Warners

. . . Because
Calgary's Spotlight
For 30 Years Retires
CALGARY—William Campbell. better
known as Spotlight, tlie dramatic critic for
the Albeit. Ill hoii- h.i- retired after more
W. "BILL" CAMPBELL
than 30 years and moved to Vancouver with
his wife and daughter Lindsay.
Bill, as he is known, has served as BOX-
OFFICE correspondent many years. Miss
Helen M. Anderson, who replaces him on the
Albertan, also succeeds him as BOXOFFICE
correspondent in the Calgary area.
Campbell started covering the shows back
in 1919 when there were few motion pictures
and his reviews consisted of the weekly vaudeville
at the Pantages and Orpheum and stage
shows at the Grand. Now 72. he has seen
stage entertainment decline almost to a vanishing
point with a coincident rise in the
motion picture art. but he has no favorite.
"Today drama on the stage and screen
carries equally entertaining quality, depending
wholly on the writer, director and cast,"
Campbell commented. "A good show can be
enjoyed on either the stage or screen.
Campbell recalled being the first reporter
outside New York City that the famous Helen
Keller would talk to.
Bill had been told ahead of time it was
his Scotch accent that got him in. At first,
he addressed his questions to Miss Thompson,
the teacher, but after the first sentence. Miss
Keller was able to follow the conversation,
and the astounding thing about that interview,
according to Bill, was that it was Miss
Keller who ended up interviewing him.
Others Bill met in course of duty were Sir
John Martin Harvey, great dramatic actor
of the London stage. Sir Henry Lauder. Elsie
Janis, and more recently Madeleine Carroll
and Harold Lloyd.
"I was snubbed by Ethel Barrymore," Spotlight
said with a grin. "Miss Barrymore
would not be bothered with small town reporters,"
was her reply to a request by Calgary
newspapers for an interview.
Before starting with the Albertan, Mr.
Campbell was credit manager, and finally
secretary-treasurer with the old News-Telegram
in Calgary, one of several journals
which ended publication during World War I.
During his six years with the News-Telegram
he began the first theatre page in Calgary
and this led to his post with the Albertan.
TORONTO
T Earl Lawson, president of J. Arthur Rani:
companies in Canada, has returned home
after a prolonged stay in a hospital here and
is reported to be able to be up and around
occasionally . . . Toronto film folk extended
greetings to Harry Wilson, head of the
Chatham Theatre Managers Ass'n. Wilson is
manager of the Capitol in the western Ontario
city. Among other visitors was Menzo
Craig of the Palace at Ridgetown.
Charles Jones, 69, well-known member o!'
Toronto stage employes Local 50. died recently.
He is survived by a brother Norman
. . . Charlie Mavety gave a palomino horse
to Mayor H. E. McCallum to go with the
latter's gift from Calgary of a ten-gallon hat
of the construction of Toronto's
first subway, the Downtown Theatre is sporting
only half a marquee, a portion having
been laid aside to facilitate the project.
J. J. Fitzgibbons occupied the chair during
the installation of 1950 officials at the
meeting of Variety Tent 28 as his final act
as chief barker. Morris Stein took over as
his successor
of the Theatre Under the Stars in Vancouver,
was in Toronto, reportedly to look
into the possibility of a drama theatre here.
The Humber had a large birthday cake in
the lobby for the theatre's first anniversary
and Manager Holmes placed a collection box
beside the cake for donations to a needy family
in the district . . . Manager Fred Trebilcock
of Shea's entertained delegates to a
provincial meeting of the Canadian Legien
to a morning performance on "All the King's
Men."
The Capitol Theatre building in North Toronto,
which includes the theatre, 31 offices
and 11 stores, owned by the late Ron McClelland
who was a partner of Famous Players,
has been sold for $378,000 to Ronald Buildings,
Ltd.
Charlie Mavety's Ranch
Struck by $50,000 Fire
TORONTO— Charlie Mavety, veteran film
figure, and his Circle M ranch at Kleinburg,
18 miles from here, were in the news when
a building housing the picturesque dining
hall, kitchen and nine bedrooms was destroyed
by fire with a loss estimated at
$50,000.
The main lodge, stables and other quarters
of the camp were saved by fire-fighters from
nearby villages and a 50-man bucket brigade.
A large number of Palomino and other horses
were not in danger but Mavety mourned the
loss of a valuable collection of frontier guns,
including a revolver once used by John Ringo,
western outlaw. This weapon had been given
to the ranch owner by the .sheriff of Tombstone,
Ariz., only last .summer.
Among equipment saved from the flames
was a considerable number of saddles of
ornate design. The Mavety ranch has been
the scene of outings and meetings of circuit
and distributing companies as well as industry
organizations. Mavety has served as
an officer of the Canadian Picture Pioneers
for a number of years and is head of the
Mavety Film Delivery Service at 277 Victoria
St.,
Toronto's film-trade center.
Theatres in Winnipeg
Checked for Safety
WINNIPEG—All local theatres have been
checked for structural defects during the last
three months by city in.spectors following the
partial collapse of the Garrick's ceiling last
September, according to W. D. Hurst, city
engineer. Hurst said that following the accident
at the Garrick. in which a few person::
were slightly hurt, the city inspection division
immediately was ordered to make a careful
check of the 38 theatres here.
Structural changes were ordered in several
cases to assure adequate protection for the
public. Hurst said. In others, owners were
told to hire registered architects and engineers
to complete more thorough inspection.s.
All the structural changes have been made
and in most cases certificates from engineers
declare that the theatres now are structurally
sound and constitute no danger to patrons.
Hurst said.
Hurst praised theatre owners for the full
cooperation given his department. He said
there was only one case of a building hazardous
to the public, and that situation was
remedied immediately. There had been
closer inspection of all places of public assembly
during 1949, E. G. Simp.son. engineer
of inspections, said in his annual report to
the city safety committee.
Simpson said two inspectors had been
added to his department. One of them was
specifically appointed to check theatres,
dance halls, auditoriums, churches, rinks,
hotels and welfare institutions while performances
were in progress. He said there
were 2.595 inspections of public buildings
made in 1949. and 266 defective or hazardous
conditions were corrected or removed. The
inspections branch prepared information for
63 prosecutions, and 48 convictions were registered.
Most of these were for failure to
comply with electrical regulations.
Seven More Exhibitors
Join MPTA of Ontario
TORONTO—Seven more exhibitors have
joined the Motion Picture Theatres Ass'n of
Ontario, bringing the membership total to
340. The new members are Mrs. R. D'Hondt,
Imperial, Delhi: Ned Hill. Richmond, Richmond
Hill: A. E. McLean. Gaiety. Rainy
River: Dave Korman, Palace, Englehart: A. E.
Madsen. Cameo, Morrisburg: T. R. Porter,
Community. Gore Bay: Rothvtein Theatres,
Roxy, Beardmore, and the Bay at North Bay.
The last is a newly constructed unit of 20th
Century Theatres and is not listed as an
independent.
While Rothstein Theatres has its headquarters
in Winnipeg, one of its units is thi!
Roxy at Beardmore, Ont. Other Rothstein
theatres are in Manitoba where the company
supports the Manitoba Motion Picture
Theatres Ass'n.
The directors of the MPTA of Ontario,
headed by Roy Miller, president, of St. Catharines,
held a meeting at the King Edward
hotel here on February 7 to deal with matters
arising from a conference on the previous
day with Premier FYost on propo.sed
amusement tax reductions.
Joseph Singer, solicitor for the Ontario
association, was to appear February 10 before
the board of governors of the Canadian
Broadcasting Corp. to ask for a ban on radio
bingo.
BOXOFFICE :: February 11. 1950 109