Variety (Apr 1948)

Viidne»a»y» April 14, 1948 ss C OBITUARIES A. GORDON BEID A Gordon (Al) Reid,. 73, veteran .iinwnmn who was associated with fh? JFaWan Theatres circuit for 30 *ws. died at Newark, N. J., ^^eid who entered the motion oicture exhibition field after di- recting stocic companies for many veazs was one of the first em- ployees of the late Jacob Fabian. He operated several of tlie cir- cuit's Newark theatres, including tlie Mosque and Branford. Prior to his retirement two ye^irs ago, Beid was division manager for the Fabian Brooklyn houses. MATHfiSON LANG Matheson Lang, 68, British actor, died in Bridgeton, Barbado-, April n. He was a noted Shakespearean wiio appeared opposite Ellen Terry in several plays. Among the plays he appeared in were "Proof," "Richelieu," "Mr. Wu," "The Chinese Bungalow," "Blood and Sand" and "The Wan- dering Jew." He played opposite IjHy iLangtry on one-of her Ameri- can tours. He also appeared in seVetal.films of his own production idchiding "The Carnival" and "The Wandering Jew." JAMES B. SWAFFORD James B. Swaiford, 80, old-time minstrel and circus man, died in Boston, April 2. - At time of death he bad been ticket taker at the Slu^rt theatre there. Bom in Kokomo, he ran away with a circus when he was 16. He never left show business after that. At one time he had his own min- strels known: as "Uncle Jim's Min- strelsi" and later produced melo- dramas on Mississippi showboats. Survived by his wife and son Hal Rodman, Boston roakeup spe- cialist WILL J. KENNEDY . Will J. Kennedy, retired vaude performer, died April 8 at Hoosick Falls, N. Y., after a heart attack. Kennedy had also appeared in several Broadway productions and for a time had headed his own shows on the old Columbia bur- lesque wheel. JAMES H. GODDARD James H. Goddard, 64, died after a heart attack in.Chicago on April 6. He was former opera and con- cert singer and had appeared with the Chicago Grand Opera Co. LAWRENCE J. MeGOVERN Lawrence J. McGovem, 45, as- sistant corporation counsel for the city of Schenectady since 1934 and president of the Musicians. Union, Local 45, died suddenly April 9 at his home in Schenectady. Surviving are hLi wife, mother- and a brother. ALBERT-C. FULLER Albert C. Fuller, 44, former pub- licity director of the Drake Hotel, Chicago, died there April 3. He also authored comedy, "Remote Control." Survived by his wife, father, and two brothers. Angeles local, might get the na- tional job. It now appears likely that the reptesentatives of the various 4A's affiliates, who meet tomorrow (Thurs.) in New York to take up the consolidation program, will try to work out a setup for genuine unification. It may be that the actual formation of a single, over- all union may wait until the vari- ous affiliates can figure out a metiiod of controlling the ad- mittedly puzzling television field. But it's believed that no system of nominal power for the parent union and partial autonomy for the affiliates would get around the Taft-Hartley Law's ban on "sym- pathy" strikeiL 'Missouri Waltz' MINNIE STANLEY Minnie-Stanley, 74, character ac- tress, died in New York, April 1. She had been on the stage for more than half a century, matriculating In stock companies and later gradu- ating, to rep, xoad companies and Broadway legits. She had appeared in many pro- ductions of Cohan & Harris, the Sbuberts and Jed Harris, including "The Lottery Man," "Subway Ex- press," "Weak Sisters" and "The- Little Teacher." Survived by a lister. RICHARD COLLINS * Richard Collins, 55, assistant Wi^oager of. Capitol theatre, N. Y.. died in Jackson Heights, L. L, April 0. Collins was with the Capitol me^e for 26 years. He started in J»Z2 as an usher. From that posi- tion he rose to chief-of'-staff, and In 1933 was appointed an assistant manager. -.i.mS"*'''*^ Ws wife and two cnildiea. _ CECIL R. CANNON «,™ " ?• Cannon, president and G'^ady Hotel, ^^^^ away there re- centlyi ■ ..rat^SS'®? VI ""^ °* first op- nlnl t» successfully WALDO EMERSON orS ^fl^° Emerson, 53, radio wffiL5**"l^PJ^il 7 in HoUy- aftor. for three years, ^d 10 v'Slf in Phoenix He wasT^T^^.W^^S in Chicago. Emerson fhn'**''^*''^ descendant of •"wson the essayist. treafc«f?r"^?'"e' 67, former ^edh^L"* United Artists in Paris, been asso^^f^^''''.^P''" had to io?f "aI*** with UA from 1920 severaj ^^S®"" t^^at ^e went with S n,nn^'"'Jf.**'™« and finally, ad ag?LT' ^"^S^"^*^* & Sample Survived by widow. '^J^STER BRODIE film nitv^'"^.*^' vet vaude and taS^ t after a heart at- tacft in Hollywood, April 9. yew-t I" pictures for 20 «ne of original tole i« f ^™'™''' ''aving played KOiL?„*?}"' seasons before work **• ^» THOMAS McGUINESS Thomas McGuiness, 67, employed in carpenter and property depart- ments of the Capitol theatre, N. Y., died after a heart attack April 12. He had been associated with the Capitol for the past 15 years. KENNETH L. SINK Kenneth L. Sink, 58, owner of two motion picture houses in Union City, Ind.^ died April 7 of a heart attack. He leaves his wife, a stepson, and a biwther. WILLIE A. GREENWOOD William A. Greenwood, set. dec- orator for Sol M. Wurtzel produc- tions, died April 10 in Hollywood. Wife, son and daughter survive. William Grissell, 62, who had been a policeman at Twentieth Century-FoXi since 1934. died in Hollywood, April 10. Ho wasiafher of freelance director Wallace Gris- seel. Widow also survives^ Father of Tex McCrary, who's teamed with his frau. Jinx Falken- burg on "Hi Jinx" radio show, died at his home in Calvert, Texas, April 9. Art Hudkins, 40, owner of the Providencia Ranchi location site for western films, died April 6 in Hollywood. William Paul Lewis, 66, chief electrician on the Hal Roach lot, died April 6 in Hollywood. Grandfather, 64, of Frank Sin atra, died in Hob ok en, ;N^ J., April 9. George Heller : Continacd from page 1 a was one of the small group of ac- tors who originally organized the radio field in 1937, and he has been an active leader in the union and prominently involved in 4A's af- fairs since then. He is a former member of the Equity council and still retains membership in the legit union. Other possibilitiesi all regarded as unlikely, for the post of execu- tive head of the proposed "one big union" are Hy Faiiie, exec-sec of the American Guild of Musical Artists and chairman of the na- tional committee currently trying to straighten out the tangled af- fairs of the American Guild of Va- riety Artists; Jack Dales, exec-sec of the Screen Actors Guild, and various long-shot heads of minor affiliates. If Heller were to become exec- Sec of a consolidated 4A's, there would be a question of whether he could retain his AFRA jobs, par- ticularly since they are with both the national and New York local. In case he had to step out as active AFRA head, it's figured that his successor might be A. Frank Reel, who was brought in about a year ago' as assistant executive-secre- tary, having formerly headed the Boston local. However; either Ray Jones, exec-sec of the Chicago local, or Claude HcCue, of the Lqs ss Gontinued from page I ss; Milllgan, is exploited as "The In- side Story of the Pendergast Ma- chine by the Man Who Smashed It." Milllgan was the U.S. attor- ney - in Missouri who successfully prosecuted' boss Tom Pendergast and other figures in the Pender- gast machine. , Forster, the ^ publisher of the song, had licensed 20th»Fox to fea- ture it in a mbtion picture of the same title. Regarding Milligan's use of the title, the Kansas City Star said in a recent article^ "The title suggests the idea. It is the name of President Truman's favor- ite piece of music, and Milllgan ad- mits that it is satirical as applied to his book. He, tells how he came to choose it: 'I wanted one that was pertinent and that carried a punch. The name of the musical composition came to mind. .It had gained national publicity in this country as the .President's fayorite piece, and it won worldwide fame when Truman had it played at Potsdam for Joe Stalin, during the conference of Allied chiefs of gov- ernment in 1945. That settled it. I thought, well if he likes the 'Missouri Waltz,' my experience was a real one.' " But' it was not settled with For- ster and 20th Century-Fox. They instructed Julian T. Abeles^ of Abeles & Bernstein, to require Scribner's to immediately discard the title—^the alternative an in-^ junction and damage suit; There was no 'legal precedent for the claim that a song title could not be adapted to a book. However, Abeles took the position that if the title acquired a secondary meaning in relation to the book, the public would assume that the 20th Century-Fox picture was based upon the-book. Likewise, a motion picture based upon the book would tend to destroy 20th Century - Fox's motion picture rights. This would in turn be highly detrimental to Forster's rights, i.e., having a valuable prop- erty right in the song title, any unauthorized use for a commercial purpose would unfairly compete with such property right; Forstir would be deprived of the exploita- tion value Of the 20th Century- Fox picture; and a political tag might militate against the sales value of the song. Scribner's took the position it had not assumed that any claim could be predicated upon its use of the title. However, in view of this claim ^ it stipulated to immediately sub- stitute another title and to cause all reference to the title to be deleted from the book and all future advertising, publicity and reviews. more rows of Inclined seats than the "bleachers" used heretofore. There will be 20 such wagons, each with a capacity of around 350 padded seats. They wiU be drawn into position by tractoirs,' forming what is called a circus bowl. The general seating arrangement will be circular,and it's figured that the bowl is a labor-saving device, the cost of the wagons to be recaptured through lower labor costs. It's figured, too, that on tour the con- tents of the big top can thus be moved much more quickly. Concello also devised the new type of cages used for the wild ani- mal acts, cages being dismantled and erected faster than when iron bars wc^ used. Instcrad- of bars the cages are steel chain netting which is rolled up and placed in canvas bags when not in use. Plans call for playing Hartford for the first time since the Ringling fire disaster there some years ago. Only transportation -difficulties will prevent RBB playing the stand. Show was accorded as liberal a ^showing in the metropolitan press as it ever got; in fact, pictorial spreads were more in evidence than in previous jseasons at the Garden. Circus Telecasts Continued from page 1 the metropolitan area, many bars being so equipped, but viewers in latter spots probably don't affect big top attendance one way or another. Telecasts of major fights at the Garden this season did not dent the grosses there, and reaction to juniors who saw the circus tele- vised is that they insist on seeing the performance In person. CBS obtained exclusive rights to televise the circus as part of its $100,000 yearly package deal for all Garden events except hockey, pro basketball and fights promoted by Mike Jacobs. Bigf Top Data John Ringling North, head of RBB, splurged on production for the 1948 edition at a cost estimated near $400,000. In addition, port- able seat wagons contrived by Art Concello, show's general manager, will cost $300,000. The wagons will be used when the sfaow,-goes under canvas,'eacln. one wfolding; with MARRIAGES Virginia Bolen to Robert White- head, New York, April 11. Bride is production associate of legit pro- ducers Whitehead & Rae, of which husband is partner. Georgia Pellum to Chris Alcaide, Las Vegas, April 10. He's a legii actor. > I Dorothea Pastor to Charles D. Thompson, Newtonville, N. Y., April 10. She does a program over WROW, Albany; he's an announcer for WABY. Regina Nocek to Armand Mos- conl, Chicago, April 3. - Bride is Chi 20th-Fox exchange cashier. Zelda Rhea Walters to Jack Kear; in. > Pittsburgh, April 3. Groom's on WCAE staff. ' Janet Carol Sachson to Marvin Zuckerman, Woodmere, N. Y., April 11. Bride is daughter of Arthur Sachson, sales: manager of Samuel Goldwyn Productions. Maria Jeritza to Irving P. Seery, New York, April 9. Bride is noted opera singer and widow of Win- field R. Sheehan, film exec who died in 1945; he's a lawyer- socialite. Dorothy Patience May to Roland Young, Jersey City, April 9. He's the legit and screen actor. Lois Prescott to Jack Payne, Chi- cago, April 10. Groom is radio-tele- vision producer and disk jockey. Dorothy Edna Sturdy to Thomas Leslie Hill, Regina, . Sask., March 20. He's announcer at CKRM, Regina. Stella Roman to Prank, Vitale,, Hollywood, April 10. Bride is metopera soprano. Lynn Baggett to Sam Apiegel,> Las Vegas, April 10. Bride's an actress; he's a producer. Script Licensing Continued from page 1 BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Paul F. Moss, son, New York, March 30. Mother's Thelma Schnee, actress - author; father is legit producer. Mr. and Mrs. John Schen, son, April 2, Canton, O. Father is an engineer with station WHBC there. Mr. and Mrs. Bert Nevins, son. New York, April 3. Mother is for- mer Marion Cahnj former flack; father head of Bert Nevins, ■. Inc., publicity firm. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Oakland, son, Hollywood, April 6. F.ath& is a songwriter. Mr. and MrS; Frank Redfield, daughter, Phoenix, Ariz., April 3. Father is program director of KRUX there. Mr. and Mrs. Ward Quaal, son, Chicago, April 7. Father is direc- tor of WGN's public debate series, "Your Right to Say It." Mr. and Mrs. David Carey, son, Pittsburgh, April 7. Father's a bandleader. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Allen, son, Chicago, April 8. Father is news commentator and director of news for WGN-TV. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fleischer, son, Hollywood, April 12. Father is RKO director; mother is former Mary Dickson, stage actress. Mr. and Mrs. James Mafaon, son, Hollywood, April 8/ Father is in Fox-West Coast Real' Estate dept.; mother is daughter Tom Connors, film exec. N. V. Theatres in a move to modify their minimum basic contract in the same direction. The Guild plan, which the managers' organi- zation is expected to approve, is to exclude television rights on deals for the picture rights of Broadway shows. The managers' approval is necessary, as the pros* ent basic agreement covers deals for film rights. This action by the dramatists on television rights is directly in line with the Authors League's rapidly clarifying policy of ".separation of rights"—that is, limiting: any deal for written material to the rights for one specific medium. That's the basic step in the League's com* prehensive drive to establish li- censing. The Authors League's immediate aim in the video field -is to stop deals, in aU entertainment and communications media, in which television rights are included with other rights. It's figured that an enormous amount of such material has been sold in past years under deals covering all rights or includ- ing video rights with stage, film or radiO: rights. For instance, tele^ vision firms can presumably use aU the material in films ( both fea^ tures and shorts) by buying or leasing the rights from the picture companies. Similarly, the net-^ works, ad agencies and sponsors have Iibrai;ies' of radio scripts on which they hold outri^t title and; onany of which may be readily adaptable for video. Although the Authors League now has no specific body t& handle television, it will probably appoint a committee'on the subject at its April 21 councU meeting. Already, the Radio Writers Guild has named two of its members, Robert Cenedella and Sheldon Stark, as representatives on such a commit- tee, and the Screen Writers Guild has its own committee,- with D-wight Taylor as chairman. The SWG, in fact, has not waited for the Authors League or its af-' filiate guilds to take action on the ■ question, but served notice several weeks ago that it was taking steps to control the 'Writing of films : specifically for video. SWG execu- tive board, on the assumption that" much "of the production of tele- vision shows, particularly dramatic and comedy, will be by film rather than live, figures that films made for the video medium might easily be shown invtheatres and would thus be a direct threat against the salary standards it has established with the picture companies. Ac- cording to Guild, there is already a tendency of producers of films for television to undercut the pre- vailing script fees in the picture business. The Authors League licensing committee includes Paul Galileo, Edna Ferber, Marc Connelly, Kurt Weill, Jerome ChodoroV, Robert Ardrey (temporarily, during ^his current trip east), Erik Barnouw and Kenneth Webb, with League president Oscar Hammerstein, 2d, and treasurer Arthur Schwartz ex- officio. Pix-Tele in Home Continued from page 1 noted that this would naturally entail some system for the public to pay for the films it sees over Video, such as Zenith Radio's proposed "pay-as-you-go" phone- vision. He stressed that he was speaking as a producer and was not a theatre-owner, remarking that theatre ops would naturally object to having films made avails able to the public in its own living* rooms. Despite that objection, Capria said, the film industry will be los- ing a good bet \i it doesn't take advantage of the opportunities afforded it by tele. Many people in the rural areas who don't have much chance to see films could have them almost every night by video without leaving homei " In addition, he pointed, there are many people whoti'are prevented, for one reason or another, from going to filmeries more than once a week. Tele would make it pos- sible for them to see a difEerent film three or four times weekly. "As for me," Capra said, "I'm completely sold on television. I wish I had some television plans of my own that I could talk about now.*'