Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 22, 1953 Hotel Jefferson, St. L» St. Louis 4 , April 17. Blackburn Twins & Marion Col- by Leo De Lyon, Hal Havrid Orch (7); $1-1.50 cover. >, A neat combo of songs, dancing and comedy comprise the current layout at this No. 1 downtown spot. Regulars receive an" extra dish when maestro Hal Havrid, who has been here for several months and who emcees the proceedings, does the vocals for “Darktown Strutters Pair' while batonning his tooters. This is the teeoff for which he cops a nice mitt. Leo De Lyon ladles out a lot of zany stuff that gets better as it goes along. Mob is cool at the start, but he quickly warms ’em up with his triple voice as he socks over “Summertime,” a parody on an imaginary operatic number at the 88 and a motion picture travelog with sound effects to the theme of “Old Man River.” He wins a neat okay for his burlesk of a weight- lifter elevating the portable mike from the floor, ditto for his whis- tiling and humming, at the same time, of two ditties and his own arrangement of “Star Dust” for the finale. The Blackburn twins, stalwart maxes and partner Marion iJo<<\v, about half of their size and with plenty of personality, keep.tae tomers in good humor with their chatter, songs and tap routines, all of which are socked over. The twins’ first, “Let’s Put The Show On The Road,” wins a nifty mitt and Miss Colby, a brunet in a blue semi-bouffant sequin-dot,ted ensem- ble, joins the. boys in “Fm In A Dancing Mood” with the first of several fast and chicko tap rou- tines. The boys, in top hats and tails and carrying white-knotted canes, do their reflections in a non- existent mirror and win belly guf- faws with their antics. Returning to the precision stuff the lads cop more lusty approval. Miss Colby discards the lower portion of her gown to display a ballet skirt and shapely gams and the twins do a zany bit while war- bling “Manhattan.” Havrid’s soft music lure dansapators to the floor. Sahu. Shamrock, Houston Houston, April 15. Irene Ryan, Dornan Bros., Hal Pruden Orch ; $1.50 cover. Pleasantly surprising a scanty crowd of regulars, Irene Ryan gives her unoiled tonsils a squeaky workout and scores. The wry-faced featured player of many Hollywood productions, as well as a member of a former Bob Hope radio and touring troupe, slips in a few slightly risque numbers and action bits that are well received. Sultry songstresses are generally booked into this spot and Miss Ryan is a departure, but from the hand-patting her flights into Pro- hibition era vocals cause, it’s ob- vious that all patrons in the Sham- rock Room aren’t youngsters. They like her here. Surprise of current show are the Dornan Bros. Unknown here, they immediately became w.k. with planned ad lib material of Charlie Dornan .and his vocalizing with brother Leo. They are “sleepers” who wake up the audience and make it pretty rough for Miss Ryan to follow. While their audience participation skits are genuinely funny, the real bellies come from Charlie’s apparently spontaneous side remarks during other parts of their routine. Theirs is a smash stint. Hal Pruden orch is solid for show and dancing. Jedo. Steuben’s, Boston Boston, April 16. Jay Marshall,' Marquez Sisters *3), Lee Andrews, Don Dennis, Tony Bruno Orch (6), Harry Fink Trio; $2.50 minimum. This popular downtown eatery has long flourished with medium- budgeted, pleasant and tasteful floorshows and this lineup stacks as about par for the course. Its main distinction, stems from the droll wit of Jay Marshall, who cas- ually meanders through a yockful sesh of magico while handing out self-depreciatory remarks anent his ability. Guy has a subtle sense of humor, and while some of the cus- tomers are left at the post, he manages to nab a fair share of laughs. For windup, Marshall switches to a ventro 'bit, slipping on a white giove gimmicked up to serve as the face of “Lefty,” his alter-ego, with whom he carries on a zany conversation. The Marquez Sisters, three South Americans, prance and vocalize tneir way through a lively stanza o> Latin-flavored melodies while iwo of the gals strum guitars and me other shakes, among otheil things, the maracas. Gals also in- sert a gagged-up carbon of Johnnie Ray Wailing “Cry,” which scores neatly. Bill tees off with Lee An- drews, late of the Andrews Twins, in a standard tap turn. Don Dennis, longtime emcee, whips through birthday and anni- versary announcements, taking time out to warble a couple of ballads and the robust “Song of Songs” for his usual strong recep- tion. Tony Bruno steers his crew through the showbacking chores and divides the customer rhythms with Harry Fink’s trio. Elie. Montmaptii'c 9 Havana Havana, April 16. Josy & Frank Rexis; The Aero Cats (3), Marion Harris, Facundo Rivero Quartet, Ray Carson, Sere - nata Espanola Orch (12); $3 mini- mum at tables. A Dutchman who makes a clarinet almost talk, an Englishwoman who sings U. S. torch songs, a Cuban dancing-singing quartet, a Spanish orch and Yank acrobats make up Montmartre’s current international show. Cuba is having its spring tourist slump and nitery customers are relatively scarce (Montmartre low- ered its minimum from $3.50 to $3),’ but this show doesn’t reflect the bad season (although it doesn’t stack up to some of the nitery ex- travaganzas presented this past winter). Dutchman Frank Rexis uses his clarinet to imitate every- thing from a woman gossiping on the phone to a rooster excitedly circling a goodlooking chick. The clarinet argues with the band- leader, whistles at a pretty girl and generally makes its “thoughts” very clear. Josy Rexis does some fair vocaling (interrupted by the clarinet) and provides the act with a pretty face' and figure. Marion Harris begins her singing with numbers a bit subdued for a Havana nitery. She then swings, however, into torch numbers which are more appreciated. The English accent gives a quaint twist to the sexy tunes. Miss Harris ad libs with her audience capably. The Aero Cats (3)-do competent, effortless acrobatics. Fast-moving musical accomp keeps them paced. The finale is a thriller, evoking screams from the females in audi- ence. The Cats stand on each other’s shoulders and then fall toward the aud. They break apart .and land on their feet at the last moment. The Facundo Rivero Quartet (two and two), accompanied by Rivero on the piano, sing and shake in the best native tradition. Their voices are good, their songs typi- cally and throbbingly quick- tem- poed. Their popularity can be measured by the fact that they are called back for more encores than all other acts combined. The Serenata Espanola Orch tops off the bill with sweet and stirring Iberian rhythms. Ray Carson sings and emcees in English and Spanish. Jay. Pi^nHIo. London (FOLLOWUP) London, April 15. Now that Irene Hilda has taken over the lead in “The Blue Bird,” the current Pigalle revue, the show begins to come to life. With effer- vescent good humor, sparkling per- sonality and natural vitality, she infuses some meaning into the theme, “Why Go To Paris?,” Qn which the production revolves. The blonde Parisienne chirper, who had previously had a long spell in this Pjccadilly nitery, is familiar with the type of audience the room attracts; she handles them with a confidence born of experi- ence and has no difficulty achiev- ing wholehearted participation. The routine may have something of an unsophisticated look, but it is a case of horses for courses. It (its this room admirably. Miss Hilda has two solo spots. The first, of an introductory char- acter, gives her opportunity to take customers for a quick, trip around the pop Paris haunts from Mont- martre to Montparnasse, from Place Pigalle to Saint Germaine de Pres, with impressions of Charles Trenet, Jean Sablon, LU- cienne Boyer and Maurice Cheva- lier. It is in her second appear- ance, however, that she gets her opportunities with a range of breezy Angelo-French tunes. It is at this stage, too, that she gets the customers to join in, not only, participating in the vocals but in- dulging in rather adolescent games. In remainder of show, which is unchanged, Pamela Palma con- tinues a£ the standout personality. Her exotic hip movements have a fascinating appeal, and her dances are a nicer mixture of voluptuous- ness and freshness. Bryan Johnson is an adequate romantic' vocalist. Show continues to be strong lure and the Pigalle is one of the few spots in town still packing ’em in. Myro. Pj&jlETY Ambassador Hotel, L® A® Los Angeles, April 14. Jack Smith, accompanied by Buddy Pepper; Nita Bieber Danc- ers (5). Benny Strong Orch (15) with Gloria Stuart; $2 cover. Hasty booking of Jack Smith when the Cocoanut Grove was left without a headliner after the “amicable” cancellation of Luci- enne Boyer's stint, should keep the Ambassador Hotel’s room profit- ably busy for the next fortnight. There’s nothing near top biz in sight, but Smith’s airwave follow- ing will help somewhat and the Pasadenans who frequent the spot will have no complaints about his show. Opener was a bit on the ragged side since Smith had almost no re- hearsal and accompanist Buddy Pepper didn’t check in from the east until three hours before show- time. They work easily, however, putting over a half-hour stint that pleases. Smith is best on the up- tempo stuff . like “Wanna Be Happy” and “Just One of Those Things” and he has a fine closer in “The Evils of Drink.” Some of the midway stuff could be trimmed for greater impact but there’s no complaint about the ingratiating delivery. Nita Bieber Dancers, four gals and a guy, are on for routines fore and aft that evoke no particular response and Benny Strong has added a Charleston romp with his bandsinger to bring the show to a round 50 minutes. For dance stuff, the Strong outfit leans heavily on nostalgia and* the beat keeps ter- patrons satisfied. Kap. % Ruby Foo’s, Montreal Montreal, April 14. Wally Griffin, Joska de Barbary, Lcn Berger, Fred Toldy; no cover or minimum. NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS This is Wally Griffin’s seventh try in Ruby Foo’s Starlight Room and guy is still what the manage- ment considers its best commercial (or spender) draw. Since last showing here Griffin has sharpen- ed his songalog, updated several of his standards and his patter at the piano is now more adult and relaxed. He is still far from, subtle in most routines, but the over- eager, this-will-kill-’em chatter of other viewings has given way to a smoother approach and with the exception of the occasional heckler who no longer fazes him, the pa- trons are with him all the way. Teeing off with a nursery rhyme in which he parodies Cole Porter, Gilbert & Sullivan and Edith Piaf doing the kid stuff, Griffin estab- lishes okay contact with the room and his swing through Calypso dit- ties and “Black Magic” a la Daniels picks up plenty of palming. A' modified audience participation stint to “Ballin’ the Jack” hits at the right time and his near-closer, “North Atlantic,” a broad and yock- gathering takeoff on “South Pa-, cific,” is- repeated from other ap- pearances with same salvos. House pianist Fred Toldy does quiet interlude music with violin- ist Joska de Barbary and 88’er Len Berger, spelling effectively. Berger bows out of Ruby Foo’s April 26 for three months in England and France and de Barbary leaves in midsummer to form his own orch in New York. Newt. of the tenor and baritone which, at show caught, nabbed top re- sults. Combo, backed by 88irig of Ward and a guitarist, interpolate bits of stepping ip their vocalizing chore with sesh scoring neatly with hepsters. Lineup glides into solid teeoff with the graceful lerping of the Czernys, an attractive couple who score strongly with tasty ballroom- ology. Eye-appealing $tint fea- tures male partner holding femme mate aloft while executing rapid whirls. Bob Conrad has dreamed up three sprightly new production numbers which gals prance through in fine style aided by vocal accom- paniment of Bob Peters. Charlie Wolkie's crew handles background- ing in suave fashion flitting cus- tomer sashaying with the Zarde Bros. Elie. Latin Boston Boston, April 14. Dean Murphy, Billy Ward & Dominoes (6), The Czerhys (2), Bob Conrad Girls (8) with Bob Peters, Charlie Wolke Orch (8), Zarde Bros. Orch (4); $2 beverage minimum. Although lacking strong marquee names, this, layout is well-balanced and diversified enough to grab sat- isfying results down the line. Pace ho T ds throughout. Topping the lineup is Dean Mur- phy, a' literate comic who hasn’t played the Hub in several years, but judging f:-om his onstage gab, is a veritable walking Baedeker of the town. His chatter is topical, often indiga-tinged and fast—in fact, occasionally too fast for ma- jority of ringsiders to grasp, a de- fection that fails to slow up the glib comic’s quip-tossing. Follow- ing this warmup sesh, guy launches int.o a series of carbons of political and show biz personalities topped by devastating ribs of Harry Rich- man and Hildegarde. Winds- stanza with sincere tribute to FDR, aided by slick lighting effects, to garner hefty response. Injecting plenty of enthusiasm, bounce and rhythm, Billy Ward & Dominoes, "five colored youths, zing through a vocal stanza dishing out such originals as “R.ed Rooster,” “Have Mercy” and “Sixty-Minute Man.” Included in stint is an off- beat arrangement of “Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” featuring chirping Bellevue* Cusiuo, Mout’I Montreal, April 17,. Joe Howard, Ruth Brown, Nob- Elites (3), Myrons (2), Walter Long, Barbara Esko, Casino Love- lies (10), Bix Belair Orch (11), Buddy Clayton Quartet with Shir- Ity Sheldon; staged and produced by Natalie Kamarova; music, George Komaroff; $1 admission. Four years ago, Harry Holrpok opened the Believue Casino with Joe* Howard as the headliner ^nd since that time, Holmok has par- layed his former dance joint into the biggest single entertainment draw in Montreal. As with the first show ancl on each following anniversary, How- ard comes out of the past to take the lead slot in these particular revues. This vet performer is still socko as he whams over a big col- lection of songs such as “Hello,” “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and a host, of others. For a guy of his years, Howard is still okay on the vocal side and, showcased by the trim Casino pony line, he reprises his cakewalk routine to a solid ovation. Mme. Natalie Kamarova has re- tained much of the original atmos- phere of the first Casino show for this layout. Chirper Ruth Brown is back to add visual impact ^vith her full figure and vocal sessions with Walter Long; the production numbers are as lavish as ever and, as usual, draw biggest customer attention. Between the femme sequences and following the Howard offer- ing, the Myrons, two talented acros, wow the house with smooth balancing and a surprise musical trio, the Nov-Elites, pick up hefty mitting for their uninhibited song and impresh sets. The idea of a comedy trio such jis this is some- thing new to the Casino patrons and should almost become a stand- ard judging from reaction on opening show. Their musical style, although by no means original on the vocal circuit, is greatly en- hanced by the boundless energy and almost maniacal approach the guys use on every number. Trick hats, a bass fiddle, accord ; on and guitar, all painted white, help to sell act and their frantic 25-min- ute stint makes a rousing closer to this special revue. Terpster Walter Long in his sin- gle spot shows plenty of tap ability but looks a little lost by himself on the big floor. Ballerina Barbara Esko is adequate during productions and the Bix Belair ,o»*ch gives strong support at all ’times. Newt. Standishall, Ottawa Ottawa, April 17. Earl (Fatha ) Hines & All Stars (6); 75c admission, $1 Sat. Earl (Fatha) Hines and his musi- cians are op Standishall’s stand for regular dance stanzas but it’s only when maestro asks them to terp that the customers go on the floor, preferring to sit, listen and watch as the boff group sizzles through its routines. , Dominated by Hines’ piano, the orch makes the most of individual members, all clicko performers on their various- instruments, with every number littered with solo work. Etta Jones is the band's canary, handling her stints capably to big mitting. Vernon Smith is on trum- pet, a clicko last-minute replace- ment for Jonah Jones, who had to> remain in New York because of ill- ness. Aaron Sachs plays tenor sax and clarinet and Osie Johnson is on drums, with Carl Pruitt a socko bass. Benny Green is the band’s trombone. Music runs the gamut, all of it featured by solid beat and clean- cut rhythm and presentation. Gn night caught, top kudos went to Hines’ boogie biz on the keys but appreciative tableholders gave al- ’most every number, arid almost every performer, big reception. Large room was comfortably filled. Gorm . Amato’s, Portland, Ore® Portland, Ore., April 16. Delta Rhythm Boys (5), Mar- garet Brown, Wyn Walker Orch (5) with Renee Weiss; $1 cover. $1.50 Sat. George Amato has returned to his sunper club fresh from the political wars at file state capital where he was rep arid chairman of the Indepc-rident Night Club Own- ers helping to frame a good liquor- by-the-drlnk law. “Jigger Jag” proems here May 4. Two socko acts make up the cur- rent layout with Jhe Delta Rhythm Eoys in the headline spot. Lee Gaines, Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford and Clifford Holland knock the customers on their ears from teeoff till their begoff nearly 50 minutes later. Goodlooking lads show plenty of class, tonsil ability and di' 'f dining. Well- dressed lads also display a variety of tunes and terrif change of pace. Their comedy garners plenty of locks. Rene De Knight handles the 83 for quartet. Margaret Brown comes to a near ovation after Amato introduces her as the girl who Won the 52 Assn, annual award at the Wal- dorf-Astoria Hotel, N. Y., the Hit- tor part of February for distin- guished service to the Armed Forces. Orb-filling auburn-haired gal displays a load of talent with some neat terping. Sparklingly gowned, long-stemmed lass breaks into a swell Spanish routine, casta- nets and all, much to the delight of the tablers. Femme has plenty of soiling ability and wins ring- siders with her freshness to beg off after four solid numbers. Wyn Walker orch backs show capably and sets the tompo for dansapation. Well-stacked Renee We ; ss is a socko addition to the outfit via her pipes. Feve. Top’s, San IHoggo San Diego, April 16. Dan Rowan & Dick Martin, Bunny Bishop, Don Howard, Tom- my .Marino^ Orch, Sally Ann Da- vis; no cover or minimum. New comedy team of Rowan & Martin stems from low-pressure school which seeks mild, easy laughs instead of boff alas. Clean- cut duo does mostly all right with that goal. Assets are pleasant looks, lack of brashness and bright just- out-of-college manner. Team gets off to okay start with takeoff on current rare o r dee- jays operating in niteries. Martin portrays Don Howard, local KSDO jock who does remote from Top’s and alao emcees, and bis difficul- ties with phone callers. Stronger and funnier is takeoff on TV shows, a not-too-original switch on. old switch-button radio, bit. Other bits vary from laugh-pro- voking to draggy. Example of for- mer is-Hamlet scene in which Ro- wan emotes as the Dane while Martin’s background voice relates what’s really on actor’s mind. In second «how. Rowan is sj.U Ham- let but Martin shows drunko’s re- actions to “art” at ringside. While Rowan is changing into Hamlet tights, lanky Martin sings a straight ballad, and he shouldn’t— even a parody would be better. In sum, team has some good bits that need polishing. Songstress Bunny Bishop (New Acts) adds her special brand of sock to show, backed' okay by Tommy Marino’s musickers with Sally Ann Davis doing vocals. Don. Angelo’s, Omaha Omaha, April 14. Nellie Lutcher & Co. (3); $1 cover. Nellie Lutcher “is just like money in the bank,” sez boniface Angelo DiGiacomo. And the hefty singer, in her third booking at this nitery, is packing ’em in despite Omaha’s allergy to cover charge. Miss Lutcher strokes a fine 88; fares handsomely in trading quips with aud; plays all requests except bop; scores with her vocals, and mixes well at intermission. She tees off with “Birth of Blues,” swings into several medleys, puts in strong plug for her latest disks. “Love You Very Muchily, Verily” and “How Many Moons.” and winds up with “Hurry on Down” and “R°al Gone Guy” for smash exit. Angelo’s mechanical lighting changes add greatly to presenta- tion. Singer’s aides are Earl Hyde, drums, and Art Edwards, bass. Both are talented — and poker-faced, which is as it should be, for Miss Lutcher’s the show and the center of attention every second she’s on. Trump , Corpus Christ!, Tex., Jifhior Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the appearance of “Ice Vogues of 1953,” May 11-16 at Buccaneer Sta- dium*