Variety (February 1959)

VAUDEVILLE 67 Wednesday, February 11, 1959 $2^,000 Facelift For Sahara; Book Acts to End of Yr. The Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, 'which has solved all Its hooking problems, at least until the start of 1960, will close for one month probably during December, to put the finishing touches to a $2,500,- 000 refurbishing program which will add 250 rooms to the present 425. Other steps on the program in¬ clude the makeover of the major nitery, the Congo Room, to in¬ crease the staging facilities for housing large productions. In ad¬ dition, the Casbah Theatre, the hotel’s lounge operation, will un¬ dergo substantial facelifting. The -Sahara is now budding a 750- seat convention hall. The hotel’s booker, Stan Irwin, in New York last week to gander acts and confer with agents, stated that the lineup is virtually com¬ plete until at least the start of 1960. Irwin has just completed a deal with Betty Hutton for 13 weeks to be played in three years. Mae West has been booked for a March date with the Musclemen and Hattie McDaniel and. Harvey Stone. They will follow the Sophie Tucker and Ames Bros. bilL Others Include Kay Starr, Dan Dailey, Donald O’Connor, Vic¬ tor Borge, and possibly Ray Bolger. The capacity of the,Congo will be diminished by about 100 when the new. room is unveiled. This would enable the cafe to take care of any booking contingency and even use musicomedy-type shows. Irwin planed out to Chicago for a brief stay before returning to Las Vegas. He also reported that the hotel’s operator, Milton Prell, is recovering from a recent heart attack and is now alternating be¬ tween his Palm Springs home and the hotel.__ BOSTON SMASH HIT THE GLAMOROUS NEW HOTEL Show folks are raving about the ; ail new Hotel Avery. All new, large, ; beautifully furnished deluxe rooms : with private bath and television. ; Many Air Conditioned. AVERY & WASHINGTON STS. ! sV' .-sv\ ,v\ v OLASON'S FUN-MASTER PROFESSIONAL COMEDY MATERIAL for ell Theatricals "We Service the Stent" , Big Temporary Special os AH 35 Gag Files for SI 5, Pius 51.00 Postage Forei gn: Slit ei., 35 f or 540 • 3 Parody Books, Per Bk. . $10 e a 4 Blackout Books, Per Bk, . 525 a a Minstrel Budget . 525 e How to Master the Ceremonies 53 per Copy No C.O.O's ^Always Open" BILLY GLASON 200 W. 54th S*„ N.Y.C., If Clrcl-7-1130 <WE TEACH EMCEEING end COMEDY* (Let a Rear Professional Train You) Singers and Musicians desiring to appear on radio program apply.in.person at M HQ. 234 East. 46thSt., New York Bet. 2-5 f.M. Man.-Sat. mmmNti As funny «« you'd like to bet Show-' Bit is lraady with smart comedy ma¬ terial to make you funnier. Write for Information today. SHOW-BIZ COMEDY SERVICE (Dept. 3) 425 Atenue V Brooklyn 23, N.Y. Hotels Giving A.C. New (Out)Look; 700 Units Obliterating Eyesores Unit Review Home Slow, Omaha Omaha, Feb. S. Rusty Draper, Clyde, McCoy Orch (7), Joni Jayson, Caperettes (3); Omaha City Auditorium, Feb. 4-8, '59; no admission. The drawing power of Rusty Draper in these parts is no longer in doubt. A fave at niteries, he re¬ turned to headline the Home Show and packed in a record 65,000 for the five days (10 shows). Old Home Show record was 45,000. And this year’s Auto. Show,- featuring the McGuire Sisters, attracted, a mea¬ gre 8,000 for the same number of days. Draper turns' la a. socko per¬ formance. The redhead works hard with his songs and guitar work and has the crowd with him all the way. He uses plenty of new ma¬ terial as well as his usual “Freight Train.’M “Whispering Sands,” etc., and goes off to an ovation after a rousing; “Saints Go Marching In.” Clyde McCoy is in the featured spot with a local group of .musi¬ cians and draws excellent applause, especially for his “Sugar Blues.” Joni Jayson contributes a zippy baton twirling stint and the Caper¬ ettes, local eight-gal line, round out matters. They aren’t exactly Rockettes in their dancing but have looks and figures and get the show off to a bouncy start. Home Show, produced by Ross Cavaleri and Jim Miller with Romeo & Hammond doing the booking, was off the nut before the doors opened because of extensive booth dealings, and figures to make around $15,000 despite the free gate.__■_ Trump. London’s Metropolitan Seen Shut Out by ‘Road’ London, Feb. 10, The Metropolitan Theatre of Varieties, one of London’s last and oldest musichalls, faces closing . Ay thin the next two' years due to road improvement schemes planned by the London County Council. Development plans involving Edgware Road, in which the thea¬ tre stands, would entail grabbing much of the land now occupied by the house. Work on the new high¬ way is expected to start in 1961. Atlantic City, Feb. 10. Cost of operating this seaside resort in 1959 will be $11,082,713, iip $259,703 over last year’s figures, according to the annual budget. j A separate budget for the city- owned Convention Hall calls for an operating cost of $1,010,000, of which thft. city will provide $165,- 000 from its general funds. Opera¬ tors of the big hall expect to take in $603,000 from conventions 'and other rentals, while its budget calls for $203,000 to be taken from “previous appropriations,” or a fund set up for Convention Hall financing and carried from one budget to the other from year to year. Resort taxpayers will contribute $5,801,106 this year to the city budget. This is $631,184 more than a year ago. Atlantic City, - Feb. 10. This resort is on another motel binge. More than a dozen new ones are under construction to be ready for the summer, while other motels and hotels are adding mo¬ tel additions. They will provide ap¬ proximately 708 new motel units. While there is no' way of de¬ termining total cost of construc¬ tion plus furnishing, etc., real es¬ tate men and builders say that $7,000,000 is a conservative figure. Most lavish motel yet attempted along the beachfront is the 139- unit four-story La Concha now be¬ ing built downtown. The Fleet- wood Corp. has taken a 99-year lease on a block of land there and is spending $2,000,000 with a large swimming pool, convention room, modern restaurant and a pent¬ house included in the features. Brighton Motel, being construct¬ ed as a part of’the old Brighton Hotel landmark, will have 171 units, giving property a total capa¬ city of 371 units. It will include a large pool and cabana colony. Tisch Hotel-Motel Corp. is also building a 58-unit motel and pool on Pennsylvania Ave. President .Hotel Co. downtown is now erecting a three-story mo¬ tel with 137 units. It will include a convention hall with a capacity of 400. There will be a large pool and in winter an Ice skating rink. Four story Sorrento Motel is j being built on Pacific Ave. in mid¬ city by. Philip Monheit, a resort motelman and attorney, **d will have 80 units. ’ 5 ' ; • The 72-unit Malibu Mort is go¬ ing up, on the site of the Cres- ton Hotel on Ave., uptown. In the same area, the Cafib is being built at 104-06 S. Chelsea Ave. ' Other motels include Harry Chidsey’s El Rancho, a two-story, 20-unit structure downtown; the 23-unit Brooks brothers motel at 3601 Pacific Ave.; the 34-unit Tides Motel at 156 S. North Caro¬ lina Avg., and Reggie Edgehill’s 38-unit motel at 1140 Adriatic Ave. Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel in its first improvement move in years is spending more than $300,- 000 for construction of five stores and a pool along the Boardwalk between Park PI. and Ohio Ave. Luigi’s restaurant in mid-city is getting a two-story addition. Also in mid-city the old Elberon Hotel at Tennessee and Pacific Aves., is being demolished to make way for another motel. All the new structures are built on spots which were occupied by frame rooming houses or hotels and for many years have been an eyesore and a fire risk. With the widened Atlantic and Pacific Aves., both also newly paved, they give the resort the new look Constant¬ ly sought. ' RANDALL CARLSEN REPORT-01 1st ANNIVERSARY!—FEB. ’58-’59 WE WERE DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN OF SERVICE TO THE FOLLOWING BRITISH & AMERICAN PERFORMERS AND PERSONALITIES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD IN 1958 . . . (THIS LIST INCLUDES 'One-Shot* Press Releases; Arrangements and Meeting ea arrival; One-Night Stands; Provincial Tours; TV and Radio Appearances; Gramophone Recold Releases as well as Resident London Seasons! JULIE ANDREWS PAULANKA MICHAEL DENTINE MINDY CARSON CLIVE COURT GILDA DAHLBERG TONI DALLI THE 5 DALLAS BOYS SHIRLEY EATON SIDNEY FREY CHARLIE GRACIE AL HIBBLER ADELE LEIGH THE LYON FAMILY - ALICIA MARKOVA GUY MITCHELL JAMES PEASE LESLIE RANDALL - JOAN REYNOLDS JOHNNIE RAY KAY SWIFT JOAN TURNER THE V.A.F. TINO VALDI WE THANK THEM - AND THEIR PERSPICACIOUS BUSINESS ADVISERS! - FOR MAKING OUR FIRST YEAR IN BUSINESS AS PRESS AND P.R. CONSULTANTS SUCH A GREAT SUCCESS. RANDALL CARLSEN LTD., 52 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.1, England (GERrard 9571)