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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 />

\.m

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