Evening star., 1960-06-09


suddenly became like Cleve-
land-oniy one major league
ball club, and no big theaters
going. The cabbie who took me
downtown last Friday night
began to chuckle about being
permitted to make a right turn
into West Forty-fifth street at
l1:15-at what used to be
theater-break time. 1T feels
strange" he said. 1t is strange.
After-theater business, like the
traffic, has dwindled with the
theaters dark and the magic of
our midnights vanished.
There was still off-Broadway
and the restaurants and night
clubs to lure the pleasure
seekers. The tables at the
Forum of the II Caesars Of
cred such contrast as Robert
Frost and Milton BerIe. The
back room of a Third avenue
bar had the novelty of attend
ance by a heavyweight champ
IN training, Ingemar JOhans-
son, with a girl. Benny Good
mans starring at Basin Street
East, the Limeliters are at the
Blue Angel, and Mocambo can
swing a ramble like the Dukes
of Dixieland do at the Round
table.
I Leonard Bernstein was with
Marc Chagall at the Four Seas
sons, discussing an opera he's
writing about Russian ghetto.
Laurence Harvey dominated
the Little Club and Ethel Mer-
man spoke of sitting out the
actors strike in California and
Colorado. The talk went back
to the strike, always the strike,
for the theater is a life stream
of New York's night life.
At Sardi's, Peggy Cass sat
at a table with her husband,
Carl Fischer, debating the
strike. Fischer represents man.
agement, with "Fiorello!" and
West Side Story" while Miss
CasS is a member of Actors
Equity Council. At another
table sat Pat Stanley, of
"Fiorello!." drinking wine
bought for her by Hal Prince,
the producer she said had
locked her out of the show. At
Downey's. lyricist Sheldon Har-
nick, who'd just won Pulitzer
Prize, sighed, Now back to my
violin practice; I may hire out
as a musician again.
Ell Morocco and the Stork,
the Harwyn and Julius Monks,
the Colony and LIE Pavilion
all had their customary COM
plement of customers last Sat-
urday night. But that was only
temporary. If Times Square
were to remain dark, the stay
up-late habit would be broken
and New York would be an
other Cleveland. For Ohio.
that's good, but not for the
capital of the theatrical world.
THE REACTION: Barnaby
Conrad was in town last week
to show a movie to John Stein
beck. The movie is Fright"
based on a Steinbeck story.
Their contract stipulated that.
Steinbeck had a right to with
draw his name from it if he
wasn't satisfied. Steinbeck liked
1t. said Conrad, then modestly
added: He's a kind man. In
fact, John Hersey said of him,
John Steinbeck steps high over
bugs"
THE CHANGE: In "Tarzan
the Magnificent" Tarzan
speaks, and quite intelligently.
The producer, Sy Weintraub,
explained the change: when
l bought the Tarzan movie
rights, decided that Tarzan's
got to be articulate. You can't
get by with Ugh noises in this
atomic age"
=
THE JUDGE: Ex-Chief Mag
lStrate Henry H. Curran made
news again last week when.
after 20 years, NewbOId Morris
nnally was graduated from his
"Curran University" founded
for the propagation of good
English Judge Curran once
spurned a rye-and-ginger-ale
drink from a man who asked:
Did you ever try it?" NO."
said the judge, "but I've tried
several fellows who have"
y \ = \
A SOLUTION: One new sug-
gestion for settling pension de-
mands by Equity concerns the
theater programs, which always
have been distributed free of