Variety (Sep 1946)

Wedneeday, September 29, 1946 VAIJIIEVIIXE 5S Culinary Unions, Hotels Deadlocked In LA Strike; 25 Spots Grant Hike Hollywood, Sept, 24. Meeting held yesterday (23) be- tween union spokesmen and restau- rant and hotel management repre- sentatives failed to result in any progress toward settlement of a six- day-oW culinary workers ^ strike. Unifin reps walked out, after one hour in conference, although hotel and restaurant men stayed' on for ar additional two hours. Temporary restraining orders have been issued to prohibit picketing around hotels. Some 2,000 waiters, cooks, bartenders and service help from five culinary unions met at the Embassy Auditorium following an- kling of the earlier meeting, and ' agreed to remain out, maintaining that the arbitrator's ruling on wage' demands slashed them anywhere from 20% to 40%. Independent meetings of five unions are slated for tomorrow (25) at the Embassy Auditorium. No further date has been set for nego- tiations at this time. Of the group of 12 hotels and 72 restaurants origi- nally hit by the strike, some 25 restaurants have signed contracts and reopened. Culinary workers struck suddenly Thursday and caught hotels; and restaurants right at lunch hour. ■ Walkout of 6,000 cooks, waiters and bartenders affected 14 leading ho-' tels and 59 restaurants in Los An- geles and vicinity. Among those forced to close because of a lack of food and drink were the Earl Car- roll theatre and the Palladium dancery in Hollywood. After one day of striking, pickets were withdrawn and' workers re- sumed their jobs at the Hollywood- Roosevelt and Biltmore hotels, the Pig'n Whistle Corp., and Florentine Gardens, because of a restraining order issued by Judge Allen Ash^ burn in Superior Court. These com- panies charged violation of contract by the unions and asked $50,000 damages for the first two days of the strike and' $28,000 for each-day thereafter. Meanwhile, dining and bar workers remained away from 12 major hotels HELENE and HOWARD 'C«mcdy Dance Antltis' Currently HOTEI^ CAIBO WaahlnBton, D. C, Dir: MATTY ROSEN m t. mi St.. M. V. C. MUrrty Mill 2.2«4« EONARD GREEN AGENCY, inc. and 57 leading restaurants. Among the Hollywood eateries affected were the Brown Derbies, Musso- Frank's, Lyman's and the Chi-Chi. . While the striking continued on Saturday, "IS; testaurants signed new agreements with the workers and were reopened. They were the Ar- cade Grill, Earl Carroll's, Castle Steak House, Chasen's, Cook's, Steak and Chop House, Horace Heidt'S, Hull's Grill, Judson's, Lindy's, Musso- Frank's, Rene and Jean, Somerset House, Victor's, Charochka and the House, of Murphy. '. Meanwhile the Restaurant - Hotel Employers Council of Southern Cali- fornia, representing 84 members, wired William Green, AFL prexy, and Hugo Ernst, chief of the Hotel and .Restaurant Employes Interna- tional Alliance and Bartenders League, charging the strike as il- legal, and demanding the suspen- sion of local union leaders. AFM Peace Cues Many N.Y. Preems With settlement of the musicians' strike plus a return to post-Labor Day normalcy, N. Y. hotel and cab- aret nite life is again blossoming forth with reopenings and new shows. A number of : spots are either unveiling, for the new season or preeming new entertainment, . , Loll Olman's Onyx club bowed last night (Tuesday) with Maxine Sullivan returning to W. 52nd street, plus trios of Loumel Morgan and Al Casey, whose music will be on the sweet motif, Boniface is maestro Val Olman's brother. Moving into tbe show at La Conga for a six- week return engagement starting to- morrow (Thursday), is Miguelito Valdez, who recently closed a sing- ing date at Los Angeles' Club Bfazil, Hotel reopenings for the new sea- son include the St, Regis' Iridium Roon slated for next Wednesday (2) with a special benefit dance for vets in army and navy hospitals. Regular opening is set for the following eve- ning. New ice show stars Carol Lynne plus George Wagner" and Jack Strand with sr line of four girls. Orchs of Paul Sparr and Theodora will supply the dansapation. Hotel also reopens its companion room, the Maisonette, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, with music by George Koch and the Four Stars. Other reopenings include that of the Waldorf-Astoria's Wedgwood Roomj whose fall preem is set for next Thursday (3). Emil Coleman and Mischa Borr split the music chores. Paul Draper will top the show. New cocktail lounge of the Sheraton Hotel also opens Oct. 2 with organist Paul Weber. Chi's 5100 Club Reopens Chicago, Sept. 24. Shuttered for six months, 51 Hun- dred Club will make another try starting Wednesday (25). Spot plans opening with small combos and then returning to its old revue format. Opener is Billy Burton's orch. SAMMY RAUCH MARSHALL BROS. JERRY AND DANNY ROXY, NEW YORK NOW DIRECTION MARKJ. LEDDY and LEON NEWMAN Feed for Jesse Kaye At Hotel Astor, NX, Sept. 30 Jesse Kaye, recently named head of the Hollywood office of M-G-M records, is being tendered a dinner by the vaude industry at the Astor hotel, Monday (30). Until his as- signment to the Hollywood post, Kaye was the Loew stageshow booker. Sidney Piermont has suc- ceeded him. Dinner committee consists of Nat Kalcheim, Leonard Romm, Sammy Hauch, Harry Mayer, Johnny Dugan, Leo Cohn, Benny Kutchuk and Joe Flaum. Ducats are $12.50; m Bond CoinUpatAGVA American Guild of Variety Artists has more than $500,000 cash security on hand as "stranding insurance" for its membership, greatest amount the vaude talent has ever had up, according to Matt Shelvey, national head of AGVA. This is in addition to some $170,000 refunded of nitery and theatre owners who had ful- filled salary obligations or'went out of business with clean slate as far as union is concerned. AGVA always had a substantial sum up on new operations but amount: has soared to a new high since union invoked ukase that all niteries and theatres must post cash to cover talent budgets. Chains and established circuits still operate on letter of credit with union. Lou Walters Bringing Over Parisian Acts for Revue at N. Y. Latin Quarter Even Shuberts Wouldn't Want Any Part of 'Em For 'Student Prince' Plaint of concert impresarios, like in every other field, is the short- age of headliners, but Associated Concert Bureau, is attempting to rectify the matter by running a concert series of unknowns at Car- negie hall, N. Y. Consequently this venture merits the support of long- hairs even at a $3.60 top. The bill resembled a one-nighter at the RKO Jefferson but with less variety, but on one of these shin- digs, the concert crowd is going to perk up and go out of the hall muttering that they've seen a star of major dimensions. Such was almost the case at Fri- day's (20) concert when a kid from Brooklyn with talent, nerve and a flair for showmanship, virtually took the show. But a great measure of soprano Costanza Pillori's boff re- turns were due to the intense heat of this unventilated longhair em- porium. With the audience using the pro- grams more as fans than as refer- ence and having been worn out be- cause of a virtual succession of heavy German vocal works—this Brooklyn diva came up with light, melodic bits that were relaxing and easy to take. Consequently the clamor at her exit. But even with- out the atmosphere that made her a showstop, she's worth watching. Her renditions of the Jewel Song from "Faust", ;and a pair of Puccini arias show nfeed of a more mature ap- proach and some polishing of her upper registers and then Edward John.son may give her an impor- tant job. The preceding singer, Richard Bellamy, a serious miened tenor, al- most ruined Miss Pillori's act when he gave out with a pair of light numbers, but unfortunately his voice showed up too thin in this house. Joan Bishop, a mezzo-soprano, followed in the same vein as Miss Pillori, but unfortunately, the novelty of the situation was then lost. Miss Bishop is a looker with a pleasant voice which needs further development. Ruth Brail, contralto, opened the session with a Wagner piece, "Gerecht.er Gott", which seemed to be the theme of subsequent talent. David Halcombe followed in the same vein with Hadassah Sahr, pianist interposing with Chopin, Brahms and Revel to show poten- tiality, while closing keyboard ex- ercises by Margaret Barthel dis- played creditable acrobatic eighty- eighting to give the customers visual as well as aural interest with her complicated runs. As this concert stands, it's evident that more showmanship would aid the cause of the individual talent. The layout could stand routining so that the performers wouldn't have to stand coldly on their own, Jose. Agents Eyeing Cuba As Lucrative Booking Spot New York and Miami talent agen- cies are submitting talent lists to Havana - hotels, particularly the. Hotel Naclonal,. in belief that Cuba will get a healthy; chunk of tourist business from Miami Beach this winter. . Reason for increased interest in the Cuban situation is the regular plane service from Miami to Cuba by which it will be possible for va- cationers to take off nightly for a round of Cuban niteries and be back in Miami before dawn. Talent agencies are stressing the angle that U, S. floorshows will pay off because of the plane excursions. Shore in Middle On Booking Snarl Chicago, Sept. 24. Nitery comic Willie Shore is. in the middle of a booking mess. Both the Chez Paree and Rio Cabana are advertising his appearance ; at the same time, starting Oct. 8. Manager Al Borde booked Shore into the Hio, but Shore went ahead on his own and booked himself into the Chez, it being: understood Shore isn't satisfied with the buildup Borde has been giving him and feels he can do better through another agency, probably William Morris. Shore is looking for radio and film commitments, in which he feels Morris is stronger than Borde. Chez is in line for Shore's serv- ices, however, as it holds American Guild of Variety Artists contract signed by Shore. Rio has only book- ing arranged by Borde, and no AGVA contract. The first aJl-Continental floorshow in a Broadway nitery since the days of the French Casino is slated to go into the Latin Quarter, N. Y., some- time in January. Lou Walters, LQ boniface, is planning a trip to Paris next month to line up talent for this display. This is . Walters' second European trip in recent months. On previous jaunt, Walters saw talent that would fit his requirements, and he's making this jaunt to recheck previous judgment and issue con- tracts. , , , ,. . He plans to run the French show for 12 weeks and thus amortize the $300 transportation costs for each performer. Walters will also' irii- ' port some line girls. Importation of talent by Walters is seen as one answer to current high cost of name performers. Even with the $300 transportation nick, Walters will spend less than usual talent budget. No difficulty is foreseen: in" bringing the acts over inasmuch as it's customary to issue visas when act is guaranteed a term of employ- ment. Layout can only stay 12 weeks be- cause of the booking of Sophie Tucker : who goes into the Latin Quarter in April at $5,000 weekly^ This show will also remain 12 weeks. Current Ted Lewis layout ends its run Dec. 21 and a four-week show with Georgie Tapps, Dick Buckley and Chandra-Kaly dancers. With others to be signed> will comprise the interim booking; Miami jistra Angling Milton Berle at 12iG After N.Y. Carnival Run Probably the highest offer made for a cafe engagement has been giv- en Milton Berle, current at the Car- nival, N. Y. Ned Schuyler, of the Beachcomber, Miami Beach, is bid- ding $12,500 for services of the com- ic plus an additional $3,500 for a surrounding show to be selected by Berle. ■ ' • Berle is currently getting $7,500 weekly guarantee plus overages on business over $42,000. He's frequently grossed more than $10,000 weekly on this date. He's staying at the Carni- val until January. Turek Joins Fisher Agcy. Sol Turek, booker with USO-Camp Shows, has resigned to go with the Arthur Fisher agency as successor to the late Billy Diamond. Turek, who's been with Camp Shows for past three years was pre- viously a vaude producer, and at one time talent booker on the Loew circuit. George Oberland will fill Turek's spot at USO. Ken Maynard, illm cowboy, booked for a vaude tour starting at the St. :Charle9 theatre, New Orleans. COMEDY PATTER For All Braneht* of Thcatricalf Jiei. 1 Ihrii 13 at $1.05 Mcb sr 13 Scriph for 113.00 Net. 14 Ihra 20 NOW READY! $2.00 Mch—DeabU Script* SEND FOB THEM NOW! 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