Variety (Dec 1929)

48 VARIETY V A UDEVIL L E Wednesday; December 11, 1929 Keith's Western First 4-Act Unit BiD Costing $2,750 Weekly Starts Dec. 28 Keith's Orpheum (westeni) cir- cuit's first rotating vaude bill of four acts opens Dec. in St. Paul. Ahead of it lies the'new route of 27 weeks and no cut salaries, con- sidered the most playable western trip available to -^-aude acts in years. The route wag laid but by Charles Freeman, in charge of all KeiUi's bookings in the west., Territory under Freeman's direction, a,nd to be played by the four-act bills as units, is bounded on the east by Cleveland and covers everything westward to the Pacific slope, A couple of eastern spots, perhaps Syracuse and Rochester, will break the jump. At the end of the 27 Orpheum weeks the Interstate cir.cuit of eight additional weeks may be added for the intact bills, forming a cutless route of 35 weeks, or the longest stretch of one-circuit Vaude time in the countrj'. Members of the Orpheum's first road show are "Snoozer, Jr.," Med- ley and Dupree, Lee Twins Revue and Jack Pepper. Total salary cost to theatres wHl average $2,750, with the highest figure of that amount rei)orted drawn by Pepper. Cost of all Orpheum rotating bills will be $3,000 or under, the average when struck probably in the neigh- borhood of the initial bill's $2,760. This places the cost of the western units from $750 to $1,250 under the weekly combined salaries of the two five-act unit shows formed by HEADLINES THAT TELL A STORY! MISS MAYRIS MR. EDWARD CHANEY<u>dFOX ASSISTED BT EARL PAULL and MILTON MURRAY ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING AMERICAN ATTRACTIONS EVER TO APPEAR IN ENGLAND FB£S.S COMMENT I I,ONDO>' MORNING "ADVISnTlSER"—"Chaney and Tax are the latest American hit. A brilliant dance couple." "THE ENCORE"—"The act of Chanoy and Fox la a riot of color, Incal- tulable skill and a real dancing proi<osltlon of exceptional merit," iTlNERARr TJet'einber 9—^aioncliestcr December IC—^Piccadilly Hotel, London December S3—AUiombra Theatre, tondoh December 31—Dublin, Ireland .Tannnry and Febmary^Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes, Vuu, clc; . EUROl'EAN ADDRESS Care Foster's Agency, 32 Shaftsbury Ave., london, W. 1 American Representative, WM. MORRIS AGENCX the eastern booklngr department of Keith's, under direction of George Godfrey, for eastern houses. Godfrey's division Is continuing with Its own intact bill plan. "Standard Show No. 2," as it has been named, opened the first half of this week In Flushing, I>. I. It costs approximately $3,600 in sal- aries, with the acts, Margaret Schil- Hngi 'Lulu McConnell, Wilton and "Weber, "Tiny Town Revue" and an opener. Route laid out for the eastern rotators comprises about 25 weeks. Unlikely the Palace, New York* will be included for the No. 2 eastern bill due to Miss McConhcU playing a repeat there last week and the ''Tiny Town Revue" the week be- fore. West's first unit will play , all of the houses, since it holds no quick return material. . keeps to Policy In such cities as Chicago, St. Louis. Kansas City and a few others the Orpheum four-act bill will be embelUslTLed with one, two or thfee acts to build up the show to coincide with policy of the the- atre.- ' . . Acts In the units will have the beiieflt of advance exploita.tion, not possible under the now passing spot booking system. ^ Theatres also count the added leeway for adver- tising as In their fayor for busi- ness-getting and building. The $3,000 liihlt on the Orpheum budget excludes aU high salaried freak or transient "names" from the Keith vaude ih the west. Keith's eastern and western book- ing divisions will book and organize their own Iritact bills, also setting, their own salaries, practically work- ing as eeparate organizations on all but mutual matters. Plan for Godfriey's department to follow the west's, ioutraiet bill l*ea and ellmlnatidh of all actual salary cuts from the eastern Keith time is under consideration'and favored to be adopted. ndie Managers No Longer Enthuse Over MhV; Past Methods Recalled Most difficult Job confronting Keith's scouts out on the road for new houses In the drive to revivie the Fimlly Dept. Is that of cleans- ing the Keith name and reputation In the eyes of the Indie managers and convincing them the. booking negligence they suffered from under the old regime is now a thing of the. past. Out-of-town Independent man- agers whose theatres are thejr means of livelihood have seemingly not forgotten the former Keith methods in act' bookings and deal- ings with the Indies. Most of the Indies solicited by Keith's road scouts stepped out, of vaude and away from Keith's two years or so ago, and turned to plcr- tlires. Their reasons ranged from general decline of vaude to.difference with Keith's over the treatment ac- corded them and the vaude bills they were receiving. Neglect of the Indies by Keith's and the latter's careless methods lii dealing caused them to walk In large numbers, . -Name Not Strong Those presently on scouting trips for Keith's are reported amazed at the attitude of the indie managers when the Keitli name is mentioned. According to the scouts, the day ILL AND INJUR£D Fully recovered from recent ap- pendicitis operations, Bobby Folsom returns next week at Keith's, Flush- lng,iL;.I. Sam ^Laveen (Laveien and Cross) la In,'post: Graduate Hospital, New Y;ork, ;tor cancer treatment : Bert - Fitzg'ibbon,. Injured by an auto ' recenlllyl ' will leave' French Hosfiltal this • week, it was first ijelieved he had a fractured dnkle. Frank Mostyn Kelly,"former,vaude cattpohist, went to Saranac Lake Saturday. . . ' ' ■Joseph K. .Wa'tson, in Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, 111 of stomach trouble. Slowly recovering. . Mr., and Mrs. Irving Southard were Injured in a .taxi, accident in New York' Saturday night, former bruised and shaken up. Mrs. South ard was so severely injured she w^is removed to ' the . French .Hospital Mr. Southard is attached to the N V, A. club staff. Mrs. Southard is professionally Nellie Ruess, Lynn Pratt, ^ In N. V. A. ward, French Hospital, New York, crlt Ically 111. Richard Cooke, who suffered a paralytic stroke recently, very slow recovery. Connie Mitchell, hurt in recent auto accident when Harry Kran^ was itilied, Improved in French Tibs pital, New York. George Chops, operated upon for appendicitis, • reported improved Monday in French Hospital, New York. Dewey Bloom, press representa tive for Gertrude Lawrence, oper ated on for stomach trouble in Mt Sinai hospital, New York. . Nell Healy of Gordon and Healy, now at BO S^epard avenue", Saranac Houses Opening Granada, Hollywood, Cal., 900 seater of Fox Coast group, is open again after 13 months of dai'kness Bert Sykes manager. NEW ACTS Emma Dux,. French music hall cpriiedienhe, rehearsing turn, writ- ten by Louis Stedman. She arrived from Paris two weeks ago. Maher and Shaw have dissolved theli* agent-prpducer partnership Bill Maher Is returning to vaude. Lynn Canter and John Miller and Lido Boys In comedy act. Davis and Rerry are reuniting as team after six years. Hellman and Ray have dissolved their , producing parthership. Max Heilman has gpne Into real estate, BIRTHS Mr.' and. Mrs. George. Pincus, Nov, 29, In Chicago, son. Father Is Feist's film department manager In Chicago. • . . . Mr. and Mrs, Julius Wltmark, Jr., daughter Dec. 8 in the Park East Hotel, New York. ENGAGEMENTS Paul Frawley,"Top Speed." , Herbert Rawlinson, Loiiise Hunt ington, Arthur Cole, "City Haul." John Halliday, "Treasure." when Keith's could take its pick of the Indie houses it wanted to book' Is gone, for the time, being at least. A considerable number of small or vaude-less town indies are re- ported practically sold on the re- turn to vaude as an aid to droop. Ing straight picture grosses, with the added expenses through restor- ing vaude possibly to be recouped ■ by Inciting new Interest with stage abts. The, selling, from the ac- counts, goes as far as, mention of Keith's and then the managers stop listening. NOW AT RKO Palace, New York (Week Dec. 7) of RAYE, ELLIS and LARUE Direction SAM BAERWITZ 161 West 4Cth Street, New York MAE WYNN and BUDDY ''FUTURISTIC RHYTHM'' WEEK OF DEC. 7 RIVERSIDE, NEW YORK Direction JACK WEINER EDWARD S. KELLER OFFICE FOR SALE, ANITA DIAZ'S MONKEYS standard act, conslatlne of 1 Chacma Baboon,' 1 Mandrill, 3 Drills, 1 Sphln* Baboon, 6 Rhesus Monkeys and 1 Java. Stock (all males) good and -wilUns workers, In superb condition and working order. Act worked by lady and easy to handle. All new paraphernalia and two seta of draperies. Good opportunity for conscientious couple. Act maintains permanent training quarters, centrally situated, with all conveniences. Rental of training quarters optional. Will thoroughly teach present routine. Apply W. F. Diaz, Hotel Nassau, 56 East 59th St., New York City THEODORESTEPANOEF A GREAT SUCCESS In His Ofiginal Russian Tap and Spanish Dances, Also Featuring His FAMOUS WHIRLWIND DANCE on the Table BOOKED SOLID R-K-O My Sincere Appreciation to Mr. E. KELLER and Mr. WEINER 3