Variety (January 1909)

VARIETY 11 LONDON NOTES VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE. 418 STRAVD, W. 0. (IIall for American* and Europeans In Europe If addrttseri care VARIETY, as above, ¥ be promptly forwarded.) rill London, Deo. 20. Dorothy Kenton is laid to be enjoying royal patronage on the continent. The Gibbons Circuit will run pantomime at Bugler's Circus for the next few months. Radie Furman is spending Christmas week at the home of her aunt, Fannie Fields, at New Castle. Tambo and Tambo are back in Europe, having just returned from America. They are playing at Waverly Market carnival, Edinburgh, Scotland. At Coventry this week Friend and Downing as the added attraction are all but stopping the show. They are playing the Barrasford house in that town. B. A. Rolfe has booked 'Taradise Alley" over here. The act will play London within the next six months. He also will book a second act from the States, com- posed of forty girls, it is said. George Formby showed 'em something last week at the Oxford. On the bill after "Fits" he was one of the big hits of the night. People started to get up and leave when he came on, but no one left after h,e had sung the first verse of his opening song. At the Wednesday natinee, Coliseum, last week a "sister" team had their "try- out" with most of the Stoll booking staff in front. When the act was about half over the staff began to accuse each other of "finding" the act, but no one would take the responsibility. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Fitzsimmons opened at the Oxford last week and were the big noise. Mrs. Bob caught them right away with her singing and all through Bob's pretty speeches there were cries of "Hear! Hear!" and "Good old Bob." That "Hear! Hear!" thing in a music hall is certainly funny. Much shifting around of theatres in London will take place very shortly. The Camberwell Palace, a hall booked by the Stoll office, will very soon be a Moss & Stoll house. The Stoll office will also take over the Palace at Stoke Newington, for- merly of the De Frece Circuit, and place legitimate attractions there. Since Tim McMahon arrived in London he has been approached by almost every theatre manager in the English capital with offers of time. He has not yet closed any engagements, but will prob- ably do so this week. Meanwhile Tim and Mrs. McMahon (Edyth Chappelle) have settled down in a cozy apartment just out of the city. The court decided the other day man- agers had the legal right to withhold commissions for agents. The suit was brought by an agent against Oswald Stoll. This was the outcome of an argument that has been going on for months. The agents consider it a great victory and seem to think that it will bring about a speedy ending to the dispute. Now that Carrie Nation has accepted musio hall engagements (through Paul Murray of the Morris office) a great time is expected. When Mr. Murray wired Mrs. Nation to accept the engagements offered he stated to her that this was a chance for her to further her cause in the music halls. Just how far Carrie will get is the occasion of deep speculation. There is a difference in audiences over here at times. For the past week or so the Tivoli has been so deep in a cloud of gloom that the old favorites find it diffi- cult to break through. For instance, T. E. Dunville, an old Tivoli favorite, on Monday night walked off the stage with- out a hand or a laugh. About forty minutes later at the Oxford, a little more than half a mile distant, this same comedian was a big riot. "The Rain Dears," who opened at the Hippodrome last week, and having a hard time of it. In the first place the orches- tra, which is too far from the stage, being in the first balcony, plays so loudly the girls' voices can hardly be heard. Be- sides the ring which separates the audi- ence from the stage hurts a whole lot. The London Hippodrome is a poor place for a "girl act" and a dancing act always has its troubles in trying to keep with the band. "ONAIP" WANTS SALARY. The attachment suit brought by "Onaip," the piano illusionist, against Grubbs and Bezinski, the two men who worked in the act, was up in the Supreme Court this week. "Onaip" demands salary and fees for labor in making and arranging the mechan- ism of the illusion, in which the other two appeared. His claims amount to about $750. House, Grossman & Vorhaus appeared for the complainant. "BEST SHOW ON THE ROAD." Under the title- "The Best Show on the Road," Barney Gerard will organize a company of fifty people opening at At- lantic City during the summer in a musi- cal piece. This will happen after "Follies of the Day," Gerard's burlesque show, has closed its Atlantic City summer engage- ment. Paper for the new company has already been ordered and Gerard has .signed James Francis Sullivan as one of the comedians. "From Start to Finish" will be the name of the extravaganza in two acts and ten scenes. It will be offered for the ap- proval of the popular-priced theatre man- agers. PARIS NOTES BY EDWARD 0. KEKDREW. (8tk Paris, Dec. 30. Max Priatel, who exploited the "magic kettle" in Paris, has appeared on the scene again and is looking for an en- gagement. In January Constani Bernandi, the quick change artist (after Fregoli) will be at the Alhambra, when his specialty will be transparent scenery, through which the audience can see some of his changes. Penstone and San Go, the magicians; the Two Premgaris, Paraff and Terra, and Oorty Robinson are at the Etoile Palace this week. It would seem there has been much ado about nothing at the Paris Opera, but relations were really very strained between the two managers, Andre Mes- sager (late conductor of Covent Gar- den, London) and Broustan. Blatters have been patched up and Mr. Messager withdrew his resignation at the request of the French Government. It is the State that owns and grants a subvention to the Paris Opera House. Christmas was a most profitable time for the theatres this year as usual. Every seat was booked by Thursday morning and it was impossible to find room when the doors opened for the evening shows on 24 and 25. Double money was charged at all the music halls, even the Alhambra raising its prices for the first time in its history as a vaudeville house. The Folies Bergere, Olympia, Moulin Rouge and other large halls charged $3 for the $1.50 stalls. The cafes were open all night, and it is calculated that on Christmas eve more than half of the population of the city was out until two or three o'clock in the morning. Big business is likewise ex- pected for Dec. 31 and New Year's Day. In spite of the students' riots in the Latin Quarter and the assault on the President of the Republic, the Christmas holidays passed off with even more gaiety than in former years. The programs at the halls were increased, as usual, the Olympia giving an extra turn in the form of a very pretty short musical sketch, "Noel in Seville," with a troup of Spanish dancers and Fornarina.—O Hana San left this hall Dec. 28 to enable her to reach Vienna in time to open at the Apollo for January. The revue is now in active preparation for the early part of January. The show at the Apollo had an excellent press reception, and it is certainly one of the best revues seen in Paris. We see "Parisian Chic" go to London where we are introduced to "The Merry Widow," and there is then a display of elegant hats that will attract all the ladies of the capi- tal. The procession of political flowers at the end is a marvelous conception. Little Ganty, who anly had ten minutes on the stage the first week (for a good salary) is to be given extra business, and he is now satisfied, for the artist rightly considered he had not sufficient scope and was not earning his money. lie was engaged at the Apollo through Mr. Paaquier, of the Etoile Palace, who went to London for the directors to find a suitable English or American comic for the revue. C. C. Bartram, of the Variety Artists' Federation and managing editor of The Performer, has been in Paris with his wife for the Christmas holidays. He was at the special party offered at midnight of 24th to artists on the occasion of the Reveillon (Xmas eve) by the management of the Etoile Palace. This was a charm- ing meeting of artists in Paris and an in- novation for a music hall to inaugurate. TIN PAN ALLEY JINGLES. By WILLIAM JEROME. Victor Herbert is America's greatest composer, if not the world's. To Victor belong the spoils. Thomas J. Quigley is The Candy Kid in Chicago. If you don't believe it Shapiro. It's a long time between statements. Canned music is no relation to canned \ meat. Real song writers write real songs and real publishers are real good fellows when they pay real royalties. When it comes to writing a comic song there is no Tin Pan Alleyite who has any- thing on Eddie Moran. John T. Hall and his "Queen of The Moulin Rouge" are certainly causing a lot of talk. Real music by a real musician. Al Gumble's "When I Marry You" sounds like a big statement. Great boys, those Gumbles. Near-song writers have no place in Tin Pan society. There is a song famine in England. Matt Woodward is the King of Parody Lane. He says there is more money in writing parodies than there is in writing songs; also that you don't have to wait so long for your money. Jean Schwartz and his new instrumen- tal hit, "The White Wash Man," both look like ready money. Every new song hit is the greatest ever. The old hits are soon forgotten. Helf & Hager received a royal welcome on their first Broadway appearance. They are booked up solid for the season. John Woodford and Jeanette Marlboro are running the Gem Theatre, Meridian, Miss., booking their own attractions. The Marriot Twins and company of five are playing their first week with a new vehicle at Yonkers and White Flains.