali«»ln! .Bv LOUIS SOBOL- quired rights in Jack Amiel, Broadway sportsman and restaurateur. Mo-ss is aiming to get a package deal together or sell just the story itself to a Hollywood major or indie. Ruth has received a down pay- ment on rights to the yarn from Moss, and Amiel and will receive the remainder, amounting to about $100,000, When deal for' filming is finally closed. Perry Como Honored By His Home Town Perry Como journeyed back to Cannonsburg, Pa., his home town, Saturday (14) to check the spelling of his name on the street the burg has named after him. He was also given a key to, the city. To properly mark the event, the town took a loeaj holiday and paraded the singer down the main drag with his wife and .son. Cannonsburg is 38 niiles from Pittsburgh. Marj. Knapp Checks Out Marjone Knapp, understudy to Ethel Merman in "Annie Get Your Gun," who was inked to a term pact by Columbia recently, leaves New York for the studio this week. Mary Jane Walsh has been tapped by pro- ducers Rodgers &. Hammersfein as Miss Knapp's successor, with the un- derstanding shell go out with the first road company. Mi.ss Knapp's departure from the hit Irving Berlin musical had been delayed pending the signing of a femme to sub for her. FKCHEi SNAGS LIPE MAG GAL Paris, Sept. 10. American publicity given by Life mag to Lise Bourdin, young French actress, similar to the one already given Barbara Laage by the .same magazine, resulted in Clifl'ord Fischer contracting the girl as soon as the i.-J.sue reached Paris. She is currently making picture •tests.' ■ ■■, ■ ,■ Impersonating Himself? Omaha, Sept. 18. Wallace Beery, in town over night, was the subject of a police .search Thursday night (12). A phone call to the hotel where he was regLstered brought a doubling arm of the la\.' who thought someone might be mas- querading as the actor. When inter- viewed. Beery .said: "I don't see how anybody else could be mistaken for me." The cdps said they were about to arrest Beery tor imper.sonat!ng Beery and cau.sing a crowd to collect. The actor, traveling in his station wagon, was on his way back to Hollywood after a visit east, Wismer on Football Harry Wismer, veteran sports broadcaster and director of sports at the ABC network, will be the Variety gridiron prog- nosticator for the coming season, Wismer, who has been broad- casting tootball for a dozen yeai;s, goe.s into his trance for the first time next week \yhen he picks the winners fQr'.-th* , weekend ^o;io\yius^,.; _ ,^ You First, Alphonsel TH^I other day, in the most casual manner, I touched upon a siuiation , which is far from casual. 1 wroie something to the eflecl that many of us along Broadway were mellowing. A most unwholesome .contjtlion— and I wish I had never brought it up. , But it is a fact—and it means dull and duller days are,ahead. Let «ie eacpldin. Shortlj/(i/ter I tuas handed o Broadiuo!/coliimit to kich around, Winchell, who claimed a bit o/ priortfi/ in this hii.sinc.s.'i, began slappinfli Tue around ill print tuhcn he could Jind time off {rom throwing the horn at another prioriti; claimer nomed O. O. McliiDire. Then I moued over to the Journal and Ed SuUiv<en assuvied viy chores on the old Graphic. He took n poke ot both Winchell and »iii/,se(j (iiid it became a neat thrcc-coniered n#air tuith 7iobodiy speaking ici aiiyr body else except O. O.. who nodded affably over to my corner. In the meantime, Dan Parker from his sports desk was throwing bricks around handily. Hellinger came into the picture as a general peacemaker and then Skolsky, who was sent over by the late Harvey Dwell to .snare my- ■ extremely coveted services for the Daily News. Runyon was around, too, not fightihg anyone in particular but occasionally throwing a pitchfork with the prongs only slightly blunted by his satiric velvet. It was really tres gay and when one night Dan Parker pniic/u'ri ri fellow sports writer 7iamed Marcus Griffin and Al Jolsoii grabbed Skolsky on another night and .shook hi7ri, thinfcijig he was Sobol, and the same Jolson. punched Winchell, thinking he was Wmchell who had done him some imaginary lorong —loell, now, I o.uess you know what I mean uihen / say there was always some excitement around.^ For that matter, I can remember back to the night in the old colorful Club Argonaut when Billy Seeman punched me in the snoot and Bill Paley apologized for him and when some hoodlum whose name escapes'i^e; tried to slaughter Paul Yawitz, mistaking him for me. Seeman and I are friends now and that hoodlum is dead—having died in the hard wa.v— and Yawitz is making a million, more or less, a year, grinding out ni<>\ les in Hollywood. Those were the days wlien an Earl Carroll toould gel. up in swank Central Park Casino and deliver some sort of opinion, (o tli« effect that the fellow across the way at another table (again, by cQin- eidence, Winchell^ was no sflntlcnian and a newspoper /cllou- iiamed Gene McHugh who is vow a big exec on the Oailv News whs taken for a ride by thf late and not ninch lamented Jacfc "Legs" Dirniioiid- but released when he talked himself out with the same smoothness he .. displays when he lays dowa four kings and rakes in the pot. Conditions have changed, let me repeat. Winchell and Runyon ,w t has- ing bandits at night and Write about each other; Ed Sullivan mentions iii.y birthdays in his column and sends me> Christmas greetings; Winchell puts in a plug for my moving pictures and sometimes I gift him with a news item. It's not a healthy situation. The old, wholesome kick-him-in-the-slats, shivrhis-ear rivalry seems to be a thing of the past. A lot of new boys have come into the business and instead of tearing them apart, everyone rushes to the harbor into print—to gush fulsomely about their wonderful, wonderful es.says. It's sickening, I had some hope last year that mxiybe the good old days were cuiinny : hack when Pat di Cicco took a heave at Columnist Lee Mortimer and. then was walloped in turn by some one else who figured this v;as the only fight in town. That blew over quicfclj/ and dull days eanw back ■ again. There wa.^;a little tingle luhen someone phoned Nick Kenny liad : been in a brawl —but later it turned out they meant Commodore Dutch's annual ball where iVic/c obliged by singing one of his oUllesi "Gold Mine in the Sky." It's all too iiweet and nice-nelly now, with everyone bowing and -sci ap- ing to each other except a few die-hards-who still come through Avith the whip—but not often enough. Of course, Winchell .is a little peeved with Bennett Cerf and Lyons is a little peeved with Billy Rose and I ni a little peeved with my tailor^but it's routine, as they say^ out at Ihe- city desk up the hall. . We might have resurrected some semblance of the truculent da.ys if Burton Rascoe had stayed on the job because he would call a spade a spade and mean Wolcott Gibbs, but even the critics are playing pretty pretty with each other, except the estimable G. J, Nathan who will occa* sionally stand in a doorway right next to a theatre and snub all pas.'^ei'sby. including Monty WdoUey and Gyp.sy Rose Lee. It could be worse, of course, Suppose Pegler joined, the ■ mvtlon- ,parode.'?'..;_.,■•.;_ . , J. , ^; , ; . , ^ • (Reprinted by permission jr9iu,,tU'f JM,iXi,4wn(Hr4»neTi<-'ani. Se»t. 1^, 0946)