New York Clipper (Jun 1923)

June 27, 1923 KHE NEW YORK CLIPPER 1* NEW PERCENTAGE PLAN FOR SHOWS ON COL WHEEL SCALE UP TO 70 PER CENT Results are fast -being accomplished by the newly organized Burlesque Producing Managers' Association. A second meeting of this association was held last Friday afternoon in the rooms of the 'Burlesque Qub, iwith Barney Gerard in the chair. The. committee in chaise reported to some twenty-three members of the associa- tion who were present, that the percent- age arrangement for the coming season was woricing out very nicely. Already fine results are in sight. A better sliding scale would be in effect, at more of the houses than ever before. The. committee reported that the houses controlled by the Columbia Amusement Company, those controlled by Miner Estate and Hurtig and Scamon has agreed to give the shows on the Columbia Circuit the following scale. :Wherc the gross receipts reach between $5,500 and $6,000 the percentage will be fifty five for the shows, between $6,000 and $8,000 the percentage will be sixty for the shows, and above $8,000 the shows will get seventy per cenL This is the larg- est percentage the Columbia Circuit have ever g^ranted to any show. The highest in the past has been sixty per cent. The other houses have not been heard from as yet, but most of them are smaller houses and there is no doubt but what a still better percentage will be given by them. As these three firms own and con- trol about twentyrfive houses on the cir- cuit, it looks as though the smaller ones vrill fall in line. The producers in return are going to do everything in their power to put on good shows, in fact they are going to ex- toid themselves as they have never done before to produce shows that will get the business next season, as they undcr.stand the better the show the bigger the receipts will be. The house owners have, agreed to fielp the producer to make money so it is tip to them to show the house owners, something in return. . Th; houses cost a lot of money to run these days and to make them pay, the coin has to roll into the box. office window and to do this the houses have to have an attraction to get it. OLYMPIC FOR COLUMBIA Negotiations for the taking over of the Olympic Theatre. Chicago, from the Kohl estate and A. L. Ertangcr by the Columbia Amusement comp.iny, .will be concluded, this week. The theatre will be used by the Columbia people to serve as their "loop" theatre replacing the Columbia Theatre there which tliey sold to A. H. Woods. BABY BOY AT KRANZ HOME A baby boy arrived 3t the home of Mr. and Mrs. George J. Kranz in Rich- mond Hill, L. I., on May 24. The little fellow's name is Robert. The father of the boy is a well known musical director in burlesque. "KID" KOSTER AT NOLAN'S POINT Lake Hopatconc, N. J., June 12.— Chas. "Kid" Koster, former burlesque agent, is spending the Summer at No- lan's Point this place. SIGN FOR "DANCING AROUND" Cain and Davenport have signed Arthur Putnam and Fred "Fat" Slater for their "Dancing Around" next season. STRAUSS SHOWS CAST The cast of Fred Strauss's two shows on the Mutual Circuit the coming season includes: For "Snappy Snaps," Ray Read, Frank Queen, William Young, Rex Weber, Bonnie Date, Mona Mayo and Dolly Lewis; for "Smiles and Kisses," Lee Hick- man, Abbie Leonard, Arthur Stern, Bessie Rosa, Muriel Claire, Lillian Gardner and Frank Martin. Fred Strauss will manage both sho^vs. CALAHAN IS LEWIS SHOW MGR. Emmett Calahan, who recently resigned <is office manager of Chamberlain Brown, will manage the Ted Lewis Show which opens at the Shubert _ Theatre, Boston, August 4th. ' Calahan is well known as a road manager, having had charge of several Broadway and burlesque shows in the past. CLEVES IS GAYETY MANAGER Otto Cleves has been appointed manager of the Gayety Theatre, Detroit, by the Columbia Amusement Company. TUs completes the list of new appointments of managers for the Columbia Circuit. Qeves was to have managed one of Ed Daley's shows on the Columbia Circuit this season. MADLYN IN ACT Madlyn Worth, well known soubrette in burlesque, last season with Harry Hast- ings "Knick Knacks" has deserted bur- lesque and is going into vaudeville. She opened at the De Kalb in Brooklyn last week in a new "single" and put it over. NALDY IN HOSPITAL Fr^nk Naldy is in the Post-Graduate Hospital, Kew York, where he underwent an. operation last Thursday. He expects to remain in the hospital about four weeks. Naldy is signed with Sim Williams for next season. ELUOTT IN ATLANTIC CITY Atlantic City, N. J., June 23.—^Jinuny Elliott, straight man, who is signed with a Mutual Circuit show next season, is spending the summer here. He will re- main here until the call for rehearsals. FAY TUNIS SIGNS Fay Tunis, last season with "Hello Good Times" placed her name on a con- tract last week with Hurtig and Seamon, to go with one of their Columbia 'Circuit shows ne.xt season. JONES SIGNS FOR COMEDY ROLE ' Arthur Harris has engaged William A. Jones for the Clark and McCullough show '^Monkey Shines" on the Columbia Cir- cuit, to do comedy opposite George Sbel- ton. MILDRED CECIL FOR WALDRON SHOW ■ Jack Singer signed Mildred Cecil prima donna for the Chas. Waldron Show next season. Miss Cecil was with one of Hurtig and Seamon's shows last season. JACKIE WILSON CLOSING Jackie Wilson will close a long engage- ment at the Olympic Saturday night. She will take a trip to Atlanta to see her father, who is ill, before working again. ROSE DUFFIN SIGNS Rose Duffin has signed with Cain and Davenport for next season. Miss Duffin was with the Stone and Pillard Show last season. LUCILLE HARRISON SIGNS Harry Rudder signed Lucille Harri- son with Eddie Daley for next season last week. NEW FRANCHISE HOLDERS ON MUTUAL NAMES AS YET UNANNOUNCED Many new names will be added to the list of franchise holders on the Mutual Circuit this season and a large number of new houses will be added to the theatre list. No announcements regarding either of the above was made at the office of the new burlesque circuit, which at present is conducting all of its business transactions in a secretive manner. George Peck, whose name was men- tioned _ recently as being one of the new franchise holders, will not have a Mutual show next season, his deposit of one thousand dollars having been returned to him several weeks ago. The cancelling of this franchise leaves the firm of Peck and Kolb without a show on the Mutual next season. They will, however, be represent- ed on the Columbia and will operate the "Hippity Hop" show on the Columbia Cir- cuit. On good authority it was learned thb week that Billy Vail and James McGrath will not next season have the - western houses which they control on the Mutual Circuit. The future of these houses is at present imcertain. The Garden Theatre, Buffalo, will be controlled next season by Harry Abbott, Jr.; the People's, Cincinnati, will be under the management of AI. Singer and Ben Levine, and the Broadway, Indianapolis, will be controlled by a new management as yet unannotmced. John J. Jermon seemed much perturbed by the appearance of an article in the Clipper last week in which it was said there was a rumor to the effect that I. H. Herk was to become an ofificial of the Mu- tual Circuit next season. Jermon de- clared that there was not a word of truth in the rumor, and that Herk would tinder no conditions be one of the Mutual offi- cers. He admitted, however, that he had during the previous week had several con- ferences with Herk concerning the placing of some houses on the circuit The bouses under discussion included theatres in Min- neapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Cin- cinnati. Whether any definite arrangement regardmg these had been made Mr. Jer- mon would^ not state. It is commonly stated among those familiar with conditions in the Mutual Circuit that some big and decided changes are under way, both in the number and location of the theatres, as well as the list of franchise holders. "FROCKS AND FRILLS" OUT The "Frocks'and Frills" company started a two weeks' engagement of one nighters oyer Long Island on the John E Coutts' circuit on Monday. Coutts has been clos- ing the houses of his circuit up in the state for the last week and will re-open them-the first of August. HEXTER TO MANAGE GAYETY Billy Hcxter will manage Billy K. Wells' "Bubble, Bubble," on the Columbia Circuit next season. Hcxter managed the Gayety, Pittsburgh, last season for the Columbia Circuit and the Empire Theatre in Cleve- land the season before, an American Bur- lesque Circuit house. NA'nONAL WINTER GARDEN CLOSES The National Winter Garden closed its season la:it Saturday night. It will open early in .August. FREE INDUSTRIAL FILMS ° The National Association of Mannfacr turcrs announced yesterday the establish- ment of a national non-commercial motion picture distribution service to supply pri- vate and public exhibitors throughout Uie . country with industrial process, educational '. and Americanization films. .The service : will begin simultaneously in'all parts of ' the country on July 1. "The service will be free and will be made available to the public in the general interest of industrial ^ucation and indns-., trial betterment as well as to strengthen the spirit of Americanization throughout the land," an announcement read. "Pictures wilt be supplied to the dis- tributing association eadi month and .wiU ^ be available for general circulation in the specific territories for that period. New. pictures will be rotated througboat the' country, changing in each locality each month. The' pictures wilt cover a varieil range of subjects, sutJi as general indus- trial education, individual manufacturing processes, pointing lessons in carelessness) and prevention of fires; and along the tines of teaching the newcomers to these shoresf the fundamental . principles underlying Americanism." "BUD" FISHER WINS IN HILL CASE "Bud" Fisher, cartoom'st and creator of "Mutt and JefF' cartoons, was victorious in. his legal tilt with Gus Hill, theatrical manager, last week, when Supreme Court Justice Tiemey rendered a decision in' favor of Fisher. Justice Tiemey held that Fisher was entitled to an accounting and stated that the Court would appoint a referee to take it. He dismisscfd the counterclaim for $750,000 which Hill had entered. . Fisher, in his complaint and in the testi- mony offered in court, set forth that he had received no settlement from Hill of royalties due for the production of "Mutt and JcfT' comedies since 1919, although the defendant has, at times had as many as six or seven companies on the road, featuring "Mutt and Jefl" since that year. Gus Hill, in his counter-claim alleged that he was to receive part of the profit which mi^ht accrue to Hsher through his "pic- turizations," but received nothing. QUEENIE SMITH SGNS FOR 7 YEARS Walter Vincent, who is one of the finan- cial backers of "Helen of Troy, N. Y." which scored a hit at the Selwyn Theatre last Tuesday on its opening, immediately after the first performance placed Queenie Smith, who was accredited with being the outstanding feature of the attraction, under a seven year contract to appear under his personal management. SIGN FOR SEUG SHOW Those engaged for Irving Seng's "Pup- pies and Toys" are Irving Selig^Rose L^ Charles "Red" Marshall, Ray Leanse, Joe Jeralds, Ton Fairclough and Ida Roberts. SCRIBNER BACK FROM VACA'nON Sam A. Scribner returned to .his office in the Columbia Theatre Building Monday, after a four weeks' vacation in Pennsyl- vania. He motored both ways. FLOSSIE EVEKtrr SIGNS Flossie Everett has been signed by Irons and Ctamagc' for their "Temptations of 1923" for the coming season. SIGN FOR "BROADWAY BREVITIES" "Jack "Smoke" Gray and Alma Arliss have been> engaged by Eddie Daley for his "Broadway Brevities." CLARK FOR "LETS GO" Fred Clark has engaged Burton Carr as straight man for his "Let's Go" com- pany next season.