Variety (January 1959)

Nite Club Reviews Ment!! THE fyolxulo4&i INK SPOTS CIRCLE ARTISTS CORP. 48 West 48th Street New York _ PL 7-7100 Personal Management: SID HOWARD : Fackrs II, San Francisco i San Francisco, Dec. 26. The Axidentals (4). Lenny Bruce, Eric Miller, Norman Bates Trio. $1.50 admission. ! ! If, as rumored, George Andros picks his attractions from the past performance charts of the Racing ; Form, he has a winner in this cur¬ rent bill which couples the Axidentols, local vocal group with comic Lenny Bruce in solid show' with a broad appeal. The Axidentals, in their first local date in some months, display greater show savvy, stronger sell and more polish than previously; Anne Hagoupian, gal singer in the group, displays a solid set of pipes and handles most of the femcee chores in a strong, almost mascu¬ line manner. Belting out a varied program of standards and jazzoriental ballads, the Axes reach the audience quickly, don’t stay on too long and leave with a good impres¬ sion. They might benefit, however, by trimming some of the choreog; raphy. As the act now stands they dramatize almost every bar with . some physical movement, j Bruce, now riding high on a local following that makes him one of : the strongest comic draws here¬ abouts, has broadened the appeal of ; his act considerably via several ; new routines, edited some of his . stronger material, and emerges as one of the truly original comic per¬ sonalities on the current scene. A new routine in which he shows slides of his recent L.A. revue is a brilliant takeoff on the old Ameri¬ can folk custom of picture taking and slide showing, done with hu¬ mility and replete with jibes at ; himself. His routine on the come; dian at the London Palladium is : devastating and he retains the basic surefire bits now familiar to his following. Bruce is a natural. ; Singer Eric Miller, accompany I ing himself on guitar, was nervous The DEEP RIVER BOYS Starring HARRY DOUGLASS _ International Tear Currently JURA LAKE CLUB Springfield, III. Wm Direction: WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY 7 Per*. Mgr.: ED KIRKEBY ' * <fc. opening night but came across well with ballads. The Norman Bates Trio cuts the show neatly and plays for intermission dancing. Rafe. | Statlcr-IIilton, Dallas Dallas. Dec. 26. Betty Kean & Lew Parker, John¬ ny Long Orch (11); $2-$2.50 cover. Mr. & Mrs. comedy team scores in initial appearance here as a duo. Both have displayed their talents locally, Betty in the Betty & Jane Kean act. and Lew Parker has been in State Fair Musicals’ productions. As a pairing they ring the bell. Miss Kean’s cigar smoking startles the tablers, but it’s her travesty on Italian film actresses (bolstered by black wig and exaggerated falsies) fractures the fans. They keep the pace with a “My Fair Lady” skit and hold ’em with a night club drunk sketch, a take¬ off of tv’s “Person to Person” and a fairly humorous imitation of. Sophie Tucker and Maurice Che¬ valier. Lively, boisterous act winds with “The Bickersons” stint, clos¬ ing a slick 35 minutes with Miss Kean in a wild terp bit. Johnny Long orch, debuting here, pulls hefty mitting for tunes the band has waxed. Long’s lefthanded fiddling enhances his group’s top tune dispensing and, aside from slick showbacking, band loads the floor at terp time. Eildys% R. C. Kansas City, Dec. 26. Johnny Haymer, Eddy-ettes <5L Tomniy Reed Orch (5); $1, $1.50 Comic Johnny Haymer returns to Eddys’ on very short notice, filling in for Toni Arden, who can¬ celled because of illness only three days before scheduled opening. Haymer fills the bill with a vim, and with opener and closer from Miriam Sage Eddy-ettes, wraps up 45 minutes neatly. Gals start it off with a calypso medley, and wind it with a fan waltz, as always tastefully garbed and schooled. Haymer’s forte is dialectics, half a dozen or more creeping into his many sequences. Irish, English¬ men, Frenchmen, Brooklynites, rock ’n’ rollers and others weave in and out of his story lines, gen¬ erously sprinkled with gags. He delivers volumes of material, keeps the pace fast and the laughing steady. He is more the comedian than the comic, a sort of ambassa I dor from the United Nations’ j ftinnybone. With his visual qual ! ities, tv should find in him much j needed talent. ! Show holds through Jan. 8, with Sue Carson and Del Ray due in Jan. 9 for two weeks. Quin. llciel Monteleono, O. ■ New Orleans, Dec. 26. Olsen & Johnson’s “ Hellzapop pin’ Revue,” with June Johnson, Marty May, Eileen O’Dare, Lalo DeCarlo, Remi & Kelly, Waller Shyretto, Sid Noel, Nick Stuart Orch (8); $2.50 minimum ; $4 Sat¬ urdays. This zany offering starring the veterans Ole Olsen and Chick Johnson, should see mobs at the plush Swan Room in this hotel. It’s an hour or more of maniacial ! antics, which frequently brought the tableholders into the fun. Throughout the proceedings slinky and scantily-clad dames slither in and out of the act, a couple of pseudo-patrons engage in an argument at their table, I wrestle onstage, fire pistols and create howls and shrieks when one of them is tossed violently across in the form of a dummy. In between chaos and confusion, \ revue presents group of talented i performers. j Walter Shyretto offers topdrawer > bicycle acrobalance. turn that’s fast despite limitations of small stage. Eyeful Lolita DeCarlo, Remi & Kelly sing and dance with energetic bounce. Eileen O’Dare scores with aero and contortionist dance routine, and June Johnson, comic Marty May and others con¬ tribute to evening’s hilarity. Engagement is first for Olsen & Johnson hereabouts in more than decade. Nick Stuart orch backs show nicely and draws dancers to floor. Young baritone John Gary scores with group of ballads. Show, which opened Christmas night, continues through Jan. 11. Liuz. Be a Booster MILTON SCHUSTER Season ’s Greetings 127 N. Dearborn Sf. Chicago 2, III. “THE COMEDIAN” The Only Real Monthly PROFESSIONAL GAG SERVICE THE LATEST — THE GREATEST — THE MOST-UP-TO-DATEST Now In Its 100th Issue, containing stories, one-liners, poemeffes, song titles, hecklers, audience stuff, monologs, parodies, double gags, bits. Ideas, intros. Impressions and im¬ personations, political, interruptions. Thoughts of the Day, Humorous Views of the News, etc. $20 yearly. Introductory Offer: Last 12 issues $15 Single Issues $3 Foreign: $30 Tr.— 3 Yrs. $10 Single Issues $4 — No C.O.D.'s BILLY GLASON 200 W. 54 St„ New York 19 FAT MAN or Woman, willing to reduce on new doctorsupervised reducing plan. Must agree to use of testimonial in reducing-aid advertising. Box V 17-59, VARIETY, 154 W. 46th St.. New York 36. VARIETY COSTUMES Sol Binder Bernie Michaelson Theatrical costumes for nite-clubs, specialties, industrial shows, masquerades, amateurs and TV 353 West 48th St.. New York City CO 5-8196 RCA-Victor Records Exclusively Ml m Mgt. BILL MITTLER, 1619 Broadway, New York MICHAEL DURS0 and His Orchestra Currently JACK SILVERMAN'S fabulous International Theatre Restaurant, New York