The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-02-01
WAVELETS
By ED LEAMY

Xavier Cugat keeps "Your Du- bonnet Date" these Wednesdays by rushing breathlessly.
 With all the extra a-curricular ac- tivities that currently occupy the Rumba King, he could use a bicycle nicely, thank you. If he could only get priority.
 For the fourteenth consecutive year Cugat is currently fulfilling an engagement at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, supplying Latin American rhythms seve n nights a week from ' p. m. until 2 a, m. for dancers as well as for the three nightly floor shows.
 Wednesday of each week he and his entire company - including Vocalists Lima Romay, Don Rodney, the Latin America Sinatra, and Del Campo, the Afro-Cuban song interpreter, and a choir of eight yoices-can be found from noon on at the MES radio theater in New Work rehearsing for their evening program which is aired at 8:3O p. m, c. W. t.
 Cugat has had to arrange to al- low for an hours time out from the Waldorf, so that he can transport | his troupe to the radio studio via a caravan of taxicabs which wait at the stage door to whisk them bacK to the hostelry as soon as tner broadcast is over.
 During the other six days of the week, the Rumba King is busy doing caricatures for his daily syndicated column as well as having innumer- 1 able interviews with newspapers and national magazines.
 Except for the day of his radio program, Cugat never arises before one in the afternoon and from then until six in the evening he usually has three or four interviews sand wiched in between doing his carica- lures and making arrangements for his opening at the Paramount The ater. His theater engagement be- gins Feb. 16 and will be for 10 weeks or longer, depending on his motion picture commitments.
 He was recently signed by Me tro-Goldwyn- Mayer for five years and they have already planned three films for him to make upon his return to the coast. The f1rSt will be "Week-End at the Waldorf starring Katharine Hepburn. Be- fore returning to New York, Cugat completed TWO Sisters and a Sailor" starring Jimmy Durante. and MT. Co-Ed," starring Red Skelton.
 Cugat is that rare character. a bandleader who not only waves a baton but can also compose C'My Shawl" and Nightingale" came from his prolific pen), dance and play comedy, which makes him valu- able asset to any showbusiness lm- presario. Verify, Date With Du- bonnet" is a date with one of the entertainment worlds most versatile performers.
 One Lia:rs Dr. Frank Black now General Music Director oi NEG, conducted an operetta called Miss 19l7' in which the star oi the piece was Vivienne Segal Peter Van Steeden. maestro on "Duffy's," almost choked to death once because of Fred Allen. When Peter batoned the Allen programs he laughed so loud that he was warned he was drowning out some of the lines. One night a gag hi him right in the funnybone anc Peter, remembering the warning hurriedly stuffed handkerchle1 into his mouth and nearly suffo- cated Kay Kyser is one of the first to bring entertainment to serv' icemen, having started Il months before Pearl Harbor .. Mercedes McCambridge, the versatile actress in T Love Mystery" on CBS, wal discovered by Clarence Menser, pro gram director and vice president ol NBC Groucho Marx, star o' "Blue Ribbon Town," came by that first name as a youngster when al his roles were grabbed old mer
 Page Ripley! Bandleader Franl Noyak has 6 mental repertoire ol 10000 songs and can play a piano 24 hours without repeating a tune Garry Moore, funster witt Jimmy Durante on CBS Friday nights, is a pretty handy guy around a stove and once was cool for a camp housing 40 boys .; Lyn Murray and his choir play nc favorites. They have sung witt practically everyone from Batch mo- Louis Armstrong to Opera Star Lauritz Melchoir Dor Bryan celebrates his first anniver' l sary as music conductor on the Ra' dio Readers Digest program Feb ruary 28 Dinah Shore, oddly enough, is now rated the No. singer on the air-yet, in order tt make enough money to live, sh' had to do dramatic and dialect role on various programs in New Yorl before she was discovered" as singer Ambition: When thu war is over, Dick Todd, crooner or Basin Street" plans to get helt copter SO he can spend weekend at little log cabin hideaway h. has at Island Pond, Vt. Bol Burns, once offered job as piano player in a movie house. told thu owner that he was a terrible pianis but was told to go ahead. He playet one performance and received { dollar with the comment, 'Wher v0il said terrible didn't know vol