Variety (December 1918)

...-;-;,. .- PublUbtrt W«kte at UM Bradaw, Mb K«l ' Vol. Lin, No. 1, &erSzMJUkI NEW YORK CITY, NOVEMBER 29, 1918 Blofle oople*, IS mbU. i Entered ae second class matter' December 23, 1905, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under toe Act of March 3, 1879. / mt CONTINUOUS JOY CENTRE PREDICTED FOR BROADWAY New York Managers Look Forward to Hordes of Gay Visitors Meeting Boys Returning Home From ..Over There— Fine For Theatres, Hotel and Restaurants. That this is to be the record winter season for theatricals and the hotels in New York is a prediction freely made along Broadway. The signs at the theatres point to tremendous busi- ness as a reaction, and the indications taken from the business of the cur- rent week point to record receipts. • The reason, the managers say, is that .with.the advent, .of..peace every mother, father and relative, no matter what part of the country that'they are lo- cated in, are going to make every at- tempt possible to obtain the price of the fare to the big city to be waiting at the pier when "their boy" lands from the other side. New York is to be the most important point of debarkation o.f troops returning from France. Three boat loads are due to arrive late this or early next week. Already there are signs at the hotels of an in- flux of'visitors to receive them. The reservation lists are hourly being aug- mented by wires from those who want quarters here during the period to be given over to the celebration for the returning victors. This will naturally make for big busi- ness at the theatres. The cabarets are also looking for a fast and furious fling during the ensuing months before the final order for lights out on liquor is sounded next July. The theatre managers state that they are certain that once the troops start returning the conditions in New York Will remain at a high-water mark for the balance of the season. As each division arrives with the men from various parts of the country there will be a crop of new visitors, and these Will make the town the liveliest in its . history in some years past. They point to the tremendous busi- ness on tap during the Hudson-Fulton celebration some years ago and also , to the records made on the return 'of* Admiral Dewey ffdm Manila Bay as a- criterion of what may be expected. They go further and state that the .former celebrations won't hold a candle to the one coming, either in point of numbers of visitors or of duration. They are also certain regarding the lavishness with which money will be spent, maintaining that nothing will be too good for the boys, and that the boys themselves will all receive big money on their return on account of the back pay that is due them. ENTERPRISING DOUGHBOY. In this issue of Variety appears a Kge advertisement of Private Charles land Marsh, known over here as a juvenile in the theatrical profession, Mr. Marsh went to France with the American forces, and has been in active service at the front. Under date of Nov. 2 (nine days be- fore the armistice was signed), Mr. Marsh, writing on American Red Cross stationery, sent his advertising copy to Variety, with the following letter: France, Nov. 2, 1918. Variety, New York: Well, it looks like we'll be back x soon, and I want to beat the rest of the boys, so kindly run the en- closed copy as a s full page adver- tisement in the first issue of Variety after you receive it, and charge to my account. You have a press quotation and photo of myself I sent you when in the States, but that ad was never run (referring to an advertisement sent Variety by Mr. Marsh shortly before he was called). Make a good ad out of this and give me a good space. I think this advertisement will do a lot for me. Hoping to see you'soon, Truly, Chas. L. Marsh, Co. L, 312th Inf., A. E. F. ATTEMPT TO CHEAT U. S. CHARGE. Chicago, Nov. 27. The first known case in America in which it is charged that an attempt was made to cheat the Gftvcrnment.put of box office war taxes came with the arrest of four employes of the Twentieth Century, a big south side picture house. The prisoners are Blanche Gooding, treasurer; Dave Smith, ticket chopper, and two negro porters. DON'T LIKE WOMEN PARADERS. , Gus Hill is seriously considering the advisability of changing the title of his "Lady Bountiful Minstrels" and ad- vertising it as an all women review, making, no reference to minstrels and eliminating the parade. While the show makes good wher- ever it plays, Mr. Hill finds difficulty in securing big openings houses, the public seeming to shy at' minstrelsy as applied to women. In Toronto a large women's local club wanted to arrange for a benefit, but when they discovered it was an all women entertainment and that the artists would parade, the club commit- tees backed out and protested against their sex being compelled to march through the streets. 'Wherever we play." Hill says, "the managers say it is a great show, the newspapers invariably give it good no- tices, but we cannot get a big opening night attendance. We have tried par- ading in automobiles so there will be no objection to marching the women, but even that isn't acceptable. There seems to be nothing left to do but cut out the parades and change the title." CONSTANT, IN NAME ONLY. St. Paul, Nov. 27.. Six husbands were nothing in the nonchalant life of Earnestine Con- stant, 22, and pretty, arraigned in mu- nicipal court last week charged with bigamy. Her sixth father-in-law is the com- plainant. He is Charles Van Allen, of Grand Forks, N. D. The woman is a former show girl, having been in vaudeville as Fay Valentine for four years and later a principal with a number of burlesque shows under var- ious names. She admits four husbands "she knows of." They live in Milwaukee, Chicago, Des Moines and New York. Miss Constant said "I love George best, though." She told the county prosecutor George is George Van Al- len, employed by a Minnesota film com- pany as salesman. • The county prosecutor says he will not only prosecute the woman, but several of the husbands, whom she says deserted her. She has had three children, each by a different husband. LINA CAVALIERI DICKERING. There is dickering on between the vaudeville managers and Lina Cava- lier i fora. Palace, New York, appear- ance, with possibly an extended big time route after that. , Just now it is reported the parties interested are unable to satisfactorily fix Cavalieri's vaudeville salary. The diva is reported to have first set the sum at $4,000 a week. CHICAGO'S OUTSIDE CIRCUIT. Chicago, Nov. 27. The Shuberts have started the book- ing of Chicago's "Outside Circuit," a group of popular priced houses within the city, making a string similar to New York's "Subway Circuit" >: Four houses are in the.circuit-^Na-. tional, Wilson Avenue, Crown and Im- perial—making four consecutive weeks. Heretofore those houses have been, playing vaudeville and strictly popular priced attractions. The new arrange- ment calls for Loop companies, but they must first have played outside Chicago after the Loop engagements before starting the four neighborhood weeks. The arrangement with the Shuberts also calls for at least one Winter Garden show per season to play the "outside" theatres. One scale applies to all, the top being $1 for the first five" days and $1.50 Saturday and Sunday. One attraction now in its'third week in the neighborhood string has been averaging $8,000 weekly, more than it could get in the Loop at $2 top. All y of the "outside" houses are of large capacity. f . A NOSE CUT DOWN. Los Angeles, Nov. 27. Mme Yorska, who is: here doing pic- tures, but who is well known in New York, and it is said Paris, too, has had her nose cut down. Surgeons re- moved two sections of the organ and changed the general contour from Ori- ental to Grecian. The operation was necessary because; the camera' could not disguise ampleness of the original lines. Mme. Yorska, in writing to a friend in New York said that, the effect was beautiful and that it took ten years off from her appearance. • TRYING ACADEMY, BROOKLYN. The United Booking Offices gave a vaudeville performance Thanksgiving at the Academy of Music, Brooklyn. To a certain extent that show was to give the U. B. O. a line on the pros- pects of the Academy for one Sunday performance over there hereafter, in the evening. If decided upon the first Sunday will be Dec. 8. The bills for the Academy will be gathered ,fxQm r , the..b.ig._. time.. Keith houses over the bridge, Orpheum and Bushwick, with a possibility the entire Orpheum program for the week may repeat its performance Sunday even- ing at the Academy. Pan and CHAfl. ALTHOFF, atec* p»U. ■■ -'M ■ f >y.n ■-■?.-& ' ■ ri ■■J- «"** • \< . . - ■!■ ■fiM ■