Boxoffice-January.07.1950

MUSIC TIEUPS HIT NEW PEAK
SELLING JOLSON SINGS AGAIN'
In key locations throughout the nation.
Columbia field exploiteers working with lo;al
theatremen have been garnering innumerable
music tieups in connection with "Jolson
Sings Again." Sparked by a national tieup
with Decca record distributors, radio and
store promotions have accounted for extra
splurges of publicity and advertising on a
cooperative basis.
For the Hollywood Theatre booking in Atlantic
City, exploiteer Milt Young, and Jack
Waxman. publicist for the theatre, set up a
contest on the Al Owens record program over
WFPG. Owens invited listeners to send in
the names of their favorite Jolson tunes. Promoted
Decca albums were given to those who
sent in the best letters explaining why these
songs were so popular. The Jolson transscription
and the Tex and Jinx interview recordings
were aired on the program. Owen
introduced local flavor wath recollections of
stars who had performed with Jolson.
OPENS WAY FOR TIEUPS
The recordings and Jolson tunes were
aired by Bob Ardrey over WMID and WBAB
also was productive for numerous plugs. The
Decca distributor opened the way for music
tieups with all leading stores and department
stores through displays of posters and albums
in windows and on counters.
Downtown restaurants featured the title
and theatre dates on menus; 300 window cards
were distributed in choice locations and 3.000
heralds were handed out in affiliated theatres
in Atlantic City. The affiliated theatres also
showed trailers and displayed lobby posters
plugging the Hollywood playdates.
At the Regent in Grand Rapids. Mich.,
Manager Louis Lutz and exploiteer Roy Jones
teamed up to land valuable radio tieups with
stations WOOD, WFUR and WJEF. The
campaign was launched at a screening attended
by disk jockeys, Decca dealers and
newspapermen.
Warsburg's department store sponsored a
contest on its daily Man on the Street program,
offering two albums daily to interviewees
giving the correct answer to the
query, "Who Plays Al Jolson in 'Jolson Sings
Again'?" The theatre received several plugs
each day. All radio stations featured Jolson
hit tunes and mentioned the Regent booking
for a week prior to opening.
ZENITH SPONSORS CO-OPS
Zenith dealers sponsored several co-op
newspaper ads with inclusion of the Regent
playdates, jukeboxes were plastered with signs
calling attention to Jolson records and the
theatre dates, and streamers were displayed
by all dealers in the area handling Kellogg
products.
A novel diversion was created for opening
at the Colonial in Dayton, Ohio. Manager
Carroll Crist set a contest with radio station
WING which elicited more than 700 phone
calls during the two-hour broadcast. Albums
and theatre tickets were offered to listeners
who called in to give Al Jolson's real
name. The stunt attracted so much attention
it was extended over a six-day period by
the radio station.
Mutual Record Co. ran two co-op ads in
Singing troubadours entertain patrons with Jolson song hits during the engagement at
the Madison Theatre, Detroit. Stunt was also a street ballyhoo.
the daily papers with full credits and the
Dayton Herald ran a fashion layout to
publicize the dates in addition to the usual
advance breaks.
Similar radio tieups proved successful for
Allan Schrimpp, manager of the Broadway
Theatre, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Schrimpp
promoted record albums and sent them to
disk jockeys at six radio stations in Council
Bluffs and Omaha. Window displays were
promoted with music shops and stickers were
placed on jukeboxes. Two hundred grocery
stores displayed streamers via the Kellogg
This sound truck was used in Boston by publicist
Jim Shanahan to ballyhoo "Jolson" opening
at the State and Orpheum Theatres.
tieup.
A florist donated 100 long-stem American
Beauty roses which were presented to the
first- women who attended the opening matinee.
The giveaway was advertised in newspaper
underlines, a trailer, lobby display and
merchant window sign.
A local ahiateur comedian served as an effective
street ballyhoo.
In blackface makeup,
"Jolson" perambulated the downtown area,
mimicking Jolson. A portable victrola provided
music for his antics and an announcement
card called attention of passersby to
the Broadway playdates.
In Detroit, where the picture opened at
the Madison Theatre. Alice Gorham, publicity
director for UDT and Ralph Stitt, field man
for Columbia, put over a novel promotion
which reaped extra publicity that reached
television audiences.
IMITATORS ON STAGE
In conjunction with WXYZ-TV, a call was
put out for local Larry Parks imitators doing
his imitation of Jolson. Detroit papers
carried stories under the heading "Calling
All Mammy Singers." Contestants were instructed
to appear at the Michigan Theatre,
anotlier UDT house in Detroit. About 30
showed up for elimination contests on the
stage. Five finalists were selected to appear,
one each night on the TV show, "Sing for
Your Supper." An exclusive photo of the
five finalists afforded the picture a fivecolumn
break in the Detroit Times. The
winners w-ere also booked on special amateur
shows at two UDT houses to provide more
publicity for the Madison playdates.
Detroit disk jockeys and headline entertainers
at all leading restaurants and cabarets
featured Jolson songs and included mention
of the opening. A screening for the press
and a special theatre front covering the tenstory-high
building facade of the Madison
helped current ballyhoo.
Has Headless Ballyhoo
To exploit the Italian produced comedy,
"The Headless Boy." Mike Piccii-illo. manager
of the Center Theatre, Hartford, had an usher
walk through the dowiitown section with a
trick costume and a dummy head under his
arm. Copy on a sign he wore read, "I
laughed my head off, etc., etc."
24 — 2 BOXOFFICE Showmandiser January 7, 1950
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