Variety (Mar 1949)

y!^nr« ji.y. M«rch 30, 1940 OBITUARIES JACK KAPP »" i, TfnoD. 47, president of . /!l?Records' Inc., Aed suddenly TfSral hemorrhage Friday; '^,.t tVi) on his way from the i'^l ha on West 57th street to P*hnme at 131 East 64th street, l;'„*Voric He is survived by his "f-S Frieda (Fritzi) Lutz Kapp; ? .Biifpr Mvra, 17; son, Jonathan, rtrothe?s 'Dave, veepee of JS-Va and Paul Kapp,^ a talent and a sister, Mrs. Joe Davis, ^e"V the music publisher. DeSils in Music s ection. FELIX BKESSART Fflix Pressart, 67, character ac- tor on stage and screen, dlea Matcii 17 in Los Angeles, a victim ff leukemia. His outstanding role m the screen was in "Ninotchka." His death will cause changes in the script of the Hal Wallis pro- duction, "My Friend Irma," which Is still in worlc at Paramount. The sequences in which he toolc part will be . eliminated. Other films in which Bressart uDoeared were "Crossroads," Tomrade X," "The Seventh Cross," "Without Love," "I'll Al- ways Love You," "Greenwich Vil- lage." "Above Suspicion," "Ice- land," "Mr. and' Mrs. North," "Blossom in the Dust," "Bitter Sweet," "It All- Came True," and "A Song Is Born." In January, 1947, he made his debut on the American stage in "The Big Two" at the Booth the^- atre, N. Y. RALPH M. NVNBERG Balpb M. Nunberg, 45, former editor of newspapers in Berlin prior to the war, and husband of singer Maria Avellis, of the Metro-^ politan> Opera, died, at his home in New York, March 25. > He bad been associated with the Stair &: Havlin circuit. She later appeared in George Tyler's pro-i duction of "Clarence." EMERSON LATTO Emerson E. Latto, 80, pioneer theatre operator in western Penn^ sylvania, died March 11 at his home in Beaver Falls, Pa.' In 1910, he and the late L. B. Roney opened the Comet, a fllm house, in that city and shortly after opened . two other theatres, the Queen in Beaver Falls and the Lyric in.New Brighton. After dis- posing of these interests, Latto took over the Central hotel in Beaver Falls and later Went into the laundry business. He leaves his wife, two sons and two daughters. prior to their retirement in 1927. Survived by son. a sister and two brothers. MRS. HOMER A. GRAVES Mrs. Homer Allard Graves, 81, it announces its first quarterly net. Twentieth surprised the industry during the week by showing a strong net of $12,300,000 for fiscal '48, ended Dec. 31. By so doing, 20th nosed out Mayer Renewal Continued from page who was associated with her bus-' Warner Bros, lor second position I *f ™^ ^J*® band, the late Homer A. Graves,' in the 1948 earnings derby, coming' ^}^^^^, Metro legal in the operation of picture theatres i only after Paramount Warners'! department has not yet been given in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, died in Lancaster, N. H., March 25, Survived by two sons; take was $11,837,000. Twentieth's!*''*' taslc of setting it down on profit compares with $14,003,640 in P^P?''- Terms could not be leam- 547, or a dip of 10%. Its gross beyond Mayer's remark: to a amounted to $163,400,000 against friend that he could makp. more 1947's $174,375,241. After deduct-1 "'"ney by retiring." ing dividends for preferred slock, | Although the vet exec undoubt- equivalent common stock earnings' edly took a slash in income, the MORGAN H. SEXTON Morgan H. Sexton, general man-, „ „ , ager of radio station KROS, Clin-1 equalled $4.29 per share cOtiipsired ' retirement crack .was,■. of ,course^ ton, Iowa, died in that city, March ' with $4 81 last semester i kidding. Under the Metro retire- .„ . „. , , , i That the improvement is in the' m«nt plan, which became partially hnH ^J^^3 H° C^nt""'j?* ■ important distrib wing rather than ■ eifecUve this month, Mayer would stalionffn Mhanr^-nnii« Rn.{r"t° ' ^n theatres was demonstrated with receive only about $20,000 a year stations 'n M»nn^;iP«lis. «ock Is- Columbia's second-quarter returns, if be quit now. Plan doesn't be- land, 111., jnd Uaven prnt, la. announced this week. Col, operat- come fully effective until March JACK FLYNN .lack Flynn, 59, midwest district! manager tor Metro until his retire- : ment in 1947, died at his home in i St. Joseph, Mich., March 27. After leaving Metro he was for a time with James FitzPatrick Trav- elogs:. ■ Flynn entered the industry in 1914 with General Film, later join^ ing the Goldwyn Co., which in 1924 consolidated with M-G-M. Survived by wife, two sisters and two brothers. ing no theatres, reports $171,000 1954, when it is in force 10 years, net for the 13 Weeks ended Dec. i At that time Mayer will be entitled . .. ^, -. ., . - 25, which pulls the company out to $49,000 a year. Pensions are music teacher, died in New York, j of the red. It had come through subject to regular income tax un- i;?hJ^.. f A? J n the first quarter with a loss of less the recipient exercises the op- nnHpr ivrfn ^L^L o,?^t" $23,000. ■ , tion of taking a lump sum, in under >ino Rappe trom 1932 to; * ' ^ g,^^^ I ^^ich case he pays only a capital Adding its weight is Universal gains rap. with the: company also operating! Hewrite of jklayer's deal follows' again in the black. U showed a considerable lessening of his irCr loss of $717,535 during its first Sponsibilities since Dore Schary . quarter but the company is now. came in as production chief; May- riding on its less costly product' er's current compensation;^ and its; rentals are/covering costs fcnrycarsr^has -'been-t plusi Only the necessity of ab-' close to the highest in the inidys-/ sorbing losses: frorn'riweak ~ pix--tig)t-lsTi(i2,50^ Weekly; plus> 6^^^ of early '48 has prevented it from of the net profits after <;ertiiih deT ductions. He also gets 10% of MAX HERZBERG Max Herzberg, 67 pianist and 1945. Later he became accompan-1 ist for concert artists. Survived by a son. LOUIS P. KLEIN Louis P. Klein, 66, trumpet player who had been a member of various symphony orchestras and Ziyara Shrine Temple band, died March 24 at his home in Utica, N. Y. Survivors are wife and- a sister. ] announcing profits. LUKE G. THOMAS Luke Garrison Thomas, 54, short story writer and son of the late Augustus ThomaSj playwright, died at St. Albans Naval hospital, St. i Albans, L. I., March 24. In addition to his own writing chores, he had often collaborated with his father in the writing of several of the la tier's plays. MRS. CLEM McCarthy Mrs. Clem McCarthy, 54, former actress and wife of Clem McCarthy, IN FOKD MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED FRIEND JACK and IRVING MILLS Deutches Theatre, Berlin, before engaging in newspaper work there, : tnd' also had written several books, including one on the eareer of Max Schmeling, "Lindbergh, Hauptman and America^" and "The Fighting Jew." Nunberg came to the U.S. in 1932 and for a time>was editor of tlie .Hollywood Tribune. • Surviving, besides his. wife, are his parents and a sister. WILLIAM S. BROWN William S. Brown, 26, manager of WMTW, Yankee Network out- let at Portland, Me., died there March 21. Born in Portland, Brown had his college career interrupted by 38 months of Army service, from wliich he emerged with a battle- field commission and a severe dis- ability which led to his death. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart while on duty in Europe. After taking a belated flegree from the Univ. of Maine in 1947, Brown went to Yankee as «nnouncer, assuming the Portland managership in 1948. Survived by wife and a oaughter. M FRED MEEK Fred Meek, 87, former theatri- cal exec, died in the Actors Fund Home, Englewood, N. J., March 28. He was the son of Kate Meek, a ***ding actress in her era. Meek -was an actor in his youth out later turned to the business ena of the theatre. For many ears he was company manager for 'lontgoraery & Stone, Jefferson de Angehs, William Collier and 5*5fy Miller. . Also for Charles i'Sf'wian, Klaw & Erlanger and awry W, Savage. " member of The Lambs ??° one of the last three surviving members of the Hot Air Club. tILEANOR MONTELL sf.r,^'""'!. Montell, 61, retired 2? u • tn Ifew York, March ■>. Her last Broadway appearance was some years ago with George Tavern"" " revival of "The thf^i subsequently retired from mothiS^'^r.'*"^'^ the death of her S«' ^"genie Blair, also an .«^Sn!'fct<^:^'^ '''''''' ^""'^^ and'i^oi'f'* appeared in stock legit road shows on the old radio sportscaster, died at her home in New York, March 22. Before her marriage 20 years ago, she appeared in vaude and musicomedies under, her maiden name of Vina Smith. Among the productions in which she appeared were "Bombo" and "Sinbad," Al Jolson starrers, and several Ed Wynn musicals. LON T. FIDLER Lon T. Fidler, 58, owner of Monogram franchises In Denver, Salt Lake City and Kansas City, died last week in Denver. Fidler had been in distribution for 30 years, was instrumental in founding Monogram Pictures, in which he: continued to :be a stock- holder. Survived .;by wife,- a sister and brothef. ■ FRANK SHERMAN Frank Sherman, 61, former sing- er and nitery operator, died in Chi- cago, March 21. He had operated his own club in Chi for past - 20 years. Survived by wife and-4wo sons; HARRY MCCARTHY Harry McCarthy, 63, well-known concert violinist and first leader of Abbey theatre orch, died in Water- ford,-Ireland, March 21, : United Artists, third of the Lit- ] reissue profits after he leaves aG^ tie Three, is also looking up lately. 1 five service for the company. UA is now a.ssured of a fairly con-I 'Mayer, liowever, agreed in 1944, sistent supply of product, and its when the retirement plan started, rentals ^have been large enough to ■ that his total eompehsation from meet distrib overhead and still salary and bonus should not ex- turn in a profit I ceed $500,000 yearly. He got a combined total of $417,263 last year. BURTON E. GEAR Berton Eugene Gear, 74, legit ac- tor, died March 23 in Hollywood after a long illness. At various times in liis career he appeared in productions of George M. Cohan,. Woodie Van Dyke, Rose Melville and others. LILLIAN MILLS Lillian Mills, 79, retired legit actress, died March 24 in Los Angelesj where she' had. lived for the last 26 years. TV Fufltime Job Si Continued from page 1 s: Business for both Paramount and Warner Bros, has held firmly although no figures for the recent months have yet come to light. Since each is also in the position to cash in oh lower production costs, industryites believe their re- ports will also register the upbeat. BKO is in an uncertain position. | the star of a show, inasmuch as Its theatres, are still earning sub-1 the success of the videocast fre- stantial sums although the chain's quently depends on what the star profits are down some 20% frotrfl puts into it. Many just haven't last year while its general business , enough to go around; consequently is off 10%. Much will depend on the high fatality when doubling is what -product controlling stock-1 inVolvedt holder Howard Hughes can steer, its expected that later on the to the company during the balance strain of the tele show leads will of the year. Oscared 'Buttons' SB Continwea from patrc 1: siss prots*^^o'nal'''m^L,g^;/^"of i^^oo fo^'* h^'^ittMh'rh ?he Music, died in New York, March ! ?J<»e»s ^\"'«''' 27. She leaves another son, Jules, 3ob seemed hopeless at times^since asst. musical director of Capitol theatre, Waisfaington, and a daughter. HARRY BENNETT , Harry Bennett, 71. former vaude- ville actor and oreh leader, died in New York, March 21. He had ' done a song and pianolog in vaude for several years, and later became musical di- rector in N. Y. vaude theatres, in- cluding Tony Pastor's, Keith's Union Square and Proctor's 125th Street theatres. Survived by four sons. Mrs. Dorothy B. Akers, 31, sec^ retary to Leslie Atla.ss, owner of i, ., i , , WBBM, Chicago, died March 22 at that it was neglected when the I. L.-. j.^ Al..... c-— •...T'l. filiw, .**nnrt Worth Hiu crarrincf many film titles ("Blaze of Noon for example) simply don't lend, themselves as song titles or ideas. "To Each" was one of those rou- tine jobs, and Famous Music Co., Par subsid, thought so little of it her home in that city. Survived by husband Arthur Akers, servi(£e manager for Admiral Radio Corp. film "To Each His Own," starring Olivia De Havilland, was released early in 1946. Miss De Havilland won an Oscar for her performance 48 | in the film, but the tune remained diminish and additional chores may be taken on without fear of toppling under the load. Current- ly, those working television are ap-. proaching the medium with the same fervor as a small-time act try- ing to make Broadway: A great part of the mental burden comes from format experimentation, which will be ended once it's de- termined what constitutes top fare -for television and - necessity for, long rehearsal periods is elimi-' nated. BIRTHS Mr. and .Mrs. Peter Marshall, daughter, Santa Monica, March 21. Father is an actor. Mr^ and Mrs. Ricardo Montal- ban, daughter, Hollywood, March 22. Mother is the former Georgia Elinor O'Reilly Zynda, ,„ „ former casting director and talent I on the shelf for months. When agent, died March 8 iti Culver I Famous finally got around to plug- anna Young, screen player; fathi^S City,' Cal. ' ging it, it was too late to do the '- - — * nc-^— film any good but the tune quickly Eddy' Howard cata " William Hcerlein Westerman, 73; studio film processor, died March 23 in Hollywood, Father, 75, of fan dancer Sally i Rand, died in Phoenix, Arizona; March 22. TAYLOR CAVEN Taylor Caven. 51, screen writer; died March 23 in Hollywood after l a heart attack. He had worked at I various studios since 1929. Prominent among his screen- ' plays were "China Passage," "Should Husb.-mds Work," "Money to Burn,". "The Gay Vagabond'' and "Petticoat Politics.'' Mother, ^S, of Carlisle Jones, Warner Bros, flack, died in Hem- ingford, Neb., March 22. eaught on. pulted it. nationally and it wound up the top commercial song of the year with a total platter sale of 3,200,000 copies and sheet music sales reaching the 990>0Q0 mark. Evans and Livingston got $40,000 each from the song^r-^plus the break they had been waiting for. Success of "Each" made the I studio realize that the team could I be: used for more than routine stuff. They were given a situation to point up with melody in "The Palefacte,'' Bob iHppe Starrer: Out , of that assignment came I "Buttons and Bows" -r- ironically,' up vith a disappointing $5,309,659 ^ only Academy Award winner ] screen actor." net during '48 (period ended Aug. Paramount had for the year. I j,nd Mrs. Milton Kleinberg, ' son, Hollywood, March 22. Father Higher Pic Profits Continued from page 1 is a star contractee at Metro, Mr, and Mrs. James A. Mahon, daughter, Hollywood, -March 19. Father is real estate manager for Fox West Coast. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney James Paine, son, Brookline, Mass., March 12. Father is producer at WVOM in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Boris. C. Jesenof,: daughter, Brussels, March 17. Father Is with Columbia Pictures there. Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Jackson, son, in Chicago, March 7. Father Is booker at Billboard Attractions,: Chi. Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Corey, daughter, March 22; Father is a RALPH MUNGELLO Ralph Mungello; •former theatre owner in Pitt.sburgh, died March 13 in Los Angeles. His sons, Don and Tony, own and operate the Mary Ann theatre, Burgettstown, Pa., which was named for their late mother, who with their father op- erated picture houses in western Pennsylvania for years, 31), has already piled up' a solid $4,000,000 for the first half of '49. Total was revealed by J. Robert Rubin, M'-G's veepee and general counsel, during la.st week's stock- holders meet. Of that amount, $3,000,000 was earned in the sec- i ond quarter, when 60c. per share i.was accumulated against 49c. in I the comparative period of '48. I For the first three months;'the I company scratched the surface with 20c earnings against 26c. last year, j Against the $4,000,000 earned this MARRIAGES I Doris Selick to Samuel Mendel- ' son, St.'John, N. B., recently. The bride was on stail of Metro film ex- change therie. ! Mary Josephine Dowle to: Mast Newton, Montreal, March 12. He's is a: film editor. Mr. and Mrs. George Keane. 'ion, Philadelphia, March 21. Fat'.ier is an exec with RCA Victor Eecords in Camden, :N. J. Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Graff, daughter, New York, Feb. 28. Father is member of Johnny Long's vocal group, "Tlie Beach- MRS. ARTHUR L. VOUNG Mrs. Nettie E. Young; 81, retired vaude performer, died at her home in Emmons, N. Y.. March 22. ■ Mrs. Young and her late husr ■ band, Arthut' L. Young, had done 'a musical aet in vaude for years Variety mugg there, . Patricia Bevveirto Alex Jackson,i combers." Calgarv. Alia.: Feb. 25. Both are 1 Mr. apd Mrs. Charles Ch- |i<.ii. skaters with "Ice-Cycles Of 1949." daughter, Santa Moriica, Mar,;-i: 2:j, Selma Mary Kleinfeld to Arnold ^f^^hfr comedian-^^^^^^^ year for six months, Metro took in "fa^-^-ji^^A ^iastS' Jlnfr^i i ^S^ '^S^'Au Sene: $3,886,745 last year. , ^fp/s „e„ of RKO theatres O'Neill- 20th Tax Rise I ^ ™ , . ^"^^f ti, „ u Mr. and Mrs. Reginald N. H. *«m idx jvise I ojjyg Gough to Harold Holt, Beach son Ottawa IVarch 14. Sensational rise in business has [ London, March 24. He's a concert Father is publicity director of sta- also been scored by 20th-Fox for; manager. ' tion CKCO in that city, the first few months of '49. Film \ Ray Nelson to Lyle Wheeler, Co-' Mr. and Mrs. John Crosby, I rentals have improved 25% over vina, Cal,', March 27. Bride is cos-i daughter, New York, March 24. I the past year and 20th is expected j tume designer at 20th-Fox; he's | Father is N. Y. Herald Tribune { to shoiv that gain in spades when i studio's art director. I radio critic.