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^Sa^ABLISHBli;^88 ^rclsy^yig!- PRESS QtfPPlNG ll^^U 165 ChurcK; Street- - New York SANT^ CRUZ, CALIF. SENTINEL NEWS Circ."?·iSpi638 - ?║ 11.913 noiiuwood By Bob l/Thomas Las Vegas, Nev. <#).?╟÷This must be what the gold rush was like. You walk into any resort hotel at 2 o'clock in the morning, and the joint is jumping. The casino is noisy with the clink of silver dollars, the shouts of the lucky players and the moans of the losers. Each weekend an estimated 25,- 000 to 30,000 citizens, the majority from booming southern California, crowd into this glittering town, doubling its population. The pleasure seekers or suckers?╟÷according to which view you take?╟÷sleep in hotels, motels or their own cars. Some don't sleep at all. They stand at the tables all night, transfixed by the frolicking dice. As in the gold rush days, en- : lertainment is an important commodity in the gambling halls. Stars of Broadway and Hollywood servetas the highest paid shills in the world. Shill: a person hired to stimulate gambling. You may have heard of some of the fantastic figures paid to ' entertainers by the Las Vegas hotels. Some are inflated by a press agent's pipe dream; others are fantastically true. Insiders here believe that the $25,000 weekly figure announced for Bet- | ty Hutton is close to reality. "She might be worth that," said one operator. "But. only she and a few others would be. The rest get around a third of her figure, which is an excellent salary for a week's work of an hour or two a night." Others are angry at the publicizing of such figures. "When you an- nounee that you're paying Betty Hutton 25 G's," said one talent buyer, "how are you going to hire Tony Martin for what you paid him ?√ßlast time? ""Prices are getting out of hand. When you hire a star for 25 G's, your whole show will run around $40,000. You can't hope to show a profit." t^'&w?╜- sralfcut most of the others don't seem to worry. They keep on hiring the best names available at the highest price necessary. They hope that the gambling tables will assume any loss on the night clubs, and they generally do. mm Here's an example of the kind of shows that play here. Current headliners are JpWRffiiArnold at the SaharajJf^aJPowS Inn; Joe MJkewis, EJn| Vegas; JolK Payne Holtz, FlamW|o; Rex All! Sons of theWPioneers, ThJ?║ bird; Libera?½ and Phil Last Frontie??Peter Lihd 3 and Mary HIT But that isnffip. Jiiacn pTs two or three IpEflight act_ eight to a doipkgirls, whom could adorn%my cover. ^W- a "Booking talent is a headache, said one show producer. "You hot only have to fight the other places in getting the best talent; you also have to find talent that will stimulate betting." %f*WIM The best attractions for the heavy gamblers are old-time nitery stars like Joe E. Lewis and Sophie Tucker. Oddly enough, Bob Crosby's engagement-was a stimulus to the tables; the explanation was that the Crosbys have many well-heeled friends. 1^W^i'J0k^,i^^^^r Spike Jones and others who attract the family trade are great for dining room business?╟÷"but the patrons drift out through the casino like a sieve." '-Hsf A surprise hit at the Sahara was Lauritz Melehior au# Ms young singers, said to be the best show ever in Las Vegas. Van Johnson was also a big draw at the Sands. | . PRESS CLIPPING BUREAU j 165 Church Street - New York ! NEW YORK, N. Y. TELEGRAPH Ci.rc.-D-. 63,107 * On the Hollywood Scene Herb Stein Tallulah Wowing 'Em in Vegas; pnee Nans B'way Musical in Fall; Elliott Paul 'Doubles' as Pianist HOLLYWOOD, June' 4.?╟÷Run! Do not walk J to the two. laughingest shows in town: Joe I Everglades Lewis at Mocambo arid Phil Silvers in I "Top Banana" at the Biltmore. These are two of the great comedy hyperdermics of show business. If you have a vitamin F (for fun) deficiency, you'll pick up a solid year's supply of laugh serum by making the Mocambo and Biltmore theatre a MUST!...Top British star whose wife 'recently scrammej land, has been paintinj wood spots red wit and he's planning t< ter with him to Bl iweeks as his "secretary." And when, {about it you can make book ther^ crowning in Merrye Olde England.] Las Vegas on Tallulah Bankhead at J babe's murdering 'em. Audiences [every bit of material she pitches, fr8 [ drama. Her Dorothy Parker telephonic piece is a huge hit and she spends more ging Miss Parker's books than her own. HeFTou- tine on the different gaming tables breaks the house every night with front-line-pass howls throughout. La Bankhead had one catastrophic flop on Broadway some time back when she did "Cleopatra." At the time John Mason Brown said of her\ "She barged down the Nile last night and sank," referred to Tallulah as "Queen of the Nil." But in Vegas, t-Bankhiad is queen of the shill. She wraps up her show declaring, "I'd love to stay on and entertain all night," then, chuckling, adds, "but it seems the management has other plans for you." Tallulah has another week up there and it's your last chance to gander her in action in a saloon; she vows she'll never do it again. iPv$$ ?√? THE OTHER NIGHT onlookers stared at a man up front to whom Tallulah dedicated her "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You." They figured for sure he was some important gambler, ready to^ squander a mint at the tables. For their informa-' tion, the quiet, kindly-looking man to whom the number was dedicated, is Irving Hoffman's dad, who never saw a dice table before in his life. He's there with Irving just to catch Bankhead^a long-thne friend... Incidentally, a doctor has beej^treating Tallulah daily at the Sands for shingle^ As soon as she finishes her Nevada engagement she returns to Bedford Village for a much-needed rest, after which she'll go to work on the format of a new TV show for next season.. .Father James Keller is II shooting another "Christophers television short, this I one with tennis star Jack Kramer, Pat O'Brien, Jack I Benny, Jimmy Gleason and Charlie Farrell... Steve I Cochran knows a bachelor who always |ias be^uti-1 ful girls running through his dreams. 'llThgy don't I dare walk.' T HAROLD ARLEN BACK IN town from al Gotham visit... Dennis Day decided on Honolulu I for a summer p.a., after which he'll spend part ofj his vacation there.. .Tonight Jack Benny films the! first of his five TVers for next season. He'll do his J classic routine from the Burns and Allen show two j years ago in which he portrayed Gracie. .-.Alexan-j der Ince has a musical play up his sleeve for Broadway next season. TJt's "Raisin' the Roof," has an early Americana background and is'-authored by Joseph Petracca, Devery Freeman and Laslo Vad-I nay-... Joe Frisco was standing in front of the Hollywood. Plaza when a car pulled up with thej radiator and win<Ja$eld completely splattered with J bugs. Cracked Frisco, "Boy! This guy must be I real important belonging to all those diluent or-J ganizations"... Onljf complaint from two gals'who! caught a screening of "Julius Caesar"?╟÷Greer Gar-I son and Deborah Kerr have too much lipstick. 21pT;- v$?║PI AUTHOR ELLIOTT PAUL, who's banging thel 88's (ivories or piano, to you) at the Paesano Rest-I aurant on La Cienega, does it just for kicks thel nights hei appears. He's a jazz addict, is a good! friend "of the! owner, who lets him play without pay! but. gives - him billing..-. Being in Vegas last weekend, w&mfsse||pole Porter's patter on "Juke Boxp Jury." In case^ou missed it too, here are a few morsels told us by some who caught it: Talking of his "Can-Can" on Broadway, Porter said various I critics reported, the music wasn't up to his usual! standard. Seems, he continued, certain critics have! been saying that abput his shows for years?╟÷that I they're never up to1,the Porter standard. Porter! finally referred to hig (jcrapbook, discovered those! comments stem all :the way back to his first show I (1916 or '19), whi^i was a sizzling flop and thel reviewers told him then to find some other occu-l pation. Porter said George Jean Nathan, a close | friend and severe critic, invariably rapped h\s| shows. "But you can't go by Nathan," Porter pouted. "He's tone deaf. He can't recognize the Spangled Banner' until he sees people 1,StSftdin ciosea i his I pout-1 'Stat-1 iingj'j RINGSIDE OPENING .NIGHT Louis Armstrong Thii Nightera With Hot B By DICK ODESSKY Music frorri Harlem ih The Met came. to Las Vegas last night when Robert Merrill and Louis Armstrong bowed. in at The Sands, and the same audience that screamed and stomped their feet for Armstrong, gave Merrill a thunderous ovation* Jack Entratter's experiment m mixing "types", has paid of ?· with dividends, and it can be safely said that the present show will work to capacity audiences every night. Armstrong travelling with his combo, including Cozy Cole, drums; Averill Shaw, bass; Trum- my Young, trombone, and Barney Begard, clarinet, wowed the opening night crowd from "Sleepy- time Down South," to "Steak- face." Satchmo Was at his best last night, singing and blowing his horn like never before. Velma Middleton, singer with the group, who must weigh close to 300 pounds, had the audience convulsed as she attempted to dance to "Mama's Back in Town." Merrill, another star, who has deserted the stage to play saloons, was in a difficult spot for his evue to follow the Armstrong with classics an^F* Semi-classics, but did\j4,jjjjjjglffierit job. The rich full tone of the opera star's voice shone especially when he gave out with a'oower.ful rendition of "Old Man River." When this man sang, the river really rolled. His rendition of "I Believe" had many a first niter reaching for a handkerchief. . Ray Sinatra supplimented his orchestra with three violins and ah oboe for Merrill's appearance, arid it *can now.be said that Sinatra's was a wise move. The orchestra sounded as it should, instead of asi, it could while backing a sipger such as Merrill. The Cerneys support the starring acts with some graceful ballroom dancing, which, is done quite well. Bob Gilbert's'move from an all girl chorus line to a mixed group was a wise one, as will be at- tsted by those seeing last night's show. Opening 'with "I Know What I Mean," with Jack Acker- man, dancing" the specialty, the boys"a*id girls proved that they will now be a dancing line. 165 Chun^^^p?║f||v^.Vork BATOJitejGE, LA. Las Vegas Lives Gold Rush Days jAS, .YE.C^S, Nev.- (#)?╟÷This must .b^/^^mmSP^'gold rush was like. You wal^jsinto any resort hotel at 2 o'clock in the mbrning, and the jointps- jumping. The casino is noisy with the clink ofiiilvef dollars, the shouts of. the lucky players and the moans-idfethe losers. Each week end. an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 citizens,:"|fce majority from booming Southern California, Crowd into this glittering town, doubling its population. The pleasure seekers or suckers- cording to which view you take- sleep in hotels, motels.'or their own cars. Some don't sleep at all. They stand -at the tables all night, transfixed by the frolicking dice. As in the gold, rush days, entertainment is an important commodity in the gambling halls. Stars of Broadway and Hollywood serve as the highest paid shills'in the world. Shill: a person hired to stimulate gambling. ; .-I Fantastic Pay You may have heard of some of the fantastic, figures paid to entertainers by the Las Vegas hotels. Some are inflated by a press agent's pipe dream; others are fantastically true. Insiders her believe that the $25,000 week] figure announced for Betty Hu is close to reality. 'She might be worth that. one operator. "But only she M few others-would be. The rest around a third of her figure; wl. is an excellent salary for a wee] I work of an'hour or two a night." I Others are angry at the publicizing of such figures. "When you [announce that you're paying Betty Hutton 25 G's," said one talent Ibuyer, "hqw are you going to hire Tony Martin for what you paid him last time? j . "Prices are getting out of hand. Pfc^SJLlPPING BUREAU 16^f#l$p?·ph~'' Street -. N ew: '.Yo^ -""?╟≤VARI^T^ gg$EW YomyEP^ M. As Lookout For Las Vegas; Cafe-Agcy, Link Tieins between Las Vegas hotel owners and New York cafemen and talent agencies are becoming increasingly important. Evidence of the need for a contact in Manhattan to eye talent and keep a sharp lookout for availabilities is again reflected in the fact that backers of the projected Hotel Kismet in the desert country have contacted Latin Quarter operator Lou Walters and propositioned him to be booker for the inn. Walters still has the hid under consideration. The majority of Ve,gas spots have Gotham tie. The Sahara i is booked by Kiviera boniface Bill Miller; Thunderbird booker Hal Brandis is ^yf "Tjihiikt h" the Baum-Newbory jJfgency;\Desert Inn has the wJ?. Office ofWrank Sennes watdHhg for buys.' Entratter, tbf Sands Hotel aging direcftr, TJggjff* "& stand-in, bui he makes fr< trips to scanlagency lists. The Last frontier, currently negotiating withlChez Paree, Jhicago, operators, if iftchanges j#nership will similarly 1fae~_yt!r. Y. link because the WillianTTwEorris Agency does the^lk of-ifee booking for the Chez7 A strong N. Y. setup is regarded as being even more important than a Coast lookout. Vegas is sufficiently close to Hollywood to be constantly loaded with agents who are in position to offer some of the top film names. Because of the Coast proximity,^gfijt l the Vegas hotels get practicaHy an equal chance to bid $fgTbigwigs. The difference "-fPVgC|ttf&g top names, therefore.v litfc?|^^Ne\v York. With^N. Y. ^ntaetrreadyl to use personal infl&ence and the added lure of other" key bookings, it's figured that a Vegas spot has! an added advantage. I Jack Y. ?√ßuent When you hire la star for 25 G's, your whole show will run around $40,000. You can't hope to show a profit." Hire-the Best But most< of the others don't seem to worry. They keep on hiring the best names available at the highest prices necessary. They wa hope that the gambling tables will assume any loss on the night clubs, and they generally do. v. a-gy^ Here's ari'example of the kind of shows- that.-:'^'kf- here. Current headWtaers are Eddy Arnold at the Sahara; Jane Powell, Desert Inn; Lewis,: El Rancho Vegas; ahd Lou Holtz, Fla- and Sons of the derbird; Liberace Last Frontier; and Mary Healy, you also have to find talent that wilieStlmulate betting." ^& best attractions for the heaip3 gamblers are old-time nitery stars like Joe E. Lewis and Sophie Tucker. Oddly enough, Bob, Crosby's engagement was a sthnu-] lus to the tables; the explanation that the Crosbys have many, well-heeled friends. Spike Jones and others who attract the family trade age great; for dining room business?╟÷ifbut the patrons drift out through the casino like a sieve." A surprise hit at the Sahara was Lauritz ' Melehior and his young singers, said to be the best show ever in Las Vegas. Van Johnson was also a big draw at the Sands. Each place has top-flight acts, r !bzen girls, most !5o.rn any magazine cover. Booking Headache Booking talent is a headache," said one show producer. "You not only have to fight the other places in getting the best talent;