The New York Clipper (May 1919)

THE NEW YORK CLIPPER May 28, 1919 ACTORS WILL ARBITRATE DIFFEREN CES WITH MANAGERS Meeting at Hotel Astdr Monday Voted to Discuss Matters Instead of Refusing to Work, as Was Reported Would Be the Case—Want 8 Shows to Constitute Week. The talked-of Betel's strike may never materialize; that is, it wont, if the newly formed Producing Managers' Protective Association will agree to arbitrate its diffi- culties with the p|ayera, as was suggested Monday at the ^n""* 1 meeting of the Actors' Equity Association at the Hotel Astor. By the terms of a resolution ratified unanimously at the -meeting, a thirty days 9 armistice has been declared. At the end of that period, unless the managers agree to talk the question over, the argument for a revised contract will go on, and on, until it may Snally reach the strike stage. The Producing Managers' Protective Association last Week wrote a letter to the Actors' Equity Association, declining to treat with, that body. But Francis Wilson, president}of the actors, wants to give the managers another chance. He thinks the present hard feeling could be eliminated if representatives of both sides got together and. talked the matter over. A resolution which had been adopted at an executive session of the Actor's Council, was ratified unanimously- It is as follows: "Resolved, That arbitration shall be sug- gested on all pointa of the contract in dis- pute. Members I>om each organization to be on said Board of Arbitration, and an umpire or umpires of national repute, sat- isfactory to both; parties, to be chosen, whose decision siall be binding on both parties, provided jthie be done within SO days. Pending tais arbitration, members will continue to sikn the U. M. P. A., A. E. A. contracts as at present in force." The gathering was the largest the Equity Association has ever held. Twenty-five hundred ThespiaaB, most of whom are stats, twinkled around. Walking through the assemblage -was like strolling along the Milky Way. So great was the crowd that hundreds wesje unable to obtain seats, and scores stood fin the hallway. A few were able to find Swats in the balcony, but the rest remaintp standing for several hours. It was a secret session. Admission could only be gained by presentting a paid-up membership card. Several mem- bers who had forgotten to bring their cards were denied entrance. President Wlhrtn, opening the proceed- ings, explained tjiat the Association had been approached; by the Producing Man- agers' Protective! Association with a view of deciding upon fa form of contract satis- factory to both,' and it was understood that concessions were to be made by each aide. Most of these concessions, said Wilson, would have .been found easy of solution, but the one clauye which the managers ab- solutely refuse xo grant was that eight performances should constitute a week's work—that all £xtra performances beyond that number should be paid for at the rate of one-eighth. This would mean that In future free holiday performances would not be given by the actor. "U nfortunately," observed President Wilson, in a statement issued after the meeting, "the Producing Managers' Pro- tective Association misunderstood our com- munication as 'being in tile nature of an ultimatum, which was not the case, and broke off the negotiations with the Actors' Equity Association in a letter which has already been made public in the press. "In that letter the Producing Managers' Protective Association announced that the Council of tat: Actors* Equity Association had threatened: the 'dosed shop.' This was absolutely, a mistake, the Council having no nca power at that time," Wilson under sc ored the words "at that time." Inquiry as to bis purpose in do- ing Hi*, hrx»agnt forth tin explanation !. . ,:'.■;, from Grant Stewart, secretary-elect of the association, that the acton had Monday given their Council power to declare a "closed shop," in the event that' arbitra- tion fails to eventuate. Frank Gilmore, retiring secretary of the actors, read the letter from the man- agers, which .was signed by Lawrence Weber, secretary of the last-named organi- zation. It states: "Referring to the proposed contract on behalf of the Actors' Equity Association, I am instructed to say that after careful consideration, it has been deemed impos- sible for the Producing Managers'-Associa- tion to accept same, involving as it does so many departures from the established and tested practices of the profession. "I am instructed to say further, that the prevailing and accepted conditions which exist in the present contracts have proved fair, and in the main, satisfactory in operation. We cannot, nor will we, acquiesce in any attempt to bring about unconsidered innovations as the result of self-interested agitation, which really has not in mind the' well-being of the profes- sion nor the helpful co-operation of .its members. "Your declared purpose, that upon our failure to accept the demands of the Actors' Equity Association it will retaliate by or- ganizing the acting profession as a closed shop, is one that we will not consider. "The proposal is so incongruous with the nature of an artistic profession, and in- volves such an abandonment of the actor's standing and dignity that we cannot be- lieve it has received unbiased considera- tion from those who affect to be in favor of such a step. "It would not be possible, I am in- structed to add, for us to deal with an or- ganization which so far departs from its original ideals as to threaten the profes- sion with what is known as a closed shop." It was made plain that the Council was empowered to handle the contract ques- tion as it saw fit, the actors by their vote, having given the officials comprising it un- limited power. Charles Coburn, who belongs to the Act- ors' Equity Association and the Producing Managers' Protective Association, spoke from the floor and'said that the two bodies would be able to settle their grievances. The feeling of the actors generally seemed to be that the offer of arbitration could hardly be refused, and would almost surely bring about the desired result. Blanche Bates, in private life Mrs. George Creel, wife of the Chairman of the late Committee on Public Information, made a very little speech. Miss Bates pro- tested vigorously against the Association joining the American Federation of labor, a move which has been under contempla- tion for three years. She was frequently interrupted and expressions of disapproval were numerous. ."Evidently Miss Bates didn't understand the situation," after- wards commented a well-known actor. "A number of years ago," said President Wilson, previous to the meeting, "before the Actors' Equity Association came into existence, the American Federation of Labor issued a blanket charter covering all amusements. That blanket charter »' owned and operated by the White Bats' Actors Union of America, or whatever title they are now organized under. It would be utterly impossible for the Actors' Equity Association as an organization, to go.into federated labor except under the auspices of the White Rata, subject to their order, which would become a question of the Actors* Equity Association losing its an-. {Continued on paffe 27) GEORGE BROWN BEATEN. UP George N. Brown, who has a walking act in vaudeville, and Robert Law, owner of the Robert* La w Scenic Studios, had an - argument last week which resulted in Brown getting several nasty cuts about his face, and a window of the door in Arthur Klein's office being broken. The trouble arose over an action brought by Brown against Law several months ago over some scenery which Brown stated he had left in Law's care only to find that the latter had let it get into the possession of a man who was using it, in a show on the army camp cir- cuit. Brown, through his attorney, Aug- ust Drier, won a judgment for $275 in the case. ,So, when Brown walked into the Klein office the other evening and found law there, the conversation swung round to the scenery deal, and pretty soon some- body used the word liar, which seemed to be the signal for Brown and Law to start swinging, which they did for several min- utes. During this time Law's glasses fell off and some of the glass cut Brown's face. The battlers then swung up against the door and the glass was broken, which con- vinced Klein that it was time to stop the rough boose and be separated them. Brown later reported that his side was seriously injured in addition to the cuts on his face, and that he was going to court am. have Law summoned there. Law was said to be out of the city Monday, look- ing over a show in Washington. SUES GOODWIN ESTATE Georgia Gardner, whose beauty has helped to put more than one show over, last week began suit through Rosenthal and Halperin, attorneys in the. Longacre Building, for furniture, choice liquors- and other furnishings recently taken from the home of the late Nat Goodwin, to whom she was engaged to be married at the time.of his death. The property, which consists of mahog- any beds, dressers, chairs, tables, etc., is valued by Miss Gardner at $5,000, she asking an additional $1,000 for alleged unlawful detention of the property by the administrator of the estate. A stor- age house is also sued for unlawful de- tention of the property, which, Miss Gardner states, was given to her by the late comedian only a short time before his death. BIG SHOWS FOR FRISCO CASINO Sax Fbahcisco, May 26.—Sam Harris, of Aekennan & Harris, has returned from the East with a bunch of "big time" book- ings for next season. The Will King com- pany has been installed for the Summer. This company numbers forty-five—princi- pals and chorus, and their opening bill is "Oh, Hello." In the Fall there will be a season of grand opera at the Casino which will be followed by Winter Garden reviews which bear the New York stamp of success. GOOD AS BOND COUPONS Leo Newman, the ticket broker, wish- ing to impress passersby with the great virtue of "Broken Blossoms" as a snow, pasted up a ticket as a coupon on several $1,000 Liberty Bonds which he bad in his window last week, and thus drew a lot of attention. To those who know New- man, it is needless to add that be had a quantity of the tickets for sale. "SCARLET MASK" OPENS MONDAY "The Scarlet Mask," Winthrop Ames* new production, will open in Atlantic City on Monday. The play was a big success in England where, under the title of "The Purple Mask," it had a long run. It is called a mystery comedy. "TURN TO THE RIGHT" CLOSES "Turn to the Right" closed its season last Saturday night at Teller's Shubert Theatre, Brooklyn. The season with the company has been very successful. BECK GOES WEST Martin Beck, Barry and Mort Singer and George Gotlleh left for Chicago Sun- day.' Mr. Beck and Gotlieb will return Memorial Day. .;.-.■- "COME ALONG" OWES SALARIES A week's salary is due all the players in "Come Along," the musical show pro- duced by the Marne Productions, Inc., which closed at the'30th Street Theatre May 17 after a run of six weeks. - The show, written by Bide Dudley and John Lw Nelson, opened here April 8 at the Nora Bayes Theatre ■■ under, an ar- rangement with the Shuberts which called for a 60-50 division of the receipts. The show remained at this house for four weeks, playing in what is considered a "last resort" house in the first place, for the theatre is atop the 44th Street Thea- tre. The show had a weekly salary list amounting to $3,500. For the last two weeks of its run, the Shuberts permitted it'to go into the 30th Street Theatre, where it played to a total of $0,200 for the two weeks, this amount being divided 60-40, the company receiving the lion's share. And on top of all the show's financial troubles came a judgment for $852.43, ob- tained against the Marne Productions, Ins., by Edward Royce, who was engaged to stage the piece. His contract called for $000 a week for three weeks, that being the time it was -figured it would take him to put on the show. Royee's contract also called for one per cent of the gross receipts as long as the show runs. . However, Royce claimed he worked a week longer on the show than his contract called for, so he sued to recover an addi- tional week's salary, phis some accrued royalties which he claimed were due him. His suit was undefended, the judgment last week being the result. At the present time, R. M. Nelson, brother'of the composer and treasurer and general manager of the corporation which was organized, with a capitalization of $50,000, to produce the show, is negotiat- ing with several people who, he says, are interested in buying a share of the show. With the money he receives from this source, Nelson says he will pay all claims and produce the -play again next Septem- ber with a less expensive cast. In the meantime, Nelson has sold the Southern road rights to J. Osborn Clem- son and the later is organizing a company to play the piece, opening September 8 in Norfolk, Va. Nelson says he is en- gaged at present in organizing a $200,000 theatrical corporation which will produce comedies and dramas beginning next fall. ■''■"- ■'. ■. '..■v?.- -V. 3 -:*: -; fili - '-h- WOODS BUYS OUT BERNARD A. H. Woods last week bought out the remaining portion of the fifty per cent interest held by Sam Bernard in the "Friendly Enemies", show. The price said to have been received by Bernard from Woods.at this time is $25,000. At various times previous to last week Woods is reported to have bought por- tions of the interest in the show held by Bernard. This accounts for the appar- ently small amount of cash received by Bernard last week, following his retire- ment from the cast of the show now at the Hudson Theatre, where Louis Mann remains the featured player. Bernard held a fifty per cent Interest in all of the companies and all the rights of 'Triendly Enemies" and also received a salary of $400 a week for appearing in the play. Mann,-on the other hand, be- sides receiving a salary said to be $000 a week is also receiving" 25 per cent of the profits from the company in which he is appearing. Some idea of the profits that have accrued from this play, which is now running in this country, England and Aus- tralia simultaneously, may he gathered when it is stated that, during the first fourteen weeks of "Friendly Enemies" in Chicago, where it opened, the profits, amounted to,$100,000.- ' KOLB AND DELL BACK ON COAST Los ANQms, XJaL, May 23.—Kolb & Din opened last week at i the 'Majestic, after an absence of more than a year, in a revival of their Military Musical farce "As Yon Were." In support of the stars are Julia Blanc, Marie Rich, May Cloy, Ethel MarteUe, Geo. W. Banta, Jr., Max Steinle, Jack Rollins and Frank Bonner.