-'

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 Offbeat-
Met 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. Other-
wise, 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 Lin-
coln Center. Suffice that at the
present $50 ad!Dission the Met
gathered $101,108 on the 1963
l!remiere, again a new record one-
night gross. Thus begins the 79th
season. It was the 474th Met pre-
sentation q_f "Aida," the alltinie
fave work of the repertory:
Unchallenged as the dressiest of
all Manhattan opening nights,
only place where critics may
viewed tn tails, this was the eadi-
est-ever (Oct. 14) Met premiere
and it fell in Indian summer with
Sherry's and the - always-packed
foyers wa[m,. General man-
ager Rudolf Bing, quick with the
hot coffee on cold days,
(Continued on page 60>
London, Oct. 15.
Sim taneous television .rep rl-
Jng of the 1964 Olympic sports
from Tokyo to B itain via satel-
lites 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.
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 saxo-
made 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 elec-
many 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 accom-
be 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. - - ; .:. ... .
OZONERS, -
STI
.Egypt Not
Anti-Semitic Now;
W anna Make Pix
Hollywood, Oct. 15.
Egypt, which banned Jew-
ish actors and refused to play cer-
tain 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

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 have
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. Attor-
ney General to "curtail indiscrim-
inate issuance" of work permits to
British actors.
The membership resolution di-
rects the Equity council to appoint
a delegation to meet with Wash-
o1flclals in an e11ort to
remedy what is regarded as "an
alarming situatiOn." Equity con-
tends that the Immigration & Nat-
uralization Service generally ig-
nores its recommendations con-
cerning the granting of work per-
mits to foreign actors. On the
other hand, the union states that
the British government closely fol-
lows 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 re-
gard to race, creed,- color or re- 'JENNJE' 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 To this n.,,,r ...... -. gross on "Jennie," the Mary Mar-
only requirements in <:UIIJnrulmLwn tin-starrer opening to morrow
deals are script aoorclvaL 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 per-
by the-"government during his stay formance. Without standees the
there was in cases of stories that potential weekly take at the 1 655-
are 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 1') .mat1pe,Ja. ..... _ ..
PRICE
35'
..._ .
64 PAGES
RM-
Oct. 15.
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 omis-
sion of the notice would invalidate
copyright protection of the work.
Franklin Waldheim of Walt Dis-
ney Productions led off the talk
with a criticizing the pro-
posal 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 Coun-
cil and Alfred Wasserstrom of the
Magazine Publishers Assn.
Defending mandatory notice
were Robert Cahill of the Nation-
al Assn. of Ronald
Kaiser of CBS and Harry Rosen-
field of Public Affairs Press.
The anti-notice group consider-
ed it another stumbling block in
gaining full copyright protection.
The authors and publishers ar-
gued 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 is true. Notice, a
l]. s. creatiOn, Js now slipping into
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 Broad-
casters lobbyist Paul Comstock
charged the Federal Communi-
Commission with imposing
the Government's cultural tastes
o,n citi1:ens. _ .
He told the Alabama Broadcast-
ers Assn. in Tuscaloosa, "There Is .
a definite distinction between the
role of Government and of the. in-
dividual 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 de-
sire 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-
asked. ,;__
.
48 VAIJDEVILUI Wednesday, Oeiohr 16, 1963
Valachi Vague on Mob Cafes, Jokes;

'SRO' iltN.t_ Fair's Amusement Arei

Senators Eager for Show Biz Angles Spills Overflow Into States Sector
Washington, Oct. 111.
In his five days of fantastic tes-
timony before, the Senate Investi-
gating Subcommittee, ex-mobster
Joe Valachl dangled just enough
references to Cosa Nostra "enter-
tainment" connections before prob-
ers and public to make both eager
for more deails. -Sen. Jacob Javits
(R-N.YJ, kept pressing Valachl for
everything he knows about the en-
tertainment world, but the in-
former 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 cancella-
tion was a four-weeker at the Em-
pire Room of the Hotel Waldorf-
Astoria, N.Y., w'hich was to have
begun Nov. 18. She also conked
out of a Blinstrub's, Boston,
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 ga 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 Alex-
ander, 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 sanc-
tuary now, so further details may
be a while in coming out. He will
be questioned furthE!'r by the sub-
comrn,ittee behind closed doors and
then may return in open ses-
qr aion when a string of law enforce-
ment officials over the country
have had their say.
Edith Piaf, 47;
Famed
Associate members nominated
to the board are Fred Harrill, Gil
Nelson, Stan Seidenberg, Joe Sini-
er 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 of-
fice elected to the post. He origi-
nally 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 con-
tinued 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
ifamilies" in New York, Shanley
told the subcommitte the hoods
frequently lend money to cafes and
night clubs.
Edlbh Pia had a constant com-
panion, both onstage and offstage
-tragedy. The association was life-
long 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 audi-
ences were as universal as the
tragic songs she
"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 In-
fluenced 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 by the State Gam-
powerful lifts to composers Ill 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 en-
tertainer being offered $150,000
by a Cosa Nostra member for a ten
percent interest in him when he
was in. financial straits. He elab-
orated no further, but later iden-
tified 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 partner-
ship with Tommy Ryan, also known
as . Thomas Eboll, who is said to
be running J.Vew York for Geno-
vese while he is in Federal prison
on a narcotics conviction.
Javits, sniffing a sce':lt pressed
on. He asked Valachl u the mob
jukebox operators ha any con-
" (Continued on page 50)
and Moustaki. ' ulll this week.
Miss Piaf died days after facing revoca,tion of !lis
she was to have started a .Broad gambling license - on g17PUDdS tils
way Theatre, N:Y. 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
wrthstand an arduous tour. She He sata he wanteci to CODJOll-
normally weiBI:ted 90-95 lbs., was elate his 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 induatey and that
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 ally lmport,ed to the to ve bdard chairman Edward
United States by the tate Clifford Ils.en clrep an of the
c. Fischer for presentation with visits, and a -ai.de at
Campagnopa in a legit atand. tempted to bribe gl!mmg agents.
Tile critics failed to !\liJ tbk plain, is one of 11 _reputed
fran 11Dbe- hoodlums llated In the B 1 a c k
cominl black be Jbow Book," and casino have
failed, bUt it xeite maa- been warned that catermg to any
agemeat of the <&Cunet of them may result in loss of
Veraaillelt and sbe was brDUIIat 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 fense agalilst a license revocati'?n
azltiltic and fif\ancial succ at .jlttempt s tantamqunt to admit-
the Nlc Prounis'-Arnol,d eld- 'J:.v! of the matter. a corn-
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 voke the license formally "so there
Shore of Lake Tahoe have be1:n one ol her greatest 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 O<:t
29
Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas
Oliver's Club at the lake, and
1149
was aw g htm m the Strip and 50% in the Cial Neva.
owner of the <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 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 per-
en 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
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 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. Manage-
ment 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.
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- credi-
tors, the club (9)
was lbuttered bJ: the gov-
ernmeat 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 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 wltli
held from employes' aries. He
tliat a . number ef dema
for e payb;tent have ignored
.tnd warned the owners that unless
they eome aci.'osa tlie prop-
erty Will 1Je aold by the Govern-
ment to .. its Ilea.
Two former yoling women book-
epers, wbo tUeled' they've been
All apace having been allotted
in the Lake Arel of the New York
World's Filr, which is the amuse-
ments 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 var-
Ious types, most of them :with
entertainment.
"G. Michael Novel, who was,
in obtaining backing for the
Jenture, will be the major enter-
tainment buyer. It's not an official
state show, ut has the imprima-
tur of the date through an execu-
tive ird,r algned by Gov. Jimmie
H. Da!Yia on June 3.
Major 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.
to Novel, negotiations
._"' current for AI Hirt and Pete
Fountabl to take over the conces-
eions ot two niteries. Novel will
seek to 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
more famous dishes. Amo.nl
the restaurants will be a Horse-
IJhoe 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 udgments enabling Josephine Baker the Negrlt
them to etze the club's furniture singer-expatriate who returned
at a hour a number the U.S. for a Carnegie Hall, N.Y.,
of m m b e r'S were present recital ( 12) still has the
lunc:biJl'g. power to make tlhe crowds go
Til&' court has given club berserk. At age 60, which she
II this. week to post a bon<l announces, Miss Baker
coverln'g .the former employes' wears her extensive wardrobe witb
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 with her hairdo or
vacated to permit 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 judgments 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 sev-
eral civil rights organizations and
for her village in France, where
she supports a number of orphans.
She worked without fee that eve-
ning, the audjence 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 entertain-
ment tiefn with sales. In rrcent
years, consumer goods manufactur-
ers 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 Ram-
bler automobiles.
The difference with the Rambler
show is its pitch to a truly unique
audience. It's aimed at the Gis sta-
tioned abroa.d. American Motors
has commissioned a troupe of en-
tertainers who bowed Thursday
(10) at the Persian Room of the
Plaza Hotel, N. Y . and almost Jm-
mediately afterward took off for
EuroQ,e, where they opened Sat-
urday (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 conversa-
tion 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 inter-
national figure.
That .vigor and tremendous per-
sonality 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 only ith some
background music. These gar-
ments 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
Spin N.Y. WO
..... _ Lights,
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 ex-
pected 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 contro-
versial 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 "hooten-
anny" 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,
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
ers, and refel'!l to life a.s
Game of Chec rs. His conrolation
to the boy i that "Sometimes a
- man must be so tllat
others in time may win the final
game."
There's a wide disparity of opin
ion among Cl:ii radio program direc-
tors as to how to the batch
of records eulogizing late
dent Ken edy, one
.last wee,JC created quite a stir
- <Continued on page 34)
RCA's Sales Peak A
for '6:t,
Profits Hit $6 ,000,000
FO'I' the second consecutive year,
RCA's sales and profits has h:.i t 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 im-
petus: (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.oc-
essing 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 theatri-
cally played-out features at $1 per
copy but no more, to Abe
Schneider, president
Pictures.
He said it's his
that because of
ence, and in light f tE!le1ds'ion
residual values, the
pix 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 tend-
ered 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 ar-
Tangements to be made for him to
park his car near the theatre, since
parking in that area is tough. The-
atre sympathized, but said nix.
So Stehman's seats for the open-
ing 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 re-
marks are based on remarks heard
by me from various people as they
left the theatre after perform-
ance ...
eaver Hits
yvee With
Conspiracy Suit
ef-
of-
. The
alacrity, a
at the en-
Clinic,
was arranged
1 Then the Mayor
went to look at
c:tuickly turned it
out to be the play-
in 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 ele-
ments of the John Birch Soeiety
and of the Daughters of the Amer-
ican Revolution <DAR) are making
with campaign whispers against
the picture - on grounds that it Is
_ Los Angeles, Dec. 23. unfavmable _to
Subscription Television This point. of view
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. Dis-
trict Court and seeking treble dam-
ages, accuses the defendants of
conspiring to restrict competition
in violation of Federal and Cali-
fornia 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
pubUcity and other
means. -Charge was made that the
defendants conspired to prevent
STV from securing programming
material for its service. Suit addi-
tionally seeks a restraining order
to enjoin defendants from further
engaging in activity against sub-
scriber television.
Britain Expects Cofor TV
In 1965 on Heels of UHF
London, Dec. 23.
Color tv is expected to come to
Britain in 195, 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 Febru-
ary of the International Radio -con-
sultive 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 in-
dustry.
Film theatre organizations named
, codefendants included South . The Minister also announced
ern California Theatre Owners that the Television Advisory Com-
Assn., Northern CalifornJa Theatre mittee is due to meet il'l 'January
(Continued on page 40) .(Continued on page 11)
any chance to develop as a
film production centre? The ques-
tion 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 socalled
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 cliche-
ridden, theory that the studio craft
unions of the east are feature pro-
ductions's, and presumably their
O}Vn self-interest's, own worst op-
ponent.
That the International Alliance
of ' Theatrical Stage Employes and
its East Coast Motion Picture Coun-
cil might well do much to encour-
age 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. fea-
ture production "easy" pretty un-
likely.
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 essen-
tially 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 concoc-
tion 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 "Rosen-
kavalier" at the Brussels Royal
Opera House and got the thumbs-
down; she was loudly and gener-
ously bo<>ed, abuse was shouted,
and the memorable first night
ended in complete chaos and con-
fusion.
Nothi11g to do with Lebar, of
course, nor .with the still palatable
Missia Palmieri. What indu-ced
local "wonder boy" Maurice Be-
jart, 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
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
.the project has been somewhat
narrowed since De Laurentiis first
projected it a couple of years ago
as a', multJ..feature wit h . seg::; to be
pireeted by different directors. Or-
iginally, 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 pre-
diets 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 au-
theaticated) starts. Included will be
th stories ot Adam lilnd Eve, Cain
and Abel, Noah, the Tower of
B.abylon and Nimrod. Pte Chr isto-
Rher Fry script is said to be com-
pleted up to the Abraham seg.
The director who has never previ-
ously 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 relig-
ioso 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 10oaclr
58th

Anniverary Number
of
nRiEfY
Plaa other atatlat!UI CHid clata-lllecl
cllarts. allcl ertlcl...
To ........... ..... ...... : ....... ... .. .
Ci't)' !' Zone .
. . .. . . .
State . ......
ReCJular tQtel
.. .
OM Year---$1S.oo Two Years-:-$28.00
.Ye.-s-$39.00
ea.acia anc.- Acldltlatial Per y._
14RIETY ,
About to fulfill engagement's 1n
the Tropics, aaye: .
To paraphra.se Shaw-'Youtli Ia
prloeleel!l--unfor tunately It' wasted
on" t he 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 ap-
peal to all ages--all la ngua ges-all
countriea."
Footballers & TNT
Delay
'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 llDdeclded aa yet. .
Nat1 Board of Review 'Bests'
National Bhard of Review, which baa been aelM: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
(Metro) ,
Best Supporting Actor-M Douglas. in "'Hud" (Par)
. . i
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 every-
thing 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 cur-
ious ,s the Americans. Teens were
well-mannered and patiently waited
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 work-
ing," 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 "Sparta-
ens." 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 screen-
writer 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 cook-
ie. It's a very difficult art. We
can use :many more good writers."
(Actor repeatedly praised screen-
(Continued on page 111)
4f8.Ei'Y
Trade Muk Reeutered
FOUNDED 1JOS by SIME SILVIRMANI Published WeeklY by VARIETY, INC.
Syd Silverman, President
154. West 46th St., New York, N. Y. 10036
Hollvwood, Calif. 90121
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Washingt on, D. c. 20004
784 National Presa BUildi.Dg, STeJ:llnJI 3-5441
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SUJISCRIPTJON Annual, *15; Foreign. ul; SlJllllo CopiH, 35 Cenla
ABII:L GREEN, l!'.dltor
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
;. 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 .......... .