Variety (Jan 1949)

Wednesday, January S, 1949 Forly-ihttd P^SSBiH^hr Anmvenary VAVBEVILUR 229 "PENCIL ME IN FOR '49" .By SOLLY VIOLINSKY. Here I am starting in on a New year when I haven't even finished ihe old"one. Once a year I like to rummage through my Taylor trunk and look at old press notices,' and programs of my good old vaudeivUe days. I'm a sentimental guy and when I came across an old. bill that 1 was on way back in 1909, tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw the names of Bisset & Scott, Butch Towel-, Dancing Shack, the 6 Un- American Dancers and Pat Rooney The 5th! . . , ,When I say, tears ' rolled, ' that's an understatement. I cried like a babyt I cried harder ihah the audience did; Anything . nostalgic puts such a large lump in my throat that I have to take my collar off . . i You have no ■ idea how 1 miss those sleeper jumps in a day coach; the stale sandwiches ' and rancid cofitee for breakfast; the : hiking with a heavy grip from the depot to the stagedoor thru a muddy alley;- rehearsing: with a three-piece orchestra and kicking about my billing until the manager changes it, and then: doin' a king size Brodie all over the joint! . ... Those' were the GOOD OLD- DAYS?????—But don't get me wrong, I love Skolsky. Now to get back to my trunk. It's' a treasure chest of beautiful memories and a few old under- : shirts. It's also where I store some of my extra good writeups. One critic said: ''In my humble opinion, Violinsky, who plays a piano and a violin simultaneously, is much too generous." ... Even then I was always big hearted, I believed in giving all managers a bargain, and the sala.ry I received proves it, ^ : - ■ In vaudeville I was always con- scientious, ready, willing, stager struck and ambitious. I made it a point to never let any .acts get ahead of me. I was always on first. Once I was on second. I followed an acrobat and. before he went on I gave him my very last piece' of : violin rosin to use on the soles of l;ls shoes. When he finished his ■ act he had to take his shoe ofl' real ■ qulclc so I could use it for a violin ' bOw. That's real cooperation.. -Nearly all vaudevillians were cooperative.. Any time a single girl was on. the hill,; every married man in the show offered: to' take her out for a midnite snack . , . One wc^k there wasn't a single gal , on the bill and I went out with a trained seal. We had some fish and chips and then went to a swimming pool. I've tcild that to i so many,people who don't believe ' it; that I'm beginning to doubt it myself. for the pantSf I bowed my head in silent reverence and somehow I just couldn't resist trying on the coat for old time's sake. There 1 Stood in front of my mirror and imagined I heard the audience ap- plauding, I took a coupla bows and I was just going to-steal a couple more when my radiator started hissing. I whipped the coat off quickly, gently laid it away in the trunk, tenderly crossed the sleeves and quietly closed the lid . . .The silence was broken by a knock on the door.: I opened it wide' expect? ing to see the trained seal, > but; instead it was only my landlord. I thanked him for allowing me to look through my trunk again and wished him a Happy New Year. And, xome to think of it. this is a dandy spot to wish you the same. BELLE BAKER BEST WISHES TO ALL AND CONGRATULATIONS VARIETY Healthier Yaude Outlook Fith Theatre Divorcement Big Factor Is in Relaxing of Rules By Musicians' Union =By JOE COHEN—— 8 Although the amount of vaude- ville playing time has reached a low ■ ebb this season, indications point to a far liealthier outlook. Developments in the past year, mainly in the fibn industry and in union circles, point to an increased amount of time during the next year. The ' most immediate ' prospect lies in the more tolerant attitude »t the American Federation of Musi- 1949 Nitery Prospects Uncertain Nitery prospects of a hoom year are dim^^unless a sufficient num- ber of foonif aces turn up with some fresh ideas of what people- will go for'. The more prosperous cafes have been getting along hand- somely on the strength of names, but. since there aren't a sufficient number of attractions to go around for a 52-week-aTyear operation, nightclub - owners, by necessity, must dig for ;new formats and different approaches that will set them off from the, competition. That's the general perspective of experienced showmen; There's even some danger that spots that have been consistent users of names will be forced off that standard. There have been instances of late when operators have come out on/ the short end with topllne talent. Many stars have played the circuit too fre- quently. Others that haven't have hit other unfavorable factors, wliilc in some instances it's become ap- parent that certain spots are situated in a sector that can no longer afford to-pay top prices for entertainment. , Also, the nitery industry has failed to develop new audiences. Cafe owners have been catering to the same cut of■ niterygoers for years, many of wiiom have been forced to drop that form of enter- tainment because of economic circumstances or because the cafe [ course, behop is-limited to large clamor has worn ofl'. cities. Tliere aren't enough cultisls . However, signs of a renaissance I j" smaller towns to carry an opera- of boniface thinking are beginning ' this type, to appear. There have been several The strip idea is now; a firm instances where the introduction of an idea has paid off -in huge dividends. clans. Various AFM locals have re« laxed considei-ably their originally steep demands and have permitted vaude houses to reopen imder-mors tolerable terms. It's already hapf.; pened in Newark, Boston and In-* dianapolis. However, the larger promise lies in the creation of competitive situ* atlons by the Federal government through its anti-trust and divorce* inent actions. Admittedly, event*: are moving slowly in this direction, but action has already taken place ; on a small scale which is seen as being a working model of divorce-y ment once it comes along. ' /Indications of how completed : divorcement will work is. seen ins the recent action taken by the Schine circuit. Recently, the Fedi eial government forced the circuit to rclenquish many of its theatres > | in order to end the monopoly that The strip idea is now; a fixture on .52d street and has | tiie'chVin "hariirmany luu^^^ Intime Spots DoVWell For a time, the Latin cafe paid off dividends; then came intime operations, which are still doing well, especially at the Blue Angel and Ruban Bleu, both N.Y. Other clubs that have tried that type of format haven't been too. success: ful, possibly because of the limited; which was believed to have been brought a degree of prosperity to certain spots on that thoroughfare. They've given the old Minsky patron a home. Even difficulties with the Police Dept. have paid off in plenty of free publicity. How- ever, it's doubtful that the strip policy can survive in other cities. The third development came at Nicky Blair's Carnival, N.Y. His introduction of a dance spot with name bands has revived . a. cafe Once a competitive situation was created, Schine turned to stage shows in six houses—something that would have been impossible during the heydey of its scissors- hold on that area. The circuit Is reported doing very well for itself in its vaudeville operations. number of that type of patron, The most notable developments of 1949 hit N.Y. cafes in the way of behop stripjpers and the name bands. Behop is, of course, the most amazing, and the current shrine of that cult is the Royal Roost, N;Y. Story is that operator Ralph Watkins was ready to close his spot when he gave a "Tuesday night be- bop concert on the regular band's off night. Response was so terrific that it's been a permanent policy since. Spot caters te of spender can through. After pperation with high-priced names, Avhich failed to .bring patronage to this qfl-Broad- way spot, Blair has had some degree of success with the banfls.: While the idea isn't entirely new, because there : have been: failtires with th&t 'policy, notably^ at the 400 club, there's been a long .enough interval to warrant its: classifican tion as a/'new'' ideai;{bi^m$ period. The vast majority of nightclub owners are still wrestling with the problem of what to do about new 1 business. Now that the New Year's every categorv j Eve coin has gone out to pay back Forerunner The vaude adherent feels that the Schine operation is a forerun- ner of what will happen wlien the larger circuits a r e eventually forced to secede from tlie studio and distribution aspects of the fUm industry. It's felt that once that happens, theatres will be placed in the hands of showmen with whom vaudeville stands a good chance of being a perment house policy. Talent agencies point to the sit- uation at the Earle theatre, Wash- ington, which-was a prosperous op-: oration with SCageshows. The dis- tribution execs of the Warner chain - demanded national terms for that hou.se on film rentals. Vaudeville -- I was then forced out, and grosses oendor There are those who bills or provide a nestegg for the , ,,ave„'rbeen as heav^since. Loew's sit and listen at 90c a head, | lean weeks to come, another cnt-1 n Y which completed its if table-service is wanted, it's icaf penod is facing the average |' ;. „j vaudeless operation. and $2 minimum. Since then, the | club owner. Until income-tax time. Clique club has been established I it's figured that receipts will be in N.Y. along the same lines. Of I lean. It's That Agent I've heard people say that vaude vlUe is dead, but I don't share that i viewpoint. Vaudeville still has a little life in it and I wish I could say the same for my agent. Vaude- | yille is still going strong in ling- | land. I played over there about 30 1 yeai.s ago. The English audience is loyal and never forgets an act. Ihi'ih why I never went back. I met my old English agent the other day and he says he'll book me over mere again as soon as they start using air wicks for footlights. But I don't care. I've got song- wriUng for a sideline, and while , going through my trunk I found one of the first songs I ever wrote. n was a moonlight song that never saw daylight. It didn't sell a single copy, but it helped make me a member of ASCAP. I'm in Class Double "D"—Double "D" means drop dead„ A few years ago I got, a very small royalty statement i Horn a music publisher and when i my father saw it, he said: "Solly, stop the music!" He was way ahead 01 his time, but I was ahead of him i because I had already placed a i couple oi songs that stopped the publisher. , Songs are not the only things I found in my trunk. I also found an autographed*picture of that boauti- lul trained seal upon which was inscribed "To Solly Violinsky, with Love and Kisses." ... I also found the old stsge coat I used to wear in my act. I put my hand in the inside pocket and found the ticket has been kept in top grosises by a flow ot major films. > Once theatres have to compete i for films without backing of a huge chain, many houses will be left In the cold as far as product is con- cerned it's telt. For them it will be a mailer of vaudeville or dishes. Miin.N' house operators even now iiave reached that conclusion. Cir- cuit booker^ report that an increas- ing number of theatre managers are inquiring about stageshows be- cause of declining business. With ' the severe -shortage of top films, gro.ssps have been dipping steadily. Situation is apt to deteriorate-be- cause the loss of foreign markets makes super-budgeters inadvisable. And television looms as a threat to the film industry. Showmen think that, under these circumstances, they'll' have to give the public ; something that many towns haven't had in years. The talent agencies are ready with huge lists.,; ■ GEORGIE PRICE Direction MCA Nick Cravat Held For Hearing on Assault Rap Nick Cravat, partnered with; Burt Lancaster In an acrobatic act. at the Capitol theatre, N. Y., is slated to appear Friday (7) in Mag- istrate's court on assault charges brought by Willi am Miller, son of an acrobat who worked with Lan- caster and Cravat some years ago? It's charged that Bliller sought to QLieslion [iancaster on circum- slances SLiTroundiiig the:; death,' of hi.s talhei. William Miller, Sr„ and was assaulted by Cravat, It's claimed that the elder Miller fell from a 20-foot pole held by either Lancaster or Cravat dur- ' ing a perlonnance in Davenport, la., in 1941. It's alleged that the fall resulted in internal injuries 1'resulting in his death. A compen-', sation suit brought by Miller's widow is still pending.