Variety (March 1959)

6S VAUDEVILLE PSsazfcY Wednesday, March 11, 1959 N.Y. Court Rules Dummy’ Officers Liable in Serneau Cafe de Paris Case A New York magistrate’s ruling4— may make all legal secretaries wary of becoming dummy officers in corporations in order to accom¬ modate employers, and clients. The N. Y. City court last week ruled that Gunther Serneau, who was as¬ sistant secretary of the now de¬ funct Cafe de Paris, N. Y., is liable for the taxes owed the city. Amount is expected to hit between $6,000 and $8,000. Serneau told the court that he ! GAC’s R&R Tourer GAC-Super Attractions, a Gen¬ eral Artists Corp. subsidiary, is dis- ps* ciing a new rock 'n* roll unit to tour for 29 days starting March 29 in Richmond. Unit will comprise Clyde Mc- [Phatter, LaVern Baker, Coasters, [Little Anthony & The Imperials, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ „„ 'Crests, Bo Didley, Frankie Lymon, was ‘merely an employee of the j Pl 13 ^^ 5 ’- Wa< ^' Flemonds, and spot, serving as secretary to Lou j Lloyd Price orch. Walters, who was the president of f : the operating corporation, and that! Max Selette. a brother-in-law of 1 Walters, was secretary-treasurer. He was listed as assistant secre¬ tary in the corporation papers. He also said that he had no stock in the firm. The court stated that the mere fact that he was listed as an officer made him liable in the absence of the other officers, who were not available. The court stated that even if he had never been near the site where the corporation was do¬ ing business, he would stilLJte li¬ able because of his consent to be an officer, either dummy or active. Serneau is due to be in court on March 23 for sentencing. He was ruled to be guilty of a misdemea¬ nor and will be liable for the face amount of the tax as well. It’s customary for secretaries to affix their names to incorporation papers, particularly in personal corporations. Serneau was an assistant to Wal¬ ters for about 12 weeks, and is now employed as assistant to Eddie Risman, managing director of the Latin Quarter, N. Y. Cincy Trade Bid Via Hall, Garden Cincinnati, March 10. ^ Improvements to Cincy’s multi¬ ple use Music Hall and Cincinnati Garden are stepping up the city’s bid for conventions, trade and in¬ dustrial shows. The 12,000-seat Garden cele¬ brated its 10th aryii with opening of a $50,000 addition which- dou¬ bled its floor space. The new build¬ ing also is equipped for ice skating, permitting continuation of that growing local sport while ice shows occupy the main building. In the first decade, Garden events drew an attendance of 1,- 500,000. General manager Alex Sinclair reports more than 100,000 attendance for the first two months of this year, with “bookings roll¬ ing in." Music Hall, which improved the main auditorium two years ago, ! will dedicate the renovated ball¬ room April 4. Improvement of the 23,000-square-foot area was tabbed So. Laguna, Calif. Editor, Variety: On P. 83 of Variety, May 27, 1931 there might very well be the first “notice-V ever given by your fine publication to Sammy Davis Jr. It was captioned “Suspended Sentence Over 5-Year-Old Boy In Show” and I quote the story; Samuel Davis, 31, actor, of 275 West 144th St., New York, pleaded guilty in Special Ses¬ sions to allowing his five-year- old son, Samuel Jr., to appear ~ln a singing and dancing act on the stage of the Republic Theatre on Feb. 19 without a permit. He was given a sus¬ pended sentence. Davis Sr. was arrested at the instigation of the Children’s Society. Davis admitted he had not obtained, a permit for the child’s appearance. Sam Stark In Towel on Hot Port Expo Issue . Portland, Ore., March 10. . Music Corp. of America is re¬ ported ready to bow out as exclu¬ sive booker for the Oregon Cen¬ tennial Exposition to be held here from June to September. Reasons are said to be the desire by the agency not to embarrass the Cen¬ tennial Commission and the wish not to antagonize labor, whose support the Centennial needs if it is to come through financially. MCA was originally set to act as booker for the entire talent out- Inside Stuf-Vaude There’s more than adverted to last week in Variety re the signifi¬ cance of tile Hollywood Mocambo purchase by the Cloister, Chicago, partners. It’s no secret the latter would like to switch Ella Fitzgerald and other strong acts to their room from Mister Kelly’s in Chi. Now, by assuring such talent an L.A. showcase, it’s possible some of the Kelly’s roster can be persuaded to make a pact for the Chi Cloister as well. In short,' Cloister’s hand is strengthened by its ability now to guar¬ antee talent as many as 10 or a dozen weeks a year split between Chi and L.A. The use of one Cloister to fulcrum the other could also af¬ fect another Chi intimery, the Black Orchid, and conceivably could involve transfer of such Orchid regulars as Joey Bishop, Jack E. Leon¬ ard, Buddy Hackett, et al. An item from Kansas City in the Fe£>. 18 Variety said that Hal Lax- man organized Andrej’s School & Modjel Agency. He became associated with the agency in September 1955, but sold his interest Feb. 6 to Dolores M. Gay. It Is Miss Gay who is the originator of the organiza¬ tion, having established it several months before Laxman took an in¬ terest. Don Seat, who has been acting as a personal manager for Conway Twitty and Dolores Hawkins, among others, has been authorized to conduct a theatrical agency in New York. Seat, through his attorneys, Halperin, Morris, Granett & Cowan, filed incorporation papers in Al¬ bany. Seat was at one time with General Artists Corp. The St. Louis date of “Ice Capades," which had to be cancelled be¬ cause of damage to the Arena by the recent tornado,, will be played out in Cincinnati. The show goes into its new location next Monday (16) and stays until March 22. “Ice Capades” previously played Cincy this season, having done very well on its engagement last October. Since then, “Holiday on Ice" has played that city, thus the repeat of “Ice Capades” will mark the'third icer there this season. Alex Sterling, still and motion picture photographer, is at Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn, Las Vegas, doing a series of commercial photos and films for the British Broadcasting Co.. He told publicist Eugene Murphy that he thought he had accomplished a “photo first.” He shot a picture at 9:30 a.m. in London, shot pictures in Central Park, New York, at 3:30 p.m. the same day, and that night at 11:30 p.m. shot one in Las Vegas. Robt Wilson, Who Kilts’Em h n ,1 J |\ u >/ja ’ at $300,000. Cost is shared by the ! lay which would amount to an ex- OCOtland, un€ ner6 DU city and the Music Hall Assn. jpenditure of about $440,000. The /-lo*™,,, TVTaiv.h in 1 Charles Bauer, Music Hall man-1 American Guild of Variety Ar- p . . tonnr '' a S er « ha s announced a private pol- i tists objec/.ed to the MCA role since . R ° be /‘ ' ic >’ for dances in the ballroom it claimed that the agency violated Sine J ..nfon , t^nf fhfnB « “lied the Topper Ball-; Rule B-51 by acting as representa- to 1 room durin g many seasons of oper- 1 tive for talent and as a buyer at jro..Sn, al >.«pn!S| ln *^pvt 6 ?n pfrilnf iati°n with public dances and name: the same time. MCA said that it regularly headed treks to Canada b d [was acting within the agreement to entertain exiled Scots. , - ; _ and that no violation existed. Un- ms 1 - [ ion also objected to the fact that | the Commission would pay the fee I to the AGVA Welfare Trust Fund, Wilson, currently heading _, stint skedded at the Empire, Edin- | BARTENDERS UNION IN burgh, will follow with a totir through southern and northern Ire¬ land, playing leading theatres and concert halls. Scot tunes and mu-. sic, which he features along_ with folk dancing, are socko with the Irish. Later, Wilson, a leading name hereabouts for many years, will head a summer season at the Pal¬ ace Theatre, Newcastle, in north* east England, playing there until September. Vt.’s Long Pond Can Go On With Altogethemess Montpelier, Vt., March 10. A bill that would have outlawed nudism was killed in the Vermont House of Representatives, 122-103, last week. There are statutes on the state’s lawbooks now to cover “indecency in matters of lewdness,” chairman Ralph A. Foote of the judiciary committee said. The only nudist colony in Ver¬ mont is at Milton on Long Pond. Called the Forest City Lodge, it has some 40 members. Rep. Grace Chandler said she proposed the anti-nudie bill at the request of 28 townspeople. It would have set fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for ops of nudie camps. Mrs. Chandler said Milton area residents didn’t know that the Long Pond property, was to be used by a nudie colony when it was purchased by George Fletcher of Montreal, who operates the camp. Hollywood, March 10. Conference of Personal Man¬ agers, West, with a membership of 25, will launch an ann ual benefit show June 13 at the Shrine Audi¬ torium, to raise funds for org’s Vista Del Mar Associates which operates the- Vista Mar Child Care Agency. Talent .for show will be drawn from the ‘ 250 ' clients handled by membership. Managers* eastern equivalent will ‘stage a two-day telethon in May. DRIVE VS. CAFE TAX;S“J5uS2? should be paid bj; Cincinnati, March 10. j There was also opposition to Stepping up the fight for repeal I MCA from local agents in Port- pf the 1917 “emergency” cabaret j land; who felt that they should Rathbone’s ‘Fan Time’ Basil Rathbone has been signed to do a Shakespearean reading in “Fun Time” which opens at the Studebaker Theatre, Chicago, March 30 for two weeks. Actor and his wife sailed last Friday (6) on the United States for London to do a half-hour telefilm in a Dickens series. He’s also slated to do a pilot on a half-hour show “Crime Club” on which he will act as host and narrator. He’s flying back to the U.S. March 26. have received a substantial part of the business and that the MCA bite should have been limited to 59c instead of the 10% allowed^ tax, locals of the Hotel & Restau¬ rant & Bartenders Union are com¬ piling* estimates on what the Fed¬ eral relief will mean to their areas in terms of reopened rooms and job opportunities. The employment; n „ in m D tiaih fAUfrOT expansion would be equally advan- DENVER HOT CONCERT tageous to culinary workers, musi- , _ president! TOWN; RUSSE, GRECO B.O. of the culinary union, sounded the j Denver, March 10. appeal from his headquarters here. I Concert grosses and bookings “Our people need the jobs repeal are on the upbeat here, as reflected will create,” he said. “Information I in the healthy gates given the last already at hand indicates at least j two dates by the Ballet Russe de 500 entertainment rooms in hotels j Monte Carlo and the Jose Greco alone will open again should the Troupe. Another indication of op- tax be abolished. I timism in the field is seen by the ‘We will fight for full repeal Sbookings during Holy Week, when from now on out, taking an active part with the American Federation of Musicians and AFL-CIO in elim¬ inating this barrier to jobs and cul¬ tural development” Meet Estelle Sloan,' Chi Chi Pinchhitter Palm Springs, March 10. Dancer Estelle Sloan is putting in a claim for some sort of nitery record, playing to seven openings in two weeks at the Chi Chi here. Headliners moved in and out so fast that one night none was there, so she was left to open and close alone. Illness of Dennis Day and Donald O’Connor called in several attractions for emergency short runs. Even Nat King Cole filled in for a split week and the DeCastro Sisters headlined for two days. i Miss Sloan opened with Day but his throat went down under an old infection and she had to carry on alone at the midnight show. Next day Day went home. Billy Daniels filled in for three days. Day re¬ turned for the weekend but couldn’t hang on and Larry K. Nixon finished the week for him. Meanwhile Miss Sloan kept catching for all the ailing pitchers (she hails from Philly). between Victor Borge and “Look Back in Anger” the entire week will be set solidly. The Monte Carlo terpers on their date in Januaiy hit $14,850 at a $4 top in the Auditorium Theatre. On Feb. 22 at the same top Greco took in $10,310. In addition, this month’s book¬ ings call for the Chicago Opera Ballet, March 14 and 15; Marian Anderson, March 21; “Anger,” four shows March 26-28; a matinee and evening of Mantovani, March 29, with the Hugh Hooks Entertain¬ ments presenting that group in Colorado Springs on March 30. The Witherspoon-Grimes man¬ agement will present Enroll Garner on Friday (13) and Borge on March 23-25 for three performances. 'HOLIDAY WATERCADE' TOUR A new water show is being pro¬ duced by Jess Lyons for a bow in Greenville, S.C., May 20. “Holiday Watercade” will have both land¬ lubber and seafaring acts with dancer Martha Ann Bentley listed among the former. No names are set for the aquatic leads. Lyons has also set the Southern California Exposition at Delmar in June, with the Great' Western Dairy & Livestock Show in Los Angeles to follow. Sugar Ray’s 180G Glaser Settlement Joe Glaser, head of Associated Booking Corp., and Sugar Ray Robinson, welter and middleweight champ, have completed an out-of- court settlement of a suit brought by Glaser against the fighter-en¬ tertainer. Settlement calls for $80,000 In cash and $100,000 in first and second mortgages secured against properties held by Robin¬ son. Glaser, who acted as Robinson’s agent in his theatrical and televi¬ sion deals, and who also partici¬ pated in his management as a fighter, had loaned the boxer cer¬ tain sums for investment. It was also claimed that Robinson had de¬ faulted on commission'payments. Settlement came after an examina¬ tion before trial. Roger Williams’ 50-Date Trek from Bar in Balto Atlanta, March 10. Pianist Roger Williams, Kapp disker, will play one-night stand here Thursday (12) at 5,200-seat Municipal Auditorium at scale ranging to $4. He is on a 16,000 mile swing that will take him into 34 states for some 50 dates. His kickoff appearance was at Balti¬ more Friday (6). He also is sched¬ uled for dates in Columbus, Ga., and Savannah atfd will dip into Florida. Williams is being brought to Atlanta by Famous Artists, with Ralph Bridges as manager, gnd will be backed by a crew known as The Silent Men. Bridges also is booking Jack Kramer’s pro tennis matches for April 1. at the Aud. In troupe are Pancho Gonzales, Lew Hoad, Ash¬ ley Cooper and Malcolm Anderson. It’s scaled to $5. Atlanta, March 10. Rich’s, enterprising Atlanta de¬ partment store and largest in the south, pitched a party last week titled “One Enchanted Evening” and provided music to regale cus¬ tomers who thronged store’s four fashion (ready-to-wear) floors to witness 17 different couture shows. More than 100 musicians were . spotted in singles, groups and [bands at strategic spots on these floors. On first floor a 10-piece string ensemble held forth, a harpist did solo work out of their decibel range and a duo piano team did its stuff in the Store for Men, Second floor’s big attraction was : 40-piece West End Elementary [.Band, under direction of Roy Lee, land rated as one of best school : bands in Atlanta. Ay ay across ’from this'‘aggregation .was a six- piece rock ’n’ roll group that got plenty of attention, especially from teeners. A 20-piece Symphonetta, di¬ rected by Robert Harrison, con- certmaster of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, was spotlighted on third floor, plus a four-piece combo giv¬ ing out with Latin Rhythms. On Floor 4 a modern jazz group (5) enlivened activities, with . an organist In lingerie, alternating with two electric guitars. Freddie DeLand’s Dance Band rounded out the tunesters on this floor. Albert Coleman, director of At¬ lanta Pops Concert Orchestra, was in overall charge of this mass mu¬ sical entertainment, which lasted for three hours, 6 to 9 p.m. Store was decorated with 5,000 plants m Caribbean motif and 100 models took part in 17 fashion shows. Every show played to capacity and musicians not only performed for shows but provided musical inter¬ ludes in between. Event drew such throngs, store had no way to estab¬ lish a count. Bagdad Gets the Veil In Conn. Sexotic Clamp Hartford, March 10. The State Liquor Commission has suspended operations of the Bagdad Restaurant, in nearby Farmington, for 30 days'on charges of “an obscene, indecent, immoral and impure show.” Commission claims that its inspectors found exotic dancers as the purveyors. Bagdad has been featuring ex¬ otics 'for some time. Following SLC's decree, advertising art of Bagdad in the dailies put on new dress. Bagdad is taking an appeal.