Variety (December 1922)

-2r Friday, Dtcember 1, 192t B 0 R L E S Q U E V. as-c MEW YEAR'S EVE SHOWS rival of Rite in New York and fol- lowing a conference between Rife v;,'. i-rr-'- Alin I\rr 01 ClflinlV'*"*' ^^^ Columbia offlclals, it was Arlll ll£v« ul| oUriUAl agreed to permit the show to make Burlesque Managers Figuring ^Possibilities for Third or One Performance ' Burlesque managers in cities like New York, Brooklyn. Boston and Phi'adelphra, wner^ Sunday bur- lesque shows are not permitted, generally get a bad break this year as regards the extra money usually .grossed on New Year's week through New Year's Eve this year falling on Sunday. In New York and Brook- iyn. the burlesque houses run Sun- miay vaudeville shows and in Boston the changes via morning and be- tween show rehearsals, while con- tinuing on its route. QUESnON OF CHORUS DANCER'S aOTHES Publicity Man Arrested Cleveland—Dance Not Permitte'd in COLUMBIA'S BEST CARD IS 'BEAUTY REVIEW" Jimmie Cooper's Show, In First Columbia Season, Leading Wheel BURLESQUE REVIEWS Cleveland. Nov. 29. Wllllnm Dowdell, publicity agent jind Phllly no style of entertainment for the Empire, local burlesqtle is permitted in the burlesque houses j house, upset the dignity of ClevJ- on Sundays. Baltimore in also dark .6ui!(lays. ''"The suggestion has been made and is under consideration by the Columbia people that the burlerque shows give a performance a few Minutes after midnight on New Tear's Eve (Dec. 31), which wou'd make the performance legally fall On Monday, Jan. 1. In New York Vnd Brooklyn, the plan calls for the Sunday vaudeville show to be given as usual Sunday, with the burlesque show as the extra midnight per- formance, after midnight. '' In Boston and I*hilly the house ^•Urould have to be closed until mid- t»Ight, with the performance given by the burlesque show after. In that ■way. the producers who sponsor the land's council and stirred up a t«n- pest of more than teapot proportx>ns when he succeeded In ^retting a chorus girl into a private dining- room of a downtown hotel, where the Republican members of that austere body were holding a caucus and dinner. One of the so^oAs had his wife and daughter at the din- ner, and the sudden app<»arance of the allowed pcautlly-clad iluucer in the august prrsonce caused imme- diate remonstrance. The fair chorine refused to leave on request, claiming; that she hnu been engaged to dance at a stipulated price, and she would '"deliver the goods" in ac- cordance with the asrecment, but the hcstility of the ia'vmakcra/Was Idea wou'.d get the extra money that (too fitnmir, and she was compelled ' goes with one show, anyway, they figure. Jt is not known whether the Bos- ton and Phil'y authorities would be to l^ave without displaying her art. The quantity of her costume is still a moot question. One paper reported that she had even omitted ■ agreeable to the extra m dnlght I the hitherto lndi.Mpens»abJe tl^Thts, •how early Monday morning. \Vhile the plan appears legal, objections were raised several years ago in Boston and other cities not pcimlt- tlng Sunday shows to burlesque -operating after midnight on the first day of the year, when Sunday fell on the 31st. the same as this year. The «nly shows affected would be 'those in the east, most of the Colum. "bia stands opening on Sundays. If the plan mentioned is followed by ^ the Columbia, the Mutual and stock burlesque houses will probably adopt the same method of giving one- extra show after midnight, or .^ on Monday, Jan. 1. The three shows on New Year's Bve in a week that has the holiday ove falling on any day but Sunday usually meaps a clean-up for the burle.sque shows. The Columbia, •Kew York, record receipts of some- what over 116,000, captured by **Town Scandals" two years ago, Were made possible through an extra heavy gross on New Year's Eve, with three performances on this «ay. The Columbia eicecutives are Working the New Year's thing out, and will announce a decision as to :« bow it will be handled. The Sunday vaudeville show at the Columbia, New York, is operated by burlesque people connected with the ownership of the hous» and Columbia Amusement Co. The Em- pire and Casino. Brooklyn, are operated by independent showmen on Sundays, a vaudeville bill being fiven. There has been some ques- tion as to whether the people having the houses Sunday haven't a sort of option on the midnight show, which In that case would be vaudeville. That is another of the points the . Columbia will pass on. but the press agent maintains that hor costume was the resjulitllon ap- parel worn by the chorus on the stape. The ambitious promoter was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, and a similar warrant was Issued for "Jane Doe," the offending dancer, who suddenly disappeared when legal action seemed imminent. Dowdell sturdily maintains that a councilman arranged with him for the dance, but he refuses to disclose the name of the jovial city father. The affair was front-paged for four days by the papers, although the name of the theatre did not appear In any of the accounts. However, the theatre ads reproduced head- lines, promising patrons that "she will dance for you. too," and stating that "she" is "the second from the right In the front row." MUTUAL APPROACHED BY OTHER PRODUCERS Former Burlesque and Unit Managers Suggest - Expansion WILLIAMS' SHOW ORDER Columbia Orders Recasting New Book and Following several Inspection of the Mollie Williams' Show at the Columbia. New York, last week by The Mutual Burlesque circuit has been approached by former Colum- bia and American wheel burlesque producers with a view towards ex- panding the Mutual to include the burlesque men who have left the Afniiated circuit operating the Shu- bert vaudeville units. According to the report, the Mu- tual heads are ready to grant franchises to the*burlesque men, but whether they will accopt the ex- pansion proposal is problematical. I. U. Herk is said to have con- ferred with the Mannheim-Vai peo- ple toward the expansion of the Mutual by additions of houses that Herk and his a.iaociates control and the raising of the standard of the Mutual attractions. The Columbia burlesque circuit ofncials have intimated that they the Columbia censors, orders were Issued to George Rife, owner of the ^o"*' ^«*^e back any of the unit Williams show franchise to practi- cally recast the attraction and equip It with an entire new book. The revamping order likewi.se car- ried with It instructions to gener- ally reshape the numbers and im- prove the costume and scenic ar- rangements. The Willinnifl show had been re- ported adversely upon reached The Co^uml producers who left burlesque to ally with the Amiiated. The future plans of the Shuberts for the Affiliated circuit seem to leave the burlesque produoers, with the exception of I. H. Ilork and K. Thomas Beatty, out of the run- ning. :. Deatty controls the Enplcwood, innu before it j Chicago, and Herk (with Max 'la >>'o\v York. ' ^P^'T^'O the Criterion, Buffalo, both Jimmie Cooper's "Beauty Review" tops the list of Columbia wheel shows as regards grosp rece'pts to date for the current season. "Chuckles" of 1922 is second. Bar- ney Gerard's "Follies of the Day" and "Sliding" Billy Watson's show are neck and neck for third place. The Cooper show has consistently led the field from the beginning of the season, never having been dis- placed to date from the top posi- tion for receipts. "Chuckle*" and "Follies" have see-sawed, changing plates once or twice. "Sliding" Billy Watson's show has also passed the contendere and was second for a ^^eek or *(o since the season started. The difference between the leader (Cooper show) and the other three contenders is considerable. Cooper having a safe lead. Just a short distance behind "Follies," "Sliding" Billy Watson and "Chuckles" are Sim Williams' show and Ed Daley's "Broadway B.evlties," boih new shows on the Columbia wheel this season. Cooper, like Daley and Whilams. is playing the Columbia wheel with his own show for the first time this season, all three being recruits from the American wheel. Cooper led the American for the last three years it operated. Lena Daley's show, operated by Ed Daley, and Sira Williams were also up among the first five each season regularly in receipts when playing the Ameri- can wheel. Lena Daley is the star of the "Broadway Brevities" Following ^the six shows named about 15 of the rest of the Colum- bia's 36 shows are practically bunched in the matter of rer'elpts. A thing that has hurt some shows' business this season more than any other in years is the handicap placed on a good show following a bad one. In certain in- stances a bad show has done con- siderably more gross business to date than the good one following it, the Columbia patrons in Uie dif- ferent towns falling to* respond for a week after a bad show had played a given house, on the prin- ciple that if one show was bad the next one must be bad also. This falling off is always noticeable more on the first three or four days of the week, but by the time the news gets around the town that the Co- lumbia show is a good one the lost business occasioned by the impres- sion left by the poor show cannot be made up. Business on the whole In the Co- lumbia to date in the matter of gross for the circuit figures about (500 to 1700 better than last year for the corresponding period, etart of the season to date. KEEP SMILING (COLUMBIA BURLESQUE) The (Jroom Hert I-ahi Tho Vlllakn Harry Ka>- Th9 Vamp Harry Meltou The lirtde Lillian RocUley The Pep itabe LiiFay The Bridesmaid ...Kmily Dyti The ne»t Man Joe Wood 1'he Hmiler «^..Uave Wo<k1:j The Grouch.... Leo Pel'.etler The Quest Dick Pritchard Bert Lahr. featured with James E. Cooper's "Keep Smiling," achieves the seeming impossible with this Columbia wheel show. Practically unaided, he carries the entire comedy burden for the full length of the show, keeps the laughs popping and exploding like an old-fashioned Fourth of July fireworks celebration r'ithout a let- down from a few minutes after the start to the tag line, and although on view almost continuously, never tires the hou.ie, or, what would ap- pear more 1 gical, himself. Talk about your one-man bands— Lahr is a one-man symphony or- chestra, a Sousa and Whitcman combined. A master of all the comedy tricks that burlesque under- stands and likes. Lahr adds to the general list of familiars with a com- edy technic of his own that is sure- fire for burlesque. The idea of having a single comic practically give the whole show, however, is not a good one. While Lahr gets away with it as few bur- lesque comics that come to mind ever have, it would add value to his work to have at least one. or pos- sibly two other low comedians CContinued on page 8) MISCHIEF MAKERS (MUTUAL WHEEL) .Stralrht Man Arthur tannine >*omlc George Ha it >'umic Hube FuM'-craon Soubret • Roae Gordoa Ingenue...* Flo Wagner I'rttna Jean Hart Team .^ Lubln and Welsh .,^ ■'..^ Tom Sullivan's "Mischief Makers,'* at the Olympic this week, is a bad .show—bad even for a Mutual show —and that means it's terrible. Just a waste of time with a cast that essays about a half ounce of talent to the ton. and a show consisting of a tiresome and stupid collection of blaa that maintains a perfect average of mediocrity. As a rule if a Mutual show is shy of talent or material it manages to partly camouflage its lack of either or both with blueness—but the "Mischief Makers" hasn't even th« doubtful honor of being funny though dirty. It's clean enough—although that isn't the show's fault. There's a try for the blue several times—the intent is there, but somehow the performers didn't seem to be able to convey what they were trying for to the audience. And whAn that 14th street bunch can't plclc up a suggestion of double entendre it's either a question*of the stuff being too obviously unfunny to register—or it's sold eo clumsily it can't be understood. The old time concert halls of Coney Island's Bowery like Connor's used to perpetrate some pretty wicked entertainment under the label of burlesque, but Connor's or Wilson and Kojen'e or any other Coney emporiums of the nineties (Continued on page 8> s.:^ ■■H:^ •0 ,1 SUNDAYS m JEE8EY CITY The MaJeatic, Jersey City. Colum- bia wheel, started playing Sunday for the first time,this season, with the opening attraction "Folly Town." The Sunday efxperlment was tried for a few w^eks last season. The playing of Sunday shows was brought about through a tie-up with the Firemen's Relief Association of Jersey City, the organisation buy- ing out the house on Sunday for the next six weoks. The shows will be routed from Paterson to Jersey City, opening there on Sunday instead of Monday, the same as in the west. COLUMBIA MEN DECIDE ON UNIT PRODUCTIONS Meeting This Week-—Gerard Seems Certain—Pearson and Singer Possibilities BEFORE AND AHER CUTS GO FORWARD ON WHEE Columbia Orders Managers to Keep Each Other Informed $2 •'B00K"--$25,000 SUIT Chicago, Nov. 29. Harry J. Ashton has started suit against Izzy Wcingarden for $25,000. alleginc that part of a "book" writ- ten by the plaintiff was used in the Star and Garter burlesque show of 1919 by the defendant. It is claimed by Harry Munns. at- torney for Woingarden. that Ashton advertised scripts for sale for |2; that Howard Paden. who produced the show, bought one; that he u.ied some of its material, and that this is the foundation for the suit. by the ccn.sorship committee. I Paying the Shubert vaudeville ^Vhilo n,;t afl-nillrd at ; • ..,::-m- ""•»'' Acconlinc: to insi.lor.M. the bia omco:-. it i.s un.ler.lo a tl..= lirst ' A"i'i-it< <1 onfacts with tho houses decision v.as to order the Hh )'.v off "" ""''' ^P"*'' ^' for a cc^rple of weeks to make tho I ^he Mvtr.il rirruit as now oper- neccsr.arv rena'ra With the ar- f^^-"^' ^^ soiling the attraction.'^ to I the houe.s for $1,600 weekly. The Krade of attractions wonM have to ROAD MANAGEKS TRANSFER A shift in the Hurtig & Scamon road managers this week places Harry Shapiro with the "Social Maid.s," and transfers Frank Parry from the "Social Maids" to the new "llockets" show, which opened Mon- day (Nov. 27) at Newburgh under the title of "Girls from Happyland." The show will take tho "Itockets" title after tlie Empire. Brooklyn, engagement, Dec. 4, the original * Hockel.s" having played the Em- Hire seven weeks ago, when the kIiow was fir.st produced by BcUinl &. llernstein. 'c.r BURLESQUE ROUTES "'//./- HB FOVNL> OS PAOB TitriUy-cight in This Issue T be ral c<l con3i<lerahly, which wcuUl autoninticary eliminate Kome of the present Mutual prcduccrs. thus making room for the newcomers. Judgment Against Sam Howe i^nm Howe did not defend a f;uit for $il.C(iG iJazian's Theatrical Em- porium. Inc., started against him a.s a result of whirfi full Judgment has been entered in favor of Dazlan'.s. The action is on an aHsignert not*' from H. Mahieu & Co., theatrical cnstumers. A new ruling regarding the cuts and eliminations ordered in Colum- bia wheel shows by local censors in the different wheel cities, the Colum- bia's own censors and house man- agers along the circuit route, calls for the resident manager in each stand to forward to the next house a complete list of the cuts ordered, together with the list that the man- ager will receive weekly from the town preceding him on the wheel. In this way, through the method mentioned, each house manager will be equipped with a complete list of the "don'ts" that other managers on the circuit have ordered. This does not mean that every house manager, however, is to apply the full list to his own particular town and house, the list merely supply- ing the house manager with what has been objocted to in the show in other cities. Inasmuch as some cities permit gags, business, etc.. in a show that other cities object to. and vice versa, the local manager is instruct- ed by the Columbia Amusement Co. to use discretion in utilizing the list of eliminations, as applied to their own local situation. It is expected the list, however, will cause a tightening of the shows generally, through the local man- agers naturally taking it for granted that If a dance or bit has been banned in one town there must be .some rea.son for it. The effect of each manager hav- ing a complete list of elimination^? is calculated according to Informed producers to malce the manager more parti' ular in making hi.s own eliminations than he would he other- wise, through having bits, etc. pointed out to him that might other- wise escape his attention, Tho new ruling went into effect this w(ek, a circular letter describ- ing what the Columbia p^'ople de- sired, going out to all houso man- agers - .<■ I A meeting of the Columbia bur- lesque circuit board of directors was held Wednesday to determine what action they will take upon accepting applications for rein- statement from former Columbia producers who went over to the Af- filiated circuit and produc ' Shu* bert units. • Several of the former Cokmnbia producers directly and indirectly are alleged to have made ap- proaches to Columbia ,ofncials to And out how they atand as regards future productions and franchises for the Columbia. The heads of the Columbia circuit seem divided in their feeling toward their former allies. One of the triumvirate who control the Co- lumbia seems inclined to let dov.n the bars, taking the stand that per- sonal feeling should be submergiid for the good of the circuit. Another of the big three ex- pressed himself strongly about one or more of the producers, but inti- mated the applications of the others might be regarded favorably. Ono producer who seems certain of a berth is Barney Gerard, who produced the "Follies of i' '» ay" in conjunction with the Miner Ks- tate. Gerard is legardcd as hav ; z gone out with .. clean slate ' las- much as he didr 't operate his own francTjise. Jack Singer and Arthur Pearf-on a:*e also figured to be back in the Columbia fold, as both h.ivc pro- duced consistently good shows fop the Columbia circuit in the past. SIGNING FOR REHEARSALS A new regulation governing re- hear^«aIs has been placed I . effect by several Columbia wheel shows. It calls for the actors to sign a slip acknowledging a rehear.sal call when notified. The slip signing was brought about through the mem- bers of one company chronically denying having been notified of after performance rehears.alj«, with the result it was unable to serure a full quota. Several other Colum- bia shows hearing of the innovatioa decided to take it up. Mutual and Holyok^, .>. '' The Holyoke, Hulyoke, Mass., be- -■ come.s a three-day stand on the Xu- ,' tual clrcui«t next week. The house "^ ■ playt'd Amerir^nn wheel show^f fiy* several .Mcasons ^ The Mi:;tial will also add ucv <k- houseM in Watorbury and Bridge' ^% port.