Variety (April 1958)

► 110 NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS Pfijssj/Eff Waldorf-Astoria, N. Y. Maurice Chevalier, Emil : Cole¬ man & Bela Babai Orchs; $3 cover.. Maurice Chevalier, at 70, look¬ ing 15-20 years younger, may well become the male Fanny Ward; He’ll, probably start piling on the years to accentuate the. affirmative. Chevalier, at 70, is the lone sur¬ vivor of the three giants of the gin the Beguine,” ‘Taking a Chance on Love," “Fire Dawn Be¬ low” and his theme. Til: See Ydu In My Dreams.” Two Latin-type terpers, Alvie Corona and Diane Nellis, excitingly decorate some of the Martin. production numbers. Conductor-88er A1 Sendrey is. the star’s expert .teammate with the Jack Cathcdrt orch (20). Allan Drake has been away , fcoin varieties and the musichalls— i the Strip for a year,, and is ,hack America’s Jolson and Scotland’s ' with all new material. He’s one of Lauder were the other two. Cheva- i the most refreshing standup. com- Iier, at 70, is an iridefaUgable ; edians to play Vegas in many trouper, a poised, polished and un- j months—he k e p t first-nighters deniable personality, professionally { laughing heartily with his fast and and boxotficewise. Chevalier, at 70,; well-paced gags. His singing voice is tireless, peripetatic arid seem-; is good, and the parodies excep- ingly a Ponce de Leon for buoyancy i tionally clever, and bounce as lie thinks nothing of ■ Bert Mav clicks as the featured flitting from Pans to The Lambs :terper in the productions, and he’s Club, as he did, for a one-night raLventop-levelassistanee by.vocal-', salute to Alan Jay Lerner and] j st D 0n Kirk and the Flamingoettes I rcderick Loewe; T back within the ,, 12 , show , is skedded for four same month to Hollywood for the; fr ., m(V , n nice Academy telecast, to Washington j * . - . for the Radio-TV Correspondents ! ■ . as headliner in a variety show' j t liase f lun, Sf. laiUlS emceed by Ed Sullivan, with a ! St. Louis. April .3. Sullivan tv’er spliced in between his ! Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Dorsey charity preview Monday ?7> night orch 117); $1.50-$2 cover. for the New York Infirmary. Last* - ' night (TuesJ was the formal pre.em . . •. . . . . • , at the Empire Roam. goosepimple week at the tlrt +k« Chase Club, with Johnny Mathis in th^ChtoKcAraiSl of lf»f manship which is lacking ashade v!: 1 * "S’ hil-n S m n for the reason that he has inter- probably be blo\\n clear away in larded a half-century of highly any wind at all. but the big mellow commercial Chevalier charm and . 7® lce cp ™ es °. f ls a chansons with what he seemingly = of ,beapty an4 a joy forever, thinks must be an ultramodern And by the time he s^ through, he leavening of his longtime, long- . looks about 10 feettall, accepted values. Luring some of the Chase’s big- In short. Chevalier in trying to gest crowds this season (which was rewrite a hit^himseif—has.diluted no surprise to the management, the impact. Since it is a constant banking on the record and Acad- challenge for anyone on top to ‘ emy Award publicity), Mathis maintain parity, it is patent that: works hat'd in the two shows night- the great Gallic musichall star felt | ly. with a varied string of ditties it necessary to embellish his stuff. | that’s bound to get everybody The record routine is not it. He does it three, times, singing duets with disks or in accompaniment to s recording, as in the Tommy Dorr sey platter. The other two items are pseudo-duets with Lena Horne (“All -- - somewhere down the line. He keeps the chitchat at a happy mini¬ mum and just stands there, belting them out: < \ . Most of the first-night turnout was obviously made up preponder- II Right With ^ fr r.an^ Sn hl ho • painted with . Mathis records. wSh ihf ?,?n 1 Whenever he started the first bars EmH l Toll 0 man he occhestra ^ the Frenchman’s own maestro-ac- plause rang therafters,, , .. companist Fred Freed, along with . The Jimmy Dorsey orch, led by the savvv and veteran Coleman, trumpeter Lee Castle; continues could easily overcome it. Besides, ! with its own floorsh.ow contribii- none of these three items are quite tion. : a fine nostalgic parade of in the Chevalier character, ' times associated through the years The. answer is that the star’s best with, the Dorseys; moments came with the nostalgic ( Mathis closes April 16 ; with Ey- reprise of “Louise,” “Mimi,” etc., Gorme and the Maxwells com- and while he iseorrect mmptre.y- i n g j n f or two weeks and the Paul mg too . much on the .nostalgic lut Neighbors orch in for six weeks. parade he has enough new stuff ..to offer. Certainly his three items; from “Gigi”—-incidentally a one-! man trailer for that upcoming! Metro film—are fresh. Certainly j his mimicry and “impressions” and : that socalled “French hit parade”: (niost of them so well-known now in the U S. as to lose their identity, , plus the fact he does some Yank pops in French* constitute a Suf«'’i-j cient closs-section of the hew ’ values. Bob. Yiilornafional, Houston Houston, April 4. The Modernaires (5>, ShepFields Orch (11); presented by Porter Parris; private club, no cover or minimum. The Modernaires, dean of the. nation’s singing groups, .showed, at Slick showman that he is. Cheva- ! their opening here-' April 3 just lier’s literate, or-the-button Eng- why they .have been around for so Itsh. impeccable in the choice of long and with such success. This is language, and glamorized bv his a top act, as smooth arid solid as trademarked Gallic hiogue,- makes the Glenn Miller tunes they sing the language differential almost. so well. He has- several ne\v French - . Their sense of comedy is highly tunes- - Chapeau is one of his out- p t 0 fessional, as is shown in “I standers—and bv be;ng able to, Cah , t Carrv a Tune” in which consume over an hour it is evidence ^ Veet . voice d Pau la Kelly, only gal n* ° m : ’ ifl .group, mimics with Sarid- editing himself do\vn„ n**npr-sl : Yl( k lonsils that - flatten Chevalier plans a one-man show ^ p ^ s ^r' that scratches its wlv for a week at the Greek Theatre, ' that ra S lt;> " aJ Los Angeles, after his five-week pa - tlle -*... • stav at the Empire Room. This To an audience largely new to charitv -preview may have been the Mods, Dick Cathcart’s trumpet something in the way of a previous audition. Then, too. a partisan French crowd kept him on but it was patent that, after all was sung and done, “Mimi.” “Louise.” “New Kind of. Love” and “Valentina” bad it alt over the discotheque stuff. Withal, Chevalier remains a giant as an international head¬ liner—it’s just a case of too many courses to the banquet. Abel. I'la hi in I,a s Vc£as Las Vegas. April 8. . Tom/ Martin Allan Drake. Bert Ma:y, Don Kirk. Flaminqoettes (12). Jack Cnthcart Orch (2.0); staged by Hat Belfcr; $3 minimum. playing is an added surprise to a vastly entertaining evening in this plffeh room at the Shamrock Hil¬ ton Hotel. Cathcart, ranking with the best, gives superb imitations of Harry James, Bunny Berigan .arid Clyde McCoj-. Top applause comes when group makes with their best known songs; those they made famous while, with the old Glenn Miller outfit. Shep Fields orch provides them with expert support. Act closes April 16, followed by Carmen Cayallaro. Harr. Bolero^ Balrfflona Barcelona, March 31. Charito.Leoh & Ernesto Ldperia, Paco Leon, Leo Heredia,. Gerri Gale;? 1 minimum , Tony Martin’s latest turn lit the Flamingo Room is draped with a colorful Caribbean motif, staged With imagination and flair by Hrt Belfer. .Star applies, his w,k. { Bolero. : top. local nitery, has savoir fa ire o the surroundings., Charito Leon andEfnestoLapeha, arid again sho v why he’s orie of good Spanish dancers; Scotch , reel the best song, stylists in the biz. i by Leo Heredia is very, agreeable With , the voice that a femme first-1 also, and America’s Gerri Gale, on nighter described as “beautiful and | her first tour in Spain—first she **AU The Way,” <“I borrowed that Song from the other shiger”) “L ; fe Is. Just a Bowl of Cherries.” ^‘There’s No Tomorrow.’’ “I’m Ga¬ ting- Sentimental Ove^ T local talent that the audience ap¬ plauds with enthusiasm. Her danc¬ ing suggests. ballet but her fruit- selling stint arid others bits make for^jhit. Cdbdf. Pailmer House, €hl Chicago, April 1, Earl Wrightson & Lois Hunt, Tippy & Cobind (Manuel & Mari¬ ta Viera), Mata & Hari (with Fred Stamer),. Martha' Schlamme (with Frank Hamilton), Ben Arden Orch (10); ?2 cover, $2.50 Sat: New Empire Room layout is Only an intermittently, satisfying affair; Part of the fault may lie in! pro¬ ducer Merriel Abbott’s decision to pad the show as compensation for absence of big names. At any rate, response at first night <1) was less than enthusiastic. Toplining Earl Wrightson & Lois Hunt offer fine voices and pleasant miens through their 27-minute re¬ cital, but little, else. Act: gets across the obvious sweethearts image, but it’s a souffle that could benefit front, some parody or satire.stuff as condiments: Turn isn’t helped any by insipid dialog, despite an econ¬ omy of verbiage. Most of. the route iAdueted, with ] each, taking only a single soro. Wrightson’s alone for a stout and predictable “It Ain’t Necessa r ily So,” anid .Miss Hunt longhairs her prime Metopera role of Mqsetta for the waltz from “La Boehme.’’ Lat¬ ter copped the best mitting, but with saxophones, in back it was a jarring experience, even in a nitery. Among tandem chestnuts are “Lover,’’ “September Song,” “Where or When” arid .“With' a Song in My Heart.” . Satiric terp team of Mata .& Hari shows generally good imagination : that does riot always hit .the mark. Their blind date bit, for one, is a ] somewhat obscure burlesque, with, the fault mainly in conception. It deals with a garish twosome, when it could have focussed with more point and. humor on conventional modern teenagers. Dancers have a sock windup with a symphony con¬ cert, he batoning and she as vir¬ tuoso. Both simulate a full orch before it’s over, with, inventive “score” synchronization by, 83er Fred Stamer. ..... *. Onlv mildly diverting are mon¬ keys Tippy & Cobir.a. put through their paces (on the bongos and. at a small electric organ) by Manuel & Maritk Viera. Act, a rtv guest- repeater; limps. till Toto the chimp is brought on . for Some mimicry, ; getting the best rise with a Jimmy Durante inipresh. . Room is experimenting with a betweeri-shows “Little Show.” slot¬ ting .multi-lingual folksinger: Mar¬ tha Schlamme. who has built a local following off her Gate of Horn and recital appearances, and should mean some gravy biz for the hospice. Singer clicks with trained soprano pipes, plenty, of warmth that comes ; over, and animation that’s a big help outfront against the language barrier.. Songs are native to such diverse regions as Franc e: Ireland. Israel,-Spain and the U.S:'. Excellent guitar backing for the 30 minutes from Frank Hariritton. =' Main show gets competent musi¬ cianship from the Ben Arden orch (10). Layout remains through May 7, except 1 for Wrightson. & Hunt who leave after April !4, with French, turesmiths Varel &, BaiFy with Les. Chanteurs de Paris (7) replacing. .-Pit,;. Mlirray FrankSin'x. Miriml Rea^i ; Miarni .Beach, April L Murray FralikUn, Terry Hai>en, Dick Hai'iliand, Danny Rogers, Sue Lawton, Srniffy Miller, Linda Bis - hop, Eddie. Bernard; two-drink minimum. This pop all-nitery is a landmark for the natives, arid a rendezvous for. show bizites and the hip crow'd w’hen they’re in town. Located op¬ posite the Roney Plaza, the layout is an inviting one, w-ith a rocking chair section to provide the houses. party 1 atmosphere and comfort. It’s also been an incubator and spring- board for talent looking for.a show¬ case, namely, Roberta Sherwood, Don Rickies, and lately Dick Havil- larid, who was found - there by tv producer Nat Hiken and pacted for liis new' “Magnificent Moritague” series:- ]. Currently,, a blonde, puckish panned ^il with a penchant for sharp satire and incisive impres¬ sions of old vaude and qafe greats heads up the wacky-lined proceed¬ ings ; guided by Franklin, himself no mean raconteur, guitarist and ad libber. . Terry Haven is a solid standup comedienne as well as mimic. She works in fast, sometimes ad lib fashion to set herself with, the crowd; . Penchapt for the situation invent is given full play in inter¬ changes with almost - on-her-lap ringsiders; The build to -her big items is a warm, and giggly one arid,; when she* Kits into a special material bit penned by accompanist Ernie Held, she’s on her way. Takeoff, on Martha Raye is as close to the original as an impres- ycap-gpt, ake hpi; nost^lgiq Fanny Brice arid Sophie Tucker. She’s on for well over 30 minutes to keep the laugh rise on high level. Miss Haven has'worked the biggeries. Iiere such as Fontaine¬ bleau, but in this setting her chance, to get of? the act-beam and indulge f in free-wheeling sessions is allowed full play, for big results. . Havilland, “a feature here for ! over a year now. is a. Clifton Webbish type in looks, material and manner. His underplayed stuff is original in concept, offbeat in content, the breaks from quiet demeanor into weird song sounds in his lampoons on current pops sparking startled howls. He’s made to order for the smarteries where eggheaders and the average . Joes who become cultists of a particular performer abound. • Danny Rogers is a vet comedian and his work provides tlie contrast to a Havilland type. He’s tops on the old softshoe hoofery, the panto biz, notably the oldie poker game bit which he has perfected to point of constant risibility perk-up; he’s also funnily involved in a series of blackouts that thread the show, worked out on a small stage with mite-sized Snuffy Miller—there’s no talk, just deadpan approach to some broadly funny quickie panto- sketches in the Old Club 18 mari¬ ner. . Suie Lawton. is a sweet-faced thrush—also a long-stayer here¬ with plenty know-how' in the art of taking torch or ballad and making them sound like a personal lament; on a rising beat, she more than holds her own. Tall Linda Bishop serves as the. gal singer who has her routining broken up by the blackout bits; on her own she is okay on a “Love For Sale” type of tune, or a rhythm belting. Franklin is the big draw here He’s a happy host as well as smooth, always nimble coriferer- cier. Where there’s a lull, he takes over for the pickup that might in¬ clude anything from a personalized gag-series to a spoof : bn magicos. Eddie Bernard is an expert pianist who keeps musical matters on the full scale. Franklin holds acts for weeks at ar time, with occasional additions when a likely looking talent seeking a Beach showcasing is taken on. ; Lary. Blark Hawb, F. . San Francisco. April 4. Lurlene Hunter, Vido Musso Orch (b>; 90t admission, no cover, Lurlene Hunter, making her Coast debut, displays a strong set of pipes and a deft manner of sell- irig the crowd in this hipsters’ par-- adise. <W orking under the worst possible opening night, handicaps (Easter weekend, and a' hand and pianist she met the night she went to work), she nevertheless handles herself in major league fashion. Her show, well paced and effec¬ tively planned, consists almost ex¬ clusively of w.k. showtunes. Her patter between numbers is soft and easy on the ears and there is little of the usual record hustling that goes on today. The Hunter voice is strong, jazz oriented and an effective vehicle for her selection of numbers. She is Well gow'ned and handles her¬ self with assurance, getting the audierice on her side without stoop¬ ing to any gimmicks or copping a plea on no rehearsal. All in all, this is a good show and her presence in town should not only hejp her Vik albums, but build her a following for future appearances. Vido Musso’s orch does a workmanlike job of backing the singer and alternating with her. Feature solo spots are shared be¬ tween the leader arid trumpeter Allen Smith- Show opened April 4 for 10 days. Rafe. Interlude, Hollywood . Hollywood, April 4. Cal Tjader Quintet; $3 minimum. It’s questionable' whether Gene Norman’s current booking of the Cal Tjader Quintet at his Interlude will please all the nitery rounders, but it's surefire for the' progres¬ sive jazzites: Tjader’s opening was to a packed house comprised most¬ ly of the jaz5r cult that breathes this type of music. This booking is not for patrons that expect to hear tf song played a* it was orig- inally. penned. The* notes 1 come out as each. individual musician feels them and, accordingly, plays to that mood. . Tjader, like Lionel Hampton; is one of the; best vibe men in the business and pr-oves_it. Through¬ out his*, turn he pounds both the soft and hard mallets in excellent fashion. Good backing is supplied by Vihce Gerondi, piano; A1 Mc- Kibbon, bass; Willie Bobo, drums, and Mango* on* the* bonges. • At this session, selections heard included “Autumn Leaves,” “Ten¬ derly,” “Mamblues” and “Guarachi Guaro.” 'Tjader holds over indefi-: Wednesday, April 9, 19S9 I BHnstPub’s, Bsainn Boston, April 9 . Jimmy Durante, with Sonny King, Eddie Jackson, Borden Twins, Sally Davis, Jack Roth; Jules Buffano, Line (6), George Carl &. Arlene (2), Moro Landis Line (10), Michael Gaylord Orch (10), Lou Weir; $6 minimum. '■ Jimmy Durante tears up 1 this 1,700-seater in a round of frenzied .action, liberally laced with nostal¬ gia, tv bits and Duranteisms to win one of. the biggest salvos. ever afforded a performer in this South Boston bistro. Caught Saturday (5) and in for a nine-day stand, he was on for 90 minutes to a jampacked house. With a $6 minimum and showtime moved back from 8:30 to 7:30 for first, the Schnoz looks, to set a record in his initialer for the spot. ; Durante’s centerpiece is big Son¬ ny King, who is given the green- light to cavort, mugg, pipe like Durante and give out with his own style in ai high-pitched voice. There’s the usual mayhem with bandleader, this trip involving Mike Gaylord, plus Jack Roth and Jules Buffano. Despite all the frenetic goings on, first part wears a bit dull until Eddie Jackson struts on to spark hew zing. The sik-girl line is eye-filling. The crowd gives whameroo mitt¬ ing to Jackson on his strutaway turns, and a rock ’n’ roll finale with King, Jackson, Durante, as bebop- pers aided and abetted by three heavyweight femmes and line, has imoact; Durante scores in a single at the 88 with spot, “Young At Heart,” and gets off his. “Umbriago” biti with the characteristic strut. Jack- son’s “Bill Bailey” wins terrific mitting. Durante & Co. socks it to the arid for full; measure, rating two encores. Instead of usual four outside acts, boniface Stanley. Blinstrub has only one 1 for this layout. It’s a nifty opener, George Carl Ar Arlene. doing 15 miriutes of comedy aero and nantomine. Reminiscent of ail English music hall turn although strictly a U. S. team. Carl gets off some of the trickiest eccentric terping seen' on any stage, rigged out in bowler and long jacketed black suit. In aero bits with blonde well-stacked partner, the duo get into some ludicrous and unortho¬ dox positions for aud yocks. They bob off to thunderous mitting. Length of show cuts Moro Lari* dis line to one number, “Enter¬ tainment;” Gaylord, cuts .the show m fine style and is inserted into the act by Durante for big laffs; This layout exits . Sunday ( 13 ). Eileen Rodgers opens next day. Guy. Siatler-Hikon, Ballbs Dallas, April 4. Jackie Miles, Garwood Van OrcH (11); $2-$2.50 cover. Jackie Miles opened the plush Empire Room Jan. 19, 1956, and he’s been overdue since. His in¬ itial . three-week date cadged enough customers to cinch a re¬ peat. Comic is back in the same groove, with a gift of gab that frac¬ tures the tab-takers, and from his opening (3) reception he should ' | a hefty b.o., in his fortnight Miles has new material for his fans—he offers a treatise on juve- mle delinquency “in ; its latest stages.’. He relies oil a favorite, fictitious, foil, Big Bill Thompson from Houston, to spin some yarns • about Miami Beach hotels and also kids Bing Crosby and Louis Arm¬ strong. Calm comedian ivasn’t per- turbed by a rude ringside heckler at opening; Miles retorted with squelches that made the interrup¬ tions seem planted—but added to the hilarity. Windup of the sock 35-minute stint is a reprise of his disk, “I’m A Rollin’,” and its strict- ■ ly a begoff: Garwood Van orch, in its first local date since 1938, cuts the show cleanly and impresses with next ensemble work that fils the floor for terp sessions. Band is set for 12 weeks. Barkt Bombay Room, Ornate . Omaha, April * Marjorie; no couer or minimum. . ■Marjorie (Slightam) offers a plush, act in the plush surroundings or the Sheraton-Fontenelle HoteFs Bombay Room. The attractive brunet, slinky-clad in a rfed l«cS gown. is quite adept at bbth the 88 and organ a!nd plays both at the same time occasionally. Her arrangements are clever and, at the 30-minute set caught. Heartaches” was a particular standout: Biz is> okay, but mig h t be 1 helped if Marjorie’s act were elevated. As it is. she's lost visual¬ ly to more than naif the room, . - Trujm