Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 21

JIN. Can a billionaire sheik make Cleveland chic? People Page 27 Learning to live with the bomb in the '50s; a film review Page 30 P-G theater tour books a Burton and a Scott in a Coward show Page 26 Annie Girardot in "La Vie a film review Page 25 5 J7 Mil? UUWJlli II iMpn I I II 1 1 S3; iMMmm -m ii iImii. JJittsburcil) iposf tfiairttc FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1982 23 They're hooked on duplicate bridge 7 By Virlea Horton Woods They are addicts. On drugs? Liquor? Pills? No. They are duplicate bridge players.

If you want to see them in action, go to the William Penn Hotel for the district's Labor Day regional tournament, now through Monday. In smoke-filled rooms the bridge addicts, hunched over tables, squint at the 13 cards in their hands. Some are happy, some confused, some jubilant. Their addiction is approved and sanctioned; they can dress as they like, smoke incessantly and sigh. Their vocabulary is supposed to be limited to 15 words.

Occasionally, a word will slip out that is not printable. In Pittsburgh, there is a game at least twice a day, seven days a week. Addiction comes easily with so many games open. The more one plays, the more he's hooked. Theodore Lyons, a director, teacher and past president of the International Bridge Teachers Association, estimates there are 50,000 serious bridge players in the Pittsburgh district who enjoy social bridge; 2,000 or more play duplicate bridge.

In duplicate bridge, the deck of 52 cards is shuffled and placed in slotted boards, with 13 cards in each slot. The boards pass from table to table and are never reshuffled; hence, the term duplicate. Each player has a partner. The players are designated North, South, East and West. The game is to see which partnership can play the same hand better than the other pairs.

The bidding and the playing is the same as regular bridge, but scoring is different. Virlea Horton Woods is a free-lance writer. In a session of two to three hours, 24 to 32 boards are played. Players place their scores in the boards after each hand is played. Beware he is penalized if you he peeks at the scores before playing the board.

The game separates the novice from the expert. Skill is everything; ignore luck. At all games where points are awarded, there is a director who has been nationally accredited. The director furnishes supplies and pays rent if it is required and the director, in turn, is reimbursed by the players, who pay 11.25 to $2 for the privilege of playing. Because the game is getting so popular, reservations are requested for many of the games.

Strangers are welcome; the game is a great way for newcomers to become acquainted. When requested, directors will usually find bridge partners for strangers. Children and pets are not welcome; they might distract the addicts or disturb cards. Duplicate bridge is a great social leveler. At a recent game in Mt.

Lebanon a woman wearing a half dozen gold chains and a Chinese brocaded gown was playing with a bearded teen-ager in jeans with his shirt tail hanging out. Some players bring snacks and many dieters carry their salads and hard-cooked eggs. About half as many men as women play duplicate; the men are more in evidence at the night and weekend games. "Yes, I am a compulsive player," says Polly Munster, a widow who lives in the Maidenbridge apartments in Whitehall. "I've played almost every day in the past five years.

I've just about given up ev- (Continued on Page 25) if'- Dave Lubin, left, and Jeff Ilerforth of the Pittsburgh Albert French Post-Gazette business as using local talent, the Pittsburgh Comedy clubs are serious The organization serves as a booking agency for comics who play the various clubs in its circuit. It also manages some of the comedians. Herforth doesn't feel comedy clubs are just a fad. "Comedy will never die," he said seriously. "I think comedy clubs will be around as long as we can get the talent.

And, so far, that's not been a problem." Comedy Club. As well 5 if! i Comedy acts, which said. "We Pat Paulson are a lot aren't as "They first time Eack the eno, who "The guarantee back." The Bone, which Mill Run former compares about 90 Club). The club Keith "We first or coming to "We think once "In the has a serious The By Mike Kalina Post-Gazette Staff Writer Some district entrepreneurs have been turning belly laughs into serious money. Although the concept of comedy clubs has been around for more than a decade, Pittsburgh didn't have its first all-comedy club until a year ago.

That's when the 210-seat Pittsburgh Comedy Club opened at 2500 W. Liberty Dormont. "We always thought the concept would work in Pittsburgh," said Jeff Herforth, one of the three partners in the operation. "So we weren't surprised at how well we've done in the last year." He said practically all of the club's weekend shows in the last year have been sellouts (this weekend, comedian Glenn Hirsch is in the spotlight). He added business also has been good the rest of the week (it's closed Mondays).

Herforth, partners Joe and Ralph Palmisano and Ron Pavlisko did so well with their first venture into the world of comedy they began franchising clubs. Two have been opened under the auspices of Yinzgyze, the trio's corporation. The first was in Warren, Ohio; the second, Tickles, in the Holiday House, Monroeville. Two other franchises are to open in North Carolina in the early spring, according to Herforth. The principals of Yinzgyze, were also instrumental in forming the International Association of Comedy Clubs.

Based here, the association has 22 clubs in its membership. Club and Tickles calls upon national invariably click. "Pittsburghers love big names," Herforth did real well with Jimmie Walker, and Shirley Hemphill. But there of other comics better than they, who famous. might not draw as big a crowd the around, but when they return, they place." He cited the example of Jay recently played the club.

word-of-mouth Leno received will him a bigger house when he comes newest comedy club here is the Funny opened in the summer at 3002 Saw Whitehall. The building, a ice-cream parlor, seats about 300 (that with the capacity of Tickles, but is more than the Pittsburgh Comedy is owned by brothers Jeff and Schneider, transplants from Cleveland. were going to open one in Columbus Cleveland, then we got the idea of Pittsburgh," said Jeff Schneider. Pittsburgh has great growth potential it's finished. South Hills alone, the Funny Bone potential audience of 500,000.

That's a number of people." Funny Bone is drawing on a lot of the "semi-name" comics that ply the comedy club circuit, as are the Pittsburgh Comedy Club and Tickles. These include comedians who have (Continued on Page 30) MMKiiM V.W.H. Campbell Jr. Post-Gazette Keith and Jeff Schneider, co-owners of the Funny Bone. Darrell Sapp Post-Gazette Bridge players, from left, are Leone Carroll and Marilyn Weisensee of Pleasant Hills and Richard Lightcap and Polly Munster of Whitehall.

spouts new look for pool jurors Marsha and Michael Berger from 243 entries creates a strong case of confusion as one tries to reason why so many works of unexceptional quality managed to pass by the sophisticated eyes of two local art people who have done so much to improve the arts community through their gallery. For a while I thought perhaps the Bergers were moving toward the new wave, which dictates that the old standards of inventiveness and craftsmanship are less important than the experience of creating, one Ill I. I J' IfljlllHI II l'lllIJ I II III II III IIMH IU I 4 sus 1' 1 I 1 liwimniiiMM li'immnl mil imnMi of the lesser aspects of post-modernist thinking. But we shouldn't confuse the output of Associated members who are mostly academic with the cutting edge of today's hottest style, neo-expressionism, which hasn't even been seen in Pittsburgh yet. I asked Michael Berger about the discrepancies.

He said members had dropped the usual small-show guidelines this time, and artists submitted large works which could not be accommodated in the space. The (Continued on Page 30) 4 i intitt Sculpture By Donald Miller Post-Gazette Art Critic A new steel sculpture by Peter Calaboyias is adding excitement to the city's Westwood Swimming Pool, off Guyland Street. The sculpture actually, a fountain in the children's pool spouts gentle showers over hollow rectangles etched with undulating rivulets. The forms are filled with water so that the sun's heat on them will not burn the children. The fountain bears some similarity to Calaboyias" hollow steel sculpture at the Squirrel Hill Library.

The artist designed the children's pool in conjunction with project architect James Knox, of The Design Alliance. Steel was contributed by Jones Laughlin. A second sculpture, by Anthony Vitale, is now installed at the North-gate Pool, Termon Avenue, Brighton Heights. Josefa Filkosky will install a sculpture at the Paulson Avenue Swimming Pool, Lemington, by mid-month. Louise Brown, director, City Department of Parks and Recreation, and donors of materials deserve special credit for these projects.

Notes and nuances: The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh was riding high with its large annual at the Museum of Art last spring, but its current show, at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts through Sept. 12, is quite a comedown. With obvious exceptions, the exhibition of 67 works selected by Another Pittsburgh horror film By Marylynn Uricchio Post-Gazette Staff Writer Pittsburgh used to be known as the Smoky City, but not any more. A new reputation is in the making, and if it sticks, it may sound a lot worse than the sooty nickname that has hung on through the years. Try Terrortown USA.

Or how about the City of the Living Dead? In film circles, Pittsburgh already has that handle. George Romero is almost single-handedly responsible for it, having directed "Night of the Living Dead," "Martin," "Dawn of the Dead" and the upcoming "Creepshow" here. Dusty Nelson's "Effects," another chiller, was also filmed in this region. Now, one of Romero's former partners and the co-author of "Night of the Living Dead" has directed his first horror film in and around Pittsburgh. His name is John Russo, the movie's called "Midnight," and it opens today in local theaters.

Made for just $200,000, the film is being released regionally and has already done good business in Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. It's about three young people and their bloody run-in with a family of devil worshippers who store their potential victims in cages. I ---w Robin Walsh in from "Midnight." In person, Russo, 43, looks like the mild-mannered schoolteacher he once was. He is now, primarily, a successful writer who has published seven novels for Pocket Books and Dale Books, including the noveliza-tion of "Night of the Living Dead," "Midnight," 'The Majorettes" and "Return of the Living Dead." The last two are also targeted to become films. Russo, who lives with his wife in 'North Huntingdon, was an English literature student at West Virginia (Continued on Page 31) a scene "5, rj 'If James Klingensmith Post-Gazette Sydney Flaleau and A'icoe Bonasso, both 9, cavort in front of swimiAing-pool sculpture.

John Russo.