Variety (September 1919)

ml'.' VAEIETY DAILY BULLETIN THE COMICAL SIDE THE INQUIRING REPQRTEB Every Day He Asks Five Persons, Picked at Kandom, a Question (With oiHlooiei to 8. Jay Kaufman ana £*X „*V\ 'Evening Gfooe.") Tuesday's Question*. WILLIAM HAXLIGAN. tie author of "Louder and Funnier" and "Frlenda In a Telephone Booth," when Interrogated or the inquisitive scribe aald: "'Keep Tour Heed Down and Let the Club Co the Work 1 . I read all about Louie Mann's collar and I have oome to the conclusion that McGraw could* strengthen - his club wonderfully by Inducing some Of bis players to jump to the 'Fidelity League'. Furthermore Jay Gould in- forms me the Actors' Equity can't exist as the N. V. A. has the only charter from the managers covering all amuse- ments and they have affiliated with the Fidelity. I'm lay In' 8 to 5 Frlsch keeps Larry Doyle on the bench tor the bal- ance of the season." HARRY COOPER, the nosey actor, was cornered by the nosey reporter and after sticking up the scribe for an ad for a ■Attn "School," replied: "I have Just re- ' turned from the country and I am happy to report that Flelschmanns' In the Cats- •ilia Is 100% 'kosher*. I would like to Slnto this matter further but I have a to at Jefferson. Market Court to ball out a couple frlenda of mine and I don't want to be late." { JTR1ID HILLEBRAND, late of "Take -It From Me," when asked what fee 2 -bought of the strike, dragged the pencil i&jusher into a piano room and cooed the ^following to the air of "Pal of Mine": c "All my seats are empty Since you went away. ■ The receipts don't seem the same "V'f.v how Just as the season started On Its old time way. , Ton told as that no longer yon could %---'-■ CHORUs! Oh, bow I need those former atari of mine. Oh, how I'd tore to see them back In line, X. and B. are stalling, Jake and Lee are bawling, Ity is calling 'please be pals of , mine'/' ""JOHNNY BTANLET from bis suite at the Hotel Blltmore gave out the following statement to the waiting reporters: '1 must say that this is the most serious strike that I have ever been mixed up with. Tbe peculiar,part or It Is that I started it and not tbe A. B. A. as re- ported. I and I alone started this thing some years ago as Billy La Hill. Mark Aarons and other theatricals oracles can tell you. I am glad Mr. Wilson and Mr. 'Gompers have decided that I bad the right idea and I am sorry" that I can't give you a more lengthy interview at Sresent aa I understand that Harry Casey i on his liquor again and I want to consult him right away." M'. WALTER BROWER, the celebrated _ Kentucky tea taster, had this to say of the current situation: "People keep asking me the secret of my immaculate wpearnnce following a njgbt of de- "bauchery and Ucentltlousness and I answer that I come from a State that ieachee its mals member to carry their J, • liquor like a gentleman, yes, sab. It's la mattah of honah with we desclples of I Bourbon that we shell nevah appeah gtloverburdened, and rather than carrah ■any liquor in a manner unbecoming to >... the best practises and traditions of my ,, J:'\i Illustrious birth place, I J refer to con- M$" some it Yes. sab." M^ •■-. . || V THE STRIKE IN CHICAGO. Si } Chicago, Aug. 27. J. J. Rosenthal has placed in the lobby of the Woods Theatre a huge placard, enlargement of a telegram received yesterday from A. H. Woods, in which Mr. Woods assures Mr. Ros- enthal and Chicago generally that he ;%fd|« "jwith the managers in their fight, and will stick with them to the finish. This sets at rest all ■ rumors coming H' -from New York Mr. Woods had been ^contemplating a separate peace with fethe Equity Association. SS i'|i|:,/All the principals in the hearings ^before Master-in-Chancery Sigmund •S Zeisler left Chicago today for New C'York, There the hearings will be con- tinued. v The striking actors' presentation of The Gentleman from Mississippi" to have shown in various cities as a bene- fit for the A. E. A., has been called off . : by actors' temperament. Hazel Dawn and Tom Wise are said to have come "MARGIE" ON THE STRIKE. by SAVOY AND B REN NAN. "Don't talk, Margie, don't talk, you get yourself in bad'with some of the smartest people at Wolpins." "I will, too." i 'You don't know what the strike is all about" "I do so. The girls want bigger shoes." "Not bigger shoes, they want the managers to buy their shoes and don't you think they are r.ight?" "No, after this is over all girls with bad hounds will want tbe managers to supply them With dog blankets. "Don't talk, why yon don't know who started the strike." "I do so.' It was Ed Wynn. He wanted Frank Tinney in all of his scenes." "Don't talk, you're all excited." "I'm not. The stage is an art, not a trade. I know a girl who married a millionaire and had everything that her heart desired and she left him and came back to the stage. You never heard of a bricklayer who came into a million who wanted to go back to his trade." "Oh, don't talk, your nerves are gone." "What's the use in having nerves if you can't use them. Look at the painters, they only want to work five days, one day less than God, he worked six" "Don't talk, what do you want to mix up in this thing for?" "It was Marie Dressler's fault. She said the chorus girls of today had no brains, and if they had brains they wouldn't be in the chorus." "Well, suppose she did, don't talk." "I will, to put over some of the prin- ciples of today it not only takes brains, it takes talent." "I suppose if this strike keeps up a few more weeks you'll go to Saratoga." "If they keep me out of work a few more weeks I'm going to a sani- tarium." "Yes, but Sime says the actors are in the right."" i "Yes, but do you remember what Sime said about "Words and Music." 'Yes, don't talk." "I will. I learned from Ned Wayburn in ten weeks more than I could from Neil O'Brien in ten years. What's the use of being on N. V. A. if you can't have your say?" "Well, what do you think the actors ought to do?" ' "I think they should have some well- known woman whom the managers all , love to go to the Producing Managers' Association and state their case. Some Cool, Calm, Collected Woman." "Who, for instance?" "Frances White." to words during the first rehearsal at the Masonic Temple, and after the re- hearsal Wise announced the play would not be presented. "On the Hiring Line," George C. Ty- ler's piece, which was to have opened at the Blackstone Monday, is still in the air. the production in a baggage car and Tyler in a huff. Walter Hast will take the No. 1 "Scandal" company (with Charles Cherry and Francine Larrimore in the leads) to New York tomorrow. Hast says the show will open an engage- ment at the 39th Street a week from tomorrow night, under special dispen- sation of the A. E. A. The picture operators have ap- pointed an executive board to call a strike should bne be empowered by the international officers. It was decided also to assess each member of the Union a dollar a week to provide finan- cial aid for the affiliated unions now on strike. Strike headquarters announces that 1,000 new members have joined the Equity in Chicago since the strike be- gan. TODAY'S QUESTIONS. (Wot by any Member of Variety's Staff.) BOYDEN SPARKS, of tbe city staff of tbe Tribune, when asked for an opinion on the strike, said: "I've got a cracked lip. No, I'm no relation to Ned Bparkes. Thst gentleman took the wrong methods when be dealt with the boy from Cham- berlain Brown's office. Instead of throt- tling aim be should have given him candy, as that is the best way to treat little boys. What I really want to know is why Miss Leonora Ulrlo insists on talking In char- acter when she makes statements to the Actors' Fidelity League." FRANK POPE), of the Journal of Com- merce, was next approached by the Nosey Reporter, and said: " I understand that Johnnie O'Connor passed away at 18:46 p. m. and became J. James O'Connor, Journalist. He has Just purchased a pair of large sized gold rimmed spectacles and a wrist watch. Driving up Broadway all day today saluting his frlenda in a lordly manner. The nefarious attempt of the Managers' Publicity Department to cause the death of the strike by acute alcoholism will fail." TOMMY OLIPHANT, of the Evening Mall, was the next victim of the Nosey Reporter: "Tbe only thins; about the strike that troubles me is the high cost of fig pudding. It has raised 5 cento in price in tbe last two days at Walllck's, . and their brandy sauce is a snare and a delusion. I regret I can't afford to eat It every day at the Clarldge, as I under- stand the price is much higher and the portion much smaller. I make this state- ment la tbe hope that it wUl get to the attention of the Federal authorities, thereby I would have my revenge. The cigarette girl at the Clarldge la a pretty brunet" „ • KELCET ALLEN, dramatic editor of Women's Wear, aald to the Nosey Re- porter: "My dear young man, I dis- covered this young woman when she waa a babe In arms. What's the Idea? Lay off this stuff. If you wait until I get up to tbe office I'll come down with some of my funny sayings and read them. Say listen, young fellow, I want a drink. I have bad enough of this fool business. Which way Is tbe ice-box? I'll way- lay the stenographer if she puts this in. You may put this down, for after this fight Is over there won't be much use for cockroach poison." Johnnie O'Connor writing aa article tor "Smart Set" and donating the space money to tbe Knights of Columbus. Johnnie O'Connor losing a bet with WUl Page and being nearly compelled to wear i for a whole week. RAILROAD STRIKE SPREADS. Los Angeles, Aug. 27. The transportation strike which has • tied up all means of travel excepting by auto has spread so that it now in- cludes California, Nevada and Arizona. Vaudeville acts minus their scenery are being rushed from Oakland and San Francisco by means of auto trucks to fill in shows the acts for which have been marooned through the railroads being tied up. All the theatres, how- ever, are playing to capacity business despite the fact that there are no street cars running after eight at night Jit- ney bus traffic, which was banned at the last election, has sprung up again, and is doing a tremendous business. The new acts for the Orpheum and Pantages houses were left in the midst of the Mojave Desert when the train crews on the Sante Fe left their sta- tions, and the managers rushed auto transportation to Needles and Bars- town to bring them here. There are about ten thousand films tied up here without means of shipping them east. MANAGERS UP IN THE AIR. (Continued from page lOf." Nothing new came out in Chicago yesterday. A. H. Woods wired a denial there that he had any intention of leaving the Managers' Association. / The excitement mostly seemed to centre yesterday around Cohan and the I Fidelity. The Samuel Gompers' speech of the day before sent echoes up and ; down Broadway, and Gompers sup-, plemented it with an oral statement to newspaper men. No unusual excitement cropped up last night, with Broadway quiet, as was 45th street, where are located tbe strike headquarters of the A. E. A OFFICIAL STATEMENTS. By GRANT STEWART. "It is pointed out clearly by our law- yers that the case before Judge Hen- drick was not decided "on the merits of the case," therefore the opinion of Judge Hendrick was based merely upon the managers'"affidavits. Pend- the presentation of our side of the matter in addition to the opinions in our favor of Samuel Untermyer and Counsellor Merrit Lane, the follow- ing is of interest: "Any man or group of men who denies to any man or group of men the constitutional rights of a citizen automatically ren- ders void and non-existent any agree- ment or contract that may have been entered upon at a time-when such con- stitutional right was not denied." (Frisbee on Contracts, VaL VIII, page 192.) * "With regard to the opening of For- tunato Gallo's show at the Shuberts', it is just as well that the facts be clearly stated. Mr. Gallo leased the theatre from the Messrs. Shubert be- fore the present trouble started, and by his contract the Shuberts will re- . ceive their money whether the play ' be given or not. - Mr. Gallo is not a member of the Producing Managers' Association, and never will be. He has in every way complied with the requirements of the Actors' Equity Association. To close up Mr. Gallo's attraction would not affect the Shu- berts in any way, and would only hurt • a good friend of the Actors' Equity Association. The P. M. A. persists in prolonging the strike apparently regardless of the I bill of indemnities which is steadily i piling up against them." „, L_ , _ Four new Actors' Equity shows will open In New York and Brooklyn next Monday night under the national profit-sharing production plans of the striking actors. Chief among these is the "Equity Revue," a musical show on the scale of the late lamented "Follies" and "Gaieties," which will be produced at tbe Second Avenue Theatre, 86 Eocond avenue, with a chorus of BO specially selected beauties from noted choruses which are now on strike. The dramatic feature of the Equity's pro- duction program this week is at the Lexington Theatre, where Lionel Barrymore' will appear in the last act of "The Copperhead," This play Is known aa one of the most successful dramas of the last season. Other stars of tbe Lexington Theatre program are Johnny Dooley and Yvette Rugel. the Equity Minstrels —an act made up of well known monologists— Adele Rowland, Fred Hlllebrand, who Is an- nounced aa a new Equity discovery; Gertrude Variderbllt, Gladys Rice, Ray Raymond, Ade- laide and Hughes and Watson Sisters. "The Equity Revue" at the Second Avenue Theatre will be headed by Roger Gray, a musical comedy star. Jimmy Barton, whose phenomenal hit at the Lexington was the sen- sation of last week's program, will play tbe comedy part In the new musical. Billy Kent, Nice and DeHaven and Arthur Brackley will be among those In tbe cast The Second avenue ehow is now In re- hearsal secretly. Richard Gordon was ap- pointed manager by Colonel Earls Booth, of the Equity Entertainment Committee. Moat of this week's Lexington Theatre pro- gram, Including Equity Dancers, Frank Fay, Marie Nordstrom, John Steele and Maris Dressler's chorus, will go to tbe Brooklyn Academy of Music tomorrow night A show based on the original gala perform- ance program which opened at the Lexington Theatre a fortnight ago will open at the Thomashefsky Theatre, Second avenue and Houston street, Monday. At this boeae a pre- cedent will be set by establishing regular $2 prices. The following stars will appear on the Equity program in the Auditorium, Chicago: Joseph Santley, Ohio Sale, Pearl White and Frank Fay, Van and Schenck, W. C. Fields. Blanche Ring and Charles Winnlngsr, sad Duncan Sisters. / W. A. BRADY. The meeting of the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry of August 6, re- ferred to in Variety yesterday, was not sug- gested by me. It was suggested by two of the most powerful men in the motion picture business, Adolph Zukor and William Fox. When Mr. Zukor and Mr. Fox requested that a meeting be called, I felt It no lees than my duty as president of the association to heed their request and call one. I refused to preside at the meeting. I refused to vote on tbe matter under discussion, feeling that It was meet certainly not within my province to bring my personal affair or any In which I happened to be interested In either a personal or business way into a meeting of the association of which I have tbe honor to be president The meeting was presided over by Mr. Persy Waters. *6 '-UK,, C&ffltHJ / ', ,1 ■ :7- .- ' 1 "" <■***-■