Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / Jan. 6, 1945, edition 1 / Page 6
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1945 Actor Wants T o See More Ne groes Playing On Broadway v.A( lUCi; IXI.IS IIOl'Kjj 1045 ui;.l. UKINt. liKlIKK INjJV Ai.o.\«. iiii .vna. i{(>v> •i.OkKi CAI-VJ.N VUHlv CTiV -CXSi ». :iic iotuic 111 ilii • -;UM. .... cvi'i> duj l;., in. jiiuU'C's ul be kcp. tbe stage tor a few seconds i»nHng very wise until It came back to He learned his lesson. Now. with several radio appearances to a week, be can' afford to lorgetl The amazing thing about e»»« Is that be owns a marvelcais deep bass baritone. His grandfather was an inspriatiOQ and taught him aU he knew. Ellis sings Water Boy and Deep River with all the of hia idol, Paul Bobeeon. He sings Night and Day and m Walk Aloos with the modem twist of his teror- ite. Nelson Eddy. That deep voice belpe him on the Broadway stage; U gives him the txidependence he bomb life happy Ellis an dhu wl& of nine yeei% Bertha, a former model, live in a spacious 0 room apartmsnt at 400 West 147th Street They have no children. He loves steakib bates pipes and coffee — TTtflirAg dgarettss trm a special filtered holder so as BETTVE VOORHEES F ormer Beautician To Make Town Hall Debut .NEW YORK CITY iC) — New Yo;>.\. hundred.' of beauticians as wt.l aj, many others throughout che coimlry, are all agog over the com- in,4 Town Hall debut of one of ihtir foimcT co-workers, Bettye V . contralto and talencd conceit artist, of New York City. Mi' . Vooi'iices, a young singer of grc'.t po5.«:ni.litics has been gradual* ly ..iininy ^inition in the mus* ic world and will make her initial appearance > t the famous auditor* ,tum on February 4, 1^45. Born m Halifax, Canada, '.vhere .-.he first be;;an her mu.sic studies, Miss Voor* , hees came to this country ;.i.d en* tered beauty culture. For 2 years :she was a staff member of the Apex Sciiool at Richmond, Va. where her amiable disposition won for her a ; h«)st of friends. I When asked why she desc-rud beauty culture for a r;a.'ic career, Ishc rcvcaiid that she h-:. been sing ing as long as she can remember ;and music was her first love. f rVE BEEN AROUND* New Yo7ie By Ted Yates i>r mt:s nnvict. 4i ic,,, 4tM u.. ««■ t»-t i«. /f. y. Ti'i •' wei the .'tron^ and fr .ii '•vaid> ol O' 3' .Maurice Ellis — r I' iiii'i of i- '.-.cifu] aci.iig, who will turte the 1 aa in -a forthcoming Broadway pioducli.n 'Goodbye Unci- Tom." F;ii ihcritiore, Ellis has pinned hi.s 1. •; e. on an unbiased cloud that i. won t be lony Oetore Negroes can play Juris while actors are doing now with success, lied like to set ■‘Life With Kathei' all colored with fiiUii r liaviin; the same problems of a middle-class fanaly man Anu 'The Two .Mrs. Carrol.s" done up in color fashion a.s “Tlie Two .Mrs Joi.neons’’ or such. The mum point I' ln.it .Nigiocs CAN act, really acl ami could niake any play that's (• success now on Broadway, a smash lui ;ri ifieir own right. Of course. Units a big order, but Ellis thinks ti.y can fill it. Maurice Ellis has always uad faith in the Nt;iro actor and in the Aineiican sUige. Uis last drama on tile great while w..y. was ".Men To llic- 5>ea‘ whie-ii closed after three week', paiiiy because Uie Navy u.civignl u sea tale aOuUL Lnc gOKig ., Ml ttiice 'wluie Na.y wtccs Qur- .;.g v...ri»ii;c oiun'. co.uctly tielp iiic/ui.s, ui.u pailly oecause ol iiau ,a'C.-. iioUcCs clue to me Navy. Tne ....I.., no'.^cVc'l, Was Uciliucra'LlC in its trcatn.c-M uf a Negro sailoi, ..ui.' ui.u ills .'.ife, ..iiiuieu hmiUi. aaii.e Ji 'die cast was Jrum the deep auudi, out ■. nen lha. pla> had to .‘.use iur lack ot tunas, Uiosc kids cacn tiaok a cut m saury to keep! It going another week, 'cnai’s uem- . ocracy at woik and mats wnal we UiiiiK EUis means by the theatre vital weapon.’ C.VKLLK BEGA.\ AT 16 i Aiauic.e Eius' career began at I when one day, on Uie streets of IS na'icc I'rociuencc, it. 1., a wiule lUii heard him s.ng and offered nun a job m Boston lot ^65 a week. From there, he appeared m Show Boat, Porgy and and Cabin In ITie Sky. As a darker gangster in AI frpti Luni and Lynne Fontanne's "Tiie Pirate,’ on Broadway, Ellis says it was a pleasure to work with them and an actor could learo a great deal. He remtnishs of the time when he was McDdff in the WPA's Mac- Beth and forgot his lines. He kriew, ti lt Shakespeare couldn't not to ruin his voice. He devotes 3 to 4 hours to sing ing and playing around on the piano. While Bertha is busy designing her own clothes. Maiii^ce keeps his radio .appointments. And, occasion ally, when he's •'tinkering' with the radio at home — getting it out of order — she'll be downtown buying his ties and shirt.«i which she insists arc beautiful. .Maurice E'lis. in planning the future of the Negro in the theatre. hasn't overlooked his own future. He and Bertha want a country home where he can splatter around in the back yard in old clothes and watch the progress of the world. SEEIN’STARS [ NEW YORK (CNS> A SONG BIRD RETURNS . . . Muriel Rahn, petite songbird who has just tome back to New York from a 2 month concert tour, sat on the couch in black and gold lounging pajamai' and talked about the thousands of ficople she had sung fur. Muriel loves People, so It wasn't hard for her to recall each incident to the detail One of the funniest things happen- d ii: Birmingham at the higii school. iShe was once Supervisor of Music for Public ^hools in that city). After a brief lecture, Muriel walked over to the piano to sing — and the wolf calls! When the boys had quieted, she exclaimed "Hro! higi: school wolves i see." They whi.stled agairg At the University of Wisconsin, the Negro students had seen Marian Anderson, Roland Hayes, etc., but they were a little skeptical about .Muriel Rahn. So. they decided not to give in their nickels for a bouquet until they had heard a few numbers. During intermission, the girls go in a hud dle, rushed out and bought beauti ful flowers. After the reception, '.hey told her about it and she was tickled pink that they thought her worthy of their "savings. " AU over the south, Muriel taw photographs taken by her faLher, till, late C. M. Batlcy, Tuakegee's fumed artist. His portrait of George Washington Carver hongs In Car- jver Behuol at Tulsa, Gkia., where ' she sung. Arriving back home, she found everything upset. While away, rob bers had visited her apartment and cleaned her and her husband, Dick Campbell, out of almost everything they owned. She believes they oroughl u moving van to move out the furniture! Meanwnile. Dick had moved the remauuog tinnga m their new aparusent at 055 Edge combe Avenue where they have a BASIL .SPEARS A Second Hazel Scott Is On The Way To Fame BV DULOBES f.'ALVI.N in New York. The western miss is — ' ■ I now fingering through 10 week at NEW YORK CITY tC> — An ! Washington's Bengasi Club, ambitious, dark-eyed, Oklahoman. I HOBBY is MUSIC .Miss Basil Spears, la fast becoming t close runnerup to Hazel Scott. Hazel, as you know, now resigns over all boogie woogiesta playing the classics first straight, then pouring their individual personali ty ino the keys, bringign forth the novelty and exhibiting Ibelr own greatness. Basil is 23; she's played since she can remember. Rev. B. J. Spears, her father, pastor of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church in Tulsa, had a lot to do with her career. It was iu iiL church that she Ivarnc-d the organ, m addition to the piano, and de rived from it a keen sense of ap- eciation for classic and choral works. And in her school choir at Tulsa, she pedalled the organ's melodoiux strains for her anxious classmates listenera. A TALLEDEGA GIBL Basil then majored in music at Talledega College where she finish- 1941. Finding her talents de finitely a la Scott, she struck out in the field hy playing 6 months at Monroe's Uptown House, 2 mqnths at Hotel Bills in UUca, N. Y.. a summer in Atlantic City, 8 months on a USO tour. 8 weeks at Lind- Fur relaxation, Basil can play a good game of tennis and basketball, but site treasures most her collec tion of records, many of wh'ch ere classics. She, loo. put* accent on clothes and cosmetics, feeling that an artist before the public must look her best always. The boys, especially those she's entertain^ on her USO tour, adore her. But Basil isn't yet engaged and emphatically denies interest. How ever. we think that the someone •■•ill be included in the young lady's post war plans. She likes earrings and young red nail polish. And she enjoys losing herself In a ‘morr.-nt of madness' by rushing patterned black and white keys togetner — Spears style! Modest Basil laughs if you rat4 her with Dorothy Donegan, the Chicago wonder who rose from |8 a week to a Hollywood movie and a Broadway success. But Ba^ like Dorothy. Is ‘up and coming.' Tn fact, the score reads Scott, Done gan and Spears! Yes. right now Hazel is sepian queen of the Ivories. But with her own uuiqife technique and likeable mannerlnns. It won't b*. long before Basil Spears, too, has the keys to the kingdom! says, a return date for 10 more petiuiouse. It's the highest apartment {weeks and 8 weeks at Tondaleyos spot iu New York! So when Muriel i -- - — - walked >n, soe found Dick stand- - f « T* f % Jf W * m middle Ol the room, .ur I Mtd-Nlffht Matl ITl LhlCaSO 'iiDur By Ted Yates SIliU IjLU J| fljjUf H.; 1 if ih. i.'ioiFiMt/tsT niii iitnet. *t tvtn iii* n., i*** i«. •>. r. S'fpalcing of Pin-Vp Favorites . ... At last I've berome a Pin-Up Favorlia. ■ The other nlgH on the way home I was attacked by—not one, not I-.-, but three unMenlllled- thugs. Clipped on the lower lip and konked on the head. They were* after my swag. 'They were unsuccessful he- c-Tune wh«’n they knocked me to the pavement I was • Bitting on my you-know-what, my wallet In the skirmish I felled one of the ruffians. A cop who arrived on the scene picked me op bodily. IM.NNRD MB UP against a railing. The cul-lhroat wl.orn I had downed made his escape due to the ac- ciiBiktiuiis of a busybody old lady who. pointing to ni-. bl:ibh»-red out. "He's a crook. I saw him attack llint iioxr old man!" L-.'ir at iho station house for several hours Intel- I't.il dincomlltiire was the theme until I was Iden- ii! i .18 'iliut stinking reporter.' then released In tile cusiody of the Ncgio cop who wouldn’t let them It nee me In. them and an acior ■ great deal. i He reminisces of the ume when nu was McDiia in Ute WPAs toe- Bath and torgot his bnes. He kdew. ol courre, that Shakespeare conidn I W ad libbed, so he wHked^rom^ Pm « Pin-Up who »«« ptnntd mp by the police I think It's a good time new for ms to challanos J-an Parks, even though she obtained her claim tc the by virtue of being eelected ee the favorite pm op of the 335th 8t.ii-on Hospital "Somewhere Along the Burme Road." After ail. the loc.il police ere a bit nearer and. there'e nothing like being the favorite ofeNew York'e !— • --I Finest ... On the other hand. Louis Armstrong with his Orchestra has become an entertainment choice 4 with diversion seekers who frequent the Cafe Zanzibar where Carl Erbe I ' put on something like a press agent's . dream with that ‘aleetlon* for top billing simply because the show is so star-studded. .J Sefchmo Hilda Simms and Canada Lee. who both have made a niche along the Oay White Way because of their spli ".did p«-rforniance In "Anna Lu- chost-n as "The Most Praiseworthy Couple of 1944" Jeon by (tilii writni The colHm’s favorite Pin-Ups. no less. And we’rs now going to doff our hats to a pair of gals who sport top hats — they'ra old favorites, these two. To Gladys Bentley, whose ‘sug gestive parodies' at Tondaleyo's has given &2nd Street ita scorchy hot- cha flare, and to Adelaide Hall—the former "Btackbirda" atar—who hat brcom# the sweetheart of Negro «oldieri etr.tloned In London, Eng land. we offer hearty congratuta- tione .. . Incidentally, another favor ite, Pearl Primut, la doing quite ali- rlght at the Roxy Theatre, where the U appearing In a itrletly Cafe Society presentation . . . And up at Harlem’a Apollo Theatre ••Hot Lipt" Page turned on the heat aa did Billie Holiday . . - While rumor haa It that Billy Ford, of Tiny Bradihaw'i Ork, will soon lead , . hit own band — tha hit tune con- * -T tinuea to bo "Making Believe.’* And that’s my favorlts, tool coDibe Avenue where iney have a s-ya, - -• pciitnouse. It’s the highest apartment I weeke and 8 weedcs at Tondaleyos the spot in New York! So when Muriel i ~ MAURICE ELLIS New York Showfronts cd. BY DO.N DE LEIGHBUD WHY DON T OtE E^YND LE.YDEKS IDEM AN UEGAMZkV IIUN AND ELY 'iUtlE OWN i.lLLKOOAI.^, •MOlllGL.LU'J*, tND lllEkVlUES HiUo Conodo So. meet the Pin-Up Faverite of New York's Finest. Ah, bat I am!! AdoUi^e CUdyt And. Asmember Tad Bald— Vevar (Pollard) Allen, of Phila delphia. visiting her sister Bessie Williams ot this city for tha boll- days . . . EkJna V'llllams. the ofay, and hubby Clyde Hart, the anang'^r. did not reconcile—aa was rumored . . . The reeson for playboy Victor Lloyd's sudden 'dli appearanca' Is that be Is touring with Frederic March—If that's newt . . . Ella FlUg-vrald's newest sccomp&nlst iKet,,./ Watts) has givto 'tha First Lady of Song' what is termed along (be Rialto as an ' upbeat" with a downbeat... And Orady Curtis, the genial manager at tha Cafe Moulin Hougr- (Mlke'a to you:) Insisu that the ladles and gentlemen who are diversion aaekera. would do well to fre queni hts domain where Ane liquors, Italian and American foo ls pm- dtuninate Curtia. a modest fellow, did not say—but. I’ll tell you—that .M'ka'a is a Harlem legend. It la poimlsrly accepted that here on more ir.-»n one oocaslon every known ecRiirl^ assembled on a single evening Fur you. m$ friends. Soldier, Marine and Bailor. Wave qr Wac— to yon men atui wwiisi) behind the men behind the gun—to every one of yon a Happy New Ya«f 1« wM I m wlahlng yon. If you believe In a Bau'a riant. It's my wish that you wtt W graatad your every wish. Nt-W lUUK. — it 1* a dam j.Uaii.« lul so inaiiy ihoasoliUs ol tloUars,, i:. UC-. imUious. aic auu.^ii^ haiiOs ,i.;.ujUy III luo swiiio uelu ...ill lev. n-iuua loucu- ,11^ 11. Eiiou^n uioucy — icptcstul- .iig iii« oaiuiu^ ol all NegTo orthas* .lal ana siiigiiig alUacUon# — paos over to whiles lo ouau ihea'jrvs ui y every pniKipsi city ui the iivilioii. tlowevci', all Uiib is ighoiua uy oUr ^ital uiUsls wtio secro to cuuiu luoie oil ari and piotessiouiU i(.'putaUoU Ilian liity do ih uuiluing tiiLinsf-ive-s into swing muiic wnert- ii.cy oeioiii; wilu Uie ulhers WQi nave not toiiuiouiitd olie-Unrd u. much. ^ . toc example, Iheie aie few Ne- i,i-o-owned UteaUes iii Uie counuy ucspile the latl Uial millions of dol- lais ace spent by Negro audiences each yiai m support ol while mov les, etc. There are very few Negro- owned bulirooins ol any -■'ize and luxuriousncss anywhere. Most of the ballrooiiw, ihealrcs, and nighl-cluhs of any worth throughout the coun try ere owned by whiU-s and Ne groes support them. I'LL. N 1 Y I Ol‘ -'ID N L Y -.VL^KLES Y'et, -A'c have five or six Negro oichesUaii which are top money makers like Count Basie, Earl ihnea. Lionel Hampton, Duke Ll- hngt-m. Cab Calloway, Jimmy Lunccfi.rd, Lucky MiUmder, and Louis Armstrong. I'hese bring m thousand upon thousands of dol lars each yf-T. Y'fcl there seems to be no eHofl n-ade on their part to inve.->l ill someii.mg collectively. By liii.-,. I mean Bati-. Hampton. Callo- •,.ay, Ellington, etc., could plunk down one ugh cash money to set up li chain of ballrooms Ihioughoul part of the South, say, alone the Atlan- tic coastline where their music is ill such great demand. l It could be done on a small scale, i There arc enough tobacco barns for or lease in Virginia. North Carolina, and Sc^ulh Carolina to make a regular ballroom route over er which all these bands could play without having to pay revenue in the form of money, which would never come back to our race, to l:rators who are Interested «)ly in Negro bands because of the mon ey they can make out of them. This could be done throughout the coun- tO' In the middle west, in the south west, and in other places of the I south. The payoff would be five tunef as great If a collective effort were made to solve the problem instead of each fellow going for himself on the idt-a that his program alone worthy of his alleution. There could be a similar situation as regarding theatres. We have lUgh top money makers among our thcauical big names to bay theatres in Negro communities, at least in many of our large ciUcs. ■] he earn'hgs of Bill Kobinsoii, Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, the Mills Brotiiers. and others could be pooled to build Negro-owned and operated lhatres in Chicago, New York, DetrniL Cleveland, Cincinna- tl, Los Angeles, Washington, and in cities throughout the South If someone had the vision and courage to lake up the proposition. How ever. with booking agents taking abnormal pcrccnUges and with many of our bands and acts on a day to day living policy there is no wonder that the whites are gradu ally taking over completely in the entertainment world insofar as the managerial part of its is concern* BV TED WAT8DN walked in, sne found Dick staou- ing in the middle of the room, sur- lounded by boxes. . . And with the siiurtage of help, the two were busy as beavera. After the cleaning episode, | rl GROTTO SVKAK PREVIEW. .. Campbells toured the theatres, vis- lazi iliiig "Harvey. "Song of Norway,' "Bloomer Girl" and "Oklahoma!' CHICAGO iCNSi — With great it was her first REAL holiday, she fun fare, the opening ol Chaine Cole and Hairy l-ieids newest Mid-Night Man In Chicago says. GIVING UUEBELVES A CHANCE The proper use of the power rep resented in the earnings of our top theatrical figures should be put to far better use than >t is. It is all right to play a theatre and break someb^y's record and get a lot ol publicity for U and it is another thing to break such a record and invest the caniings into ventures worthwhile and, thus, give Negroes a chance ol something they have helped make great There is no ex cuse under those circumstances for a handful of big theatre owners controlling the source of livelihood in varlovs cities lor Negro attrac tions and there is no excuse for Ne gro band leaders not getting togeth er and forming some kind of as sociation and organiaztion to take up these problems and act upon them. A whole lot of publicity means nothing insofar as doing race any good and certainly th? rockiest squandering of funds on whiskey, women, and questionable pleasures Isq’t doing the profession any good. What we need are more fellows with the ideas of Earl Him md the ency and lordng the d. r wld-- publicity than in day to day bookings and a whole lot of "balUnq.' Barnes, in particular, had he lived, would be perhaps one of our greatest Negro lot*, expert comedy ace. in there with the latest In joke* and panto- mine preaeritattons garnered many II st-gaya, while Roslta Lockhart, a Hhakist of no m'un ability, prov-- t-tl spectacular in her "Chicken" skirt. HE ROVING BEPOETER: ’night club vviitun.-, the El Grotto. I Bi^dahaw uml tin- i. uslc. In !>*• Kaherine Dunham received ?ood proved to be the most irnpoilani iv. -n picture nunibLu. scored with nice* for her Tropical Revue which event (sneuk preview* ot tins year. hit Broadway the day after Christ mas. Praised was ‘L’ Ag' Ya". Phil Moore with his brand new orchestra at Cafe So^ty Downtown, has prov en that a Hit Parade compose: makes a good bandleader tool IHJLDA SIMMS TO HELP BENNETT COLLEGE ENDOW MENT BALLY GREENSBORO (C) — Hilda Simms, star of “Anna Lucasta’, U flying to Bennett College January 7lh to appear on the college’s en dowment rally. lions with Al Capone were severed, be went on bis own and, at the time of his death, owned outright four huge buses which he rented for pic nics and traveling from town to town in the South, bad a whole promoters. So independent was he i-.rt -jlaiivcs. publicity men, arrangers, advertising men, and other person nel, and was working out a pre^- gram to give Negro s-ingwriters a break in hii rapidly expanding Ne gro entertainment enterprise, when on this score that after his connec- he was burned to death in Miss. Young Man With A Horn Scores With Band their luxuriuualy appointed nighlery housed in the P( rshnig Hotel, glit tered with stars of miu-n got; cele brities ol the stag', scievn aiiu r-d- Businesse, pioussiona! tolK and the layman. From this sneak piev.ew alone and which was ai'vmcnleil at iiua- nighl last Thursday. Ihi.: column avows that El Orouo will be Chi cago's greatest supper club. Its show is great! Fr-^m the start. Tiny Bradshaw, his superb showman ship encased by numerous calcs- Ihenics and hi* celebra'osl orchestra, ruled. The flixir revue, a gigantic one, produced by Joe- "Ziggy' John son, is loaded with name talent that hr tops. Jessye Scott, the blonde bomb shell of rhythm, is in the starring position. This great little 8r>ng and dance stylist, with much ' nesses, danced and higb'klckod hi.' way into the he.irts of the pre\ .ewers. Oliver Brown known as the prin cess of the blues, and who recently closed at the Zombie Club in Detroit, proved in song that she has a right to her title. She is a sultry- voiced bluesU-r who commands you to listen. Her singing tepeau of the last few words In each sentence, especially "A .Mistake In Life," are great and she must be tabbed for tops in 1945. PLAUDITS FOR ALL: TTie Chpcolateers. qoted for tom follery In song and dance, must be acknowledged "tops" In this revue Ritz Brothers and the Three Stoges notwithstanding . . - Johnny Tay- cerd*^ versions of "After I'm hti.c' timl "Butterfly" which will Of! n lea.'cd next week. Also featur- Rudy Williams' alto sax in Diike Ellington's 'A TraiiK' The "C Jam Blues" and "Holiday for .String.*" In the latter number. Number, Bradshaw.s directing abll- tiy was outstanding. Consensu* shows thot Fields and Coles were on the right track by engaging the Br.id:li:iw orchestra .to open El fJrollo. Viv.icious Doris 'Woods, a sou- brete with a fine voire, rent with in as«jrtment of b5llad.s of romance She halls from California and re ceived -I heavy qvatkn after doing It's Mighty Hard" an-l “You Can't Toll The Difference.' Zlggy’s line of delovelies. In there dancing thru ou( were dazzling In brilUart cos- •iiiriin:’ dc.'lgned by the producer himsMf. Conclusion: El Grotto and its show - • GREAT! Continued on page seven) DRiNKINO IT ;A j; 0 ir Thousands have learned from me how I broke the whiskey spell. If alco hoi is rotting your Ifome, Health and Happiness, let me tell you th- way to end the curs*- uf Drink, (ie’ the answer to your prol'k-m, writ*- NEWTON, DppL P.U Bo'' 801, Hollywood, California KEY NO — CPI with lovely Effie Smith (inset HAvufain* oictured -*j6ve wfith His Celebrated Orchestra, Erskine Hawk.ns M.tehell (iniet. right), are currently appear.nQ_ on Topeka, r .. K.. ■ T.D.k, K.n • "ctonoT^.'ci’ly.'ind ■f„i„:okr..; Mot Spring,. Ark., ond hopping to Hop ''".'..Mr K, G>rV ^ndl.nff Cin" inn.,i, Ohio; St, Loul.. Mi..ourl-. LO0I..III.. K,.. .nd w.nd.ng op ,n 4
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Jan. 6, 1945, edition 1
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