Variety (November 1954)

VOL* 196 No. 12 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1954 PRICE 25 CENTS TELEVISION’S ‘GET OUT OF TOWN Some Think It s Just a Sweat Shop Those Hollywood scandals that, used to be the delight of the tabloids seem to be a thing of the past. With the exception of the joe DiMaggiO.-Marilyn Monroe divorce, which can’t be. properly tagged a "scandal,” there hasn’t been much for the Hollywood dirt-scoopers to scoop. It's another facet of the film capital’s “new look.” New York publicists; who’re not at all averse to Headline-making be- havior on the part of the stars, aren’t quite sure they like Holly-- wood’s- latter day soap-and-water complexion. Some , of them even talk wistfully of those glamorous years-gone-by' when you could count on seeing a film name on the front pages every other day. There are two schools of thought on the matter. One holds that the lore Hollywood can curb the old wildparty stuff and convince the rest of the country that it’s just another place where people are hard at work, the better jor the in- dustry’s public relations. . The other bemoans the new or- der. The argument is that Holly- wood glamor and attendant esca- pades intrigue the public and keep the stars’ names before the audi- ence. No one suggests that there be a return to the days when femme headliners took milk baths. At the same time, the pluggers wish stars would exhibit a few more eccentricities to go with the (Continued on page 7*7) Helen Hayes’ 50th Anni On Stage in ’55; Made ‘Debut’ in D.C. lay Ball’ Helen Hayes will celebrate next May her 50th anniversary on the stage. Actress made her first public ap- pearance in a dancing class pro- gram in her native Washington in May, 1905. She’s currently star- ring in a revival of “What Every Woman Knows” oh the Coast, and is due in the Barrie comedy at the N. Y. City Center during the Christmas holidays. At age of five, Miss Hayes was a member of Miss (Minnie) Hawkes’ 'dancing class,; which she. recalls, was the proper'place for all Washington urchins of the pe- riod to learn to curtsy and such matters of decorum, As part of tlie group's annual afternoon May Ball, at the old Belasco Theatre in (Continued dn page 77) Biggest Nev. Gambling Year: $100,000,000 Biz Reno, Nov. 23. Nevada gamblers raked in more j/coin in 1954 than ever before, ac- cording to the Nevada State Tax Commission. The state will collect $2,293,153 in gambling taxes, license fees and penalties by end of the year. The bulk of this collection comes as usual from the 2% tax on gross gambling receipts. ' This means that the croupiers pulled in just short of $100,000,000—an all- time record take and $20,000,000 more than last year. The Las Vegas strip and the city itself account for a good 60% of the biz. Reno takes 30% and the rest of the state splits 10%, Inequities in employment prac- tices, with emphasis on radio-tv, were scored in the first report on sljow biz job opportunities by the Coordinating Council for Negro Performers. While the group examined “all fields Of theatrical endeavor,” heavy emphasis was placed on the electronic media* where, in addi- tion to a. “moral right” to jobs, Ne- groes feel'an “economic right as well, since our purchases help to pay the cost of this type of enter- tainment.” CCNP declared that although Negroes spend billions On goods pitched via radio and tv, neither medium does much hiring of Ne- (Continued on page 31) By GEORGE ROSEN The likelihood, of the one- - month Monday night "Producers Showcase” on NBC-TV doing a one-rshot origination out of Dallas this season, with Margo Jones “guest producing” a brace Of tv originals by Tennessee Williams arid William Inge ;in a theatre-in- the-round presentation, has served to point up anew the need for video to “get out of town” and out of its “New York and Hollywood origi- nation rut.” The fact that television jjas fal- len into the same groove as radio before it, by settling for two, and only two, major production centres —New.. York and Hollywood — is viewed: as a narrow concept which can only strip the medium of a freshness and vitality long felt missing. It was this very accept- ance of N. Y. arid L. A. without arty regard for off-the-beaten-track explorations, many feel, that con- tributed toward radio’s johnny-one- note. tempo. A few years back It looked as though the tv networks were giving serious consideration to the devel- opment and: perpetuation of the "Chicago school of tv.” Those were the days when “Garroway At Large” was bringing a. new type Of Chi production technique into the medium. Then along came "Stud’s Place”- and a few other items bear- ing the stamp of originality that (Continued on page 31) ‘I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You!’ Hollywood, Nov. 23. Forest Lawn, memorial park which is a tourist highsoot in ad- dition to providing funeral serv- ices for the community, now has its own hymn. Special, song, writ- ten by Eddie Truman and Wen- dell Noble, and with lyrics by a member of Forest Lawn’s com- munity service department, is called simply "Forest Lawn Hymn.” For the time being, it will be used only, as an inspirational song to be sung at each employee meet- ing—during the community sing; period. Sullivan s Shift I’ll Get Along,’ Sez Davis . Emory Cook’s label, which spe- cializes in hi-fi “sounds of our time” disks, is planning to put some bumps and grinds on wax. Cook’s January release will in- c ude a 12-inch longplay platter re- e 'l’ded with the pit orchestra at “ c Adams Theatre, Minsky's bur- i £ sque s spot in Newark, N. J, Disk' was cut during ari actual Pfrformance before an audience ; 7 1 a Saturday night. 1 San Bernardino, Cal., Nov, 23. Sammy Davis Jr., one of the top new Negro talents of the last dec- ade, clowned with doctors here to- day-(Tugs,), insisting that a tragic accident in which he lost his left eye will not sidetrack his career as a nitery entertainer. Davis was critically injured early last Friday (20) in an auto crash near San Ber- nardino and doctors operated Fri- day night to remove the eye. He also suffered a broken nose and severe contusions. However. Davis told doctors; "I still have my voice and my legs. I’ll get along.” Presumably, the accident will have, some effect on his future (Continued on page 69) Las Vegas, Nov. 23. Las Vegas hotels have discovered a surefire method of retaining top talent. They , now permit acts to buy in on the hotels so, in effect; they’ll be working for themselves every time they play, the hotel, and may even consider toning down salary demands for the sake of the corporation. Latter though, is evidently wishful thinking here- abouts. Tony Martin, one of the regulars at the Flamingo Hbtel here, bought in on* the venture over the week- end. George Raft, not a regular nitery performer, arid. Dr. Stanley Immerman, of Beverly Hills, are others who have bought a slice of the Flamingo. Frank Sinatra re- portedly owns a hunk of thesSands, where he’s a regular performer, ,.At the Moulin Rouge, 15 ere, which will be Las Vegas’ first in- terracial hotel, several entertainers have been offered an opportunity oi investing, Reportedly included in the prospectus of owners are Pearl Bailey, Lena Horne, Sammy I (Continued on page 69) On CBS’ Offer Ed Sullivan’s shift to NBC after September of next year will de- pend on the decision by- CBS on whether it will meet* or eixceed NBC’s offer to the N.Y. Daily News syndicated columnist and conduc- tor of "Toast of the Town.” CBS board chairman William Pailey has received the terms of NBC’s offer to Sullivan. It’s a 20-year deal, negotiated by Sonny Werblin, Mu- sic Corp of America veepee. Under the prevailing pact, CBS has first refusal on Sullivan’s serv- ices at the expiration of, his cur- rent term. Just how long it has in making up its m in£i in regard to Sullivan isn’t made clear. Some in the network feel that it can give its ansy/er as" late as Sept. 1. How- ever, the Lincoln-Mercury Dealers sponsoring the show will not be (Continued on page 79) With a big boost from the mush- rooming. high fidelity movement, the disk industry is continuing to expand at an extremely fast rate. Current totals point to a 17% hike in platter business this year over 1953, a percentage increase which \vill bring the overall gross of. the industry to top the $225,000,000 marker. On this groundwork, sev- eral disk execs see a $300,000,000 take well within the industry’s im- mediate horizons if the general economy maintains its present solidity. The disk boom that was started six years ago with the introduction of the new 33 rpm and 45 rpm speeds is now riding on the spec- tacular increase in the number of phonographs in circulation. As against some 15,000,000 machines, many of them obsolete, in the homes at the end of World War II, there are now over 25,000,000 turntables in use. A. percentage of these machines; riioreover, Com- prises modern players equipped to play the new as well as the old speeds. In the past two years, the accent on hi-fi has proved to be one . of tlie. most potent; selling pegs for the industry. Not only has the hi- (Continued on page 64) Philly Station Bans Gordon MacRae Disks Because of Radio Slur Philadelphia, Nov. 23. Radio station WPEN banned the playing of all Gordon MacRae rec- ords on any of its programs, fol- lowing a derogatory comment about ■radio made by MacRae on his teler cast (14). * William B. Caskey, WPEN gen- eral manager and v.p., in ordering the ban said: "If these artists think so little of radio I see no reason why we should lend our facilities to promote and publicize them through their recordings.” Station’s ire stemmed from Mac- Rae’s "remerriber radio?” allusion, on NBC-TV “Comedy Hour.” <!-la porte tl'Bdil.i gilEBEC, CANADA Currently' presents Hour of Charm All Girl Orchestra and Chair Featuring EVELYN and her Magic Violin uiidet the direction of PHIL SPITALM