Variety (May 1909)

VARIETY VOSS BILL UP TO THE MAYOR. Albany, May 6. The hearing Bet for to-day before the Governor on the Voes Agency bill has been postponed without date. The measure must first go before the Mayors of New York and Buffalo, the cities in the first class of this State, for approval. It has been decided the agency bill is lo- cal option. The first hearing will be held Monday, May 10, before the Mayor of Buffalo. Harry Mountford, Tim Cronin and Denis F. O'Brien will attend on behalf of the White Rats. The passage of the Voss bill through the New York State Senate just at this time has thrown the License Bureau into the utmost confusion. Licenses for the year ending May 1, 1910, have been engraved and on Tuesday the work of issuing them was commenced. These permits to the- atrical agents are drawn in accordance with the Employment Agency law of 1906, and there is doubt in the mind of the commissioner whether they will not all have to be withdrawn, and the procedure of application and issuance be gone through with again. In the same way bonds have been taken out from a New York surety company and paid for at $6 each. Should the Gov- ernor sign the Voss bill making it a law, these bonds will all be withdrawn and new ones filed, the likelihood being that the surety company will decline to let the old bonds stand under the more rigid enactment. The Commissioner's office is very much at sea in its interpretation of the law. That portion of the bill which provides that the form of contract issued to artists by any agent or manager, must be ap- proved by the License Commissioner or Mayor is giving the office a good deal of anxiety. This section, according to an of- ficial of the bureau, will make it neces- sary for all contracts submitted to be re- ferred to the Corporation Counsel of the city before they can be sanctioned. The opinion is held that all contracts which contain the "Sunday performance clause" iequiring the party of the second part to work on the Seventh day will be abso- lutely tabooed. GUESSING HEADLINER'S NAME. Baltimore, May 6. Manager Frederick C. Shanbcrger, of the Maryland, has hit upon a novel scheme in advertising which promises to more than double the box office sales for next week. As per long custom, next week's bill is advertised on the back of this week's pro- gram, but instead of extolling the wonders of the coming headliner. he has left his patrons guessing by heading the bill in this way: ? ? ? If The sensation of vaudeville. Guess ? The name of the headliner will not be divulged until Monday afternoon's per- formance. This new mode of advertising has attracted much attention. MANAGES ONLY; NOT AN AGENT. The acquaintance of the Commissioner of License for New York will not be culti- vated by Gene Hughes, who has assembled a number of acts under his managerial direction. As "manager" with authority to sign contracts and otherwise direct the offer- ings in his charge, Mr. Hughes claims he is exempt from the category of the agency list, and the new inquisitorial powers of the Commissioner should Mr. Voss' measure regulating vaudeville agents be signed by Governor Hughes. The post of a many-time manager will not interrupt Mr. Hughes' own vaudeville career. With Mrs. Hughes, he has been playing "Suppressing the Press," and will jog over the circuits again next season in that or perhaps another vehicle. Among the acts under Mr. Hughes' wing is Capt. Geo. Auger ("Jack, the Giant Killer"), who has been signed by his manager for next season on the United time, opening at the Majestic, Chicago, July 5. Oapt. Auger will arrive in New York from the other side on June 19, or thereabouts. A dramatic production . en- titled "The Other Man" will be placed on the vaudeville stage by the manager. It will have a cast of four principals. Several acts have agreed that Mr. Hughes shall manage them. He has inno- cently struck upon a plan of handling vaudeville numbers over which several of the duly licensed commission men are pondering. It is reported several artists are calcu- lating their chances of profit in the booking department. Hal Davis has been negotiating with acts for some time. He may assume the same relation to num- bers under his direction that Mr. Hughes has already taken. BERNSTEIN'S FIRST SHOW. The first program commencing Mr.y 17 at Washington Park, Hudson Co., N. J., under the management of Freeman Bern- stein will have May Ward and her "Dres- den Do)I," as a feature. The vaudeville theatre in the park has a seating capacity of 1,200. Admission will be up to fifty cents. Bookings are made through the Morris office. The Bernstein vaudeville is considered opposition to Feiber, Shea & Coutant's Bi- jou at Bayonne. Ted Marks will not be concerned in the actual management of the Park Theatre. Bernstein will attend to that. Marks is interested financially in the venture, but a premature announcement was made he would manage the shows. Mr. Marks may sail for Europe next week on the boat which will then take away Anna Held, her child and maid. Chester S. Jordan, who is said to have appeared in vaudeville once upon a time, was convicted at Cambridge, Mass., this week, of the murder of his wife. W. & V. EMBARK IN "POP." Wilmer & Vincent have taken over eight or ten of Jake Wells' theatres in the south and will operate them for popu- lar priced entertainment during the sum- mer in partnership with Mr. Wells. These houses are in addition to those of Green- wall & Wise, lately taken over by the same firm. Walter Vincent is now in the south framing up the summer circuit. Wilmer & Vincent are said also to be on the verge of leasing several of their own theatres in Pennsylvania to other firms for use in the "popular priced" class. SKATING CRAZE SPREADING ABROAD. Paris, April 26. Chester P. Crawford, of Coney Island, and the Olympia skating rink in London, and owning big interests in several other such resorts throughout England, has been here to arrange plans for a rink in Paris. He secured a site in the Avenue Victor Hugo and will erect a building to cost $60,000, with a floor space of 275 ft. by 126 ft., sufficient to accommodate 2,000 skaters. Mr. Crawford thinks the French publio will once again become skating mad, as they were in 1897. Mr. Crawford's people hope to extend to Bordeaux, Lyons, Lille, Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, then Ber- lin, Vienna and Budapest. He states he has renewed the lease of the London Olympia for four months each year (December to March) until 1912. During the past 13 weeks 786,000 people skated in that building, paying over $194,000. ACTOR COMPLAINS. At the instance of the Actors' Union Jack O'Donnell, a vaudeville monologist appeared before License Commissioner John N. Bogart this week and complained of the treatment accorded him at a club engagement in Bayonne, N. J. The date was booked through Len Spencer, and, charging that that agent had been negli- gent, O'Donnell advanced his complaint as ground for a denial of renewal of license. O'Donnell declared to the officials of his Union that after he had given his per- formance in the New Jersey town, he had demanded payment from the commit- tee in charge of the entertainment. All he got was abuse at first and later a "beating up." The License Bureau took the case under advisement. PARIS GETTING "BEAUTY SPOT." Through his New York office H. B. Mar- inelli has secured the Paris production rights for Comstock & Gest's "Beauty Spot" now at the Herald Square. Marinelli will probably convert the piece into a Parisian Revue, opening it June 15 at his Olympia Music nail, Paris. Ethel Levey may take the leading role in the Marinelli production. NEW "SUNDAY" DEFENSE. The suit of the City of New York against the Alhambra Theatre was on trial before Justice Greenbaum this week. Decision was reserved. House, Grossman & Vorhaus, who ap- peared for Percy G. Williams, introduced a new defense which promises to further involve the already tangled interpretation of Sunday observances. The lawyers made the contention that a section of the Penal Code* (272) established the penalty for vio- lation at $500, but specified that an action to recover this amount should be brought by the Society for the Reformation of Juveniles. Dismissal of the city's suit was asked upon these grounds. GOING ABROAD FOR INCENSE. Chicago, May 0. Upon the completion of his present vaudeville tour over the Morris Circuit, Julian Eltinge, the impersonator, is going to the Far East to study the East Indian dancers, and also to gather up a supply of real incense with antique draperies for his "Goddess of Incense" dance. PANTAGES NEGOTIATING EAST- WARD. Chicago, May 8. Negotiations are under way whereby Alexander Pantages hopes to secure addir tional points on his circuit at Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Duluth and St. Paul. Ed. Lang, the Chicago representative for the Pantages-Western States Circuit, has taken over the bookings for the Empire Theatres in Calgary and Edmonton, Can- ada. An offer is reported to have been made The Four Mortons to tour the Pantages times at a salary almost unbelievable as possible for the Circuit to pay one act. FISCHER'S BURLESQUE STARTS WELL. San Francisco, May 6. The opening of burlesque Monday at the Victory under the direction of E. A. Fischer augurs well for a complete success and for a long run. It is the best show in that line seen here since the Burlesque Wheel withdrew from the Coast. Mr. Fischer first had the Novelty in view for this production, but at the last moment changed, securing the Victory, with Chas. Alphims as producer. Ben T. Dillon heads the burlesque company. CONSIDINE PUTS RUMOR AT REST. San Francisco, May 6. John W. Considine is in the city, and his coming killed the rumor the Sullivan- Considine Circuit would have the old Or- pheum for its own shows. The blow wss delivered when It became noised about that the National had re- ceived the Sullivan-Cbnsidine franchise for San Francisco, giving that house the first call locally for the S.-C. acts. Though there is no positive confirmation of this, it was generally believed. Another unconfirmed report is that Mr. Considine has agreed with the Orpheum people that no acts from his circuit shall play in the down-town section where the new Orpheum is located. CASEY'S OWN SHOW. For the weeks of Msy 17, 24 and 81, Pat Casey will forward a touring road company of acts to Montreal, Ottawa and Hamilton, playing the Bennett houses in each city in the order given. Alice Lloyd will be the star of the group. The McNaughtons are also de- clared in. The Casey show will play on percentage. For the weeks just preceding in Ottawa and Montreal, with Quebec added, Pat Rooney will slide away with his own show also, taking the 60-50, 80-40, 86-86, 70-30, or perhaps 80-20 plan in the Ben- nett theatres. NEWSPAPER MEN PLAY. Chicago, May 6. Bush Temple, under the management of Sam P. Gerson, will have a novel en- tertainment next week. A newspaper play entitled "The Stolen Story" will be given with a company composed of the newspaper men connected with the vari- ous dailies in thin city. The Comedy Club is now located in its new home, 224 West 46th Street.