Focus on entertainment Physical comics too few By TKAYNUR MtIARIANII The death of Charlie Chaplin this week accentuates the sad fact that the world is miserably shy on natural comics Slich people can make its laugh even without talking and such greats as Fernandel who died in 1071 and Jacques Tati whom we believe is still around at 70 other greats who come to mind are of course Red Skelton and the incomparable Wiere Brothers two of whom are still living and can st ill be seen on television Fast taking on the great tag must be Tim onway of the arol Burnett Show few years ago comparatively unknown to TV au diences he has risen to prominence on his natural comic genius The shuttle his old man and hangdog expression we reminiscent of thaplin All of the foregoing far cry from the fastAtalking no talent types spawned in the glitter of Las Vegas most of whom have only fittothe gab and gargantuan propensir ty for gall Another potential btxlyrlanguage type who was regular on the recent ew Dick Van Dyke Show is Andy Kaufman who has apparently vanished from the TY scene There are others we may have missed but there are still too few around and television is natural medium for their talents an 1yke himself is likeable comic but more of con tortionist than natural comic although his takeoff on Stan Laurel is superb Best films of 77 anadian Press wire by entertainment writer Hob Thomas out of Los Angeles tells us that it was not bad year at all in the name sense He then cites highly personal list of not necessarin on artistic merit but sheer enjoyability best films of the year In order of merit Goodbye iiil CTV special Star Wars lose Encounters of the Third Kind nnic Hall The Turning Point The Late Show Julia Uh tiodf Saturday Night Fever The Deep lhe Belafonte Sings is TV special coming tip Sunday Feb The show will highlight Belafontes recent mncrcity tour of tanada Joining Helatonte on the special will be Katherine McKinnon and llltlltélllzhfllttlll folk singer Falumi Prince The aging process At natural actress comedienne tarol Burnett seems set for lifetime on television Helped launch careers Another movie great Howard Hawks who guided Gary ooper to his first Uscar in Sergeant York and helped launch the careeis of John Wayne and Lauren Bacall died this week at ttl Several weeks ago he suffered fall at his Palm Springs home and never really recovered Hawks as noted for his western moy ies and was planning another one just before he died He also created such classic films as Scarface To Have and Have Not and Gentlemen Prefer Bloiides Lavish poverty Grizzly star sure can afford to be poor By STEVE CASEY opley News Seryice HOLLYWOOD In this world of paradoXIcal truths animal trainci turned actor Dan Haggerty hit upon the revelation that to live like you dont have lot ot money you have to have lot of money Which all makes sense it you think about it and have ever harbored secret desire to flee to the tranquillity of spec tactilar countryside there to live free from the pedestrian Cliies Etsstitlttftti with earning living So Haggerty man at home ALA LLLLLL aaa 111v Happy New Year well earned rive style of her own SHOW TIMES 700 900 tiSid rring he gives sensitive thoughtful perforrriance by his uncanny ability to soon gives way to quiet and his portrayal should make him cinc next years Oscar race Balanr ing him brilliantly is Sally Field playing off an actor of he welletched performance Also contributing sparks to this saga is Star Wars space captain Harrison Ford whose touching performance as one ofWinklers former war buddies provides one of the films most memorably moving sequences Ford could easily win Best Supporting Artor nomination for his gentle per suasive portrait of soldier whose war wounds will never ever heal HEROES is the first major ï¬lm to deal intelligently with the plight of returning Vietnam veterans Its sensible sensi tive screen essay well directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan and wonderfully WClldcitij by Winkler Ford and Ms Field the result is very special film that should have highpriority position on your flgst See list George Anthony THE TORONTO SUN HENRY WINKLE in countrysides and with animals great and small is willing to endure vague feel ing of being entrapped by the very success of his television show in order that he might find the delicious lifestyle of lavish poverty Haggerty and costar lienvcr Per have returned to television in their gentle escapist show The Life and Times of itllll Adams lhat Haggerty has met with success there can be no doubt Some time ago he was describing how number of powerful people in the televi it at Thumbnail look at The only similarity between Beatrice Arthur and Maude her TY series is that they are both tall ladies with deep complete myself she says Ive never been aware there is In real life shes past her 25th wedding an voices Maude is problem niversary Beatrice was born in New York City and raised in Cam bridge Md where her parents owned department store She worked one season at the local hospital before deciding to go the New York and try to sing or act stint at New Schools drama workship resulted in her meeting Gene Saks whom she eventually married Beatrice played stage roles before Norman Lear caught her and brought her to the coast for TVs George lobel Show She later won Tony Award for the stage show Mame and played in the movie Next came All in the Family and finally Maude sioii industry prevailed upon him to be the celebrity host of the liidy 500 iiiotorcar race Some 400000 people he said watched the parade And everyone was scieaiit ing Yeah lrile Adams was overcome by this The next day they drove me around the track and 300000 people in twovacre radius screanmt We love irily Adams lve never seen anything like it The show he and Pyle volunteered is the result of powerful lot of highly sophisticated audience research in which people were in 111 ii 1it It11 IMPERIAL cum IansTwnon 11 nunrun HEROES is another upandcoming contender for my 10 Best list for 1977 It also marks the auspicious arrival of video sitcom king Henry Winkler as major scregl star and all three words in that description are rich in insights made richer convey them His deceptively freewheeling style eloquence in which he says the most with silence for Best Actor nomination in strong actress with bold defini ln HEROES she meets her match in Winkler and own intensity only seems to improve her already llR lS lJNIVlRSAI llt lURl SHOW TIMES lURMANAlt Sl lZR COMPANY lRlUllll HARRISON FORD Written by lAMliS ARABXi BUS Musk by lA NilSCI and RICHARD HAZARD Hirer ted by IlRijMY lAUl KAUAN Produced by DAVID ltSlliR and LAWRLNHL lURMAN MWme 11 ttl ll Ie lim onway relaxes at the home of his parents in Chagrin Falls Ohio during hristmas holiday visit He has recent Iy signed contract to make series of comedy films over the next four years for general audiences onw ay said in an interview lheres room for good solid comedy where you actually go into theatre and laugh AP Photo 112121 700 900 Adult Entertainment womans libber For asked what they would like to see and what animals they favored We found out that people like skunks for comedy they like beavers and they dont like mountain lions said Pyle In our show youll usually see the mountain lion as the heavy and they dont like snow People in the Eastt dont like to see bunch of snow and then have to go and shovel their driveways explained llagger tv We knocked Bionic Woman off the air sol think we proved you dont need bionic bear l11ttlh snowriiiii 7058 05 1LLLLL SAINT JOHN NB CP Les Sprague of Saint John was drawn to the movies the first time he saw those hazy figures jiggle across the screen By the time he was 14 he was already at work cranking the projector at Saint Johns Gem Theatre They needed guy who was small enough to work in the cramped alcove that served as projection room The year was 1916 and movies were king Moviegocrs lined up to watch Charlie Chaplins jittery antics in singlereel films that lasted abouth minutes The admission price was 15 cents or quarter at most Kids got in for nickel on Saturdays And from his post high above an eager theatre crowd Les Sprague became part of it all In those days the time film ran was often at the whim of theatre manager RANKED FASTER If there was big lineup out side waiting to pay admission Sprague was told to crank little faster Sometimes people who were walking looked like they were running The only time that speed really mattered was during the scenes with subtitles The crati ker had to see that the slow Start 1978 at the Brookdule raiders had time to get the message before rolling on When the Gem Theatre was in its heyday vaudeville was still around and Sprague liter ally stumbled his way into weeklong engagement as magicians assistant Again his size got him into the act He was stationed under cur tainedoff table to pass up tele scopic fishing rods which the magician miraculously pulled out of glassjar Thinking his job was done Sprague crawled out from un der the curtain prematurely round of laughter and applause convinced the magician that although his credibility was challenged his popularity was atanalltimc high So Sprague stayed on with the act THREATIZNEI BY FIRE Later he became full fledged projectionist and it was serious business Film was highly flammable There was constant risk that film exposed to hot projection lamps would burst into flame The projectionist had to be trained to prevent film from catching fireand if it did to cut off the lamps before panic set in Sprague estimates he has shown 5000 miles of motion pic 91 FLOOR SHOW 200mm For Reservations Coll 150 000 nevus vinrs snow With Norris Vines MATTERS BOOK now FOR NEW YEARS EVE Featuring Floor Shows Mammoth Buffet Party Favors and Spot Prizes 00per couple NEW YEARS DAY BUFFET Sittings at 430 and 630 pm Buffet features Roast Beef Turkey Ham Dozens of Salads Homemade Desserts plus THE PLATTERS IIAVYIII $600 Children under 10 Brookdnle Inn lurk 7201312 illle EASTWOOD AMWISUNDRA LUCKE COMPANYHIM WtItten lty Minna BUltttl and DENNIS SHRYACK nurtured by ROBtHl Ditth Directeit ny cum tASlWUUU MUSIC iiiiiii lttttltNG PANAVISIUN Color by nttuxe ma on Lt1v ll ll CINEMAS The year was 1916 when it all began Proiectionist whe ture film He has worked as projectionist usher theatre manager and newsreel cam eraman He was recently honored by the Canadian Picture Pioneers for his 61year association with theindustry He has seen films develop through the era of the silent movies the coming of the talk ies technicolor the threedi mensional craze and cinema scope He recalls the sensation when it got around in 1918 that swim ming star Annette Kellerman was to appear in film in wet bathing suit When the film hit the screen the swimmer was so far away from the camera she looked about the size of matchhead The inside of womans knee was taboo at that time TAIKES BEGAN Sprague got into talking mov ies when most New Brunswick theatre owners regarded them as flash in the pan He worked for group of local promoters who went into the business of renting equipment for movies complete with sound not all Bayfield St the examiner Friday Dec 30 1917 movies were The uipment weighed tin an was supposed to be portable enough for onenight stands through New Brun swick Nova Scotia and Newfoundland But the coming of talkies was good news It was dark day for musi cians The Capitol had an or chestra and it put most of these fellows out of work During the newsreel era he recalls the projectionists nightmare when the Pathe newsreel rooster was on the screen and an MGM film was about to be shown The newsreel ended with the rooster crowing and the feature film started with the MGM lions growl LION ROWED There was always the danger the Pathe sound would stay on too long so that the fierce MGM lion would get on the screen and crow Newsrecls have special mem ories for Sprague and again he got in on the ground floor He bought movie camera made contacts with newsreel producers and reported to them ki when anything of international significance happened here His camera was there during tie port fire of 1931 He was also there in August 1932 when James Mollison who had become the first avia tor in history to make solo westward transatlantic flight put down his fragile Puss Moth in James Armstrongs blue berry field at nearby Pennfield Ridge in 1939 Sprague was staying in Halifax at the Queen Hotel the night that fire at the hotel claimed 38 lives After 20foot jump to safety he telephoned his brother to send down his movie camera by airplane Within hours he had his film Sprague says he believes movies of the 305 405 and 505 were the best It was good wholesome en tertainment They were good stories and wellmade And the films didnt condone breaking the law The bad guy always got his desserts Fried Chicken great and simple way to start the year We will be Open NEW YEARSDA from 11 am till pm Downtown Barrio Cdl 1203440 1284601 Anytime For Information SHAKE TILLER WIDE RECEIVER THESE EXPERTS SAY DAVID thlll 0va BRET HERMES KISWPFR and arthritic United Artists HES GOT THE BEST HANDS IN THE BUSINESS SHOWTIMES 700 900 MERRIBK presents manna nrrcnu Film RE asBig Ed Bookman 1L1JLLLL£LLLLWLQLALA1L 123