The New York Clipper (January 1920)

Copyrighted, 1918, and published weekly by the Clipper Corporation. 1«04 Broadway. New York. Entered at the Post-Offloe at New Turk. Jon* M. lsTs. aa mail matter under Act of March I. 187i aaoond-olaaa Founded by FRANK QUEitt*, lift* NEW YORK. JANUARY 21. 1920 VOLUME LXVtt-No. SB Price, Fifteen Cent., SUB a Yea* EQUITY ORGANIZES FRENCH ACTORS IN EAST ERN CANADA Performers Meet in Montreal and Elect Officers of Association Under Guidance of Representative from New York. Will Start Dramatic School Montreal, Can. Jan. 16.—Tentative plans for the organization of the French Actors Equity Association took definite shape here last week following a meeting between French-Canadian performers and George S. Trimble, representing the Ac- ton Equity Association of New York. The new organization has been launched with a membership of nearly 100, and ap- plications have been received from more than 200 more performers in the eastern section of the Dominion. _A. Cercy, of the Theatre National . Francais, has been named as head of the organization; M. Mallett, of the Theatre Canadian Francais, as secretary, and Alexander Silvio, as in- termediator between the French associa- tion and the. A. E. A. - Although the French A. E. A., it was stated, will be affiliated with the A. E. A., the French organization will draft its own constitution and bylaws and will settle all differences between members and Can- adian managers. However, the A. E. A. has reserved the right to keep a parental eye over the movements of the new or- ganization and will arbitrate all questions of national importance. Whether or not the French performer will-make an effort to establish a mini- mum wage scale has not been decided. Such action, however, is doubtful, for, at the present time, the .Franco-Canadian actor receives a wage sufficient to meet tlie economic demands of the country. And that the French performer is seldom out of work is evidenced by the fact that the French theatres are open the better part of the year, with no long Summer lay-offs, as in the American theatre. The first movement to be launched by the F. A. E. A will take the form of a dramatic school, which will be opened to the children of French performers. A staff of instructors will be chosen from those actors- who have gained recognition on the Canadian stage and, by this expedient, French performers hope to keep alive an interest in French theatricals in the Do- minion. CLAQUE WORKING IN CHICAGO Cine ago, Jan. 15.—That singers o I the Chicago Grand Opera Company have been paying for applause at the rate of from $5 to $20 a performance, was made public today in statements issued by Charles Fontaine, French tenor, and Alessandro Dolci, Italian tenor. An assistant stage manager, the tenors assert, was head of the claque and obtained, money under the promise of applause. Herbert Johnson, controller of the com- pany, said he had heard rumors that "Somebody was shaking down" the artists. CUT STATE FAIR DATES Syracuse, Jan. 17.—There will only be six days of the New Tork State Fair this year. It will open on Sept 13 and con- tinue for one week. . This was announced at the first meeting of the New Tork State Fair Commission last week.* They were hopeful of running the fair for two weeks, hot were compelled to dismiss the idea. J. Dan Ackerman was re-elected as sec- retary to the commission. Others were: ., Treasurer, M. E. Monahan: superintendent, D. W. Dwyer, and George L. Blodgett as racing secretary. All were re-elected. ABNER AU HAILED TO COURT Chicago, 111, Jan. 10.—Abner All, man- ager of the .Rush Printing House, printers of theatrical material, was brought to court last week, charged with assault and battery. The complainant was a man who owed him money, and who, it is said, used abnsive language when asked to pay his debts. KITTY CORDON CASE UP AGAIN An echo of the injuries Kitty Gordon alleges she sustained in 1817, while work- in? in the finning of a feature picture at Fort Lee, was heard in the Supreme Court this week when the World Film Corpora- tion, which she is suing for $10,000 dam- ages, made a motion for a verified bill of particulars. The answer of the film company sets up that Miss Gordon is not entitled to any compensation for the injuries sustained, beyond the $50 she received for medical expenses under the Workman's Compen- sation Law. The answer also sets forth that she was employed to act in the feature film, entitled "The Beloved Adventuress,'' at her own risk. In her complaint, filed by Nathan Burk- an. Miss Gordon sets forth that she knew nothing about the risks involved in the filming of the picture; that during one scene, supposed to be a battlefield, with herself as a nurse moving about under fire, a premature explosion occurred. As a result, she says, she suffered burns on her left leg and left arm and that the ripht side of her face was burned, which resulted in the loss of her eyelashes and eyebrows. She also says she afterward suffered from insomnia and headaches. In addition, she says she was confined to her bed for a week as a result of widen she lost $1,260, a week's salary. JANSEN SUES BOOKER Hugo Jansen has got into a disagree- ment with Mike Shea, of the Shea-Mc- Ccllum Booking offices, Cleveland, that has finally reached a place where attorneys have taken it in hand and Janaen, through Harry Saks Hechhehner, has sued Shea. The whole trouble seems to revolve about a scheme to put a revue in the Hotel Win- ton, Cleveland. Jensen says he had a long talk with Shea about the matter and that. the latter assured him he could book the production once it was produced. Ac- cordingly, Jansen says he went ahead and, through Roehm and Richards, got Ray Midgley to work on an idea and also en- gaged a number of people to fill the cast of the piece, which, it was believed, could be booked into the Winton for close to $1,000 weekly. In addition, Jansen says' lie spent $5,000 in costumes and scenery uc! went to a great deal of effort to put together a good show. However, aa the time came for the book- ing to be arranged, Jansen says that Shea failed to live up to his part of the agree- ment and, as no booking was obtained, work on the piece stopped. He also says that he and Shea were to go fifty-fifty on the profits after the salary and expenses of the act were paid. Now, he charges,- Roehm and Richards want $350 for work they did on the piece and he is out $1,000 advanced to people en-' gaged for the cast, etc. All of which would not be, he says, if Shea had kept his part of the agreement. The people Jansen says he engaged for the production include Helen Keitt, Marion La France, Hortense Korseill, Mabel Kelly, Dcwar and Swain, Dorothy Miller,- Ana- belle Jeanette, Jeanette Stone and Helen Rose. 13&. MAUDE ALLEN NOT ENGAGED Los Aroeus, Jan. 17.—The report which was recently circulated to the ef- fect that- Maud Allen, the interpretive dancer, was to marry Leo Cberalavsky, the Ti<a«it.jraai w d«s«ed this week by AllelPwtasr interviewed at her MOROSCO HAS NEW DAVIS PLAY A new comedy written by Owen Davis and called "Marry the Poor Girl" has been accepted for immediate production by Oliver Moroaco. It will be given a hearing shortly in Los Aageles. HAD 41,354 PERFORMANCE Oshxobk, wis., Jan. 16.—"Listen Les- ter/? which played her* Wednesday at Che Opera ^Honae, ' FINAL FUND REPORTS IN Associate Chairman W. Ward Smith handed in Ms final report on the Actors' Memorial Drive figures at a board meeting held in The Lyceum Theatre last Satur- day. A total of $739,366 was realized from the 57 special matinees given in New York. The report gives the detailed amounts contributed and raised by the various com- mittees and also a contribution made, personally, by Mrs. James Speyer, of $5,000. The figures follow: Banking Com- mittee, $43,835; New York Stock Ex- change Committee, $40,520; Committee on Hotels, $38,430; Rubber Industry, $30,010; Department Stores and Cloak and Suit Trade Committee, $32,535; and the pat- ronesses, who contributed $38,437. The total of the Trades Committee's subscrip- tion to the drive was $228,773. BOXY HART CLAIMS BITS "Billy Hart, of Billy and Marie Hart, has requested that "Duke" Cross remove the mind reading bit from his act. He al- so wants Felix Adler to eliminate the piece of business claiming that Adler has lifted it. DlTRICHSTEtN SUES TYLER In aa effort to recover damages and to enjoin the production of a play entitled "Jacques Duval,'' Leo Ditrichstaln last week filed action in the Supreme Court against George C. Tyler and George Ar- ils s. The play, the adaptation of which is credited to George 8. Kaufman, was recently produced at the Blaekatone The- atre, Chicago, with Arliss In the leading role. The contention of the plaintiff is that tbe Tyler production is substantially the English translation of Sana Midler's Ger- man play, entitled, "Der Scboeper," and ho avers that he owns the sole rights to pro- duce the German play in America by vir- tue of an assignment of these rights to him last October. According to the allegations contained in the complaint filed by Ditrichatein, the presentation of the alleged infringing play by the defendants has deprived him of a role admirably suited to his talents as an actor, the playing of which would have resulted in large profits to him and has materially depreciated, and continues - to depreciate, the value to him of the play as a starring vehicle and as a business investment. Ditrichatein says that he entered into negotiations with Hans Bartech, tbe play broker, some time ago with a view to ac- quiring the American rights to the play, which culminated in a verbal agreement whereby he procured the sole producing rights in this country and Canada. Ditrichatein alleges that Tyler entered into negotiations with tbe play broker in an effort to secure the rights to the play, but was notified that they had been sold. Notwithstanding the acquisition of the rights by him, Ditrichatein asserts, the de- fendants produced the alleged IssMnf las; play despite his protests. "ONCE IN A WHILE" OFF Anton Scibilia has decided to abandon the production of "My Once in Awhile," for this season, anyhow. The piece was to have been produced early this season with Vera Mlchelena in the stellar role. BARRYMORE'S "RICHARD ITJ" NEAR After completing his engagement with The Jest" at the Plymouth, in about four weeka ^John Barrymora will * GIRL CASHIER ARRESTED Mary Egan, twenty-one years old, was arrested. last week charged with having withheld $127 of the day's receipts from the Prospect Theatre, at 851 Prospect Ave- nue, the Bronx, where she was employed a* cashier. She was arraigned before Magistrate. John E. McGeehan in Mor- risania Court on Friday, and is now be- ing held in $1,500 ball for the grand jury. Harry Jacoby is the manager of the house, now being used by the Bianey Players. B. 8. Moss owns the house. Jacoby said that the receipts had been abort to the amount of $1,472 in the nut sit weeks, and that be told the defendant to make an accounting. He claims that on that evening he found the receipts were $127 less than they should be and that the defendant did not show op at the the- atre tbe following day. SUE "EAST OR WEST* FILM Contending that the motion picture pro- duction, "East or West," deceives the pub- Ue into the belief that it is a version of *?"£ £ W<rt »" William Harris, Jr„ Sam- uel Sbipman and John B. Hymer last week brought action in the Supreme Court against Carlyle Blackwefi, producer of the picture. BlackweH has'been served' with a court order directing him to show cause •why be should not be enjoined from pre- sentation of the picture. The p laintiffs hare filed application for as injunction. DANISH AGENT COMING '^^Seaarup, manager of the Scale Theatre.^Copenhagen, Denmark, ia coming the here to, book American artiste Jar a i sarff ^*s) oa protjsstss aunag V-