Variety (October 1958)

VAUDEVILLE Vaude, Cafe Dates New York Singer Tom Lelirer will play a series of one-niters in college towns through November and De¬ cember . . . Coby Di Jon* Brazilian singer, has inked with the William Morris Agency . . . Ginney Simms goes into the Lake Club, Spring- field, Nov. 8 . , . Alan Dale pacted with General Artists Corp . . . Ford & Reynolds preem at Blin- strub’s, Boston, Oct. 27 . . . Cam- illo* former captain at the Hotel Pierre, is the new owner of the Baccara Restaurant. D/ile Foster Quartet opened at the Van’s Lounge, Troy, N.Y. . . . Robert Clary and Mitzi Mason com¬ prises the show at the Eden Roc, Miami Beach, Nov. 5. The Baconlou Dancers, from Haiti, wound up at the St. George Hotel, Brooklyn, Friday (3) . . . Joan Brandon current at the Sports & Boat Show, Walton Beach, Fla. Chicago Irwin Corey signed for the new Cloister Jan. 6 . . . Roberta Mac¬ Donald set for the Drake’s Camel¬ lia House Feb. 27 for three frames . . . Coronados are down for the Brown Hotel, Louisville, Dec. 26 . . . Reopened Boulevard Room of the St. Louis Sheraton-Jefferson tapped Jaclde Miles for two weeks starting Oct. 17, with Lucille & Eddie Roberts supporting. Also booked for the plushery are Nel¬ son Eddy, following the Miles bill, and Hildegarde, inked for Nov. 28. Atlanta Night spots got a big play last weekend via football crowd here to see Tech’s Yellow Jackets tangle with Tulane’s Green. Wave on Grant Field, and another one is up¬ coming with Jackets pitted against Tennessee’s Volunteers- Vaga¬ bonds (41 opened Friday (3) at Mae Brandt’s Harem Club, with dancer Shirley Ann Chandler rounding out bill, with $5 minimum in effect for comedic musical group’s stay . . . ^BOSTON SMASH HIT THE GLAMOROUS NEW HOTEL Show folks are raving about the :i all new Hotel Avery. All new, large, |§ beautifully furnished deluxe rooms .• with private bath and television. ' • Many Air Conditioned. AVERT « WASHINGTON STS. ft Gretchen Wyler holding over- at Henry Grady Hotel’s Paradise Room . . . Cotton Watts Chick, old- time minstrel team, spotted at Club Peachtree, with exotics Eva Angel* Joan August and Donna Lee fea¬ tured and Nat Foster Trio playing for shows and dancing . . - Beefy (300-pound) pianist-singer Roy Topps opened at Zebra Lounge in Howell House Lobby ... Mitchell- Ruff Duo playing at Darlington’s Sans Souci Lounge . . * Singing- dancing comedienne Lorraine added to Anchorage Lounge lineup at Clermont Hotel* with tall* exotic Dallas York holding over along with Billy & His Big Beat Revue . . . Harry “Woo Woo” Stevens re¬ maining another week at __ Chick Hedrick’s Domino Lounge in Im¬ perial Hotel. Hollywood Frances Faye topiines the show opening today (Wed.) in the Star¬ light Room of the* Riviera Hotel in T >k Vegas . . . Shelly Manne,. Slim Gaillard and Paul Frees will entertain at the Composers & Lyricists Guild of America’s an¬ nual dinner at the Sportsmen’s Lodge today (Wed.) . . Dancer- vocalist Gwen Dolyn making a i two-week stand at the Maison Josseau, Bakersfield .— Sheila & Gordon MacRae open a three-week stand at the Waldorf Astoria, N.Y., Oct. 23. Jimmie Komack opens a two- week stand at the Crescendo in Houston today (Wed.) . . . Anna Maria Alherghetti headlines the “Wonderful World” revue at the Moulin Rouge opening tomorrow (Thurs.). Roberta Sherwood fol¬ lows Oct. 23; The Mills Bros., Nov. 11, and Domenico Modugno, Dec. 9 . . . Candy Barr, stripper-dancer, holds over two weeks at Chuck Landis' Largo. • Houston Thrush Betty Reilly signed for two weeks at the Shamrock Hil¬ ton’s Continental Room beginning Oct. 18 . . . Rusty Warren, pianist, into Club La Bistro for four weeks .. . . Jacques Foti to open at the Club Elegante, N. O., Oct. 11, He resigned from the Rendevous Jacques tv show here ; . . Singer Charlene Morris leaves to move into Club 3525 in JDallas for two frames beginning Oct 8 . . . Jerry Lee Lewis in a one-nighter (7) at the Jimmy Menutis Lounge . . . Richard Moser set for the Inter¬ national Club lounge. Shamrock Hilton ... Linda Peters goes to the Jack Tar in Orange, with Jeannine Peters playing the Jack Tar Quarterdeck Club in Galves¬ ton . . . Jimmy Dorsey orch to the Menutis Lounge Oct. 12. Jerry Lee Lewis in one-night stand (7) at Jimmie Menutis Lounge. Other bookings include the Jimmy Dorsey band, conducted by Lee Castle, Oct 12 and Buddy Morrow orch, Oct. 13 . . . Gordon MacRae opened a two-week stand at the Continental Room, of the Shamrock Hilton. PAMELA DENNIS Just Completed 4 Weeks ASTQR CAFE, London, Eng. T.V. Sept. 27th . DAVID KING SPECTACULAR ITV, London Oct. 4th BILL COTTEN SHOW BBC, London Management—INGALLS-HOYT 160 West 46th Street, New York City CAB CALLOWAY TOWN HOUSE. Pittsburgh. Pa. Mqt EMI MS?TL«;:, Broadway. Now fork P&tSIEfT _ MacDougaS Card Tridr Show for GIs Is Both Entertaning, Instructive . Frankfurt, Sept 30. USO has proved itself unusually perceptive in booking a show apro¬ pos for the military on this side of the Atlantic. It’s Michael MacDougall, author of “Gamblers Don’t Gamble,” “Danger in the Cards,” “MacDoug¬ all. On Dice” and a syndicated column. In a laugh-provoking and thought-provoking tight 40 minutes* entertainer MacDougall proves that he’s much more than a gambling mathematician—he’s a man who knows a raw deal when he’s con¬ fronted with one. With a rapid- ' fire patter Mickey stressed that while his own card cut-ups are sleight-of-hand magic, the same tricks are employed by plenty of cheats in uniform. MacDougall is a mighty fast man with the spiel and with the cards, and his 40 minutes evaporate as fast as the cards slide through his facile hands. He has an ad lib for every occasion, and rates his high¬ est applause by picking two local bridge players who shuffle and deal the cards, then beating them at every. trick with his own in¬ visible . stacking. His pretty partner-wife; Diane Navarro, proves a plus assist on a couple of outside card tricks. Show, titled “Gambols of 1958,” has been a must for service clubs. Haze. Jamal 3, Dakota Staton Credited With the Draw At Health’s Carnegie Bash Ted Heath began his third an¬ nual trek in the U.S. at New Yorks’ Carnegie Hall Friday (3) in tandem with the Ahmad Jamal Trio 51 and Dakota Staton. Although the Brit¬ ish bandleader has a solid follow¬ ing here via his Londpn Records releases, it was the Jamal group and Miss Staton who mainly can be credited for pulling in sold-out house biz for the 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. performances. Jamals’ keyboard is ably sup¬ ported by a .bassist and a drummer who lay down a hefty rhythm beat to support the leader's riffing. It’s not substantial concert, hall stuff but he does manage to bring in enough imaginative tinkling to keep the aud interested. Miss Staton, building steadily via her Capitol albums, reprised num¬ bers from her elicko sets, “In The Night” and “The Late, Late Show” as well as her latest release, “Dy¬ namic,” Tunes and styling were familiar to virtually everyone in the house, but they still can’t seem to get enough of her. “Her Chero¬ kee*” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Misty” are just a few of the items that kept the house happy for more than a half hour. Heath, who took over the first (Continued on page 67) Stomping at Savoy , Continued from page 62 there and it was the first ballroom to showcase the famed King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. It was axio¬ matic that an ofay band of any school didn’t actually meet the test until it passed muster at the Savoy. Those who qualified in¬ cluded Rudy Vallee, Guy Lombar¬ do, the Dorsey Bros., Glenn Miller and many Others. Visitors to that shrine of music included Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo. The Savoy was also the inspiration of a: song, “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” by Edgar Sampson and Benny Goodman. Gale is now toying with the idea of recreating the Savoy on another site. He's studying the realty lo¬ cations, costs and will reopen an¬ other Savoy, if feasible. Gale is reluctant to let this rich piece of Harlem musical history pass com¬ pletely. Gale would also open with the same basic idea that started the original ballroom. He felt that Ne¬ groes should have the same fine dance facilities offered to the pale¬ faces in midtown New York. It was to be a ballroom for Negroes and operated by Negroes. Although it shared billing as the top Negro showcase, along with the late Cot¬ ton Club, it’s pointed out that Ne¬ groes weren’t too welcome at the Cotton Clnh for a long time. The Savoy strove to become part of the Nofo crv>-.:Tiunii:y and accom¬ plished this aim during Wednesday, October 8, 19511 Memories of Cart Brisson ; Continued fropa page 62 ; during the Kerensky (1017) upris -1 I ing as result of street fighting. The authorities had told all foreigners to play it safe and stay away from windows; the younger Pederson’s curiosity brought him too close to a window at his hotel and a stray bullet got him. Both Carl and Cleo Brisson’s superb physical condition, apart from defying the-years, saw them taking Xmas-New Year’s swims off Hay Island (Conn.), where they fre¬ quently visited Ed and Pegeen Fitzgerald. The neighbors were as¬ tounded at the pair churning up the sound in midwinter. Incidentally, the Fitzgeralds’ WOR plugging of Brisson, when he came into the old Club Versailles, N.Y., then an unknown quantity, had something to do with his impact. Fitzgerald had just gotten back from Den¬ mark and knew first-hand how big an idol Brisson was in his native land, in England, and throughout Europe. It was by prearrangement that Greta Garbo, then a film extra in Sweden, was called onstage by Brisson during one of his Scan¬ dinavian personals as a “comer”— she was heralded as a little girl who had started working in a bar¬ bershop. While eventually big in the U.S., Brisson’s heart was in his native Denmark. He had been twice dec¬ orated by the Danish and Swedish governments. Gustaf II of Sweden, long a tennis buff, was sojourning in Paris in 1922 and made the French capital the occasion of first decorating Brisson as the first civilian air passenger crossing the channel via the old British Im¬ perial Airways. Good Business Man Brisson was ever a shrewd busi¬ ness man. He owned a chain of clothing stores in Denmark, a la the Robert Hall operation. A line of Brisson vintages and spirits al¬ so carries his name. Brisson was originally a ball¬ room dancer and one of the best Both as an acrobatic act and later as a dancer, where language was no problem, being a “dumb” act, he was widely accepted in almost every land where he toured exten¬ sively hefore settling down into a romantic song-and-dance leading man. A Great Dane canine was his trademark, for obvious reasons, but also because he basically liked animals. The pigeons from Central Park know that the Brisson pent¬ house had a special trough for them. An unlikely pet such as a turtle became his traveling com¬ panion in later years, and it was a running gag to his intimates how he’d catch flies to feed the turtle. When Brisson came into The -3 Crowns restaurant in New York ev¬ erybody knew it because of his lavish manner of entertaining with accent on the' aquavit-with-beer- chasers. One of fans, a little French girl whose devotion belied any suspicion of any romantic at¬ tachment, virtually became a fam¬ ily retainer, as his personal aide. She has been through a series of operations (eyes, etc.), all at the Brissons’ expense. Brisson’s favorite story con¬ cerned his uncle who bought a sev¬ en-plot family area in a Copen¬ hagen cemetery and who visited it almost daily, just to sit in the shade and cogitate. One day he came to Carl and asked would he approve changing the location of the plots—the uncle’s mortal re¬ mains, it. appears, would be in the shade and “I prefer to be buried in the sun,” he told the actor. Bris¬ son acquiesced. CHI HIGH ON JAZZ WITH TWO ENTRIES Chicago, Oct. 7, Current jazz prosperity in Chi¬ cago is underlined with the launch¬ ing of two more showcases. Pat Moran Trio and chirper Bev Kelly, longtime fixtures at the old Cloister Inn, have just kicked off a jazz policy at Stelzeris Restaurant in the new Lake Meadows housing spread just south of the Loop. At the north end of town, Tom Sulli¬ van’s (nee Irv* Benjamin’s steak- • ery) opens Oct. 31 with singer Lur- lean Hunter and the Charlotte Politte Trio, with likelihood the combo will develop as house band. Windy City just missed on a third new jazzery when the bank- roller backed out of the proposed VIP Room, which was to have opened Sept. 27 with Barbara Car- roll spotlighted. GLASON'S FUN-MASTER PROFESSIONAL comedy Material for all Theatricals "We Service the Stars" Big Temporary Special oa All 35 Gag Files for 915, Plus 91.M Postage Foreig n? $1.59 ee„ 35 f or 949 e 3 Paredy Books, Per Bk. ... 910 e e 4 Blackout Books, Per Bk. .. $25 e e Minstrel Budget . 925 e How te Master the Ceremonies 93 per Cepy No C.O.D's . "Always Open" BILLY GLASON 100 W. 54th St., H.Y.C., 1» Clrel- 7-1130 (WETBACK EMCEEING and COMEDY) (Let a Reel Professional Train You) GET YOUR DATE- BOOK NOW II !!! Musicians' A Acters' pocket size date book from Sept. '5t to Sept. '59. Pin 91.00 to this ad A send to Date Book, 505 Fox Bldg., 14th A Market, Phlla. 3/ Pa. Satisf. gtd. VAUDEVILLE - CAFE DATES " Ir Person OLSEN and JOHNSON F«.tiir«d OCT. 2 KRT PACKS' NBC-TV “MASQUERADE PARTY” Now Witk Tkoir Now “HELLZAPOPPIN’ ” and “YOCK and ROLL” AU-Star Revee ef 1*5* 30 - NAME ARTISTS - 30 FmII 2Va Hear Shew SOME SPOT DATES AVAILABLE llETWEEN OCT. 20 - NOY. 30, 1 *5B WRITE — WIRE — PHONE JOLLY JOYCE New York City 234 W. 48th St. PoLoza 7-1786 - Circle 64800 Philadelphia 1081 Chestnut St. WAIeet 2-4677 The DEEP RIVED BOYS Starring HARRY DOUGLASS » Opening 10th International Tear Week beginning Oct. 6 EMPIRE THEATRE GLASGOW, SCOT LAN IV Directions WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY Pers. Mgr.; ED KIRKEBY iV.A A