Variety (December 1954)

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tr^lnesdaT. December 22, 1954 OBITUARIES contralto pipes with a very low register, starred in "Artists and Models" and "Hitchy Coo" in the early '20s. Besides playing the vaude/ cir- cuits of that era. Miss Morse also performed on radio with the Blue Grass Boys, a band whose person- nel included such sidemen as Benny Goodman, the late Glenn Miller, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey. She also composed several songs, including "Shadows On The Wall" and "Don’t Ever Change A Picture On The Wail." Miss Morse attempted a come- back in the 1940s and played such spots as the Monte Carlo in N. Y. She is survived by her husband. Ray Farese, communications oper- ator for the Rochester fire and po- lice bureaus. Her brother is Glenn Taylor, former Democratic Sena- tor from Idaho and nominee for vice-president on the Progressive Party ticket in 1948. Oscar <l'apa> dixieland jazzman, died Dec. 15 at his home in New Orleans. Details in Music. JAMES HILTON James Hilton. 54, author-scen- arist died Dec. 20 in Long Beach, Cal of cancer of the liver. Hilton, whose novels were the basis for Moral Hollywood films, hit the l melieht in 1933 with the publica- tion of "Goodbye Mr. Chips." Writ- ten for the Christmas supplement of a British Protestant mag, the story was reprinted in the U. S. and became a bestseller. That same vear his novel, "Lost Hori- zon’’ was published and also racked up hefty sales. Both "Chips" and "Horixon” LOUIS J. VORHAUS Louis J. Vorhaus. 87, show biz attorney, died Dec. 19, at his home in New York. During 65 years as a legalite, Vorhaus repped numer- ous theatrical personalities includ- were made into films as were sev-; ing Oscar Hammerstein 2d, the eral other Hilton novels, including comedy team of Weber & Fields, "We Are Not Alone," "The Story Earl Carroll and Oliver Morosco. of Dr. Wassell,” "Random Harvest” He was most actively associated and "So Well Remembered." Hil- with the entertainment industry ton went to Hollywood to work on during the ’20s and ’30s. the script for ’ Horizon with Vorhaus was also founder of the Frank Capra and stayed on. While N Y . law firm of House, Gross- ^ re M e SC M pt ; ed °M her p,x ,nclud ' man, Vorhaus & Hemley, which ing Mrs. Miniver. j s ac tj ve j n show business. Most recently, Hilton had been Surviving are two sons,- a daugh- working on the legitmusical adap- ter and a sister. tation of ’■Horizon," scheduled for Broadway production by Courtney RUTH SELWYN Burr and John Byram under the Ruth Wilcox Selwyn Warburton, , lian £ r i-La.” Hilton was- 49 former stage and screen actress married and divorced twice. ! and Broadway producer, died Dec. 14 in Hollywood after a long ill- FRNESTO VILCHES ness. Ernesto Vilches, 76, actor-man- Known professionally as Ruth ager. died Dec. 8 in a Barcelona 1 Selywn. she started her career as hospital where he was taken two a singer and dancer in George days previously after he had been White's Scandals. Later she be- struck by a taxi. He was an in- came the first feminine stage pro- Euential figure in the Spanish ducer on Broadway when she pre- iri. re for some 60 Years. I sented the "9:15 Revue." She was >'hen news of Vilches* death married to Edgar Selwyn, stage spread throughout Spain, theatre and screen producer, audiences rose for one minute of 1 Survivors are her son. Russell silence and flags wrere flown at Selwyn; sisters Mrs. Nicholas M. THE SONGWRITERS PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION expresses it* sorrow on the passing of ARTHUR GARFIELD 41AYS M°se counsel and aid made our Association possibla. He was our c enshed friend, a truly great American and a courageous defender of the dignity of mankind. haif mast. A noted actor, he fir? captured public fancy in 1913 vi a distinguished performance i The Abhorred." A star for some 41 years. Vilche appeared in all classics of the the? as , vve11 as many modern Spar t , an ? foreign plays. He briefl hit ,l in L films in 1919 and I 92 v ' „ ' the screen when he fel could not adapt himself to th Diet nr!? 1 ' u At the advent soun S D !pK? , he ^} ade several pix i f ° r Fox ’ Paramoun t an first°M Ver t ] le theatr e was hi stage r) e and he re *urned to th countrfn a t n , nual tours of Latin V c ,y IIe a .lso trouped in th stances .fu 1 ! in modest cibcurr erositv c hLS death due t0 his « er H , an ,m Presario. s w ife and sons survive. Lee 1 EE m ORSE of the ir,.s. >e ’ blues singe ester \ , d, ' d Dec. 16 in R* 1939. v she has lived sine s • *°rse, who had blues Schenck. wife of the president of Loew’s, Inc., and Mrs. Max Fur- man of New Haven; brothers Fred i H. Wilcox, film distributor, and Dr. Paul Wilcox of Pipeville, Ky. EMIL MIX Emil Mix, 73, onetime tuba player with Sousa's Band and a manager of musicians and musical organizations, died Dec. 18 *of a heart attack in New York. During the ’20s he toured the country as manager of Caroline Beebe's Chamber Music Society, later be- coming assistant manager of the City Symphony Orchestra. Mix was the organizer and man- ager of the All-American Sym- phony Orchestra and representa- tive of Julian Carillo, Mexican composer. He retired in 1950. Surviving are his wife, the for- mer Nicoline Zedler, violinist, two sons, two daughters, two brothers and three sisters. - • B. K. SANDWELL Bernard Keble Sandwell. 78. edi- tor, columnist and theatre critic. died Dec. 7 in Toronto. His final column for the Financial Post ap- peared two weeks before his death. He was for 19 years editor of Sat- urday Night, influential Toronto weekly, until 1951. Soon afterwards Sandwell went over to the rival Maclean-Hunter Ltd. as a colum- nist. On Saturday Night he was also theatre critic, using the pseud- onym. Lucy Van Gogh, and he had in earlier days been drama editor of the Montreal Herald. He was one of Canada’s wittiest speakers, and had two books of humorous essays published. He was for years president of the Civil Liberties Assn, of Toronto. Wife survives. WALT H. GOAN Walt H. Goan. 45, former man- ager of radio station WAYS. Char- lotte, and also known as "Colonel Walt" to listeners of his "Young Americans Club" over that station, died in Charlotte Dec. 3 after being ill for eight days. Goan joined WAYS as promo- tion manager in Dec., 1941. Shortly after that, he was ap- pointed sales manager and on July 1, 1942 became general man- ager. During the period when he was manager, the station increased its power and added on FM sta- tion. Surviving are his wife and sev- eral sons and daughters. VICTOR HANBURY Victor Hanburv, 57. British film producer and brother of the late Ralph Hanburv, longtime RKO- Radio chief in London, died of a heart attack Dec. 14 in London. He had been active as a producer and director for years and at one time was associated with John Staf- ford for whom he directed a string of British films. One of Hanbury’s last ventures was the Anglo-Amalgamated, pro- duction of “The Sleeping Tiger" starring Dirk Bogarde and Alexis Smith. His wife survives. BETSY E. B. COOKE Betsy Eleanor Beckwith Cooke. 79, former concert singer and teacher, and wife of James Francis Cooke, president of the Presser Foundation and former head of Theodore Presser Music Co., died Dec. 19 in Philadelphia. Before the turn of the century Mrs. Cooke made a singing appear- ance with the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch at Car- negie Hall. Surviving, besides her husband, is a son. JOE BRADY Joe Brady, vaude comedian who teamed with Will Mahoney in the turn known as Brady & Mahoney, died Dec. 14 in New York. His partnership with Mahoney contin- ued for more than 35 years. The act was rated as one of the 10 oldest teams in vaude. More re- cently he was a staffer with the Century circuit’s Rialto Theatre in Brooklyn. Surviving are his wife, two brothers and four sisters. WILL DONALDSON Will Donaldson. 63, songwriter and vocal coach, died Dec. 16 in Los Angeles following a heart at- tack. In the lush days of vaude- ville he served as pianist-accompa- nist to such headliners as Elizabeth Brice, Adele Rowland and Elsie ' Janis. Later Donaldson operated a vo- ;cal studio in Hollywood and func- tioned as vocal coach for radio players. Among his songs were "I Can’t Resist You," “Spellbound" and "Love Ain’t Blind." GWENDOLYN T. EMERSON Gwendolyn Tilley Emerson, 64. comedienne, character actress and formerly with the London Gaiety Theatre, died Dec. 18 in New York. Born in England, she came to the U. S. 20 years ago. Miss Emerson had been on tour with "Pygmalion" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." and in "Ring ' Around the Moon." BERNARD RUBIN Bernard Rubin, 42, independent film distributor and exhibitor, died Dec. 14 in Cleveland from a heart attack in his own office. He re- presented Imperial Pictures for 20 years in addition to other indie film companies in Ohio and the ad- jacent territory. Surviving are his wife and three daughters, as well as father, brother and a sister. SAM FEIXBLUM Sam Feinblum, 59. head booker in New York for Columbia Pic- tures. died Dec. 18 of a heart attack in N.Y. He was with the company in the N.Y. sales branch since 1931. Surviving are his wife, two sons, a daughter, three sisters and a brother. MRS. LEE MORTIMER Mrs. Ann Koga Mortimer, 28 former dancer and wife of Lee Mortimer, columnist for the N.Y. Daily Mirror, died Dec. 18 in New York. ROBERT M. BURKE Robert M. Burke, 65, general manager of the Tyson-Sullivan j theatre ticket agency in New York, ! died Dec. 20 in N.Y. after a brief illness. At one time he Jiad been associated with the management of Mae West. Burke formerly owned the Equity Ticket Agency and was a onetime manager of the Royale Theatre, N.Y. Maurice Eisner, 74, retired con- cert pianist, died Dec. 14 in Long Beach, Cal. He had appeared as a soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and as an ac- companist for such artists as Fritz ! Kreisler and Mme. Schumann- Heink. Steve Bennis, vet exhib in Cen- tral Illinois, died Nov. 17 in Lin- coln. 111. At the time of his death he owned two houses in Lincoln and an ozoner near Freeport. 111. Three sons were associated with him. Father, 66. of agent Baron Polan and Mrs. Jerry Wald, wife of the | Columbia Pictures production voe- pee, died Dec. 19 in Beverly Hills, Cal., after a short illness. His wife also survives. David Gold, 65. chief electrician and light effects man for Maurice Schwartz and the Yiddish Art The- j atre, N.Y., for many years, died Dec. 18 in New York. Surviving are his wife, two sons, a daughter, two brothers and a sister. Karl Hofer, 60, film producer, fell or jumped four stories to his death in Vienna Dec. 1. He pro- duced "The Big Sinner," among other productions. He was suf- J fering from a nervous breakdown. William Allen Luey, 71, retired motion picture director, died Dec. J 16 in Noroton, Conn. He was a former partner in the Worcester, Mass. Film Co., producers of in- dustrial and educational films. Ed Dinsmore, 39, radio news- caster and tv emcce on stations WBEN and W BEN-TV. Buffalo. N.Y., died Dec. 19 of a heart attack in that city. Surviving are his wife, mother, a son and a daughter. David B. Mills, 51, former Re- gina, Sask.. pianist and radio per- sonality, died in Rockford. Mich., Dec. 1. Surviving are his wife, three sisters and three brothers. ^ Helen Daly, secretary to Robert Fellows of Batjac Productions, died Dec. 15 in Hollywood follow- ing a heart attack. Her mother and a sister survive. Bernard (Barney) Randall, 70. , vet actor, died Dec. 17 in New York. He had appeared on stage, radio, television and in films. At one time he was a rep for AFRA. Surviving are his wife and a son. Mother, 75, of Mrs. Cordelia Kel- i ly, producer of "What’s Cooking Today?” on WFMY-TV. Greens- boro, N.C., died Dec. 14 in Green- ville, S.C. Ludwik Solski, 100, Polish actor, died Dec. 19 in Cracow. Poland. Believed to be the world’s oldest actor, he was active in Polish plays until last month. - ■ ■ t Janies Maltman, tenor, and lead singer of Eyemouth Operatic Society, died at Berwick. Eng., af- ter an auto crash Dec. 11. Edmund M. Leonard, 52. singer, died Dec. 14 of leukemia in Syra- cuse, N.Y. Surviving are his wife, three sisters and a brother. Mrs. Leroy M. Dehan, 54. former stage and screen actress known as Evelyn Atkinson, died Dec. 16 in Seattle, Wash. Henry Leonard Hall, stage and screen actor, died Dec. 11 at the Motion Picture Country Home in California, Hollywood. George P. Beyer, 61, a pioneer exhibitor in St, Louis, died of heart disease Dec. 9 in that city. Two sons and five daughters survive. Brother, 71, of songsmith-man- j ager Harry D. Squires died at his home in Philadelphia on Dec. 18 Dwight Breeze, 51, film studio technician, died Dev. 15 in Holly- ,wood after a long illness. Cistoms Collector ——, Continued from part 1 national tension. *Tve had a call from the French Consulate, and they’re just as annoyed about this as I am," he declared. "The facts are quite simple: ‘Versailles’ has a scene, running about 15 feet, in which nudity is shown. Specifically, it involves a man undressing a woman. Under our regulations, this kind of stuff just doesn’t get by." (Goldwurm said yesterday 'Tues.) that the French Embassy had seen the film end had fou"ri no‘hipg ob- jectionable in it. The Embassy was cabling Paris he reported.) Fishman went on to explain that his inspectors weren’t interested in the moral content of a film, and that even certain types of nude scene had a chance of getting into the country. "It all depends how it’s done and from what distance." he said. There are currently in the coun- try at least three foreign films with nude scenes in the^r The Ger- man "Die Suenderin" is one; "One Summer of Hapuiness" and "Il- licit Interlude" others. "Game of Love.” a French p s c, got into the country even though it showed the partially exposed bodv of a boy. (This scene was cut prior to exhi- bition of the picture.) In protesting the Customs’ action in holding up "Versailles.” Gold- wurm made no mention of an*’ ob- jectionable scenes. He said Mon- day that he had seen the picture and that th‘*re was nothing censor- able In it. Goldwurm stressed that 209& of the proceeds of the picture had been as« : gned to the French government for the reconstruction and preservation of Versailles. Pic is in color and is one of ihe most expensive ever to be produced in France. Wrtten and directed by Sascha Guitry, it stars a strong line- up of French, Italian and American actors. If nude scenes in pix get into the country, the Customs Service isn’t always to blame, according to Fish- man. He said that there were many ports of entry’, some of them not as consr entiods as N. Y., ana that in some instances nuae scenes were known to have been snipped out of a print and sent into the U. S. via the mails, to be spliced back into the negative. Customs only gets a positive pr nt to look at. In many ports a mere declaration by the importer, stating that a film contains no objectiona’ scenes, is sufficient to gain it entry. MARRIAGES Joan Ellen Drosin to Howard Candy Caine. New York, Dec. 12. Bride is a singer; he’s an actor- singer in touring production of “Wonderful Town.” Sheila S'lverrtein to Irwin Tarr. New’ York. Dec. 18. He’s manager of jukebox and syndicate store sales for RCA Victor; bride was Alan Kaves’ secretary. Leslie Felker to John W. Al- dridge, Stowe, Vt., Dec. 11. Bride as a freelance writer; he’s English prof, at U... of Vermont and book critic for The Nation mag. Nancy T. Azur to Gerald T. Wil- ley. Montpelier, Vt., Dec. 11. He’s assistant manager of Star Theatre, St. Johnsbury, Vt. Elayne Foreman to Roy Lewis, Pittsburgh, Dec. 5. Bride’s a singer and groom is a salesman for WILY. Marie Joy to Ricky Johnston, Manchester, Eng... Dec. 11. Bride's a comedienne; he's a vocalist. Ruth Benjamin to Jerry Paris, Santa Barbara, Dec. 17. He’s a screen actor. BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Lieberman, daughter, New York, Dec. 15. Father is a comedy writer. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Sheils, son, Los Angeles, Dec. 12. Father is a personal manager. Mr. and Mrs. John Gray, son, Stockport, Eng., Dec. 3. Father is leader of musical quartet. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Mann, son. Pittsburgh. Dec. 12. Father and mother. Elaine Beverly, costar on daily "Meet Your Neighbor” over WDTV. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Laux, daugh- ter, Pittsburgh, Dec. 11. Father manages Hollywood Theatre for Stanley Warner circuit. . Mr. and Mrs. Ted Stanford, daughter, Dallas. Dec. 15. Father is a nitery and tv singer there. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Harvey, daughter, Philadelphia, Dec. 15. Father is staff announcer at radio station WIP. Mr. and Mrs. Paul O’Stcen Jr., son, M'ami, Dec. 2. Father is an account excc with radio station WQAM there.