The Billboard 1919-03-22: Vol 31 Iss 12 (1919-03-22)

ee Rete ae al Se * Se se ER een Py nen i IRE ate Se ta UE Kip. ne 5 ee aR Sate a On” a re ee oe “te al ee, eee se RE ORE OF Seg oe a: ? <a 7 2 TIME oh 8 TR Baek LP SE IRD Po Rarsive gw Th 2G) > tab “hn * —— ple aie i MARCH 22, 1919 LAST CALL . J. HETH SHOW LAST CALL ~ TWO SATURDAYS OPENING DATE APRIL 15, EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLS. UNDER STRONG AUSPICES | TWO SATURDAYS FAIR SECRETARIES, ING OR Frisco Comedy Company, Circus Side-Show, Congress of Midgets, gress of Fat People, Samson, Big Snake, Royal Eden Musee, Palace of Illusions, My Crazy House, Silodrome, New $10,000 Carousel, Big Eli Wheel, 1919 Model Whip. HOME-COMING AND VICTORY CELEBRATION COMMITTEES CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND OUR OPENTO COMMUNICATE WITH US IF WANTING FIRST-CLASS, MERITORIOUS ATTRACTIONS. WE POSITIVELY FILL ALL CONTRACTS. ALL THOSE HOLDING CONTRACTS ACKNOWLEDGE THIS CALL MUSICIANS ADDRESS K. N. WEEKS, CARE OF SHOW SEVENTEEN HIGH-CLASS ATTRACTIONS Athletic Arena, The Enchantress Electric Spectacle, One-Ring Cireus, Constery of No Man's Land, Martha, Armless Wonder. Make the People Smile (Continued from page 32) Park,”? No matter how much flash 2 concession has it must be well lighted. Every season change the fronts of the concessions if only to give them a new coat of paint. When I took over the management of Midway Beach Park every building was painted green. It was a ‘‘dead color,’’ and the first thing I did was to paint them all white with green trimmings. It looked like another park. Keep making changes every season. Let the people see that the park is alive or that the management is. Have plenty of shade trees, mothers’ rest, with lots of signs, a sand box for the kiddies to play in, and a good, uniformed police force. The latter is very important, for any fights or trouble may be checked at their inception, Rowdies won't eome again if they know they can not impose upon you and you are well protected, Other people will come again if they know the park preserves order, Have a flower garden. Our flower garden is located at the entrance to the park. It catches the eye of the people coming and going. The first and last impressions are good, Have plenty of good drinking water. Keep the park clean and free of waste paper. Keey the grass cut and looking trim. Have good music in the dance hall. But, above all, smile, smile, smile! your patrons with it. Show them your smile when they leave. It will get them and it wil finally get you, and both will profit, Welcome Jesse James vs. East Lynne (Continued from page 33) that particular town is responsible for a number of tent shows, also pumerous musicians and actors, not to mention some mighty gZood bess canvasmen. [ presume that Fred Jewell, the noted band leader, whose home is there, is responsible for the musicians who hail from that locality. A couple of years ago I personally saw him direct a band composed of nearly three hundred musicians who came from Worthington and the nearby surrounding towns. The actors developed mostly from the numerous tent shows, which included the StarnesLawrence Shows, the several companies under the management of O. W. Mercer, the Guy Stock Company, Eddie Doyle’s Stock Company, the Orpheum Stock Company, Dr. Drybaugh’s medicine shows, the Rose Stock Company, the Cal. Herman Stock Company, and numerous onenight-stand companies. Carlton Guy has made a comfortable fortune out of the Guy Stock Company. His tent repertoire was the first one in the field sixteen or eighteen years ago. His brother, Charles Mercer, has also ‘“‘cleanmed up” with tent repertoire shows. While attending the Shriners a few weeks ago in Indianapolis Mr. Mercer met me at the station with a big Hudson touring car, The weather was quite cool and he casually remarked that we would take a proposed trip in the evening in his closed car, which we did. The fact that any tent show manager can support a country home, a wife and two automobiles is proof positive that he is a success. The late Earl Hawk was rapidly gaining a wide reputation and a comfortable bank account when death overtook him so suddenty a few Over the Falls (liberal percentage). JACK HUBER; Fat People, address Moon Trail, if cheap for cash. Long Range Shooting Gallery still open. Address all communications to George “Mendelsohn is no longer connected with this Show. Wild West Show. WHAT WE WANT Any other attraction that does not conflict with above. . H. WILSON; both care of Show. Want one more first-class Promoter. L.J. HETH, Mogr., East St. Louis, Ill. PTTITITINN CEEOL bbb 2) itt Maude MARGARET STANTON, CHAMPION LADY HIGH DIVER. = BOOKED SOLID. THANK YOU. WITH THE J. F. MURPHY SHOWS. = ET CCULCCCCCCCCCCCCCCLLLLLLLEEL CCC LULL CCUUULUUCLLULLCCLLLU CLC was in New Harmony, Indiana, which town 1s also responsible for a number of actors and musicians, The only other Indiana show that did not have its origin in Worthington, that I know personally, is the Mac-Taff Stock Company, Charley Taff, the owner and manager of that company, originally organized his excellent outfit at Bedford, Indiana, However, I guess the tent show going public has not held that up against him as I noticed in The Billboard that his permanent address this winter is Box something or other, St. Petersburg, Florida. I don’t know the size of the box that he is living in, but having spent a couple of weeks there I know personally that it would require more than an average size bank account to remain there for the entire winter. The Meliville Company has been showing all winter in Florida and Georgia, and I understand has been doing excellent business, ‘There are months ago. I understand that his widow will | dozens of other tent shows, including a number continue his company next season. His homej|in Texas, that have made fortunes, Michigan —_ a a ~~ | and Ohio also have quite a number. The Shannon Stock Company and the several Ginnivan companies are atnong the popular and successful ones, I understand that the Harrison Stock Company, playing mostly in Texas, is another very popular and most successfol organization. ‘This show carries all modern scenery and all properties and pays extra special attention to all the small details usually found with the big house shows. Every tent repertoire manager has his own ideas regarding the class of plays used, as well as music, One show prefers to remain with the old ones, like East Lynne, Ten Nights, Jesse James, Dora ‘Thorne, St. Elmo and numerous other plays popular years ago. Other shows produce plays that cost them anywhere from fifty to three bundred dollars a season to play. In the average town the class of plays seems to make no difference. East Lynne wil! pack the tent one night and one of New York's latest releases (not over two years old) will bring the public out the next night. Pit Show People, address Will buy Trip to Mars or Honey Nearly all of the shows feature some special bill for Friday night. I know of one show personally that I saw twelve years ago, The! feature play on Friday night was East Lynne. I remember the play distinctly, because a violent rain storm came up about nine o’clock, shortly before the customary time for Lady Isobel to elope with Sir. Francis Levison. The tent was not water proof, at least not over the stage, and I remember the water coming down upon Archibald’s somewhat bald head. A lady sitting in the first row, evidently feeling sorry for him, proceeded to walk up to the front of the stage and band him her umbrella, which after a moment's hesitation he accepted and raised over bis head. I could tell by the look that Lady Isobel gave him she was something more than his stage wife, and judged at the time he would probably hear more of it later, last summer I saw this same show and its feature play was the same East Lynne, and, by the way, the same Lady Isobel and the same Archibald Carslyle were with it. Carrolton Guy used to have a play which he wrote called Wanted a Wife. He featured this comedy on Friday night and used considerable advertising for that one play. He played this play for two or three years until one night fn, I think it was Dugger, Indiana, that some lady about fifty years of age came up to the boxoffice leading a gawky country girl with a Sis Hopkins appearance, and asked for Mr. Guy. Upon meeting him she wasted no time in explaining that she had understood that he (Mr. Guy) was advertising for a wife. and having seen his show several seasons and feeling sure that he was a nice man gshbe had decided he would be a suitable husband for her only child. Considering the fact that Mr. Guy had @ per fectly healthful as well as g most charming wife he had to reject the kind lady's proposition. TI understand that he later changed the name of the play to I'm Glad I'm Married. ‘The average tent show furnishes a pleasant engagement for actors and musicans. There are any nomber of actors appearing with some of the larger productions who make it a point to secure an engagement with tent rep, shows in the spring and remain during the summer months. The work Is easy and pleasant, As a rule there are to matinees, at the most not more than one a week, The members of the companies find plenty of time to enjoy themselves, especially with those companies making Florida during the winter months. Fishing, bathing and numerons other sports take up considerable more time of the average tent actor than work, The musicians also have easy work with this class of shows. Very few of the rep. shows make parades, except on Monday, their opening day. Most of them have discontinued their noonday concerts, so now as a rule the muslclans don’t have to report for duty before seven in the evening. These engagements have been made so attractive for musicians that the circuses are finding it barder and harder to fill their bands. In some localities there has been a great deal of opposition made against the tent shows, especlally during the past season or two. Even in towns where there is no theater, licenses have been raised to such an extent that the tents have to pass them up. This is due mostly to the influence used by the picture show managers in these towns. For a sample, Lawrenceville, TH., and Bridgeport, Il, are four miles from each other. Last summer both of these towns raised the liceense for a tent rep. show from @ reammable figure to three hundred dollars a week, Neither town has an opera houwe. I have @ personal friend on the Lawrenceville Council whe informed me that he thought three bundred ot