Variety (March 1959)

8* VADMSV1UI pftfiitrt Wednesday, Man* 18, 1959 Vaude, Cafe Dates Hollywood Eddie Cano orch held over two additional weeks at the Capri . . . Betty Kean and Lew Parker open a two-weeker at the Tidelands in Houston, Tex., March 23 . . . Billy Daniels enroute to London for a two-week date at the Palladium . . . The Skylarks will appear with Burl Ives for. three weeks at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, be¬ ginning April 2 . . . Songstress Audrey Cooper holding down at The Regency Room . . . Red Nichols & BQs Five Pennies set for a return date at the Marine- land Restaurant in mid-September .. . Bobby Laine musical trio hold over at Patsy D’Amore ; s Villa Capri an additional four weeks... Pianist Roger Williams set for a concert date at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium April 4, following which he appears at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on April 11. CENTRE for the performing arts SPECnCUUR NENIHBBRE Atlanta Hildegarde opened Monday (16) at Henry Grady Hotel’s Paradise Room and advance reservations shows spot’s in for a whopping strong two weeks of business . . . Earl Turner’s Club Peachtree of¬ fered a new bill Monday, with four dancers, Darlene Day, Beverly Le- Blanc, Nikki Joye and Toni Turner, spotlighted; George Petras as emcee and music by Harry Thomas band.. . . Chuck-a-Lucks (3) opened Monday at Chick Hedricks* Domino Lounge in Imperial Hotel, oh same bill with exotic Mile. Gee-Gee and comic Chuck Mason . . . Luc & Jeannine Poret warbling at Leb’s Pigalley. Detroit Songstress Betty Johnson play¬ ing Knife and Fork, Club . . . The Gaylords, now at Club Cliche, go¬ ing on a three months’ tour through the West. . . Singer Jerry Adams at the Metropole Supper dub in Windsor, Ont. . . . Come¬ dian Ralph Lewis heads the dub Alamo show which features singer- dancer Maureen O’Shea, tap dancer Little Willie and singer- pianist Belva White. Dallas Russ Morgan orch headlined a March 14 open house at Hill-Crest State Bank and comes here again to play the Central Lion Club variety shows at State Fair Music Hall, March 30-31 . . . Dakota Sta¬ ton stars in a package show April 7 at Music Hall. . . Three Galanes in at Hotel Adolphus, March 12- 25, with Olsen & Johnson revue due IVIarch 26, when Joe Reich- man’s band returns . . . Harry James Jr., trumpeter, quit North Texas State College to enlist in the Air Force . . . Roger Williams set for a March 26 show at Dallas Memorial Theatre . . . Barney Weinstein unveils his plushy, new midtown Theatre Lounge April 2 with elaborate talent lineup for the 400-seat hurley house . . . Gretchen Wyler plays the Home Show, Oklahoma Cljty, April 5-12 . . . Yvonne Moray inked for the Plantation, Greensboro, N.C., April 6; Flamingo Club, Lawrence, Mass., April 24; Frolics, Revere Beach, Mass., May 16, and Palumbo’s, Philadelphia, June 1 . . . Comedy team, Marc Antone A Jackie Cur¬ tis, pencilled in for the Shamrock- Hilton, Houston, April 30. Pitt Jazz Spot Folds Pittsburgh, March 17. Midway Lounge, last of down¬ town Pittsburgh’s jazz emporiums, has folded. Operated for last cou¬ ple of years by Mrs. Regis Henry, its revenues have been declining steadily and the finish came sud¬ denly. The lease is available but there are no takers. Jazz geography has sharply changed locally, with majority of buffs now patronizing spots chiefly in the neighborhod districts, the highways and the Negro section in the MIL At one time, there were half a dozen places in the Golden Triangle now there are none. Indict Pianist for Mnrder Albany, March. 17. An Albany County grand jury indicted Edward Garrison, 43, night club pianist and bass player with jazz combinations, for second degree murder charged with fatal beating of his 73-year-old mother Feb. 15 in their Albany home. Garrison was sent to Albany Hospital’s Moshier' Memorial for mental examination, and had been a patient at Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, several years ago,, according to newspaper reports. Riviera, N.Y.,Plots Kickoff In April The Riviera, N.Y., is seeking to open in April, but is waiting until a string of names can be lined up so that there will be some continu¬ ity of operation. Bill Miller, who is doing the talent buying for the spot, is currently in New York, to get the room pen. Donald CVConnor is lined up, but date is open. It’s likely that he will be either the first or the sec¬ ond headliner into the spot. The cafe is seeking to get a show in ahead of O’Connor so that he won’t open cold, and by the time he headlines, there will be an in¬ tegrated show. Original plan was to open with “Newcomers of 1928,” the Jackie Barnett unit at the Riviera, but because of holdovers in Florida, a definite date couldn’t be decided upon, and now the unit has dis¬ banded. hi AGVA ^ Continued from page 83 tution may operate in the state. The AGVA prez also contends that because of the wording of the charter of the recreation centre, AGVA doesn’t hold title to it. In¬ stead, she says, it r s vested in a board which is not answerable to the union. And another charge is that Bright, in signing the mort¬ gage papers, listed himself er¬ roneously as Foundation president. The CMcagoans, paced by come¬ dienne Ann O’Connor, their rep on the national board, were as positive for Miss Singleton as they were negative toward Bright. At Miss O’Connor’s bidding, the ses¬ sion gave unanimous approval via standing ovations for the re-elec¬ tions in November of Miss Single- ton and veepee Rajah Rabold. This followed a portrayal of the prexy by Miss O’Connor as the best president “the* little fellow” in AGVA has ever had. The action, coming prior to the national nom¬ inating conclaves, was a rare one if not downright unprecedented. Prefatory to the shower of “ayes” for the Incumbents was a warning by Miss O’Connor of a plan by Bright forces in N.Y. and on the Coast to oppose Miss Singleton with a big name, one rumored possibility being comic Jack E. Leonard. Inside Stuff—Vaude Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.) has released a “P.S.” letter to George Jessel, saying some of the things the Senator would have liked to have said if he could have attended Jessel’s 50th anniversary in show biz party last Feb. 24. Humphrey sent a telegram at the time, but wrote Jessel at greater length. The Senator proposed Jessel as “our ambassador to Outer Space,” adding: “For the generosity of the Jessel heart is as limitless as the furthermost reaches of the Milky Way. With a song in the heart and a twinkle in his eye, (Jessel) has coaxed more greenbacks for more causes from more pockets than anyone but the Internal Revenue Serv¬ ice.” Humphrey said Jess el’s 50 “man years” could more accurately be called 50 “light years” because the entertainers “rockets at fastest speed to any place, any time that he can be of service.” And, Humph¬ rey said, in the “light years” Jessel has ‘‘illuminated countless issues with wit and Understanding.” The DEEP RIVER BOYS Starring HARRY DOUGLASS _iBtOTMrtOMl TOW Opening Friday RANCHO DON CARLOS WINNIPEG, CANADA DincHoat WHI1AM MORRIS AGBJCY Para. Mgrj B> KIIKEBY Fi m ii urn hi h ill h ill h lii hi mu ii i ii ii iii ii iii nun BRS Coast Branch Personal management firm of Berger, Ross & Steinman are set to open a Beverly Hills office April 1 with Harry Bloom in charge. Bloom was formerly in the cafe de¬ partments of General Artists Corp. He’ll get veepee chevrons. In the BRS stable are included Gretchen Wyler, Fran Warren, Alan Gale, Joey Adams, Phil Fos¬ ter, Tommy Edwards and others. Surviving Species ; Continued from page 82 ; who trains it upon whom Ballentine concentrates. Mention camels and circus folk think of Jack Joyce. Mention the big cats and you can take your choice, be it Pat Anthony, Trevor Bale, Clyde Beatty or Mabel Stark. (Yessir, the fabulous Mabel is still working!) And if. it is bears you had in mind, here you’ll find the dean of all bear trainers, Emil Fallenberg Sr. Ballentine is Circus with a capital C and he tells Jiis stories in the jargon of the lots. This volume is 100% authentic. Join the Ballentine family as they spend an “off season” at Circus City, a motel of sorts for showfolk made from former circus sleepers. Spend a day in the Sideshow with Josephine and her snakes. Jolt along with Bill as he heads for the bull cars. The author is artist for his own sketches for each of the chapters. Result is a living, breathing book about hardworking men and women who love their world and accept its. problems as a part of living. Any¬ one who fancied show biz a part time occupation will be disabused of such an illusion. Several things are unusual about this book. One is the amount of interesting scientific detail about animals that has been interwoven with the stories. Another is the glossary of terms; too many recent books on the circus have merely copied down lists made up 30 and more years ago. Some of those terms are strictly historical now and not intelligible. Ballentine’s lingo is still living language. His is the circus of right now. If there need be a point to a book such as this, it is that the circus is a living part of the entertainment world. As Jack Joyce is quoted: “The camel has seen them come and go. It will survive this down? heat generation, and so will the circus. They’re both tough ...” -- 1 . - Future of 2 U.S. Bldgs. (Ex-Brussels Expo) Still Up In the Air ^ By JOHN FLORQUIN Brussels, March 10. Now only a beautiful souvenir as well as a heap of rapidly vanish¬ ing rubble, the late Brussels Expo nevertheless retains here and there some of its past grandeur. The U.S. Exhibit, around wMch fiercely raged a battle of opinions, on the home front mainly, still stands. Now beheaded—the roof has been removed—it will, in a new modified shape, emerge as a permanent fix¬ ture and probably house the Bel¬ gian Academy of Fine Arts. The Belgian Government never really was in a hurry to accept this leg¬ acy, wMch, over here, led to a joke, now fortunately extinct: who will lose tMs battle of tenacious obstin¬ acy, the offered or the offerer? But the final agreement was finally reached som.e months ago, thus preserving for future generations this little corner of U.S.A. in what is going to become extremely beautiful surroundings. The fate of the American Thea¬ tre, which functioned with unre¬ lenting energy during six months, has been sealed too, it will not, as predicted at a time, be removed to a spot closer to town. It is In per¬ fect condition, heating was main¬ tained during the damp winter months, and could reopen tomor¬ row. It was thought at a time that the Belgian National Theatre might take over, but these hopes have been squashed by Ja.cques Huis- man, managing-director of this repertory company: “Why operate such a theatre, which has its fine points indeed, when another one, even more modem and with never heard of facilities is being built right in the center of Brussels for us?” The future National Theatre, now in full construction, will have two separate auditoriums. It rep¬ resents an investment of $1,350,- 000 . Saranac Lake By Happy Benway Saranac Lake, March 17. Loren Johnson, picture execu¬ tive who graduated in 1956, was hit by a serious setback that emer- gencied him for a major operation of the Hospital of The Good Samaritan in Los Angeles. Joe LaPlant, formerly with West, McGinty & West * act, upped for meals, bi-weekly picture and a two-week furlough. Leo Lottermoser, professionally known as Lee Roberts Bon jo, a vaude single of yesteryear, also upped for meals and pictures. Write to those who are ilL THE Original tyabulaul INK SPOTS Direction: CIRCLE ARTISTS CORP. 4t West 4Bth Street New York _ PL 7-7106 Personal Management: SID HOWARD “THE COMEDIAN” The Only Real Monthly PROFESSIONAL GAD SERVICE THI LATEST — THE GREATEST — THD MOST-UP-TD-DATEST New In Its 103d Issue, containing stories, one4lners, poemettes, song titles, hecklers* audience stuff, mane* logs, parodies, deuble gags, bits. Ideas* intros, Imprasslons and . Im- personations, political. Interruptions. Thoughts of tho Day, Humorous Vlsws of the News, etc. $2* yearly. Introductory Offer: Last 12 Issues $15 Single Issues S3 Foreign: $3i Yr.—3 Yrs. $M Single Issues $4—No COJ).'s BILLY GLASON 2M W. 54 St* New York 19 COMEDY WRITER Seeks assignments dolag sketches, routines, fill-Ii material. HANK MEAD 7722 Egglestoa Ave., Cklcaga ABerdeee 4-BB46 RCA-Yictor Records Excluiively Continuing NLAMBOYAN CLUB S en Juan, P uerto Rico lift BILL MtTTLR, TBlf Broodway, Now York