Variety (June 1952)

vmmt IVMKBtW « XV W^f on tf. Y Time* Hike i fiio «r*ice of the N, Y. • fiiI « e Sunday edition Sunday (22) T^ s S J 20c touched off a fr0 Sc of sauawks from newsdeal- series New York. Dealers in £ 3 Times Square • area and in tbe nfhpr sections of the city re- some /K aSept delivery of the * use ? Dealers’ beef was based on sheet ,wrMse in their percentage •fratfit According to Maj. Gen. tf.lfus Ochs Adler, general mana- JuUU if the Times, the paper had Erased thenewsdealers’ share }fom tc to Vte, which apparently is ^e S N S y. C Herald Trib, compeU- 1. nnner will boost its Sunday from 15c to 20c pent Sunday (29). Dakin As Collier’s Ed tjoeer Dakin is reported taking nver as editor of Collier’s sue- Sing the recently-resigned Lou Ttnmjel Dakin, onetime N. Y. S News and PM staffer, moved over as feature editor of the Woman's Home Companion, With Edward Anthony, publisher of with mags, preoccupied lately with Collier’s, Dakin reportedly- had more important duties at the Companion, which he filled suc- cessfully, and as reward, got the rollier’s editorship. „ _ Ken Purdy, editor- of # True, among others, had been impor- tantly sought for the Collier s post, hut turned the bid down. New ’Women Confidential’ nert in the series will be titled next in the series wil he titled "Women Confidential.’* It will be a roundup ‘ in the cus- tomary Lait-Mortimer fashion of females in politics, amusements, literature, teaching, propaganda, subversion, crime, vice, spying; on the campus, in prisons, shady pro- fessions, Government bureaus and state and municipal jobs.” Eire Bans Flynn Novel “Showdown,” recently published novel by screen thesp Errol Flynn, was banned in Ireland Monday (23) on grounds that it was “indecent and obscene.” . Tome concerns an Irish pilot who ferries a flock of filmites to the Far East, where they are ship- wrecked on a desolate shore. Blonde Sateve- ’Anne Frank* Draw “Anne Frank,” the diary of the adolescent girl who spent two years hiding out from the Nazis, Is proving the hottest item Double- day has published in some time. Book Find Club has made it its September selection and Omni- book will condense it the same month. First edition of 5,000 Was sold out in a couple of days, with another printing of 15,000 coming off the presses. Volume has also brought inquiries from four Broad- way producers, television shows and Hollywood. , New York Post starts .syndica- tion today (Wed.). Winters, “Hollywood’s Pop-Off,” in current (28) post. Carey Wilson appointed editor- in-chief of the Screen Producers Guild Journal, to be published monthly. The American Weekly will de- vote the entire issue of Aug. 31 to the film industry, according to editor Ernest V. Heyn. J. Bryan III, ex-Satevepost asso- ciate editor and staffer, exiting Government work to resume writ- ing but’ will continue on a consulta- tive basis. Pamela Hansford Johnson’s “Catherine Carter,” novel about ac- tors, with the London theatrical world of the 1880s as background, will be published by Knopf July 21. Leo Lerman’s “The Many Faces of ANTA,” John Crosby’s “TV Backstage,” and a 17-page spread on American designers, in the up- coming July issue of Mademoiselle. ' In heralding Lillian Boss’ “Hol- lywood Book,” for January ('53), Rinehart states that the current New Yorker series is a “condensed” version, and that it has been ex- panded for the $3.50 book publica- tion. Two staffers of. attorney-author Morris L. Ernst’s lawfirm, Harriet Pilpel and Theodora Zavin, have also caught the writing bug and their, book, “Your Marriage’ and the Law,” will be published this fall by Rinehart. “Chef’s Holiday,” humorous novel of a chef in France, by Idwal Jones, will be published in October by Longmans, Green. Author is now finishing historical novel of Victorian days in Mexico, “Galleon Port,” dealing with an exile ship bound for California. Bill Ornstein, Metro tradepress contact, sold several short stories, “The Pigeons,” to Kansas maga- zine; “Diamond in the Loaf,” to Prairie Schooner; “The Crime of Harlem Acres,” to New Story, and “The Three Mosquitoes” and “The Understanding Dr, Pink,” to Amer- ican Jewish Times Outlook. A publisher’s blurb on “A House Is Not a Home,” by Polly Adler, discloses that “the most famous madam of modern times . .•. now in her middle fifties ... is study- ing for a long-wanted college de- gree in California.” Rinehart, the publisher, accents that Miss Ad- ler's memoirs represent more an aspect of the '20s, ’30s and ’40s than anything else, Retail price will be $3.75, when published next January. Vanderbilt’s Newsletter Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., who had for years written a syndicated newspaper columh and a weekly magazine pillar, is launching a newsletter, which he will publish on a semi-monthly or weekly basis. nl 1 ? j will probably come from Chi during the politico conventions next month. Initial issues will be cuffo, but subsequent ones will car- ry a small price tag. Vanderbilt will run the publica- r.mP : “ om his new house-trailer, ihe Commodore.” son’s profits, aren’t composed of ex- cuses, and no manager worries about explanations when grosses are strong. There doesn't appear to be any basic reason for dire predictions for the summer, but the feeling seems to Ire general— even the stars’ agents sound only mildly bullish. . Stars’ Terms Terms for some of the principal touring names are as follows (sub- ject to occasional reduction in cases where special conditions prevail, or the management Is a. tough bar- gainer): Mae West, $3,500 a week, plus 50 % over the breakeven point; Joan Blondell, $2,500, plus 50%; Victor Jory and Alexis Smith, $2,- 500 total, plus 50%; June Havoc, $2,00Q, plus 50%; Jackie Cooper and Fran Warren, $2,000 total, plus 50%; Melvyn Douglas, $2,000 plus 50%; Roddy McDowall and Peggy Ann Garner, $1,500 total, plus 50%; Veronica Lake, $1,500, plus 50%; ZaSu Pitts, $1,100, plus 33V6%; Jeffrey Lynn, $1,000, plus 50%; Arthur Treacher, $1,000, plus 33V6% Edward Everett Horton, $1,000, plus 33V£% Eva Gabor, $1,000, plus 3%, and Carol Bruce, $3,200 for a musical package, plus 50%; Constance Bennett is report- edly getting $3,100 for her three- actor package, or $2,000 plus a per- centage personally at spots with a capacity of over $12,000, Principal reasons for the dearth of top stars is figured to, be the reluctance .of many of them to pass up possible television guest spots. And in. Hollywood, where an in- creased number of players are now freelance, there’s an apparent de- sire to stick close to the scene, in case a picture bid comes, along. Foreign Crosses Continued from page X , Socialite Booklerging Making the rounds of the plush bistros, pubs and clubs in New »^i? S j a i. new book, “Lese Majesty,” ^ cnbe< i to Norman Lockridge (said P e * a n om-de-plume), which ifrffu and n °t too kindly, Windsor 6 and duchess of p Polished by Boar’s Head vili’u an , for some reason the New Ttrou .ok stalls have a hands-off towards it, hence the book- overto g because of its cafe society s Dong Shadows’ ciant ? ar * e » eight-and-a-half foot Sirl i A tomerl y toured with fs thl ® ros --Harnura & Bailey has man in world,” titlrJi *?r n a ser i es °f mood poems haveSn*A ong Shadows,” which KL Ust been Published. Winec£ n ^ a sales re P f° r R< ? ma also his native El Paso, has »itor. n ROte w 1111 artisc * nd „ CHATTER. two-monfh S i‘./-* in *P er back from a throuirh nt -p iiteratf scouting - trip p.ifh^Europe for Prentice-Hall. *te Martin’s profile on .Shelley have been providing 40% or more of total income, and any serious sag would result In battered earn- ings statements for the companies. Hiked O’Seaa Take Cheers Metro Greatly increasing importance of the foreign market was mirrored this week in reports that Metro’s domestic billings currently are run ning at the $1,200,000 per week level, compared with $1,000,000 for foreign. Fact that the coin from abroad was almost equal with the domestic gross is significant in that M-G’s overall money for years had been on the basis of 75% from the home territory (U. S. and Can- ada) and 25% from overseas. Also seen as T meaningful is the boost in the take from Canada. Before the big dip in U. S. b.o., Canada represented 4% of the en- tire North American business. Now it’s up to 10%. Rise in non-U. S. percentage fig- ures reflect either a steadiness or upbeat in the foreign markets in the face of the downbeat at home. Oallook for Barns Continued from pace 1 also in the potency of most author names and the apparent quality of the scripts..For the occasional Jo- seph Kramm, Edward Caulfield, etc., there’s an overabundance of Joe Blows. As always, virtually al the new plays are announced as prospects for Broadway, but that ballyhoo no longer misleads even the local yokels. Of course, some of the shows may actually get to New York — it has happened, in rare instances, with favorable re suit. On the basis of reports from tbe few ?pots that are already operat- ing, business omens are dubious In each case there has apparently bten some special rationalization for the downbeat biz. But a sea- f ♦»++++»4++»++ 4 44»»++++44+++ 4 +»4444++4»444444 4444 SCULLY’S SCRAPBOOK ii ATtFt Stake Continued from page l 44-4 4 + 4 4444 ++++++ By Frank Scully + 444444444 4 4444-4 the ^ Bell System Is rigging up a special message centre to make certain that telephone calls and messages to the political biggies are delivered. If a person cannot be located by the usual paging fa- cilities, his name will be flashed on a special motion picture screen yia a teletypewriter arrangement. If that doesn’t do the trick, walkie- talkies will be used to reach him, AT&T is adding 5,000 miles of micro-relay and coaxial cable channels to its facilities by con- vention time in linking the 10 new cities, which will up Its total inter-, connected mileage to about 29,500. New cities include Miami, New Or- leans, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hous- ton, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, J Tulsa, Phoenix and Seattle, leav- ing Albuquerque the only TV city with no live facilities. In addition, radio stations or theatre circuits in Denver, Fresno and Portland, none of which yet has a TV, sta-; tion on the air, are planning spe- cial closed-circuit facilities for the public to view the conventions on specially-installed receivers. Illinois Bell engineers report the 1952 conventions will require 75% more telephone service than their predecessors. Besides the TV fa- cilities, some 1,000 telephones, 20 private switchboards, 30 telephoto and 215 radio channels " and 70 visual and audio TV channels will be used by the newspapers, wire services, radio and TV broad- casters. Globetrotters Continued from page t play in all dates, two referees, two coaches, two bus drivers, two equip- age men, a secretary, a press rep and six entertainers. Luggage comes to 54 pieces with six complete court .floors that are constantly being sent on ahead of the group to always keep the ground under their feet. They also carry their own baskets and glass backings. They can set up any- where from a beach to a bullfight arena. Variety acts include Jack Gor- don, unicyclist and juggler; Ray Wilbert does trickery with hoops; Bev and Les Ferris, acros; Sally Baudendistel, an acrobatic dancer, Basketballer Tony Lavelli doubles with the Celtics and does a com- mendable stint on the accordion. Hadda Brooks, who was With the show in London, was picked up on the strength of her warbliog for a top spot at the Bagatelle in Lon- don. Miss Brooks had been mar rred to one of the Globetrotters who died in 1934. Coincidentally Saperstein took over her contract I from MCA in '52 and added her to * the tour roster. Hollywood. ‘What^are you ..pitching for?” Make. Sfcuily mumbled,.as we emerged frorpItljA ABC;, news rooip in Bbhywucfc *We a KECA seminar on the Saucerian saga. “You phrased things with such measured‘discretion,’* continued Mme. Scully, “I-thdught you were grooming'yourself for Secretary of State in the next administration. Ike has a- lot to’learn, and in the field of politics he could learn more from you than you’ll ever learn from him.” By golly, she was right. On the California ballot I'had got myself (on merit, of course) placed to the right of Sen. William Kfiowland and right below Sen. Estes Kefauver. We all got elected with sweep- ing majorities. Of course, I ran ahead of these two characters ahd incidentally ahead of 13 others in my own particular field. Where they said nothing at length, I said nothing at all. Years ago I billed myself as the Left Wing Coolidge running for the lowest office in the lowest deliberating body in the world and just low enough to make It. I have never opened my mouth since and each election I get a bigger vote. It's beginning to teach me something about still waters and their impressive depth. This election a bunch ganged up to ride me out on a rail. They circularized all the voters and even got chaps like Bryan E. Foy, Ronald Reagan and Roy M. Brewer to shill for them and by inference against me. But you can’t beat a somebody with a lot of nobodies anymore now than you could before. Besides you can’t beat the guy whose name is. the first on the ballot and who can write “Incumbent” after his name. This is a swell combination anywhere and just about unbeatable in California. Hon. F, S. Incumbent Indeed the word “Incumbent” is such a surefire vote-getter in California that long before 1 became an incumbent I thought of going to Arizona, changing my name to Frank Scully Incumbent and return- ing to California like a certain general returning, to Luzon. I’ve often wondered why Dale Carnegie didn’t follow his “How To Win Friends and Influence People” with another volume entitled “How To Run For Office and Get Elected.” To such utilitarians as exem- plified by Carnegie, what’s the point of winning friends- unless you’re going to use them,, and what better use to make of them than as step- ladders so you can rise above them? At their expense, of course. It requires a singular skill to get people to vote for their own ultimate rooking and I realized long ago I didn’t have that skill. That’s why I now rim only for non-profit offices.. Though Percy Kilbride made a good point in arguing that actors are singularly innocent and vulnerable and for that reason ought to stay out of political or religious controversies, it sometimes happens that they are not good enough actors to make great success in the profes- sion and yet have learned how to think and act on their feet, which is the first requirement for success in the political field. I have seen several. who have made a Success in this direction. They go all the way from Charles Conrad, ^Hollywood Assemblyman, to John Lodge, Governor of Connecticut. ’ * On the other hand I’ve seen very good actors say goodbye to all that, plunge whole-heartedly into the political arena and -come out more mauled than a babe in a bullring, Two of these had a measure of success in politics and if the "republic were more grateful, some recog- nition of this would have come to them long ago. How To Lpse a Nest Err They were Albert Dekker, wfio gave up a $50,000 a year contract at Par to take on a $1,200 a year job as a California legislator. It was soothingly explained to him that the Job would only take two months out of every two years, but what wasn’t explained to him was that sometimes the sessions would be prolonged from 00 days to six months and, at the 'caprice of the governor, legislators could be called back for special sessions, thereby lousing up their old careers completely* Dekker gave Hollywood a most magnificent representation. He Was a brilliant legislator. He knew where everybody was buried and could sidestep the greased palm of a lobbyist with the skill of a Red Grange running in an open field. Each week he reported at length with high humor and amazing candor ±0 his constituents. He told all. But at home he had a wife and three children to support, and since they had been raised to a certain standard of living, it was pretty tough for them to drop from $50,000 a year to $1,200 a year. So when it came time for reelection, Albert Dekker declined with thanks. And did Hollywood reward him with a new contract at a higher figure? Au contraire. Even producers sharing his own particular political bias couldn’t even seem to find bit-parts for him. So he retreated to a previously unprepared position and grabbed off what parts he could in legit. He appeared this winter in the Broadway show that opened and closed so fast the management must have used folding chairs instead of folding money. More recently another carrying political scars on her well-formed body opened in a Broadway revival of the Katherine Dayton-George S. Kaufman political satire, “First Lady.” , That was Helen Gahagan Douglas. Her rise and fall carries for me a measure of sadness, be- cause I feel I was a bit responsible for her leap into the political arena. 1 showed how easy, it was to do back in 1938 and she was among those showpeople closest to me when I did it. But I was a writer, not an actor. That is to say, my career was not limited to 10 or 20 years. Neither was my earning power based on pulchritude, which has a way of fading despite„preservatives. * Footnote To Futility She plunged into a tough district and emerged successfully as the first congresswoman from Hollywood. At the time Clare Booth Luce was a darling of the opposition, and the two major national conven- tions were highlighted by keynote speeches delivered by these charm- ing gals. I thought Miss Douglas showed better delivery than Mrs. Luce, but both were several cuts above the foghorn characters who made life miserable for sound engineers. . But Mrs. Luce, being an author, could drop politics before politics dropped her, and go back to her writing without an appreciable loss in income. The same, however, wasn’t true of Mrs. Douglas. After a few terms in the lower house she decided to try for the U. S. Senate. She put on a brilliant campaign, but her backers didn’t have the coin of the opposition, and she was swamped in a flood of billboards and ended with more debt than a moth-eaten monarchy on either side of the Iron Curtain. Again Hollywood showed no sense of gratitude, No producer rushed to her with contracts. Her husband, too,, seemingly suffered and found that he had to retreat to Broadway to hold the family nest together. In the end they li&d to sell their home and both are hack now prac- tically to where they began far away and long ago. It may be deduced from this melancholy tale that idealism doesn’t pay. But that isn't the whole answer. It doesn’t pay troupers because like ballplayers their big earning years are very limited, and for one Ethel Barrymore or Satchel Paige I can name you 100 stars whose brilliance was as ephemeral and evanescent as a skyrocket. Atomic energy channeled into peaceful pursuits may change au this, but until that day comes, actors would do better to confine their political activi- ties to the secrecy of the polling booth* R.LF.