Variety (December 1919)

Tr»d«-Mark Reentered IMbUsbeU Weekly bj . ... VARIETY, Ido. 6ISI£ SILVEBMAN, President lime* Squaw .-•'-• :' ' New lork BVBSCBIFTlOIt ..........$ff Foreign........... .•• Single, coplet, IB etatt j-^j__~ VOL. LVH. •-M^ 1 NO. 8 It is going to cost a quarter of a bil- lion dollars to enforce prohibition, and the fight to abolish tobacco is well under way. If the conscience of the country is against booze the conscience of the country will enforce its own edict without so prodigious a bribe—a bribe that will take some J15 out of the pocket of everyone of average, income. (.-. Bert Donnellan has been' appointed manager of the Strand and Alameda at Alameda, Cat x ^^^^^ Laura Guerite sails from New York for England Dee. 21 to appear In a produc- tion over there, \ . Jack Reed has resigned his position as acting manager of the Shuberts* "Gaieties of 1919." Arthur Kellar is now business mana- ger for .William Hodge. He is joining the latter ^n New England. Dave 8eymour has been elected vice* president of the Pontlao Theatre Corp, Saranac Lake, New York. ' ♦ a m How much will it cost to enforce a national edict against tobacco? Millions. are being collected to begin the same kind of a campaign as was waged by the Anti-Saloon League. At a recent convention of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union It was stated there was to be "no legislative movement against tobacco." "The campaign," the statement continued, "would be one of education." So far, so good. However, a statement made by an enthusiastic woman urging the union to come out into the open and wage a campaign to create national enabling legislation to enforce tobacco bans was greeted with tumultuous cheers. They have the money. They have ability. This was shown in the recent fight and a campaign fund of $30,000,000 (official estimate) to get some quarter of a billion dollars yearly out of the tax- payer's pocket would seem to be a f&lr investment. But this is not all the aver- age taxpayer would lose. The tobacco industry now employs SS5,000 farmers. 190,000 factory workers and 200,000 salesmen, all of whom have given their lives to equipping themselves for a special form of work. Incidentally, tobacco yields in taxes one-sixth of the internal revenue of the government, or $156,188,660. Our foreign trade in this article amounts to $60,004,000 a year. If we are to help put it out of busi- ness, or stand idly by and see a minor- ity do so we should first count the cost. When all is said.and done the fact re-- mains that v no pepole whose heart and conscience is against any industry or in- dulgence needB to spend a quarter of a billion dollars to stifle either. If our consciences are not in complete sym- pathy with the prohibition of alcoholic beverages and tobacco no amount' of money can save the law from coming into contempt. We should enact, or per- mit the enactment of, no laws that lack our heart IT approval. To be restrained from doing what we believe is innocent will make all of us either hypocrites or lawbreakers at heart. Emil Nyitmy and Frank Mandell are the authors of the new comedy, "My Lady Friends," which opened at the Comedy. Wednesday night The author- ship was previously credited to Frank Morgan. Mike Connolly la going to open a dra- matic and picture agency representing productions, plays and players. He has been on the theatrical staff of the "live- ning Journal." Harry Sanger will be associated with him in the new venture. Henry Antrim has left the cast of the "Lady In Red." Jack Lewis is going to Hot Springs, V for ten days. Jean Bedini and Al Sanders, the for- mer wine agent, have taken offices to engage in/the production of vaudeville acts. . '..."; " , \ "8havinga" Henry W. Savage's next and only legit production of the new year, is -due to open in Stamford Xmas week. Gilbert Millar la to return to England two days after' "Monsieur Beaucalre" opens at the Amsterdam next week. Mil- ler is Bailing so as to reach London In,, 'time for the holidays. At a meeting of the Board of Gov- ernors of the Friars, Cbanning Pollock was elected to nil the~ unexpired term of John J. Gleason (now abbot) as dean, and Col. Walter Scott was elected for the unexpired term of Arthur Ham - mersteln as governor. Marie Dreams and Mabel Vaughn have dissolved their vaudeville partnership. , Both will continue in vaudeville with other partners. ' > Harry Leavitt has been appointed manager and Al Saunders agent of Counihan & Shannon's production of ■ Way Down East." The vaudeville two-act of Gallagher and Rolley separated this- week owing to Joe Rolly's engagement with the "Fri- volities of 1919." After an absence of five years Emmy Destlnn, prima donna, will make her re- appearance at the Metropolitan in the title role of "Aida," Monday night Uly. 8. Hill, former manager of Har- nianus-Bleecker Hall, Albany, N, T-, has been appointed local resident'manager for the hall by the Proctor interests. Trend towards reviving "The Miracle Man" in stock circles Just now, the popularity of the picture, no doubt hav- ing something to do with that. Harry Tighe and Alma Francis, two- act. Miss Francis makes the tenth girl partner that Tighe has appeared with in the past five years. (Frank Evans.) Mrs. Margaret Kelly, a policewoman of St. Paul, Minn., is shortly to open a school for dancing in that city. Jaw and shimmying will not be tolerated In Mrs. Kelly's establishment. En-route frox.. his summer home In Maine to Indianapolis. Booth Tarklng- ton arrived in New Tork Monday, stop- ping at the Ansonla for two weeks. It has been urged in this connection that we should permit these laws in order to' protect our weaker brethren from their weakness. Well, as Herbert Spencer said, "the not result of shielding fools from their folly will be to fill the world with fools." Margery Ketriek, who was for some time connected with Will Page in the Comstock & Gest publicity department resigned and is now private secretary to Geraldine Farrar. The Manhattan opera house, playing its first Sunday Keith vaudeville concert last Sunday night at a $1.50 top scale, had capacity in all parts of the large theatre, excepting the gallery. The Majestic, Albany, is booking through Walter J. Plimmer. Joe Brennan, the Irish comedian* has been booked for England and sails in June Mart.inetti shd Sylvester have re- formed a partnership after a.separation of five years. D. D. Kelsey, manager at Erie, Pa., for Feiber & Shea, has resigned to go to California. He is succeeded by Howard Rumsey, who is also manager of the Penn Players, the hew stock which opened in that city last week, succeed- ing the Waldemeer company. As the result of a # fire at the Hotel Bancroft Springfield," Ohio, recently, a number of vaudeville artists lost the major part of their personal belongings. Among these were the Musical Hodges, Evelyn Sylvester and Alma Holt . The John B, 8choeffel estate was set- tled in Boston last week. Eight heirs divided over. $500,000. Thomas Barry, the lawyer, received $5,000, and .'Al Shean. former business manager of the Tremont, a similar sum. -Schoeffel'a stepson, Sydney Booth, was not men- tioned in the will. • The Actors' Fund of America will re- ceive their share of the proceeds from the testimonial performance given by the Actors' Fidelity League, at the Cen- .tury, Oct 12, this afternoon. George M. Cohan, president of the league will make the presentation to <- Daniel Frohman, president of the Actors' Fund. Harold O. Covington has .been miss- ing from .hur home in Baltimore since last March. It Is thought by his re- lations he ran away to go on the stage. Any information as to his whereabouts should be forwarded to the .Bureau of Missing Persons, Police Department, Now York. Midgie Miller is replacing Beatrice Curtis with Roscoe Alls and Co. Miss Curtis retired from the act when she discovered that she was miscast in the jazz atmosphere. She was formerly In Gus Edwards' "Revue," and has been signed up by Ziegfeld for his "Nine o'clock Revue." A rural comedy is in preparation for Chas. Althoff. Pearl Franklin, writer of "Thunder." is doing the book. John L> Golden may produce it. In the interim Althoff has been routed over the Pan- tages circuit Brendon R. Douth, formerly connected with Alhambra, New York, was dis- charged from the army this week. He served with the first contingent of the American forces and was stationed in Siberia for the past nine months. ' Beginning Sunday the Colonial, Erie, Pa., will give performances that day In tho future. The house plays three per- formances dally, booked in the Keith office. Few trains leave Erie Sunday night. The first performance of the second bill, of the Provlncetown Players takes place tonight (Friday), when three one- act playlets will be presented. The pro- gram will consist of "Aria da Capo." by Edna St Vincent Mlllway; "Brothers," a sardonic comedy by Lewis Beach, and "The Eldest," by Emily Marie Dletx, dramatised from one of Edna Ferber's stories. Harry Mountford's application for an Injunction to restrain the Billboard from publishing the Actors' Equity page in a typographical make-up similar to Mountford's weekly page In that paper came up for argument In the Supreme Court Tuesday and was postponed until Deo. I. Tho story printed in the evening edi- tions of the New York papers to the ef- fect that the Stelnway was a Loew house is denied by officials of the Loew Agency. The story was about a falling scaffold in which three people were killed and several Injured. It Is a new theatre in course of construction. Matt Grau has started an action In the Municipal Court against Frank Moulan, the comedian. Grau claims that Moulan owes him $435 as commissions for obtaining four engagements. Moulan, Who is represented by Nathan Burkan, admits to $125 indebtedness for one'of the engagement's''secured, but denies the balance of the account The Sunday night benefit which is to be held at the Cohan and Harris Theatre on December 21 for the Paulist Fathers', summer recreation camp baa been underwritten for $5,920 Father Peter J, Hoey is the prime mover in arranging the affair, and the details of exploita- tion are to be handled by J. J. McCar- thy and Theodore Mitchell. ... /. _-_— The A. E. A. has received a complaint.; against J. R. Cunningham, producer of "The Woman He Wanted," In which five members of the company allege they rehearsed for five weeks and, following a demand for payment for the extra, week, were informed the show "wa*. off for the present. The new Equity con- tract held by the complainants calls for a limit of four weeks rehearsals, with • half pay for additional rehearsals.'Those making the Equity complaint were Helen Brosius, Albert Hlokey, Joseph Dernier, Roberta Bellinger and Yvette St. Clair. The matter Is under investi- gation. The Cheese Club, an organization com- posed of theatrical press/ agents and newspaper men, held their first annual, caper at the Central theatre on Tuesday afternoon. About $3,500 waa realized .through, the sale of tickets and/a- souvenir program.' The house wan sold out for the performance, and B. F. AI- bee donated $500 besides. The proceeds, with the exception of 10 per cent, do- nated to the Actors' Fund, will be used' .for the establishment of club rooms. The feature of the caper was the v . presentation of a one act play written by Tom Oliphant, entitled "The .Posse." In this offering; which was produced by . John Cumberland, only members of tho club appeared. Those in the cast were Tom Oliphant -Fritz Tldden,' Marc C. Connelly, Pat'V; Kyne, B. T. Dillon, Lduis Reid, Al. Kay ton, Jack No wmark, Charles McCllntock, Dayton 'Stoddart, Benny Holzman, James McGrath and Gerald Spero. Among the professional' talent who appeared were Fred..and Adele Astalre, Fay Bainter, Edith Day, Bernard Granville, Harry 1 Tierheyi lry> ing Berlin, Margaret Irving, Emily Drdnge,: Eddie Cantor and George Lo- Malrje, Rube Goldberg,. Harry. ..Her ah- field, Doris Kenyan, Grace La Rue, Bert - Leveys Harry Carroll, Richardson 1 and Shaw and William Rock and Wb i; 2,> 3, 4, C, and two more girls. V Tho haberdashery underneath VARI- ETY'S New York office has Had to call tho police several times lately, to regu- late the crowd .'looking for entrance Into the store, to secure some of the window- . advertised bargains. When the Broadway and . 45th street corner was trans- ; ferred to .Marcus Loew and notice given the tenants to vacate within DO days, the haberdashery posted large signs, id its windows, announcing all goods would be Bold at a discount of 50 per cent While removal sales are*quite common, this one aroused much attention, per- haps through the high prices now pre- vailing or because the sale of tho corner had been widely published. Before the haberdashery secured the store, it had been a saloon for years. Early last spring, with prohibition in sight, the saloon sold its short term lease and, with the cost of remodeling the gent's fur-', nlshlng store, had an initial expense of around $12,600. That was with the ex- pectation the corner would remain un- disturbed for some time to come. Now the building must be vacated by Feb, L When VARIETY first occupied-its,pres- ent location 12 years ago it expected to move any month and continued expect- Ing to be notified to move at any time since then. The chances aro that the haberdashery will net a large profit on Its dally removal sales. \o=: "'-