Variety (January 1919)

VAUDEVILLE ik.-- k* - iji-r ^:' a. J.V..- I.- ;t^' MARCUS LOEW AND PANTAGES IN U. S. CO URT IN K ANSAS CITY Vaudeville Circuits Behind Legal Action to Secure Possession of Empress and Garden Theatres—^Pantages Allowed to Play Garden by Court Order—Loew's Vaudeville at Empress. r3~i 9:3 3 > Kansas City, Dec. 31. Pending the decision of A. S. Van Valkenburgh, Federal Judge for the Western District of Missouri, regard- ing the ownership of leases on the Garden Theatre here, Pantages attrac- tions will play that house. The tangle which involves leases on both the Garden and Empress thea- tres in Kansas City is the result of alleged fraudulent methods adopted by G. E. Leonard, former field represen- tative of the S. A. Lynch Enterprises, according to evidence submitted to the court by that company as plaintiff in the bill of complaint, the S. A. Lynch Enterprises, a corporation, against the McGec Amusement Co., a corporation; the Perhing Theatre Co., a corpora- tion, G. E. Leonard and T. B. Sparks. Evidence submitted by the plaintiff sets forth that G. E. Leonard was employed by them to travel about the Country and acquire leases on theatres which looked to be profitable invest- ments for the S. A. Lynch Enterprises. Learning the lease on the Garden Theatre was available, Leonard ad- vised his'office and they ordered him to form a resident corporation for the purpose of holding the lease for his company. He was to take 18 shares of the stock and the presidency of the local corporation and dispose of two more shares to two other resi- dents of the state, the entire capital stock to be paid together with the incorporation fees by the Lynch Amusement Enterprises. T. B. Spark, then assistant to Mr. Leonard as man- ager of the Empress Theatre, and F. E. Montgomery, who later died here with influenza, then affiliated with the Lynch Enterprises, were obtained by Leonard as the other two resident di- rectors, and the McGee Amusement Co. was incorporated. About this time the Lynch Enter- prises entered into an agreement with representatives of Marcus Loew in , New York, to lease both the Garden and Empress theatres to the Loew Circuit, it being the intention of Mr. Loew, as he stated in Kansas City a short time ago, to use the Empress for pictures and the Garden for vaude- ville, playing his attractions. E. A. Shiller, reprssenting Loew ar- rived in Kansas City to take charge of the houses for his company only to find G. E. Leonard in possession of the Garden Theatre under the name of the Pershing Theatre Co., which A. W. Gillis, in charge of the Pantages in- terests here, admits was formed at the instigation and capitalized by the Pan- tages Amusement Co. Mr. Shiller wired his office regarding the refusal of Leonard to turn over the houses to him and the legal proceedings re- sulted. ^ While neither Loew nor Pantages has taken public part in the legal for- • malities it is evident both are deter- mined to have houses in Kansas City. A. W. Gillis, manager pro tem at the Garden for the Pantages interests stated that in case the court decision was made in favor of the Lynch En- terprises it will be but a short time before his company will build a thea- E. A. Shiller, speaking for Loew, stated definitely that if the decision of the court went in favor of the de- fendants his concern would take the case to the highest court in the United States, Meantime the Lynch Enterprises are running the Empress with the usual vaudeville and pictures, while the Pan- tages people acting under court in- structions have opened the Garden and are playing the usual Pantages show formerly shown at the Empress. The court expressed the opinion a decision would be reached within two weeks. At the Marcus Loew offices in New York Tuesday it was said nothing was known of the Kansas City mat- ters excepting they were in the courts and that the Loew vaudeville bill, due to open in that town Dec. 29, is play- ing. Chicago, Dec. 31. An ambitious project to take over the choicest corner in Chicago for a , MORE RATS' HEARINGS. Referee Lewis Schuldenfrei has de- cided after reading over the minutes and briefs in the matter of the in- vestigation into the White Rates, on the petition of Goldie Pemberton, that it will be necessary for one or two more hearings before he will hand over his decision to the Supreme Court. During these additional hearings the referee will put certain questions to several of the witnesses. The date of the hearings will be set for this month. Mr. Schuldenfrei was recently dis- charged from an officers' training camp. It had been supposed that T. J. Myers, the Rats' attorney, would not file a brief, but he later did so, bring- ing forth 14 points. A like number of points was in the President's peace program. Myer's brief wa? a general denial save for the "fourteenth point" which set forth that "Goldie Pemberton and one De Veaux were not placed on the stand for fear of cross-examination." The Actor's International Union in response and over Harry De Veaux's signature as president, sent a commu- nication to Mr. Schuldenfrei, claim- ing such privilege because of property rights in light of the amalgamation of the A. L U. and the Rats. The letter stated that De Veaux had several times requested Alvin T. Sapinsky, attorney for the petitioner to place him on the ARTISTS AND REPRESENTATIVES New York, Dec. 26, 1918. Editor Varibtti— In Variety of Dec. 20 appeared an erroneous statement in reference to Willie Solar. The Vaudeville {Managers' Protective Association made no decision in the case of Solar vs. Fitzgerald, his representative. I issued a statement sometime ago, that artists booking through the B. F. Keit^ Vaudeirille Booking Exchapge could change their repre* sentatives as often as they pleased. I have no jurisdiction over an artist making a contract with a repre- sentative, but I will say here, that if any representative of an artist in the B. F. Keith Vaudeville Booking Exchange insists upon holding an artist to a contract, providing he or she wants to change to some other representative, I will take it upon myself to see that the representative has no privileges on the floor of the B. F. Keith Vaudeville Booking Exchange. My contention is, that if a representative cannot secure engagements for an artist, he has no right to hold an artist to any agreement, except- ing for the time he has secured for them. My advice to the artist is not to sign any contract with a representative; then the artist is free to do business wherever and with whomever he or she pleases, and if any representative in this office refuses to interest himself in an artisfs act, if the artist will notify me personally, I will investigate the same. . On the other hand, I will endeavor to protect the representative, providing he secures work for the artist and the artist refuses to pay for the same. E. F. ALBEE. theatre and hotel reveals unmistakable evidence of the desire of Alexander Pantages to become an active competi- tive factor in Chicago vaudeville. The deal is in the nature of a trian- gular one, with a peculiar angle in it. Jimmie O'Neill (formerly of O'Neill and Walmsley) is the Pan ambassador, it being the impression here he was so appointed as a reward for giving the booking franchise of the new People's theatre to Pantages, after ne- gotiating with the "Association."- The People's, seating 2,800, with an announced policy of pop vaudeville, was promoted by O'Neill and backed by stockyards money. It is located back of the yards, and will open in the near future. When the Pan road shows come to the house it will mean the first entrance in Chicago of Pan Vatidevillie. The'shows will play three and four days and then jump to Minne- apolis. The new project contemplates the taking over of the corner at present occupied by the Grant Hotel, at Madi- son and Dearborn streets. O'Neill has (Continued on page 22) stand and that at one session when Mr. Sapinsky was ready to do so, Mountford objected, saying his attor- ney was not present. That was the hearing during which Mountford "cross-examined himself." The letter further stated that De Veaux had re- quested of the referee that he be made a witness but that the referee had re- plied that that was a matter for Mr. Sapinsky to decide.. De Veaux stated that he was ready to be examined at any time and that should the referee's decision furnish grounds for criminal action, on the charge of conversion of funds, he would too be ready as a witness. NONEHE MARRIES ALONZO PRICL Nonette and Alonzo Price were ihaTried; without any publicity atfend- ing, in New York Jan. 30. Nonette is "The Gypsy Violinist," now with "Somebody's Sweetheart" at the Cen- tral, New York. Her husband wrote the book and lyrics of the production. Mr. and Mrs. Price met during re- hearsals of the show. WATCHING SMALL TIML The fbllbwing statement was ttude iti the B. F. Keith Vaudeville Booking Exchange (formerly United Booking OiRces) this week: Marquard will not play any of the Keith time in New York as stated in Vaiuett Dec 20. Negotiations were on in the Keith offices for time, but when it was learned Marquard had played Loew's Metropolitan, Brookljrn, the negotia- ations were called off. The class of acts that play the Keith high priced houses in New York will be closely watched here- after, and any act playing a popular priced house, no matter in what neighborhood, where a Keith high price house operates, will lose his or her time on the Keith Circuit An order has been issued for. a booking man to cover all the houses and report every show. Any. new act that expects to play the high priced houses can get a showing, m the Keith theatres. «^ SONG INFRINGEMENT ALLEGED. Arthur Hammerstein has instructed House, Grossman & Vorhaus, his attor- neys, to enter suit against the vaude- ville act known as Arthur Smythe and Co., now on the Orpheum Circuit. The complaint alleges Smythe and com- pany (the latter a pianoplayer) in- fringed his copyright of the •'musical production "Some Time," by using a number of its songs in their act. Un- der the copyright laws the plaintiff is allowed, damages to the extent of $10 per song per performance. The defendant answered with the following telegram: "One verse and chorus played as piano solo and one chorus sung off stage by me of the song 'Some Time.' Have no intention of singing the song without Mr. Hammerstein's permis- sion, which I shall ask for." AVON COMEDY FOUR BREAKING UP After three more weeks playing around New York in vaudeville the present group composing the Avon Comedy Four will be no more. Recently a wordy combat resulted in Irving Kaufmann handing bis resig- nation to Joe Smith to take effect at the close of the New York engage- ments. Harry Goodwin does not know if he is going to remain in the act Charles Dale and Joe Smith have not definitely decided upon an offer to ap- pear in a midnight revue with a sketch of their own, of which Smith is the author. The Avon Comedy Four has been a vaudeville act for 15 years. MAODOCK'S MUSICAL PLAT. C.'^B. Maddock is to star 'Andrew Tombes in a musical play next season, one of the first^ efforts by Mr. Mad- dock in the legitimate field. Mr. Maddock may sail for London , this month. Before Mr. Maddock leaves, Charles Withers will sail, to be there with "For Pity's Sake," which Mr. Maddock is to produce for Albert de Courville in the London Hippodrome revue. Mr. Withers plays the leading (comedy) role of the skit ASKS ANNULMENT. Syracuse, Dec. 31. Mrs. Frances T. Schuyler, the wife of Frank J. Schuyler, in vaudeville, is suing for an annulment of her mar- riage. She was married four years ago. when IS years of age, after a cqurXship of 48 hours, diiring.the time Schuyler was playing at the "remple theatre here. At first she traveled with her hus- band, but since 1915 has received no v/ord from him. Mrs. Schuyler has secured the appointment of her mother as guardia.n. The case will be heard next month.