Variety (September 1908)

VARIETY REUNION OF "BIO CHIEFS." At the weekly meeting of the White Rats Tuesday evening all the "Big Chiefs" who have held the office in the order were present. Geo. Fuller Golden, the founder and first "Big Chief," is playing at the Lincoln Square this week. Ezra Kendall is at the Fifth Avenue, Geo. W. Monroe is at the Casino and Fred Niblo, the present incum- bent, returned to New York from his for- eign trip last Saturday, when he was met by s large delegation of Rats, followed by a celebration at the lodge rooms. The reunion of the quartet of Big Chiefs brought together an overflow gathering and a general "large time.' »» STOCK BURLESQUE EXTENDED. The season of the stock burlesque com- pany, placed in for an experimental sea- son at the Grand, Los Angeles, by the Orpheum Circuit Company, has had its season extended until Nov. 10. This will make a season of twenty weeks. It was the intention of Morris Meyer- feld, Jr., to give the company a ten weeks' engagement in San Francisco, and the plan then outlined contemplated stops in Portland and Seattle. Mr. Meyerfeld, however, decided to close the company • early in November. There has been no announcement as to the plans for next season. *" William Lytell, who has handled the stock productions in Los Angeles, hopes to make some arrangement by which he can hold the company together until spring, when it can play at Seattle dur- ing the big exposition there. ADD POST JBRVIS. J. B. Morris and Jos. Shea have added Port Jervis, N. Y., to their vaudeville cir- cuit, giving the firm a trio of houses. Its others are at Gloversville, N. Y., and North Adams, Mass. The newest house is a reconstructed building, and will open about Oct. 15 with • 1,000 capacity. Prices will be 10-15-25. GERARD'S SHOW ON BROADWAY? Baltimore, Sept. 24. It is reported that Barney Gerard's "Follies of the Day," at the Monumental this week, may play a Broadway (New York) house. It is a Western Burlesque Wheel show, and has attracted unusually favorable mention so far this season. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ARREST. Nance O'Neill and McKee Rankin, her manager, were taken into custody last Monday by United States Marshal Hen- kel, on a complaint drawn by United States Assistant District Attorney Bird, charging they had presented a production infringing on "The Fires of St. John," which is copyrighted in this country. It is a translation from a German play by Hermann Suderman. The couple were held in $1,000 bail each and paroled in the care of their at- torney, Robert L. Turk. Miss O'Neill and Mr. Rankin played the piece in San Francisco for eight weeks without molestation. They expected to open next month at the Majestic, New York, in it. The piece has been played in New York City in several languages. WANT CHANGE IN LICENSE LAW. The Actors' Union has started its long- promised movement for the revision of the license law under which theatrical agents do business in this State. During the meeting last Sunday of the Central Fed- erated Union of New York, of which the actors' organization is a member, a reso- lution was passed which will bring the matter up before the annual convention of the Workingmen's Federation of the State in Rochester this week. The Actors' Union declares that by winning the co-operation of the incoming executive board of the State body it can do a good deal through the union legisla- tive agents to further a campaign for the strengthening of its legal position. The campaign contemplates the entire revision of the present license law, which is claimed to be very loose in some of its provisions. One item which, it is said, demands a change, is the loop hole the law allows for the charging of a 10 per cent, commission to vaudeville acts. When the prevailing law was first drafted it was made to provide that 5 per cent, should be the maximum commission charged by any agent or agents for all engagements of longer duration than six days. The six was later changed to thirty, and this makes it possible for booking concerns to charge 10 per cent, commission all along the line. The union will draft a new bill in which will be incorporated provisions to offset tliis condition among other points. GUMBLES ROBBED AND BURNED OUT. While the Gumbles (Mose and Clarice Vance) are happily cavorting over Great Britain their personal property and realty left at home slowly passes away. Last week thieves broke into the Gumbles' city home, removing everything of value which might be easily carted away. The following day their summer home at St. James, L. I., burned to the ground. PHIL BENNETT, THE ITALIAN 8TBBBT SINGER AND YODLEB. In bit original refined Hinging specialty. Booked aolld from Ang. 81, 1908. to May 24. 1900. wltb tbe UNITED BOOKING OFFICES. Sole Agent, NORMAN JEFFKBIES. 9th and Arcb St.. Phila- delphia. THIS WEEK (Sept. 21). KEITH'S, BOSTON. "CURB" TRANSACTIONS. The theatrical district has its "curb" as well as Wall Street. The street mar- ket is located on the sidewalk along Hammerstein's Theatre on the Seventh Avenue side, and on the evenings when the managers and agents congregate there booking transactions are frequently lively. One evening this week William Ham- merstein, Percy G. Williams and Frank Keeney spent half an hour talking over the future of opposition in the baby bor- ough where Keeney's comes into compe- tition with The Fulton (William Morris). Mr. Williams and Mr. Hammerstein suggested a number of acts to Mr. Keeney to strengthen his bills, and the latter made memoranda. Keeney booked the Empire City Quartet for Oct. 12 on the spot. PLEDGE AGAINST BURLESQUE HOUSE. Toledo, Sept. 24. The agitation by the churches in this city against the Empire, an Eastern Bur- lesque Wlreel theatre operated by Hurtig & Seamon, is being carried to the ex- treme. Written pledges against the Empire have been sent broadcast by the Lucas County Federation of Catholic Societies. Over 1.000 were signed and returned up to last Monday. The Toledo Pastors' Association has endorsed the movement. The crusade was inaugurated a few weeks ago when the manager of the Em- pire replied to the Catholic clergy in re- sponse to a request to eliminate certain features of the performances that he would conduct his house to suit himself. Toledo is not large enough to permit of agitation of this sort without affecting a theatre. TED MARKS' FIRST CONCERT. The first Sunday concert of the season will be given by "Terence" Marks at the Majestic Theatre to-morrow night, Ted's first stop in this house, having been a pillar at the American for a long time back. For the premier, Mr. Marks is showing the denizens of the Columbus Circle something right in the variety line. As a headliner Ted has Gertrude Hoffmann, her final vaudeville appearance prior to the legitimate tour under the Shubert man- agement. Surrounding the star, Mr. Marks has gathered some headliners who are to draw business until the side walls bulge. Among these are Frank Fogerty, The Empire City Quartet, Jeanette Lowrie, Francesca Red- ding and Company, William West, Bates Musical Trio, Lucy Clark, Smith and Meakin and others. AUTO, AMBULANCE AND TWO SETS. "A Man of the People," the latest sketch in which Melbourne MacDowell and Vir- ginia Drew Treseott will appear, will carry a cast of twelve people, an automo- bile, ambulance and two sets of scenery. The production will first be presented at the Bijou, Orange, next week. Jenie Jacobs is attending to the bookings. Jed Prouty will be the resident manager of the new E. F. Albee theatre at Woon- socket, R. I. It will open after election, and probably play vaudeville at the start. TIN PAN ALLEY JINGLES. By WM. JEROME. The writer who paddles from place to place gathers very little moss. A good advance on a bad song is better than a bad statement on a good one. The BEST way to write a good song is to write it. The sweetest music on earth— your first hit on a hand organ. The song plugger is a necessary evil. All song writers are not born that way -it grew on some of them. Loyalty and royalty are two things al- most unknown in song land. One song in a Broadway show is worth fifty on the Bowery. Did anyone ever see the right set of books t Notice:—Song writers will kindly keep out of the shipping department. The old gag: "It's a Stage Hit." Song writing with some writers is a business—with others it's a disease. New publishers are breaking out all over the city. There are not as many cases in 28th Street as there used to be. The new song crop of 1008 looks very promising. If it's a hit; it's a great song: if it's a failure, blame it on the publisher. If it were not for the junk the music business would be a great game. Uneasy lies the head depending on slides for success. TRYING FOR PATERSON. Paterson, N. J., Sept. 24. It is reported that the Mozart Circuit, acting with W. B. Watson, the burlesque manager, is trying to locate a 10-15-25 cent vaudeville house, which will oppose Bruggemann's Empire, booked by the United Offices. The location selected is said to be in the business district. If completed, the house will be booked by the Independent Hooking Office of New York. Mr. Watson likes Paterson for some unknown reason. He is playing here this week with his company. Whenever the manager rests in Paterson, he concludes to play vaudeville in the town. The re- port may have enamated from him. On the Eastern and Western Wheels they say that excepting Sam Dessauer, Barney Gerard, Sam Rice, II. S. Woodhull, Jack Singer, Pete Clark, Abe Leavitt, I. II. Herk and Andy Ijcwu, Watson comes pretty near being the dandy press agent of them all. The suite occupied l>y the Percy (J. Williams' sfafT a! the St. .lames Building has been relin-•<! with new rarpets, desk* and a "weVi>ine" atmosphere.