Variety (February 1958)

79 Wednesday* February 5* 1958 PTBBBft OBITUARIES HENRY (PETE) SALOMON JR. i Henry (Pete). Salomon, 40, direc¬ tor of special projects, at NfiC-TV and producer-writer of Victory, at lea ’’ died Feb. 1 in New York of a cerebral hemorrhage. Details in Badio-TV Dept^_ VICTOR PACKER Victor Packer % 61, a leading char¬ acter actor on The Yiddish stage, died Jan. 27 in Miami Beach. He \vas plavirig the role of Menachem Mendl in “Menachem Meridl in America,’.’ a play by Wolf Yoimin based on the character created by Sholem Alechem. He also directed the play, which was touring the i ^ Before coming to America in ! 1925 Packer appeared on the stage in Poland and Lithuania. In New York he was with the Jewish Art Theatre and . the:. companies of Rudolph Schildkraut, Jacob Ben Ami and Maurice Schwartz. Among the plavs in Which he appeared were "“The Golem” arid “Bronx Express.” . .■ Fon 10 years he had been pro¬ gram director Of radio station YVLTH, now defunct. He had also been a staff member of WLIB for the last, four years and was the originator Of the “Jewish Amateur Hour.” Wife, son arid daughter survive. WILLIAM STEINKE William (Jolly Bill) Steinke, 70, cartoonist and originator of one of the nation’s first children’s radio shows, died Jan. 28 In Old Orchard Beach, Me.. A native of Pennsyl¬ vania, he began cartooning for the Allentbwn, Pa.. Morning Call in 1910 and was still contributing to the paper at his death. He also drew for the Bridgeport, Conn., Post and later moved to the New Y'ork. Daily Mirror, where he illustrated Nick Kenny’s radio column; In 1924 Steinke began his “Jolly Bill and Jane”* radio, shows on WOR, Newark, and three years later moved to NBC in New lYork. During WOrld War II he toured Caldwell H. Brown, Jh If 11-1934 vaudeville with Gus Edwards arid Eddie Cantor. For a number of years, he toured with the team of Lawrence & Park and Lyons & Yosko. ■ Lyons also appeared with the Paul Whiteman and Rudy Vallee orchestras and toured Europe Aid Australia with British bandleader Jack Hylton. He was preparing to open at the' Jade House in Lauder- dale-by-fee.-Sea when he died. Wife, two daughters, brother and two sisters survive. active in. the entertainment field and took part in one of the first radio broadcasts in Winnipeg. Surviving: are her husband, Alex¬ ander (Candy), a Scottish enter¬ tainer in Winnipeg; two sons, a daughter and three sisters. JOHN K. BRENT John K. Brent, 38, manager-con¬ troller of, 20th r F 6 x television studios, died Jan. 31 of cerebral hemorrhage in Hollywood follow¬ ing a short illness. A film industry vet, he had been associated with Selznick International, Motion Pic¬ ture Center and Desilu before joining TCF-TV iri 1955. .. Surviving are . his mother and brother. with the. US.O and one of these tours brought him to San Franr cisco, where he settled down, resuming his “Jolly: Bill and Jane” show for ItNBC, Frisco, offer the war. He returned East several years ago and spent his last days at Maine , convalescent home;. ANTOINETTE Q. SCUDDER Antoinette Q; Scudder, 72, co¬ founder and president of the Pa¬ per . Mill Playhousein Millburn, = N: J., died Jan. 27 in Millburn. . In 1929, Miss Scudder founded a dramatic branch of the Newark Art Club. : Out of this grew the Newark Art Theatre, art amateur group in which she was active and : which later became the Paper Mill Playhouse.. In. 1939, she and her associate, Frank Carrington, now producer and director of the Playhouse, moved their enterprise to Mill-' burn - .. An Old. paper mill there was. remodeled Into a theatre, art and music center. From 1933 un¬ til her death she was president of the enterprise, which operates from April, to the middle of January. Her brother survives. Mr. and Mrs. Mike Hutner, son, New York, Jan. 30. Father is na¬ tional publicity manager for. War¬ ner Bros. ! Samuel antek Samuel Antek, 49,. conductor and; musical director of the New Jer¬ sey Symphony Orchestra and a : guest conductor of . the Chicago Symphony,, died Jan. 27 in New York. ... A 'violinist, he made his debut at N. Y.’s Town ,Hall when he Was 16 years old* and was a violinist with the. NBC Symphony under Arturo Toscanini for many years. He served as guest conductor With numerous orchestras including the Houston, Buffalo and Rochester symphonies. Wife, daughter, mother and two sisters survive. MILES A. GOLDRICK . Miles A. Goldrick, 54, public re¬ lations administrator of the Holly¬ wood division of Westrex for the last two years, died in Hollywood Jan. 28 following a stroke. He had been With the firm for many years, serving in. an executive capacity in various parts of the world. His wife, son and daughter sur¬ vive. ? CARLOS PUGLIESE Carlos J. Pugliesej 59, veteran Pittsburgh cafe figure, died at his home there of a • heart attack Jan. 28. He was manager of the Town House Motel nitery at the time of his death. Piigliese had gone there., recently from Dore’s supper club, where he had been a captain for some time. He worked for Tony Conforti at the old Nixon Cafe, then opened his own ihtimery, the Little Red Door in Pitt., and for a time was connected with the Westmoreland Country Club. A cousin survives. EDWARD CONNE Edward Conrie, 59, former part¬ ner in Conne-Stephens Produc¬ tions; a Coast outfit, died Jan. 23 while on a. business trip to New York. Inactive for the past several years, he formerly was head, of World Broadcasting in New York arid" of Radio Luxembourg in Eu¬ rope. His sister 1 survives. MRS. LOUISE- NOONAN MILLER Mrs. LouisC Noonan Miller,, 64, who established the Art Film The¬ atre in Washington: D.C., died Feb. 2 in that city. , Mrs. Miller inherited the Little Theatre at 9th Si, in Washington, in 1935 and began to experiment with foreign films, ringing the bell first with the French version of Mayerling.” Later, she acquired and established an art and foreign film policy for the nearby Rialto Theatre, and subsequently turned an nld bank building into Wash- ln |fe n ’ s Playhouse Theatre. t re ^ re( i, a few years ago; The and Rialto were tofn down, . fee Playhouse operates as an arty first-run operation for Ilya Lopert. . GEORGE LYONS -Dominic Martoccio, 68 , harpist- ar.d vaudevillian known profession¬ ally as George Lyons, died Jan. 31 Ataulfo argenta Ataulfo Argenta, 44, orchestra conductor, was found, dead Jan. 21 iri the garage of. his home hear Madrid. He was not only one of Spain’s top maestros but of Europe, where he batoned a number of celebrated orchestras. After studying iri Brussels and Germany; Argenta was named res¬ ident maestro of. the Spanish Na¬ tional .Symphonic Orchestra. Dur¬ ing the last , two years he toured several Latino Countries. His wife and four children sur-. vive. GEORGE J. CAREY George J. Carey, 64, percussion¬ ist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 1925, collapsed and died Jan. 28 after a xylophone solo in a .matinee concert for school children inCincy Music Hall. -Born in Boston, he started as a theatre musician in Rochester, N. Y., trouped with Sousa’s band and the Victor Herbert orchestra and played with the New York Sum¬ mer Opera and Ciricy Summer Opera. . : . Sumvirig are his wife, a step¬ daughter, sister and three brothers. EDWARD M; DRESSER Edward M. Dreiser, 84, a former actor and brother of the late novel¬ ist Theodore Dreiser and the. late composer Paul- Dresser,V died Jan. 29 at Springfield Gardens, L.I. His . Broadway credits include “The Soldier of Fortune,” “Within the Law," “The Climbers” and the lead in “Paid in Full.” An accident Which nearly cost him his eyesight ended his. legit career. He Was khpwri. professionally as . Edward Dresser; His. daughter survives. LOUISE D. SPOOR Mfs» O; M. Forkert, producer of Children’s plays at Chi’s Goodman Theatre, died Jan. 28 in Chicago. Known .professionally as Louise Dale Spoor, her association with Goodman went back 20 years, first as business manager. She. also was founder and -editor .of the Coach House Press, publishers of chil¬ dren’s plays. . Her husband and two brothers survive; VITTORE VENEZIANI Vittore ; Veneziani, 80, onetime chorus master . of the La Scala Opera house, died recently in Fer.- rara, Italy. After debuting as con¬ cert pianist and conductor, he be¬ came a chorus master first in Ven¬ ice in 1914 and the following year at La Scala in Milan. With the rise of Mussohni m 1938 he went td Switzerland, but returned: to-Lai Scala in 1945: He retired several , years ago, ELIZABETH PHIMISTER Mrs. Elizabeth Phimister, mother of Marsh Phimister, come- ’ - -• j:i ' j T — 22 in fe Fort Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Idian and m'-ic.,. died Jan. 22 in Fla. He v appearetf4s 5-'child Winnipeg, 'Matr’^he* had been of the co-publisher of The Bill¬ board, died in Roslyn Estates, L.I., Feb. 2, burial In Cincinnati today (Wed.). 1 Msgr. Edmund J. Burns, 71, longtime religious broadcaster via; station WABY, Albany, died Jan. 26 in Watervliet, N.Y.; Michael J. Murtagh, former Pittsburgh Playhouse actor, died Jan. 27 in New York, where he had made, his home for the last, several years. Earl J. Fenston, 62, Fresno, CaL, lawyer who owned Hanford, Cal., radio station KNGS and dailies at Hanford and Santa Maria, Cal., died Jan. 31 in San Francisco. Wife and two sons survive. Wife, 33, of Maurice L. Levy, staff camera man for NBG-TV hews in the Dallas area,, died in that City Jan. 21. Lloyd S. “Eddie". Edwards, 65, member of the Warner Bros, studio prop department for 31 years, died Jan; 28 in Hollywood. Son. and daughter survive. KATHLEEN HARDING Mrs. Kathleen Harding Snyder; 73, secretary of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School and. khowii professionally as. Kathleen Hard-: ing, died Jan. 31 In-Elmhurst, L. I., after a brief illness. She had been secretary of the ballet school for 49 years. Son, daughter and sister survive; EDWARD KOODEN Edward Kooden,. 59, onetime trumpeter with the Ben Bernie, Wayne Kipg, and Paul Whiteman orchestras, died Jan; .31 in Chicago, apparently of a heart attack. He was veepee and sales manager: for a Chi glass firm, A daughter, two sons, a sister and. three , brothers survive. Paul Young Herrick, 47, song¬ writer and film composer, died Jari. 26 in Hollywood. His wife, father, two sisters and one brother survive. Manuel Rodrigues, 70, painter and stage decorator Who for' years worked with the Lisbon opera house and the Portuguese national theatre, died recently in Lisbon, Mrt. Maurice L. Levy, 33, staff photographer for NBC in Dallas, Tex., died Jan. 28 in Dallas, after a brfef illness. Father, 72, of soprani) Victoria de los Angeles, ; died recently in Barcelona. Mario Castillo Tapia, 52, Mexican dramatic actor, died recently in Monterrey, Mexico; VAN A, NOMIKOS Van A. Noihikos, 61, Chicago theatre owner,, died Feb, 1 in that city. He owned several film houses and . a driye-in in Champaign, Ill. Nomikes also was a former vice- president of . Allied Theatres of America. Wife, daughter and brother sur¬ vive. TRAVIS BANTON Travis Banton, 64, one of Holly¬ wood’s top dress designers, died Feb. 2 in Los Angeles.' His most recent work was in collaboration with the . designer Marusia on gowns for the film version, of ‘Auntie Marne.” CHARLES L. JUDGE Charles L. Judge, 43, general manager of the Trans-Lux .Theatre, died Feb, 1 in Philadelphia, He had been associated, with: the Trans-Lux for 18 years... Wife, daughter and brother, survive. TV Sex Angles =; continued from page 2 -55555. down from the. Legion arid MPAA, the Legion: disallowing any refer¬ ence to abortion, as well as having other objections. Television, ac¬ cording to Schwartz, is “more pro¬ gressive" in . its thinking, treating such topics as dope addiction in drama. That topic had been for¬ bidden by the MPAA in motion pictures, but it is now acceptable. “I Am A Camera" is one of 25 pix being packaged by DCA for distribution by Flamingo Films. JONAS PERLBERG Jonas Perlberg,. 73, ex-theatre manager, arid in recent years Chi¬ cago correspondent for a film trade: publication, died of a .heart attack' Jan. 27 in Chicago. He was a mem¬ ber of the Variety Club In Chi. A brother and sister survive. Lou Kolb, head of Metro’s elec¬ trical department for 35 years until his retirement in 1936, and Mrs. Kolb perished in a fire which swept their Beverly Hills, Cal, home Jan; 26. Sol Goldman, 60, a Rim projec¬ tionist in Chicago for over. 40 years, died Jan. 24, apparently of a heart attack, while : at work at the Kino Theatre, Chi, Wife, a daughter, three brothers and a sister survive, , Vittorio Trevisan, 89, a . former basso buffo with the old Chicago Civic Opera Co., died: Jan, 27 in New York. He joined the Chi¬ cago Opera in 19i2 and remained with it until the 1930’s, WTEN’s Rules Albany, Feb. 4. WTEN’s Charles (Gig) Pogan, director of tv operations, follows some'simple rules to achieve what he deems as good taste in feature telecasting. . (WTEN has a bundle of Metro pix). Station never schedules a Jean Harlow release on its “Early Show/’ from 5:30. to 7 p.m., when kids make up the bulk of the audi¬ ence. The, stress on “body” is considered too sexy for the young¬ sters. Vlf .a youngster stays up after ll p.m;,” opines Pogan, “We feel it is the parent’s responsibility. Not ours.” He added that some of the films produced in the early ’30’s contain scenes, especially anatomical, which WTEN does not consider suitable for home. reception. These are eliminated; Older cartoons must be watched, too. WTEN does not wish to have any double enten¬ dre telecast, even though It may be over the heads of kid viewers. Nor does it wish to slate cartoons which, are prejudicial to amicable race; relations. Louis Salant, 78, retired attorney arid father of Richard S. Salant, v.p, of CBS Inc., died in New York Feb. 3 after a. long illness. Other Survivors ate the widow, a sister, brother and daughter. Roy V. Starting, operator of the White Theatre, Fort Worth, . Tex., died there recently. Surviving are his wife, three daughters, mother, two sisters and a brother. Mrs: William D: Littleford, wife Paar ft Winters —— Continued front page l.ss goes for everybody from Paar on down,, including Winters, fiody Goodman, et al. Going even a step further, the network designated continuity chieftain Stockton Helf- frich to stay, on top'of the pro¬ gram. Henceforth, all material, in¬ cluding that of the regulars and guests, must be cleared in advance bv Helffrich. Understood Paar himself has been disturbed by the “offbounds” stuff and has “made his peace” with Miss Maxwell on a more decorous approach to their verbal jousts. NBC’s concern is, understand¬ able in view of the’ show’s cur¬ rently preeminent status as per¬ haps the major “sleeper’^ of? fee season. Pail Robeson aas»a Contlimed from page 2 555 Oakland has come from a group that calls Itself a Whit Citizens Council (a la Birmingham) and has as its address General Delivery, Oakland, Cal. It’s threatened to picket the theatre. Among publicity breaks Robe¬ son’s had in the past week have been stories In the Scripps-How- ard afterneoon News, Senator Wil¬ liam Knowland’s Oakland Tribune and a tepid interview with Jane Todd (Wanda Ramey) on 50,000- watt KCBS. Asks ‘Limited’ Passport OK Paul Robeson, who’s been denied a passport to travel abroad since 1950, is asking the State Dept, to reconsider its position in order that he may appear with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon, England, this summer. In the event his request is granted he will be seen as Gower, the storyteller, in "Peri¬ cles.” Although Robeson is seeking only “limited” passport, the Government reportedly will not issue such a document until the singer-actor “answers questions in respect to Communist party mem¬ bership.” The “limited” status would restrict the applicant’s journey to England, where he would rehearse and act in “Peri¬ cles." Latter would be done in repertory from July 8 to Nov. 29, MARRIAGES Alice Falvey to Michael Ryan, Brooklyn, N. Y., Jan. 25. He’s a member of the Variety staff. Joanne Woodward to Paul New¬ man, Las Vegas, Jan. .29. Both are thesps. ' ’Irene Abel to James Nairn, Glas¬ gow, Jan. 24. He’s an announcer on Scot indie tv. Angela Bradshaw to Andy •Peter¬ sen, London, Jan. 27. Bride’s a dancer;, he’s a singer. Milita Brandon to Nino Villa- vera, Santiago, Chile, Jan. 5. Bride is a niteiy emcee; he’s an .an- nouncer at Radio Pacifico there. 1 Emy Boselli to Richard H. [ Farmer, New York, Jan. 25. Bride is an actress; he’s an actor. Rita Hayworth to James Hill, Beverly Hills, Feb. 2. Bride is the film star; producer is of Hecht-Hill-. Lancaster firm. Veriynne S. Beane to Edgar H. Needham 3d, Burlington, Vt., Jan. 25. He’s, an announcer at radio station WJOY there. Denise Pelletier to, Basil Zarov, Montreal, Jan. 25. Bride is a stage and tv actress; he’s a commercial photographer.. Betty Reilly to Jack D. Diehl, San Francisco, Jan. 28. Bride is a night club singer. Fritzi. Smith-Hall to Angelo Casalini, New York, Jan. 24. He’s on the boxoffice staff at the N. Y. City Center. BIRTHS* Mr. and Mrs. Sam Saran, daugh¬ ter, Chicago, Jan, 23. Father is news writer for WMAQ-WNBQ there. Mr. and Mrs. Dale- Klemans, daughter, Pittsburgh, Jan, 28, Mother is, former Carnegie Tech Drama School and Pittsburgh Playhouse costumiere. Mr. and Mrs. Bert Freed, daugh¬ ter, New York, Jan. 29. Father Is an actor. Mr. and Mrs. William J. Mona¬ han, daughter, New York, Jan. 27. Mother is singer Teresa Brewer. Mr. and Mrs. Pat Boone, daugh¬ ter, Hackensack, N. J., Jan. 30. Father is ai singer. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Goldentyer, son. Philadelphia, Jan. 29. Mother is daughter of. Milt Young, Colum¬ bia.Pictures publicist. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Levin, daughter. Sail Francisco, Jan. 14. Father is manager of the Coronet Theatre there, Mr. and Mrs. Valentino Sarra, daughter. New York, Dec. 11. Fa¬ ther is the commercial television artist, photographer and producer; mother is former musieomedy star Marcy Wescott. . Mr. and Mrs. Albert Floersheim- er Jr., daughter, Neptune, N.’ J., Jan. 31. Father, former v.p. of Walter Reade Theatres, recently assumed post: as public relations director of Theatre Owners of America. . # Mr. and Mrs. Sam Coslow% daughter. New York, Jan. 28. Mother is Singer Frances King; fa¬ ther is a songwriter. Mr. and Mrs. Marc Brandel, daughter, Feb. 4, New r York. Moth¬ er is t-v .actress Riuja Michellp; fa¬ ther is a tv playwright.