Nationwide Theatrical Ad – November 2, 1968

Remember my posts about Nationwide Theatrical Agency?

I first wrote about the Lorain company that booked entertainment acts for all occasions on this 2012 post. The agency booked singers, dancers, magicians, recording stars, novelty acts, comedians, jugglers, accordionists, ventriloquists, hypnotists, and more.

Last year, the current owners of the building on Broadway that was home to Nationwide Theatrical Agency discovered a treasure trove of old showbiz posters, postcards and pinups. They shared them with me, and were featured on this post.

Anyway, I recently found this ad (below) for the agency, which ran in the Lorain Journal on November 2, 1968. What grabbed my attention was the drawing of Snoopy from the Peanuts comic, which was enjoying tremendous popularity at that time.

It’s a strange drawing of Snoopy to use in an ad, however unauthorized it may be. (I can’t remember in the original comic strip if Snoopy was imitating a lion or other beast, or if he was yawning.)

Nevertheless, I wondered: who was (or is) Arlene Colyer? And what kind of act did she do as Snoopy the Musical Dog?

Fortunately, the internet provided the answer.

Arlene Colyer had been enjoying a great career as an entertainer since the early 1950s, performing xylophone selections and eventually becoming nationally known as “Queen of the Marimba.”

In 1965, she added realty to her specialities, becoming a realtor with an agency in Steubenville, Ohio.

From the July 15, 1965 Wintersville Citizen

But in November 1968, she was still performing, listed with Nationwide Theatrical. I’ll bet it was a cute act, with her dressed as Snoopy, playing the xylophone.

Arlene still has a connection with dogs, although none as famous as Snoopy. According to a September 2015 article in the Herald-Star, she keeps busy as a founding member and volunteer at the Jefferson County Animal Welfare League.

Here’s hoping Arlene is still doing well.

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The ad also includes JoAnn Castle, “direct from the Lawrence Welk Show.” JoAnn was known as the “Queen of Ragtime Piano.” According to her Wiki entry, she replaced Big Tiny Little on the show. (My Grandmother had one of his LPs – you don’t forget a name like that.)

And here she is, performing on Lawrence Welk in 1968, courtesy of YouTube. She’s terrific!

Ghosts of Nationwide Theatrical Agency

Remember when I wrote about the Nationwide Theatrical Agency and its uniquely-shaped sign at 1629 Broadway? At the time, I wondered what kind of acts the agency actually booked.

Well, recently a small window to the world of Nationwide Theatrical Agency mysteriously cracked open, after being literally boarded up for decades, and provided me with my answer.

Here’s the fascinating story, a tale of haunting showbiz images revealed.

I recently received an email from Mark Stadul, who along with his wife owns the building in which the Nationwide Theatrical Agency was located. It's now the home of their business, Steel Coast Trading – which sells used and surplus tools, machines, electronics, test and vehicular goods.

Mark and his wife had been renovating the building and recently made an interesting discovery. He wrote, "During recent repairs, I uncovered a door that had been walled over in the building that had several posters, postcards, and pin-ups from the agency.” It seems that the plywood had been there for decades and only needed to be pried off to reveal the various promotional pieces that hadn’t seen daylight for years. 

Mark invited me to stop by and take a look at his findings, and I did just that.

The actual promotional pieces seem to be from the 1960s, with a few bearing postmarks. I spread them out on a workbench and grabbed some quick shots of some of them. Most were yellowed, curled and full of pinholes.

It’s quite an eclectic collection of acts, all striving for the bookings that would catapult them to fame and fortune. A few made it big; others, we’ll probably never know. 

Little is known about Tia and her "volcanic, tempestuous and seductive" Tahitian Fire Dance. 

On the other hand, Frank and Denise Agostino had a fine career with their acrobatic balancing act. The back of their postcard was postmarked November 1969 and advertised that they were currently appearing in Minsky’s Revue at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. By 1976 they were sharing the playbill with Joey Bishop in Philadelphia.

Colonel Jerry Lipko and his "Human Chimps” were based in Florence, New Jersey. They also performed as “Lipko’s Comedy Chimps” and were billed as “America’s Finest Chimp Act.” A July 1973 newspaper report in the Monroe Evening Times described the act, noting, "Col. Jerry Lipko has had chimps for 18 years, using them in his shows and lectures. At present, he features Skippy, eight-years old; Roses, five; Hazel, 24, and a new member, George, who is two, and still in training. All Chimps wear shoes and clothing and amaze crowds with their human traits. They roller skate, balance on rolling balls as well as on the high perch. They play musical instruments, ride bikes, and even a Honda, where their working area permits. They have appeared on television shows with Red Skelton, Jimmy Dean and Mike Douglas and with numerous circuses and fairs throughout the country.”

A tragic fire in Col. Lipko’s camper in Dec. 1976 claimed the lives of several of his famous chimps.

Here are a few more promotional photos for Lipko’s Human Chimps.

Burlesque performer Von Ray, the “Texas Tornado” also enjoyed a successful career with her novelty act. She often performed while standing on her head, which is why she was also billed as “the Upside Down Girl." She owned her own bar in New Orleans as well. 

Here’s another promotional shot of Von Ray from the late-1960s.

But getting back to the other acts...

Mississippi Rain was a Southern pop group based out of Jackson, Mississippi. The band recorded an album for Polydor Records and was represented by Fras-Co Productions. Here’s a link to a nice collection of photos of the band on Facebook, collected by the man who wrote and arranged their album.

Buck Buckley and his “neoteric wit” unfortunately seem to be destined to remain a mystery, with no internet “footprint” to reveal anything about the man and his act.

Of all the acts represented here, Eddie Floyd was by far the most successful, with a long career as an American soul/rhythm & blues singer and songwriter. Here’s Eddie today (below).

Courtesy bluesandsoul.com

And here’s the link to his website.

Lastly, and happily, Walter Blaney and his big one-man show featuring “100% clean, wholesome fun, comedy and magic" are still around as well. 

Here’s the link to his website.

Also included in the collection of items retrieved from behind the plywood wall was, appropriately, this postcard of Fremont Street in Las Vegas as it used to be in all its original neon glory. 

It was postmarked August 17, 1970 and was sent to Frank Gimello from Ralph, one of his employees. “Hi Boss,” it read, “Looking things over for anything new you might be able to use or interested in…”

Sounds like Ralph had a great job!

Special thanks to Mark Stadul of Steel Coast Trading for sharing his findings. Here’s the link to the Steel Coast Trading Ebay store.

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While preparing this post, I researched Mark’s building a little more. It was built around 1948 and was originally known as the Central Lorain Commerce Building.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs...

After my post about the old Nationwide Theatrical Agency sign a few days ago, I received a nice email from longtime blog reader Raleigh.

Raleigh has helped me out in the past with some of his reminisces, and this time was no exception. His experience as an employee at the Ritter Sign Co. from 1974 - 1982 came in very handy.

"Looking at the National Theatrical Agency sign and photo, it was apparent to me that this sign had a former life," he noted. "It was common practice for a sign company to give new life to a once used sign by washing the paint from the inside of the plastic face and adding new copy to suit the new owner's needs. I think if you examine the sign closely, you will conclude, as I did, that this particular sign began life as a CANADA DRY sign."

By George, he's right! I can't believe I didn't recognize that distinctive shape, despite the fact that I buy Canada Dry once in a while.

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Raleigh also told me a few stories about working at the Ritter Sign Co. One of his work assignments left a stinging memory.

"I remember working in Elyria doing a "7up the Uncola" sign a la Peter Max (that will date me, huh?) on a wall and fighting off the wasps that had a nest in the wall with entrances to the nest in holes in the mortar," he related. He remembers painting that wall, which was fifteen feet above the roof top below, while waiting for the next attack.

During his time at the Ritter Sign Company, Raleigh and a fellow employee re-painted the well-remembered WELCOME TO LORAIN billboard that was on Route 58 (Leavitt Road) opposite the Emerald Valley Golf Course. That's Mike Zatroch on the left and Raleigh on the right in the photo (at right) that originally appeared in the Lorain Journal.

I remember that sign well. It would get a new look and color scheme once in a while, but the message was always the same about Lorain being Ohio's 10th largest city. Of course the sign is gone now, as that area has been extensively developed.

Special thanks to Raleigh for sharing his reminisces!

Nationwide Theatrical Agency

This eye-catching sign for Nationwide Theatrical Agency at 1629 Broadway has always intrigued me. In a gritty, working man's town like Lorain – where cars, ships and steel were manufactured – to me, this sign symbolized glamour and show business.

What went on in the agency's suite, I wondered? Was there a cigar-chomping agent sitting behind a desk, while a variety of acts auditioned in front of him, hoping to hit the big time? Did the agent promise the performer that someday they'd "play the Palace," only for them to find out that he meant the Lorain Palace?

It's kind of difficult finding out about the agency. Phone book ads for the agency first appeared in the 1965 Lorain directory. The 1966 ad advertised "entertainment for all occasions" including singers, dance teams, magicians, recording stars, novelty acts, comedians, accordionists, jugglers, ventriloquists, hypnotists, dance bands and combos.

The ad changed very little over the years. The 1979 version added "trained animal acts" and "country & western stars."

The ads for the agency continued to appear in the phone book for the next several decades. The last phone listing I could find in the books at the library was for 2004, and it's not in the current CenturyTel book either. So it looks like this little touch of Hollywood must have booked its last flea circus years ago.

Anyway, I'd love to know if anyone reading this blog knew anyone who was represented by Nationwide Theatrical Agency, or if they ever booked an act through them.

Even if the place is closed, it's still a great sign though.