Variety (Nov 1946)

S4 VAIJDBVIUJS Wwlnestlay, Noveinher 6, 1946 Sablon and Billy Rose Preems Keynote Real Cafe Values Only Draw Today has fortified with capital staging and costuming and production. The Frenoh Crosby's Click As lor the Gallic swoon-uispirei- back at the Waldorf, he continuL'K to ISy ABKI. GREEN Two N. Y. nitei-y openings last woiik, both on Thursday night i)y ' eoiiicidence: point : .up ^ that tlie honeymoon isn't Over, for spots which give the customers vAlue, Class., as in the case o£ the Jean Sablon preem at the Waldorf's Wecis>wood Room, or mass, as in the tor's ChurchiU's. Murray's, Max- im's and Jardin de Danse schogl Aone hears tell). Prohibition gi'a,Vitated mass America into the speaks. From tile whisperlows came the cabarets with their no-couvert, $2 or $3-niin- imum cabarets, educating the pub- lic anew J to floor.'shows with their dinini!, drinkino; and dancing. The I turn on the charm with "J'Alten- drai," "Passe," ''Why Do You Pa.ss Me .By'.''', plus more Yankee ex- cerpts, which rnake him evetv. more palatable, especially with a mixed audience as ho gets at the Boomer hostelry. Irteidentally,. Eniil Cole- man does, a capital dual job,, in his k. tiptop dansapation stint and as Moemnliw, Pliilly Jackie Gleasan, Olga & Donato, Barbara Barr\e, Phyllis Anwld, i CA'.rvanies Diaz Trio, Line (16); Lnt.>! Del Cawpb Orch (12), Eddie De I l.wa Orch (10); opejiiiig tiis;)iI pn.r- I /i.vc $25. Frank 'Valentine who proemed the Mocambo, Philly's newest nitery Tuesday . (29). is apparently-: ..a .. .be- liever in ip,^yehologii;\alw.arfarev.' iVs. I his c'ohtention that the w'etr-heeled w.K. upn.p..a«nsauaMW. siuii a.iu as i-natives Irequently take, a night off accomp for Sablon, no small choie A Jp view a Gotham boite m the bc- special accordionist for the French Mtef--tha.*.'-that a where the smart-set' ease ot Billy Rose's new "Venus on cabarets gave way to today s night the Halt Shell" floorshow at his clubs. With each progression the Diamond Horseshoe,, it's patent that orbit of patronatje widened, there will always be a market-for j No l.onsci' for the Rich Onlv eertaiti-vaki^ -;:■:; ; ' ■ ;;;' Todav, in big city and little city Now that the free-spending, war- j,,,,.^. 3,.^ hotels, clubs, eateries time buck has dwindled in peace "Venus cy\i Half Shell Jo/iii Mnrray Anderson; Esther , Junger; costumes, Audre; j SiM'sse;- lyrics, Billy, fjo.'ie; niKsical 1'' dtreclor. Noble Sisslc. Features I iBorrah Miricuitcfi's Harmonica Ras- \ cats starring Johnnie Puleo, Frank Ross * Mile. LaPierre, Turner, Twins. Sin, Jack Mathers, Stephen Douglass, Eucrcit Gnrnmon, Laurens Aiidersoif, Al/red Hojnan, Renald & jRiidy, 8 showgirls (.Ruth Thomas, Raveri: Maldne, Laura Gunall, Pat Lowden, Penny Dauidjton, Wonda Ridgeway); 12 pomci (LiUtSi Blaurh- ard. Kitty Cohill, Kathryn Case, Pat Collen, Jantce Cullen, Estelle Creyor, Lee Joiibson, Anno Kon- I and daiieeries with show-drinkrfood .■ .— ■ — I adjuncts. 'The- cafe habit is no t« A I I loni;er exclusively a rich man'tf stagea "i; | aivertissemenl. Just going to , a '^^"■'"•'•■''"^' show or a picture isn't enough; there's always, a nitery, before, or after as a normal part of mass merica's stepping-Out schedule. The only change must come With the nation's affluence. True, realis- tic little tilings, at this writing point up that : Joe Public is watching its !59c dollar, worrying niore about costs, minimums, number of drinks, size of tips, and -the like,: . And there's no disputing these indelible landmarks. But it's just as certain that if the Waldorf brings in a Sablon (Sina- tra followsiv he's a cinch tO kill the I older gals with his pash chansons Crosby, also shine.s. Mischa Bore is fine on the Latin and waltz sets, . Biit,whether-it's Sablon or Rose; or Lou Walters with his Ted Lewis show at the Latin Quarter; Or Nicky Blaii-s Milton Berle at the Carnival; or Leon & Kddie'.s F.ddie Davis; or Joe E. LewLS at Monte Prosor's (^opacabana; or any ot the other high spots, the iieW order does call for more value and less ■double- talk for the. -Customers. On that principle, there's plenty of 'business around lor all. .■Jtanee, JWargtB Lee, Lorraine Miller, 1-lust as Rose must impres.s the masses Abbey Moore, Toni Parker); Hal with the elaborate floorshow he has Hu7ifer, Bobby "Table.?" Dauis, Billy ]>-'st whipped up . with his lour-part Bditlcs, The Rosebuds. Minimum I''Venus on thevllalf SheU.: $3.50; tujice nightly. John Murray Anderson has staged an excellent revue for Rose's, Para- mount : hotel basernent spot—his eighth show in eight years—and Esther Jungcr's dance-staging - has combined with Andre's costumes, James Marcom's settings and the Dana Suesse-Bjlly Rose songs (Noble Sissle, musical director) into ia strong pot-pourri, I .lohnnic Piileo's Click Despite Frank Libuse having I walked after the premiere, because I ot spotting, the show is socko. (Johnnie Puleo, a highly effective pantbmimist with Borrah Mine- I vitch's Harmonica Rascals (he's been part of the troupe almost 20 years), - ■ • The time purchasing power, there's no doubt but that the .in-between spots ttiust suffer. . But in this current Ultra-trade (and also public) master- nvindmg about the future of the cafe business, there is no question also but that the saloon spots have never enjoyed the prosperity and security , as is their lot even now that the de- fense money isn't around and war- rich spenders aren't throwing those fast 20s and 5()s around because they could charge it oft with Mor- genthau. Fact is that, as one surveys the nitery business on an over-all basis, 1 ^ ... „-„„ this has become a major branch of ^ i^" °i l^Lr.,.-n. .Qhow h„»i,,„=c r^^ir^^A t^,. |.studiously vagabondish harmonica- ists give out a fetching musical medley, highlighted by thc^rriidget Hivi<'■■». Vorr l^<M>. X. •!. ■ Dii)(hill.s- (3), James , Bitrreli, Jack CarfCT, Renee. Demarco. Marty Beck & Ralph Font Orchs: $3.50 jiiinimnm weekdays, $4.50.Sati(rdai/.'i atid hod- days. show business, primed for the I , masses and hot just for fhe ttioneyed few. Was a time when only the Diamond Jim Bradys were asso- ciated with the pre-World War I lobster palaces of the Shanley's, Rec- COMEDY PATTER For All Branches of Theafrlcali Nos. 1 thru 13 at $1.05 each or 13 Scripts for $13.00 Nos. 14 thru 20 NOW READY! $2.00 each—Double Scri;^ts SUM) lOlt THKM NO\l'! €.\T(1I LI" ON ll.ACK ISSIIUSI "BOOK OF BLACKOUTS" 3 Volumes at $25.00 per Vol. "BOOK OF PARODIES' 10 Sock Parodies—$10.00 NO C.O.D.'S PAULA SMITH 200 W. 54tb Sr.. New York 19. N.Y. Ex-Servic«inen Subfuiberti Send Us Your Home Addrus - ALWAYS WORKING 'WHITEY' ROBERTS Now on 4tli Month BLACKHAWK, CHI. C'oii}:rHtiiltitioiU4 to Hid rjerinoiit. In uhhiiiiiiiK: T.oiiis Ita7.il for lA*cw'u Htate Puleo's winsome Comedy From Mount Olympus through At- lantic City, the Boudoir of 'Venus and the Wedding of -Venus, the four- part revue utilizes, the' beauty con- tests of the Olympian gods and to- day's jersey shores as its therne. The :Turnor TvVins (femme) chirp the mtro lyrics and Sin, a Norwe- gian beaut, IS the central figure, with Jack Mathers as her barytone vis-a- vis. There are six showgirls and 12 pomes, the girls ;all outstanders, comparing favorably, with Monte Proser's lookers at the Gopacabana; Highlight of the first act is a good 1 male aero team, Renald & Rudy. ' Frank Ross and Anita LaPierre, I returners with their wah-wah trum- I pet nonsense, arfe subs for the post- I premiere errant Libuse. The only I other, specialists are Hal Hunter I (Jack Powell, Jr.) doing his dad's standard vaudeville drum specialty. He works in white face and snakes a good impact with his personable front. Bobby "Tables" Davis is an- other returner, the Harlem lad grip- Ding chairs and table with his teeth for an amazing dance specialty. Billy Bank.s also holds over, this time, reprising, a Billy Rose medley, which is modestly introduced and accents that these are some of the solid tunes for which the boss^man wrote the wordage. In former shows Banks chirped Gershwin and other medleys. It makes a good ASCAP impact. The behemoth Rosebuds are also familiars. Banks also of- ficiates with the Sissle orchestra. Noble Si.ssle doing a capital accomp Tob. Syd Strange is the alternating dance band. What Rose lacks in namepower he Here is a bill that's far belter in its execution than would ordinarily be suggested by the reception ot its unfolding. It's just a question ot per- formers whio have to work up the cold atmosphere of the Riviera and generally poor manner of presenta- tion. No girls, no emcee to speak of—which means hardly any build-, up. But acts such as Renee Demarco, Jack Garter and the Dunhilis suc- ceed despite this. Mi.ss Demarco has been around a couple ot years now wjth that solo dance stint, and Tony Demarco's for- mer dancing partner has certainly improved her turn tremendously. She's a, beaut who glides around that floor with an elfiin-like quality that demands interest all the way, though occasionally, she could use more, pro- duction, especially in a big spot like this. She gets it somewhat here with the song accompaniment of James Burrcll, and there's no doubt that the a.ccpmpanying contrasting male values enhance her numbers, as they did when, a couple of years ago, she toured with several men dancers as her foils. Carter is comparatively new, but the young comic has an easy way of shuttling through a long .series of gags, and eornments, though some^ times he's a little too flip and fast for layman consumption, whicli fre- quently eah be .just as bad ,as under- sfatin^g a . gag. He does roimiGries, too. all in a comedy vein, and is a definite comer. He had particular trouble .getting away here froiii an audience that, when he walked on, was one of those show-me types that can be; so usual in a metropolitan nitery, Burrell, a tenor, solos in addition to the Demarco accompaniment, and shows a need for plenty work, though this is not to be construed as an unfavorable criticisni. . It's jUiSt that the lad seeros to lack experi- ence. ■; , The DuhhiUs, all-male, acro-hoof- ing trio, go over neatly in the open- ing slot. iVIarty Beck handles the show and straigljt-dancing baton, while Ralp Font is the rumba band. Kahri. congregates. To overcome that handicap, he imported a carload of N. Y. news- papermen and celebs tor his Opening: in order to show natives that the iiome-hearth ha?: something to offer even for inveterate Manhattan stay- ups. The club is on the smart side hav- I ing been converted from an old bak- I ery building in one of the lesser known inidtown streets, into a groovy, bit of tropicana done in pas- tel shades with the modern motif predominant. It's easily, the most elaborate spot in that town and looks like the $250,000 that's reputed to have been poured into it. The spot has terraced balconies, a disappearing elevated stage that's unobstructed by columns and an elaborate lighting system. Also a show—which is secondary to the spot itself despite the presence of Jackie Gleason and Don Arden production Using 10 gals and six boys. With some of Gleason's N. Y. intimates rooting for him, the comic EDDIE SHERMAN PUNS TO HDQTR. IN N.Y. AGCY. Eddie Sherman, personal manager ot Abbott and Costello, and head of an indie vaude booking oftlee in New York, will return to N. Y, around Jan. 1 to as.iume active head ot the booking layout. Coast man- agcment office will be maintained with Lester Sai'^pw in charge. : v Sherman plans to expand the N. Y. booking, activities- and will - lipervise thtt: Coast operation with Iroquent New York to Hollywood shuttles, AGVA-Small Negotiating Pact on 'Show lime' Unit American Guild ot Variety Artists IS negotiating pact and bond security with Paul Small for his revised edi- tion oC former vaude unit, "Show Time," slated to go out agiin qii: a lour ot vauders. Pact will, also- set number of per- formances acts employed therein may .do without extra; compensayon. On this stance union has ruled that acts getting $750 weeklyor less must : be given additional remuneration oit over 30 shows weekly, with perform- ers getting between $750 and $1,500 permitted to do 3fi shows weekly. captured the opening night audience | but must be paid pro rata overtime i'"P'^«ssions and hep ^ additional sliows gags. He took an encore, could I f.„, easily have done more except for the I M'*''- tact that he had to intro the New beyond Yorkers in time to get them out for the last train out. Most notable items in the sur- rounding layout is the Donn Arden routines and costuming, both of which are over-elaborate, but gives the no-expense-spared impression. In keeping with the Mocambo motif, there's a pair of jungle dancers, Olga and Donato whose writhings are too torrid for family consump- tion. Barbara Barrie with vocal torches, could hardly be heard in the first night din, Phyllis Arnold. With some okay taps and the Cervantes Diaz trio provided Latin songs. Preem night had more than the usual number of headaches. Man^ agement could have used another day to get ready. Stage had to be pulled out by hand and staff couldn't handle the terrific influx that came in even with a $25 initial night nick. I Len Smith, p.a. handling the N. Y. publicity, discouraged the N. Y. per- sonnel from eating on the train, as the spot had; a steak dinner prepared. The wiser ones didn't heed this ad- vice, and the group wound up par- taking of the evening's first solid nourishment at the hot-dog stand in the West Philadelphia station. , Service was virtually unobtain- able. Smith brought bottles and glasses, Jackie Gleason tried to get the table some setups but was dis- couraged in the kitchen. Nick Kenny of the N. Y. Mirror and Joe Di-' Maggio: casing, the situation exited for a spell to get a solid diet else- where before show went on. At least the N. Y. delegation ringsided. J0,S'C. Dobrow Aides Henry In Morris Foreign Dept. Harold Dobrow has been shifted;, from the William Morris agency radio to the foreign department as assistant to Dick Henry, foreign de- partment head. Dobrow. prior to going into radio worked, in the cs^fe section. , :;'.'■;■■■ In another Morris office change, , Thea Dispecker who worked in the MoVris concert division until Jim Davidson bought out that depart, ment, is now at the,. Morris office.: She hasn't been assigned yet. JACK SMITH'S VAUDERS Jack Smith, of the Prudential air- show, has been Signed for his first' theatre date. He starts at th^ Adams theatre, Newark. Nov. 28. Village Vanguard, N. Y. JWa.ririe Siiiliiian, Dorothy Douglos, Don Frye, Leadbelliy, Herman Chit-' tison Trio; $2.50 inirmnum. JAMES BURRELL R0M4NTfC TENOR HELD OVER (2ND WEEK) Bill Miller's RIVIEftA H. U; N. J. Direction JACK LENNY Paul Small Artists, Ltd., Inc. Village Vanguard, stepping stone in . the. past for many of today's top nitery stars, rolls up a solid hour ot good entertainment in its new show. Tiny Maxine Sullivan is back with many of the tunes she warbled into the hit category and the Herman Chittison Trio, which helped boost such stars as Evelyn Knight, Judy Holliday, etc., up the'ladder, is bh hand to knock out .some slick music. Is addition, this ultra-intimate boite has another good bet for star material in the person of Dorothy Douglas, clever young comic-impres* sionist (New Acts), who looks as though she's headed for the swank- ier uptown spots in a hurry, Lead- belly, colored fblksinger who subbed for Richard Dyer-Bennet at the show caught (1), and pianist Don Frye round out the roster. , Chittison group,' with a piano, bass and guitar, start things off at a fast pace with a fine jive rendition of Chopin's "Minute Waltz." Miss Douglas follows with her boi.sterous iitipressions and then turns the stage over to Miss Suiiivan and her highly- stylized piping. Singing star for many years, Miss Sullivan is as good as ever. Her tones are soft and clear and she demonstrates fine .shading and phras- ing technique in the 25 minutes she's on before the audience will let her go. Little lady gives with a good selection of numbers, mixing ballads and novelty tunes nicely. Leadbelly, one of the first to bring the old Negro lolktunes up from the South to Manhattan niteries; .sells a group of these in good fashion, pro- viding his ow^ accompaniment on an over-sized steel guitar. Stal. Alaska Troupe Getting Set for Yule USOing Hollywood, Nov. 5. New USO-Camp Shows troupe is rehearsing here for a three-month tour of Alaska and the Aleutians in time for the Christmas holidays. Be- fore starting north, the company will make appearances in Southern California hdspitals. Group consists of Poodles Hanne- ford and his daughter Gracie in a clown act; Sid Dempsey, ventrilo- quist; Patricia Mirage, singer; Ann Stanton, acrobatic dancer: Arthur Herbert, emcee and guitarist; Early and Fortune, comedy dancers, Val- erie Landon. blues singer, and Peggy Keenan, pianist. : : , Pamell's Talent Gander Val Parnell, head of General The- atres, largest circuit in Britain, is slated to visit this , country. He's booked passage on the Jan. 11 trip of the Queen Elizabeth and is sched- uled to gander acts and shows in New York and the midwest. He'll be here less than a month before returning. MELBA WITH MCA Stanley Melba, has joined the Mu- sic Corp. of America band dept. for handling of bands on society dates. He's the former entertainment di- rector of the Hotel Pierre, N. Y. CAPPELLA A.MD PATRICIA OPENING NOV. 12 EMBASSY CLUB NEW YORK STEVE EVANS HAPPY TIMES & JOLLY MOMENTS Oponlnc LAST rKOISTIKK VKGAS <\V««k TSor. ») DIR.: MAVrt ROtiKN' Curry, Byrd«» Le Roy "BEDLAM IN THE B>ILLROOM" ■■V ON TOUR. ■ nirfWitiM IMATrr KOSKN- i'I.I)B-»ATKS HARBV OKKKN