Variety (April 1953)

S4 VAUBEV1LLK Night Club Reviews ygdneffay, Xpril 8, 1953 Continued from pace 52 1 “Flamingo,” penned by her ac- W»l.lorl-Ast«rI«, N.- Y- , c —a^ustod. ~ Ted Grouya. ping an apartment in New York, v/pj^jugo** follows modest intro- for one in Paris. : ^ auction of Grouya with couple of ^ U hM + rA !Ar 'fT^TYl M a t 1 ^ _ 11 1.14 tm r««aU Latter serves for intro ! 6f 'Im Looking for a Flat.” At ghoW' caught this number went over big, for Miss Meade was fortunate Jn plucking ringsider Ed' Fitzgerald fEd & Pegeen) from the audience and bringing him up to the mike. The radio vet cooperated fully, swinging and swaying' with the music and rendering an effective “a Paris” at the appropriate time. Fitzgerald did so well that Miss Meade had to assure the customers that he was not a plant. On the ballady side. Miss Meade ■works over “You Do Something to Me,” a trio of Italian tunes, and BILLY GILBERT April 13 TRITON HOTfL Rochester, N, Y, Opening April 20 ESQUIRE CLUB Dayton, Ohl# Personal Manngtmont DAVID L. SHAPIRO AL 4-1077 For Night Club* — Mircury Arllats BOB (Bobby) ROLLINS Playing INDOOR SPORTSHOWS Thanks to WILLIAM SHILLING 165 West 46th Street New York City Grant's Riviera RESTAURANT AND BAR 158 W, 44 St., New York LU 2-4488 WHERE SHOWBUSlttESS MEETS * TALENT CONTEST * MONDAY NIGHTS Prize: Professional Engagement duplicate Prlgsa Award## Is the Caw at Tie* bars from his other song hits such as “In My Arms ” “I .Heard You Cry Last Night” and “When Are Tou Going to Kiss Me Good Morn- ing?” Flanking the .Italo ballads, chirper shifts style with a bouncy specialty, “The Customer Is Al- ways Bight,” and a blues beat cre- ation returning to the U.S. after being away for a number of years. Also in the American-French inotif is a dual language offering. “If I Were Parisian,” about an Ameri- can girl who dreams-she's in Paris. Nat Brandwynne and Mischa Borr orchs alternate to provide neat dansapation. Holl. Black Orchid, Chi Chicago, April 3. # Josephine Preinice (i&ith Luis Martinezl, Stan Fisher , -Lola Ameche; $4 minimum; In Josephine Premice, bistro operator Ai Greenfield has come up with a natural follow to his first two attractions. Josh White and Harry Belafonte, who have packed this intime room since it opened last December. Former Katherine Dunham dancer and concert star has been traveling the Continent for the past two years and fits easily in the slot of the European chanteuses. But she’s much more than that; she’s a com- bination gamin, terper and dra- matic artist who scores equally [well in the ballad, folk, and spe- cial material department. Of all of these she does best in the field of calypso, which lends itself to the foibles of sex. Piquant redhead even ventures into the field of hillbilly with a treatise on “Fancy Living” that, relates the facts of life, but not for the kid- dies. Her versatility is demonstrated with her ace rendition of the torch, “HoW Did He Look,” which she does mainly seated and in a dark- ened. room. However, her topper shows still another facet of her talent—a chant of “The Earth Trembles” with less gyrating to an exciting climax of the Afro-Cuban song that might have been 3 rit- ual of her forefathers. Forced back, she decorates “C’est Si Bon” with a sexy veneer, but -done in humorous vein 1 that gets laughs. Luis Martinez is . an extremely important adjunct to Miss Pre- mice’s Stint. His frantic pounding of the congadrum heightens her selections and his- vocal breaks add to the frenzy in certain numbers. His comic rejoinders on the Calypsos garner chuckles. Unfortunately, the rest of the bill doesn’t measure up. • Stan Fisher is an able and earnest har- monica player who gets a fine hand for his serious tunes, but -de- tracts from his efforts by attempt- ed comedy when he asks for re- quest numbers. He manages to fill all the demands but it’s a weak closer that doesn’t hold attention here. , , Lola Ameche is a bright young rhythm linger who is not in her metier there. She -does a collec- tion of her records, most of them in the pop field, which gets her a nice mitt. Unbilled trio, about the fifth or sixth in more than three months, fills in for the acts. Zabe. Chateau Madrid, N. Teresiya de Triana & Cesar el Maleguena, Linda Lombard, Mar- ian Callahan , Freddie Alonso Orch with Sarita Herrera, Al Cas- tellanos Rhumba Band ; $3,50-5 minimum. Hour-long show at this spot is grooved primarily along musical lines with vocalizing getting the biggest play. Presentation is- tar- geted at both the Spanish-speaking clientele and those who don’t savvy the lingo. It’s a satisfactory enter- tainment bill but not too much of a lure for those not interested in padding out the viewing stanza with somO Lattno-type hoofing. Last half of the, .bill, spotlighting- Teresiya de Triana and Cesar el Malaguena, sells well rhythmically and goes over solidly with table- holders who dig the language, as lyrics and chatter are all delivered in Spanish. Duo are reviewed un- der New Acts as is Chirp Linda Lombard, who precedes the Latino team with a quartet of American tunes and one Spanish-flavored entry.- Opening slot is held down by tapstress Marian Callahan, who makes' a nice appearance and reg- isters with some sprightly foot- work. Her closer, a reverse strip from briefies into an'outer garment, done while terping, is a strong at- tention-getter. Freddie Alsonso’s orch backs show and alternates with the Al Castellanos rhumba band in dish- ing out the dance beat. Jess. Reading May Ax City Tax On Charity Entertainment; Heidt Benefit Cues Move Heading,-April 7. The possibility of exempting fund-raising entertainment pro- grams sponsored by charities from the local admissions tax is being considered by city council, Mayor James B. Bamford said. A request for exemption had been made by representatives of Community General Hospital, who had‘ the Horace Heidt “American Way” show here in March. * More than 2,000 persons attended the hospital benefit, which was scaled to $3.60. At present a 10% city tax is levied on all types of entertainment programs. “Too frequently entertainers who come to Reading to raise money for charity keep a large part of the revenue collected,”, Bamford com- mented. . There is a. possibility, he .said, the tax law would be amend- ed so that only the sums actually received by the charities from ben- efit performances would be tax exempt. Chi Theatre’s New Sked Chicago, April *}. Chicago Theatre Has been re- vising its stageshbw‘schedule with the booking of Kay Starr falling out. Miss Starr had been pacted to headline two-weelcer starting Fri- day (10); John Carroll, Connie Haines and Jack Miles take over the stage fare. Patti Page comes in for one week April 24. Accent will be on 3-D pic, “House of Wax” (WB), for the next two frames. Van Johnson headlines for one week May 22 and Johnnie Bay comes in for a stanza the following week. * AC. Nitery Op Williams Gets 3 Years, Fined 5G, For Income Tax Evasion Atlantic City, April 7. Leroy B. Williams, for several years one of the operators of Club Harlem, top sepia nitery here, was sentenced to a three-year term in Federal prison following aii income tax evasion conviction and fined $5,000 as he appeared, before U. S. District'Court Judge—Thomas M. Madden in Camden last Thursday ( 2 ). Williams, acquitted in an income tax evasion case in 1930 but later found guilty of perjury, was con- victed by a Federal jury March 13 after a two-week trial of evading about $10,000 in income taxes for 1950 and 1951. Sentence and fine were imposed on the first count of an indictment, while imposition of sentence on the next count of the two-count indict- ment was suspended and he was placed on three years’ probation, to begin after his sentence' is com- pleted. Judge Madden postponed the start of Williams' sentence until April 20 to give his attorney, H. Albert Hyett, an opportunity to file an appeal. AGVA Supported Continued from page 47 BABY (TASSELS) SCRUGGS Celebrating 12 SHOW-STOPPING MONTHS in the Folies Bergere Revue "PARIS to PICCADILLY" at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London and STILL FLOURISHINGl to My Thanks to Yal Parpell, Bernard Delfont and the Harry Foster Agency — and to^ — a My American Agents: WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY New York City MISS GERTRUDE QUINTON T419 Broadway New York City mey, S.J., w.k. labor conciliator and arbitrator. : Philadelphia labor lined up sol- idly behind the performers and Ray Turchi, head of the waiters and waitresses union, said the nitery owners had only themselves to blame. Earlier in the- week sev- eral of the cafemen announced that they would hire. non-AGVA acts and bring them in from out-of- town to maintain the “lockout” the clubs had declared. Local 77 (musicians union) mem- bers didn’t picket, but refused to cross lines. The labor solidarity was unexpected here. In recent’ union disputes at cafes, there was no such unity. When the bartenders union struck Sciolla’s cafe last year, both actors and musicians went through lines. Similarly, the other unions ignored picketing waiters and waitresses in Local 301's four-year-old strike against the Anchorage cafe.* The nightclub owners announced (31) that they had agreed to sign no contracts with AGVA and would refuse to permit agents of the union to enter their places. They said they would -hire “former AGVA acts,” but only on a “non- AGVA basis.” In a move to en- courage AGVA members to Work under these conditions, George A. Hamid, Sr., a member of the ex- ecutive committee of Theatre Res- taurant Owners of America, stated the organization would .pay any fines levied on entertainers by AGVA, Both Sides Confident Conflicting claims found both sides still confident. The Philadel- phia Cafe Owners Assn, said 24 spots were standing pat in their refusal to play AGVA acts. Dick Jones, with the labor backing, was exultant. “Only ; 11 rooms have been affected by this lockout and “has faiied completely. Philadel- * , , * s no , Chicago* a home for striptease dancers that can’t work elsewhere. This city is still AGVA’s ‘Rock of Gibraltar’*” Cuba Arrests Continue* from page 2 1 the Casino Nacional, is closed at this time of the year). Havana’s nitery gambling is largely dominated by Americans. Sans Souci is run entirely by Americans. Tropicana is Cuban, but the gambling room-is run by an American. Montmartre’s dice table Is American-run. The Military Intelligence Serv- ice Identified those deported as Georgina Marsch, James Davis, Morris Weinberg, Thomas Graven, Michael Bliss, Joseph Tamburro, Robert Ayoub,- Charles White, Patrick Smith, Charles Glick and Vernon Windham. Chicago's NEW LAWRENCE HOTEL Inf f Restaurant - Cock- till Lounm —400 Madam. Kitshanetta Afrtf, Mf Bleep* Ini Room* (nil with Tub and Showor) —Madam Apgslnt* moMi—omlaoklai taka and Park. Lawrans* 4 Konjaaro Avennea Chlcaga -40, llliaala ★ A ★ ★ ★ ★ 8 PEC I At. PROFESSIONAL RATE# at Skarldaa Road LOaRbaaek 1*1100 MUSIC arranged composed M ET I S H50 Broadwqy, N. Y, C, Ml* 1104 Clr<tit:44(if THE CHORDS lnttrum*ntalisl» without (nifrumanfa Now Capitol Theatra, Wathlngton. D. C. Club Dotes (Week Apr. 9). New York; Hart* ford. Conn.; Nashua, N. H.. and Boston. Mass. Dir.: GENERAL ARTISTS CORP. Club Dal» Boofc/nysby HARRY GREBEN 203 N. Wabash Ava. Chtiata, III. AT DUNN 1690 B’way NSW Yark iir /X Mi! Lucille andWdie ROBERTS SSHU?o« r Ro«» HOTEL MERRE, N.Y.C. • Follow**! -fY * * ■ Chicago ?/k«K K uf»E HowL^J’Stt *0t>v» • ririti."'- ta* Ct>- «* W.A'A w WHEN IN BOSTON It's th» HOTEL AVERY Avtry ft WashlngtoR Sts. The Heme of Show Polk ThoRk You Kindly JIMMY GRADY British Colonial hotel >>. NASSAU , ». • i a t >