Show World (June 1907)

THE SHOW WORLD 45 Have You Anything New? White City Chicago America’s Greatest Park, always finds room for Meritorious Shows and Devices. WRITE US THE VARIETY PAPER “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” SOMETHING ABOUT EVERYTHING Out Saturdays Price Ten Cents Correspondents wanted wherever there is a Variety Theatre or Summer Park. Address the paper at Knickerbocker Theatre Building, New York City. -IF YOU WANT A SURE WINNER- i Never Loved Another Girl As I Love You” --IS THE ONE- The Prettiest Love Ballad Published in Years. rHE JOHN FRANKLIN MUSIC CO., - 127 W. 40th St., N. Y. City EUGENE COX SCENERY CHICAGO. -GENUINE BARGAIN- : °R SALE OR EX CHANGE 1 Mahogany and 1 Oak Regina Corona ^- Music Box, piano style, mandolin attach¬ ments, automatic sheet lifts, late models, cost $450.00 each, sacrifice for CASH or EXCHANGE for,MONEY SLOT MACHINES. Write or wire COIN AUTOMATIC SPECIALTY COMPANY 76 Franklin Street, CHICAGO, ILL. T HE recent engagement in this city of Miss Willette Kershaw and Henry Woodruff, reminds me of the only company I ever heard of which was forced to close because of too much business. Several seasons ago, Albert Mor¬ rison and Miss Kershaw, on the strength of a considerable following they had gained during a limited sum¬ mer engagement, decided to give Pawtucket, R. I., a stock company which they would head. The best house they could find was a ram¬ shackle old building with the Jonah name of “Temperance Hall” and a hopeless reputation for being unsafe. An hour before the first performance, the janitor earned for himself the everlasting enmity of the players by playing (?) “Nearer My God To Thee” on what he called the “Pie- ana.” Miss Marcelle Forreste walked under a yellow ladder and Phil Bishop whistled in his dressing room. As a result the company opened with a settled conviction that the hoodoo had already arrived. However, it so happens that we cannot always count on signs, and somewhat to the surprise of all con¬ cerned, the venture was an imme¬ diate success. Miss Kershaw and Mr. Morrison become immense favor¬ ites and within a few weeks chairs were placed in the aisles and stand¬ ing room was being sold at every performance. An offer of such financial impor¬ tance that it could not be overlooked finally was made to Mr. Morrison and Miss Kershaw by the Keith people, and they consented to bolster up the attendance at Keith’s by closing their and producing one act plays at the Keith playhouse. Hughey Conn, formerly of Imhoff, Conn and Corinne, has joined Down¬ ey and Willard “for better or for worse until something do us split” and the three of them are to start on a hunt for big game—the best work and big money. For ammunition they will use “The Doings of Dr. Loud- Joe Pazen, proprietor and editor of the “St. Louis Ghost,” was a visitor recently. Pazen was reminiscent of the days some ten years gone, when he also was a Chicagoan, and was as¬ sociated with W. F. Henderson in the booking business. He told me a story which is characteristic of Hen¬ derson’s dry style. It seems that in their office was a blackboard on which was daily written a list of just what they desired in the way of pro¬ fessional talent; as for instance: WANTED— 10 chorus women, 2 character comediennes for stock, Comedy Sketch Team, for out of town, etc. One day, a number of performers, shine and otherwise, were in the office, and during the brief absence of Hen¬ derson they, thinking to have some fun with him, erased the sign and substituted their own chalk talk which ran something like this: WANTED— 10 kitchen mechanics, 10 scavengers, 5 hod carriers, etc. On his re-appearance, Henderson’s attention was called to the writing on the blackboard. He read it with care, and after surveying the bunch of performers critically for a moment he turned to Pazen and remarked in Chris Lane, who has been playing Pastoria the second in the “Wizard of Oz” all season, was an interesting office caller and informed me that he will return to vaudeville next season with a comedy singing and dancing trio to be known a's Lane, Gordon and Lane. They open on the Sullivan and Considine circuit at Butte, Mont., September 2. Nat Young and Fred Clark have joined hands and are producing their new act with the Great Alexander show. John Byrne, “Not a Liar, but just a Story Teller,” who runs his own fun factory and is a trooping repre¬ sentative of the same, is giving the “please hand us a laugh” audiences throughout Indiana all they are look¬ ing for and incidentally is educating some of the dead ones to the fact that even they have risibilities. The Western Vaudeville Manager’s Asso¬ ciation is booking him. Riddle: When is a disaster not a disaster? Ans. When it’s Rose and Severance’s “Automobile Disaster.” <S> <S> <S> Billy Cross knows where he is go¬ ing and he is on his way, which is more than a lot of other singing and dancing comedians can say. Mr. Cross has the Gus Sun circuit. <S> <S> <•> Rawls and Von Kaufman, are still serving the Pacific Slope folk with the best dish in the show business— their own brand of “Mush.” If Western papers are to be believed the audiences along the slope find the dish more than “Tasty.” Raimund and Good are at their splendid new home at South Elgin, Ill. They are more highly elated over the fact that their garden is now yielding asparagus and pie plant, than they ever were over taking six bows.