Evening star., 1943-01-28
After Dark
News and Comment of the Night Clubs
BY the Spectator
New Hope and Inspiration Note:
Trade Mark Registered U S Patent ono,

New-Hope and Inspiration Note
When the voice of the newScaSter
suddenly INTERRUPTED the effete
strains Of Muzak selection to in
form the night club patrons of the
momentous unconditional surren-
der" decision at CaSablanca, the
hush over the crowded room was in
Simultaneous and complete What is
more, the proverbial pin might have
been heard to drop during the en-
tire l5-minute broadcast. attention
was that rapt in the club.
We had thought it couldn't hap
pen here.
John Tio. the parrot. is not one
bird in a million. He is the only
bird of his kind, the talking kind,
in the universe. John Tio's foster
father, Francisco Abella. maintains
this with a fervency and conviction
that is unexpected even for an ami
NAL trainer. You are not long in
sharing Mr., Abella'S respect for
Johnny. although your experience
with parrots and such is limited to
the neXt-door neighbor's feathered
friend which screeches Hello
awrrk!" constantly and an unim-
aginative vocabulary of cussWordS
upon Coaxing.
You become interested in Johnny
even before he has had a chance to
display his vocal talents, for the
look in his eve bespeaks uncom-
mon intelligence. He seems to ap-
praise you with a shrewd and Cyni-
cal glance. But, being a polite
parrot, he does not laugh out loud.
Strange hands on his delicate gray
feathers John does not tolerate. He
trusts his boss, however, and will
respond to his caress with almost
foolish pleasure. A recent back
stage visitor at the Lotus who
started to pat Johnny and imme-
diately withdrew her hand upon no
ticing the menacing look she re-
ceived from the parrot, remarked
that he looked as though he were
going to tell her to keep her filthy
hands off him. Little Tio had that
look.
Mr.. Abella, Filipino whose ma
tive town is situated on the island
of Luzon near the point where
those sons of Heaven first landed.
reveals that John Tio's repertory OF
words numbers more than 100. All
of these. of course, he hasn't time
to display in one floor show routine
and it would be too much of strain
on bird and trainer anyway. How
ever. the bird can whip off at ap-
propriate points such phrases as
All right; he will say Sure" on
a given cue, then rolls his "r" upon
request, in very true Irish manner.
He initiates Bing Crosby: "B-b-b-
bee, b-b-b-boo.' His train imitation
is excellent, complete with the
putting and whistle. And so is his
police whistle trill, and the tradi-
tional shrill of the male species
passing the female on the street.
John can also howl like a cat and
bark like a dog-effectively.
My bird is 10 years old" explains
Mr.. Abella, Il have spent 18 years
of that time training him, sweating
myself to death"
But all of John Tio's training does
not come so hard for his trainer.
Sometimes the bird will pick ND
word or phrase from the audience.
In such cases all Mr.. Abella has to
do is encourage and rehearse a few
times, then incorporate the material
into new show. John has even
gone to the movies to help perfect
an impersonation. Mr.. Abella says.
Behaved we'll, too. And through
this and other processes has learned
to enunciate better than his master,
by his masters own admission.
Tio, a West African parrot by