Variety (January 26, 1955)

Wednesday* January 26, 1955 63 GUS ARNHEIM Gus Amheim, 56, bandleader, died Jan. 19 following a heart at- tack at his Beverly Hills home. In the early 1930s Arnheim and his crew established a record by play- ing at the Cocoanut Grove for eight consecutive years. He also led his band in the Chicago Chez Paree, the N. Y. Palace, with George White’s Scandals and on a tour of Europe. • Among the singers who worked with Arnheim were Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo and Shirley Ross. He also had a hand in tuning such songs as “Sweet and Lovely.” “I Cried For You” and “I Surrender Dear.” A member of ASCAP, of late he was with Metro’s music staff and frequently appeared on television Surviving are his wife, a daugh- ter and six brothers. his career at the age of 14 as box- office manager of the Old Howard Theatre. Thereafter he served as treasurer of the Colonial Theatre for 15 years. He was later ap- pointed manage? of the Boston Opera House. Survived by wife and daughter. MRS. BOBBY MILLS Mrs. Bobby Mills, 50, died in a London hospital last Thursday (20) following an illness which began when she was appearing in pan- tomime at Johannesburg two weeks earlier. She was flown home from South Africa with her husband, Nat Mills, with whom she had a well* known double-act under the title of Nat Mills & Bobby. They had worked as a double act for more than 30 years, and were featured in the Royal Command vaude gala at the Palladium in 1946. writer-producer-director, he was assigned to the “Millie” radio show, then moved to television two years ago. Prior to that he had been a writer for Burns & Allen and Dennis Day. His wife and two daughters sur- vive. ANTONIO T. PALAZZOLO Antonio T. Palazzolo, 70. who, with his five sons held interests in Keith's, Cincinnati, and a small string of neighborhood houses in that area, died of a heart attack Jan. 18 in Cincinnati. He also was a wine distributor and manufactur- er of macaroni products. Peter J. Palazzolo, an associate of Rube Shor, is the most active son in theatre operations. Also surviving are two daughters and two brothers. MAURICE BROWNE Maurice Browne, 73, actor-m&n- ager-playwright, who started the Little Theatre movement in Amer- ica and staged his first productions at the Chicago Little Tbealre in 1912, died at his home in Torquay, England, last Friday (21). After operating in Chicago for several years, he moved to New York in 1920 where he produced “Medea” at the Garrick and his Broadway productions included “The Trial of Joan of Arc” and “Candida.” He returned to England in 1927 and made his London stage debut that year at the Arts Theatre. Two years later he entered management and his most successful venture was the Savoy production of “The Journey’s End.” He authored a number of plays and produced one film. ALFREDO PEREIRA Alfredo Pereira, 65, noted Por- tuguese actor-manager, died of j cancer Jan. 6 in Lisbon. He had arrived by plane a few days previously from South Africa, where he was touring with the legit repertory company of Alma Flora and Jose Gamboa. He had been a part owner of the unit for the last six years. Pereira, who started his thesping career as a youth in Oporto, went on to achieve featured billing and then a star in Portugal, Brazil and the Portuguese colonies in Africa. He was considered a top comedian. EDWARD SALVEN Edward Salven, 50. assistant di- rector for Cecil B. DeMille, died of pneumonia Jan. 22 in Holly- wood. lie joined Paramount in 1928 as a laborer. Salven, who became associated with DeMille in 193b, worked on every DeMille picture thereafter. His last film chore was the up- coming “ID Commandments.” Surviving are seven children and a sister. REV. DANIEL A. LORD Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J., 66, lecturer, author, composer and playwright, died of cancer Jan. 15 in St. Louis. He entered a hospital Oct. 19 upon his return from To- ronto, where he directed 11 per- formances of a musical spectacle, “Joy to the World,” for Toronto’s Marian Year Pageant. Father Lord, who was national director of the Eucharistic Cru- sade of Knights and Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament, wrote “City of Freedom,” a Catholic In Loving Memory of My Dearly Beloved Husband MIKE CULLEN Died January 26, 1954 Book - of - the - Month selection in 1950. His other works include “Song of the Rosary” and “The Man Who Was Really Santa Claus.” JOHN DUNBAR • John Dunbar, 66, director of Odhams Press and the London Daily Herald, died Jan. 16 in 9urrey, Eng. He entered show biz journalism from the Civil Service, firstly as editor of Encore, a paper run by musichall proprietors, but took over the reins of the Per- former after vaude artists went on strike. Dunbar was, for a time, editor of the Kine Weekly, published by Odhams Pre$s, and shortly after- wards became managing editor of the group. He became an executive director in 1942 and was made a full member of the board in 1953. Survived by his wife, son and twin daughters. C. ALBERT CLARK C. Albert Clark, 67, top assist- ant to Houdini and W. C. Fields for years, died Jan. 21 in Toronto. Leaving vaudeville, he opened the second film house in Toronto, The Idle Hour Theatre. At the time of bis death Clark was president of the Durable Elec- tric Appliance Co., which handled indoor and outdoor lighting of To- ronto’s film and legit houses. He patented many lighting devices and made a fortune. Survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. MAURICE N. WOLF Maurice N. Wolf, 75, retired Metro public relations execu- tive, died Jan. 18 in Boston. Prior to his retirement about a year ago, he traveled extensively throughout the country for Metro speaking on “Movies Is My Business.” He had held the post for five years. A vet of the industry. Wolf was Metro branch manager in Boston for 28 years and also had served as district manager. He was one of the founders of the Variety Club of New England. Survived by wife and son. GERTRUD EYSOLDT Gertrud Eysoldt, 84, veteran actress whose stardom dated back to the Max Reinhardt .era, died Jan. 6 in Ohlstadt, West Germany. She reportedly was the first actress to portray “Salome” in Germany and also is credited with introduc- ing Shaw and Strindberg on the German stage. Miss Eysoldt, who won fame at Reinhardt’s Schiller Theatre in Rerlin, continued her thesping career throughout Europe. Aside from acting in top productions of the day, she occasionally directed performances. In later years she was seen in films. She last ap- peared in “Nightwatch.” ALBERT E. LOTHIAN Albert E. Lothian, 81, dean oi hoxoffice managers of Boston the- iitres and concert halls, died Jan. tH in Boston. For the past 35 years he had been manager of all :le halls of the New England Con- servatory of Music, including Jor- dan Hall. The son of. Napier Lothian, tamed opera Conductor, he began HARRY BERNSTEIN Harry Bernstein, 71, longtime Pittsburgh theatre manager, died Jan. 10 in that city. For years, he had been an insurance salesman, later becoming head of the Henry Friedman Theatre Enterprises In Ambridge, Pa. After leaving the Friedman out- fit, Bernstein was on the staff of the Art Cinema, downtown Pitt art house, for a time. He retired in 1952. Surviving are his wife, two brothers and a sister. REUBEN R. LEADBEATER Reuben R. (Roy) Leadbeater, 58, staff radio, recording and instruc- tion-studio engineer with New York U. since 1928, was found dead Jan. 20 in a parked automo- bile near Kingston, N. Y. Also found in the car was the body of Mrs. Rigmor Lindquist, 38, an Englewood, N. J., housewife. Po- lice listed the deaths as a double suicide pact. Leadbeater, who lived in Fort Lee, N. J., is survived by his wife and a son. BOYD SPARROW Boyd T. Sparrow, 39, manager of Loew’s Warfield, San Fran- cisco, from 1949 to 1953, died Jan. 19 in that city after a six-month illness. He had been on a leave of absence as manager of the War- field since last summer. * With Loew’s for 22 years, Spar- raw had been an usher in Norfolk, Va. He was later transferred to Washington, D.C., ant in 1943 was made manager at the Park Thea- tre, Cleveland. Surviving are three brothers and two sisters. FRANK GALEN Frank Galen, 44, producer-writ- er of CBS-TV’s “Meet Millie,” died of a heart attack Jan. 23 in Holly- wood after playing a round of tennis. Joining CBS in 1950 as WILLIAM F. WIGGINS William F. Wiggins, 74. former stage censor for Toronto, died there Jan. 20. lie had been on The Toronto Daily Star for 52 years, covering the church and school beat. He was also press bu- reau chief of the annual Canadian National Exhibition. Toronto, for nearly 40 years until his illness a fortnight ago. Survived by wife. FLO ADLER Mrs. Flo Delton, 68. who for some 25 years played the old vaudeville circuits as Flo Adler, died Jan. 19 in Chicago. After four years as a opera singer she switched to vaude and played the Kohl & Castle, Orpheum and Keith circuits with a song and dance act billed as “Flo Adler & the Boys.” Survived by husband. JACK GODDARD Jack Goddard, rep of New Realm Pictures, died Jan. 6 in Liverpool, Eng. He was active in the Lan- cashire, Eng., film trade for more than 40 years. Goddard had been associated with General Film Renting Co., European Motion Picture Co. (now General Film Distributors), Co- lumbia, Warners and British Lion among others. VEIGA SILVEIRA Veiga Silveira, 61, leading vio- linist of the Portuguese National Symphonic Orchestra for the last 20 years, died in Lisbon Jan. 2 after a long illness. Prior to join- ing the symphony, he had played in concerts and taught in Brazil. Surviving are his wife and two sons, both of whom are members of the PNSO. AMADEU DE FREITAS Amadeu De Freitas, 52, pioneer newscaster with the Portuguese National Radio, died in Lisbon recently after a long illness. As a radio reporter and as rep of the daily “Seculo,” he covered the Spanish Civil War. , Surviving are his wife, and a son, Jose, also a newscaster with the Portuguese radio. CHARLES WILMOTT Charles Wilmott, 95, veteran of British music-publishing, diqd in London Jan. 18. He was for many years general manager of Francis, Day & Hunter, and was also a composer, having written material for most of the topranking music hall artists of the Edwardian era. GEORGE BRICKER George Bricker, 55, veteran film scripter, died of a heart attack Jan. 22 in Hollywood. Starting his pic- ture career in 1935, he also wrote for radio and tv as well as fiction. His wife and three sons survive. Anil Gonta Colaco, 55, sculptress and scenic designer, died recently in Parada de Gonta, Portugal, after a long illness. Surviving are her Brother, playwright Tomas Calaco. A cousin, Amelia Rey Colaco, actress-manageress of the Lisbon Teatro Nacional, also sur- vives. Mrs. Hannah Tobin, owner of the Capitol, Waterloo, 111., died Dec. 29 in St. Louis. A son, the late Thomas C. Tobin, was w.k. in the St. Louis area as a film ex- change manager and theatre owner. vision, died of a heart attack Jan. 23 in Gorman, Cal. He had been with the lab since 1931. His wife, two sons, a daughter and four sis- ters survive. Shavians, Rawoll! Continued from page 1 Wallace Boswell, 31, trombonist, was killed Jan. 24 in an auto acci- dent in Oakland. Cal. He had been ; with Roy Hackett’s band and pre- j viously was a member of the KCBS studio orch. Col. II. Nelson Jackson, 82, own- er of radio station WCAX, Burling- ton, Vt.. and publisher of the Bur- lington Daily News for years, died Jan. 14 in that city. A daughter survives. Joseph A. Poskay Sr., 76, vio- linist and former member of the Elizabeth and Plainfield. N. J. Phil- harmonic Orchestras, died Jan. 21 in Elizabeth. Claire Covelli. 86, former French opera singer and a coach in French diction for other opera singers, died Jan. 20 in Winsted, Conn., after a long illness. Frank E. Morner, 76, father and business manager of film actor Dennis Morgan, died Jan. 22 in Hollywood. Also surviving ate his wife and a daughter. Leo Rudd, 56. veteran Pittsburgh projectionist, died in that city Jan. 9 of injuries suffered a few hours before when be was hit by a car w hile crossing a street. Allen M. Kdrod, 75, formerly supervisor oi building mainte- nance at Chicago NBC, died in that city Jan. 17. He retired from the network in 1946. Mrs. Lydia 11. Van Buren, 72, longtime owner and operator of the Van Burtn Theatre, Cairo, N. Y., died Jan. 17 in Catskill, N. Y. V of England. But maybe someone is just being elaborately prankish. That, at least, is the thesis of a letter (presumably serious?) in \he Jan. 15 issue of the Harvard Alum- ni Bulletin. The writer, R. C. Marsh, class of ’51. apparently a post-graduate student at Cam- bridge U., a ’gues in part, “Surely it is clear that Shaw, that Irish adventurer, that unsuccessful pop- ular novelist living in London on the proceeds of hack journalism, that irregular synthesis of an ama- teur mezzo-soprano and a day- dreaming wholesale com merchant, lacking even the qualification of education at one of the provincial universities, could never have com- posed the lines of ‘Saint Joan’ and ‘Pygmalion,’ “What evidence have we for this, save tha^ they were published un- der h s name and that, clever fraud, that he was, he was able to hood- wink people of judgment into re- p’rdlrg t.icm as his work? Who then is the personage shielded by this pretentious pixie? Is not the clue found in Shaw’s own aversion to his solid, Christian name? “The plays of George Bernard Shaw were written by George, Prince of Wales, later King'George V. Does not this explain the decline of the powers of this ‘Shaw’ after the death of that worthy monarch in 1936? Undoubtedly all efforts will be made to preserve this deep and well-kept secret, but Harvard scholarship can fetch it out of the murk. I call upon Howard Mum- ford Jones to set himself to it with no fur; her delay." All dedicated Shavians arise—to the barricades! Sam Cohen, 45. superintendent of Consolidated Film Lab’s 16m di- Percy Haley, 71, manager of Em- pire Cinema, Alary port, Eng., died in that town receuuy. lie Wus me Uieaire’s nrsi manager wnen it opened in 1911 as vaude house. Sol J. liankin, 72, retired mo- tion picture exnib, died in fat. Louis Jan. 14 aiier a prolonged illness, lie retired two years ago uue to ill heaim. Mother, 76, of cameraman Charles F. Franklin and Acaucmy librarian Betty Franklin, died Jan. 20 in Carnie*, Cai. Father of Stan Jay, English comeuian, med uan. 5 in Slieiitetu, Eng. Alfred Blake, 74, manager of Stoll Tneaire cinema, Newcastle, Eng., d^ed Jan. 7 in that city. Colin Mackenzie, bandleader and an authority on Highland music, difed in Edinburgh recently. Father, 79, of Harry J. Michal- son, retired president of KKO- Fathe, died Jan. 18 in Hollywood. Father, 90, of actor Stephen Chase, died Jan. 23 in Evanston, 111 . Janies Hunter, 79, pioneer exhib, died Jan. 12 in Largs, Scotland. Negro Gals’ Big Week Continued from pare 1 bigmoney models of the town. Standout was Sarah Lou Harris, who not only has the classy chassis side sewed up, but announces and ad libs like a trouper, which she is on her own radio program over WLIB, Brooklyn. Although the Astor event was generally impressive, it lacked re- hearsal and adequate preparation (incredible casualness for anything so important-to the race) and stum- bled and bumbled through a half- hour show’. Room, . too, proved awkward. The crowd around the bar at one end made a most inat- tentive audience. Ed Brandford himself seemed uncoached for speech-making and the male emcee self-admittedly had never looked at the written continuity until he started to read it. He was kept afloat by the quick-witted Miss Harris. Still, at a safe guess, the first lah-de-dah white fashion show on Manhattan’s eastside which mixes* in a few of these Brandford gals (per Sarah Lou Harris, Dolores Parker, Harline Harrin, Rita Jahn, Lois Rodnik) is for sure going to have a sensation, since almost any fashion display is invariably starved for "novelty” angles. These babes are truly knockout. MARRIAGES Marilyn Rector to Hugh Jones, Philadelphia, Jnn. 22. lie’s assist- ant public relations director at WCAU stations, in Philly. Ro^ella Ilolen to Bill Brabson, Columbus, Jan. 14. Bride's a pi- anist-vocalist; he’s a WVKO disk jockey. Guillermina Cantu to Gilbert Roland, Mexico City, Dec. 12. He’s a screen actor. Carol Lee Ladd to Dick Ander- son, Beverly Hills, Jan. 22. Bride is the daughter of actor Alan Ladd. Nancy Bambergcr^4o Julian Les- ser, Nogales, Mexico, Jan. 15, Groom is a television producer and son of Sol Lesser. Mrs. Jonnie Holland to Paul C. Parker, Wilmington, Del., Jan. 16. He’s v.p. of Victory Television En- terprises. Vickie Thomson to A1 Taylor, Preston, Eng., Jan. 8. Bride’s a chorine; he’s a vaude performer. Irene Claire to Clifton King, Newcastle, Eng., recently. Both are legit players. Colleen Miller to Ted Briskln, Chicago, Jan. 20. Bride’s a film actress; he’s a camera manufac- turer. Peggy Lois Strother to Walter J. Kirby, Jan. 22, Winchester, Va. He’s the son of John F. Kirby, Warner Bros, southern division sales manager. BIRTHS Mr. and Mrs. Joe Samul, son, Pittsburgh. Jan. 14. Father’s a di- rector at WDTV. Mr. and Mrs. Charles (Amlano) Carlin, daughter, Pittsburgh, Jan. 13. Father’s a bandleader. Mr. and Mrs. S. R. Norwicke, daughter, Pittsburgh. Jan. 13. Father’s on WPIT staff. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Scott, twin sons, Chicago, Jan. 11. Father is Chi NBC-TV broadcast coordina- tor. Mr. and Mrs. Nat Levey, daugh- ter, Liverpool, Eng., Jan. 13. Father is Columbia Pictures’ Liverpool manager. Mr. and Mrs. Melville Nummer, son, Hollywood, Jan. 14. Father is a member of Paramount’s legal staff. Mr. and Mrs. Keenan Wynn, daughter, Hollywood, Jan. 13. Fa- ther is a screen actor. Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Greenberg, son, Newark, recently. Father is account exec at WAAT, Newark. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Root, son, Brooklyn, Jan. 18. Father is ac- countant at WQXR, N.Y. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Fields, daugh- ter, Philadelphia. Jan. 19. Father owns Blue Note, musical name showcase. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Gentry, daugh- ter, San Antonio, recently. Father is film director for KENS-TV. Mr. and Mrs. Sid Sawyer, twin sons, Worcester, Jan. 24. Mother, Shirley Matson, femcees a weekly variety show on WTAG. Worcester; and also stars at her husband’s Red Barn Surpmer Theatre, Westboro. Mass.