Boxoffice-October.02.1978

CHARLOTTE
(Continued from page SE-3)
Charlie Abercronibie sr. and Charlie jr.
were in town this week talking with their
new booking agent Steve Smith (Independent
Theatres), setting up bookings for the
Park Theatre in Danville, Va.
En Melton (Car-mel) was unpleasantly
surprised when he opened the doors to the
screening room (which supposedly is
security
safe) and saw that his new tape recording
and all other equipment that was movable
had been stolen. He has hopes to replace
same when he confers with his insurance
agent.
Tony Tracy (Erwin/ Fuller Theatres) and
wife Lana spent a very quiet and delightful
vacation at Algonquin Provincial Park.
Canada, canoeing and fishing.
Lina Basset, petite black-haired beauty,
is a new employee at Erv Melton's Car-mel
studio. Lina (pronounced Ly-na) wants to
learn all the segments and formats of the
motion picture business, production, exhibition,
etc. Welcome to the club, Lina— you
have a good teacher in Erv,
JACKSONVILLE
gusan Howell, publicist at Clark Films,
took an R&R vacation in North Carolina
from the Great Smokies on the west
to Charlotte in the east. There she hoped
to meet up with bosses Harry and Belton
Clark in the office of Bob McClure (Clark's
Charlotte connection) to attend a screening
of the EO Corp.'s "Living Legend," based
on the career of Elvis Presley and featuring
G nger Alden.
Roger Hill, Warner Bros, branch manager,
and office manager Dan Hoffman
were engaged in moving company records,
loose change (which had rolled under desks)
and staff members from the long-held space
on the 17th floor of the Universal-Marion
BIdg. downtown to the greener pasture of
ners is the September 18 birth of Jennifer
Elizabeth MacPhec to Karen and booker
Ron MacPhee.
Royce Brimage, Paramount district manager
from Dallas, is visiting with the local
Paramount staff.
Propaganda or not, an unusual "China
of the Mainland Film Festival" was held in
the main library here September 18, celebrating
a friendly coalition of Jacksonville's
United States-China Peoples Friendship
Ass'n for the furthering of cultural exchanges.
Screened were a dubiously named
"Freedom Railway," "Children of China,"
"The White-Haired Girl," a medley of
West-style Chinese folk dancing, acrobatics,
wushu and selections from the Peking
Opera, plus a film of current Chinese sporting
events.
WOMPl members have scheduled their
annual Filmrow picnic and exhibition-softball
competition for Saturday (28), at the
Beachwood Clubhouse. Boulevard, beginning
at 10 a.m. Including a sumptious
lunch, prices are $5 for adults and $2.50
for children under 12. Profits will go to
the international WOMPI convention set
for the local Hilton Hotel in September
1979.
Kitty Dowell of AMC is
chairing an oldfashioned
Southern cake walk featuring a
Halloween carnival for handicapped teenagers
at the Woodstock Community Center
on Beaver Street Thursday (26). This
WOMPI community service project had advance
registrations of 156 youngsters for
the evening cake walk, to be followed by
WOMPI refreshments and sundry fun
games.
Another WOMPI community service
project scheduled for Saturday (21) and
Sunday (22) will be the annual "haunted
house" events. WOMPI members will don
spooky costumes and as usual assist in all
phases of the shivery fun for children.
A second WOMPI Halloween service is
set up for the Stockton Elementary School
where WOMPIs will staff concession booths
and fill in on games of chance.
Walter Johnson, super sales manager at
United Artists, revealed that everyone in
the joint got raises. Not money necessarily,
but they moved offices from the second to
the twelfth floor of the Regency Tower
BIdg. More prestige and less soliciting up
there . . . Larry Terrell, UA's office manager
and head booker, went on target for
visiting around booking offices in Atlanta
while vacationing.
suite 1107, Bamett Regency Tower BIdg.,
9559 Regency Square Blvd. The new phone
number is 904-721-0480. Warners completes
the move of many major distribution
NEW ORLEANS
offices once clustered tightly about the ABC
Florida Theatres BIdg. The new locale for ^OMPIS back from the Dallas convention
with raves about the wonderful
all is centered about Regency Square, midway
between this city and its beach resorts,
a move pioneered in 1968 by ABC EST
time they had. Adding to the good times
was the election of our Anna Power as international
when the company built its flagship Regency
vice-president. Congratulations,
Theatre . . . Also important news from War-
Anna, we know you will do a good job,
just as you did when you were our president!
New Orleans also won the Lee Nickolaus
Creativity Yearbook Award for the
second year. Thanks to Agnes Garcia, who
did all the art work and arranging. Anna
Clare Leggett. president, was thrilled over
the lovely BIG orchid corsage the New
Orleans girls attending the convention sent
In the industry service department, the
current WOMPI project is to assist the
.
Ladies of Variety with their Las Vegas
Night . . Blanche Gubler, Corrinne Foret
and Corrine's sister Amelia Webre, community
service, visited Hickory Heights
Nursing Home with refreshments and entertainment
for 200 people.
Travelling WOMPIS—Bernice Chauvin
visiting her daughter in Colorado; Anna
Power enjoying her vacation in California;
Irene and Joe Mexic spending a few days
in Disney World.
Judy Hanmer, a former New Orleans
WOMPI, is recuperating at home after major
surgery. She would love to hear from
her old friends. Her address is 600 West
Superior St.. Apt. 406, Duluth. Minn.
55802.
Birthday greetings to October WOMPIS
Blanche Gubler, Betty Browne, Patricia
Guillot. Bernice Chauvin, Georgette Leto,
Lee Nickolaus, Joan Bode, Agnes Schindler
and Dawn Wise.
Welcome to new WOMPI member Marlene
Cook. Marlene is the payroll clerk at
Gulf States Theatres.
Paramount Pictures tradescreened Agatha
Christie's "Death on the Nile" September
21. Sneaked September 22 was Cheech
and Chong in Paramount Pictures' "Up in
Smoke" at the Westside Theatre, Gentilly
Woods Cinema. Joy's Panorama and Joy's
Cinema City.
LOV held its September meeting at the
Vista Shores Country Club which also will
be the site for all future social affairs. All
money raised by LOV goes to Children's
Hospital and a tour of the hospital and a
party for the children is being planned for
the near future. Rose Dobbs. LOV treasurer,
is leaving to return to San Francisco
with her husband John, who is leaving
for a new position there. They both will be
missed as they have served Variety well
during their five years' stay here. Rose was
honored at the September luncheon and
bingo.
Cooper Is Named Manager
Of the Year in Raleigh
RALEIGH. N.C.—Doug Cooper, manager
of the Cardinal Twin theatres, was
named Manager of the Year September 12
by the North Hills Merchants Ass'n during
the a.ssociation's 16th annual awards banquet.
About 200 people attended the affair at
the North Ridge Country Club.
"They (the Cardinal Twin) had a dynamite
year this year," said Robert V. Hughes,
head of the shopping center division of
North Hills, Inc.
The theatre was changed from a single
to a twin movie house this year.
The award was based on the theatre's
business gains, manager's attitude and effective
advertising.
"They do a lot of advertising, they bring
a lot of people to the shopping center. Doug
is
cooperative and aggressive." Hughes said.
SE-4 BOXOFTICE :: October 1978