Evening star., 1947-12-09
After Dark
Jackie Miles Has a Manner
That Is Quiet, Thus Different
By HARRY MACARTHUR

w I
In his search for q lure to attract
customers to his Club Cairo during
this preholiday lull, Sam Schanker
has come up with Jackie Miles. This
must be called good news. Whether
or not his name will fill the Cairo
is something Mr.. Schanker now is
learning, but the fact remains that
Mr.. Miles is an extraordinarily
funny man.
Mr.. Miles is something of a
phenomenon, too. He undoubtedly
is one of few people who managed
to get to the sixth grade before
giving in to distaste for school
who later were invited to lecture at
Harvard on American idioms. That
happened to Jackie, though.
A former writer of comedy ma
terial for other comedians, Mr..
Miles is where he now is simply
because he got tired of seeing the
men who recited his lines take in
so much money. He still supplies
comedy material to lesser laborers
in the cabarets, through it is unin-
territorial. 1t avails the boys little to
snatch his routines, though, for
none Of them yet has managed to
match the Miles style that goes with
them.
This style is in itself humorous
comment, in way, in its decided
contrast with the loud and frenetic
approaches of some of the cafe
clowns. Mr.. Miles manner Is a
restrained one. He depends not on
falling on his face, wearing fright
wig or outshouting the customers.
Rather he depends on. funny ma
tecial, delivered quietly.
Mr.. Miles operates on several
levels as a comedian. One moment
he tells dialect stories. At another
he turns to patter in which he
tosses off string of laugh lines in
the hope that every third one will
click. Again he turns to comic sing
Ing in sort of rasping voice.
Those who appreciate Mr.. Miles
most, though, are the people VINO
use their radios only to capture
Abe Burrows, Robert @. Lewis or
Henry Morgan. When he is operat-
ing as a satirist of modern modes
and manners, Mr.. Miles is at his
best, which is very good.
of on9 a
pail of easy targets for a pair OF
his brightest satiric comments. one
of them is that household enter
tainment that bewilders all males
the radio soap opera. The other Is
the Western movie in which the
hero takes on the villain while
armed with guitar instead OF six
gun. Mr.. Miles as singing COWBOY
is something Hollywood has been
overlooking.
The rest of the Club Cairos en-
tertainment is uninspired, or was al
any rate on opening night, when
some of the performers failed te
arrive. Jackie Miles ought to be
enough entertainment for any one
though.
Right here is where we fully IN
tend to report today on the doings OF
Miss Beatrice Kraft, who was sup
posed to arrive last night for week
of entertaining in the Shoreham
Blue Room. The fact is. though, that
we couldn't get around there even
TO learn IL Miss Kraft arrived on
schedule. Just as we were reaching
for the phone to Call Robert, Adams
07oO." it rang. 1t turned out that
man had an extra ticket to the Ma
tional for the "SweetheartS' opening
and he wanted to know if we could
use it. We pondered the question.
The battle between duty and pleas
IRE ragged for all of 20 seconds. Then
we said certainly we could use it.
Miss Kraft can stand a lot OF COM
netition and 1t takes a lot to draw a
man, this man at any rate, away
from her, but Bobby Clark is one
of the funniest men In the world
The immediate feeling after seeing
him romp through what he has per-
mitted to remain of Victor Herbert
"Sweethearts" is that he is the
funniest. The man who passed up
an opportunity to see him wouldn't
be competent to report on the
dances of Beatrice Kraft or any
thing else.
1t probably is safe to assume that
Miss Kraft did arrive at the Blue
Room. Maxim Lowe said she was
coming and he is a man of honor
not to mention distinction. And it
undoubtedly is safe to apply to he1
again that extraordinary adjective
we coined when she was at the late
Treika. Wonderful, We thought she
was then. Her speciality is injecting
sly humor into East Indian dances
and she is worth your while.
X X
1t is Jack O'Brian. the Associated
Press Broadway man, who comes to
the defense of Frank Sinatra in the
matter of his cancellation of re-
cent theater date in New York. The
wise boys we're sneering that
frankie had taken look at the first
two days crosses and fled, but 1t
really was a bad throat, says Mr..
O'Brian. He saw the singer the night
before the stage engagement opened
and FRANKIE complained then of q
sore throat, "like the one I had the