Variety (Jul 1948)

Wednesday, July 28, 194B rhiflys Robin Hood Den Foldo Hay Have to Adjust 27G Salary Gaims : ■ Philadelphia, July 27. Frederic R. Mann, who was named president' of the Robin Hood Dell Corp., following the col- lapse of the outdoor concert season here a week ago, will meet tomor- row with members-of the executive board of Local 77, American Fed- eration of Musicians, to iron out pay difficulties. The orchestra musicians have a total claim against the Dell of |27,000 in wages for the unexpired three weeks of the summer season, Which ended abruptly July 24, when the organization ran into financial difficulties. : Mann said that the management of C. David Hocker had drawn contracts with the musicians int such a way as to make this claim ipossible. The new Dell president, who is head of the Seaboard. Con-^ tainer Corp., is also a member of. Local 77. He will try to work out a compromise with the musicians union over the contested wages. The new president took office last Thursday (22) following the resignation of Henry E. Gerstley, and one of his first official acts was to, effect the resignation of Hocker, vvho is also vice-president of the Davidson Agency, New York artists representatives. The feud between Hocker and Mann is a long-standing one that has provided some extra excite- ment for local musical circles. Hocker, one-time "boy wonder" manager, had Mann deposed as vice-president of the Dell in 1945. Hocker, who became general»man- ager of the al fresco concert series In 1941, had remained in that post until Mann asked lor his resigna- tion last week. Jfhe new president has ordered an independent audit of the-Dell's books for the last three yearis. The audit will cover the Dell operations since he was deposed as first vice- president, Mann said. To bring the Dell within the pocketbook range of more Phila- delphians, Haqn said he planned to reduce prices next season. « Rondo Hopes to Repeat True' With New Dubbing Chicago, July 27. Rondo Records, will try to re- peat its initial success with Ken Griffin's "You Can't Be True." It has dubbed duo singing of Marian Spelman and Johnny' Knapp into Griffin's organ work on "Cuckoo Waltz'; and "Every Little Move- ment." Rondo is doing voice insertions on all Griffin selections. Knapp sings on two other Griffin sides, "If I Had You"^ and "Brown Jug Polka," Jukebox-Maker Tarns To Running Own String Columbus, July 27. An expIoslQ^i tore out part of a wall at the Young Distributing Co., makers and distributors of juke boxes, early Sunday morning US); A stick of dynamite laid on a win- dow ledge caused the blast, which broke windows in nearby homes. Detectives believe the blast a threat against the concern for its change in policy in . dealing out its music machines. Firm began delivering its .own machines directly to business places a week before, instead of placing them through operators. Operators consequently were left out in the cold. Company also operates in Cleveland and Cincin- nati and is. owned by James R. Yottng, of Cleveland. No further incidents have oc- curred since to support officials' initial fears of a jukebox gang war. Eddie Oliver orchestra is at the St. Anthony Hotel, San Antonio. Steve Kisley crew, there the past four months moved to the Baker Hotel, Dallas. British Best Sheet Sellers (Week ending July 22) London, July 23. Galway Bay . . . Box & Cox Heartbreaker ..... , Leeds Ballerina Maurice Pour Leaf Clover F.D.&H Time May Change.. .Connelly Nature Boy .,,,, Morris Golden Earrings Victoria Toolie Oolie Southern Dream of Olwen Wright Near You ; Wood After AU Cinephonic Laroo Laroo ■ Dash Second 12 My Achin' Heart.... Connelly Teresa I«eds Society , Kassner Serenade of Bells.,. ^,. Morris Tree in Meadow..... Connelly Civilization ,..........Morris I'd Give Million Connelly Reflections on Water. Maurice • Miranda Kassner Silver Wedding Waltz.., ,Unit You Do Chappell Ask Anyone. ....... .Feldman ORCMRSniAS-mSIC 91 Name Bands Back ■ - ■ ' ■ ■ ■ .. . To Panther Room Chicago, July 27. Panther Room, Sherman hotel, Chicago, which dropped its name band policy some time ago, will resume the use of major bands in October. For months the Panther Room operated with name singers backed by small jazz combos; small groups in tandem, and other acts along that line, while band agen- cies did everything they could to open the spot up again to top com- bos. . In the boom days of the band business, the Sherman was a key booking, carrying great prestige. Currently, the Pantlier Boom is undergoing a remodelling, which will be completed in plenty of time for the October debut. Meanwhile, every major booking outfit in the country is endeavoring to sell dts best narne^ for the periods that are open. • Publicity-Conscious Batoneers, Who Rap Band Biz, Draw Ire of Agencies Lecuona Band Set For San Juan Nitery Lecuona Cuban Boys band has been booked for a two-week stand at the Escambro beach club, San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting Satur- day (31). Band takes off in a chartered plane tomorrow. Agent Lenny Green, who's ac- companying them, will line up some Puerto Rico theatre dates after the club stint. Top Bands Booked For Ohio's Largest Dancery; Larry Clinton Preems Cleveland, July 27. Built to accommodate 5,000 dancers, the Dance Theatre be- came the biggest open-air ball- room in Ohio, if not the midwest when it was opened by Larry Clin- ton's band last week In the nearby town of Elyria, O. Unique dance pavilion covering 13!/^ acres was erected by Albert W. Jewell, former theatre operator, as the nucleus of a proposed amusement park. In addition to having an 88 by 128-f06t floor of concrete with a synthetic surface, it has a domed theatre stage 25 by 46 feet, rigging for scejery, dressr- ing rooms and equipment for the showing of films. Finishing touches are still being put on the grounds and a film pro- jection booth. There weren't enough seating facilities for danc- ers at the preview but promoter claims he will have enough chairs and refreshment tables to handle about 4,500 people for spot's offi- cial premiere tomorrow (Wed.) Bay Anthony's orchestra came in Monday (26) for the flag-raising and a one-week engagement. Dean Hudson has been inked for Aug. 2-8, Sonny Dunham Aug. 9-15 and Tony Pastor for an early Septem- ber date. Bandleaders, who go into long detail in newspaper and magazine interviews over the collapse of the band business, are drawing the Ire of band agency executives. In the past few months there have been repeated instances of maestros playing various key cities who have, as a means of saying some- thing fresh and newsworthy to help get their names in . local papers, pointed out that... modern young- sters are no longer music conscious . . . that the band business has come apart at the seams ■. . , that it no longer occupies a place of glamor in the minds of teen-agers, etc. Agency execs burn every time such an interview comes to their attention. They feel that the band business-, similar to other indus- tries, is feeling the pinch of infla- tion, and that there's no reason to believe it has tobogganed into the depths for good. And, they point out, bandleaders who give such in-^ terviews are doing additional dam- age to the business by rubbing oif , more of the glamor that has already become faded by postwar economic conditions. , " Mercury to Put Accent On Disk Jockey Platters Chicago, July 27. Mercury Records has resched- uled its disk release dates with ac- cent on disk jockeys. From now on d,j,'B'wlU receive plaUers ,thre9> weeks before retail outlets, Fur^ thermore twice monthly shipments will be cut down to once in the same period to reduce shipping costs. Diskery is also working out a deal with gift certiflcates where- by platter turners will give out script instead of iilbumsi and . rec- ord shops will set full credit from the factory. Method - redueeft shipping costs and breakage, Jimmy Hillard, v.p. in charge of artists and tunes, starts midwest, tour this week to hypo platter pro- motion. , THORNTON PIN-UP GIRLS Name RICHARD HIMBER and his Orchestra F/ftVn'^iTP FOR Thornton Pin-Up Girls—alwoys being chosen "Miss This" or "Miss That" — hit on something new they chose Fred Astaire as the "Mister" to be stranded on a desert island with! And dancing with Fred calls for "topflight" music—-so they chose Richard Himber and his orchestra their "Favorite." As a bevy of Thornton Pin-Uptuous bedutios look on. Mrs. Walter Thornton presents «t statuette of the "Goddess of the Dance" to Mr. tHimber at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. "Get a Pin-Up Girl," the Walter Thornton Models' favorite song, is played by Richard Himber and his orchestra, heard nightly from the Cascade Room of the Biltmore HoteMn New York and aired on NBC and CBS networb. Coast-to-Coost/