Variety (January 1953)

*50 VAUftEmOt forty-seventh Ptfi&IETY Anniversary Wednesday, January 7, 1953 Yesteryear’s Singing Waiters And Pioneer Jazz Pianists By RAY WALKER lng waiter at ’‘Nigger Mike” Sal- * it ter's cafe, 12 Pell St., in 1907, Nich- Naiit olson played piano. - They wrote ITCfl “Marie from Sunny Italy” there. TIEN TgI LnJ TB oUPE (5) Gene Sennett, in the Bronx, had Acro Fred Meade at the piano in 1912. 9 Mins> Jack Gilbert and Charley Messen- Palace, N. Y. ger played there later. Jack White, Tien Tsi Liu Troupe, comprising who became famous for singing two mixed Chinese couples, are an New Acts W1XU UvLCUUv jluiuvuu 0 i * , The first piano player I met Island, in/1913 and Lew Pollack «p oor Pauline,” was a singing excellent acro ®roup which com- when I ran away from home in played for them. He wrote “Diane” waiter th ere white’s Club 18, on bmes ? f nP 7iL y Thp d men 1899 was Johnny Lenhart, who was and other big hits later on. West 52 d st was a high spot until tumbling ande some plalying at Mike Calahan’s cafe on The first ragtime piano player I West 52d fc>t., n g work the hardest, peiioiming some Chatham Square. He taught me heard was Ben Harney, who played Toby »g Cafe, 31st St. and Broad- ex f uiSness of the bovs is stressed. ‘•‘The Mosquitos Parade.” Jack at McGurk’s, 295 Bowery. He wrote w V^ y J Carroll at p ia no in ohp of them nrodiJces some in- Coleman was a singing waiter “Mr, Johnson Turn Me Loose.” He W. hiad 1Hairy there and Smith & Dale used to liked to play sacred songs in rag- l 911 - »eS and leveral g tu^ work there. In 1900 Lenhart went time-“The Holy City” was his Beaux Arts Cate at ^ St mA several anpreciates Thev get lots to Roundout, N. Y., and I succeed- favorite. . Sixth Ave. Ballard MacDonald leadily appieciates. Miej get ^ ed him at Calahan’s. I wrote the The FauSt Cafe, 59th St. and sang there with him, and the> their P p ar ting i iand hits salvo pro- song “At the Steeplechase” while Broadway, had Arthur Stone wrote “Trail of the Lonesome portions despite their closing snot there, and played it over 50 times (Blind Stony) at piano in 1911. pi ne ” on this bill. Jose. a night. Calahan got so sick of Ted Lewis played there in the orcli. —_———■ , -r-—— r hearing it that he said he would Stone played at Sammy’s Bowery I $50 a Week for Not Work_g HIGHLIGHTERS (5) beat me up if I played it again, cafe in N. Y. last year before he voll’s, underneath the Alhambra g on * s Jose. ’'One night one of the customers told me Calahan wasn’t in the w _ _ . , A . place, so I took a chance and the FaustuCafe when he quit. i n 1910. Went from there to the The Highlighters, a three-man played the song. When I was half , Mfk* kpmard the Tons" 1 Sterling Restaurant, Seventh Ave. and two-girl song group, indicate way through, Calahan walked into J — - and 50th St. I succeeded him in a go od brand of harmony, a degree the room. Raging mad, he started The greatest piano player of 4914 when they changed the name 0 f showmanship and material that S50 a Week for Not Working I » „ , x - — — —— THE HIGHLIGHTERS (5) Voll’s, underneath the Alhambia Songs le of the customers died. Harry De Costa, who wrote Theatre, 116th St. and Seventh g j^ins. ahan wasn’t in the “Tiger Rag,” succeeded Stone at Ave., had Charley Reid at piano p a i ace> n. Y. took a chance and the FaustuCafe when he quit. ; n 1910. Went from there to the The High! Mike Bernard the Tops often brag about their songs knock- played at several New York cafes, hits later on, used to substitute for out so that individually gooa| ing audiences dead—this is the Although bigtime vaude acts played me a t the Garden. Tips were so voices are blended to produce aj .nlv time it really happened. at Pastor’s no one watched them, good that he offered me $50 a week fine harmonic effect. They ao a Steve Jones, who was unable to everyone watched Bernard's fin- f 0 stay away and let him work good bit with YouU Neve, Walk read one note of music, played at gers. Probably no one ever will there. He teamed up with Jack Alone which highlights Calahan’s before Johnny Lenhart; duplicate his P lay ing George M. Ryan and Edwards and wea t ^to The* group sometimes permits, he is now one of the most success- Cohans Popularity. He teamed vaude. Oreste Migliaccio succeeded fo ® mations to ge |. t b e W ay ful music arrangers. A1 Piantadosi up with Willie Weston in 1912 and me at the Garden when I left in ^ their songs. They si tress move- took my place when I quit Cala- in 1914 teamed with Jack Bose. 1912 w . n , ment to the extent where it de- han’s in 1902 N and wrote his first Worked at Bill Hardeys Gay 90s, Watson s Cozy Corner, Willough- ^ rac ^ s f rom their music. A bit of song there—“My Marriuccia Took N. Y., before he died. by Ave. in Brooklyn, had Maurice res t ra i n t in that department would a Steamboat.” Jimmy Monaco, known as Sun- Abrahams on piano m 1910. He aid them considerably. Jose. The piano player at the Chatham £ y mar ? ied ,h e «* Baker “ W * l ” ClUb on Doyer St. was Louis Cast. fl e ' SS’J. m ? s “J£ b n,.v.d the HELENE VEKNON TRIO Singer’’ and Comer sang “The A great girl pian ? player of first cafe piano player t0 Use pian0 Helene Vernon Trio, consisting rin^e nf the Dreamer ” 8 those days was Carrie Lynch, a accordion. of two stalwarts and a tiny dame. * L,rea “ ie ** protege of Mike Bernard’s. She The Virginian, at 30th St. and f a R S j n the general groove of the Mose Gumble, who became man- played at the Princess Cafe, 29th Broadway, had Harry Ferguson on three-person adagio acts. They ager of Jerome H. Remick Music gt. and Broadway, in 1909. Went piano in 1908. He was the first ac- show some excellent stunts in later on, played at the Empire f r0 m there to the Pabst Cafe on companist for Mae West when she which the girl is tossed around Cafe, 17th St and Third Ave., m 14th st. Lulu Bates sang there, went into vaude. Played for her with careful abandon. 1900* From there she went to the Leroy in 1910 when she played Hammer- The trio have some good tricks The best piano player on Coney Hotel, 8th Ave. and 115th St. Flor- stein’s Theatre. including a few with some original Island in 1903 was Joe Geisler. He ence Brooks, who* shot Walter Wilbur Gardner, one of the twists. They’re well-appearing, played at Perry’s Cafe, No one Brooks, and Nan Patterson were greatest cafe piano players, worked nicely costumed and should be could play “The Cannon-Ball Rag steady customers. at Renert’s Cafe, 29th St. and Sixth good m most visual situations. as well as he, and piano players 1 Ragtime JimmV"Dmante f Ave., in 1901. Jose ' from everywhere went there to J—— —— --—7 Dave Ringle who is now a sue- — liear him do it. He went into The job at the Alamo on 125th f ® ni US fc pub played at the CAPT. SHAW & BOBBY vaude from there with Max Burk- St. was offered to Joe Geisler m Belvedere Cafe P in ’ Brooklyn when Comedy novelty hardt and Bill Sharkey. He is one 191 p, but he gave it to Jimmy Du- Mulford quit. He later 8 Mins, of the very few old-time players «nte, who was known as Ragtime Walter mu ^o ^ Y who is still active; he was at Jimmy. 45th st in New York . Capt. Shaw & Bobby, compus- the Metropole on Broadway re-‘Vincent Lopez played at Me- j aa n Schwartz, who wrote a ma ” and a monkey have centlv Claughlin s cafe m Shecpshead hi«» hit* been around but haven’t been docu- The Oxford Garden on 125th St. Bay in 1911. Went from there to p £y7 d 1 ^Coney Is i and k „ g cafes J" cnted “ the New Act file. Shaw had two oiano Dlavers in 1909 the Pekin (formerly Nate Fen- P 13 /®? m Jr .V*Vnoo has a Phasing turn in which he Jimmv Durante and Walter TMuL ton's) at 47th St. and Broadway in and dan “ *l alls „ t “ dresses his simian in various cos- J tpl. /V 4?a-vll /Nttri M rt «TAAM f ttATT 1912 and took the nlace of George Some the other piano players tumes and the animal does vari- ford The following vear thev 1912 and took the place of George V , I nH tumes .and the animal floes van- worked together at Maxin’s Cafe Fairman, who wrote “Preacher and of those days W€ie ^ s ^ p , ’ ous tricks and dances, worked togetner at Maxins oaie, n.. r ” who went to Paris and opeiated a Shaw s chatter is good, being Fulton St. and Roctovell PI. in M 0rffa n» s on the Bowerv in ca ^ e there; Bob Geraghty, who along simple lines that are readily Brooklyn. Mulfords first 30b was v g T slan rt (formerlv Hattie P la y ed at Prospect Hall in Brook- understood. He keeps the words! 19 0 r r ° S We C nt from n ther°e to n j^ Sexto'sf had Jack Shtller at pta™ ly “ i 91 * f h " d , "Sfft “’VStSf iru-; , wenc ir °m tnere to joe Bovle succeed- Wlt h Will Mahoney, is now m Aus- that can make good in most situa- White’s Jumbo Cafe (Free and before 1913. Andy Boyte succeed traUa . Dick Bernard. Joe Macy, tions. Jose. Easy) on the Bowery m New York. aD i out .J™*. He played . H arnett who played at Then to Joe White’s Roseben Cafe, Ite^ Brody’s on the Bowery in MORENO Coney Island. Jimmy Durante witnout stopping^tor dinnei Ate N y in 1909 . Harry Ennis> Billy Ventriloquism played next door at Kerry Welsh’s a 8a ^ d ^ ^ one hand and gtone> Harry p easCf ;, ho played at 10 Mins. cafe where Eddie Cantor was a FJ a 5,° e*’ j the Pre-Catelan on 38th St. in 1909 Fontaine Quatres Saisons, Paris singing waiter. In 1915 Mulford Br ^ dw ^ cC u ° n y d S er neath°the EmpTre and who write " Peggy °’ NeillM i Moreno is a dignified looking played at Moe Baron’s Belvedere f5f oadway * underneath the empire Leon Flatow Dave Franklin, Vio- gent in tails carrying a gawdy Cafe in Brooklyn, then to Billy Gal- Theatre, had some of the greatest - Moe Kraus Matty Levine hand-operated parrot .that gives lagher's cafe 723 7th Ave Mul- • P* a no JS^sSuSSS' Harofd Norm™Lou Gold. Bert out with a well-conceived ventrilo I Biano C °pUye?s Tomb ned I saw WUbSf CaXT Walter “m’ Mulvey. who played at Huutley piano Pliers comDineo. 1 saw „ Toum A1 Mnrnhv rharicv Smith’s, Rockaway Beach; Arthur Broadway; Fred Cahn succeeded >him eat three steaks, five cups of d j;, _ P * * „ . * Kraus who wrote “IVleadowbrook him- George IVTcKelvev at the Tux- cnfFee half a loaf nf hread six Messenger,.Steve Jones, Joe Geis- fr au8 ’ 77, 10 meduuwuiuuA. nim, yreorge MCJveivey at uie iux conec, nail a loai or Dreaa, six 9 tmiv Fox Trot” and was m vaude with edo m 1902, then to the Oak baked potatoes five pieces of apple eafe Jack Kraft and Bessie Gros; Frank Cafe at Eighth Ave. and 23rd St.; pie and get up from the table hun- D i ano tdavers before 1912 were Magini, Percy Wenrich, who played Charley Klass at the Bohemia, 29th gry *, „ . n , . Boston^ Jack^ bSv Farmer Walter at the old Times Sq * Hote1 ’ 43d St st > als0 played at Staucli’s, Coney ^ lll cI ne X AVG f Mulford and Ray Walker Joe Me- near Broadway, in 1908. He wrote Island in 1904; Murray Rubins at and 24th St., had Ted Snyder at MUirord and way yvaucer. Joe Me- old Grav Bonnet” Rockawav Beach and New York oiano in 1901 George Whiting Carthy was a singing waiter there, unxour via uray uonnei wockaway weacn and i\ew ioik ueor &® vvniung and wro f e his first hit while there there; Dave Kaplan, Joe Webb, cafes in 1914; Harry Stover at Bax- and Bil^ Tracey sang there. All A m t Goinc to Do to Make poy Ki n 6» George Gladding, John- ter’s, Rockaway Beach; Jim Ban- three became successful song- Love Me ” ny Tucker, who wrote “Down in non arid Charley Potter at Ship writers. . q Linder who was unahlp to the Heart of the Gas House Dis- Cafe, Brooklyn; Pat Whelani Jack read one note of music played at trict” and played at Burns Hotel Gilbert at Gene Sennett’s in the .. YOU LOVG JVlP " * uv4vv4, »rnw u *** uuu aau vuoiicj xuuu at writers. ; Jo Linder who was unahlp to the Heart of the Gas House Dis- Cafe, Brooklyn; Pat Whelani Jack | Sophie Tucker In 1909 1 read one not £ 0 f mus j c P i a yed at trict” and played at Burns Hotel Gilbert at Gene Sennett’s in the George Mitchell played for Joe Brooklyn cafes in 1900 and in 1901 * n R 9 ckaway Beach; Louis Muir, Bronx, 1914; Fred Shepard at Lal- Adams at his German Village, 40th when the musicians went on strike who wrote “ Robert E. Lee”; Walter ly’s Cafe, L. I. City, in 1900; Bob St. near B’way. in 1909. Wrote ft the Itar Th?at» fn R^biln Donovan ' who played at the Col- Alden at Donahue's Cafe, 47th St. ‘‘Ace in the Hole” while there. a „ t„7fV eat 7„„? lege Inn on Coney Island and wrote and Broadway (where Palace The- Sophie Tucker sang there. Joe {* e P layea lor tn ® 81 J°Y* . e pe . r * the melody for “Abba Dabba atre is now) in 1908, went to Lon- Geisler and Ray Walker also played I° r mers hummed their songs to Honeymoon” while there, went into don with Bob Alden and remained there in the Rathskeller. and he fak ed the tunes on vaude with Frank . Corbett and there; Charley Brophy at Madden’s George Whiting and Sadie Burt piano. Sheppard; Halsey Mohr, who in Brooklyn 1910; Jimmy McGav- opened at the College Inn, Coney When Irving Berlin was a sing- played Brooklyn cafes in 1905 and isk at Tom Sharkey’s on 14th St. in - wrote “Liberty Bell.” He was in 1908; Harry Robinson at the New vaude with Bill Tracey. York Cafe, 1544 Broadway, in 1908; There were also Floyd Hynes, Harry Wellman at Toby’s Cafe Carl Seamon, Eddie Weber, Joe when Harry Carroll quit. Hollander, who wrote “Why Don’t Joe Geisler also played at Dan My Dreams Come True ? ’; Irving the Dude’s» 38th St. and Sixth Ave., Bloom, who also played at the in 1908; Ethel Davenport at Sloan’s Alamo on 125th St.; Joe Wood- in Brooklyn in 1909; Sam Rose, ward, who played at the Tokio on Frank Ross at College Inn, Coney 45th St. in 1911 and then went in Island; Irving Dash, who became a Reisenweber’s at 59th St. Played successful London music pub, for Sophie Tucker; Richard Him* played at the Alamo on. 125th St. ber was the violinist in the orch; ip 1913; Dawson Woods, who wrote Bill Hickey, Dot Keller, Joe Sulli- “Why Was I Ever Borq Lazy,” van, who played at the Tuxedo played at Paddy Mullins on Mott Cafe, 29th St. and Sixth Ave., in St. in 1900. 1901; Matty Levine at the Hof • Many, of the above have passed Brau in Brooklyn in 1911;. Dan away, but of those who are alive Caslar at the Barrel, 29th St. near very few are still active. NQTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING lo The Members of Jewish Theatrical Guild A special meeting of the JEWISH -THEATRICAL GUILD will be b# held Jan. 18 at the Fulton Theatre, 210 West 46th St., New York City, at 3.p.m., to elect directors and transact other business pursuant to the provisions of Sections 22 and 23 of the New York General Corporation Law. Dated: Doc* 29, 1952. * Dave Ferguson, Member act that is tops in control and vir- tuosity. Hand-parrot benefits from colorful plumage, a slack jaw, doleful expressions and an appeal- ing rascality that make the larynx allusion a pleasant takeoff. Moreno, an Italian, is a proper foil to the posturing parrot, but one drawback is a tendency to inauda- bilily that sometimes makes the parrot responses stop at the first- row tables. If he clears this up (his is a first-fate act for nitery of variety bills, and also TV. Moreno does some excellent con- trolled triple pipe takeoffs, one with a telephone voice, parrot and himself that is perfect in pitch and illusion and rates top mitting. He also does a pleaser with the parrot muffle-voiced, with a handkerchief in its beak,* as Moreno blows out candles and lights and smokes a cigarel. Begged off when caught. Mosk. GRENIER IIUSSENOT TROUPE Cabaret Revue 20 Mins. Fontaine Quatres Saisons, Paris Grenier-Hussenot Troupe (5) is one of the better offbeat theatre ! groups here, now doing a Gallic j version of Irwin Shaw’s “The Gen- tle People.” which has received top crix reviews and looks set for a season’s run. There is also a small segment of the group, headed by Olivier Hussenot, who have for- mulated a good cabaret revue that they have been polishing up at the Fontaine Des Quatres Saisons. Current show, “L’Ecole De Crime’’ (Crime School), is a fine boite offering embodying eye- catching movement and mime on this minuscule stage to the run- ning, comic comentary of a stuffy prof who voices his notes on crime through the ages. It’s all illustrated by the well-mimed movements and shenanigans of the group. Macabre humor comes over in the timing and miming pf this well-coordi- nated group. All aspects-of crime are spoofed, from the plea to treat assassins with humanity, which leads to the corpse being arrested and the mur- derer beihg sent off to comfort the arresting policeman’s wife, to adul- tery murders, to Cain knocking off Abel, and comic takeoffs, on the private eye. Small stage, with help of clever lighting, shadow work, timing and verve, make this a pleasing package for eafe and TV appeal. Also of variety calibre. Ending, in a bouffe tradition, has a serio touch out of keeping with the rest. It has a mime trag- edy to a song about the exploits of Jack the Ripper. Song is done in good lament fashion by Jacque- line Villon, to music and words by , Yves Darriet. However, the end of : a gal who preferred death by a gentleman killer to the wooing of her smalltime beau is more in balletic tradition and ends this fine package on an offkey note. Written by Albert Vidalie, it benefits from the knowing staging of Jean-Paul Grenier and the clever, functional decors of Matsouris. Thesps are all good, with a refreshing lilt to the only gal spot done by Annie Noel and the fine outlines created by Olivier Hussenot, Jacques Duby, Bernard Deschamps and Roger Carel. Mosk. Japs Recovering Tourist Stature Tokyo. , One of Japan’s biggest prewar . money earners, the tourist indus- ’ try. is still far from recovering its ; position as a big dollar-puller, but ( optimistic spokesmen for the Ja- pan Travel Bureau predict huge ; things for 1953. Figures for 1952 show that there [ was a 40Cr> increase in money spent ; by visitors to the land of the ki- ■ mono and the cherry blossom over i 1951. Approximately 79,000 per- r sons spent $20,760,000 here in ; 1952, the first year of Japan's new- i ly regained sovereignty. JTB offi- cials prediqt there will be a 30 r £» I increase in tourist coin in 1953 , and that some 102,000 rubbernecks i will spend about $27,000,000 next , year. The end of the U.S. Occupation i of Japan in 1952 was chiefly re- . sponsible for the upbeat in tour- ism. For with the peace treaty > Japan regained most of the top tourist facilities which had been : requisitioned by the Allied forces in 1945, All resort hotels have l been returned with the exception ! i of nine which the U.S. Security 1 Forces.