Variety (Jan 1949)

VAITUBVIIXE Wednesday, January 19, 1949 Laundiing a New Idea changes of moo<l from serious to gay, with dialog and song, witli modern ballet to depict and inter- pret certain themes, with good orchestral background and accom- paniment, all handled with black- outs, could develop into a new cabaret formula which at. least Vet Chicago Hotelier Sounds Off on New Saloon Shows ■■■■■■■■■ amenity without either quality^ It w^'I.I'l^SI.r' isn't good theatre and it isn't good If the show is good By ERNEST BYFIELD Chicago, Jan. 18. Some, years ago, when the bank- ers were applying groan'and grunt holds on us, one of their locusts, a bulky gent but no mental giant, turned on me savagely. "Why doesn't the College Inn do better business? It's been; open for years," he demanded. "Did it ever occur to you that the older the nightclub, the less business it does?" I replied. The College Inn is generally credited (and debited) with being in longest continuous operation of any nightclub in the USA. Man jBind boy, Frank Bering and 1 have ^un it for about 35 years; before that, my brother Gene was the one. Except on occasionsi we never really got to like it. Of course, it had. its moments. Ben Berple and the Celebrity Nights; the Iceskat- Ing Shows; Ted Healy; the great swing bands, and other great names and personalities. But. of' ten it was like Australia every body knew about it but nobody went there. At best, a nightclub is the mon grel offspring ol an art and an restaurant, ... food grows cold and drinks dilute. You can check me in as the Gloomy Dean of nightclub opera- tors. I have been spouting these sermons for years; but as one psychoanalyst said to the other, "Who listens?" We closed the College Inn in June and arrived at the morose de- cision to reopen it with misgiving. ("Misgiving?," Larry Adler asks, "The celebrated chanteuse?") With the help of a brilliant and inspired designer (Robert E. Led^ erer, we effected a startling trans- formation in the room. Lederer made the low ceiling disappear by painting it black, and managed to obliterate the room's ai-chitectural defects. The facelifting was made complete by the use of a few sur- realist mobiles, statues, and other decorations, . : : ' The .only problem left to us was what to do for entertainment, which is like saying the only prob- actually entertaining I discussed the idea with my old friend Les Weinrott, of CBS, and MCA, and they both recom- mended Sherman Marks, a local radio writer and producer of ex- Musician Snarl May - Balk Vaude Policy For Tivoli, Frisco ;,' ,',■..'lios,An^iel«|s,.',ir.aiai-■ HA,') Sherrill Corwin, who recently ac- quired the old* Sari Fraricistib legit house, ttie Tivoiij has been balked from establishlog a vaufle policy there because Frisco miJijiicians Lo- cal 6 won't give him the saiiqie dfeal Local 47 gave him here on his ceptional talenti to do the show. 1 stageshow policy at the Million He listened to the idea and became 1 Dollar theatre. Frisco is currently enthusiastic about its possibilities, 1 vaudeless. and Skitch Henderson flew his Corwin offered to use a Local 6 plane to Chicago for a conference | band half the time and to reopen at the suggestion of MCA. His in- ] the liouse on a regular policy. Lo- terest and eager acceptance of the | cal prexy Ed Moore countered with chore of doing the arrangements a demand that the theatre hire 11 and extra rehearsals, as well, as L;,en and a leader from the local's adapting his band and his singers I ranks and employ them fulltime to this new formula, Convinced us that the choice, was a happy one. Sherman Marks has a flawr he is a perfectionist. I told him that his anxieties about many of the effects he hoped to create were needless; that in a nightclub, half the au- dience was sitting with its back to the stage, and there would always be a: number who would' be. inat- tentivCi and that-i occasionally there would be a drunk or two who might be over-attentive.. I was lem a soldier has is to keep alive. | vfrong. When tlie show was .finally The great name acts of the day 1 produced; it drew a concentration were preempted by our competitors.' - • ■ — ■ Bands seemed to have lost their draw. After much uncertaintj^, we hired Woody Herman. After fur- ther meditation, we realized we would need more than a name band to revive the room. We tried to get Herman to play dinner con- certs each night, dedicated to a modern composer. His. manager objected, saying that the cost of arrangements and rehearsals would be prohibitive. He was probably right, but we became convinced that Bebop and Bebop might re- sult in NObop (No Box Office Pro- ceeds). Herman was sporting enough to cancel his contract be- cause our ideas didn't jibe. ^ COMEDY MATERIAL . . For AH BranchM of Thtalricah FUN-MASTER "Th* ORIGINAl Show-Bix Gag Fil**' - Nst. Mo 22 @ $1.00 (aeh (Order In Saqiime* Only) SPECIAL: Th* Hrai IS FilM for $8.00 ! ! ! 3 DIFFERENT BOOKS OF PARODIES (10 In Eiioh Bwk) $10 ptr Book Send 10« (or Hats of otiiw comedy mnterlal,. . NonffM, parodli^>"' mintttrcl lifitter, blii«fc-outs, .rtc. . NO co.D/s: PAULA SMITH SOO W. 54tli Street, K«w Vork ll' of interest from our patrons that. I have never witnessed in any other nightclub that I have ever visited; Diners forget to eat , and drinkers leave their highballs un- touched. In about two weeks', writing and three days' rehearsal, Marks and Henderson put together a well'^ paced, completely entertaining and entirely original - show. We called it a Montage in Melody. The ac- cDmplishment seems to: me to be remarkable. Cafe Crix Don't Dig It It did not seem as remarkable to, the cafe critics; On opening night most of them were more con- cerned about service,: which was certainly confused, than they were about our presentation. Their re Groping; For Innovation , The problem murdered sleep to such an extent that I began munch-1 views described our show exactly ing nemutals like peanuts. 1 was balancing on my head, one nights trying to get an inspiration, when it occurred to me that we might do a performance with continuity in- stead of the customary nightclub as though it were a typical vaude- ville lounge routines At our urging, one'or two revisited the Inn and the result was two • very funny pieces about the surrealist sculp- tures, mobiles and paintings, but Corwin planned to use traveling name bands at least half the time and objected to paying standbys which, in.essefnce, is what the de- mand amounted to. . He had cleared details with op- erators and stagehands of the Frisco locals before pitching to the musicians. It's understood that Moore, in insisting 12 local men be hired weekly, stressed that only 450 of 5,000 paid-up members are regularly' employed. He. needs to get members on the payrolls. - Local 47 deal with the Million Dollar here is not as good as that offered in Frisco: Here, the musi- cians aren't guaranteed any mini- mum of work. All that Local 47 vifa? interested in' when setting up the deal was getting jobs for the musicians, regardless of whether they were traveling card carriers or resident members. Bop Combo Lack Worries N.Y. Cafes Royal Roost, N. Y., and its rival Clique Club have been more or less stymied recently in the buy- ing of bop combos of sufficient sta- ture to carry the marquee load. Roost, which has already played a' majority of the best bop names, has bought King Cole Trio and Nellie Lutcher for separate dates, figuring to add bop groups to their draw. Meanwhile, the Clique se- cured Charlie Bamet's large bop crew for three weeks, openinit Feb. 21. Cole opens at the Roost May 5 for three weeks, at $3,500 plus a percentage. Miss Lutcher precedes him April 14 for three weeks at $2,000 per. Tad Dameron, bop pianist, working as a single, prob- ably will go in with Miss Lutcher and another combination. lenacio Bola, Cuban pianist, wilt: make his U. S. debut at Cafe So- ciety, N. Y., Jan. 25. Julia Webb, will bow on same show. Jack Gil- ford holds over: cabaret: The very absence of a 1 not a line that we had come across bandleader mispronouncing the | even a faintly new idea. We real- names of attractions, I argued to (ized then that our saloon reviewers myself in my deliriumi would be attractive, at least to me. 1 figured out that it was only fair, after all these years^ to have something. gO' are happier in :^alo6n^ and that iXi^iT Writihg circles in grofoVes, like a phonograph record. Guf iiocal ,^vv. .....^ V a o- . columnists did better, and so did ing on m tlie College Inn that I t the public in commenting on the didn't dislike too much. I show. The boxoft'ice has increased It seemed to me that a show with t each week and the College Inn is a thread of narration, with rapid [ now doing a satisfactory business i and checkup with many of its old-time regulars 1 William Katzen of the down- returning to their tables. [ loWft colony left; for Tticsohi Benny Goodman flew in from the zona. Saranac Lake By Happ-y Beiiway Saranac, N. Y., Jan. 18. Former NVA-Rogerites who are out of town curing report IsabeUe Rook, musician, and Patricia Mitchell, dancer, are doing nicely at the Ray brook, N. Y., san; Syd-I ney; Cohen, (Capitol theatre , | N. Y. Ci) recently , mastered a rib I operation at the National. Jew-1 ish Sanatorium, Denver; Alfred Michalskl progressing nicely at the Rutland san; G. Albert Smith, actor, and Bob Connolly (lATSE) doing okay at the Vets hospital, 1 Sunmount, N. Y. Helen PelechowicZi, mastered the Thoracoplasty operation at the general hospital, and back at the Rogers. ;Bobby Reyell motored in to visit Victor- Gamba. who recently beat a serious setback, Louise (RKO) Harris has been uped for meals and mild exercise. Mark Wilson in for observation "^^w^rampollBinqly Youri""™" PAUL AND PAULETTE TRIO NOW LATIN QUARTER AT NEW YORK • "The beat thing In the show, oddly .enough. Is an oW-tash-. ionced vaudeville "trampoline'" ax:t labeled IPAUL AND PAUTj. ETTE TRIO.'j—^l^amon Walker. : DirMllons LQU COHAN JUANITA ELLIOTT (Of the Old Vmidevllle T«!am, hfiH 1»ei«n <ionfln«d to beA muity jreiirHv OKOKRH FOH H1$R BOOK^ AM> OIL PAINX1N<;8 Wltlj BK . AVritKCIATKn f'^Iemovlect el tt Boubr«tte,*' relatlndr iho author'A own expeirieiices .011-the ■at.»;(?t>,' Prifle • ■ - ■ . AlNo Four Booky of PuemM-r-"Ilafiv-' bow Ribboiie," $1; ''Songs ,of the SofVtliwtjat.V |l; "WayflfileNotes of « (Wpsy-Foot." 7fic; ''iVlv Flower G«,r- (ton," Mv.. All pontimld. IlKAl TIJbTfJ. on. PAJNTINfiS (tf .-•'TexaH Blue llonnets" aiul var^ou^i scenoH, from $i> xw^ aci'ot'cdnK to-jji'/.(*. JUAiNJTA Ktl.lOTT Editor Yli«^ C'hntti-r Ho\ Manny Qpper ffiaf new tomedian 88th Week Hollywood Shew Uungo .■ ■ Chtfflgo'.' P«rti .M|t.4 IRV. VEVIN Coast to see the show, and liked ' Arthur Proftitt left for Dunel- it so well he engaged Marks to i'i^n, N,. J., for a short vacatiort ber write an act for his Paramount 1 fore resuming work. Ho made the opening. | grade here in 15 months. . ^ A conflict in bookings forced ^ - Henderson to quit the College Inn ! ceived good clinic report that ups I r^i HVTAM IIATfl 'O* after five weeks, which he did re- , ^™ ""^^'s- Ijlillll Vll IIUIE/L s r i luctantly. Jack Fina and his or- ^^""J' Resslcr appointed chair chestra opened up with the same ' ^^'^^'^^^ arrangement and show after two *IH fHUAOeifHIA, MJ , drive. days' rehearsal; and "on thoVccond\.f.^l^^'^^^^^^^^ Carl I night produced a pei tormancc ! ''" 'y j comparable to Skitch's. The at ■now R « CI 300 OUTflDC aooMS »r»m '2 BAUY tendance has been good, which show.s that the idea has durability. A new idea in the nightclub business had better be durable. I want this for an epitaph, to be carved in. bold italics on my tomb- stone: "Here lies Ernest Bylield. who took years to have a nightclub performance which did not include the line, 'Let's give this little lady a big hand.'" U'Vanni. ' Write to those who are ill; inciAi wiini* HATtt HOUSIKttPINO fACilltllS ■liWAiKfMO 'tfW'MNCI OF Alt rHVATRfSM Nitery Dates \ VANDERBILT BOYS "TAPROBATICS" NOW PARAMOUNT, New York Pars. R«p.: JOSH MEYER, 48 W. 48th St., New York Dorothy Shay, following her run at the WaldorfrAstoria hotel, N. Y:, opening tomorrow (Thurs.) goes to the Beverly Country Club, New Orleans, March 3; Shamrock hotel,! Houston, March 17, and the Palmer House, Chicago, April 7. Buddy Lester wound up his Paramount, N. Y., date last week and flew out to St. Louis for med- ical attention. He'll open at the Clover club, Ml;imi, t'oiiaht (Wnri,). Lena Home signed for the/Fair- mont holcM S:in c iMrn.i-,cij, 12, and follows with the Flamingo, Las Vetjas. May 19 Charles Trenet booked for the Palace hotel. San Franci.sco, March 18. Georgie Price slated for Palum- bo'.s, j-jijjjclciplua, ,)an. 23. Three Stooges pacted for a July date at the, Ppl^diwn, I^9n<}9»-, WHISTLING IN SEVEN LANGUAGES JAY SEILER Just completed PHIL SILVERS' TELEVISION SHOW MOCOMBA CLUB, PHILADELPHIA PRESENTLY TOURING "CHRIS CROSS UNIT - FEBRUARY 11th thru 24th LATIN QUARTER, NEWPORT. KENTUCKY ^ FEBRUARY 25th Reminiscing. Communications: Forest Lodge, 1028 Strong St.. Schenectady. N. Y. MARION POWERS SINGING/SOPHISTICATED BLUES riivrtMiily ■■■■ .' TRITON HOTEL, Rochester, N. Y. Breaking All Rtcordi Ath Smaih Week Opening MERRY-GO-ROUND February 5th Youngstown, Ohio My Sinctr* Tkaaki to SAM IMBUR6IA and PEGGY LOEB CONSOLIDATED RADIO ARTISTS 30 RockifolUr PIom;' Naw York