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I._ F_IL_Ms__.ll ...._ _vio_Eo__. ._a ___ Ao_Io__.ll ._ M_us_Ic__.) ._I s_TA_GE__.I

Vol. 232 No. 8 NEW YORKt WEDNESDA

RE: RELUCTANT R Verdi -Ia Katharine Dunham Offbeat­Met Op Debut; $101,108 One-Nile· GrOss

BJ' ROBERT J. LANDRY .Verdi's venerable "Aida" almost

defies change- but choreographer Katharine Dunham di-d what she could opening night (Mon.) at the Met. Sht! introduced into Egypt a 'Cairo-bean' motif of fertility rite simply by turning the . captured Ethiopians into Haitians. Other­wise, for the time being at least, this· is still the one and only Met, dispensing grand opera' at · the old stand. -SoDn there will be a new home, a new (second) constantly touring company and, one may guess, $100 opening nights at Lin­coln Center. Suffice that at the present $50 ad!Dission the Met gathered $101,108 on the 1963 l!remiere, again a new record one­night gross. Thus begins the 79th season. It was the 474th Met pre­sentation q_f "Aida," the alltinie fave work of the repertory:

Unchallenged as the dressiest of all Manhattan opening nights, t~e only place where critics may ~ viewed ·tn tails, this was the eadi­est-ever (Oct. 14) Met premiere and it fell in Indian summer with Sherry's and the - always-packed foyers r~tther wa[m,. General man­ager Rudolf Bing, quick with the hot coffee on cold days, resis~ed

(Continued on page 60>

London, Oct. 15. Sim taneous television .rep rl­

Jng of the 1964 Olympic sports from Tokyo to B itain via satel­lites is still on the cards, aecordlng to Hugh Carleton Greene, direc-

- tor-general of the BBC. - If it could be accomplis ed it

·--------------------------Cinematic Pigmentation

Hollywqod, Oct. 15. Now it's not a matter of

Negro actors trying to wangle a job on the screen, but how dark they · are!

Actress Mit t i e. Lawrence, appearing, on Paul C o a t e a' KTTV show last .week, aid with a smile: "As am, casting said to me rAlePr>tJ,..r .,,.,e,•wlmt someone a role'!"

W •. GERI\f!l 'S NEWEST NOVELTY: ROBOT ORCH

wo.uld have to be . on a limited scale, say just a few minutes a day, Carleton Greene explained. +nd they would have to use at least two satellites, one on ltbe West Coast of America taking the trans-mission from Japan, which, in turn, Hannover, ·oct. 15~ would bounce the picture to an- Latest musical gimmick to pop other which w JUld then l>eam it up in a night locale here is-a to Europe. _ robot music orchestra.

It was just over two years ago Three life-sized mechanical man-that the BBC's d.g. indieateli o sters P.our out every kind of music :VARIETY that such a · project <was from the Twist to classics, with

- being studied by technical experts. complete action to accompany the His statement, ·at the time, was tune--the trumpeter ·or the saxo­made before the launching of Tel- phonist stand up · to their solos, star, when simultaneous broadcast- and the three figures have a fng across the Atlantic was still "raq,ge" of seven instruments.· · a tv scientist's dream. His sugges- The robot orchestra, invention tion in 1961 was pooh-poohed in of a Dutch engineer, operates elec­many quarters, but now the break- trically and is entertaining . the through has been accomplished, it guests at the Maschsee Guesthouse ia being more seriously regarded. here. \.·

It will be some months, however, Cost of the musical novelty is before BBC technical experts Will around $20,000, with the accom­be able to say possitively whether panying stereo equiRment to-the direct..from-Tok-yQ transmis- out the sounds. Next robot orch sions can be achieved fn time for is due to be installed shortly in . a t_he Olfmpics. - - ; .:. ... ~ •.• !.J:~_b.!':fi .~J,sllt ~pot.

OZONERS, ­

STI

.Egypt Not Anti-Semitic Now; W anna Make Pix

Hollywood, Oct. 15. Egypt, which on~ banned Jew­

ish actors and refused to play cer­tain American films, no longer Js anti-Semitic, according to George Nader, just _returned from Cairo, where, he reported, the Egyptian government is "eager to attract American coproduction."

rom Brit.; Alarmed

Br~a_d,­way, a growing source of irritation among members of Actors Equity during the last few seaS:ons, Is reacHing explosive proportions. Of the 12 new shows which hav·e opened on Broadway · thus far this season, six . were imported from England and in most cases so were the casta. Consequently, it's not surprising that members of Actors Equity votett 2il7 to 3 at the union's .quarterly meeting- last Friday (11) to ask the U.S. Attor­ney General to "curtail indiscrim­inate issuance" of work permits to British actors.

The membership resolution di­rects the Equity council to appoint a delegation to meet with Wash­in~on o1flclals in an e11ort to remedy what is regarded as "an alarming situatiOn." Equity con­tends that the Immigration & Nat­uralization Service generally ig­nores its recommendations con­cerning the granting of work per­mits to foreign actors. On the other hand, the union states that the British government closely fol­lows recommendations made by British Equity.

Dick Moore, editor of Equity, the union's publication, and press

(Continued on page 58)

"There is no objection with re­gard to race, creed,- color or re- 'JEN·NJE' B.n. POTENTIAL ligion for filming by American U companies in Egypt," he said. CAN HJT PEAK $92,792 Swftch .in attitude has come, actor asserted, because "they are The . potential weekly capacity

interested in furthering the industry there.'' ~ To this n.,,,r ...... -. gross on "Jennie," the Mary Mar-only requirements in <:UIIJnrulmLwn tin-starrer opening to morrow deals are script ao·orclvaL night (Thurs.) at the Majestic, is crew to be agreed upon one of the biggest in Broadway and proceeds to be pro-rata. history. It's $92,792 with a max­- Only restriction voiced • to him imum of 40 standees each per­by the-"government during his stay formance. Without standees the there was in cases of stories that potential weekly take at the 1 655-are "a~;~ti-United Arab Republic," seater is $91,714. ' he noted. The tuner is scaled to a top o.f

Actor said he is aecudng deal $9.60 evenings, $6.25 Saturday with Egyptian GeneraJ Co. for In- matinees an<\ -$5.70 Wednesday

. _ (Cg,gtJnue4 on pa~e . 1') .mat1pe,Ja. ..... _ ..

PRICE

35¢' ..._ .

64 PAGES

RM-";~:;J~h~t' Oct. 15. c~ symbol (a

"c" in a circle) seen on the front of most books stirred up a

nest of objections ·at the ribbon copyright revision

meet here. -The symbol denotes -notice of .

copyright but for a large group of publis)lers and authors lt spelled trouble.

.Under the U. S. Copyright Of- -fice proposal a deliberat~ omis­sion of the notice would invalidate copyright protection of the work.

Franklin Waldheim of Walt Dis­ney Productions led off the talk with a sp~ch criticizing the pro­posal ana before long a bandwagon was rolling.

Jumping on were Julian T. Abeles o{ .the Music Publishers Protective Assn. Inc., Philip Wattenberg of_ the Music Publishers Assn., Leon Kelman of .the American Guild of Authors and Composers, Irwin Karp o! the Authors League of America, Horace Manges of the American Book Publishers Coun­cil and Alfred Wasserstrom of the Magazine Publishers Assn.

Defending mandatory notice were Robert Cahill of the Nation­al Assn. of Broadcast~rs. Ronald Kaiser of CBS and Harry Rosen­field of Public Affairs Press.

The anti-notice group consider­ed it another stumbling block in gaining full copyright protection.

The authors and publishers ar­gued that notice has be.en peculiar to American copyright law and suggested junking to provision to get in step with Europe.

The Copyright Office averred the oppos~t; is true. Notice, a l]. s. creatiOn, Js now slipping into th~t copyright law in Europe, La-

(Continued on page 19)

Govt. Imposing Cultural Tastes on The People?

NAB Lobbyist Says J es Washington, OCt. 15.

National Association of Broad­casters lobbyist Paul Comstock charged the Federal Communi­

Commission with imposing the Government's cultural tastes o,n citi1:ens. _ • .

He told the Alabama Broadcast­ers Assn. in Tuscaloosa, "There Is . a definite distinction between the role of Government and of the. in­dividual conscience in our society.'•

"The issue has been raised," he said, "by the Government's efforts to define the fairness doctrine, its attempts to place artificial limits upon commercial__time, and its de­sire to-change 'the vast wasteland• of entertainment" into 'a verdant vineyard of culture and educa-tion.' -

"How many ilteps do we take along this road before we ·abdicate our integrity · .-; eitizens?" Com­..atock~ asked. ,;__

·.

48 VAIJDEVILUI Wednesday, Oeiohr 16, 1963

Valachi Vague on Mob Cafes, Jokes; ARA~~f:~11GAJN 'SRO' iltN.t_ Fair's Amusement Arei Senators Eager for Show Biz Angles ~!~~i~~ 1!:~~:~:ji~:!t~~E · Spills Overflow Into States· Sector

Washington, Oct. 111. In his five days of fantastic tes­

timony before, the Senate Investi­gating Subcommittee, ex-mobster Joe Valachl dangled just enough references to Cosa Nostra "enter­tainment" connections before prob­ers and public to make both eager for more deails. -Sen. Jacob Javits (R-N.YJ, kept pressing Valachl for everything he knows about the en­tertainment world, but the in­former never was. explicit.

Ill Anna Maria Cancels Waldorf, Blinstrub Dates Illness has forced Anna Marla

Alberghetti to scratch a pair of cafe stands. The major cancella­tion was a four-weeker at· the Em­pire Room of the Hotel Waldorf­Astoria, N.Y., w'hich was to have begun Nov. 18. She also conked out of a Blinstrub's, Boston, s~d which was to have started Friday (18).

he will <).eclin'e to run for ·a lOth term. However, a group of agents is asking th11t he continue in order to make it a round decade at the helm of the a.geMy group.

No replacements in either had been set by presstime.

Meanwhile, Elkort has a g ·a in been ominated for -the ARA board of governors. The board, following election, designates the officers. Others nominated for the panel are Ted Adair, Willard Alex­ander, Hattie Althoff, Lawrence Barnett, Dave Baumgarten, Bert Block, Dave Cohn, Joe Glaser, ;Howard Haussman, Dick Henry,

date Ben Kuchuk, Jimmy Mark, AI Perry, Max Roth and Joe Williams.

Valachi has gone bacli: into sanc­tuary now, so further details may be a while in coming out. He will be questioned furthE!'r by the sub­comrn,ittee behind closed doors and then may return in open ses-

qr aion when a string of law enforce­ment officials over the country have had their say.

Edith Piaf, 47;· Famed ~parrow'

Associate members nominated to the board are Fred Harrill, Gil Nelson, Stan Seidenberg, Joe Sini­er and Norman Weiss.

Pressure of business, Elkort said, was his reason for stepping down from the presidency. He wu the first representative of a large of­fice elected to the post. He origi­nally became prex.v as an indle when he represented the Lew & Leslie Grade Agency of. London. When that office was absorbed by GeneTal Artists Corp., he con­tinued as president.

The . very point of Valjlchi's show biz references is that they have been intriguing. · To make them more so, they have been buttressed by Deput;y: Inspector John Shanley and Sgt. Ralph Salerno, New York police experts on organized crime.

In dP.tailing the activities and uersonnel of the five Costa Nostra

· i•families" in New York, Shanley told the subcommitte the hoods frequently lend money to cafes and night clubs.

Edlbh Pia£ had a constant com­panion, both onstage and offstage -tragedy. The association was life­long from her birth on Dec. 19, 1915 to her death Friday (11) in her native Paris kom an internal hemotrahge resulting from a liver ailment. But between these two dates, she became the foremost Gallic chanteuse of her time. Her fame was worldwide and her audi­ences were as universal as the tragic songs she delinea~ed.

"Many times," he- expla,ined, "they will buy a concession in a club such as hatchecking. They'll put up $10,000 and often a proprie-

..... tor will open with just that much capital and hope the place goes over. Or the mob will put its juke boxes in a place IUld lend money to get the place started. And in both cases, if a Club Isn't doing well, the mob will move In and take it over just to protect

In Miss Pial's 47 years, she In­fluenced an entire bew generation of worldwide faves. Those given the -benefit of her personal tutelage included Yves MontaQd, Eddie Constantine and 'Charles Aznavour,

Sinatra's Exit Probably Salves Snafu ia vada

all of whom were close to her. In . addition, she had a strong influence Frank S in helping Les Campagnons de la · ture from the Nevadl!_ pmbling Chanson which She helped estab- scene probabl!. will be "routinely lish as a top act. She also gave acknoW:Ied~d by the State Gam­powerful lifts to composers Ill Com~ussion w:hen It meets In Margaret Monnot Michel Emer Canon City Oct. • spokes an

-

-

Its interest." -In · another . reference, Shanley

told the story of a well known en­tertainer being offered $150,000 by a Cosa Nostra member for a ten percent interest in him when he was in . financial straits. He elab­orated no further, but later iden­tified the performer- as now dead in an o.ff the record dialogue with newsmen.

· Vegas and Disks Javits brought up Las Vegas

connections and Valachi professed ignorance as to names and places. Then the senator asked him if Vito Genovese, the "boss of bosses," had ' jukebox interests.

Valachl said he did, in partner­ship with Tommy ·Ryan, also known as . Thomas Eboll, who is said to be running J.Vew York for Geno­vese while he is in Federal prison on a narcotics conviction.

Javits, sniffing a sce':lt• p·ressed on. He asked Valachl u the mob jukebox operators ha any con-

" (Continued on page 50)

and Moustaki. ' · ulll this week. Miss Piaf died ei~ht days after n~~:tra facing revoca,tion of !lis

she was to have started a .Broad· gambling license - on g17PUDdS tils way Theatre, N:Y. en~. Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe Oct. 3. The date was call off catered to Chicago underworld when it was becoming evident that figure, Sim Giancana, anllPUDeed her frail frame, wlilda tiild shrunk last week he wu wlthdrawbll to 65 lbs., w 1UCf unable to fro g~blfne. · wrthstand an arduous tour. She He sata he wanteci to CODJOll­normally weiBI:ted 90-95 lbs., was elate his bus~ Interests a p d 4-10 in height\. In the u.s. ltbe keep them larp)J' within the e,a. pla!JDed to introduce her ~teat tertaJnmen~ induatey and that dl~ husband ofl just over a year a posal of _hiS Caa1Jao Interests wer Greek hail'rlresser Theo ,SMapo In Hrie w1th tbJa ollcy. whom abe c!onverted to a sj.nger. Slna ra dlcl.not file a noti e of

Despite tier ext.J;eme popullirit defense agabisJ Gaming Co tl:ol Jn. America, her first date here Board c argea that Glancana wu w¥ not a uccesa. notwithstanding ehtertalnip at the Cal-Neva; that her great European eputation. he used vile 1anguage ·~ Sire was ~igi ally lmport,ed to the to ve bdard chairman Edward United States by the tate Clifford Ils.en clrep an lnves~fgatlon of the c. Fischer for presentation with visits, and tha~ a Sma~ra -ai.de at· ~ Campagnopa in a legit atand. tempted to bribe gl!mmg agents. Tile critics failed to !\liJ tbk plain, Glanca~ is one of 11 _reputed fran ~an ~an 11Dbe- hoodlums llated In the B 1 a c k cominl black d~ss. be Jbow Book," and casino oper~tors_ have failed, bUt it d~d xeite ~ maa- been warned that catermg to any agemeat of the n~w <&Cunet of them may result in loss of

Veraaillelt and sbe was brDUIIat nc;:::~ug gaming codes • s t ate 1>4ek to New orll:! about a year r . d later for a series of phenomenal that failurce to file a notice of e-n:lnl. slle achieved the grea~t fense agalilst a license revocati'?n azltiltic and fif\ancial succ at .jlttempt s tantamqunt to admit­the Nlc Prounis'-Arnol,d • eld- t~~t 'J:.v! fact~ of the matter. a corn-

U~ Tahoe, Oct. l!J. John B · nnt1 t Is m1ul0n spokesman said it was Plans for another multimDlion- oggtano po · was a 0 I ely the commission would re-

dollar hotel on the booinlni South at thJa cafe t!tat abe lHl~erwent voke the license formally "so there Shore of Lake Tahoe have be1:n one ol her greatest tr~edies. Her · will be an official record." revealed by Tahoe Village IDe., = fighter Marce Cerda'D was Sinatra holds a 9% interest in the headed by Oliver Kahle, owner of -in a . plane ~sh. O<:t· 29• Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Oliver's Club at the lake, and Be~ 1149· ~e was aw g htm m the Strip and 50% in the Cial · Neva. ~alfe, owner of the _T~opieana1 <uontinued on page 50) There have been no official reports Las Vegas. I on how much these shares are

The Del Webb Corp. recentlY f' __ .. N SellJ a· worth, although there have been broke ground for an eight-ftoor I umac orman mt IS estimates of up to $3,500,000. hotel-casino, and Bill Harnah'a, d J d LA The spokesman said S in a t r a owner of Harrah's clubs at Lake seen o, I ter u e, could either sell his Sands Hotel Tahoe and 'in Reno, announcecl interest to new investors or turn last month he has plans for a 28- :Co Flack and .3 Others !t bac.k to the hotel corporation, story hotel adjacent to Harrah's which could easily absorb the Tahoe. · Hollywood, Oct. 1'5. shares for subsequent disposal.

All of the new ventures ar C~escendo and _Interlude niter- The Cal-Neva operating group has scheduled for completion in time lea fn Sunset Strtp have changecj. only two other stockholders and for the tourist season in the sum- ' banos. A Corporation composed of there was speculat.ion S i nat r a mer of 1965. And all are located Slt,Uey Davis, who for some years would dispose of his shares per­en U.S. Highway 50 within half a bas publicized spots, and three sonally. The Cal-Neva Is licensed mile of the Nevada- California others paid former owner Gene onl.v for a seasonal operation. It -B border. 1 Norman a reported $96,000 for closed now and the operators must

Harvey's Wagon Wheel is at the operations. be approved for a new gaming le· present time the only major hotel· Each of group, which also in- cense before it can reopen. casino (11 floors) on the South eludes Davis' father, Charles, at- "It the commission decides the Shore of Tahoe. torney Ted Flier and Eldon H. -other owners are financially ab~e

Kat.tle and Jatie estimate the Emerson, put up 25% of payment. to operate the Cal- Neva they cost of their hotel-casino at $10,- Property isn't inclUi;l.ed, but seven- could be licensed if Sinatra' Is out 000,000. It will go eight stories year le~se ~n site is. Davis fils will of it," the spokesman said. "There high, contain 500 rooms, ll casino front mter1es. . would be no license if there .was and a 750-seat theatre-restaW'ant. Bookings to date include Homer any reason to believe Sinatra still It will be located approximate!)< & Jethro, Marquis Chimps and had 'an interest." half a mile from the California Vicki Carr, Oct. 24-Nov. 3; Wayne The spokesma said there was border on the ·present site of 011- Newton & Bros. and Bill Cosby, "no time- limit as such" for dis· ver's Club. Atop the structure Nov. 7-17; Jackie Mason and Mar- iJ6Sal of the interests In either will be a ·swimming pool and an tin Denny orch. Nov. 20-Dec. 1. · hotel ''but we expect this to be

· .lcerink overlookl.ng Eak'e ·Tahoe. Thereafter, booldal abeet u bare. doae u aooo u PQiiDlle." ' •

One 5th Ave., N. Y ., Drops Exclusive Booker Policy One Filth Ave., N.Y., Ja going

off the exclusive booker policy .and Is changing over into an open spot starting in December. Manage­ment will bold weekly auditions when the new policy begins. Booker has been Henry Hermann.

Idea II to get a greater flow of new talent and for management to establish a more variegated act supply for the nitery. ·

Klmleapo~. Oct. 11. • Troub* continue to mu for the erstwhile tony ut n . ongel' ritzy ~ private lack SheP.P t.,. club here. One of a number of aueb apota throag out tile country, It PI'HD}ed loca1Iy more tbaa a ear qo charging $100 to Join it and cover the first -,ear mem!Jrrahl jlues. ·

OD the h,-Js of heiDI •tripped ol al'l of Its funlitur ;.:.. bT two- credi­tors, the club ~st w~~ (9) was lbuttered bJ: the ~ede111l gov­ernmeat beeauwof non..,.._t of taxes. G1!orp Lethert, latemal Bev ue Service district cUNclor, had. a sign posted on th.e front dOor announcing the seizu and warning ~nst tampering or removing ~ of the remaiD!Dt property the premlsea.

Letkert .-n the Government hu a Uell againlst the club for fa • ure to pay $3,867 in t~xes wltli· held from employes' aries. He ch~n tliat a .number ef dema for e payb;tent have bee~ ignored .tnd warned the owners that unless they ~ eome aci.'osa tlie prop­erty Will 1Je aold by the Govern­ment to .. t~atY its Ilea.

Two former yoling women book­epers, wbo tUeled' they've been

All apace having been allotted in the Lake Arel of the New York World's Filr, which is the amuse­ments section, the entertainment is spUUng over into the States EXhibits area. One of the largest · entertainment complexes at the Fair will be the Louisiana at the Fair exhibit, which will have a theatre along with 15 cafes of var­Ious types, most of them :with entertainment.

"G. Michael Novel, who was·, ~tive in obtaining backing for the Jenture, will be the major enter­tainment buyer. It's not an official state show, ut has the imprima­tur of the date through an execu­tive i»rd,r algned by Gov. Jimmie H. Da!Yia on June 3. ·

Major ite~ in the exhibit will be .a Gra Qpry House, policy of-which II awl to be determined. The e will also be many cafes on the Bout!bon and Basin Streets area ol. the LOuisiana exhibit. Aee~ to Novel, negotiations

._"' current for AI Hirt and Pete Fountabl to take over the conces­eions ot two niteries. Novel will seek to r~te an atmosphere in some of the cafes of the old era when New Orleans spawned. some of the jazz ats.

He h,opes to promote a Mardi Gras, and atmoJ?he e with street parades, He ev hopes to stage a jazz funeral of the type that prevailed around tlle tum of the century In New. Orleans' Negro sections.

Some of the cafes to be ·open at the Louisiana exhibit will include replicas of The Old Absinthe JJ;ouse, Zazarac, Xwo Sisters Cafe aod other!!. There will also be eateHes featuring some of tlhe state~~ more famous dishes. Amo.nl the restaurants will be a Horse­IJhoe Bar to be operated by Diamond Jim Moran Jr.

Josy Baker Boffo Ill Carnegie Bash

ble to collect $1,000 in salaries lhe club o\!QJa them, obtained de- By JOE COHEN fault cou~ udgments enabling Josephine Baker the Negrlt them to etze the club's furniture singer-expatriate who returned t~t · at a hour whe~ a number ·the U.S. for a Carnegie Hall, N.Y., of m m b e r'S were present recital ~turday ( 12) still has the lunc:biJl'g. ~ power to make tlhe crowds go

Til&' court has given th~ club berserk. At age 60, which she II · this. week to post a bon<l fran~ly announces, Miss Baker

coverln'g .the former employes' wears her extensive wardrobe witb judgme~ts, attorneys' fees and the the grace of a Balensiaga model, cost of seizing and storing the. adds dimension to the coutoure furnitur! which Is mortgaged for 81111.. a sense of theatre to the fash· $68,000. If it does· so, the $1,000 ton world. Miss Baker also added judgments against the club w111 be to the blzarr~ with her hairdo or vacated to permit ~lal of lawsuits wig (who can tell these days?). bl'ought in the matter. Otherwise She remains an overwhelming. the furniture will be disposed of to personality at her age and in an satisfy the judgments. era where youth is seeking the

There also are pending a num- spotlight. ber· of other jud·gments and law- Miss Baker made her Carnegie suits against the club alleging fail- bow, unfortunately, during a ure to pay debts. weekend when the air was heavy

with the deaths of Edith Piaf and Jean Cocteau. It was a double b I o w for Francophiles, who seemed to be missing at this event. The affair was a benefit for sev­eral civil rights organizations and for her village in France, where she supports a number of orphans. She worked without fee that eve­ning, the aud·jence paying up to $25 for admission.

Oldtime Vaudeville Show Gets a Modern Touch In '64 Ramblerama' Unit -...... -u. s. oig business having har­

nessed show biz to its purposes, is constantlY. increasing an entertain­ment tiefn with sales. In rrcent years, consumer goods manufactur­ers have been sending out troupes oi performers in ever growing numlbers to make direct pitches for sales. There seems to be no area In which this idea Is Immune. It's a format that runs the groove through the old medicine shows through Hadacol and now to Ram­bler automobiles.

The difference with the Rambler show is its pitch to a truly unique audience. It's aimed at the Gis sta­tioned abroa.d. American Motors has commissioned a troupe of en­tertainers who bowed Thursday (10) at the Persian Room of the Plaza Hotel, N. Y .• and almost Jm­mediately afterward took off for EuroQ,e, where they opened Sat­urday (12) at the--South Rulslip Of· ficers Club, England.

'They'l play through Dec. 6 on an itinerary that-includes stops in England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It's an unusually large troupe and should be ·a conversa­tion piece among Gls Which should help sell Rambler ·cars in one of . • • • {Continued' -on page 50)

Miss Baker, a product of the Cotton Club era, long ago went to Paris. and was a sensation on the strength of her personality. At' a time when Parisian nudes were at their n'udest, Miss· Baker made a tremendous splash with a costume made of bananas. Her personality and vigor were the backbone of an act that made her an inter­national figure.

That .vigor and tremendous per­sonality remains. The audience at Carnegie refused to concede that some ()f her mannerisms were dated or that she was a 'heritage of a world that · was. Her work seemed to be a clash of several arts-that of the singer-songwriter and coutourier. Some creations made for her by the top higb. fashion houses of France were exciting and breathtaking. There Isn't· a song that can compete with that splash of color and design, and there isn't a tune that can go with these masterpieces. They can be wor~ only ith some sli~ht background music. These gar­ments are a tremendous symphony.

(Continuect.. 011 Pa&e ·10) .

PRICE

•35¢

Vol. 233 N9. 5

.B'WAY: 'BRING--BAC Kemtedy Disk 'Tributes' Sending 'CLAM SLAM" FO Economic

~~!~~!o£ontroversial Spin N.Y. WO ~ ..... ~ • .~~~~ _ Lights, lr~...:;;.::...,.~-----.:~--...;:.,.---+' Ha.s New York City and environs

L

In the disk rush to "cover" the Presidential assassination of a month ago there ha.s been the ex­pected waxings of good intentions in bad taste.

Chi radio stations received a disk and th-is accompanying press release: _

"San Antonio-Jack Ruby, self· styled patriot who shot and killed Lee Oswald, suspected slayer of President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963, was mailed today the first copy of a contro­versial phonograph record called 'God's Game- of Checkers' (A Trib; ute to John F. Kennedy)."

The release went on to say that the record ·was recorded "hooten­anny" style; and that attorneys for

' Jack Ruby are expected t<> play the record in the courtroom "as the high point of the defense."­where ill the disk is there a tion of Rwby, and the handout

• Aailed to explain woo expected Ruby's attorneys to play the disifi:.

· Lyrics of the song tell of a -cow-' boy watching, on television, t~

grief of the late President's young son R!t the funeral. The cowboy composes a letter to the boy in which he enclose a game of che~k= ers, and · refel'!l to life a.s ~·a Game of Chec rs. His conrolation to the boy i that "Sometimes a

- man must be sacri~ced so tllat others in time may win the final game." ·

There's a wide disparity of opin· ion among Cl:ii radio program direc­tors as to how to handl~! the batch of records eulogizing th~ late Pr~i­dent Ken edy, althoug,~ one d~sk .last wee,JC created quite a stir

- <Continued on page 34)

RCA's Sales Peak A $1,780,000,00~ for '6:t, Profits Hit $6 ,000,000

FO'I' the second consecutive year, RCA's sales and profits has h:.it an all time high; · according to a year end statement ' y, bq,rd cHairman David Sarnoff. Subject to final audit, RCA's 1963 sales will be -about $1, with an operating profit $65,-000,000. Profits from 1963 increased 25% while income was up 2% over 1962 ings per common' share $3 .55 to . $3.60, compared to year's $2.84_

Sarnoff said the final quarter will be the single best profit R,qar-

.- ter in the 44-year history of the company. Sarnoff cited three clpal factors for the growth im­petus: (1) color television which went up by 70% over last year and now ·accounts for a major share of earnings from all RCA consumer product sales; (2) NBC, which had substantially higher {lrofits than_ in 1962; and (3) .. electronic data pr.oc­essing · which increased by more than 50%.

Book Value of Vaulties Vaults From $1 to $10,000 Time was when film companies

carried &n the books their theatri­cally played-out features at $1 per copy but no more, to Abe Schneider, president Pictures. · He said it's his that because of ullve,rnmt~nl; ence, and in light f tE!le1ds'ion residual values, the pix h<:~ve got to valuation of tax PUI"PO:Ses.

Press Does .uu,uu.u:; Parking

Brussels, Dec. 23. Jacques Stehman, vet critic of

La Lanterne, has his own idea of "service" which should be tend­ered to scribblelJi by theatres. He got his two on the aisle, as usual, for openlng night of "Merry Widow" at the National Opera House, _ plus program notes. He called theatre and . asked for ar­Tangements to be made for him to park· his car near the theatre, since parking in that area is tough. The­atre sympathized, but said nix.

· So Stehman's seats for the open­ing were not used. Next morning he wrote a rough slam of, the show,. appe.nding it with a note to the effect "I was not permitted to see the perfotmance, so the above re­marks are based on remarks heard by me from various people as they left the theatre after perform­ance ...

eaver Hits yvee F~s With

Conspiracy Suit

ef-• of­

. The alacrity, a at the en­

Clinic, "~:~1~~~~!~m. was arranged

1 Then the Mayor went to look at

c:tuickly turned it

out to be the play­in the leading role of

Imagin aire."

........ John Birch· Whisper Rises-In West Vs. 'Victors' Cad Foreman's production of

"The Victors," which bears down on tpe theme that both victol'!l and vanquisihed a.re defeated - in war, has created some dlisturbance in what one source identifies as an "insulated" area in California:

H's believed that guerrilla ele­ments of the John Birch Soeiety and of the Daughters of the Amer­ican Revolution <DAR) are making with campaign whispers against the picture - on grounds that it Is

_ Los Angeles, Dec. 23. unfavm·able _to Ameri~a. Subscription Television ~nc., This point. of view wrs~XJpres.sed

tollvision company headed by Syl- in an editorial by a California Vester L. (Pat ) Weayer filed a $117,· paper named the Valley Times. 000,000 anti-trust suit a'gainst five There has been no suggestion of mption picture organizations, 12 - (C r d 40 film exhibition chains and three in- on mue on page > dividuals. Suit, filed in U.S. Dis­trict Court and seeking treble dam­ages, accuses the defendants of conspiring to restrict competition in violation of Federal and Cali­fornia laws.

Specifically, cornpl'aint charged that the defendants had sought to deter the public purchase of stock in Subscription Television Inc. by means of defendants' use of adver· tls~meqts, pubUcity · and other means. -Charge was made that the defendants conspired to prevent STV from securing programming material for its service. Suit addi­tionally seeks a restraining order to enjoin defendants from further engaging in activity against sub­scriber television.

Britain Expects Cofor TV In 1965 on Heels of UHF

London, Dec. 23. Color tv is expected to come to

Britain in 19§5, about ·one year after the launching of the BBC-2 UHF 625-lines service. In the House of Commons last week Post· master-General Reginald Bevins announced that there is to be a meeting in London next Febru­ary of the International Radio -con­sultive Committee, which, it is hoped, will agree · to adopting a common system for the whole of Europe. Such agreement would be an invaluable aid to the export in­dustry. Film theatre organizations named

, codefendants included South · . The Minister also announced ern California Theatre Owners that the Television Advisory Com­Assn., Northern CalifornJa Theatre mittee is due to meet il'l 'January

(Continued on page 40) .(Continued on page 11)·

any rea~ chance to develop as a film production centre? The ques­tion is not new. The aetriments to film in N.Y. are obvious.

is no going-concern Shooting is. a some­

th-ing. Whil.e a few so•called avant-garde and experimental films have attracted notice, moreso in Europe than America, New York is grounded as often as airborne. There remains a general, if cliche­ridden, theory that the studio craft unions of the east are feature pro­ductions's, and presumably their O}Vn self-interest's, own worst op­ponent.

That the International Alliance of 'Theatrical Stage Employes and its East Coast Motion Picture Coun­cil might well do much to encour­age production seems everybody else's convictio'h. But the IATSE seemingly has an inborn.skepticism about being "promoted" to golnt concessions, let dow.n rules, reduce crew sizes and so on. IA wants to get first, give later, if at all. And this devotion to its own policies and suspicion of showmen keeps the possibility of making N.Y. fea­ture production "easy" pretty un­likely.

Hollywood makes a certain kind of product and nobody thinks New York would compete "in kind. But · New York has from time to time brok.ert out with promises of being an offbeat production centre. But these upsurges prove brief. The experimental film remains essen­tially a creation of Europeans.

Economics is stated as the major (Continued on page 46)

'Merry Widow' With Social Significance

Outrages Betgians By JOHN FLORQUIN

Brussels, Dec. 23. Franz Lebar conceived his

"Merry Widow" a.s a frothy concoc­tion of escapism, m i r t -h and melody, and as such this melodious lady has brought pleasure to miJ.-o lions. Not so when, after ye.ars of pblivion, she- suceeded ·"Rosen­kavalier" at the Brussels Royal Opera House and got· the thumbs­down;· she was loudly and gener­ously bo<>ed, abuse was· shouted, and the memorable first night ended i•n complete chaos and con­fusion.

Nothi11g to do with Lebar, of course, nor .with the still palatable Missia Palmieri. What indu-ced local "wonder boy" Maurice Be­jart, whose fertile imagination 8itld revolutionary approach to modern ballet helped this antiquated opera house out of the doldrums, to treat · the "Widow" a la Bertolt BreC!ht and distort her · almost beyond recognition?' Whaf succeeded two seasons ago when Bejart restaged

(Continued oli paae 15)

• 'Bible,' Huston Diretting, Sans Stars; Ends With Abraham, Uses 'God's Voice' Production on "The Bible," which••--------------

' John Huston will direct for Italo producer Dino De Laurentiis, is expected to get underway ~xt April, with the ensuing shooting sked to last about a year, Huston reported in New York . Saturday <21). The director estimates the budget of the pic, which is to be shot in single-pegative Cinerama, will lloDJe to between $10,000,000 and ttz;ooo,ooo. · · ·

AccOrding to Huston, . the scope o~ .the project has been somewhat narrowed since De Laurentiis first projected it a couple of years ago as a', multJ.•.feature with . seg::; to be pireeted by different directors. Or­iginally, the Genesis filmization was to start with the Creation and go up through the story of Joseph and his brothers.

The :mtstoo. P.ic, which he pre­diets will run about .three hours, starts with the Creation and goes through the story of· Abraham ;which, as Hustoa puts it, is where prehistory leaves off , a,nd histo,ry (tbat which presumably can be au­theaticated) starts. Included will be th• stories ot Adam lilnd Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, the Tower of B.abylon and Nimrod. Pte Chr isto­Rher Fry script is said to be com­pleted up to the Abraham seg.

The director who has ·never previ­ously done a so-called spectacle pic, says he wouldn't have undertaken the assignment if he expected it to turn out to be just another relig­ioso spear-and-sandal saga. Also he wants to avoid the tendancy simply to put "A Child's Illustrated Bible" on screen, with the segs resembling living statues tableaux. "It does present a problem," he admits.

The only continuing "character" in the film, if it can be called that, ·will be the Voice of God. Since all the actors will be used on . short term bases, reflecting the episodic

· (Continued on page 16)

MRS. SCHIFF ON RADIO · DENIES 'POST' RUMORS

• lcripter

CLAUDE BINYON ••• Mlttft 4i Mrcloalcally .... ,_ treatiM oii a TY aeries' tHit star

I and My Girlfriend Olle ~ tile MellY IJrlght Eclltorlal

Featarea Ia tile 10oa·cl•r

58th • • •

Anniver•ary Number of

nRiEfY Plaa other atatlat!UI CHid clata-lllecl

cllarts. allcl ertlcl... ·

To ........... ~ ..... ~~~.;.·~~ ...... : ....... • ... · .. .

Ci't)' •• !' • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Zone . • •• ~ . . .. . . . State . .....•.

ReCJular Su~crfptlo• tQtel .. .

OM Year---$1S.oo·· Two Years-:-$28.00 Thr~ .Ye.-s-$39.00 ·

ea.acia anc.- For~rc)~$1' Acldltlatial Per y._

14RIETY l~~ea.; ~ . ,

About to fu lfill engag ement's 1n the Tropics, aaye: .

••To paraphra.se Shaw-'Youtli Ia prloeleel!l--unfor tunately It'• wasted on" the young.' But w ith PAUL ANKA It's a big plua wberever ·he appea r.s. . ,. . . . . "The unique talents ot PAUL

ANKA and 'his versatlie s klllB ap­peal to all ages--all la ngua g es-all countriea."

Footballers & TNT Delay Negotia~ 'Trust Each 0 r'

It's Royal 'Move Over' Hollywood, Dec. 23.

154 West 46th Street I ' ; . . ~ Yorll. N.Y. 10036.

"Move Over, Darling" has been picked as 1964 R9yal Command Picture at .London. ' It's been /ZOth·

,. , . Fox release. · . , ~ ... _._.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;:;;;;;;;;;;;;i;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;_._.;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;:;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Oiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiill D~te llDdeclded aa yet. .

Nat1 Board of Review 'Bests' National Bhard of Review, ·which baa been ael«M:ttng annual

"bests" pictures for 43 years, has made the following picks for 1983: 1. "Tom Jones" <British) 2. "Lllles of the Field" (U A) 3. "All The Way Home" (Par) 4. "Bud" <Par) · • 5. "This _Sportinc Lite" (British) 6. "Lord Of The FUes" (Coilt) '1. "I.-Shaped Room" (Col) 8.'"The Great Elleape" (UA) 9. "How The West Wu Won" (Metro-C'Rama)

10. "The Cardinal" (Col) (Separately the Board, whose selection committee wu chaired

by Henry Hart, picked as "Best Foreign-Language Pictures" the following: "8lh," "Four Days ol Naples," "Winter Light," "The Leopard "and "Any Number Can Win.")

Best Director: Tony Richardson for ':,Tom Jones" (British) Best Actress-Patricia Neal in "H ' (Par) Best Aetor- Rex Harr ison in "Cle9patra" (20t};l) Best Supportin&" Actress--Mar garj!t Ruther£ rd in "'The V.J:P!a~'

(Metro) , Best Supporting Actor-M l~ Douglas. in "'Hud" (Par) . . i

Holl~ood, Dec. 23. More tha 250 b1gh school teen­

age editors Of the JtA. area took on actor Gregory Peek ih a "\Ve'll' ask, you answer" bOut following a screening at the Directo Guild of Universal:s 'Captain ewman, M.D." Questions covered every­thing from Communism in films to favorite leading ladles, ·most were of a serious na!Jlre and almost none were personal other than !euching on his acting career. For w e 1110st part, they , got as good u they gave. · ·

.Gro :P included several foreign exctiauge students who were as cur­ious ,s the Americans. Teens were well-mannered and patiently waited

"-:~--f--....::..---~----',1 their turn to be recognized by the ,actor.

One laugh-getter was query to Pec;k; what he thought of "gossip

·columnists ' like Hedda Hopper?" Peck replied, "I don't think: she does any harm."

On Ute subject of "permitting writers who· have been · connected with Communism to continue work­ing," Peck said, "We don't have to be afraid of ideas. It a man is a good writer and· he is at large, if the government hasn't taken him out of circulation, producer• are within their rights to hire him." Specific writer and film asked about were Dalton Trumbo and "Sparta­ens." Peck remarked "Anything that smacks of vigilante justice in any form is a bad thing. I 4on't Jmow Dalton Trumbo or anything about his past, but he is a good screen­writer and should not be denied a job or the right to say what he thinks."

On "trashy films," Peck said, "It's a matter of talent. You don't just stamp out a movie like a cook­ie. It's a very difficult art. We can use :many more good writers." (Actor repeatedly praised screen­

(Continued on page 111)

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Volume 233 8>'21 Nu:mber 1

MERRY CHRISTMAS

INDEX Bills ..•• . •••.. . .... .. . .. ·40 Casting ••.•... .. .. . .... .. 44 Chatter .. . . . . ... . . • . . . .. 46 Film Reviews .· . .. . ... .". . • · 6 House Reviews -· .. . . .. . . . . 40 Inside Legit . .. .'. . . . . . . . . 45 Inside Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Inside Radio-TV . . . ... ... • 29-International . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Legitimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Literati . .. ... . . .. : . . . . ·• . 44

Music . . .. . .. .. .. ......•.. 32 New Acts . ... .. .. . . . . ... . 40 Night Club Reviews . . . . . • 39 O,bit~es ~·- · ·;···•· ·· !. · ~ . 'f.~"'>'( ;. 47 Pictures .. . . . . . . . . .. . •. . .. 3 Radio .. . . .. . . . . : .. . . . ... 19 Record Reviews .. .. -. . . . . . 32 Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 TV Film . ... . . . . .. . ..••• 22 Television Reviews . . . . . . . 27 Vaudeville . . . . . . . . . • . . · . .. 36 Wall Street ... . ,. . . . . . . . . . 12

DAILY VARIIlTY . ll'ublllhod 1ft Hoii!Weod IWY Dally Veroety; 'Ltd..l

· · •• a WHr. Ill .......... · .