Variety (March 1954)

WILL H. HAYS Will H. Hays, 75, longtime head of the Motion Picture Producers & DiJtributors Of America., died in Sullivan, Ind., March 7. Details in film section, JOHN EBERSON . . • John Eberson, 79. architect of over 500 theatres throughout the tj s and on the Continent, died March 5 in Stamford, -Conn. Born in Austria, he came to^the U. S. in 1901. A partner with his son in the New York firm of John and Drew Eberson, architects-engin- eers, he was credited with creating tiie ‘‘atmospheric theatre,” a design popular during the’20s. Eberson designed and Construct- id some of the first modern -film theatres. Among them were such Loew's houses as the Paradise, Bronx, N. Y„ and the Valencia, jamica* Queens. He also built the Kex Theatre in Paris.' His firm de- signed the band shell in Lewisohn Stadium, N. Y. Following World War II, the Eberson® were active in construction of nabe theatres throughout the country. Surviving besides his son are his wife and two daughters., JOHN L. BALDBHSTON John L. Balfierston, 64, play- wright-scenarist, died March 8 of a heart attack in Hollywood. Dur- ing'World War I he was a war cor- respondent for the Philadelphia Record. In 1915 he' went to Eng- land and from 1920-23 was editor of the Outlook in London. From 1923-31 he served as chief. London correspondent of the New York World. Balderston, whose last screen- play credit was “Gaslight,” Was in- active since 1945, except for- a brief, stint at Metro last- year. Among plays he authored include “The Genius of the Marne,” “Tongo,” “Berkeley Square,” with J. C. Squire; “Dracula, with Ham- ilton Deane; and “Frankenstein,” with Peggy Webling. Wife and son survive. ERNEST WAGNER Ernest Wagner, 77, who had been with the N. Y. Philharmonic- Symphony for 41 years until his retirement in 1944, died March 4 in Oceanside, L. I. While., with the Philharmonic he played solo pic- colo and third flute. The son of musical parents, Wag- ner toured the country at the age of 10 as flutist with a concert group. Seven years later he joined the Thomas Orch, batoned by The- odore Thomas. Following his retirement from the Philharmonic, Wagner ap- peared, on radio and also conducts ed a local glee club in Long Is- land. He Composed 24 etudes for flute and authored “Foundations of Flute Playing,” used as a text- book. Wife and a brother survive. transcriptions of Bach, a rewritten and orchestrated version of Sir Henry Bishop's music to Robert Burns’ operetta, “The Jolly Beg- gars,” and such songs as “Songs of Capri,” “The Gull” and “Oxford Garden.” . In 1931 Mrs. Hill's “The Adven- ture® of Pinocchio,” a ballet-play, was produced in New York at the pLongacre Theatre. Her orchestra- tion of Couperin’s trios, the Louis XIV Suite, was introed at the Berkshire Music Festival at Stock- bridge, Mass., in 1935. Surviving are a son and two brothers. Prior to joining tl$e- Shuberts in 1912, he had been accompanist and business manager for Lilian Nor- uica, the opera singer. He also produced “Hands XJp,” in which Will Rogers appeared. - During his youth, Simmons had been an actor and appeared for 40 weeks, in “Trilby." MRS. RUTH CATON Mrs. Ruth (Harris) Caton, 74, former vaudeville performer, died in Toledo March 1 after a two-year illness. She began her acting career at the age of five with her parents, James and Kitty Fox, both vaudeville performers. . , Mrs. Caton teamed -with • her i mother as the Melville Sisters, j then became one of the Sutherland j Sisters, seven young women chosen i for the act because of their anttle- length hair. From 1910 to. 1913 she worked in silent films for the Old Universal Film Corp., using the name of Goldie Burbank. She leaves two sons. PEPI GLOECKNER-KRAMER Pepi Gloeckner-Kramer, 80, vet- eran stage and. film actress whose career spanned more than a half- century, 'died recently' in Vienna. She observed her 80th- birthday Jan. 17. Miss Gloeckner-Kramer, • who made her legit debut in a German language theatre in Budapest, joined Vienna's Volkstheatre en- seipble in 1892 and was a member ever since. She wed the then di- rector of the Volkstheatre, Leopold Kramer. bia Dispatch reporter, died March 1 in Clarence, N. Y„ five days after death of Dohn’s mother. Percy Friedman, 43, owner of the Yeadon Theatre, Yeadon, Pa., died in Philadelphia, Feb. 6, Sur- viving are his wife and three chil- dren, ' Preston Harbin, 64, nabe theatre custodian in Omaha for 10 years, died of heart attack in that city Feb. 24, Survived by niece and nephew. EARL B. WINK Earl B. Wink, 44, director of the Reading Philharmonic Orchestra and cellist, died March 4 in Read- ing, Pa., following an illness of three months* A native of Allen- town, Pa., he studied cello under Joseph Emonts in New York and played with the Allentown Sym- phony Orchestra before coming to Reading 12 yea'rs ago. Surviving are his wife, a daugh- ter, his mother and a brother. Granddaughter, two, of Thomas F. O’Connor, v.p.-treasurer of RKO Theatres, died Feb. 27 in Brazil, Ind. Chester Bias, 37, screen actor, died. March 1 after a long illness at the Motion Picture Country Home on the Coast. Commie Writers Conttauvd from page Z control the way Communist writers handled their scripts. AlUmd said he had heard of both radio and motion picture scripts being -al- tered by Commie pressure;* but could not give any specific ex- amples. . Quizzed about other Communists he met while a radio writer, AUand said he had attended lectures on Marxism given by Eva Shafron. He listed also his former wife, Ruth Myerson; Virginia Mullen, ah ac- tress*, Les Bryant, a soap manu- facturer, arid his wife; Anita Hay, a housewife; Paul Perlin, a back lot worker in film studios; Alvin Hammer, and among radio writers. —Pauline Hopkins^ Sam Moore, __ _ „ . . . Reuben Ship, Mike Davidson, Stan- ■ P ona ^,—*, P ro . mi nent j ey \y a xman, Jerry Fielding, Gene in Omaha musical circles m that stone , BU1 Wolff ; j 3ck and Mary fun hprmnthpr* 1 Robinson, Judy Raymond, Hy Husband, two sons an d her mother.. j Kraft, Lyn Whitney and Muni Father, 45. of Kenneth San j *>„■.» Pedro, of Variety's office staff. 1 „ **e Paul Jarrico and John died March 8 in New York. ; Howard Lawsoivtried to get him to - return to the Party after he quit. Mother, 68, of Harry Loud, Metro trailer producer, died March 4 in Pomona,. Cal. NOEL GAY Noel Gay, .55, British composer, died March 4 in London. A writer of more than 20 musicals, he com- posed “The Lambeth Walk,” sung and danced by Lupino Lane in the tuner, “Me and My Girl.” Show, incidentally, ran for 1,646 per- formances in London. During the *20s he changed his name, Reg- inald Moxon Armitage, to Noel Gay when he decided to switch from classical compositions to pop tunes. Among Gay’s musicals are Clowns in Clover,” “Jack O’ Dia- monds” and “She Couldn’t Say No.” He scored his first legit suc- cess with the rgvue, “Stop Press.” His top money-making tuire was All the King's Horses,” Which netted him around $25,000. In 1939 he wrote the anti-Nazi war num- ber, “Run, Adolf, Run.” . MRS. LOUISE JARECKA Mrs. Louise Llewellyn Jarecka, 74 former concert soprano and wife of composer-conductor Ta- deusz Jarecki, died March 6 in New; York. Born in .Iowa, she studied music in Paris where she \ vas correspondent for Musical America She sang throughout the G an< * bn the Continent* . Mrs. Jarecka also sang at the congress of Mid-Eurqpean Nations in Philadelphia for the guest of honor, the late President Jan Ma- of Czechoslovakia. She trav- eiled in Europe for 15 years, sing- ly® with various orchs and the folish opera. She and her hus- band left Poland in 1937. v A sister survives, besides Iter husband. . W. C. “BUD” CORNISH Worthen C. “Bud” Cornish, 52, sports broadcaster, editor and mag- azine contributor, died in Portland, Me., Feb. 26, after a brief illness. He conducted a nightly sports roundup on Portland’s WGAN for some 15 years and was noted fori his gridcasting. Born, in Taunton, Mass., Cornish started hi® journalistic career in 1922 as a Portland Press-Herald sports writer. He served as the ; paper’s sports editor for 22 years and subsequently switched to the Portland Evening Express & Sun- day Telegram in a similar capacity. Wife and a son survive. LEON MENDELSON Leon Mendelson, 52. for 31 years a staff member of w Warner Bros, Pictures Distributing Corp., in Omaha, jumped to his death March 1 at Des Moines, la. He fell nine stories from an office building. Mendelson was transferred to the Des Moines Warner offi.e three years ago. He left Warners only six weeks ago to become a salesman for Columbia Pictures. ch | <*i l a- i Narcotics Boss Continued from. page 1 ; ' Mother, 85, of M. H. Shapiro, Broadcast Music, Inc. public rela tions, died in l^ew Ifqrk March 8 * \ increase in juvenile narcotic addic- tion in many places where it has been a problem. It would be most unfortunate,, therefore, for the pub- lic welfare if any action such as the showing of motion pictures oil narcotics were taken- now* to en- danger these recent gains. “While I have profound respect for your views, I thought you McCarthy Nix Continued from pace 1 DORA GREGORY Dora Gregory, 81, British actress, died March 5 in London. Following her stage debut in 1898, she ap- peared in about 500 roles. Her last London appearance was in 1942. Miss Gregory, who also per? formed in films and on radio, made her initial London appearance in 1914 at Che Vaudeville Theatre after touring in a number of plays. Among London productions in which she was seen were the “Sea Gull,” “Three Sisters,” “Dinner at Eight” and “Henry IV.” Her husband was the late H. C. J. Howland. MRS. RUTH PREVOST Mrs, Ruth Prevost, 37, tv. actress, died in New Orleans March 7- She ; conducted “New Orleans Cook- ' bopk” on WDSU-TV for the past four years and gained wide popu- larity. Surviving besides her husband are a son and a daughter, mother and father, a sister and two brothers. JOHN A. ANDRES John A. Andres, banjoist and j entertainer at Albany area club and party dates for more than 40’i years, died March 7 in St. Peters- j burg, Fla., where he was vacation- \ ing with his wife and a son. He was originally a painter. Wife and three sons survive. M. WOOD-HILL Mrs. Mabel Wood Hill, 83, com- v° SC j Professionally known as M. J^ood-Hill, died March 2 in Stam- foid, Conn. Her works included SAM ROBERTS Sam Roberts, 67, theatrical vet- eran of 40 years as performer, theatreowner and booking agent, died, in Chicago on March 7. In vaude, during the ’20s and ‘30s, he was'part of the comedy team of Roth it Roberts, later teaming as an act- with his brother Irving. Retiring from the stage after some 20 years, he purchased the. Lyric Theatre in Indianapolis, Ind. For past 15 years he had been an ar- tist’s representative iiv Chicago and house booker for the Palace Thea- tre in Rockford, IU; Surviving are his wife and three brothers. E. OLIVER RAMSDELL E. Oliver Ramsdell, 71, presi- dent of the Middlesex ibid Med- ford Amusement Cos., died in Winchester, Mass., Feb. 28, the day before his 72nd -birthday. A vet exhibitor, he started in the business in 1913 when he and his brother opened the Orpheuni The- atre in Malden, Mass. Since then he, and the companies with which he was associated operated many suburban houses in nearby Salem, Medford and Melrose. Survived by. his wife and two daughters. WILL L. LINDHORST Will L. Lindhorst, 64, magician* died March 7 in St. Louis. Dean of St. Louis magicians, he was rated as one of the. top sleight-of- hand performers in the country. Lindhorst had. toured the vaude circuits and in 1927 drew a salary of $750. One of his tricks was a vanishing bird cage. He originated the radio show, “Chandu, the Magician,” and also penned * sev- eral books on magic. In recent years he operated a novelty shop in St. Louis. Wife and a son survive. ARTHUR WEISS Arthur Weiss, 85, a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony orch for 31 years, died March 5 in Berkeley, Cal. A native of Buda- pest, Hungary, he had also pro- duced severai light operas. He retired about 25 years ago. ARON W. HOWER Aron W. Hower, 55, still photog- rapher in the film industry for 20 years, died Feb. 27 in Hollywood. He has been ill since last Septem- ber when he returned from a Ha- waiian location for Republic. Surviving is his wife. Party equal time to answer Steven- son, its felt, the nets have met their responsibility. Whether Vice- President Richard M. Nixon or ■ should have the benefit of our ex- anyone else handles the assign- j perience in this field, as we can ment is not the nets’ concern,^ And,* definitely trace drug addiction and it’s pointed out, the Commission! drug -peddling to the showing 'of has consistently declared that it j certain motion picture films deal- will not interfere with a licjensee’s : i ng w ith narcotics.” judgment in difficult situations. ' - — Marriages Joe Won’t Take ‘No’ From Nets T . , J ___ , . Juanita Wilcox to Edward Mitch-- GBS and NBC were smack in eB> Columbus, March 6. Bride the middle of a No Mans Land rwas secretary to Jerome Reeves, as Sen. Joseph McCarthy insisted IWBNS-TV program director, and he would demand equal time to j served as publicity promotion di- reply to Adlai E. Stevenson’s ] rector of WLW-C for three years, speech of last Saturday <6) from i Sandra Coughlin to Pete Yen- Florida in which he took the Re- sen, Sheri by, O., March 4. Bride’s publican Party and "McCarthyism” ' in WBNS-TV continuity depart- over the coals. Both webs nixed , ment; he was a director there, the Wisconsin senator’s request for; ^Marjorie Collins to Joseph G. slotting on CBS tv and radio and ( Kennedy, Meredith, N. H., Feb. 18. NBC radio, matching the facilities j Bride was formerly a theatre cash E. ROMAINE SIMMONS Ernest Romaine Simmons, in his late 80s, former dance director, casting director and production as- sistant to J. J., Shubert for over 40 years, died March 7 in New York. Mrs. Alice E. (Longval) Robert, musician and singer for years, died in Manchester. N. H., Feb, 28 after a short illness. She was a native of' Manchester. w*here she was a church organist and sang in several operas as a member of the French organization, Societe Oper- ettes. given to Stevenson, ing what appeared to be as a team, they gave the nod to a request by GOP national . Chairman Leonard Hall, to “answer” the .1952 Demo- cratic candidate for President, with ViCe-Pres.ident Richard M. Nixon tapped to give the Administration’s views. The veep is billed for Sat- urday <13) at 10:30 p,m„ same niche as Stevenson had. McCarthy took the position that I am delegating no one to answer Instead, act- | iei ^ T he ’j a Meredith theatre owner, 1 Wanda Saylor to Leo HeiseL, Pittsburgh, March 1, Bride’s lead- er of EZC Ranch Gals on WDTV; he’s on WENS technical staff. Anita Jeane Marcus to Jules E, Rutner, Buffalo, March 7. Bride is daughter of Nat Marcus*. War- ner's Buffalo branch manager. Glynn Hill to Frank Rogier, Feb. 24, N. Y. Couple are musical comedy and operetta singers. Mildred Krauss to Sherman S, Krellbergr Miami Beach. March 7. the attack made upon me. Every- - He’s a legit producer and film exec. one knows the FCC rules provide they must give me time, otherwise it’s completely dishonest and un- Mary Hartig to Ronald Alexan- der, March 8. N.Y. Bride is a legit actress, recently in “Time Out for jia LuuiMivtcjj uidiiviivot aim uu- , fair." fr the webs refused, he j bi 1 * wnedy. . 1 ,* iAOfii 4A |j An »pu. M J Joan Benn^ -to S6th B&kcr t Bex* would take legal action. They j rlv Hm Marrh Q RriHo ic Dr. Frederick Ernest Beckman, 88, retired professor of romance languages at UCLA, died March 4 in Los Angelesi In addition to his collegiate work he was active in the film industry, supplying Ger- man subtitles for American pic- tures. Edward H. Oakford, 55, onetime head of the Keith-Proetor-Moss film booking office and grand- nfcphew of the. late E. F. Albee, u*ho once headed the B. F. Keith Circuit, died recently in Milford, Conn. James J. Cooney, onetime busi- ness manager of the old Jefferson Theatre in Portland, Me., died re- cently in that city. His wife and two sisters survive. J. Caverson, 74, pioneer exhibitor in Yorkshire, Eng., died at Leeds, Eng, Feb. 22. He was father of Sidney and Joe Caverson, w.k: in London film circles. Mother, 77, of Ben Goffstein, promotion manager of the Fla- mingo, Las Vegas, died March 3 in Los Angeles. She left two other sons and two daughters. will grant me time or learn w-hat the law is. I will guarantee that” Helen Siousatt, CBS Radio di- rector of talks, and Sig Mickelson, the tv web’s news and public af- fairs director, had responded to McCarthy as follows; “CBS Radio and television networks have al- ready granted request of Leonard W. Hall for reply on behalf of Re- publican National Committee., We believe that grqnt of such time to the committee at its request will provide full balance.” Meantime, Edward R. Murrow was to unwrap his long held “Mc- Carthy Story” oh the CBS-TV “See It Now” last night (Tues.). It’s understood that Murrow and co- producer Fred W. Friendly had been “waiting” for the strategic moment to spring the filmed stanza and decided that “this is it.” erly Hills, March 9. Bride is adopted daughter of comedian Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone; groom is a stockbroker. Berlin Continued from pace Z Father, 70, of Norman Dohn. WBNS-TV new'seaster and Colum- the place by storm with their ren- dition of-“Daddy,” and young bari- tone Charles Applewhite, of the Berle show, definitely had the crowd calling for more. The Step Bros, opened in lively fashioh, fol- lowed by blonde songbird, Jaye P, Morgan, with the trumpet of Leon- ard Sues also coming through solidly. . ASCAP prexy Stanley Adams, 1 Paul Cunningham and Gene Buck J son, New York. March 9. Mother 'led a small songsmith delegation is Lela Swift, director of CBS-TV s j at the affair. I “The Web.-’ BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Sig Sakowicz, daughter, Chicago, Feb. 28. Father is a columnist for the Chicago Polish Daily News and a radio disk jockey. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Mitchell, daughter, Santa Monica, Cal., March 1. Father is a screen actor. Mr. and Mrs. Nick Summa, son, Pittsburgh, Feb. 27. Father’s with Baron Elliott orch. Mr. and Mrs. James Chapin, daughter, New York, Feb. 22. Mother is with General Artists Corp.; he’s with the Tony Pastor band, Mr. and Mrs. John Thompson, son, San Rafael, Cal., March 3. Father is program manager of KNBC, San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs, Mitchell (Mike) Jablons, daughter. New York, March 5. Mother is a N.Y. Herald Tribune staffer; father is publicity director for WLIB, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. Alan Neuman, daughter, New York, March 3. Father is a film director. Mr. and Mrs, Irving Kahn, daughter, New Rochelle, N.Y., Feb. 10. Father is head of Teleprompter. Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Schier, son. New York, March 7. Father is manager of business affairs for the radio-tv department of the Dancer- . Fitzgerald-Sample ad agency. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Schwartz.