Kup's Chicago - Irv Kupcinet [31]
And speaking of off-beat shows, who can forget such TV shows as the old Garroway at Large, or Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Ding-Dong School, and Studs Terkel’s Studs’ Place? The leisurely, low-pressure pace of “Chicago-style” TV will be remembered as long as there’s a glowing tube.
I’ve emceed many shows at the Chicago Theater. And every visit to my dressing room there conjures up memories of Maurice Chevalier, the Marx Brothers, Mary Pickford, Kate Smith, Mae West, Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, Betty Hutton, Betty Grable, and many others. It was in the Chicago’s orchestra pit that Stanley Morner vocalized with the house band before becoming Dennis Morgan of the movies, and where Victor Young once held the baton.
Then there was the Chez Paree. I once referred to it as the most glamorous name in night-club history. “How about the Copacabana?” one of my New York friends asked. “Well, the Chez was in operation longer,” I had to reply. “There was no other with a tradition like it.” Particularly under the operation of Mike Fritzel and Joey Jacobson during its early and middle years, it was a night club that literally had everything – superb food, thrilling atmosphere, and consistently fine entertainment. The food in most night clubs is – let’s face it – pretty ordinary. But people actually went to the Chez just for the pleasure of dining.
In the spring of 1960, the Chez announced that it was closing for the summer, and owners Dave Halper (who is now with the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas) and Donjo Medlevine (who is now an oil executive) advertised that the club would open as usual in the fall, with Red Skelton as its first attraction. Negotiations with Red proved futile, however. In fact, the owners had difficulty in coming up with any big-name act. That was the end. There was no chance for last visits by Chez Paree regulars, and no last closing. The Chez Paree merely faded into oblivion.
After so many prosperous years, why did it crumple so suddenly?
There were many reasons. One was the steadily growing trend away from the large night clubs of earlier years. The clientele that had once supported such clubs was dropping off; the new generation prefers smaller, more intimate spots.
Television also played a part. It has kept many leading stars so busy that they don’t have time for the night-club circuit.
Las Vegas was partly responsible, too. The clubs there are able to pay such enormous salaries that smaller clubs elsewhere in the country cannot match them.
And then there was Uncle Sam. Income taxes are such that once stars make large sums for a few appearances, there is almost no profit to be made by appearing more frequently.
And Chicagoans demand the best. To survive in this town, a club like the Chez had to present the best – regularly. Because it was no longer able to do this, it had to go. But, ah! the warm memories of those many wonderful years.
Yes, Chicago has had a proud show-business tradition; but it is no longer the “Big Apple” it used to be. The concentrations of talent and power which have resulted from the centralization of network TV operations in New York and Hollywood have changed all that. New York and Hollywood are two of my favorite cities, but there are some things they can’t do. They are overspecialized, and dominated by pressures and traditions which limit their ability to experiment and change. Promising talent is lost in the shuffle of the big-timers. Except in the world of Off-Broadway, only solid hits will command public support. Show business needs a leavening influence, a creative spur, a showcase for both new and established types of entertainment, which almost all cities except Chicago are too small or too geographically isolated to provide.
Only Chicago has the population, the wealth, the tourist traffic, and the cultural climate to provide the stimulus that is needed. We support the only fully professional theater season away from Broadway. We offer such fine training and proving grounds as the Art Institute’s Goodman Theater and Northwestern University’s School of Speech,