Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 35

A Million for Roger Makes Miller A LUCKY GUY IIENRY FONDA something hits you you grab I-eah his bride of last spring if she could find him socks that would stay up On stage he settled himself and electric qultar on a high stool tied knots in his sock tops introduced the guitarist bassist and drummer who accom-any "My Special Brand of presslve ad-libbed a few funny but corny Jokes for the late comers and started to strum the guitar and sing Leah who is 23 and from San Antonio Is indignant when people hint that her husband's country accent or mannerisms are adopted only for the stage President Humphrey invited us to meet him and the first thing Roger did when we got there was pull up his ROGER MILLER was bom In Fort Worth When he was year old his lather died and his mother became ill Roger went to live with an uncle and aunt on a farm near Erick Okia town so small the city limit signs are back to And he and two older brothers reap ed by two other uncles seldom have met since their separation Roger wrote his first song and sang It at age 5 and ays was 5 when I decided to become phenomenon I wanted to play guitar like Hank Williams He and Will Rogers were my idols went on to broome a grade school dropout I flunked He actually left high school after one semester served in the Army three years held various Jobs after being discharged then traveled to Nashville the big barnyard of country music determined to become a writer singer IN SEVEN YEARS he wrote hundreds of songs many of them sung by other performers "They would always sing them different than I wanted It was like somebody raising one of your children for Miller was recorded by several record labels but nothing sold 40 YEARS MILLER'S SONGS' PHILOSOPHICAL here taping Andy Williams TV show for Oct 11 (AP Niwtfwtvrt PM) Ammimseinmeimits They liked twang rambling sentences SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26 1963 Henry Fonda Views Film Stage Career the summertime When all the trees and leaves are green And the redbird sings I'll be blue you want my The goofy songs entirely goofy of them have a camouflaged Miller says a Lug-drink tastes bad and makes you sick fool with It a guy who's out whooping it up with the boys is hating himself You Rollerskate In a Buffalo the second line is you can be happy if a mind In an interview Miller is like a shy but talkative boy who wanta to be double aure his listener understands he hasn't been bragging DON'T THINK about money I make $10000 a week and never see it My managers Invest It and give ma a handful of credit cards I go and buy a pair of shoes out to entertain One of the few joys in my life is making other people he entertained It probably sterna from old insecurities and inferiorities I'v got an inferiority Miller has written a thousand songs more or less and he thinks his song writing is improving comes from studying inside You never forget your growing up and your raising And if not blind as you walk around every day you see things a conscientious observer writing is Inspiration all the way through Words and music come at the same time I write as long as it flows When it quits flowing I leave it awhile left with a lot of pieces of of the Road" began one day early this year when Miller was driving west from Chicago He saw a faded sign painted on the side of a barn for sale or It became the first line of the song When he got stuck in mid-composition he found more Inspiration by buying a caning of an old nobo with a stogie in Boise Idaho That's in the song too MILLER SAYS pick the hits all the time But you can tell if special I was shaking on of the Road' because I knew I had Miller nearly always carries around a bottle of soft drink and takes frequent swallows he says "people think I'm a drunkard because I write about drink so much and sometimes when I'm tired I stagger from fatigue but I don't drink at all I can't handle it so I leave it Another habit Is pulling up his socks Relaxing before an evening show in an outdoor theater here Miller asked Elvis Aspires To Play Drums Forget Guilar THIS Entertainment Calendar ie he is making "Hawaiian sings ID songs but doesn't play a guitar in one "People seem to think I'm married to the guitar but the truth is I'm not very good at it" says old Swivel Hips "I usually get credited with beating up a storm on it but usually I have another and much better guitar plaver backing me up when I play it me the guitar has Just been something to do with my hands and beat time with Pm really studying to play is the In "Hawaiian Elvis is either playing Polynesian drums or holding onto girls "That beats holding a guitar says Elvis of the latter Elvis says he virtually is abandoning the instrument with which he long has been Identified He now gets a million dol-lars a picture against 50 per cent of the gross which ranks him alongside Elizabeth Taylor as the highest paid movie stars So giving up the guitar about to hurt him it may hurt the guitar business though The American Music Corporation says 7 million Americans now play the HOLLYWOOD IB-First the sideburns Now the guitar Whither Elvis? Elvis Presley in the mov- Czech Producer Still nt Work At Age of GO HOLLYWOOD tfi-Producer Josef Auerbach was one of the top Czech moviemakers before World War II Among his pictures was the famous in which Hedy Lamarr ran nude through a forest and stirred up so much controversy that she became a major Holly wood star Then came the Nazis Auerbach fled to South America broke and eventually made it to New York IJtlle by little he has recouped his fortune The bigger boost came when he bought the "Our comedies held onto them and then released them to television In recent years Auerbach mostly has distributed or sold films but now he is bak producing lie is currently making "Theft of the Mona with George Chakiris In between Auerbach skis in Switzerland or swims in the Taclfic st Santa Monica He is DO years old AWAY FROM Finally deckling to give up go to Hollywood and sew whether he could make It as an actor Miller convinced Smash Records to record him nnd give him an advance so that he could move west Smash recorded an album called and because the company thought his songs were far out Among them were and This spring and Miller won five Grammy awards the recording equivalent of Oscars all in country-western categories for best single record album composer male singer and new country artist of 1984 Miller consider bis songs either far out or country western think they are a fresh approach You have to be yourself copying is what I hate to aee There should be an organiutkm of LAST WEEK the Music Operators of America convening in Chicago voted Miller most popular artist of the year so far on the Juke boxes and of the the most popular record The song also hit No 1 on England's usually soil d-British pop song charts Miller with a part in his combed abort hair and looking more like the nice neat young man next door than a guitar toting singer will make a number of guest appearances on TV this fall He'll also have his own TV special I ceased to care In he says stopped pushing so hard and something happened for the better is hard to feel happy about this success I was in the business so long and wallowed in failure It is like it is not really happening to me It is happening to an old dream I had and the old dream died After the dream died things started to flourish "Now I understand in England there is even a run on the vict riders contesting the toughest rodeo stock ever presented in the prison's 10000-sest stadium INMATE CONTESTS Include Money" Braham bull riding calf tussle wild horse race saddle brouc riding mad scramble and the chariot race Also during the two hour show beginning at 2 pm will be a number of inmate entertainment groups selected from all units of the Texas Department of Corrections The popularity of the prison rodeo has grown to nun proportions that in recent years the event has attracted upwards of 100000 fens each year from all over the nation ALL SEATS are reserved and complete information may be obtained by writing Rodeo Ticket Office Huntsville Texas 77340 Net proceeds from ticket sales go to aid nearly 13000 Inmates of the prison system for rehabilitative services not furnished by the State Legislature Ditto Doi and Billv HOLLYWOOD iB Reprise Records' newest rock roll combo is Dino Dcsi and Billy Dino is Dean Martin Jr Dcsi is the offspring of Lucille Ball and lVsi Arnai and Billy's last name Is llinshe No show business background show business future for llinshe AU the box are IS Anil Dino Is his father's boy When a newsman asked him how to spell Hitu-he'i name Dino replied: I M-Y" By MARY CAMPBELL WASHINGTON IB An Oklahoma baritone named Roger Miller has parlayed an and policy of going it alone into Just about the biggest sue cess on the current American pop music scene He wrote a lyric praising the life of a hobo set it to a Jogging little tune and he sang it himself on a record The record of the has become one of this year's biggest hits quickly selling a million copies and going on toward two mil lion It wasn't the 29-year-old first hit Teenagers who discover pop singers and turn them into stars before the old folks have even heard of them discovered Roger Miller a year ago THEY BOUGHT a million copies of a couple of what he calls goofy and his back-home singing his own like PAGE 7B ELVIS PRESLEY Tranrssre guitar and AMC gives Elvis a great deal of credit for the guitar boom When El via first twanged cm the scene in 1958 only 300000 guitars were sold in the United States Last year the figure was 1085000 one third the number of all musical Instruments sold breaking with the past is all part of his new image He now Is a Beau Rrummel in dress and may even fulfill producer Hal prophecy Back in 1958 the astute Mr Wallis saw Elvis then unknown on a summer television show "I didn't even notice his singing or guitar Wallis recalls "He had an animal magnetism about him that made me think of him as a Tennessee et of $400000 anticipates a box-office take of about $165-000 at a $400 top A good part Is raised oy a club membership plan that provides a bonus of winingand dining privileges in spruce basement quarters Taking part in plays is just part of the company's work An operations! plan of military exactness Is posted each day to let all hands know where they fit into the intricate schedule Each production Is provided with two casts to Increase opportunity for everybody and also to enahle performers to tackle other Jobs Classes at 10 am and a compulsory midnight post performance session aren't rare "All of us have been surprised" says Ball "I never dreamed that actors would respond to continuous training with such enthusiasm" THE CORK of the training method is exchange of knowledge There are four categories of actors At the lop are "associates" deemed to have special skills worth sharing with the Journeymen "exceptional young actors amt craftsmen who have acquired a degree of professional excellence" the fellows (postgraduates) from drama schools end unlvrrsity theaters and students The student performers will DEDICATION CONCERT: Faculty piano trio string quartet and soloist Marion Schroeder Del Mar Recital Hall Tuesday 8:15 Admission: $2 a person CONCERT: Joan Allison piano and Marla Mutschier violin Del Mar Recital Hail Thursday 8:15 pm Admission: 92 a person knowing they'll probably be boxoffice hoping that they'll let you do one that Is personally satisfying The important thing is that you havo to keep yourself in the eye as well as in the public's so that you remain in As in other recent stage ventures Fonda has a substantial investment in "Generation" He learned the wisdom of that after his marathon appearance in Roberts" NOT RICH but everyone thinks I am because I was in that play for four years But I was Just an actor on Putting money into a show can be good business says Fonda He sold $25000 shares of For the for $100000 The sponsors of "Generation" waited a year to get Fonda The William Goodhart script was one of the ran ones that "grabbed" him on first reading he admits turn down something that turns out good But I care less The money difference between screen and stage hat that important And I look Sinnlra Picture zVids Recruiter HOLLYWOOD IB-Frank Sinatra got a letter from a theater manager who was show-big his "Yon Ryan's "In order to promote the picture" the manager wrote "we made a tieup with US Air Force recruiters and allowed them to set up a stand in the lobby" Sinatra who plays an Air Force colonel in the movie loved the manager's punchline "Before the weekend was over my doorman By WILLIAM GLOVER NEW YORK 01-A lucky guy Henry Fonda Ask for example about the tireless vim part of his style "People" comes the answer always saying to me why don't you slow I've always been that way Lord I don't do anything special to get the energy I'm Just Inquire about skill at achieving variety never looking simply for a change or anything special when parts are offered When something hits you you grab Not getting two similar characters in a row is REMIND HIM that the Fonda career began 40 years ago this autumn out in Omaha "I was lucky when I came into the theater Thera were all sorts of things going on in those days where you could break into acting For young actors today there aren't nearly the same If boxoffice demand continues at the present pare the 80-year-old star win be busy for a long time at Broadway's Uorosco Theater in "Generation" The comedy about an advertising executive and his kooky son in law opens Wednesday Oct 8 The production is Fonda's 10th major Broadway show after of other Between visits always said I prefer the stage" he has made 82 films TVE SWITCHED back and forth so many times I don't have any problem adjusting to the different requirements of the two media" he says adding that a good deal of screen work leaves him apathetic "You do four bad pictures 5 Prison Rodeos Set for October BROADWAY Pittsburgh Theater Provides Tension -Free Study Center CRITICS REVIEW NEW YORK PLAYS Caller-Times News Service HUNTSVILLE A colorful array of guest stars plus thrilling inmate contests and a complete program of inmate entertainment will be featured here during the 34th annual Texas FrLson Rodeo to be held each Sunday In October For the opening event OcL 3 the guest star will be Tennessee Ernie Ford followed by Dizzy Dean Oil 10 Roger Miller Oct 17 Brenda Lee Oct 24 and Jimmy Dean Oct 31 ALso featured will be con- Tryouts Set For Kiwunis Talent Show THK FIRST of three tryout sessions for the Oct 12 Kiwanis Talent Showcase 1985 will be held today at 3 pm in the Rincon Room of the Driscoll Hotel Harold Brown show dint-tor said other audition will lie at 7 pm Wednesday and 3 pm next Sunday at the some location Persons any age may try out and any entertainment ail is eligible Proceeds from the show to be hold In Del Mar Auditorium will be used to support charity and community projects by Tarkdale Kiwanis Club the sponsor Tickets will be 1150 for reserved seats and 25 fee general admission Pre-sale general admission tickets are 25 cents less Prizes donated by a number of total merchants will be given to contestants on a competitive basis Persons desiring more information on the auditions may telephone IL2-5029 or I'liSHI be chosen from the Carnegie Tech enrollment The pay scale ranges from more than $200 weekly at the top to for the learners Ball's enthusiasm for class-work grows out of his deep belief (hat now the American theater is at its lowest ebb in actor what we have is over-dependence on and fear of dirertors" HR INDICTS drama schools rollectively as fashioned" 19M all have been under the Influence of the originators and descendants of the group theater People like Kazan Meisner Adler and Stra-bcrg 1 don't knock them use the Method myself But the Method qualifies you to hold a union card-then ou must learn to be an Eventually Bull would like the rompany to spend part of Its tune in New York-provided "we don't hare to 3 write in a lire or-die box-fire panic" For Bail ACT la an ultimate test passed up 27 Broadway bids and over $100000 for directing" he says "I have eonrenlratrd on repertory This is mv last philanthropic project If It work I'll Join the ranks of the self pop from management to management always adjusting to a new barrage of doubts at-larks and standards" Taking part In the campaign to establish a tension-free "professional research center" are 85 players directors and backstage technicians That's about twice as many as are Involved in the general run of resident troupes ACT is also the first undertaking of such scale to have support of the Rockefeller Foundation Since July eight plays ranging from Shakespeare and Mo-liere to Tennessee Williams and Edward Alliec have been staged and four more are to be done during the autumn "Audiences here are five times better than In New York" says Ball "They are vulnerable to excitement So much of the Broadway audience simply attends theater to enhance seif erteem and that's not a projier use of an art form "They are buying a product and daring you to rntrrtaln them for (heir 10 bucks" TWO DRAMAS nre exhibited each evening one in the l'li) house's 517-seat Craft Ave auditorium the other In the nduu-rnt J-Wsrat Hamlet St Hall The annual 0erating budg By WllIIAM GLOVER PITTSBURGH Pa if -Down near the Merl City's Triangle" there's an odd building spliced together from a sedate Victorian villa a raffish speakeasy and a defunct synagogue of imposing Grecian farnde Inside this architectural Jumble however a very orderly Intense and unusual theatrical venture is under way It is called the American Conservatory Theater and aims to offset what William Rail the 34-year-old artistic director calls Insane way of WHAT MAKES Al'T different from must of the drama eiilcrprtsea thit recently have sprung up around lha country more in the planning stage is the equal rmphas-is pul on training and performing actor is always a frightened vulnerable person who finds living in a rough romprilive world no nr difficult than nnM people" asserts Bail pciii'iHiun makes him nr her xomeihing of a weak- ling and he must he looked after In a rrralue kern But In cnmmerrlal theater he has to in the Park" "The Owl and tha Pussycat" moves Oct 4 from the Anta to tho Royale SRO shows are "Fiddler on the Roof" Girl" "Hello and "The Odd Couple Srarro are tickets for "Golden and "Half a Sixpence" In-betweeners on availability are "Barefoot in the "Roar of the Wide open for last minute ahorpers are Glass Menagerie" (which closes OcL 18) "The Owl and the and Subject was Rases" CLOSED LAST night: I Hear a Waliz?" afier 220 performances following a return engagement of 84 0Nnlng this week: "A Very Rich Woman" Sept 30 Bela-sne "Generation" postponed premiere at the Mnrosco from Sept 29 to Oct 8 NEW YORK IB The new Broadway season started last week on a downbeat noto with arrival of Pally" The two episode comedy by William Hanley about a middle-aged wife and her young boyfriend generally was thumbed down by radio and TV reviewers The Post only Manhattan daily publishing during the newspaper shutdown commented: "Short on cumulatively absorbing power" The Associated Tress said: dramatic dully" Starring in the play under the direction of Joseph Anthony are Arlene Francis and Ralph Meeker Sets by lavid Hays costumes Ann Roth Produced by Martin Gabel TICKET BUYERS' Ruble: Ftkwn Heckart aid Charles Knnln have taken over from Mildred Natwick ami Kurt Kumar in the long run hit a stttxxi i la a i xm a A.