Variety (March 1957)

VAVDKVnXB CharKe Morrison, Mocambo Op, Was Hlfonder Boy in Bigtime Era Charles Morrison, 57, operator of Hollywood’s Mocambo, bne of the best known supper clubs in the world, and former “boy agent” of Broadway, died of a stroke at his Beverly Hills home early Friday (22) morning. He had been in ill health since January, 1955, when he suffered his first stroke but had recovered sufficiently in recent months to return to his familiar entrance-corner table at the Mo¬ cambo on opening nights. As his bedside when he died was his third wife, the former Mary Maguire Kunody, whom he married" nine years ago. ^ A dapper, often temperamental figure, Morrison had been in show biz since he was a child, beginning at his uncle’s vaude house, Morri¬ son’s . Theatre, Rockhway, Beach, N. Y. Charlie started by carrying cards on stage to announce the acts. By the time he was 20 he had a solid background in what then virtually dominated show biz, the variety field, and he turned* agent. In a comparatively short time, and despite his youth, he became one of the best known agents of the period, numbering among his clients such talent as Milton Berle, Gus Edwards, Mae West and Sophie Tucker. He is credited with giving Berle his big boost toward stardom, booking him into the big- time. The boy started as a booking floor page in the old Keith office in Times Square. Good looking and a great personality kid.he later partnered with Ray Hodgson in ' agenting and still later had his own Keith franchise. In an epoch where who liked you was all Important, Morrison had many friends. He was a great fa- MICHAEL CHIMES and FAMILY An Unusual Hcirmonica Musica l Att rocfion U7 linniHa Av*. MOSS ,r,^ifi.^^PHOTOS FO« {LVI, pKijitv ■ ' PHOTOS as. low as Ic aach Writa for samplas,,pricas. MOSS PHOTO SERVICE .150 W 50th St., N.Y. 19,. N.Y PLAZA 7-3520 SInro 35 Serving Amcrlca'i Star* vorite of Sime Silverman, founder and editor of Variety. Nothing delighted. Morrison more than to have himself credited in a Variety squib as placing an act at the Pal¬ ace. Friends gagged that the act was a couple of acrobats at the flag¬ ship, but that fact, duly recorded in this journal, pleased young Morrison more than a dozen fully booked routes Over the Orpheum Circuit. Morrison then belonged to a tight, exciting, satisfying show world whose Nortfi Star-rose at the corner of 7th Avenue and 47th Street. Although he was careless with his money and had many financial woes, in his time Morrison was a wunderkind among the Keltic agents, taking out about $2,000 weekly frbm the Keith collection agency (which had taken its own bite out of the same commissions). Among his many acts were Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra and Billy Gaxton. Morrison had an ironclad exclusive management contract with Milton Berle, the rising comic’s first, and later had to sell the contract (for a reputed $20,- 000), first because Berle’s new lawyer wanted out and secondly be¬ cause Morrison then needed with what to eat. A dapper figure, proud of his. at¬ tire, and a vaudeville beau, Mor¬ rison once deadpanned to the late Sid Silverman, Sime’s son, that he never carried a cigaret Case as it threw his figure out of alignment. He was that “neat.” His romance and subsequent marriage with Elsie Kent, divorced wife of the musical comedy and vaude comic WiUiam Kent created a disproportionate amount of ban¬ ter around Broadway, for years. Characteristically Morrison ig¬ nored threats- of punishment by Ed¬ ward F. Albee, then top pasha of big time vaude, and. continued to see and be seen with Variety re* porters during his life-and-death struggle between this paper and Albee. It happened that Morrison could spot a winner well ahead. Other likelong friends of the Sil¬ vermans in the Keith hierarchy cut them dead socially during the feud but Morrison dared to remain his own man and a friend to his friends—Sime> Syd and the latter’s wife, Marie Saxon, the musical comedy ingenue. The latter part of his life was identified altogether with the film colony but after Keith franchise days Morrison was partnered., in Manhattan for a time with Danny Winkler, also destined to be a prominent fellow In Hollywood. A big film contract credited to Mor¬ rison put Walter Pidgeon on the Metro payroU. He’s still with it, paid by Metro at the moment though starring In a Broadway play, “The Happiest Millionaire.” Morrison went to the Coast in 1940 and for a short time operated an agency with Felix (Fefe) Ferry. The venture was 'not too success¬ ful, however, and Morrison decided to fulfill a long-standing ambition and operate a nightclub. He opened ySRlETY I the Mocambo and early bookings of such talent at Lena Horne, who soared to stardom from the date, helped put the clul^into the ranks of top rooms in the‘ country. Over the years, its reputation has con¬ tinued to grow and it has become virtually synonymous with Holly¬ wood nightlife in the minds of the public. \redncBday, Marcli 27, 1957 Circus Review Cirque llfcdraiiio^ Paris [better in' a fight scene where the Paris, March 19. Fernand Raynaud Co. (6), Michele slapstick finally pays off in. yocks^ A stint with some dancing girls Marconi & Andre Ranev Goaia P®®** travesty, while other skits Among talent which got its first lost to end in the inevitable big break at Mocambo'i showcase imitation ot Chaelin. Havnaud aTe GlirerDo7otS''SanS -^»ve the'g!i^ sha= ridge apd -Champ Butler, latter a t,. 1“ “if.K.i<5.‘he_more fonner parking lot attendant at the Mocambo who stepped onto the ^ P* _ ariaaaincr flooT* finp iilcflil" fn wViPti ^ ^ An flllldtCllF 11 Ol 0 IS thC Jerome Medrano is still looking of the noted couple of Colette pu- Warren, booked to open, was sud- format to make his perm val & Gil Delamare. He 1$ one of aeniy laxen lu. circus more palatable for the- fad- the lead film stuntmen and she is In. addition to the widow., Morri- conscious, monied set as well as a famed parachutist,. However,' the son leaves his daughter by a pre- the masses. He has now given day of just giving names to a show, vious marriage, Marilyn Morrison, headline status to Fernand Kay- sans derring-do, are over, • Their formerly married to Johnnie Ray; a naud, a comic pantomimist-patter lamentable attempts at a trampo- sister, Mrs. Dorothy DeVos of Hoi- star of video, films and musichall, line number are catastrophic and lywood- and two brothers George not jell. Raynaud’s .effer no tangible excuse for pres- of Freenort N Y and William nf Particular talents do not meet saw- eptation. HoUVwood ' ’ William 01 acceptable are Dan & Dess .ywuuu. joften. Some Solid acts help al- who do a. slow motion balance Funeral services were held Mon- leviate the situation and the Ray- number of commendable aplomb day (25) at the Church of the Good naud pull may sustain the show and workmanship to make this a Shepherd, Beverly Hills. through April. fine opener. Castors (4), dressed . ' Show is musichall-in-the-round, as American Indians for some rea^ . --with many acts facing only in one son, do a fast risley bit for a good Iaa Ddirection and ignoring half the sight act. Gogia Pasha is an okay 1C0 uOOW aCVICW house, while it is tough on the fakir entry with a fine hypnotism ” ’magicos. Raynaud first comes oft segment in for large applause. A — •' - in a wire spoof that lacks true girl is put on two three-pronged w n comedy status. A skit on London, spears, and‘’*then her body is put ^caia ICC ItevilC. with a femme bobby, is painful and into various positions as she rests (SPORTHALLE, BERLIN) overlong, and an attempt to train only on one of them. A good entry Berlin, March 19. donkeys is pointless'. He is much for all situations. Constant, Helicopter Girls (8); $2 ii-eewheeling requirements of cir- Shepherd, Beverly Hills. Ice %ow Review ^ m ^ ’mm dtatuo* xx oiviL uii xjujiaviuxi, ^cala Icc Revile. with a femme bobby, is painful and (SPORTHALLE, BERLIN) overlong, and an attempt to train Berlin, March 19. donkeys is pointless'. He is much Hanns Thelen presentation of ice —^-—=-- show in 20 numbers.' Production n ^ r i A and choreography, Knox Godfrey; dOSIOII uCtS HCW ACC6Ilt' artistic direction, Paul Helmut * wv b« i m i Schuessler; technical direction, Ac Pol’ InAmPWQ TparhPQ Helmut Eckart;. costumes, Joanne lUdUICW^ Sinclair; settings, Werner Quast- >Cn| tn Talk TrinllkllA hoff; musical arrangements, Hans- Idlli illUIUdliq Richard Stein. With Eva Pawlik, . Boston,'March ,26. Rudi Seeliger, Horst & Eva Faber, Local citizenry are on a calypso Harry Reddy, Hans Lugmaier, dialectic kick weaving such phrases Jeanne Rathbone, Larry Kemble, as “plenty plenty,” “don’t be nn^off£at*terD%iribv*MichST!^^ Fred ^EmamJl’ coni^^ Aildre Raney (New Acts). Fred Emanuel, McReddy Bros., “good show” into their ordinary There is no trapeze act, only one Use Gramholz, Franz Heigl, Gerda conversation as the result. of the horse and no clowns, except for Jaeppelt, Martin James, Scala Boys stint here of Pat Mathews, femme Raynaud’s pale imitation. Medrano & Girls. At Sporthalle am Funk- calypso chantoosey at the Hotel is to be lauded for his progressive turm, Berlin. $2 top. Bostonian’s Jewel Roonv ideas and trying for new formats, —=— The songstress is practically but tradition cannot be completely Berlin’s Sporthalle at the Funk- running a calypso speech school overlooked or it may lead to chaos, turm has been turned into an ice with requests from «the local chi- Mosk. set calypso talk hip. The Scala Eis-RevuCi. It s the first i^O-seat Intlmpr whprp nn- time that this five-year old show Ladng^ ir^iammld everv nicht I Comedy SiHqer - Ddecer I has anoeared in Berlin Aithnncrh Jammed every night I I -—=-- . Helicopter Girls (8) do some - «w « weak terp entries but then up on HI liPK llPW Aprpnr' ropes for an aerial can-can that HI UC15 new nttCUl presentable/Cyclon Pot MafllAiirc TaarliPC Sisters (2) are an average bicycle I ttl IvIdUlvWo Icdl/Dco act with trick riding and contor- >1? L T II *r • 'J J Lynda & Constant do a good £in to Idik IriDIOAQO perch act with the girl upping to _ . " a high shoulder perch for aero and - , Boston, March 26. visually, pleasing contorting. Local citaenry are on a calypso the show ,10 kick , weaving su^ phrases ^ sock juggler, Sickl, and “Scala Eis-Revuev” It’s the first time that this five-year old show "theip^itacTe^Sf AmerkfS ^ybites seeking to dig the freezers such as “Holiday On Ice,” jive. , . , j, * this presentation froni Western Mathews has kicked off Germany is still something to see. terrific interest in calypso and Also on the plus side are the H«b is starting on a Trinidad kick, eye-filling costumes and the well ® Calypso Room in action on selected pop and semi-classical ®it® the former Ada Bul- melodies which serve as back- iock eatery on Tremont St., Miss ground music, in all, a nice and Mathew's at the Jewel Room, and fast moving two-hour program for radio, stations, playing calypso in- an entertaining evening. Biz has stead of rock and reports that a been satisfactory so far.' calypshow Is being set for the Program tees off with a Wild Keith Memorial in May, it looks West number backgrounded by like Hub is in for a round of the music from “Oklahoma” and con- island fling, tinues through Gershwin’S “Rhap- In addition, singers coming In play the Hub are all including v the at least one. calypso number' In tL big ° acts there ^^e ^several calypso number was Carmel Quinn comedy pieces of which some are ®*y howlers. celeb yet. Said Miss Quinnr “If Headlinintr is An^frian Fva Paw Harry Belafonte is going to sing lik, an ex-Olympic winner and European champ. Miss Pawlik, star of this revue for three years . Banana Boat Song. ’ now, scores strongly in a solo num- -^-— ber, and then together with Rudi ' Seeliger, many , times Austrian l/lSllCylAllfl S I^ICIIIC AFBA champ and second headliner, in ht .. t, «« “Kaiserwalzer” (Emperor’s Waltz) Movf and “Romantic Fantasy.” Both , Next addition to *Djsneyland will represent.an.ideal skating couple be Holiday Park, a six-acre area with regard to beauty, grace and adjoining the entertainment cen- charm. . tre which will be used as a recrea- Horst & Eva Faber appear in tion. site for organized groups. Now “Rhapsody In Blue” and some being built at a cost of $160,000, operetta numbers. Horst Faber, it will be opened in June, who won the German champion- Included in the site: will be a ship 10 times and was second in meeting place for group activities, the world championship, shows athletic ^rounds olawroundc n together with his wile (the former -flX h,ll Eva Prawitz) figure, skating which ^ borders on the superlative. . - Other creditable performers are 5,000..guests can be handled at- one Cathrin Sailer and Fred Emanuel time and Disneyland will pitch for (as guests) much applaused for picnics and .cohventions. their artistry; Hans Lugmaier, top- =-—--^ notch German comedian; Harry J’ran Warren is scheduled for a Reddy, a Canadian jumping titlist; series of one-nighters in Texas Larry Kemble, a Scotch acrobat; starting around April 25., Jack McCohnel, an- English come- - , ' ,' . ' ’ ‘ dian; Jeanne Rathbone, U.S. ice ' IL ballerina; and* singers Franz Heigl I Iw and Use, Gramholz. » 11 Knox . Godfrey, an Australian, > who also produced the show, de- ^ seYves praise for the outstanding > i, O / choreography. Paul Helmut ' Y / Schuessler, formerty of Munich’s fl fl State Opera; and Helmut Eckart \\ handled the artistic direction' and technical supervision,, whife Joanne ^ Sinclair created the tasteful and colorful costumes, a big plus of this ^ \\ ■ A otherwise not too lavish production W /'/ when compared to U.S. standards. ^ /f.. 1\ The. musical accompimtment is ex- x / J § ^£ cellently handled -by Hins Richard ^ ^ Stein and his eight-piece orch. XIWFILD fOLillS Han$.. , LATIN qUARTIR, MIAMli;/, , •, 'Banana Boat Song.” Disneyland’s Picnic Area Disneyland, March 26. Next addition to‘Disneyland will NOTICE FROM LENNY BRUCE To all tho montal cripples who call Ehemtelvei “comedians” and whose humor consists of « tape recoi'der, a Robert Orbln beo|c and stolen jokes: To the “writers” who rationalize their thievery with the absurd contention that there are only, seven original jokes and everything is a. switch: I AM DOING AN ORIGINAL BIT OF MY OWN CREATION (A$ IS All OF MY MATERIAL). IT PLAYS AS FOLLOWS: USING A REAL TELEPHONE ONSTAGE THAT IS AMPLIFIED THROUGH THE MIKE SYSTEM, I SOLICIT THE AUDIENCE'S HELP FOR PHONE NUMBERS AND THEN I CALL ACTUAL PLACES OF BUSINESS, NIGHT CLUBS, PERSONALITIES, BABY-SIHERS, ETC. THE BIT IS AD-LIB AND UNREHEARSED. “He who sted/eth my purse doth steal trash, but, he who eteahth my bit endeth up with his feet ip cement." .—Al Capone. THANKS TO: . NO THANKS TO: Father Coughlin Appearing MCA Bruno Hauptmann CRESCENDO „ . Father Coughlin Bruno Hauptmann Buddy Hackett Hugh French Leon MireH Buddy Lester Schecky Green Una Merkel Jamaica Theatre Sdm Nugoid .Danny Lewis Hansen's Sunsef Strip. Hollywood P.S.—Tanya and Johnnie Baiggt: Oh say can You see Comedy SiHqer - Dcmcer Pantomimist TOM MULVEY CamMl, FEATURED la GUS VAN'S VAUDEVILLE REVUE At KEYBOARD STtli and Laxla.toa Ava. Haw Yaifc WHEN IN BOSTON ft's the HOTEL AVERY Avary li Woiblngtoa Sts. The Heme of Show Folk YVONNE MORAY SAHARA HOTEL ; LAS VEGAS, NEV. MILTON DEUTSCH AGENCY 9157-Sunset Blvd. Hollywebd 44, Celif. 100 EASTER GAGS $1 Original. Topical Material Send cash, check or money order to: EDDIE GAY 141 West 71nd St., Ntw York 19, N. V. VING MERLIN and. hit VIOLIN BEAUTIES ZIIGFILD FOUlU LATIN qUARTIR, MIAMI. iL 9 7.' /Mff.i Jerry Levy - Fred Ameol'