Variety (December 1952)

December 31, 1952 OBITUARIES Pfi&nZTr Fiotcher Henderson, 54, vet Ne- * i it? composer-arranger-band- 'Ser diod inNew York Dee. 29. Details in Music S ection. LYN HARDING Lyn Harding, 85, veteran British actor, died Dec. 26 in London For half of the 51 years that Harding “‘David Llewellyn Harding) was on the stage he acted in Shake- spearean plays. He worked under the management of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, whose company he joined in 1903» Harding made many appear- ances in the U. S. beginning in ion He also acted in Hollywood films On the U. S. stage he ap- peared in “Macbeth” and “Ou« of the Sea,” among others. In Lon- don he played such roles as Bill Sikes in “Oliver Twist ” Captain Hook in “Peter Pan,” Svengali in “Trilby.” Among the films in which he ap- peared were “Mutiny on the Elsi- nore,” “The Man Who Lived Again,” “The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes” and “The Constant Nvmph ” His last stage part was in a revival of “Chu Chin Chow” in London in 1941. aloysius b. Griffith Aloysius B. Griffith, 92, retired vandevillian and employee of the U. S. Patent Office, died in Wash- ington Dec. 25. Known in vaude as "Griffo,” he specialized in imita- tions and also did a ventriloquial turn and tap dailcing. As recently as 1941, he was connected with the Walt Disney studio in Hollywood,'" producing sound effects for Disney characters. Griffith, who retired from Govern- ment service about 20 years ago, was given an annual leave of absence from the Patent Office so that he could do stage work. His hobby was collecting' old theatrical programs, of which he had been more than 2,000, includ- ing that of Ford’s Theatre in Wash- ington the night President Lincoln was assassinated. JAMES H. (DINTY) MOORE James H. (Dinty) Moore, 83, w.k. in show biz via his Dinty Moore’s Restaurant (N, Y.) in the legit area, died Dec. 25 in New York. Moore ran the restaurant with the assistance of his wife, Anna, for 38 years. It’s unde- cided yet who’ll take. over the management. Moore opened his first restau- rant in 1908 at Broadway ind 37th St and moved, into his present lo- cation on West 46th St. in 1912. Spot is a fave show biz landmark. Cartoonist George McManus tagged him Dinty and used a car- toon character by that name in his “Bringing Up Father.” Moore adopted the name soon after. Surviving in addition to. his wife are a son and three daughters. JAMES WALTHOUR, SR. James Walthour, . Sr.,* 65, vaude cyclist, died Dec. 20 4n New York. He appeared in an act tagged "Motor Madness” frith George Kraemer and Blanche Sloan around . World War 1. He later toured with Walthour & the Princeton Sisters (Florence, his wife, and Marvel McGovern, wife of Tom (IATSE) McGovern. The act played a series of musicals at the Hippodrome, • x, re tired from show biz »the early 1930s to open a tavern 2?th his brother, the late Bobby walthour, a foremost six-day bike nder. Surviving are three brothers and a ®°n, Jimmy, former national cycling champion and six-day bike rider. \ PAUL BREISACH Paul Breisach, 56, permanent conductor of the San Francisco upera Assn, and former conductor the Metropolitan Opera Co., died Dec. 26 in New York. Breisach debuted in the U. S. in 1940 con- ducting "Aida” for the Chicago Oper a Co. He joined the staff a ff t the following year. „.l t n e , r leaving the Met in 1946, he r® 11 } to Frisco Opera. In 1947 he onducted the American premiere nar7 enj c al ? ln Britten’s Opera, “The «ape ° f Lucretia,” at the Ziegfeld ? e f a ^ e , N. Y. He also had con- On C f?r a d r 0r iL the Charles Wagner imfM C xV the Miami °P era Guild n ?J, he N ew York City Opera Co. "he and a son survive. A rn ^?NOLD ENTWISLE nadian ?^y isle - 58 » veteran Ca- ton or ’ d * ed tn Edmon* •Ul ri“', 23 ', He was a son ■Entwish* m '? lsle> founder ot the theatre G K- iai ?’ and had been in namea £‘L S1 ? CC 1918 ‘ He was ‘ T vvisor fc 'i l ,? e w a l ™ ana ger and su- oi Lntwisle Theatres last —— w w — no ouli tary. He was president of the Ed- monton Theatre Assn., and a direc- tor t>f the Alberta ^heatre Assn. Surviving are his wife, his fath- er, two sisters, and a brother, Clar- ence, who has been active with the chain since 1920 and is a di- rector. BERNARDINO MOLINARI Bernardino Molinari, 72, Italian composer-conductor, died Dec. 25 in Rome. Molinari achieved prom- inence in 1912 when Arturo Tosca- nini engaged him to perform at the Colon Opera House, Buenos Aires. He came to the U. S. in 1928 as guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and in the ’30s conducted the Philadelphia and San Francisco Orchestras as well as a series of concerts for the NBC Symphony. Molinari led the Palestine Sym- phony in 1947 and 1948 and in the latter year also conducted at the fall symphony season at La Scala, Milan. JACOB E. TARSCHES Jacob “ E. Tarsches, 62, former partner of the late Christopher kBuckley in the first two Albany theatres operated by the latter, died in Albany Dec. 23. Tarsches and Buckley operated the Clinton Square and Leland in 1922. After leaving the theatre business, he de- veloped as a crack billiard player and toured the country. In recent years he had run a newsstand in the Ritz Theatre Building, Albany. Wife, daughter, three sisters and a brother survive. BEN JACKSEN Ben Jacksen, 62, motion picture pioneer, died of a heart attack Dec. 25 in Hollywood. An early associate of William Fox, he became studio and production manager on the old Fox lot when it was situated as Sunset and^Western in 1921. Six years later he became head of the studio’s music department and remained at that post until 1932. He was also an executive of Fox Movietone. His wife and son survive. WILLIAM H. CAPRON William H. Capron, 81, violinist- orch leader, died Dec. 26 in Need- ham, Mass. He was a violinist in the Colonial Theatre, Boston, and the Old Boston Museum orch, and in 1905 was concertmaster of the Boston Festival Orchestra. From 1905 to 1921 he was musical di- rect#? of the Hollis Theatre and from 1921 to 1930 of the Tremont Theatre. A son and a daughter survive. WILLIAM C. SMALLEY- William C. Smalley, 63, presi- dent of Smalley Theatres, died in Cooperstown, N.Y., Dec. 28. He opened his first pic house in Mount Upt 9 n, N.Y., doubling as a projec- tionist. Later he took over a thea- tre' in Cooperstown, where he es- tablished headquarters in 1921. He owned 12 houses at the time of death. His wife, Hazel, treasurer of the circuit, survives. CARSON F. PETERSON Carson F. Peterson, 30, Toledo nitery entertainer, who had been booked foe the Latin Quarter, New York, when he became ill last May, died Dec.. 23 in Kingsbridge Vet- erans Hospital, New York. He studied with the American Theatre Wing and had appeared on TV. • His mother and two sisters sur- vive. IRVING COOPER Irving Cooper, 74, veteran thea- trical agent, died Dec. 23 in New York. At the turn of the century he was a member of a vaude act, Empire City Quartet. He also had a part in the financing of early pix. For the past 15 years he had been in the photo engraving biz. His wife, two sons and a daugh- ter survive. SIDNEY D. WEISBAUM Sidney D. Weisbaum, 65, veteran exhibitor and motion picture dis- tributor, died Dec. 25, in Hanford, Cal. He was president of Sunny- Mount Theatres, Inc., operating film houses in the San Francisco peninsula area. Surviving are his wife, daughter and mother. BIRGER W. PETERSON Birger W. Peterson, 50, former pianist with the Rudy Vallee orch, died Dec. 19 in Bangor, Me. He also played organ in various thea- tres in Portland, Me. Surviving are a son and two daughters. KATHERINE ANDERSON Katherine Anderson, eastern educationa 1 rep for Music Publish- Gor P- (Warner Bros. York 0 firrns ’ died Dec * 22 in New MPwn A nde rson had been witn u since 1942. She previously nad been in the education denart- "mwnnsrts: Schimer. FRANK C. (BUSTER) BROWN Frank C. (Buster) Brown, 74, stagehand at the Municipal Thea- 5? r ? st . Park playhouse and 5. Louis theatres since 1901, died Dec. 19 in St. Louis. He was °ne of old est members of the St. Louis Theatrical Brotherhood, Local 6. His wife and daughter survive. FRANK TRESSELT Frank Tresselt, 57, head of 20th- Fox s music legal department, died Dec. 28 in Los Angeles. Tresselt had been with the studio’s musical department for the last 24 years. Before going to Hollywood, Tres- selt was associated with Florenz Ziegfeld as musical assistant. JACK KELLY . Jack Kelly, 54, retired New York ticket broker and father of actress Nancy Kelly and actor Jack Kelly, died of a heart attack Dec. 28 in Burbank, Cal. Wife, another son, and a daugh- ter survive. Miss Kelly currently in Chicago with “Country Girl.” JAMES ROTH James Roth, RKO Theatres’ operating department executive, died Dec; 28 in Mineola, N.Y. He had been with RKO Theatres since 1929. Surviving are his wife, a son and a daughter. LE ROY MILLER LeRoy Miller, 39, disk jockey or WFIL, Philadelphia, died Dec. 21 in Lancaster. He had been with WFIL for the last 15 years. Be- fore coming to Philly he had beer with radio stations in Williamsport and Allentown, Pa., after breaking in at WKJC, Lancaster. Wife and two children survive. AARON MATHIAS Aaron Mathias, former manager of the Ritz and Broadway Theatres, Newburgh, N. Y., died Dec. 23 in Newburgh. He also had been assistant manager of the Academy of Music there. Wife and a sister survive. ANGIE LITZ Angie Litz, 44, nitery comedian, died of a heart attack Dec. 26 in Oklahoma City. Litz was stricken as he pre- pared to lead a Christmas night show at the Jamboree Club there. BERT GATES Bert Gates, 69, early film pion- eer, died in Aberdeen, Scotland, Dec. 18. Before soundtrack pix, he* gave “talking films” to audiences, stand-’ ing behind the screen with his wife and speaking the various parts. Mother, 93, of Charles Harris, general manager for legit producer George Abbott; Maurice ((Bucky) Harris, exploitation man for Uni- versal-International; Lewis Harris, treasurer of the Ziegfeld Theatre, N.Y., and the late Julius “Dude” Harris, Broadway boxoffice treas- urer, died Dec. 26 in New York. Other survivors are two grand- children, Joseph Harris, company manager of “Bernardine,” and Thomas Harris, film exploitation man. Joseph Daikeler, 51, German- born TV panelist, author and pub- lisher of books on salesmanship, died Dec. 27 in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He was author of “The Salesman from Nazareth” and a panel mem- ber of the weekly TV program, “The Big Idea,” over WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, for which he also acted as merchandising consultant. Wife and three children survive. BeryLwJfcubinstein, 54, pianist, composer and director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, died Dec. 29 in Cleveland. His opera, “The Sleeping Beauty,” was world premiered in New York in 1938. T. Bath Glasson, 79, pianist- composer, died Dec. 26 in New York. He was the founder of the Music School of the Hebrew Edu- cational Society. His wife and daughter survive. Father, 74, of Peter Geiger, member of the Bank of America’s motion picture department, died in New York Dec. 26. Son (infant) of Mr. and Mrs. James Ameche died in Chicago Dec. 25. Father is a Chicago radio- TV actor. Alsa Stevens Brite, 59, leader of a western band which played in and about San Antonio, died Dec. 24 in that city. Horst Caspar, 39, German actor, died Dec. 27 in Berlin. His wife, actress Antje Wfeissgerber, sur- vives. Mrs. Margaret C. Jacobs, 64, mother of comedian Danny Thomas, died Dec. 27 in Toledo after a long illness. Eight other sons and one daughter survive. Estelle Lutz, 60, operator of a musicians’ booking agency, died in Chicago, Dec. 27. Father, 78, of Joe. Tucker, sports- caster at WWSW, Pittsburgh, died in that city Dec. 24. Charles J. LaBclle, 79, veteran musician, died in Manchester, N.H., $ec. 23. Mother, 78, of Adele Buffington, screen writer, died Dec. 23 in Los Angeles. Florence Pendleton, veteran ac- tress, died Dec. 23 in New York. MARRIAGES Priscilla Smith to John Kerr, Dec. 28, Milton, Mass. Groom is a featured player in “Bernardine,” at the Playhouse, N.Y. Cara Williams to John Barry- more, Jr., Las Vegas, Dec. 23. Both are thesps. Florence Persson to Ray Gilbert, Las Vegas, Dec. 21. He’s a song- writer. Shirley Stevenson Plowe to Wil- bur May, St. Moritz, ‘Switzerland, Dec. 23. Bride is a former show- girl and a niece of Harold Lund, general manager of WDTV in Pittsburgh; groom is of the May department stores family. Ann Rubel to Don Roth, Chi- cago, Dec. 28. Bride was traffic manager of United Television Pro- grams; groom .is owner of the Blackhawk Restaurant in Chi. - p Patt Smith to Peter Lucus, Chi- cago, Dec. 24. Bride is Chicago TV actress; groom is disk jockey at WENR there. Sallie Vresky to Martin Wald- man, Los Angeles, Dec. 24. He’s a member of the Daily Variety ad staff. Paula Leake to Henry Oliver, Dec. 29, Washington. Bride is box- office manager of the Arena Stage, Washington; groom is an actor there. BIRTHS Mr. and—Mrs. Jerome Danzig, son, Dec. 19, N,Y. Father is pro- ducer of the “Crime Syndicated” television series on CBS; mother is former tennis champion Sarah Pal- frey. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hutshing, .daughter, Santa Monica, Dec. 24. ‘Father is a former~DAiLY Variety staffer Child is granddaughter of Howard Bretherton, screen direc- tor. x Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Frazen, daughter,* Hollywood, Dec. 25. Father is a TV director. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Quinn, daughter, Santa Monica, Dec, 26. Mother is former film actress Katherine DeMille. Father is an aetor. Mr. and Mrs. Norman Corwin, daughter, Hollywood, Dec. 22, mother is actress Katherine Locke; father is a screen writer. Mr. and Mrs. Mike Kaplan, daughter, Hollywood, Dec. 24. Father is a Variety and -a Daily Variety staffer. Offbeat Pix Continued from page 3 ssssa stand a good chance of attracting the “lost” audience through their distinct approach. Others, and particularly the in- dies, are openly in favor of Holly- wood dropping all arty pretenses and sticking to the business of turning out b.o. pix along tried and true lines with no excursions into experimental fields. -They point out that while the offbeat film stands a fine chance at favorable critical reception, this in no way guarantees its drawing power out- of-town or necessarily in key. cities either. Studios take the tack that they are always out tp make pix that will bring in the coin, but that they must continue turning out films with different and novel slants in order to give exhibs as varied a choice of product as pos- sible. Producers’ approach also keeps in mind the foreign market; One company recently considered acquiring the Broadway legiter, “Time Out For Ginger,” but nixed the $eal because it thought the theme wouldn’t appeal abroad. j NBC’s Comedy Continued from page 1 with. But more important than nro- duction, Gargan saysf is material. If the neophytes don’t have bits of their own, the network will buy some and give it to them. If the newcomer’s own stuff has possibili- ties, NBC will get a more experi- enced writer to punch it up. Writers Too In this way NBC is alsi helping to develop new yocksmiths, Gargan said. Most of „the, comedians trying out are amateurs or pros who have had small club dates, and are be- tween 28-35 years old. Turning a young comic over to established writers, aged 45-50, would only re- sult in “loading him with old, hoary jokes,” Gargan believes. Thus he’s trying to foster some youthful Goodman Aces to be teamed up with the would-be Berles. Of the more than 100 prospective zanies he’s auditioned, Gargan said, he’s found many who have excel- lent delivery and expression and that “inner thing, the determina- tion that one won’t be satisfied unless he’s making people laugh.” Among 'those who’ve graduated from this school are Bill Dana and Gene Wood, two foriher NBC page boys, who auditioned for him with their own material just one year ago. They’ve had many club dates since and are currently working in Canada. NBC-TV has an option on the duo. The important thing about devel- oping new comics, Gargan stresses, is the need for an exhibition. “They have to be seen and heard,” he un- derlines, “and given good material. Even established comics are no bet- ter than their material. And for that reason, veteran comics are in- vited to try out any new scripts on our showcases.” Music Publishers | -— ■ Continued from page 1 a! range for limited distribution. If the song creates some noise, the pub can always get his original cutting investment back by selling the master to a major label. On the legislative front, both the pubs and songwriters will fight in 1953 for an exclusive licensing feature in the Copyright Act in place of the compulsory licensing provision now in operation. Under the exclusive licensing setup, a pub could make special deals with the diskers and demand a voice in the treatment of his tunes and the selection of the artists. For many publishers, revision of the Copyright Act in this direction is the most realistic method of restoring their control over the music business. Now the pubs have to go hat in hand to the diskers begging for a record, but with ex- clusive licensing, the publisher would have the upper hand if he had the material. Publishers also believe that a ^ higher royalty rate must accom-/;* pany any exclusive licensing ar-\J^ rangement. With revenues from ^ sheet music falling off alarmingly, the pubs believe they rate more than the 2c on records, half of which they must share with the writers. With the right to place a song exclusively with one disker, the latter would be in a position to pay a higher royalty since there would be no competition on a rec- ord version of the exclusive tune. Armed Forces j Continued from page 1 --■■ ■■■ American platters, has also helped this trend. Winterhalter, together with Fish- er’s manager, Milton Blackstone, discussed the problem of popular- izing U. S. disks in France with the French reps of RCA Victor, Peter Dejongh and Geoffrey Cap- stick. American platters get hard- ly any distribution in France, and top platters in the U. S. sell little more than 200 copies there. The language barrier is the chief prob- lem, but Winterhalter and Black- stone pitched up the possibility of getting wider coverage of pop in- strumentals in France. The French pop market is se- verely limited in general, due to the absence of jukeboxes and disk jockeys. No jukes operate in France because of the exclusive use of paper money and, hence, tunes fail to get the repeated ana concentrated plugging needed to 1 stimulate big sales. .