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Show By VIRGINIA VALE Released by Western Newspaper UnJon. SINCE his return from his recent overseas trip Joe E. Brown has been the talk of New York being modest, he's told the people fortunate enough to hear him, things tha,t h'fi should say to the entire en-tire United States. He has traveled more than 100,000 miles, entertained more than two million men, on all fronts. The man is terrific; it's no wonder that a psychiatrist who followed him through hospitals In the South Pacific Pa-cific reported a 71 per cent improvement improve-ment in the patients' condition. He entertained men everywhere In the front lines, on ships, in canteens. . A VC i JOE E. BROWN jflls new radio show, on the Blue network, is a quiz show; too bad he's not doing an additional one, so that the public could hear what he told newspaper people. The "vicious circle" that's supposed sup-posed to be show business isn't so vicious for Xavier Cugat, who be-jcame be-jcame a movie highlight after repeatedly re-peatedly starring on the bandstand jof the New York Paramount thea-jter. thea-jter. Now that he has a handsome contract with Metro, Cugat has been rewarded with a ten weeks' personal person-al appearance contract, at $12,500 per week at the Paramount theater, thea-ter, where he started to fame! Lauritz Melchior, Metropolitan tenor who scored such a hit clowning clown-ing with Fred Allen on the air, has signed for his first motion picture it's Metro's "Thrill of Romance," featuring Esther Williams, the swimmer. He'll play an opera singer. sing-er. "All the other fellows razzed this chap," said the soldier who'd just come out of Halloran hospital. "He sat down on the side of my bed and played cards with me and talked, and was swell. I didn't know who he was then. Found out later he was Frank Sinatra," We won't see Rosalind Russell in "Sister Kenny," after all that preparation, prep-aration, because it's been indefinitely indefinite-ly postponed. But it's going to be too bad if she's assigned to "Roughly "Rough-ly Speaking" instead, because that's a perfect story for Bette Davis. James Cagney has started, his personal appearance tour of U. S. army and navy bases in the European Euro-pean war theater; expects to remain re-main abroad for three months. lie rehearsed six weeks with a dance coach before leaving Hollywood, on a cavalcade of American dancing from George Primrose to Fred Astaire. Shopping for lingerie with hia wife, Geoffrey " Barnes, he of the ominous voice on "The Mystery Theater," yielded to the temptation to use his radio voice on the elevator ele-vator operator. Barnes says he never nev-er had an easier time getting out. Next time you hear Cary Grant in a radio play, picture him acting out all the dialogue as if he were before the camera. When he's out of a scene he walks into the wings, mingles min-gles with the supporting players, I and contributes to the off-stag'-sound effects. After finishing the hilarious "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" Preston Sturges left Paramount; now he's gone into partnership with Hosvard Hughes, who'll be his financial backer. back-er. That combination should produce pro-duce some startling pictures! Dimitri Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony will be given its first ' performance in the Western hemi-i hemi-i Bphere over the CBS network on Sunday, April 2, by the New York ; Philharmonic symphony. Bill Downs brought the symphony back from Moscow. ODDS AND ENDS That Flying Fortress named for "We, the People" is still blasting away at the Germans . . . While Dob Griffin was recovering : from a plane crash on CBS's "Mary ' Marlin" he was down with jungle fever : in "Valiant Lady" . , . "The Silver Theater" may move from Holly wood to New York, to present well-known stage players in its Sunday dramas . . . One-! One-! third of the principal players in "The j Itobe" will be new to the screen; Producer Pro-ducer Frank Ross believes the story de- mands fresh faces . . . Jack Denny has checked off the Warner Bros, lot, after i completing his starring role in Tht j Horn Blows at Midnight," |