Boxoffice-January.17.1953
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. .<br />
. . Rezoning<br />
. . Harold<br />
BUFFALO<br />
'The Niagara room of the Statler hotel was<br />
packed last Sunday night for the annual<br />
dinner dance of Variety Tent 7 and at installation<br />
of officers. Jack Beresin of Philadelphia,<br />
international chief barker, officiated.<br />
Myron Gross, a past chief barker, was chairman<br />
of arrangements. Installed were Dewey<br />
Michaels, president of Mayfair Theatre Corp..<br />
chief barker; Billy Keaton, WGR. first<br />
assistant; Marvin Jacobs, retired, Sportservice,<br />
second assistant; Robert Hayman, Hayman<br />
Theatres, doughguy; W. E. J. Martin.<br />
Courier-E^xpress, property master. Other<br />
crewmen are Harry L. Berkson, John C.<br />
Chinell, Arthur Kiolick, Albert Ryde, Elmer C.<br />
Winegar and Max Yellen.<br />
Charles Boasberg. general sales manager<br />
for RKO Pictures, was here last week for his<br />
mother's birthday and dropped in for a visit<br />
with Jack Chinell, RKO branch manager .<br />
When "Stars and Stripes Forever" was shown<br />
at the Paramount Theatre last week, five<br />
Buffalonians were "discovered" who actually<br />
played in Sousa's band. The five, Leonard B.<br />
D'Anna, Eugene J. Bishop, Eric I. Evans,<br />
Edwin Hall and William J. Robinson, were<br />
interviewed and photographed by the Evening<br />
News in the office of Ai-thur L. Krolick, UPT<br />
district manager . . . Constantine Basil, head<br />
of the Basil circuit and chairman of the<br />
Hellenic Orthodox Catholic church building<br />
fund committee, was presented the keys of<br />
the North Presbyterian church by Edward G.<br />
Kellner jr.. head of the board of trustees, at<br />
a ceremony marking the taking over of the<br />
Presbyterian property by the Hellenic church.<br />
Al Sicignano of Edward L. Hyman's UPT<br />
New York office, was here several days last<br />
week for booking conferences with local distributors<br />
The Star in Batavia, formerly<br />
. . .<br />
the Warner-operated Lafayette, has been<br />
taken over by a group headed by Harold Murphy,<br />
former manager of the Strand here, and<br />
Carl Degenhart, former manager of the Capitol<br />
in South Buffalo. The Star is located on<br />
Jackson, almost across the street from Dipson's<br />
Family Theatre.<br />
The Center in Buffalo and the Paramount<br />
in Rochester, both UPT houses, soon will show<br />
Arch Oboler's "Bwana Devil," the threedimension<br />
production. It is understood that<br />
Manager Lester Pollock soon will announce a<br />
three-dimension attraction for presentation<br />
at Loew's Theatre in Rochester . . . Dave<br />
Leff.<br />
Ontario Mayor Riled<br />
By Premiere Switch<br />
Buffalo—Mayor Ernest M. Hawkins of<br />
Niagara Falls, Ont., is greatly disappointed<br />
over the decision of 20th-Fox to worldpremiere<br />
its "Niagara" in Niagara Falls,<br />
N. Y., instead of his city where the picture<br />
was produced last summer. The<br />
mayor said it was his understanding at<br />
that time that the premiere would take<br />
place in the Seneca Theatre in the Ontario<br />
city.<br />
Mayor Hawkins emphasized that the<br />
province of Ontario, the Niagara parks<br />
commission and the city of Niagara Falls,<br />
Ont., cooperated to the fullest extent in<br />
the filming of the picture. He said 75<br />
per cent of the film was shot in his city<br />
and that 200 men and women extras were<br />
residents of the area.<br />
who managed the Buffalo UA office for several<br />
years until he left to manage the Cleveland<br />
branch, has resigned, and Moe Dudleson.<br />
UA district manager, is managing the Cleveland<br />
office until a successor to Leff is named.<br />
Arthur Krolick, UPT district manager, has<br />
been appointed exhibitor chairman for<br />
Brotherhood week. February 15-22, in the<br />
Buffalo exchange area by Walter Reade jr.<br />
This year's event marks the 25th anniversary<br />
of the National Conference of Christians and<br />
.•\rthur Krolick Manuel A. Brown<br />
Jews. Krolick was treasurer of Variety Tent<br />
7 of Buffalo the past year and has just been<br />
elected a director for 1953. He has been<br />
active in civic and industry activities in<br />
Buffalo and Rochester. Manuel A. Brown,<br />
manager of the UA exchange who also supervises<br />
the Albany office, has been appointed<br />
chairman.<br />
distributor<br />
Sid Kulick, sales manager for Bell Pictures<br />
of New York, was in town to set up a number<br />
of local dates, including "Black Narci.ssus" at<br />
the Lafayette . on Grand Island<br />
to accommodate a proposed WGR Broadcasting<br />
Corp. TV station has been approved<br />
unanimously by the town board of the island.<br />
Karl B. Hoffman, technical director of WGR.<br />
said an application to change the location of<br />
the station from the Rand building in Buffalo<br />
to Grand Island would be filed with<br />
the FCC.<br />
A sentence of two to four years in Attica<br />
prison has been suspended for Richard D.<br />
Gilmer. 32. former assistant manager of the<br />
Palace Theatre in Jamestown, after he pleaded<br />
guilty to a grand larceny charge growing out<br />
of the theft of $600 in boxoffice receipts from<br />
the theatre in November 1948. Gilmer wa,s<br />
taken to the Buffalo Veterans hospital for<br />
treatment of an eye condition which had<br />
rendered him nearly blind . . . Bill Brereton,<br />
Basil Tlieatres director of advertising and<br />
publicity, assisted by Max Miller. UA exploiteer.<br />
put over a smash campaign on "Kansas<br />
City Confidential," a recent Lafayette Theatre<br />
attraction.<br />
Buffalo civic and educational leaders heard<br />
a premiere closed-circuit presentation of<br />
WBEN's Freedom U.S.A. series the other afternoon<br />
in Hotel Statler and heard it characterized<br />
as "carrying much truth and impact"<br />
for free government. The new radio series<br />
giving behmd-the-scenes impressions of<br />
Washington and the senate, with Tyrone<br />
Power as the star, is being presented by the<br />
Iroquois Gas Corp., over WBEN Sunday afternoons<br />
at 4:30.<br />
Gene Autry Starts Tour<br />
NEW YORK—Gene Autry started a 49-city<br />
tour Wednesday (14) at Wichita, Kas., with<br />
a cast of 30 performers. He will swing through<br />
Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines. Detroit,<br />
into Canada for several stops and down the<br />
eastern seaboard.<br />
ALBANY<br />
The Variety Club will inaugurate a series of<br />
. . .<br />
. .<br />
King for the Day dinners January 19.<br />
when Charles A. Smakwitz and Warner Theatres<br />
associates will serve. Tlie following<br />
week, Saul J. UUman and Fabian Theatres<br />
colleagues will do the honors. The dinners<br />
Exchange<br />
w-ill be held at Keeler's restaurant<br />
callers Monday included Ben Hobbs,<br />
operating indoor theatres in Dannemora and<br />
Ellenburg and a drive-in near Plattsburgh,<br />
Harry<br />
and Mrs. L. J. Van Buren. Cairo .<br />
Lamont. head of Lamont Theatres and president<br />
of Albany TOA, wrote Lewis A. Sumberg,<br />
counsel and executive director, that he<br />
would like to have 1953 automobile license<br />
plates forwarded to Key West. Fla. He is<br />
vacationing there with his wife and Robert<br />
W. Case, manager of Lamont's Sunset<br />
Drive-In. and Mrs. Case. Lamont will not<br />
return until mid-February or the first of<br />
Mai'ch.<br />
Jules Perlmutter is now operating the old<br />
Fairyland in Warrensburg under the name of<br />
the Warren, with Jerry LaRocque. former<br />
owner now retired, as manager. Phil Baroudi,<br />
North Creek theatreman. had operated the<br />
house since LaRocque sold it. Perlmutter.<br />
who also operates the Grand and Strand,<br />
Watervliet, and the Lake ( indoors i, the Fort<br />
George and Lake George drive-ins, closed<br />
the Warrensburg situation for two months,<br />
during which he installed a new lobby, new<br />
screen, new seats and sound at a cost of<br />
$10,000. The 300-seater is the only film house<br />
in the Adirondack mountain village.<br />
John Scully, U-I district manager, trekked<br />
from Boston for conferences in Gloversville<br />
with George Lynch, chief buyer for the Schine<br />
circuit. Leo Greenfield. Albany manager, and<br />
Dave Miller. Buffalo manager, accompanied<br />
him ... A daughter named Amy Ann was<br />
born to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Rosenthal<br />
January 11. It's their second child. Rosenthal<br />
is attorney and counsel on film buying for<br />
Upstate Theatres.<br />
A report that Benton Theatres of Saratago<br />
may build a drive-in at Plattsburg has<br />
drifted into Albany. The circuit now operates<br />
the Champlain and Strand in Plattsburg,<br />
where there are two independently-owned<br />
automobilers. One version is that the Benton<br />
decision hinges on the building of an army<br />
air force base at Plattsburg. Such a project<br />
is contemplated, on the site occupied for<br />
several years by Champlain college. However,<br />
a northern New York congressman has<br />
suggested construction of the base at Camp<br />
Drumm near Watertown . Tyler,<br />
Chittenango exhibitor and new member of<br />
the Assembly, has been assigned Seat 136<br />
on the northern rim of the spacious chamber.<br />
Tyler succeeded Wheeler Milmoe, who was<br />
elected to the senate.<br />
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