4B THE CAROLINA TIMES Sat Sept. 1, 1973
THEATRICAL WORLD
fife. Apollo Theatre, which was unsuccessful in its attempt to
flat ''Cleopatra Jones" on a first-run basis, has landed "Save The
Spjken" the Paramount-distributed film based on the PUSH
Expo in Chicago. The film will open on Sept 19. It is one of the
jajthlarr, films yet produced.
Ma complete shows wiU be featured at Big Wilt's Smalls
Paradise in Harlem, befinnine September 3 with The Detroit
Emeralds. Brenda and The Tabulations and Sad Sam.
Owner-manager Pete McDougat says he's bringing back the old
days when the club was Harlem's top.
, '
Nipsey Russell and Barbara McNair have been signed for two
of the four leads for the revival of "The Pajama Game", the 1954
hit musical that ran on Broadway for two and a half years.
Singer Stella Mans had a beautiful engagement at $3,500 a
week with her own trio set up for Palm Springs with a
representative of the circuit. It blew up when the boss demanded
she cover her Afro with a wig and get a white trio.
Paramount Pictures, producers of "The Education of Sonny
Canon" are looking for new faces for leads in the film, based on
the autobiography of a young black coping with growing up in
the Bedford-Stuyvesant ghetto of Brooklyn. Meanwhile, a party
was held at the Brooklyn Restoration building recently to aid
the defense of Carson, the one-time head of Brooklyn's CORE
who is now facing indictment in a murder and assault case.
An intensive search for the right actor to play the lead in
"Campanella", a CBS Movie of the Week has been launched by
Metromedia Producers. Movie is based on the life of the one-time
Brooklyn Dodger catcher, Roy Campanella who was paralyzed in
an auto accident.
Ernestine Jackson has been signed by Robert Nemlroff for a
leading role in "Raisin," a new musical based " on the
award-winner "A Raisin in the Sun" which will premiere on
October 18 at the 46 Street Theater after a highly successful run
in Washington.
Potent words: "There are 25 million black people in this
country whose needs are as varied as the colors of their skin.
There is no single black public. There is no single dream, hope or
ambition... The Broadcast Industry needs to have a sensitivity to
all the needs of the black community." Stanley S. Scott, Special
Assistant to President Nixon, in an address before the National
Association of Television and Radio Announcers.
The recent "Soul at the Center", involving 19 concerts, three
religious services and a film show cost about $200,000 to put on,
according to co-producers Ellis Haizlip. It takes six months to
prepare such a festival of black music and arts and Haizlip expects
he'll have to start earlier to plan next year's shows.
Highlights Of The
HEART
(Continued from Page 3B)
for I wanted by husband to
have his chance at life."
Less than a month after he
checked into the hospital,
Louis Russell got his chance.
"His room was on the fourth
floor and the operation was to
take place on the 11th floor,"
reports McCaU's. "So he simply
told his wife that he was going
upstairs for a while and that if
he didn't return, he was at least
headed in the right direction."
Now five record-setting
years later the Russells taste
the sweetness of life more than
most and are never too busy to
listen to other people's
problems.
J
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Spaniards Say Si, Si to Donna Highfower In Mag,
DONNA HIGHTOWER
NEW YORK - If you ask a
Spainard who Lady Soul is, it
won't be Aretha. Their Lady
Soul is Donna Hightower.
Donna, who first arrived in
Europe 14 years ago, has built
a pyramid of success in Spain
and throughout the continent,
in everything from winning
international son.. festivals to
breaking the HSWWrttrf
long-staying hits.
When she first arrived in.
Europe, Donna was literally
stranded in London. She
remembers, "I didn't dare go
back to America. I didn't want
to go back and have everybody
looking down on me. I told
myself that if my manager and
record company had allowed
me to be tricked over here
because they hadn't
investigated the contract, then
I just wasn't going back, I
decided I would have to make
it on my own."
Interviewed by Nick JJpall
for the September issujteof
Essence, Donna recalls her hard
times back in the States. "She
was discovered by a proitipter
in a Chicago restaurant working
as a cook-dishwasher, and
worker her way through the
stardom maze from the Apollo,
to nightclub dates on the
chittlin' circuit, finally ending
up in Europe just when the
world was becoming more
HP"k 1 Ke BP
Kugust saie!
AIL FURNITURE IN THE
STORE REDUCED!
Many . Savings Up To
OFF
60
aware of the civil rights
struggle of Blacks. Realizing
what this meant, Donna
promptly hired a new manager
who booked her into a
Stockholm nightclub for a
limited engagement; she wound
up staying for three months.
Since that time she has never
been but of work. jjjt km
Throughout Europe,
Donna's name is equated with
good music; but more and
more her popularity in Spain
spread so that eventually she
became that country's number
one attraction and decided to
made Madrid "home".
At this point in her career
Donna has begun to explore
other aspects of the music
world. She is now part owner
of a jazz club in Madrid and
producing records. Under her
guidance, some of the best, yet
little known, musicians now
appear at her club.
Never having lost sight of
reality, Donna has not
forgotten who she is or where
she comes from. There is many
story of young Americans
who have come to her for help
and received it. She also admits
that one of the reasons she
likes Spain so much is because
the people have always
accepted her for who she is.
Donna doesn't think about
moving back to the U.S.; she
found a new home, and
both she and her new country
have benefited. Many a Black
person traveling in Spain may
never see Donna Hightower in
person but at least some of the
hospitality) enjoyed while there
will be direct result of Spain's
Queen of Soul.
Black Works
Are Published
By Hallmark
A new book of prose and
poetry titled "Black Light -
Selected Writings from
American Negro Literature"
has just been published by
Hallmark Cards.
Contributors to the 61-page
, book include Langston Hughes,
Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm, Imamu Amiri
Baraka (LeRoi Jones),
Margaret A. Walker, Vanessa
Howard, W.E.B. Dubois, Jean
Toomer, James Weldon
Johnson and the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr., whose moving
"I Have a Dream" speech is
among the book's excerpts.
"Black Light," which is
illustrated with 10 color
photographs, was edited by
Talmadge Spratt, director of
educational programs for the
Douglass House Foundation,
which had its beginnings with
the famous Watts Writers
Workshop. The "New Writers"
section of the book includes
selections by Workshop
members.
In his introduction to
"Black Light" Talmadge Spratt
writes: "Black literature has
blossomed and attained an
identity in the past one
hundred years. In essays, short
stories, novels and poetry,
black people have articulated
their feelings as never before.
Their words are sometimes
loving, sometimes sad,
sometimes harsh. But the
harshness is a means of lifting
veils from long-perpetuated
myths and uncovering the
truths to be found there. Most
of the pieces in this collection
are of this century. But no
matter what their age, they
chosen because they
jmmWm.
mM mp f 'V
JIMMIE WALKER
Jimmie Walker; Young Black
New Comic Hits The Big Time
fee a significant, statement
about the black- experience."
The "Black Light" book is
obtainable at card shops and
department stores offering
Hallmark products.
Jimmie Walker gave up
security just for laughs. ;j ,
His mother begged him not
to leave his post office job, but
he did. He became a comic.
Today, at 24, he is one of
the youngest comedians to
make the big times. On Sept.
13 he will be featured with
such stars as Dan Rowan, Dick
Martin, Harry Belafonte, Bob
Newhart and others on the new
RCA special, "Opening Night,
Starring Rowan and Martin"
on the NBC network from 8 to
9 p.m. EDT.
A ripple of laughter breaks
through his conversation as
Jimmie recalls his life in New
York's South Bronx. "I was six
or seven months with the post
office as a mail clerk," he said.
"Mommsy would rather I
stayed at the post office for a
while because it was a very
secure gig, and in 20 or 25
years I could retire. I was 19
then and could retire at 39 or
45. She'd rather I'd done
that."
Jimmie is a likable, friendly
young man whose 1 30 pounds
of lean flesh and muscle stretch
over a 6-foot 1 inch frame. His
talk is spiced with idioms of
the "now"talk of the younger
generation.
Ben Vereen, Broadway's Newest
EjAnd Brightest Star of "Pippin"
OH STAGE
E sTtimmY THlNf
JlSlZ'rJJCi JJ J nil - -vjimiuiv--
PLUS
GREAT DINING FROM
INf VILLAGE BUffET
Reservations-
RALEIGH 787-7771 DURHAM-596-S343
ASSISTANCE
(Continued from Page IB)
I program, which was approved
by the subcommittee 9-6. Rep.
Carl Perkins, chairman of the
full committee and the
Subcommittee led the
opponents of the measure.
Payments to the states for
the program would be 40 per
cent of the state of national
per pupil spending average - or
about $400 for each
disadvantaged student.
But the protection for states
that lose funds because of the
revisions would be limited. The
proposals stop far short of the
President's proposed revenue
sharing plan.
Austria To Observe
'Doy Of The Tree'
P) A special
"Day of the Tree" will be cele
brated here in October, it was
announced by the Austrian
Press and Information Service.
Everyone in Vienna, especially
children, Is invited to join the
festivities and help plant 8,000
aid 2,000 blooming bushes and
evergreens all over the Austri
an capital.
NEW YORK - At 26, Ben
Vereen is Broadway's newest
and brightest star. As the
leading player in "Pippin", he
won the year's Tony Award for
Best Actor in a Musical, and
has been signed for more stage
plays, movies and recordings. A
far cry from a few years ago
when he was just another'
unknown chorus boy.
Interviewed by Maurice
Peterson in the September
Issue of Essence magazine,
Vereen tells of his initial
interest in the theatre and
confides that he sang his first
song at age four on a reverend's
knee in a church in Brooklyn,
New York. "I loved being a
child, says Vereen, and I still
love being a child. I did all the
things that children do; and
everyday I'd go with the other
kids down to the shoeshine
parlor and watch the two
owners, who used to be in
vaudeville, perform their
routine. One Sunday when I
was hanging out in the streets,
a lady asked me why I wasn't
in church. She went to my
mother and the next thing I
knew I was a member of her
church. I sang my first solo
song in front of that audience,
and she taught me how to
stylize, told me what to do
with my hands, how to move
my body and eyes. She made it
more than just singing a song;
it became a show. And, she is
the person who made a
performer out of me. Once
that inspiration was planted in
me, I just had to entertain."
Kicked out of school in
seventh grade because his
reading was only at the third
grade level, Vereen was
admitted to a special school.
He recalls, "I soon learned that
f you had something of your
own - something other than
basketball or football - the
little girls in school would go
crazy for you -- so I faked
tapdancing. It not only worked
for the girls but the faculty as
well!"
Recognizing his raw talent,
his principal suggest he apply
to Mahattah's prestigious High
School of Performing Arts.
Once accepted Vereen admits
that's where it all started.
"That's when I found out that
perforipng was a lot more than
just fooling around, he says.
It's a culture, and it is serious
work."
In his senior year at
Performing Arts, Ben met a
Pentecostal bishop's daughter
and married. He moved in with
his in-laws and after graduation
looked briefly for show
business work. Having no
success he then felt the "Lord's
calling," became very
religion-conscious and enrolled
in the Manhatten Theological
Institute for a while. Theology
wasn't the answer, and neither
was marriage. Vereen separated
from both and discovered
Arthur Mitchell's Dance
Company. After being with the
company for several years he
won a job in "Sweet Charity
and met producer Bob Fosse
who started grooming him for
stardom. When Posse hired him
last year to star in "Pippin" his
star took off and has been
One day they counseled him
xou ve got a good head
You've got a lot of talent. You
either are going to fight
revolution or you're going to
be a comic. It's got to be one
of the two."
Wi. t . ' ..'V .'
iimmie thought over the
advice
"Now that I'm doin' a little
x to .
bit better," he aoaea, m
mother's kind o' like on my
side now. But, man, that post
office! I didn't like that gig at
all. I just blocked it out of my
mind."
Jimmie's bid to debut on
prime time network TV came
after "Laugh-In's" Dan Rowan
saw the young comic's guest
appearance on the Jack Paar
show.
"I had done six minutes of
the Paar show in April,"
Jimmie said. "They told me I
got 382 pieces of mail, 31 of
which said they didn't dig me.
I was asked to make another
appearance on the raar snow
but I refused because I wanted
to improve my act, so I waited
until June when everything was
ready."
The young comedian
remembered how he was
waiting to go on for his second
appearance on the Paar show
on June 25, his 24th birthday,
when Jack Paar approached
him with the announcement:
"'Dan Rowan wants to use
you on his show."
"I said, 'Oh, yeah?' and he
said: 'Oh, yeah, he'll call you.'
Then I went on and started
doing my gigs and later the
producer of the Rowan and
Martin show confirms what
Paar said."
But it wasn't always that
easy for Jimmie.
His father disappeared when
he was very young and his
mother, Lorena, had to work
as a registered nurse to support
him and his sister, Beverly,
who is a year younger. After
graduating from DeWitt
Clinton High School he studied
speech and drama at City
College. His ambition at this
time was to be a disc jockey
and the courses were aimed at
helping him achieve this goal.
He never thought of being a
comedian "because I was the
least funny guy in the
neighborhood." But the seed
to be a comedian was planted
one day during an oral
interpretation session at City
College.
He gave a speech on
comedian Dick Gregory, using
his own material. If he flopped
he'd blame Dick Gregory. But
his initial appearance was a
success.
Eventually he asked his
student adviser to help place
him where his talent would pay
off. She did, but he failed
miserably.
"Oh, man, was I terrible,"
his long thin fingers reached for
his cheeks. "My material
wasn't right. I didn't have
enough punch tines. I was just
learning how to write my
material."
His first success was at the
East Wind in Harlem. From
there he moved on to coHeges
and community centers for
one-night stands. Later he
moved downtown to the
African Room at 44th Street
on Broadway. Most of the time
he worked for little or no
money. He supported himself
working as a technician for
radio stations WRVR, WQXR
and WMCA. His material was
basically black and
ghetto-based.
When he moved over to
arenas that catered to an
audience that included whites
he realized, he now says, "that
a lot of my stuff was too black.
A lot of white folks didn't
understand what 1 was talking
about. I had to make changes."
Several white comedians,
including David Brenner and
Marvin Braverman, helped him.
SP
ORIS
APSULE
WALT FRAZIER RELAXES AT NEW HOME - Walt Frazter,
star guard of the champion N. Y. Knlcks relaxes July 24 In front
of his new summer home at the Emerald Green Estate in Sullivan
County. Frazier spends most of the summer at Kutsher's Sports
Academy in nearby Mdnticello teaching kids basketball. His
home, by the way, goes for $100,000 and has 12 rooms.
MEETING
(Continued from Page IB)
Library will be led by Dr.
Raymond A. Dawson, vice
president for academic affairs
of The University of North
Carolina: That session, entitled
"The University of North
Carolina: Academic Affairs,"
will begin at 2 p.m.
At 9 a.m. Saturday, George
T. Thome,, vice chancellor for
financial affairs, will lead a
session on the financial affairs
of the state system.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Dr.
Vemon Clark, one of the
university's representatives on
the system-wide faculty senate,
will discuss that organization's
purposes and activities.
The final session of the
workshop will be a faculty
banquet at 8 p.m. Saturday in
the W.G. Pearson Cafeteria.
Speaking at that session will be
William Jones, who recently
retired as vice chancellor for
financial affairs.
FEED PRICES
Prices paid for feed
by North Carolina far
mers during May were
from 1 to 38 percent
higher than during April.
Most individual items
increased from 1 to 4
percent, but soybean
meal increased a whop
ping 38 percent from
$12 to $16.50 per hundred
pounds.
Perry AdmitsHe
IhrewSpHter
UnderPressure
NEW YORK - "On May
31, 1964, I threw a spitter
under pressure for the first, but
hardly the last time," admits
Gay lord Perry in the current
issue of SPORT Magazine.
"It was an historic day,"
recalls Perry in SPORT's
exclusive excerpt from his
book, ME AND THE
SPITTER, to be published next
spring by New American
Library. A crowd of 57,037
fans turned out for the
Giants-Mets doubleheader. The
hardy ones who stuck it out
saw (or didn't see) Perry throw
the spitter time and again over
the 10 innings of shutout ball
he pitched. They also saw: 1.
32 innings, the most ever
played by two major league
teams in one day. 2. the
longest game in history - seven
hours and 23 minutes. 3. the
most innings, 23, ever played
to a decision in the National
League. 4. 36 strikeouts in one
game and 47 in the
doubleheader . - both major
league records. 5. the Mets pull
off the second triple play in
their short history. 6. Willie
Mays play shortstop for the
second and last time in his
career.
Perry tells all in SPORT. He
discloses how and from whom
he learned the spitter, how
catcher Tom Haller convinced
him that day in 1964 it was
time to use it, how he learned
to deceive batters and umpires
and how a pitcher suspected of
throwing the spitter has a
psychological edge on the
batter even if he isn't doing the
nasty deed.
Why the confession at this
stage in his career? First, Perry
hopes the spitter will be
legalized. Second, he hasn't
thrown it since the rules were
VM o tine a n. a oil
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---- ",'S
SPORTS
1
8al, Sept. 1, m THE CAROLINA TlMBB-tB
lorth Carolina Central Univ.
Eagles Open Early Workouts
' LLHB wmmmmSlmmav m. M HK
HEAVYWEIGHT FOREMAN - TQKJTO: World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George Foreman
looks happy as he receives a flower bouquet from a Japanese girl upon his arrival at the Tokyo
International Airport here 815 to meet with his first challenger Joe Roman of Puerto Rico on 91 at
Tokyo's Nippon Budokan Hall. Foreman said "I want to knock him (Roman) out before the first
round ends" at the airport.
North Carolina Central
University's 9-2 football record
last season gave the r3agnjr
Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference Championship and
this year there will be all out
determination to repeat' aw
champions.
"We're very enthusiastic"
said Central's football coach
Willie Smith after the Eagles
first day of heavy work
"There are over 75 candidates
this year and their spirits are
very high.
"The older players reported
in excellent shape" said Smith
who begins his first year at the
helm or the Durham School
and we have over 30 freshmen
many of whom look very
quick.
Central returns only 11
starters from last years
championship team and of that
number, only two are on the
offensive unit. The Eagles open
their season on the road at
Winston-Salem on September
8th in a 7:30 ball game.
In the offensive unit only
Thomas Saxon and Dwight
Pettiford are back to anchor
the line while In the backfields,
there will be all new names.
In the defensive unit, which
was the best in the conference
only John Barbee and Charles
That's one of the problems
facing Gary Moser as he takes
over the head football coaching
job at Chapel Hill this season
for W. D. "Bill" Peer-man, who
retired because of illness.
Defending . champion North
Carolina Central is expected to
be among the favorites in the
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
football race this year, but the
Eagles won't be nearly as domi
nating as a year ago.
NEW YORK - Unless
somebody throws up a few,
roadblocks in the waning dayr
of the sesson, auto racing's
championship trophies are go
ing to be scattered in different,
closets this year.
changed in 1968, barring the
pitcher from wetting his fingers
anywhere near the mound.
This rule, concludes SPORT,
forced Perry to change his
whole style. He had to learn a
lot of new pitches.
r0iernor
If you like a blend
...this Is It!
6AL PINT
930 250
.m p. inriA. unw nrtRS SHE RATE? - SALISBURY: FOX
I.IVIY Ot TVJX. v' TTF5,-: " , .
OF THE MONTH - Sharon Henderson, a junior biology majorat
Livingstone College In Salisbury, is a native of Ashevllle. "Keeta,
as she is known on campus, is a majorette who is a real treat for
the eyes when she performs with the Livingtstone Co lege
Marching Band. In the above photograph, M. Garland Kelsey,
h - n ...i.." in q mire
FIFTH JU
390 2
ciurrv maw Mt sum KfUTML SMUTS
J OOUQHHtm SONS CO. DISTILLERS PHIL.
m
VsVQMBsXfl
Baily wiH not he
All-Amerlean candidates
Rom.ir! McNeil and Charl-s
"Bubba" Smith will man the
ends while another
American candidate,
Maurice Spencer ' Mmf$t'B.
defensrvt mrtmimy QmM
mobile, hostile, and
experienced.
"If I can play the people I
want to play" Smith says "the
injuries are held down and the
freshmerWome through to give
the older players a breather in
sports we can beat anybody on
our schedule." That's a big "if"
but we can do it,
"This also has to be one of
the loughless schedules in the
country, because even team
on there is capable of beating
us. there are no weak teams to
rest on or look over.
SAFETY TIP
Electric lawn mowers
cun he just as dangerous
as gasoline engine
powered mowers. North
Carolina State University
extension engineers sug
gest that the electric
mowers shouldn't be
operuted when the ground
is wet. Turn off and
disconnect the cord when
you leave the mower.
. ,1...
1 nhotnm-anher. caueht "Keeta," in a very
OIUCUU uiiiiowv f w r - 0
coopentlv mood on the campus tenni. court. Tennis .nyone?
"mtJr Hi 1 1 n 1 11 r
ARTHUR STARTED HK
n GREAT CAREER AT 7.
EWI2HE WAV WINNING
TOURNAMENT?. AT 17 HE
WAS A U.S. JUNIOR CH AMR
HE. WON THE NATIONAL
CUW COURTS CHAMP
IONSHIPS IN CHICAGO
AT THE A6E OF 20.
WHILE HE ATTENDED
UCLA HE WAS NU
PLAYER. THE TENNIS
STAR GRADUATED
IN 1966.
m -v vi :jvjj run
ASHE WAS THE FIRST
Tn ;ws!5 fits
, W AT FOREST HILLS,
MJ IMIObB. HIS TITLES
AD TOO yUMUOUSIDUAMIL
HE WON THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN (1970),
IRI ."., -
IN IW.lRUNNtK-UP INW'U
IN M HE PLAVED AT WIMBLEDON.ENGiAWD.AlTHOHE
nm urtT vuim UP WAC MAMEBTOTHE U.S. DAVIS CUP
, .... unn HBAIMtl UfClDAUIC
HIS StlRVE,WHlCH HAS PUJ HIM TO THE TOP WITH THE
GREAT U5.TENNISPLAUERS.ru VWi tAKNimrt akc
HIGH. HE NETTED lLM0 IN 1970. A REAL SUPER STAR.
A GREAT INSPIRATION TO THE SLACK W0UTH OF AMERICA.
T
IIJSSB
Saturday
Present?
BOB BAKER
r. a. h mm
Monday. Thru
No. 1 Durham
WSSB is the only Durham fcadio
Station that stays on 24-houia day
days a week, 365 days a year.
Mk No. 1 Durham
1490
YOTTR DIAL
I
HERCULES (The Strong Man)
Straight overhead. M-13 is one of the most
famous star clusters-barely visible to the naked
L.flve. J
I lite imd I
I wawTfiw I
ft Robert Spruill, President
Community Radio Workshop
Place: 336 East Pettigrew Street
Durham, North Carolina
, . .. . .... :
BOYS & GIRLS
PRIZES OF YOUR CHOICE EVERY WEEK. EVERBODY WINS!
NO LOSERS! REGISTER NOW TO SELL THE CAROLINA TIMES
IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. MAIL OR BRING IN COUPON
BELOW. ATTACH SMALL PHOTO. MAIL TO: CIRCULATION
DEPT., P. O. BOX 3825, DURHAM, N. C. 27702.