Variety (April 1953)

Wedn&day, April, 8, 1953 P7mmt VAinBVItXE . 47 imnwi.Miin. ■ ■■ t# Philly Ops Appeal to Bob Hope To Call Parley of All Principals Bob Corson, chairman, of the ne-4 cotiations committee of the Cafe Owners Assn, of Greater Philadel- phia, has appealed to Bob . Hope, ES’y of American Guild of Va- riety Artists, to discuss the serious nitery situation in Quakertown. Corson wired Hope in Hollywood as follows: “No doubt you have heard that 22 of our nightclubs in Philadel- phia were forced to eliminate the use of variety acts, because of the uncalled-for tactics and abuses by AGVA’s local representatives, with the aid of Dick Jones. Fifteen nightclubs in Baltimore,, for the same reasons, discontinued using acts. Detroit, Chicago and other localities are also • seriously af- fected. Our parent organization, Theatre Restaurant Owners of America, has made several sin r cere efforts and attended many meetings with the AGVA board, but so far has been unable to ar- rive at any solution. “Therefore, we are addressing this telegram to you as president of the American Guild of Variety Artists and request that a meet- ing be called between yourself personally, your national director, and not more than two additional responsible directors of your organization, to meet with our president, our executive director, and two responsible operators, with no attorneys to be present, so as to sincerely discuss our differ- ences and arrive at a solution that will be mutual and honorable, for the protection of our business and the future of your members. Unless such a solution can be ar- rived at and if this matter is left to hot-headed directors and selfish attorneys, your organization as well as ours will suffer irreparable damage from which we may never recover. “We urge an. immediate reply and stand ready to meet you half- way in hopes of arriving at the proper settlement.” Meantime, Lou Walters, TROA prez, said in a wire to D^ve Fox, the org’s executive secretary who was standing by in Philly to await developments: “AGVA striking against our Philadelphia members shows evi- dence of their intention to enforce their demands by every legal and illegal method. We cannot-remain in business under a continual strike threat. We must do all we can to aid to the fullest extent all members who are forced out of business , by this horrible method of enforcing AGVA’s wishes. "Recommend TROA stand back of its members and-fight to the finish for a Jair American way of doing business . without violence, threat or coercion, for 7 arbitration and for a right to discuss our prob- lems with labor* leaders without this continual strike threat held over our heads.” ** Moneyapolis Minneapolis, April 7. Even after revocation of its liquor license necessitated shuttering, the Fun House nit- ery here was: still trying to live up to its title. Sign on front door after the spot's demise read, “If closed, shove your money under the door,” indicating the owners hadn’t lost their sense of hu- mor along with their permits. 4 —£- Lotsa Live Vaude For Omaha’54 Fair Vi - Omaha, April 7. Plenty of live acts will take part ln 0m aha’s Centennial next year, fiiahaging director Alfred Stern said last week. He promised free entertainment at Turner Park in ^ear-downtown Omaha every, night turning peak summer period, with uge birthday cake there, historic speclade at Ak-Sar-Ben field with C S 1,00 °” an <* many, parades. i wiule Omahans will furnish con- itin« ra % talent to these produc- i ons, Stern promised plenty of !& * w . ould b e hired. Overall ! . s . $250,000, with biz firms underwriting. 1 Ron Flotcher, who’il .stage the terL Ca Pades,” left N.Y. yes- iwith ay n!^ e5 .) t0 s P end six weeks b/ a l the curre nt edition of the ting Ji no ^ in Chicago, before hit- shnu,* e Coast -for confabs with low s producer, John Harris. Ottawa Recipe: A Dish of Wax Salts Up Vaude Ottawa, Ap^il 7. Name recording vocalists are a must for every bill in Ottawa, indie Glebe Theatre manager Hy Bessin has learned after several weeks of vaudfilm in his 858-seater nabe. House’s top-billers so far drew this way:,Four Aces, smash; Gisele MacKenzie, excellent; Deep River Boys (full-bill opener), good; Jan August, break-even; Billy Gilbert, loss. Bessin attributes the disap- pointments to failure to costar cheaper hut w.k. singers. , Disk names bring excellent cooperation from local deejays, whose advice Bessin takes on booking them.' They plug the artist frequently, mentioning theatre name. One of the local dailies reviews the shows. At first Bessin was scared of high-priced headliners and turned down Louis Armstrong, who went to the Gatineau Club, across the river in Hull, Que. Four Aces con- vinced him he was wrong, and he’s booking big within limits of his capacity. House dropped vaude just before Holy Week, put In Laurence Oliv- ier’s “Hamlet” to keep semi-stage touch, and reopens April 16 with A1 Martino and Larry Adler co-head- lined; then Don Cornell, followed by a Four Aces repeat. Roy Cooper of Montreal books the house, along with Toronto Casino and Montreal Seville. Sinc$ Bob Maynard’s pioneering vaude experiment, now defunct, at the Francais, two houses have put in once-a-week stageshows. Rideau, 20th-Fox chain’s downtown haunt of thrillers, westerns and nervous A’s, has an amateur hour-broadcast there, with professional orch led by Cammieu Howard, CBC network broadcaster (Western Five), who played for Canadian .and U. S. troops in Korea last year. National Theatres’ Elmdale, large outlying nabe which cleaned up for three days with two of the Bowery Boys before the Glebe went vaude, has an amateur nite in charge of pro musicians Wilf Steubner and Val .LeBeau. Both are doing well. CHI CHEZ’S TORPEDOES AS SUMMER INSURANCE Chicago, April 7. Chez Paree here 1 , has lined up most of . its summer headliners. Tony Martin tops the/ show May 12 for three weeks, with Jimmy Durante .coming in for three or four frames immediately after. Jane Froman comes hack for a month, the starting date defend- ing on the'length of the Durante stay. Ritz Bros, have been tenta- tively inked for August. ♦ 5 * Call LeBow Associates, Inc., chartered to conduct a general en- tertainment business in New York. Capit&l stock is 200 shares,-no par value. Directors are Mina L. Flax, Jay Ml Marcus, JleUbin Marpus, N.Y. ' TO ilflT’L UPBEAT r. t By JOE COHEN The decentralization of cafes is becoming more marked in the ever- growing national trend toward es- tablishment of niteries far from midtown areas. The factor contrib- uting most to this pattern now is the rising cost of operation. How- ever, the vast growth of suburban areas after the war, increasingly snafued traffic on roads leading into major cities, plus the in- creased- willingness of representa- tive acts to play the outland stops are spurring the process. In the New York area the offbeat criteria are the Boulevard, Elm- hurst, L. I.; Ben Maksik’s Town & Country Club, Brooklyn, located in a deserted section of that borough and accessible mostly by car (na- tive guides are helpful), and Gene Seville’s Casa Seville, Franklin Square,- L. I. In addition, there are myriad nabe spots that are be- coming bold enough, to bid for names on a weekend basis. Paving the way for the suburban growth has been the vast number of cocktail lounges and spots for- j merly termed roadhouses. The j emergence.of the jukebox as an en- tertainment entity caused the verti- cal disappearance of the road- houses because of their reliance on bands. Another factor that is making offbeat 'operation more attractive is that niteries in many areas have become a weekend business. To do business Fridays and Saturdays, an operator has come to feel that he doesn't need an expensive loca- tion and upped union band scales. In many cases the normal take over (Continued on page 50) Hiked Rehearsal Coin for Tooters Draws LQ Fire , i Squawk by Lou Walters, Latin Quarter, N. Y., operator, against hiked rehearsal fees set by Local 802, American Federation of Musi- cians, may lead to.a reopening of the.whole contract between the mu- sicians and N. Y. niteries. Local 802 execs are calling in Walters for a hearing this week and if the ^rehearsal fee question is hot solved the musicians will ask for a hew pact and new tooter scales. c Dispute broke out as a result of Local 802’S imposition of a two- hour rehearsal minimum for nitery musicians, in place of the previous one-hour period. Local 802 execs stated the increase in the minimum was made to cover the expenses of the musicians coming to town for rehearsals. Walters said the union’s move represented “a dictatorial at- titude” which is “qn-American, un- fair, illegal and unethical.” He de- clared he “must insist that when- ever there is any change in an ex- isting contract we have the right to sit down with you ^nd discuss it before the demand is made.” * The hassle between Walters and Local 802 was aggravated last week when the musicians’ room at the Latin Quarter was rifled by bur- glars. The union immediately de- manded a special room for musi- cians and threatened to walk out over the Weekend if Walters did not meet the union’s demands. Wal- ters .subsequently ironed out this h detail with the musicians. In Clampdown On ‘Sip Contract or Else - Dick Jones Geo. White’s Musicalette The George White nitery pro- duction for the Versailles, N. Y., is slated to tee off there the last week of this month, with April 22 as the tentative date. Rehearsals began Monday (6). Show’s present title is-“Nice To See You,” and is tagged a musicalette. Present talent lineup is made up primarily of newcomers. Philly Court Bars Nitery Pickets In Temporary Relief Philadelphia, April 7. Closed niteries got temporary relief when Judge L. Stauffer Oliver in Common Pleas Court is- sued an order effective today (Tues.) barring union pickets. The order holds until a hearing Friday morning (10), when jurist will de- cide if injunction is to be contin- ued: Doubtful whether removal of pickets will return either acts or staffs to struck spots. Dave Fox, executive secretary of Theatre Restaurant Owners of America, called a meeting of Philly caffemen for 3 p.m. today at Belle- vue-Stratford Hotel. Telegrams pledging 100% support to the Philly group" came* from TROA heads in Dallas, Buffalo and Cleve- land. TROA president Lou Walters urged “a fight to the finish for a fair American way of doing busi- ness.” Bob Corson, Philly cafe associa- tions executive secretary, wired Bob Hope, AGVA president, to in- tervene personally jn. the dispute. Nitery men also made a lengthy presentation of their case to the AFL Central Labor Council asking reconsideration of its stand on AGVA. Philadelphia, April 7. The American Guild of Variety Artists, with the solid support of the service unions and the musi- cians, threw picket lines around four midtown cafes Friday and Saturday nights (3-4) and threat- ened to pull out four more this week. (For details on the picket- ing ban by a local court, see sep- arate story). The spottf first struck were the Kaliner Bros.’ Little Rathskeller, the Celebrity Room, Big Bill’s and Ciro’s. The cafes were shut down completely, except where the own- ners and relatives tended bars for such customers as came through the picket lines. Taking part in the picketing, along with the nitery actors, were the members of Local 301, waiters and waitresses; Local 115, bartend- ers union; Local 111, kitchen staffs, an/1 representatives of the power- ful maritime unions (stevedores, longshoremen, etc.) on hand to lend physical aid, if necessary, to the picketing chorines and comedians. The complete clampdown on the places struck made good the prom- ise of Dick Jones, AGVA’s eastern regional rep, who stated Thursday night, “All club owners will be told point-black to sign the con- tract or else.” Jones’-statement fol- lowed an all-day series of meetings between AGVA and the seamen’s unions, the American Federation of Labor’s Central Labor Union, the service locals and a futile at- tempt at mediation with the cafe owners before the Rev Dennis Co- Slapsie Maxie’s ‘H’wood’ Relites Upstate N.Y. Cafe Albany, April 7. Dinty’s Terrace Garden,Mn near- by Latham, reopened E.aster Sun- day (5) with a show headed by Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom’s “Hol- lywood Revue,” Madelyn Russell, Kaye Gorham Dancers., and a band and trio. The spot had been closed since New Year’s. ' . CLEVE. SKY-WAY GOES BACK T0.FL00RSH0WS Cleveland, April 7. Eddie Sindelar’s Sky-Way Club restores floorshows to its new stage and kicks off its season Thursday (9) with Four Ames Bros, topping first bill for two weeks. Frankie Strasek, who formerly had a band at downtown Alpine Village, or- ganized a new orch for the subur- ban spot, one of the smartest in decor here. Stage was raised and floor’s side rail eliminated to in- crease visibility. Ames Bros, will compete against Kay Thompson & Williams Bros., now pulling standee'trade , at Hotel Hollenden’s Vogue Room, and Dorothy Shay, current at Statler’s Terrace Room. For the spring and summer sea- son, Sindelar also inked Jerry Les- ter on a four-day deal beginning April 23; Harry Belafonje, week of April 30; Connee Boswell, May 7; Guy Mitchell, May 14, and Three Suns for June. Ted Lewis is ten- tatively set for a third return. i Dorothy SarnofTs 1st N.Y. Nitery Since ‘King* Stint Singer Dorothy Sarnoff, who opens at the Cotillion Room of the Hotel Pierre, N. Y., next Tues- day (14), will be making her first appearance at* a Gotham nitery since she was seen in ’‘The King and I” and doubled into a cafe. Rounding out the spot’s new bill will be Lucille & Eddie Roberts, Stanley Melba's orch, and Chico i Relli’s rhumba band. (Continued on pAge 54) Palace’s 8-Act Grad Post-Kaye The Palace Theatre, N. Y„ will revert back to a grind eight-act vaude bill and first-run pic policy following Danny Kaye’s exit April 26v Initial show, not set as yet, goes in April 27 for II days so as to enable house to work into a Friday opening pattern. Kaye teed off his stand at the house Jan. 18 and has been averaging $52,000 weekly. Incidentally, Darvas & Julia, who appear on the bill with Kaye, began their long-distance doubling between the Palace and the Shore- ham Hotel, Washington, yesterday (Tues.). Shuttling act, being done via an^irllft setup, has re- sulted in the Shoreham’s manage- ment taking out a $l,000-a-night insurance policy on act's plane travel. Dancers are booked into the hotel until April 20. I Hutton’? Chicago Stand To Delegitimatize Shubert Betty Hutton has been set for a two-week vaude stint at the Shu- bert Theatre, Chicago) starting May 4. Engagement marks the first time the Shubert has deviated from showcasing a legit attraction. Show will run two hours with Miss Hutton taking over the last 60 minutes. She’ll, be b&cked in her song and comedy act by the Sky- larks, vocal quartet. Initial half of the bill hasn’t been set yet. Date is being sandwiched be- tween the current “Call Me Madam” and the incoming “Pal Joey.” U.S. VS. PEORIA CAFE, 116G Peoria, 111., April 7. The Govefnment last week filed suit against the Frolics nitery here for $116,019. A x . Brief charges that bistro violated Office of Price Stabilization regu- lations with over-ceiling prices for liquors.