Boxoffice-June.09.1951

. . Bob
. . Harry
. . Neil
. . . Fred
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ALBANY
nn audience of 6,000, largest to attend an
indoor popular event in the Capital district,
heard Frankie Laine and Marion Morgan
sing at the RPI Fieldhouse in Troy
Saturday night. The turnout surprised observers,
in view of the summer date and the
smaller ones for Gene Autry, Bob Hope,
Horace Heidt and other names at the Fieldhouse
earlier this season. The Laine-Morgan
show was promoted by Bob Snyder of
WPTR, Albany, at $1.20 to $2.40 . . Business
.
at Hathaway's Drive-In, North Hoosick, has
"not been too good" this season, but it has
been "pretty fair" at the Fort Warren Drive-
In, Castleton, Vt., F. Chase Hathaway said
this week.
. .
The Champlain hotel on Lake Champlain,
which booked pictures during the summer,
has been sold to the Jesuit order for conversion
into a college, exchanges learned .
Murray Grabhorn, former manager of WJZ-
TV, American Broadcasting Co. -owned New
York City station, will take over the reins
at the Schine-controlled WPTR here June
15. Announcement of his appointment was
made by Robert L. Coe. radio and television
consultant for the Schine interests.
Among those who attended the court of
appeals hearing in "The Miracle" appeal were
attorney Jack Olshansky. member of Variety
Club and owner of the Colonial Theatre. He
chatted after the early morning session with
Ephraim S. London, attorney for appellant
Joseph Burstyn, The Colonial, which Olshansky
reopened Easter Saturday, closed June 2.
Poor business, attributed in part to shortage
of first rate product, was the cause of the
shutdown for the summer. Olshansky plans
to relight the uptown house in the fall. He
has hinted to friends that he may bring a
suit against the major distributors for a
reduction in clearance. He would like day
and date with the second run Madison, Warner
situation.
Castle Films' "MacArthur Report," for 8mm
and 16mm projector owners, is being advertised
in the area. "Own This Sensational
Movie" read the caption of copy run in a
Schenectady paper by a photographic supply
$BOOK IT
WAHOO is
NOW!!!
the world's most thril-
I
e ling screen game. Now being used
e successfully by hundreds of indoor
* and outdoor theatres all over America.
$Send For complete details. Be sure
f Hollywood Amusement Co.
$ DEPT. B
$ 831 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago 5, III.
Fabian's Palace is believed to have
store . . .
taken a substantial loss on its 1,800 attendance
at Fortuno Gallo Co. presentation of
"Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci." The
Palace seats 3,750 . . . John Whalen of the
Playhouse crew substituted for Ray Sedlak
during the latter's vacation from the Palace.
Whalen was to move to the Grand for a
two-week period while John Lanahan was
Harold Parry jr. of the Playhouse
away , . .
bunch is filling in at the Madison in place
of the ill Danny Burns. Bud Hill went from
the Madison to the Mohawk Drive-In for the
summer as projectionist.
Vic Bunze, oldtime vaudevillian and later
an exhibitor in Waterford, is no longer with
the Fabian organization in Troy. Bunze managed
the American Theatre in the Collar
city for Warners after retiring from the
Casino, now the Lyric, in Waterford. When
an agreement
Warners and Fabian reached
under which the Griswold, Troy, reverted to
the former, Bunze moved to the Griswold and
Jack Swarthout went to the American. Fabian
closed the Griswold last February, whereupon
Bunze was transferred to Proctor's as
assistant manager. Bunze recently lost that
job in an economy move, according to word
here . HoUiday, Warner salesman,
and his bride, the former Janet Coddington.
flew from New Jersey to Honolulu for their
honeymoon. They were married in New
Providence, N. J., May 26 . . . Howard Secor
has been promoted from assistant shipper
to booker in
the Warner exchange.
Columbia has two new salesmen, Louis
Gonick and Herbert Schwartz. Gonick formerly
was employed by an independent organization
in Boston. Herbert Schwartz, a
resident of Schenectady, was transferred here
from the Cincinnati branch, to replace Kenneth
Yale, who resigned to enter the wholesale
drug business in New York. He joined
Columbia in this territory as student salesman
a year ago . Hellman advertised
in Troy papers Monday that the Palace,
closed for the summer, will reopen in
the fall.
Construction of an office building and municipal
auditorium on a two-block site
bounded by State, Lodge, Chapel and Pine
streets, including the plot now occupied by
the PIayhou.se. was voted by the common
council Monday night in ordinances authorizing
a $900,000 bond issue for the cost
of acquisition. The lower part of the Chapel
street .side faces the Schine-owned Ten Eyck
hotel. Plane will eventually be drawn for a
modern civic center and municipal building.
Peggy Ann Garner, screen, television and
radio player; Richard Hayes, her husband,
and the Kirby Stone Quintet, TV features,
will appear at the second annual Barn Dance
staged in the Washington avenue armory
for the benefit of the local cerebral palsy
fund . Lamont's Lake George Drive-
In took extra newspaper space to adver-
tise a stage act, Renie and Jim, ai'ii,
performers "from the big top" . .|„
Lit Drive-In in the Thousand Isla '
is featuring a Friday night childre
I
p^
tion "with free tokens at the gaj'
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Mrs. G. Harry Brown, the S
[
id >
Forge, came in to book Monday.
I
hers •'''
Fllmrow included Sid Dwore, opi
',
jm" -
Cameo, Schenectady, and buying-l'dni
Dr. Philip Liebig's drive-in at l.jfnsS'
near Watertown. and Dr. Luth I
Gn
Mountain Drive-In at Loch Shelc|;e
Davis. Phoenicia and Pleischmari Hfcl
Tobias, booker for Totem lodge, Bu n L
F. Chase Hathaway, the HathawMnd
Fort Warren drive-ins, Castleton
i 't. t
Eddie Stevenson, who for some -ne
charge of the Star, Poultney, Vt.. i: ana
the Fort Warren Drive-In for F. ithi
|
Sliter. 20th-Fox salesma frepc
that he sold within a week at Sl'ich,
photographs of Will Rogers with 'she
the Rogers Memorial hospital g|sari
Lake on the reverse side. They're
warded by Nicholas John Matsouks aatl
director of
publicity for the hosipl !as
of the current fund-raising drive.
that exhibitors responded quickly
motion.
sl
:;ter,
ii;he.
Word has been received here tl Jei
Fuller plans to open a 350-car c'e-ii
Dix street in Glens Falls July 1 'Silli
doing the construction work hims'
Reade to Award Priz(;
For Drawing Contestii :
NEW YORK—Walter Reade's Pi
Theatre, where "Tony Draws a H
its fourth week, has received sco a of
tries in its horse-drawing contes fbr
dren of elementary school age. I co;
closed Saturday (9).
A first prize of a $50 U.S. savin
second prize of a $25 bond, g
achievement trophies as third a
prizes and 25 consolation prizes ol .eke
the Park Avenue Theatre will be aw ^ied
urday (16). Judges will be Ham P ler,
ator of the Joe Palooka cartoon ; .p;
MacGovern. creator of the Silly jiiy
toon; Joyce Matthews, TV and
and Robert Alda, former artist w
starred in "Guys and Dolls" on
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Unable to Get First R-ns
Oswego Theatre Cos's
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ALBION. N, Y,—C. V. Martina,! resll
of the Martina Theatre Corp., this eefc
nounced the closing of the circui! Ca]
Theatre in Oswego.
Martina, in a letter to all major md',
public Pictures, said: "We have trii-inv
to obtain sufficient first run fi's, b
through regular negotiation and a'lpetii
bidding, without success."
He also said he was forwarding tl lette:
the Department of Justice. In hi: ;tter
alleged that distributors were not 'ing:
Capitol Theatre a share of first ru featv
as required under the Schine oirci cons
decree.
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DETROIT OFFICE OR DESK SPACE TO RENT
With or Without Furniture
CONVENIENT • CENTRALLY LOCATED • GOOD ADDRESS
Excellent Proposition Available to Anyone Selling to Exhibitors
Contact BOXOFFICE, 1009 Fox BIdg., Detroit 1, Mch. Phone Woodward 2-1100
Big Utica Plant Start Ji
ALBANY—The General Electri< :o.
broken ground for its new $15.00' » e.
tronics plant in New Hartford neairtica.
will house facilities for manufactu ig n
tary electronics equipment.
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BOXOFFICE
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