San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

4 THE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW January i, 1910 Managers!! If you don't like your Actors Actors!! If you don't like the Company you are in See Menzel About It Menzel's Dramatic Agency 915 Van Ness Avenue Telephones {I; 2877 Franklin 4260 Novelty Theatre, San Francisco TO RENT By the day, week or month. Fine, comfortable theatre, seating 1,200 people. Large stage. SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO POLITICAL MEETINGS LEVY'S BIG TRUNK STORE ! NCORPOHATED COAST AGENTS FOR THE Taylor Trunks fi87MarLot^t GENERAL REPAIRING 00/ lYIdl RCl jl.iO. I -Kearny Phone Douglas 3192 F rank Jay Gould Wrote Letters to Bessie De Voie New York, Dec. 27. — Frank Jay Gould has filed his reply to the charges of fraud and misrepresentation which Bessie De Voie, a former stage favorite, brought against him in her action for $250,000 damages in connection with an alleged promise to marry her. His answer is a general denial of the accusations. \i \v York, Dec. 28. — More love letters, alleged to have been written by Frank Jay Could to Bessie de Voie, the stage dancer, were made public today as an offset to Mr. Gould's denial of the charges in her $250,000 suit for damages for alleged fraud and misrepresentation in connection with his alleged promise to marry her. They tell many interesting inside facts in connection with the suit for divorce which his wife, Helen Kelly Gould, won against him, and add to the bright light shed by the Astor and Vanderbilt cases on the workings of the divorce courts of this State. THAT PROMISE TO WED That there actually was a bona fide promise to wed is proved. Miss de Voie's lawyers say, in the following letter, said to have been written by the young millionaire to the little dancer : "834 Fifth Avenue, Wednesday evening, January 13, 1909. ,-.My Own Bessie: I spent an hour with Mr. Xicoll this afternoon. He has made fairly good progress. Plans are almost made so that 'some one' will go to Nevada, and then the decree would be granted by October next, Of course, nothing definite has been agreed to. but everything looks as though *at last the beginning of the end' were approaching. I feel quite happy this evening, notwithstanding a very bad cold and the pain in my back. Does this agreement on some such plan please you? If you only knew how I look forward to that time when 1 am free, and later on more so when we are married! "Yours, my dearest, with love and kisses, your "Frank. In the following, Miss de Voie is asked to guess the date of the alleged promised wedding, which she says she knew and which was to have been September 4th. but Mr. Gould sailed for Europe that day : "834 Fifth Avenue, Monday. My Own Dear Bessie : As soon as you left I again felt so lonely and would be glad to (3841 Preston on the wire) see you again. Mrs. Slayback thinks that you are immense and so does Mr. (that's Will). Am going to figure out the number of days that will intervene between today — can you guess? "Frank." "March 15. 1909." About this time Mr. Gould had begun to count the days until he should lead Miss de Voie to the altar. In support of this allegation the following letter is shown : "834 Fifth Avenue, Tuesday. "Dearest Bessie : I may be over as soon as this is received by you, but want so much to write you these few lines. Oh, think ; one day less.' There are now at the most 198! Doesn't that seem big enough? It does to me. The opera was fine last night. Mary Garden sang awfully well. Will see you soon. Will give you my love and kisses in person. Yours, dearest girl, "Frank. "March 16, 1909." In writing about his divorce and plans to remarry, Mr. Gould, it is said, quoted the Vanderbilt case to Miss de Voie in a letter, part of which follows : "834 Fifth Avenue, October 7, 1909. "Dearest Bessie: Mr. Nichol has been out of town since I have returned, so could not see him. Mr. Fuller 1 did see, however, for a few minutes and he seemed very much pleased at the way things were going on, and seemed to think things were very much nearer settlement of some kind than ever before. He says when a divorce is granted on the grounds similar to the Vanderbilt case, that it is impossible to marry again in this State, but it can be done outside of the State and it is then recognized by the New York laws. I am so lonely. 1 Jessie dear. Every time I see you now and then leave it makes me more so than before.." VERNE Layton has joined the stock company at the Seattle Theatre. Seattle. Los Angeles Likes The Top O' Th' World The best musical extravaganza presented in Los Angeles in six months or more is The Top o' th' World, which began an eight days' stay at the Majestic Theatre yesterday. Droll and dapper comedians, lavish stage settings, a pretty and sprightly chorus, all setting off the mirth of Mark Swan's book, make the hours pass swiftly. It was worth staying through clear to the end— a compliment one can honestly pay to not half the musical comedies which visit us. In addition, there was the genuine pantomime spirit and tradition, and a holiday flavor which instantly made every one young enough to enter the magiccity of Illusia. The plot unrolls a fantastic tale of up-to-date Americans who visit the recently annexed domain claimed so earnestly by Messrs. Cook and Peary. At the North Pole they meet the queen — Aurora Borealis — a joyously rowdy figure, as impersonated by Charles Harris, and the despotic Jack Frost (Francis Carrier made his nose and cheeks fairly green with the cold). There is a love affair between the charming daughter of an Eskimo and a hustling inventor bent on warming up the polar regions with an extremely practicable brand of canned hot air. Shellman, a newspaper man trying desperately to keep his assignment to skate all around the pole without discovering it. appears at intervals in states of frantic indecision, and at length carries off as a bride the ice vestal whom Jack Frost has hideously enchanted. There is a Friendly Bear, a Candy Kid and a Jack-in-theBox, which thrive quite naturally in this fairyland, and furnish a goodly share of the merriment. Everything ends happily, as it always does in true pantomimes. Even the mirth, for the most part, is thoroughly good-tempered and appeared to be particularly relished by the large numbers of Pasadena citizens presumably in the audience last night. Among the specialties — which followed each other in rapid and hilarious succession — Charles Harris' monologue in Act II as the amply proportioned queen, and the clever comedy of Fred Bailey and Ralph Austin held the foreground of interest. This last pair struck me as quite the equals of Montgomery and Stone in versatility of wit. They appear in every sort of garb the most captious person could exact of funmakers, and their concluding series of burlesques won so many recalls as to threaten to swamp the show. Miss Florence Smith was a true child of the snows, and sang Why Don't You? and Side by Side captivatingly. Robert Travers was a positively chummy bear, with a knowing look and a sailor-like glide and swing in the dance which made one think his name must be "Bos'n." Adele Oswald, as the ice vestal, had one good solo, The Song of the Soul, first heard here in the well remembered Climax. She barely reached its highest note, but sang the rest in expressive and well modulated tones. The two semi-operatic musical numbers of Mr. Carrier were brilliantly sung, and with good technique. Particular credit is due James O'Dea, who wrote the lyrics for the piece. Many of them were genuinely original, with a pretty lilt and some unique and arresting rhymes. There were a number of brand new jokes in the dia logue, although the "bigamy-polygamy-monotony" quip and the "110t< tngue-can-tell-how-sick-I-am" thrust recalled happy memories of our childhood. A novel spectacle wasthe collie ballet, in which half a dozen clever dogs assisted the chorus girls in their dance evolutions, barking and capering throughout with the utmost obvious enjoyment. — Los Angeles Herald. Phosa McAllister Passes Away Mrs. Harry Duffield, veteran actress, better known to theatre-goers of the Pacific Coast as Phosa" McAllister, died December 23, at her home in Glendale, near Los Angeles. Mrs. Duffield had been ill for many months, suffering from heart trouble. Some time ago her death was expected hourly, but she rallied and had been fairly comfortable for many weeks. For the. past two or three seasons Mrs. Duffield has been retired from the stage. Mrs. Duffield had a most interesting stage career. For several seasons she was leading woman with Edwin Booth and played Opposite him in some of his most memorable road engagements, and at his own theatre in New York City. For two seasons she had her own stock company at the Pence Opera House in Minneapolis. Later she and her husband came West and were seen in a variety of parts in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Mr. Duffield is still actively engaged in character work at the Burbank Theatre. Los Angeles. Mrs. Duffield's last professional work was with the Morosco Company, where she was for three years one of the leading lights of that organization. After she retired, she very successfully conducted her own dramatic school, building up a large patronage, until a further inroad of disease made even this work impossible. Mrs. Duffield was born in Stoneham, Me., a little more than fifty-eight years ago. The funeral services were held at the Booth & Boylson undertaking rooms at 1 o'clock. December 27. Harry Girard had charge of the music. Shubert Shows With the Valencia closing tonight, the plans of the Shuberts on the Coast remains yen' much of a mystery, notwithstanding they claim to be arranging to send west immediately after the first of the year a number of their New York successes, the first of which will be Sam Bernard in The Girl and the Wizard. Following closely after will come Florence Roberts with three new plays and Mary Mannering in A Man's World, and Louise Gunning in Marcelle. Gossip From Los Angeles Here's wishing Charles Cherry a Merry Christmas. He ought to thank his lucky stockings when he puts them on Christmas morning, for I am told he left Los Angeles $4000 to the good in the stock market and $600 ahead of John Fox, Jr., at bridge whist. It is even whispered that Pritzi Scheff asked her husband whether he made the trip across the continent to celebrate tlieir wedding anniversary or to see that apart of the family exchequer was turned over to a rival show by the bridge route.