Variety (July 1907)

VARIETY ~ — r_ i ~ r BECK SAILS FOR EUROPE. Last Tuesday morning on the Kaiser Wilhehu Martin Seek, general manager of the Orpheum Circuit, sailed for Europe, '-• wnjere he will meet Percy 6. Williams*and Morris Meyerfeld, Jr., president of the Orpheum Circuit. All three managers will leave the other side on July 26, arriv- ing in New York about Aug. 1. Mr. Beck suddenly decided to go td Europe a week.ago last Monday. His trip is made with the object of conferring with Mr. Meyerfeld on an important matter. Before leaving Mr. Beck said that the negotiations .which . have been carried on with the opposition vaudeville faction could and probably would be continued by his associates in the United Booking Of- fices. \ * He also said that a syndicate in Berlin was desirous of having him establish a continuous vaudeville house in that city and he intended looking into it while there. Mr. Beck occupied the captain's cabin on the boat and carried his chauffeur, God- frey Sandgren, with him. An automobile awaits tjie manager in Paris. His wife and children are now abroad. ALL NEGOTIATIONS OFF; OPPOSITION ASSURED - - » . , ,.-*»*•- •«.-•-» ■ v-« r- . ^»i- NO K. 4 K. COMPANIES. The scheme to formulate companies which would travel intact over the Klaw & Erlanger vaudeville circuit next season .has Jx&n abandoned by the firm* - - As pointed out by Variety some time since, the plan was not likely to develop owing to the advantage*' given the-'opposi- tion in advance knowledge of the shows -to be presented where the. companies were >•► • Variety is in a position to state that to secure the Olympic's lease, which was _.. . "". w —«. , - rffcJT' A c* ■', 4U i , This..is «tven as one of-the reasons for A. L. Erlanger declared-fHmself *ia week brought i^te the-wrket through the re- ^ ch| ^.- another fa t ft t ft* same bill regarding an amalgamation of the large * cen re * ^ -' would not please all cities and the ar- ranging of each week's bill separately was The Vaudeville Situation Clarified by A. L. Erlanger Declining to Treat With or Consider Proposi- ; tions of Amalgamation r '\mjL- «*♦ vaudeville interests by-'saying that he* \ -fy would not consider-.any proposition made '.'. l4>ooo MARIE C A HILL'S FIGURE, by the other side, and intended to play "With a route laid author a fJay in , .„ *~i I i ' which Marie <€alrll will Star next sVason, * vaudeville as announced. • . ... r , her husband, Dan V. Arthur, is not adverse Although Mr. Erlanger had had no di- rect dealings with his opponents it can be presumed that no negotiations were carried on unknown to him, and preferred. the rumored _ phji*? fQr hift declaration -of "everything's off" is the dilatory methods practised by^tbjs United managers hi sub- mitting offers. • Whether "negotiations will' be resumed before the . season shall have opened is problematical. Very few believe that they will, and. while at one time a merger seemed highly probable, the possibility at the present moment -is far remote. The departure this week of Martin Beck, one of the United's managers, for Europe at a time when! Morris Meyerfeld, Jr., is about ready to return, has brought forth debate as to the cause of Beck's sud- den trip. The Orpheum's general man- ager had stated he was going abroad to see Mr. Meyerfeld on an important mat- ter. This has led to surmise over the out- * come of the talk reported from Chicago between Messrs. £. C. Kohl and A. L. Erlanger, when Mr. Erlanger visited there last. The indifference with which Klaw & Erlanger are treating territory, west of Chicago, with the season only two months away, and Mr. Beck's precipitate leaving, hare brought about the conclusion that there is "something doing" between Klaw & Erlanger and Kohl & Castle. The same line of reasoning leads to the opinion that Mr. Beck. has some knowl- - edge of what may be going on, and is hastening to the president of the circuit. for a consultation. It was expected upon Mr. Erlangef's re- turn that an announcement would be forthcoming regarding an early opening of the Auditorium in Chicago, but nothing, caine out. - • There if no dispute over the existence of an agreement binding the Eastern and Western managers of the United Offices and Western Vaudeville Association to- gether, but it is firmly believed by any number of well-informed people that there are managers hooking through the West- ern Vaudeville Association who do not look upon the entrance of Klaw & Er- langer in the West with any amount of pleasure, particularly in the city of Chi- cago. Another incident used by „ the debaters of the vaudeville future is the sudden cessation of interest in the lease of the Olympic Theatre by Mr. Erlanger, after he returned from the "Windy City." Prior to that time he had given out in- structions, it was said, to make an effort to obtaining a line on the value of his wife as a vaudeville feature. Mr WJ Arthur has. not been seeking offers, but placed the amount of her weekly worth to vaudeville at $4,000 the.other day. It might happen that ehould Miss Cahill secure bookings for this sum, a re- le:.se of legitimate engagements could be manipulated in order to allow her to play for it. No one has yet been located who will admit that Miss CahiTl or anyone else is. worth that salary in a Variety theatre, not even by accidental competitive bidding. GERMANS TO BOOK TOGETHER. During the presence in Paris several weeks ago of a large number of German vaudeville managers, the project was hroached of forming a new booking ar- rangement. Heretofore each manager has* booked his own attractions independ- ently. This system was found to be clumsy and expensive by reason of the scattered interests which frequently clashed The proposed scheme does not contem- plate the formation of any iron-bound, formal concern, but the suggestion al- ready made is that each manager deposit as security $1,000 to -bind him for a term of years to a- co-operative booking ar- rangement. Eleven German managers are said to have agreed to go into the syndicate, and the scheme will he further discussed at the usual assembly of managers in Berlin 'upon the opening of the Wintergarten there August 19. ' H. B. Marinelli is said to have sponsored the -project . - SAYS DE ANGELIS IS SIGNED. Robert Grau lavs he has placed Jefferson De Angelis and' Eatelle Wentworth with •the United Booking Offices for a short vaudeville engagement this summer. The musical comedy pair will be surrounded by a chorus of girls,' and a sketch has been written for their "flyer" in the two- a-day. EUGENIE BLAIR'S "TRY-OUT." Eugenie Blair, the stock actress, who has been starred out of New York several times jf* metropolitan successes, among them "ZasaV will, try out a new sketch at the Harlem Opera House to-morrow. It is called "After the Matinee." This is Miss Blair's vaudeville debut. She will play summer vaudeville engagements, if the United Booking magnates think well of to-morrow's trial. \- ■* HART'S NEW PRODUCTIONS. Jos. Hart, klaw" & Erlanger's vaudeville producer, has two acts started for the commencement of next season. They will not be shown before that; time, due td the not spell and consequent unreliable con- secutive time. The first piece put in" re- hearsal by Mr. Hart for "Advanced Vaude- ville," called "College Days," will be pre- sented in the Chestnut Street Opera House, Philadelphia; July .15. s Of the other two, •♦Bubbles," a "spec- tacular girl act," with five scenes And mechanical effects, is expected to be a hot favorite. The other, which is a satire on the prevailing automobile craze, is termed "Auto Bee," and has a similar number of scenes, with much comedy and many ef- fects. 160 ACTS OPEN SEPT. a. Contracts are held by 160 acts to open on the Klaw & Erlanger circuit Sept. 2 next. These include native and foreign artists. Sixty more are scheduled to appear for the first time in a K. & E. house on Sept. 9. thirty more the following week, Sept. 16. These are the figures up to date as given out by a Klaw & Erlanger representative. Other acts in more or less numbers are scattered along thereafter for the initial K. & E. appearance. GENEE AT NEW AMSTERDAM. Paris, June 25. * Adeline Genee, the premiere danseuse of the Empire, London, will appear in New York next fall at the New Amsterdam theatre in a Klaw & Erlanger piece to be called "The New Aladdin." The engage- ment was made with (Jeo. Edwardes, the English manager, who has ^Mlle. Genee under contract.- $1,500 OPTION ON KENDALL. ,' An option has been given to the United Booking Offices during the next three years for $1,500 weekly by Ezra Kendall, - the comedian, at any time during the period he may decide to re-enter vaude- ville. Mr, Kendall is about to rehearse his piece "Swell Elegant ^Jones" in which he will again star next season. - * WERBA MAT SAIL AWAY. Around-October L Louis F. Werfca, Klaw ■ 0 H & Erlanger's general representative for vaudeville, may take-a flying,trip to Eu- rope, not remaining over a month. Mr. Werba will visit England and the Conti- nent, posting himself on the current for- eign attractions. « BURKHARDT LIKELY FOR WEBER'S. Charles J. Burkhardt, the comedian, who waa the leading funmaker with "Miss New York, Jr.," last season, has partly been engaged to delineate' the Hebrew character m Joe Weber's Broadway Music Hall next season. Mr. Burkhardt was recently reported to have agreed for one. of WhalleU Bros. & Mattel's shows, but the Weber offer came in before the contracts were signed. It will be Mr. Burkhardt's first appear- ance on Broadway. He is looked upon as a coming favorite in the famous music hall. MEYERFELD WILL NOT STEP OUT. San Francisco, July 5. The various rumors which have been cir- culated in the press along the Coast to the effect that Morris Meyerfeld, Jr., would resign as president of .the Orpheum Circuit Company, to be replaced by Mar- tin Beck, received denial this week. Mr. Meyerfeld is now in Europe. ; The San Francisco daily papers have of late been criticising the' Orpheum bills severely, which, together with the an- nouncement that Clarence Drown would be "Pacific Coast Manager" of the circuit, brought forth the reports. HAMMERSTEIN HAS ANOTHER. 1 Following in father's footsteps, William Hammerstein has dug up another "won- der" on the Bowery at Coney Island. The new phenomenon is John Corbett, a 17 year- old singer, who appeared-at Inraan's music hall on the Island. . He will be given a showing on the Victoria Roof during the month under the billing "The". Boy from In man's." He is said to have a remark- able tenor voice and will, appear in the shabby clothes he wore when he begged a job from Johnnie Inman three weeks ago. TECK SELECTED IN BUFFALO. The Buffalo' theatre selected by Klaw & Erlanger next season on their vaudeville circuit is the Teck in that city. It will open probably on Sept. 2. ..Miv > ,»0D0 ,f