New York Clipper (Jun 1923)

N. Y.KEITH, MOSS, PROCTOR M'G'RS TO COMPETE 9500 PRIZES WEEK OF JUNE 18 Tbe second annual Keith, Moss and Proctor theatre managers' competition con- test will be held during: the week of June IS, for an bouse raanagers in New York city. Five hundred dollars is to be di- vided into first, second and third prizes to be awarded to the house managers who stage the most effective novelty either in the amateur or any other kind of feature line for that week. Decisions will be based on the originality of the idea, the least amount of cost expended in carrying it oat, the amount of business done by the end of the week, the staging, and its pre- sentation and exploitation. Judges vnll be E. F. Albee, J. H. Murdock, J. j! Maloney, B. S. Moss and F. F. Proctor. All the house managers are now engaged in arranging their features for the week of Jtroc 18, most of them endeavoring to keep their ideas secrets until next week, when the exploitation of their individual attractions is to be started. Most of the alUjclions will take the form of amateur revues in different styles, as these have been found to draw the most money during the last season. Most of the amateur at- tractions have thus far been done at Moss' Franklin Theatre, where revues away from "Frolics," '^Follies" and "Minstrels" ^ve been done, being presented here in three and four scenes under the names of "Cabaretland" and "Songland." These ideas were also put into effect in other theatres. Winners of the first managers' competi- tive contest, held last season, were Bert Kalmar, then at the Grecnpoint and now U the Prospect; Harry Crull. then at the Prospect and now in Providence, second prize, ajid N. W. Derr. of the Riverside, third prize. The prizes will probably be divided into $250 for the first prize. $150 for the second, and $100 for the third. PASSPART-ORPHEUM CASE UP The case of William L. Passpart asaiiut the Orpheum Circuit is now in tbe Supreme Court and will, it is be- lieved, be reached for trial before the end of the present week. Passport sued for $300,000 damages al- le^ging in his complaint that he had been hired to book foreign acts for the Or- pheum Grcuit. He claims that the ar- rangement was to last as long as Martin Beck continued in vaudeville and that he was -to receive five per cent of the salaries of all acts booked. Passpart al- leges that he continued in his position for a number of years, but was dismissed in 1914. Passpart claims that during the tnne he was booking foreign acts for the circtnt his earnings were about $15,000 a year. Passpart had a similiar suit against Martin Beck, former president of the Orpheum Circuit, but this he lost. BIG INSURANCE FOR ACT Savoy and Breiman. who on Sunday night completed their second week at the Palace Theatre, each has taken out a $100.- OOO insurance policy, each naming his part- ner as beneificiary. They have signed a life partnership in the theatre and the in- surance was taken for imitnal protection in case death splits the act. TEUBER REnjRNING FROM S. A. Max Teuber. who has been playing his act "In Shadowland" at Buenos Aires, South .America, will return to New York on the Vandyke about June 11. SEVEN NEW KEITH HOUSES Plans for a new Keith big time theatre to be built in Toledo, Ohio, were started last week, and construction will be begun with the beginning of the coming season. The new Toledo house will also be a "super-theatre." with a seating capacity of over 3,000 and an office building in con- junction with iL At the same time the Toledo house will be started, work will also be in progress on similar Keith theatres in Dayton, De- troit, Philadelphia, Boston, Rochester, and two houses in 'New York, one on West One Htmdred and Twenty-fifth street and the E. F. Atbee theatre in Brooklyn, which is to be ready during the latter part of next season. These seven additions to the Keith cir- cuit will all play big time policies and all will be in full operation by 1925. The style of architecture of all of these seven houses is to be similar to ■ the "Perfect Playhouse" in Qeveland, especially as re- gards the back-stage comforts for the artists playing on the bills. The house in Philadelphia is to be built by the Greater Philadelphia Theatre Corporation, consist- ing of the combmed Keith and Stanley organizations. GOLF TOURNAMENT DATE SET ^dwin G. Lauder, Jr., president, and Harvey L. Watkins, secretary of the K-O gold tournament—an annual event in which all Keith and Orpheum ofiBdals are eligible to participate—announce June 12th, 13th and 14th as the days to be devoted to this golf "classic" this season. The tournament will be held at the Mt, Vemon country club, .^mong the entries already received by the committee arc those of Edwin G. Lauder, Jr., Reed Albee, Pat Casey, Walter Vincent, Frank Vincent, Maj. L. E. Thompson. Amcdee Van Buren, Harvey Watkins, Harry Jordan, Fred Schanberger, Clark Brown, J. Henry Walters, Mark A. Luescher. Jack Dempsey, Roy Meyers, George Gottliti) and Pete Van Qeve. LOPEZ'S NUMBER 2 BAND ROUTED Vincent Lopez' Red Cap Orchestra is the new name of the number two Lopez orchestra formerly known as Del Lampe and orchestra. The organization has been routed over the Orpheum circuit and will open on June 10, at the Palace, Chicago, nsing the lighting effects and numbers staked by Lopez. They will feature an effect for "On a Moonlight Night," Walfe Gilbert's waltz number. During the current week, the entire ag- gregation of ViiKent Lopez' Hotel Peim- sylvania orchestra are being given a va- cation, with the exception of Lopez him- self and Billy Hamilton. The Red Cap orchestra are playing on the Pennsylvania Roof with Lopez. KRAMER AND BOYLE FOR LOEW Kramer and Boyle, who were featured in one of the ill filed unit shows earlier in the season, will return to vaudeville, opening at Loew's State Theatre, New York, the week of June 18. Dave Morris Band will also be booked on the same bilL Both will do their independent offerings and will combine forces in an afterpiece. .\rthur S. Lyons has arranged the act and is handling its bookings. ANDERSON TO PRODUUCE Charles G. .\nderson, formerly a Keith manager in Syracuse. _ Yonkers, Atlantic City, and other towns, is entering the pro- ducing and managing end of. the business with E. L. Striker, formerly of the H. B. Marinelli office as his partner. The n^w firm has opened offices in the Romax Building on West Forty-seventh street. SUNDAY SHOWS DISCONTINUED The Winter Garden has discontinued its Sunday concerts for the Summer. JUNE MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR KEITH E]U>ERIMENTING IN PITTSBURGH A novel experiment in the way of local attractions, which will probably be put into use In every Keith theatre throughout the country out of New York city, will be held at the Wavis Theatre, Pittsburg, during the week of June 11, when, at each per- formance, a choral society and an orches- tra, consisting of pupils of six Pittsburgh high schools, will be a feature of both matinee and evening performances. Each school will give two performances, the six competing for a prize to be awarded to the best organization. A jury selected by the Pittsburgh Board of Education, will wit- ness each performance, and at the end of the week, will decide which school offered the best organizations, both choral and or- chestral. The wiimer will be held over at the thea- tre as a regular feature of the program for the following week, that of June 18. In addition, the winning school will re- ceive a contribution of &O0 from Eugene L. Connelly, manager of the Davis Thea- tre, to the sdiool fund for the purchase of musical instruments. The plan has been endorsed by the Su- perintendent of Schools, William H. Da- vidson, and Will Erhart, director of music of Pittsburgh schools. Approximately 100 pupils from each school will appear on the stage at each performance. The schools which are competing and whose pupils will be seen in the Davis Theatre during the week are as follows: Monday, the Alle- gheny High School, choral and orchestral, direction of H. 'H. Holmes and Antoinette Canfield; Tuesday, Wcstinghouse High School, direction of Charles A. Rdistock; Wednesday. South Hills High School, di- rected by Bertha Baker; Thursday, Fifth Avenue High School, direction of Oscar W. Demmlcr; Friday, Latimer Junior High School. Boys' Glcc Qub. directed by Lillian B. Hild, orchestra directed by Ed- mund Geehring and chorus directed by Mctta £. Greenwalt; the Peabody High School girls' chorus and orchestra, directed by Florence L. Shute. will wind up the week on Saturday. "The winning school will be a feature of the bill for the entire week following. This is being extensively advertised as the Pitt^urgh June Music Festival. If the results arc what they are expected to be, a national June Music Festival will be inaugurated in the same manner with all schools in every city where a Keith theatre or a house affiliated with the Keith Cir- cuit is situated. CONCERTS AT POLO GROUND A series of concerts to be held through- out the summer at the Polo Grounds dur- ing three evenings a week, will be in- augurated on June 28. The concerts will consist of band and operatic programs and will be run until the latter part of August. The price scale will range from twenty- five cents to a dollar, it is understood. PETROVA COMING EAST Olga Petrova, who entered vaudeville again on the Orpheum circuit last week, having closed with "The White Peacock," is coming East to play the Keith hous^. Her first Eastern appearance will be in Atlantic City during ibe week of June 24th. HEIMAN IN NEW YORK Marcus Heiman, president of the Or- phan circuit, arrived back in New York from Chicago on Monday. Heiman will sail for Europe on the Leviathan on July 4. TELLEGEN CANCELS WEEK Lou Tcllegcn cancelled his vaudeville engagement at the Palace last week be- cause he. thought it would be necessary to be in court at the hearing of Miss Larri- more's plea for an open chance to clear her name before a jury. Miss Larrimore was one of the several co-respondents named by Geraldine Farrar in ner suit for divorce instituted against Tellegen. The matter was settled without going to trial by Miss Farrar's attorney being granted i>ermission to withdraw the name of Miss Larrimore from the complaint. Although legally cleared of any wrong doing Miss Larrimore was not at all satis- fied with the court's action and has threat- ened to bring suit against Miss Farrar for slander if for no other reason than to haVe the entire matter threshed out in public and her good name cleared for all time. "CARROTS" MISS BARRYMORE ACT "Carrots," the one-act play by Sir .Mfred Sutro, will be Ethel Banymore's vaude- ville vehicle for her six weeks' engagement this summer and 'not "The Twelve Poimd Look" as previously announced. "The Twelve Pound Look" is said to carry a royalty bill of $230 weekly during the entire time it is playing' and Miss Barrymore is said to have always paid that amount for the little sketch. HARRINGTON AT STATE Hamtree Harrington and Cora Green are playing their fifth engagement at Loew's State Theatre, New York City, within as many months. Harrington and Green were originally brought to the attention of Broadway in "Liza," a negro musical show, and have since played local engag^e- ments in the Proctor houses. The team holds the record for repeat dates on the Loew Circuit. KEITH GETS LONG BEACH HOUSE The Keith circuit completed arrange- ments last week whereby the newly erected Castle Theatre in Long Beach, will come under Keith direction immediately. The house is to play motion pictures for the first five days of the week, and vaudeville on Saturdays and Soundays throughout the Summer. It adjoins the Nassau Hotel in Long Beach and has a seating capacity of 1,400. UNIT SHOW FOR PAN TIME ^yilliam E. Friedlander's "Main Street Follies," a former Shubert unit attraction which was reorganized and sent on tour recently, will conclude a trip through New England on June 7th and on June 9th will begin a tour of the Pantages Circuit, open- ing at the Pantages Theatre, Toronto, on that date. The company is carrying thirty- two people. STEELE TO PLAY FILM HOUSES John Steele, who is now appearing in "The Music Box Revue" at the Music Box, will leave the cast of that show shortly, and begin a tour of the new Loew motion picture and concert circuit, it is reported. Steele is said to be receiving $2,000 for his appearances in the big motion-picture houses. CUFF EDWARDS MARRIES San Franqsco, June 4.—Qiff Ed- wards of the act of Clayton and Edwards was married in Portland, Ore., on May 14th to Irene Wiley, late of the "Music Box Revue." The coui^e are spending their honeymoon in California and playing the Orpheum Circuit. MURRAY HOWARD TO WED Murray Howard, of the vaudeville team known as Murray and Alan, will be mar- ried on June 25 to Miss Bessie Ascher, a non-professional.