Variety (March 1952)

MISCELLANY Wednesday, March 5 , 1952 Albany, March 4. * Liberalization of New York State’s blue laws on entertainment and sports is provided in % bill in- troduced last week by the : rules committee of the Senate and. As- sembly to carry out recommenda- tions made by the Joint Legislative Committee on Sabbath Law. in a 35-page report. Inasmuch as Gov- ernor > Dewey, in his annual mes- sage last January, urged appoint- ment of such a committee and the submission by it of an interim re- port to remove from the law imme- diately “the more serious incon- sistencies,” passage of the measure is considered certai B’nai B’rith Honors Jessel as ‘Man of Year’ Hollywood, March 4 . Not- only Hollywood’s, .noted names but biggies from Cjilg^ia’s business and cultural, world Will turn out Sunday night tp ' see George Jessel acclaimed as “Man of the Year” by the Beverly Hills B’nai B’rith, With Jack Benny as toastmaster, and Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye; i Danny Thomas, Bob Hopei GrouchO Marx, GeOrge Burns, and Grade Allen as entertainers, Jessel will be honored for. his contributions to Leh Rogers The committee, headed by As- ipatriotic and charitable campaigns; semblyman Malcolm - Wilson, of \ f or all races and creeds. Yonkers, recommended repeal of Section 2152, which forbids the per- formance -of most entertainments and sports on the first day of the week. The committee also recomme nd- ed repeal of Section 2152-A, add- in 1932 to permit concert and re- cital dances, and; Section 2153, .added in 1919 to permit motion pic- tures and legitimate theatre pro- ductions after 2 p. m.* all on a local option basis. New Section In their plaice, the committee suggested,. and the bill proposes, (Continued on page 76) Palace in the Spring: Hutton Buttoned, Then Lillie; Lauritz’s Low Bow The Palace, N. Y., two-a-day prospects look very bright as of early April when the house has Betty Hutton ... booked for four weeks starting at any point be- tween the 8th and 12th, with Bea- trice Lillie following around May 10. House booker Danny Friendly has pacted Olsen & Johnson, Jose Greco and Jackie Miles for March 11, with Jtwo more acts to be booked, while no acts are set as yet. for the March 25 b(ll. Bun of the latter layout will be dictated by the amount of rest and rehearsal that will be needed by Miss Hutton after she comes back from Korea where she’s currently entertaining troops under USO- Camp Shows auspices. Meanwhile, there are few com- plaints from RKO on the $24,350 gross racked up by the first week (11 shows) of the Lauritz Melchior layout. It’s below expectations and the. house has even dropped a few quid with that t bill, but with the Saturday , (1) snowstorm and the opening days of Lent, the ultimate take wasn’t too bad. The* Betty Hutton bill may have an evening preem. However, should the house be forced to open that bill on Saturday, it’s likely that the initial, show will be held on a matinee. Miss Hutton confirmed the book- ing last week via cable, to Abe Lastfogel, William Morris Agency general manager. Negotiations had been started prior to her departure on her troop entertaining junket Before that jaunt, her last persona appearance had been at the Pal- ladium, London. Miss Lillie’s date Was set by Charles V. Yates. Supporting tal- ent on either lineup hasn’t been pacted -as yet. jvvwj Hollywood, March 4 . Libel and slander suit for $1,000,- OOQ Bled against Mrs. Lola Rogers by Mairtin Gosch has been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum and dropped from the calendar* Gosch charged personal and pro- fessional injury by Mrs. Rogers iri a radio debate on “Town Hall’* in 1947 when she stated; that “Gentle- man From Athens/' a play he was about to produce at that time, fbl- lowed the Communist Party line. “Athens” author Emmett Lavery, in a similar suit last, year, collected $30,000. Other defendants include the estate* of the late Bam Wood, James K. McGuinness, Morrie Rep- kind, Robert Arthur arid Ayn Rand. For Riled Kentucky Is Told Lexington, Ky.» March 4. A concert audience of 7,000 here last week pulled in the Wel- come mat fbr the Drama Quartet, and told the troupe hot to come knocking at the door with its “Don JUan in Hell” presentation. The Quartet wasn't going to knock anyway, since it backed out of a contract to appear here, the audience was informed by a spokes- man for the association that spon- sors the concepts; Cancellation came after the Quartet’s business reps had signed a contract to appear here, but twice had postponed the appearance. R.D. McIntyre, chairman of the local tal- ent committee, read to the, audi- ence excerpts of a letter from Paul Gregory, president, of Gregory As- sociates, Inc., Hollywood: “I am pot prepared now to sign a contract or to give you a re- turn engagement date, if the Drama Quartet is going tp be used as a headliner to sell all the worn- out artists and attractions that the major New York booking offices have sold you, by the mere fact that they are running'in affiliation with you. If you want tp offer the Drama Quartet as a special attrac- tion, fine; blit we will not, under any circumstances, be one in a series.”* John L. Carter, president of the local association, said his group was not interested in booking the Quar- tet next year. The Quartet origi- nally was booked here Oct. 5, but because of “picture commitments,” McIntyre said, the date was ad- vanced' to Nov, 26. Thanksgiving holidays interfered with the Nov. 26 date, since the U. of Kentucky Coliseum is used fpr the presenta- tions, and the university was closed for the holiday. It was then that the arrangement hit the skids. The Quartet went to New York for a brief stands but proved so success- ful that its stay was extended. The (Continued on page 78) Massey Sees Brother Sworn in as Gov.-Genl Toronto, March 4. With, his brother, Hon. Vincent Massey, sworn in as Canada's first native-born Governor-Gen- eral, Raymond Massey, stage and screen, star, was up for the event, accompanied by his wife, Both had Senate gallery seats. 3/5 To Street Enclosed find check for $ Please send VARIETY for ?wo Veto • •••••• • • • • « O * (Please Print Nam*> Zone..., State*.... Regular Subscription Rafts Out Year—$ 10.00 Two Ytars—$ 18.00 Canada and Foreign —$1 Additional par Year 154 West 4 M» Street Inc* Now York U, N. Y. D.C. Probers Feel on Reds R^iort JVVVJ Composite value of amusement shares listed on the N. Y. Stock Exr change climbed to $1,238,282,473 during January, according to fig- ures released by the Big. Board this week. Total represented a jump of $39,835,683 over the year-end tally of $1,198,446,790 and was well above'the 1951 high attained in September, Amount at that time came to $1,225,273,711. Average price of amusement stocks showed a corresponding im- provement. As of Jan. 31 the fig- ure wars $20.36, compared to $19.59 on Dec. 31. Per-share value, how- ever, fell far w short of the $21.13 reached on April 29, 1950* But that period, observers point out, was prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. Healthy start of amusement shares in 1952 is in line with a general upbeat in most other in- dustries. Average market price of all stocks listed on the Exchange was $42.48 at January's end. This compared with $41.85 at the close of December, and was the highest Registered since Aug. 31, 1946, When the average price was $42.79. A good portion of the increase is believed to stem from the steady upswing of television stocks such as Motorola arid Zenith. Colum- bia. Broadcasting also made not- able advances. Aggregate market value of amusement bonds showed similar gains in January. They totalled $6,873,893 as against the Dec. 31 figure of $6,676,470. Belated Nod to Fremont For-Will Rogers Memorial Flint, Mich. Editor , Variety: I am nearly 17 years too late in sending in this little story, but late as_ it is, I want to tell you the cir- cumstances of the establishment of the very first Will Rogers Memorial Fund. My admiration for Will Rogers dates from his vaudeville days and from the time when, as a “Follies” star, other performers used to loiter in the* wings during his act to catch the daily changes in his material. I had a more personal ^contact with Wiley Post, as we were both members of the Avia- tion Club, the QB’s, and I had served as starter for his airplane, the Winnie May, when he landed at the airport in Milwaukee in 1929 or 1930, during the Ford Re- liability Tour. The tragic crash in Alaska on Aug, 15, 1935, that took their lives was, accordingly, much more to me than the death of two headline personalities, I was manager at. that time of two theatres in Fremont, Ohio, for Mort Shea, and we had been run- ning a money giveaway one night a week. The main office was not too sure of its legality and. it had been decided to. discontinue it. However, we had accumulated a giveaway fund 'of about $300,. and we knew that our patrons would be very unhappy if we discontinued th'ig plan abruptly rind retained the money. On Wednesday, Aug, 21, 1935, We found winners for all but $25 and then with the unanimous approval of the audience, we gave that $25 f as the nucleus of a Will Rogers Memorial Fund to the Me- morial Hospital in Fremont, At the time that Fund was established the bodies of Rogers and Post had not yet been brought back from Alaska. / Both papers in Fremont carried a story about it, and there was ah : item in the Toledo Blade. This little city of Fremont, Ohio; would rate- recognition of Jthe fact that the idea for the Will Rogers (Continued on page 69) Grand Jury to Decide On Bachman Citation Washington, March 4 , „ Federal Grand Jury here will re- ceived Sidney Buchman contempt- of-Congress. case latter part of this week and may decide immediately whether to find a true bill of in- dictment against him. Case is to be presented by Deputy U, S. At- torney William Hitz, who success- fully prosecuted the Hollywood “Unfriendly l6 > * on the same cita- tion* Buchman failed to show up in answer tp a subpoena calling him to testify here before the House Un-American Activities Committee. As a result, the House of Represen- tatives voted Feb. 5 to cite him for contempt. Maximum penalty faced by the Hollywood producer is a year's im- prisonment and $1,000 fine. For Her Idea to Polish Off the Iron Curtain The Washington, March 4. Communist Czech radio teed off last week on a proposal of screen star Joan; Fontaine that American women should write letters to Iron Curtain Europe to bring about better relations and understanding, Radio Prague t sneered in a broadcast for home consumption; “A rieW panacea for the improve- ment of international relations has been invented in the United States. Unbelievable, but there you are. The inventor is none other than the Hollywood star, Joan Fontaine, who put her best thinking cap on her pretty head and, lo and be- hold, Hollywood's God himself, in- spired her with the great idea: Tf only half of America’s 7ff,000,- 000 women wrote messages of love and friendship to European men, international relations would. be bound to improve.’ “The answers from. Europe might prove very enlightening for Ameri- c *' women, especially , if they *set out European views on Marshall aid, the Atlantic Pact, and so forth. Even those people in the United States who still do not know, would realize that the Yanks are hated by the people of Democratic (Communist) Europe.” Washington, March 4. Rep. Francis Walter (D., Pa ), who ranks second only to chairman John $. Wood, on the House Un- American Activities Committee, said yesterday (Mon.) that he felt the attack on th§ film industry, in the committee’s annual report, "went pretty far.*' “I believe the film industry has* tried toi clean house! It is clearly proven that the industry has made real strides airing these lines, arid it should be given some credit tor this effort,” commented the legis- lator*. “Most of the evidence mentioned in the report occurred! quite a while ago. For instance, not all the 300 hames, of Hollywood Com- munists refer to those now in tlie party. Many were members ; a dec- ade or more* ago. Quite jl few withdrew frdm the Commuhist movement years ’ back.” ‘ Similar observations have been made by Rep. Morgan M. Moulder (D.,M<ri), also a member of the Houses investigating committee. Further, reports in circulation here are that even Chairman Wood believes Hollywood was the victim of an injustice in the committee’s report. The indication is that the com- mittee originally was split on its treatment of Hollywood in its an- nual summary, With some members favoring a severe condemnation of the film colony and others leaning toward ' favorable report. What was finally decided upon rep- resented a compromise, it was said. Iri any event* indications are that the committee in the near future probably will do some backtracking via another report, tp supplement the original or an announced clari- fication of the original. Either way; it’s figured, the Hollywood criticism could be substantially toned down. Some tiriie ago Wood declared on the record that the Coast studios had taken full measures to guard against Communists in key posi- tions and reportedly told associates (Continued on page 24) CANTOR’S $11,340,000 ONE-SHOrFOR UJA Eddie Cantor revealed in a fast" in-and-out trip to New York over the weekend that he received pledges of $11,340,000 for the United Jewish Appeal in a single luncheon at the Hotel Saxony in Miami Beach last week. Cantor left for Houston for another UJA luncheon Tuesday (4), prior to returning to the Coast for his next stanza on NBC-TV’s “Colgate Com- edy Hour” March 16. Comedian will do four more shows for Colgate on a one-a-month schedule for the rest of the season, He scotched reports that he’s seek- ing an out from his contract with NBC and Colgate In order to do a show for Welch’s Grape Juice’s new wine subsid, in which he has a 40% stock interest. Caritor coined the slogan, “Health,; Welch arid Happiness.” Hollywood scripte- Ken Englund, who -went on Max Liebman’s pay- roll for a $25*000 fee to write a Sid Caesar-Imogene Coca film package, is about ready to turn in his story to the. three. The NBC-TV “Show of Shows” threesome plan a film version of the Saturday night TV series as a package, sell- ing the stars, story and Liebman’s production services as a unit. Abe Lastfogel (William Morris) is han- dlings it. *■’ Englund has participated in simi- lar packages with Bert Friedlob-J. Arthur; Warrier-William Marshall. Under the Liebman-Caesar-Coca deal there is also a $10,000 bonus arrangement on film overage* To C. of C. Proposal On Show Biz Red Blacklist Washington, March 4: Recommendation by the. U. S. Chamber of Commerce that motion pictures* television, radio and other branches of entertainment black- list all Communists, drew an angry retort from Allen Rivkin, presi- dent of the Motion Picture indus- try Council, who pointed out that such action would conflict with the the California state labor laws. Rivkin explained that the only way to prevent such conflict would be for Congress to outlaw the Com- munist Party as a recognized po- litical party in this country. C. of C. stand was taken in a report called “Communism: Where Do We Stand Today?’’. If charged persons in the. entertainment arid informational media bring both prestige and funds to the Reds, and hence should be kept out of those fields. Report comments favorably on Red Channels* asserting that the publication serves a helpful purpose, although it should not be the unsubstantiated reason for firings* “These people ought to know, commented Rivkin; who is work- ing on a MetRo script here, “that the California State labor law says no man 'may be dehied employment for his political affiliations arid that, once he is hired, he can’t be fired for political, connections. “If Congress • and organizations such as the U. S. Chamber of Com- merce want the Communist party treated as a conspiracy, they must have it legally outlawed, so that it has no status as a recognized political party. “It should also be made clear that motion pictures is the only in- dustry .which* since 1946, has patrolled itself to eliminate Com- munist .influences.. Whenever Com- munists* have been pointed out to us, we have gotten rid of them al- though this has cost the industry millions of dollars.” According to the C. of C., “many, have been cleaned out of radi but. not ail* known Communists arid motion pictures*”