Variety (June 1950)

ish Tax Bill Continued from pace 3 ■ receive from radio arid tele- n S, n it was stated to the com- mittee hy representatives of these fndiistries that the reduction in the 5&nr W Avill result hi low- !ring prices, and thus stimulate at- finrlance at places of amusement.” Republicans charge that the bill a phoney tfhich fails to provide he promised tax reduction. G 0 P House Leader. Joseph W. Martin, Jr., pointed out that the corporations will pass on their in- creased taxes lo the public in the form of higher prices and that “the taxes simply remain in another ^A 1 Senator commented that the bill '“removes 1 he taxes . where the people can see them and puts them back again where they can’t see them, in the form of hidden taxes/' No Presidential Guarantee . There is no indication, of course, that the bill which gets through the House will closely resemble what- ever measure ..is finally approved by Qongress. Nor is there any guarantee that the President will not veto such a measure. Though^ the bi 1.1 gives t he> president new revenue to make up for that lost through reducing the excises, there is already a report that he does not approve several features of this measure arid will veto it if it reaches his desk in its present form. However, that is very un- likely. The Senate Finance Com- mittee is prepared to open its own hearings on the measure next week. One interesting point in the Ways and Means report was a semi- apology for reducing the 20% nick on nitery tabs to 15% instead of a lower level. Said the report: “It is believed that this is as great a reduction as should be made at tills .time, because of the need for revenue/’;,./.';: And in discussing the outlawing of collapsible corporations for tax purposes, the Ways and Means Committee made no y bones about the fact that it was out to kill off Hollywood’s single-picture corpora/ tions. The committee estimated that the loss of revenue provided by reducing the tax oh general ad- missions would -be $192,000,000 a year. It figured an additional loss of $9,000,000 via the. cut in the nightclub tax. Washington, June 27. Following -are : :ihe\pfov.isi<ms. of the veto tax bill'affecting the enter- ■{ailment business. Bill is ^xpected to be passed by the House of Rep- resentatives this week. GENERAL ADMISSIONS The 20% tax on admissions to theatres, sports, amusenient parks, circuses/swimming pools, dance halls, horse and dog race tracks, etc., would be reduced to 10%, with the following exceptions: The 20% bite on the override collected by a ticket speculator will remain unchanged as will the 50% “scalping tax”, due when an owner or manager of a theatre sells tickets for his own establishment at more than the price printed on the ticket Passes for entertainments*, now subject to a full admissions tax, would be exempt for the admissions tax. Reduced prices for entertain- ments, now generally' subject to the full admissions price, would re- quire the admissions tax to be paid only on thie amount of the reduced price. In the case of these passes and reduced prices, admissions to horse and dog tracks would still be subject to the full face value tax. No tax need be paid on admissions where all proceeds go to non-profit religious, educational and charitable institutions. Also exempt will be affairs whose profits go to community-supported symphony orches- tras, non-profit cooperative or community center motion picture the- atres, National Guard organizations, Reserve Officers’ organizations, and veterans’ organizations, police or fire departments or funds set up to benefit the members and dependents of police and firemen. “Edu- cational institutions” will include opera, such as New York’s Metropoli- tan. However, the above exemptions do not include admissions tax on any wrestling and boxing matches, carnivals, rodeos or circuses where professionals participate for money, or to athletic contests unless the proceeds go entirely to the benefit of an elementary or secondary school. Thus college football tickets will continue under the admis- sions tax. Admissions to non-profit county and state agricultural fairs and to concerts conducted by non-profit civic associations would also be ex- empt from the admissions tax. Where a governmental unit, such as a city, operates a swimming pool and other places for physical exercise, such establishments are ex- empted from the admissions tax. NIGHTCLUBS The 20% tax on check of a nightclub, roofgarden. etc., would be re- duced to 15%. Because some courts have interpreted the cabaret tax to cover ballrooms and dance halls where the sale of refreshments was purely incidental/ the bill provides that the cabaret tax shall/not apply in such cases. PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS I At present there is a 15% manufacturers’ excise on raw film and 23% on lenses, cameras and other photographic apparatus weighing | less-than four pounds. In both instances the bite would be.reduced to | 10% on items used by amateurs. However, where the equipment arid i apparatus is used for business purposes—such as. the production of motion pictures in Hollywood—-the excises are entirely eliminated. rn MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Hie 10% tax is reduced to 5%.. RADIO AND TELEVISION %be committee rejected a recommendation by President Truman that television receivers should be made, subject to the same 10%. excise now paid on radio sets, but continued the 10% levy on radios. How- ler, it eliminated this tax on receivers or parts sold to the U. S. Government. BOWLING ALLEYS AND BILLIARD TABLES ^P^’ators are now required to pay $20 per year per alley and per able. This would continue except that tables and alleys in veterans’ P°sts and lodges or in hospitals, where there is no charge for their llse > would be exempted from the impost. rp,- SLOT MACHINES < PA-'Sent $10-a-yeartaxon each coin-operated amusenient device io $io0 a year. , COIN-OPERATED DEVICES • J present occupational tax of $100 per machine would be increased ontinues except in the case of one-penny amusenient machines. They However, there is no exemption If it is a gambling NEW REVENUE PROVISIONS nin i 6 c .°^ a P s ible corporation* which category: includes the Hollywood i. 'Picture corporation, may no longer be set. up to avoid income Vhf P ay iP8 fhe cheaper capital gains tax. 80*' ' ; specia f tax treatment for Puerto Ricans shall not apply unless ahrf%!!r individual’s gross income is derived from the possession "tvoiiirf * s derived from a trade or business within the possession. It Thii - ' n °^ ap P^ where most of the income came from continental U. S. s section is apparently aimed at the “Duffy’s Tavern’’ deal as well -Pnmber of different types of businesses which created Puerto an resjdence for tax-avoidance purposes, tin-if, ■ u V t ^3 e small independent film producers and all of the. larger iiK-om 6 , ams are expected to feel the weight of the new, higher v../,,,' ne . taxes °n corporations. The corporate tax increase affects cor / • incomes over approximately $167,000 a year. . ^sement biz corporations will also be subject to the speed-up an( * lo the provision which would require Withholding on M()( x dividends. marriages Beverly Ewing to Max William Beed, Arlington, Va,, June 24. Bride is daughter of William Ew- ing, Warner flack in the Washing- ton office. Marilyn Cohen to Arnold Fine, Washington, June 25. He*s night- club editor of the Washington Daily News. Lois Corbet to Don Wilson, $anta Barbara, Cal., June 22. She’s a radio and film actress; he’s radio announcer * Phyllis N. Conn to Phil Grae, New York, June 24. Bride is a dancer; he’s an agent. Billie Webster to Corny Panico, Chicago, June 15. He’s trumpeter in Louis Basil’s Chicago theatre o.rch. Betty Rummer to Gil Parks, Chicago, June I3i He’s a saxo- phonist. Gladys Driver to Joe Masek, Chicago, June 21. He’s a Chi mu- sician. Virginia Corbet to Don Wilson, Santa Barbara, Cal., June 22. He’s announcer on the Jack Benny ra- dio stanza. Arvil Kellar to Eugene Smith, New York;, June 26. Bride is a legit actress; he’s, east member of “South Pacific (Majestic, N. Y.) Dorothy Margaret Linn to Fred Quimby Jr., in Los Angeles, Jurie 16. He/s the son of Metro’s car- toon topper. Helene Desehamps to Freddie Edwards, Montreal, June 24. He’s one of the Edwards Bros, aero trio. Mildred A. Clarke to Albert E. Foster, Boston, June 15. He’s sta- tion manager of WLAW, Lawrence, Mass. Luba Malina to Myron Sulzber- ger, Jr., New York, June 27. Bride is an actress, Edythe Bleetstein to Walter Bobrow, New York; June 26. Bride is a continuity editor at WPIX. Justine Johnston to Scott Cooley, New York, June 24. Both are legit i players. BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Bemie Armstrong, daughter, Pittsburgh, June 19. Father’s musical director - ^of KDKA; mother’s former dancing comedienne, Dorothy Bushey. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Baker, son, Hollywood, June 22. Mother is Frances Rafferty, actress. Mr, and Mrs. James McGlone, daughter, Chicago, June 23. Mother is former dancer and now midwest advertising rep of Variety. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Herman, son, San Antonio, recently. Father is a bandleader there. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Avis, daugh- ter, Hollywood, June 18. Father is an exec at Coast Visual Produc- tions. Mr. and Mrs. James D. Young, daughter, Hollywood, June 18. Father is an actor; mother is daughter of actor Joseph Cotten. Mr. and Mrs. Philip K. Scheuer, daughter, Hollywood, June 19. Father is assistant drama editor of L. A. Tidies. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Blair, son, Chicago, June 19. Father is ABC central division program manager. Mr. arid Mrs. Les Spears, son, Chicago, June 15. Father is a radio actor. Mr. and Mrs. Sunny Skylar, son, Hollywood, June 21. Father is songwriter and singer. Mr. and Mrs. Art Hellyer, son, Chicago, June 13. Father’s an announcer at station WCFL in that city. Mr, and Mrs. Richard R. Falk, daughter, Yonkers, June 20. Father is prez of Falk Associates, public relations firm. Mr, and Mrs. Charles Irving, daughter, New York, June 14. Mother is the former Hollis Brill, actress; father is a radio actor- announcer. Mr.- and Mrs; Paul Rittenhouse, daughter, New York, June 24. Father is with NBC’s radio sta- tions relations department; mother (Jerry Bicking) was formerly with [the network’s traffic department. and assisted the, projectionist. He was elected this year as pres- ident of the Cinema Veterans of Great Britain, in recognition of long connection* with the cinema industry*. HOWARD O. HIATT Howard O. Hiatt, 43, WHAS or- ganist and staff musician, was in- jured fatally in an automobile ac- cident June 24* in Louisville, Ky. A native of Peoria, ill, Hiatt had worked for radio station WABP in his home town before joining the WHAS staff in March, 1945. He also played nightclub* engagements under the name of Archie Howard, and did electric organ specialties* Wife, daughter, mother and brother survive. JACK DEAN John . Wooster Dean, ‘75, retired actor. \yho had been known profes- sionally as Jack Dean, died in New York June 23.: He was former leading man arid husband of Fan- nie Ward, actress* who survives. Dean had appeared with Miss Ward in a number of productions, mostly under the Charles Frohman aegis, before and after their mar- riage in 1910. Among them Was “Madam President” in which they appeared on Broadway in 1914. GORDON E. GREENE Gordon E. Greene, 46, veteran Minneapolis theatre man, died in that. city last week. When a youth he started with the Harry Sherman-Jack Elliott company, then distributing 4 -Birth of a Nation/’ As a house manager, he managed the Radio City, State and other Minneapolis houses, the St. Paul Paramount and other theatres. He also was one of the founders of the Northwest Variety club. EDWARD PIERRE LOVING Edward Pierre Loving, 56, Au- thor-newspaperman, died in Wash- ington, June 26 after a heart at- tack! At the time of his death* Lov- ing, who was co-editor with Frank Shay of “Fifty Contemporary One- Act Plays,” was a correspondent in the Washington Bureau of the In- ternational News Service, A wife, son and stepdaughter survive. Pitt Church Continued from page 1 in similar hot water. Couple of summers ago, religions .organiza- tions were up in arms over certain specialties which were inserted in the productions and last year, too, protests over certain productions got plenty of space in the news* papers. The “Kate” fuss comes at an -in- i'opportune'time*, too,'just as CLOA I is about to start construction on , its own $1/500,000 amphitheatre* with a third of the money coming ' from the city itself and the site ' being on donated city property. JANE COWL Jane Cowl, 64, considered the greatest Juliet in the history of American theatre, died June 22 at. Santa Monica hospital, two weeks after she had undergone ah op- eration in a fruitless, effort to al- leviate a .cancer condition. Acknowledged as one of the top actresses during her 47-year ca- reer* Miss Cowl had been living in Hollywood for more than a year. She had returned to the Coast to make films after 32 years' away from the cameras. Resump- tion of her filih work reunited, her with her lifelong friend Jane Mur- fin (Crisp), with whom, she wrote such plays as “Smilin’ x Through,” “Lilac Time,” “Daybreak*’ and “In- formation . Please. ” Mrs. Crisp was at her bedside when she died. Miss Cowl made her debut four days before her 18th birthday in “Sweet Kitty Bellairs” at the B'e- lasco. theatre in New York. It was her only minor role, for her performance won her the right to billing in “The Music Master,” David Warfield starrer, which she essayed the following year. Suc- cessive performances included ‘‘The Rose of the Rancho,” “A Grand Army Man,” ”Is Matrimony a Failure?” “The Upstart” and “The Gamblers” and then scored a smashing success in “Within the Law” in 1912. Her performance as Mary Turner still is regarded as her greatest popular role. It was shortly after this tri- umph that she turned to play writ- ing with Jane Murfin* She starred in “Lilac: Time,” their first effort and it ran for a year but their second play, “Information, Please,” in which Miss Cowl also starred, was not as successful. Their great hit, “Smilin’ Through.” was written shortly after the end of the first World War and the play with Miss Cowl starred, ran for almost three years. It was after this success-that Miss Cowl turned her attention to the more classical roles in the thea- tre. She appeared in the title role in “Malvaloca.” before creating the Juliet for which she is famed. The play ran for 856 performances, es- tablishing a lasting record ^for Shakespearean productions in this country. After “Juliet,” she starred iii “Pelleas and Melisaride” and /‘Antony and Cleopatra,” then created the role of Anna in “The Depths,” in which she made her British debut in 1926 after playing it fqr almost two years in the U. S. Other plays in which she ap- peared, in New York and on the road, included “The Road to Rome,” “The Jealous Moon” (which she co-authored with Theo- dore Charles), “Paolo and Fran- cesca,” “Jenny,” “Twelfth Night,” “Art and Mrs. Bottle,” “Camille,” “The Shining Hour,” “Rain From Heaven,” “Romance,” “First Lady,” “Old Acquaintance,” “Madame X” and many others. She made her film briw in 1917 in “The Spreading Dawn,” but re- mained away from the medium un- til 1949 when she was persuaded to go to Hollywood to appear in “Once More My Darling.” She had made others since, recently completing “A Story of Divorce,” Bette Davis starrer, at RKO. Her play-writing activities also I included co-authorship of “Hervey ' House” with Reginald Lawrence. MivSs Cowl was the widow of Adolph Klauber, longtime drama critic of the New York Times. She leaves, po near relatives. _ Michael coakley Michael Coakley, 83, retired vaude performer who had spent] chiles M. (Doc) Wylie, 63, mo 1 e. tiian half of, a century lI J ■ sound engineer at Metro for 23 show business, died June_22 at; years, died June 16 in his studio J} 1S home in. Freeport, N. Y. .He! office following a heart attack. lie had been invalided for some time. ■ leaves wife, a son and two daugh- prior to his death. ters. Coakley, who. originally began stage career in minstrels diverted Mrs. Bertha Eleanor McGowan to vaudeville when minstrelsy had Sarg, 76, widow of Tony Sarg, | seemingly run its cycle. For a artist and founder of the marion- time he was teamed in the comedy: e tte theatre in this country, died act of Coakley and Dunleavy and j June 26 at her home in Cincinnati, after that had been partnered with j • • - Hex Van.- ! Sidney Phllllppy, 54, asst, elec- Survived by wife, Eileen Coak- t L ician of the Balaban & Katz cir- ley. who had occasionally appeared | cuit, died in Chicago, June 20. Hi in her husband’s act. s was with circuit 25 years. Sur . ~! vived by wife and two daughters. j JOHN R. POOLE ' ■ " I John R. Poole, 68, one of Britain’s Archie F. Bangert, 45, forme film pioneers, died in Edinburgh treasurer of Loew’s Ohio an< : June 10. - : Broad theatres in Columbus die< i Poole’s myriorama was founded , at 9v-. Survived b: in 1837 and was, until 1929, a fea- . wile and mother, ture of festive season entertain- j ■ '." „ ,, ! rnient in Edinburgh and other cities, t William Burton Wakefield, 6n, a; He first showed; films in 1895 at j exec of Coast Records, died Jun j the Albert Hall, Sheffield. He was ; 17 at his Hollywood home. Daugt on holiday from school at the time ; ter and three sons survive. CURTIS E. LITTLE Curtis E. Little, 69, advance man for Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, died in a Hollywood hospital June .22 after a lengthy illness. His wife, Clara, survives. 4 1IARRY MILTON MACRAE Harry Milton MacRae, 75, retired set maker at Universal Studios, died June 19 in Los Angeles. Wife* two daughters and a son survive. JACK ELLIS Jack Ellis, 50, managing director of Carlton and Grafton 'cinemas, Dublin, died 'in Dublin, June 15. Survived by wife and a brother. MRS. GRACE B. JENKS Mrs.*Grace B. Jenks, 78, former star equestrienne with Ringling Bros, and other circuses, died in Saginaw, Mich., last week. Mrs. Sally Mae Kelly, 74, died in Washington June 23. She was the widow of the late Andrew Kelly, former Washington drama critic and one time Variety mugg in D.C. Pallbearers consisted of local showmen and Variety Club members.