Boxoffice-Janury11.1965

. . Vi
. . . Voters
. . Neighborhood
. . Approximately
. .
. . After
North,
. .
VANCOUVER
Qeneral Sound president Ray Townsend,
fresh from installing what is possibly
Canada's last and definitely most northerly
35mm Cinemascope equipment in the Orpheum
at Dawson, barely paused at the
office on his way back, then took off for
Palm Springs, Calif., to get away from the
icy blasts. He left Lou Sass and Lorraine
Wheatley to look after things while he is
away . Hosford of West Coast Booking
braved the worst the weather could offer
by going back home to Alberta for
Christmas, while boss Owen Bird was content
to bask in the comfort of his home
after a month attending meetings in Alberta
and trade meetings in Toronto, including
the Canadian Picture Pioneer's
shindigs.
The worst storm in ten years dumped
large amounts of snow all over the West,
from California to Point Barrow and from
Vancouver Island to Winnipeg, sparing no
one. Many small town theatres closed up
New Year's Day and are not yet reopened.
At Mayo in the Yukon, according to a i-eport
from Charles Backus of Can Film, the
16mm operation closed because the 60 below
zero temperatm-es even penetrated the
insulated community hall so the heaters
could not keep up with it. The big December
snow in Vancouver and the lower mainland
forced closing of all drive-ins. In
spite of this, "My Pair Lady" was up, reports
Barney Regan of Famous Players.
Even the weather could not keep a large
group of film exchange employes and their
friends from Can Films, West Coast Booking,
the circuits and exhibitors Paul Gauthier
of Quesnel and Stan Trout from ushering
in the Yule season in appropriate
style. Fifty-one braved a blizzard for a
turkey dinner, wassail and to trip the light
fantastic until the wee houi-s at the subm--
ban Admiral Hotel. So successful was this
Christmas party, the first in several years,
that plans already have been made for another
next year at the same prices.
Canadian TV headquarters in Toronto
advised "Little Hobo" producer A. C. R.
Stone at the Hollyburn studios that the
West Vancouver-produced film series is
now the third rated show in Canada after
hockey and Walt Disney. "Nobody can
argue that this isn't the most successful
film show ever produced in Canada" says
Stone, executive of the Storrer broadcasting
interest. Vancouver Sun columnist Jack
Wasserman says, "This dog show—is no
dog."
^^mwuif/ZAH^
WATCH PROJECTION IMPROVE
Technikote ^
" SCREENS =:
^ Now! -The Only
ANTI-STATIC SCREEN ^
^^ XR0 7I Pearl • Repels Dust N^
^!gg^/////g^
Theatre Equipment Supply Dealer;
Export—Amity International Distributors
TICHNIKOTi CORP. 63 Seabring St., B'klrn 31,
If good wishes mean anything local
thiTish Roma Hearn, starring in the coastto-coast
Kodak sponsored "Some of Those
Days" (especially recommended to all Canadian
Picture Pioneers), is on her way.
EveiT pro in town is predicting musical
comedy stardom after the terrific job she
has done on this show after years of learning
her craft in the bistros of the northwest.
TORONTO
H group of ten 20th Century Theatres
units got plenty of response on "Pajama
Party," while another multiple engagement
was featui-ed at 11 Famous Players
houses, the attraction being "Emil and
the Detectives" . Television
of Guelph, which has a chain of 12
community antenna systems mostly in Ontario,
has bought a two-thirds interest in
Benco Television Associates, Toronto, from
Blonder-Tongue Laboratories of Newark,
N.J. Benco manufactures equipment for
community TV operations.
Lloyd Bochner, Toronto actor, is due here
late in January to start a torn- for Universal
in behalf of opening of "The Night
Walker," in which he appears with Barbara
Stanwyck and Robert Taylor . . . The
Bayview, a fonner Famous Players theatre
in suburb of Leaside, has been sold, according
to a notice, but the buyer was not
identified. Closed for some years, the theatre
had a brief spell of activity as a cinema
under the name of Bayview Fine Ai-ts but
again went dark.
Deborah Walley and husband John Ashley,
both featuied in "Beach Blanket
Bingo," have a date here to serve as godparents
for the christening of Deborah
Ashley Hamier, daughter of Paul Hanner,
advertising-publicity director for Astral
Films, Canadian distributor of AIP features,
including "Beach Blanket Bingo"
in Widdifield township have approved
Sunday shows, 2,256 to 655. The
township has one theatre.
When "John Goldfarb, Please Come
Home" was cancelled, the 2,000-seat Palace
in nearby Hamilton, made a quick substitution
by playing "Goldfinger," which is
also being shown at the Odeon Carlton .
Robert Hall is chief barker of Toronto Variety
Tent 28 for a second year, the assistants
being Jack Bernstein and Sam Shopsowitz.
Win BaiTon, who had been ceremonial
barker, became dough guy and
Barry Nesbitt is property master. Barron
was recently in a Toronto hospital for examinations.
g OTTAWA
Q,ov. Gen. George Vanler and Madam Vanier
attended a performance of "My
Fair Lady" at the Nelson Theatre. Manager
Svend Pederson welcomed the viceroy
and wife . 1,600 attended
the free showings of "Years of
Lightning, Day of Drums," conducted by
Odeon Theatres at the Elmdale in tribute
to the late U.S. Pi'esident Kennedy. Col-
lections for the John P. Kennedy Memorial
Fund for Canadian Retarded Children
amounted to $350.
Rain, sleet and slush cm-bed outdoor activities
for a number of days during the
holiday period and Ottawa theatres registered
outstanding business. For instance,
Manager Leo Ouellette of the Regent had
lineups for "Emil and the Detectives," while
Doug Pinder of the Rideau reported packed
houses for "First Men IN the Moon" .
Four of the 14 Ottawa theatres had special
New Year's Eve shows, the Nelson and
Regent theatres, and Queensway and
Britannia drive-ins, both of which are
equipped with car heaters. In days gone
by, practically every theatre here staged a
year-end midnighter, complete with noisemakers
and streamers.
Crush International, the Canadian-owned
soft drink company, reported a 20 per cent
increase in the year's net earnings, which
rose to $1,143,000, equal to 84 cents a common
share, compared with 949,000 for the
previous year . being closed at
Christmas so that employes could enjoy
a holiday with families, the Ottawa Centre,
owned by D. B. Stapleton, opened the
following day to big business with "Pajama
Party," an Astral Films release, with
"Alakazam" featured at matinees.
Telethon Total May
Add Over $75,000
TORONTO—The 18-houi- telethon conducted
over television station CHCH of
Hamilton from the Robert Lawrence studios
here raised an estimated $75,000 or
more from the Variety Club of Ontario's
Village for Handicapped Boys.
The exact amount realized by the successful
December 26-27 telecast will not
be known until all pledges are received
and totaled.
Possibly 700 persons gave their talents
and time to the fund-raising event, who
were provided with accommodations by the
Lord Simco Hotel. American Airlines flew
in stars from Hollywood; Kenneth Soble,
president of CHCH, supervised the telecasting:
Shopsy Poods, Ltd., fed the 600
or 700 persons involved without charge;
the unions, technicians and performers
gave their time and talents free.
Many of the best-known writers, announcers,
sports figures and celebrities in
this area helped to take the phone calls
and pledges that poured in. Outstanding
in the progi-am were Monty Hall, who
emceed the full 18 hours of the show: Jay
"
"Dennis the Menace Arlene Dahl,
Rick (Command) Jason, Lloyd Blochner,
William Shatner, all of whom flew in for
the telecast: Bobby Curtola and scores of
local dancers, singers, entertainers and
musicians.
An interesting sidelight was the many
phone calls from parents of physically
handicapped boys who had never heard of
Variety Village and asked for more information.
The selection of students for the i
Village is made by the Variety ViUage
Council in association with the Society for
Crippled Children and the Ontario government.
The American premiere of Columbia's
"World Without Sun" at New York's
Cinema II was a benefit for the New York
Zoological
Society.
K-4
BOXOFFICE :; January 11, 1965