Variety (December 1921)

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VAUDEVILLE Friday* December 2, 19*1 mm INSIDE STUFF ON VAUDEVILLE Mrs. Ilcibirl sstiiafiiitr, vs ho was Dorothy Granville professionally some years ago, Is contemplating recital work on the coast for charitable pur- poses in association with Louise dude. Mr. Schaffner is of Hart, Schaff- ner & Marks, the extensive clothing manufacturers. The Schaffners divide their time between their New York and coast homes. Mrs. Schaffner re- tired from the stage when marrying and has no intention of professionally returning to It. CHRSIMAS >?&■ MN BY SHUBERTS Ethel Levey is over here for a vaudeville (Keith's) tour, barring two months she will spend with her husband at Palm Beach, Last waiter Miss Levey purchased a home there. Her vaudeville salary this trip Is $2,500 weekly, as it was last season when she played a few Keith's weeks. Then the Keith people voluntarily increased Miss Levey's salary to $3,000 a week. Miss Levey arrived in New York Thanksgiving and opened at Keith's Hippodrome, Cleveland, this week. Her agent, as always, Is M. S. Bent ham. The Keith office Is reported considering cutting down the cost of the Babe Ruth act by substituting a cheaper salaried artist for Duke Cross. Cross receives $630 net a week, the Keith office paying, with Cross pay- ing the pianist who is a part of Cross's regular act. The Ruth turn did no more at Cleveland last week than In the other towns, not Increas- ing the average gross of the house. If there is a handsomer theatre anywhere than B. F. Keith's Ford- ham, on Ford ham road, Bronx, New York, it has not been as yet noted. The theatre is magnificent in its construction, appointments and furnish- ings. No detail appears to have been neglected. The theatre seats 2.400 on two floors, It is nearer to square in its orchestra outlines than most large theatres that run to oblong. The effect of the theatre from the first balcony is that of a mosque, through its unusual and sightly ceil- ing. The dressing rooms are on five floors, reached by an elevatpr. The elevator seems to have eliminated the mooted question of "star" or "ground floor" dressing rooms, for artists now like the most commodious in the back stage elevator house. ' Chris Egan is the Fordham's manager and has his staff running like clockwork as he has done in other Keith houses. Mr. Egan also has something back stage for the artists not reported anywhere else. It is a list of stores and restaurants in the neighborhood that will allow It per cent discount to any artist playing at the Fordham during the en- gagement there. The story Variety had last week of Nora Bayes demanding the Shu- berts pay her own etage carpenter his weekly salary, while at the same time paying her $3,500 a week, had another side to it that did not come out. Besides demanding pay for the carpenter, Miss Bayes, while in Chicago, told the Shuberts they would have to give her eight tickets to New York. Her contract calls for transportation for two others than herself. Miss Bayes likewise told the Shuberts about the extra fares as she did about the carpenter's pay that, unless her demand was com- plied with, she would not appear to finish her engagement at the Apollo, Chicago. The Shuberts apparently did not accept Miss Bayes' threat seriously, or were Indifferent to what she did, as they did, not listen. She returned to New York, played last week at the Crescent, and Is this week at the Shuberts' Majestic, Boston. So Far Four Cities Not on Regular Vaudeville Circuit to Have a Week's Holiday Bill The Shuberts have so far selected five stands for a Christmas week vaudeville program. Four are in cities that have no regular Shubert vaudeville house. The other is Iho Boston opera house, where the Shu- berts operate weekly on their reg- ular circuit. The cities selected are Atlantic City (Globe), St. Louis (Jefferson), Springfield, Mass. (Court Sq.), Buf- falo (Teck). The 'week of Dec. 12 the Shuberts will place a special weekly vaude- ville program at Toronto and Mon- treal, their first attempts in the Dominion. ■ i-i =E=E wuwracut* ., ]f YEARS AGO Keith's antf ahuberts Us* Arsh for Billboard FRANKENTHAL RETURNS Two Brooklyn Houses Going Back to Keith Office The two Frankenthal houses In Brooklyn, De Kalb and Halsey, now playing vaudeville booked by the Bobbins agency, will return to the Keith office within the next 10 days. They were withdrawn several years ago by the owner. Both houses are closely adjacent to the new Loew's Gates, and have been declared op- position by the Loew office for that reason. This is believed to have Inspired the return of the houaes t' the Keith office. The cup holders now in some theatres have had a rubber placed on the handle, making the slot machine noiseless. The attachment has considerably improved the machine. An outburst of "temperament" among the artists on the bill at the Princess, Montreal, three weeks ago, led to several "jams" and fist fights stretching over the entire week. According to the story, trouble started early in, the week between Lester Sheehan and John Burke, after Burke had accused the dancer of making noise back stage while he (Burke) was doing* his turn. Matters came to a climax when Val and Ernie Stanton were on the stage. Sheehan and Burke mixed it up, and an acrobat on the bill, who took a punch at Sheehan, was nearly crowned by a chair wielded by Sheehan. The Stantons came off the stage at the end of their act, find- ing the fight occurred over noise made back stage. They wanted to know who started the rumpus. Ernie Stanton threatened that any reoccur- rence of the disturbance would be accepted by him and his partner as an invitation to join the exercise. At the night shOw while the Stantons were on, they heard sounds of conflict back of the "one" house drop. Picking it up they revealed the legs of the disputants to the house. Ernie- Stanton lee.ned over and said audibly, "We will be back* in a minute." This stopped the argument. Richard Travers, the magician, on early In the program, got Into a battle with the stage manager later in the week, when Travers attempted to move a table while Sheehan and the "rt>rd girls were on the stage. The manager, according to report, took a swing at Travers. Sheehan is said to have remarked, "Don't think because I'm an aesthetic dancer I can't fight." LeMAntES' GDLL EEVUE George and Rufus LeMaire are preparing to launch a girl revue running an hour into Shubert vaudeville, in the near future. and Shubert offices hooked up In a billing controversy this week, when Charles Warren, manager of the Colonial, New .York, got permission from the city to use the arch at Sixty-second street and Broadway erected to advertise the automobile show, for a poster stand. Warren plastered the arch With pos- ters announcing the appearance of Singers' Midgets at the Colonial this week. The Shubert people responded by posting three sheets advertising the eurrent bill at the Winter Garden and 44th Street. Complaint to the local authorities resulted in both parties entangled in the controversy being requested to remove their posters. LOEW'S, NEWAKK, FULL WEEK The opening of the new Loew's State, Newark, N. J, has been post- poned until Dec. 12. The house will play full week vaudeville, the only Loew house in the vicinity of New York using that policy. 8chiller Remaining on Coast E. A. Schiller, who built up the Loew Southern circuit from one week at Augusta, Ga., to its present dimensions, will remain on the Coast indefinitely and perform the same service in relation to the Loew Western tour. Holyoke Likes Vaudeville Bill Holyoke, Mass., Nov. 30. The Holyoke theatre, playing a Shubert vaudeville bill this week, may take on another Shubert variety program for next week. Vaudeville as a permanency in the house has not been settled upon. wants in common with the commercial traveler. Mr^Albee's efforts in directing the congressional mind toward a sales tax as the income problem solution has taken many forms in many directions. None of the aany letters Mr. Albee has written to Senators, Congressmen and heads of the Administration could be obtained for publication. Each was forceful in its logic, and contained facts and figures that were indis- putable. The Traveling Men's Council 'had been working toward the same point, and Mr. Albee was Invited to a luncheon to discuss it with council members. • The council represents 26 associations throughout the country. It was responsible for the referendum vote and passage in New York of the amendment to the State's Constitution to permit absentee voting. The owner of a newly opened pop vaudeville house in Brooklyn was complaining bitterly about business, as the house had not drawn a full attendance since opening. An agent hearing the wail cuggested "paper- ing." The owner indignantly replied that he did not see why it was necessary to paper the house as he had Just had it painted. Another Shubert legal tilt Is in the offing. May Boley is the aggrieved party. She has been at her Los Angeles home for the past few weeks awaiting further routing from the Shuberts. She holds a 30-week' minimum guarantee, but has been idle for some time. A provision of Misa Boley's contract stipulates that, in the event of a contract breach, arbitration should be resorted to Instead of the courts. Although Miss Boley has consulted counsel, it looks as if she will be compelled to live up to the arbitration agreement because of a law recently passed by the New York Legislature. Formerly, all contractual differences could be arbitrated with the consent of the courts, but under the new law this consent Is not necessary, and any arbitration agreements via contract are binding. An inside report this week said the Loew Circuit might declare, its next regular dividend. The last dividend date for Loew's was passed under the direction of the banking interests associated with the circuit, it is claimed. The Loew Circuit has about $1,000,000 of outstanding obligations, it Is said, with a reserve in the banks sufficient to meet it when due. At about that tine, also, if the story Is correct, the Loew people will make an attempt to dissociate themselves from the banking connections, to thereafter operate the circuit at their own discretion. While business has been good and bad In the Loew theatres, as in all others since early last spring, it is claimed there has been no real rea- son why the Loew's could not have paid a dividend and no reason now why It should pass another. The heading. "Coldln Wins Decision from Federal Judge in Penna," ou Page 4 of Variety last week, # could have been quite misleading to those who did not read the sub-head or the two stories under it, both pertaining to injunctions sought by Goldln against alleged infringers on the "Sawing a Woman In Half" .illifeion. The head was written after a hasty glance over a wire from Pittsburgh to this paper, saying Holdin had been granted three injunctions in Pennsylvania. The Pitts- burgh wire also stated none of the three applications was opposed, with the consequent result there was nothing left for the court to do but grant the Goldin application. The other story, however, from Kansas City, related that In that town and before the Federal Court, when P. T. Selblt appeared in op- position to CJoldin's application against Selbit on the same grounds and for the same act, Uoldln's application was denied. Goldin withdrew the charge of infringement when Selbit produced evidence in proof that r.one of the "half" dlsplayers of the present day had created the trick; that it was done In England ns far back as 1887. This explanation is made to set right any of Variety's readers who may have read the head refined to in last weeks iMsue and not the •utile article. The testimonial performance to be given Sunday evening (Dec. 18) at the Manhattan Optra House to the National Council of the Traveling Salesmen's Associations by the Keith office, is the outcome of the com- munications, conferences and the co-operation of E. F. Albee with the traveling men's organization. Both hnve been working for better tax- ation, reduction of transportation and many other things the professional Belmff Jtaadom Item* from Variety Dated Dee. 1, 1906. T%« opposing burlesque wheels' were still trying to reach a truce* A new proposition was made bj» President Butler of the Empire to Richard Hyde of Hyde & Behma* of the Columbia. This plan contem* plated the scrapping of both exist* ing concerns and the organization' of a new company to be capitalized at $1,000,000. The western burlesque groups proposed to-give the eastent wheel men $600,000 in stock for all their shows and $100,000 to take up the outstanding stock in the Colum-. bia Amusement Co. An additional $800,000 would take up outstanding Empire circuit stock, and the re* mainlng $100,000 in stock would be offered publicly to provide new operating capital. Colonel Butler; figured that with the shows of the two circuits cut down to 40 instead of nearly twice that many, each show would return a net annual profit of $10,000 and the $400,000, to- gether with other profits, would make a return to stockholders of about SO per cent, a year. Hyde de- clined to carry the proposal to ths Columbia executives. Max Berol-Konorah, president of the Artisten Loge, the German or* ganization of performers, was play* ing Indianapolis. He gave out a* statement setting forth that the Loge had Just completed a three* cornered International entente of vaudeville players by ratifying the agreement already o. k.'d by the Variety Artists' Federation of Eng* land and the White Rats of America* Announcement was made that Jenle Jacobs, "the English' agent, was sailing for "homo" in a few" days. Also It Is recorded that an English act named The McXaugh* tons (Tom and Fred) was sailing to open at Hammersteln's Victoria Feb*25. Vesta Victoria (who had played the Percy O. Williams houses the previous season) was returning to play dates for William Morris. Hammersteln s Victoria was th*3 center of vaudeville interest. For the following week Willie Hammer* stein had booked a freak bill irf which there were six single acts:— 4 Willie Edouln, Coram, Clnquevalll* Jack Norworth, Bessie Wynn and Leona Thurber. Charles E. Blaney hsd It figured out that the New York east side had no home for melodrama between* the Third avenue and 30th street and the Thalia on the Bowery and he proposed to build a theatre on 14th street between . Second and Third avenues (about.where the Jef- ferson now stands). Walter Jones and (the late) Mabel Hite had been appearing as a t« am, but decided to separate after com* pleting their route. Miss Hite pro* posed to do a single act and Jones said he would return to his trams' characterization and frame a turn backed up by a male quartet. William Morris lost three houses i he was then booking with vaude- J vllle:—Olympic, Cincinnati, in which John Robinson would put stock;! John J. Ryan's Lyric, Cleveland* which went to the Sullivan-Consl* dine route sheets, and Ryan's Ma« Jestlc, in Erie, Pa., which was shifted i to the Western Vaudeville AssocIaVJ tion. The local manager of one of these houses had called upon thai Western Association In Chicago to J fill in a bill and Morris had filed ob- jections. A wrangle grew out of the affair and the houses switched to the opposition. M. S. Bentham offered Virginia JJ Harned for vaudeville at $2,000. j The same week Thomas W. Ross ' agreed to a route at $1,000. BERT and BETTY WHEELER Next to closing at Keiths Palace, New Yoik- this week iXov. 2*>, and doing "Jess Dandy.'' ' Direction LEO FITZGERALD Even tills long ago Keith snd Shubert interests were at odds. The Sunday concerts were the bone of | contention. The Keith people were alleged to be peeved at the Shu- berts because they permitted Wil- liam Morris to give Sunday con- certs In Shubert New York houses, i It was reported that by way of re- ' prlsals the (then) United Booking Offices was making overtures to feature acts in the Hippodrome show controlled by .Max i.\ Anderson, Shubert ally. —i. The police were watching* the "Sundays" closely. One set of per- formers who were working the »x- Ilra performances complained th« -v believed malcontents who did t" ,; !Continued on page ifi)