Variety (August 1925)

M VARIETY :4 Ei^itwiirAU Wednesday/August b, 1988 ^KiETY rrttPrtiia WaaklT by ▼AJUBTV. IM. StOM BlWaraiaB. Pr«fll««it 114 W«it 4ttb SirMt N«« Ttok CMf THE J. C NUGENT ARTICLES ABDMl It r«r«l«».... .^. M WncU CoptM ■• 0«»«» ;:. voL ucxix No.U '' I • 15 YEARS AfiO {From Variety vnd "OVpptrn •t<aum Jeetn hl^hy, the n^yel wrlt- «r, waa coaxed Into vaudeville at the American, New York, and for $1,600 per week, she waa signed to Ulk on the whys, wbereCore* and wbatnpta of k>ve to young glris. I John U SuUvAi), booked into the, » •Wigwam, Ban Francleco, drew ! |e,SOO on the week at 10-20-30 prices. I This was comparatively higher than I Jim Jeffries' engagement- the year ; before when he drew fS.tOO at a M I cent top. This m%y have been the start of that gag line, or maybe not, but Je Paige Smith brought in 'a male . quartet from the West, and all the boys were, heavyweights. Imme- diately Smith billed them as "1<000 Pounds of Harmony." , A* a contributor to Variety. 3.\c. Nugent Is ever welcome. He has been, kowever. latermlttently a i contributor. His eehtrlbutlons date ba«k to a day behind the memebr o* a majority of Variety's present readers. But then and as noif J;' 0. IWfeirt wrbU pointy anjl learnedly.' i' ■ - s^ ■■< . ''. i Within the past few weeks Mr! Nu*ertl'has be«l 'eoritrlbuttafc articles to Variety tbat have been of g«tieral lipitArest to Jorofeertonala As » vaudevilllan and a sketch artlet a«d m6op1(>glst fa that 4lvlnon, and ^ an author In both vaudeville and legit, besides now a player In the loglt plays collaborated upon by him with his son, Blllott. besides thp stage experience Mr. Nugent must have had before he did his extremely delectable "souse" monologs in the varieties, Mr. Nugent. Sr., has a world of knowledge gained through rabid absorption ©f situations and oonditlons, and with i>eople as he has met them In the show business. And the foregoing Is likely the longest sentence Variety ever carried. But that is not as remarkable as the fact that, while J. C. Nugent ^ do a sUge'"souse" without a peer, he has never tasted liquor In any forpj. In these stories of late Mr. Nugent hes delved into the very aoiite Inside of many things, although |>ut commenting In his writings, illli article on the "artist, and perform«r" eoudd have been called a researcht It certainly was an insight, and mfi»t have struck many with its truth. I i; ■ < -■..-.'.• ' ■. j But there #«i'e other days whe4 J. C. Nugent Wrote, aad fo» VarletA even Ita the days when he did not coincide with Varietys editoriafl policy on the very matters he was writing of. It later developed though both ll^r. Nugent and Variety were correct. Mr. Kogent in thoito day^* and those were the troublesome days of the White Rate, told Whlta Rats and all vaudeville artists what the outcome would be, not becausfc he predicted, but because the Wljlte Rats were not building properm their foundation ijras of faulty oonstruction, and without a substantial Inundation the house mafet fall. ' '■ i ■ t George M. Cohan, Sam H. Harria Marc Klaw and A. I* Krlanger were the directors of a newly fprmed cdrporation to take over the old Grand Opera House on 2Sd street which hkd formerly ^een leased by Cohan and Harris. •H That was years age. It also caine true years ago. Mr. Nugent wrote of many other, angles to actons orgaMztnIr and • ergahlsatlonsj their have some true. From through it!all, through the trihulatione. the expreij-J '^^^ CrMk.'";,*'b'iautKui mou'ntain Siou of hie convictions brought Mr. Nvgent,.even tha* ,b«.would permit •^ ' ^^■ his articles ef those days to be (printed in Variety . J. C. ](4ugent ha^ emerged as a prognostioator of extraordinary perception, for an actot, as an actor of unusual technical knowledge; as an author, and as alt least one man In the show business who said what he thought; whb iUGHt OFF THE IIESK By KELLIE REVEtle; Odiva was holding over at the Brighton Music Hall for she fostered a diving contest In her own tank which was proving popular. The editor of a Parisian comic. Journal, "l<e Scorpton," was chal- lenged to a duel by R. Bertin, French impersonator, because the editor took a whack at his act Ber- lin, however, was .appeased aftwr he sued for Ubel as a substitute for the dueL He got the equivalent of 14.80, the editor beiaiT An** U .and aU expenses. J. C. Nugent was on hl| way to the Orpheutn, San Francisco, to play a vaudeville date Harry Jolson had Jiiat made a big success in England. . . . FJrosini, one of the flrst of the piano accoraionista, was playing on Hammersteln's Roof. . . .• Stella Mayhevf was signed by l^w Fields for "The Jolly BaohMors." UTILE THEATRES "The Thrice promised Bride" will be presented at special performances by the Inter-Theatre Arts, Inc., at the Cherry Lane Playhouse. T. Brewster Board and Harold W. Conklln. from the "Qarrlck Qaltles," will double between both shows. The Homewood Playahop of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, pre- sented its annual outdoor produc- tion on two iilghu on the terrace In front of Gllman HalL The program comprised "Minuet," Louis N. Parkefs orte act drtuna of the French Revolutloii/and "The Lying Valet," David Oarrick's eighteenth Century farce. never looked fof nor a>ked for favtors through it, from manager or agent, and until he wearlM of saying so much that'meant a great deal, bdt was not intelligently dissected Ih those days, Mr. Nugent has arisefi to high rank as a playwright and; a player for and on Broadway in these days. In those days he was writing for his companions of the varlettas without thought of Broadway these days. . • This Nugent came from a hlel( village la <MUo called Canal Dover. He'fl quite a «uy< INSIDE STUFF . ' • -.-■ .4.,, Terrace Farm, Phoenecla, N. Y. Being the traveling corr^pondent for this flrenlde companion has itg responsibilities as well as' Its cbrnpensatlotis. W'rltlnir a column wh^n you .WQuld much ratl^ Just sit on the porch of a qtfalnt niountaln In^ and watch the world go by proves it. E^^eryone seems to think that getting away "where It's quiet" is th* thing to do, especially at this season of the year. Yes, I suppose it would be nice. I have succeeded In getting away, but yearn for the peace and quiet of my room in the Somerset hotel. After motoring 18t miles to what one would suppose from its title ta be a nice secluded farm house I find I have the state road exactly 10 feet in front of my window and railroad station immediately behind me, with a &0-foot brook between, and the Qnly hous^ that is building or has been built in these parts in years is going up directly across the streetL I Tbe aiJT mikes you sleetiy, but the' heavy traflle won't permit yotf sleeping. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of vehicle* or that thiey oame so heavy: Thei>B aeems to, be no speed laws here and cars tear past a^ an unbelleveable gait, especially thrpugh the night. Moving vans, Standard Oil tanks and bootleggers. How dp I know theji are bootleggers? The natives andjt^e bootleggers all seem to know each other and bail as they paes. Thefe is. no dearth of liquor, reports not<« withstaddlng. > fiootleg Boulevard, as the natives call the state road, is Infested with equtpages "Coming wi^Ui the Rye.'' |i<otorc^cle cops or revenue officers ma^s be around here. But I haven't seen one. It's funny to see the car* go up so light and come down so heavy. , « The best thing about ihls vacation so far'was |the inqtor trip np her«u Miles of beautiful sdtoery on one ^e and the Hudson Rlveif on the otheq makes one woAder why people go abroad looking for beauty in nature. It there be any prettiec drives or better roads than the Storm King roa4 I, h^ve not seen them. When you leave the Hudson you pick fip tha The first to greet me after my; arrival here were' Rawsbn and June, former vaudeville artists (amed for th^r clevef throwing of the Australian boomerang. Six years ago the9( threw awity the ircase paint and retired to their 178-acre farip iip her«^ They now own several hoi|^ and both lire weP ii^d happ^. Up here also, but only as summer residents, are the 'Widow and son of Frank Fogarty. Gface Edmunds, as Mrs. Fogarty was known on tha stage before her marriage to Frank, is contemplating concert work. 'Will Fredericks, of the' old Musical Fredericks, has a coffee shop on the state road near here. M^ ». *. (■ . I t,i > ti!.-n . Lewis & Oeirdon havfl been notified that "The Jazs King," tried etit with George J'essell starred, is kh apparent plagiarism on Jack Lait,'s. story entitled "Syncopated Sympathy," pablisked some seven years ago in the Chicago '^Tribune." New York 'Mall" and syndicate. By a strange coincidence, Lalt had made an agreement to collatrorate on a dramafisaj- yon of it with Saihuel Shlpman.; Shipman was called in by Lewis A Gordon to doctor "The Jazs Kln^.'' He dlsco>vered the similarity. The stories are almost Identical, except that Lalt's character is a feminiiie vaudeville sl;igle, and the one bX a yourtg novitiate playwright named Josephsoa W '^TM Jass King" Is a male vaudevUl* alncle. Harry Linton owns a road house called "The Log Cabin." It also 14 on the state road. It Ik the only dancliig casino near here and gets H great trade. Oalli Curcl owns the most pretentlouM show place In the mbuntalniw There doesn't seem to be such a thing as a private residence alon^ these roads. Nearly every house, no matter how conservative looking., bears a sign "Tourists Accommodated." This place gets many of them* |Cy room Is on the first floor, opening on tbe front porch. -i. ,'t The story about the Al Fields Minstrels and the late Jake Tannen- baum, of Mobile, Ala., is confirmed by Charlie McCIintock, who claims to have been in the box ofltlce when it happened. Mobile always had been a soft town for the Fields, phow. The day It was billed to open AI Fields walked Into the theatre and saw a raak with but three rows gone. That was for the succeedi^ig attraction, as the Fields show had been sold out five days before. Tannebaum, also In the box office, said nothing, however, and Fields merely remarked: "That's funny. Guess we had better start the parade early." ' Starting to parade. Fields guided his minstrel men around and ba^k to the theatre. Jumping into the lobby for. another look in the box offi<ie. No line at the box office, and only a few more seats gone, Fields wept back to parade, repeating the sanie thing and parading until two o'clock In the afternoon. Just before matinee time, when he saw the mob going into the house. Fields asked Tannenbaum how it had happened that they all cai^e at once, when Tannenbaum explained and tpld Fields the reason h^ had not infonhed htm before of the sellout was tliat Fields had not asked. The food }s .fine (but I am on' a diet) and the visits from the pro'4 fessional people who are sumatering here keep m^ from getting hdme^ sick. From my window I oian see Rawson driving his cows to pasture* In his yard i^cross the street I can see his horses and chickens, and theif oackle is worse thfinl tbe railroad trails and the trsfflo on Liquor Lane. After having written the love ballads of about 40 musical shows—and •II the rest of the music* too—Slgmund Romberg acted one of them and got married not so long^ aga On his return from the honeymoon be took tho bride on a sightseeing trip around New "Torl^, which was more or less unfamiliar to her. They were driving down Broadway and passed a corner rather notorious for the character pf its habitues. * "'What is that placer Mrs. Romberg inquired, pointing to the eon-* gesteu corner. , /'That," said the composer, who knows his New York, "is a sunny spo9 for shady people." .,•.,' There are two ways of handling women, according to Thomas W. Ro8s# who entertains patrons of "Left That Off." One of them is kid gloves and the other is with silk stocklnga •< i . ,.« v bj i „'■' " Peterboro. N. H.. Aug. 4. t IThe Outdoor Players, directed by llarle Ware Laughton, gave the flrst performance of the season Fri- day Bight. The program included a dance masque. "In a Forest GladOk" created and directed by Louise Revere Morris. Another fea ture Lord Dunsay's Orlantal play, *^he Golden Room," directed by Slspeth Dudgeon. Frsnk Byrnes has' succeeded Lon Ramsdell as manager of Loew'^ Vic toria. Byrnes had been manager of the Kamee, Brooklyn. Archie Ad- elman Is now manager of the Morfey pnd Anger' have been routed fpr a full tour of the Loew Circuit., The route followed the showing at the American Roof last week. . Crane Wilbur requests correction in mention of his new play, "Cinema Grime." Mr. .Wilbur states the story Is laid in Hollywood., but has no bearing upon ttte Taylor murder matter. Jones and Green, with whose production act^viti^s Joe Leblang Is Intw- ested, have taken over Daly's 63rd Street theatre from John Cort, prle- sumably for the season. The house yf\U be used as an uptown outlet for the Provincetown Playhouse productions. "Love for Love" will be reopened there and later "Desire Under the Elms" will be moved there from the Cohan, the latter house getting the filmed "Ben-Hur." The Jones, Green end Leblang interests will have two other houses under their direction, namely, the Cohan and the recently acquired 48th Street. 'Wonder what the late B. F. Keith would think If he could be here ttf read the contract Paul Whlteman ^received for playing at the Hippodrome for the first two weeks In August. Not such a great man years ago, Mr, Keith started a "muselun" and music hall In Boston, living above it. Hie performers worked for tl6 and |20 a week and meals. LAter the circuit spread and salaries went to the Unbelievable top of $2,000 a week. Now comes Paul Whlteman at a figure of |7,500 per week. That record may" be exceeded in vaudeville sometime, but we doubt It. There isn't an^ more money than that in the world. A certain California city has deleted something over a mile of flln* depleting kissing In the various pictures that have shown there in the last year. The Inhabitants seem to come serenely through nerve-racking earthquakes, though kissing and earthquakes have about the same effect* The Lafayette, New York City, switched bookliiira this week from the Walter t Plimmer Agency to the A. ft B. Dow Agency. The house Vtedra five aoU 4««]^ .halt Relatives of the late Max Hirsoh knew he suffered from heart trouble, although the veteran treasurer and company manager was unaware of it. X-ray pictures taken showed valvular irregularltl«s, and physicians •aid he had but a few days to Hve. That was Just prior to his last fishing trip. Hirsch was a total abstainer aad had an exceptionally moderate appe- pte. Victor Cumberson. secretary to Joseph P. Blckerton| Jr.. the attornelir for A. L. Erlanger, sailed Satiurday for France, where he win assumie a life Job as confldentlal secretary to Frank Gould. Cumberson was once of the Gould menace when the millionaire lived in New York. The Gould home is at Maison ^jafltte, a few miles from P'"-'*- ^ ' ' • ■/ -'. \ Basil Rathbone, the English actor who came here to play In rTh|e Cz^lna" and who has been playing leads since, was divorced from his wile In Paris July <, acoordhig to press dispatches. Rathbone's wV4., an English woman, applied for the divorce In the French capital oh grounds of infldeUty' She is noarly SO yaara older than her husband. They have discovered I^ew York's only female Iceman in the Time* square district, delivering ice to the stage doors of the theatres. She W probably Just practicing how to turn the cold shoulder to the stage dooy Johns^ Not so long ago Rathbone's name was linked with that of Ouida Bergere, the scenario writer who was divorced from her husband, Georgd Fltimaurlce. earlier In the year. Rathbone has been recently playing ori the coast with the Henry Miller company, and It i» expected that he and Miss Bergere will marry shortly, i • ' ■' Despite the Shuberts said it waJs "Jurt a gag" to call the new Rufo* Lemalre "Gay Paree" show "The Greenwich Village Sfcandals," there has been filed at AllJany, N. Y.. a certificate of lncorf)oratton for thd ■Washington Square-GreenWlch Village Scandals, with Rvrfus Lemalrei George Lemalre and Harry W. Berg mentioned as the directors. Mrs. Arch Selwyn and her' tvjro sons, Archie, Jr.. and Billy, will "a^ for Europe this month, Thp bOys will be placed in a Switzerland school to learn continental' ,langup^ea and wlU remain at least a year. Mahol Normand. upoj^ her. departure from the co|ust, stated tbat hef contract with A..H. Woods calie^i for 16,800 wpekly salary. When A. H. "W^opdelsoid .pne-))|i|£ Interest, ll» the Apollp theatre, Chi- cago, last May to Lee Shubert, Woods received for it 1489,000. Tlie Shuberts operate.