Exhibitors Herald (1925)

April 4, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 21 Exhibitor Killed, Another Injured and Five Theatres Razed in Storm Which Took Toll of Over 800 Lives One theatre man and his wife were killed, another exhibitor was seriously injured and five theatres were demolished in the tornado which last week swept through parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri, leaving in its wake a casualty list of 3,750. THE DEAD C. L. HICKS, former owner of the Isis theatre, Marion, 111., and Mrs. Hicks. THE INJURED C. BOULTON of Boulton & Wallace, owners of the Little Egypt theatre at Gorham, 111. So far as can be ascertained all others associated with the motion picture business in the devastated territory, where property damage mounts into millions of dollars, escaped serious injury. Exchanges Cancel All Shipments to Devastated Areas {Special to Exhibitors Herald) ST. LOUIS, MO., March 24.— When news of the extent of the tornado reached St. Louis the local exchanges immediately cancelled all film shipments scheduled for the devastated regions. It was announced also that the bookings and accounts of the exhibitors in the storm area would be suspended pending a return to normal conditions. Houses Dark Many Months Some of the towns were completely wiped out, while Murphysboro, III, had about two-thirds of its homes destroyed. It will be many months it is feared, before the motion picture theatres can operate in the stricken territory. It is possible that a few of the towns will never be rebuilt. C. D. Hill, manager of the local exchange of Producers Distributing Corporation and president of the Film Board of Trade, has been in the storm sector checking up on theatre losses at the request of the Hays organization. It is said that every effort will be made by the M. P. P. D. A. to assist the exhibitors who were victims of the storm. Laemmle Wires Contribution Carl Laemmle, head of Universal Pictures, was one of the first to respond to the appeal for help. When he heard of the disaster that had visited Southern Illinois and vicinity he immediately wired $100 to St. Louis as his contribution to the relief fund being raised here. Employes of the local Universal office added $35 as their bit. Stole Safe and Tickets Maybe They* re Fans (Special to Exhibitors Herald) ST. LOUIS, MO., March 24.— Burglars who broke into the Roosevelt theatre, 810 North Leffingwell avenue, this city, carried away the safe, obtaining $207 in cash and some tickets to the show. The safe was found in St. Louis county several hours later. Stork Visits Niblo*s (Special to Exhibitors Herald) HOLLYWOOD, March 24.— Enid Bennett, actress, and Fred Niblo, her husband, director of the picture “Ben Hur,” were the parents Friday of an eight pound boy. Mr. Hicks, who recently sold the Isis, and Mrs. Hicks were killed when the storm destroyed their home at West Frankfort, 111., where they had moved following the disposal of their theatre. According to the latest checkup the following theatres were destroyed : LITTLE EGYPT, Gorham, III., Boulton & Wallace, owners. DUNN, Annapolis, Mo., W. H. Dunn, owner. LIBERTY, Murphysboro, III., John Marlowe, owner. BUSH, Bush, III. GEM, De Soto, III., A. Friedline, owner. The Hippodrome, Murphysboro, owned by Marlowe of Herrin, 111., was unroofed and otherwise damaged. Other Theatres Escape The Rex, West Frankfort, owned by the Reed, Yemm & Hayes Circuit, and the Majestic, West Frankfort, operated by William Muhlenbach, escaped with minor damage. The Home, a neighborhood house in West Frankfort, E. H. Nooner, owner, and the two small houses in Frankfort Heights also escaped, being outside the, path of the storm. The Strand, at Orient, 111. ,was damaged, but the extent has not been ascertained. The Hurst, Hurst, 111., owned by W. R. Clarke, is reported to have been destroyed while the Star in that city, operated by E. Reason, was badly damaged. The other houses reported to have been damaged by the storm were the Royal at Royalton, III, operated by Robert Brandon, and one of the houses operated by Reed, Yemm & Hayes in Benton, 111. Because of inadequate communication with the stricken district the checkup thus far is superficial. It is felt, however, that other theatres in the affected cities escaped appreciable damage. Several of the film salesmen operating out of St. Louis through the storm section had narrow escapes from death. Danke in Stricken District Albert Danke, manager of the St. Louis Vitagraph office, and James Hill, Southern Illinois salesman for that exchange, were traveling from Carbondale, 111., to De Soto, 111., in Hill’s car, planning to call upon the proprietor of the Gem theatre when they saw the tornado sweeping through. Danke said that the sight at first was fascinating, the large green and yellow clouds swirling around through the heavens while the tail of the funnel dipped into the earth from place to place. Then they heard a terrible roar. Terrified they stopped their car about 1,000 feet from the storm. In a few seconds they observed the first house torn from its foundation and smashed to pieces. Then the air was filled with the (Concluded on page 36.) Theatres to Give Thousands to Aid Victims of Storm The exhibitors of the country have mobilized to render aid to those injured and made homeless in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri by the worst tornado which the United States has experienced in half a century. No sooner had news of the disaster reached Chicago than the Chicago Exhibitors’ Association announced that its members would contribute $10,000 to the relief fund which the radio stations and the newspapers were raising. Name Body to Collect Fund A committee of twelve, comprised of Robert Gumbiner, Arbold Schaack, Harry Burnhill, A. Saperstein, J. Goodman, Norman Field, Jack Miller, Nathen Joseph, Jimmy Plodna, Ludwig Siegel, James Costen and Sam Abrahams, was appointed to collect this money. From St. Louis comes word that the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois stands ready to furnish every assistance to brother exhibitors hit by the storm. The organization, 1. W. Rogers of Cairo, 111., president, will cooperate with other agencies in relief work. Individuals Are Contributing Individual theatre owners throughout the country have wired the American Red Cross that their checks for the relief fund are in the mail. The theatre, as in all times of emergency, is proving to be a valuable and willing welfare agency. Showmen Cancel Ads; Editor Makes Attack (Special to Exhibitors Herald) OMAHA, NEB., March 24. — When the Princess theatre, owned by Goldberg Brothers suffered an insignificant fire recently, one of the Omaha daily papers put the owners on the pan and stated in an e.xtensive article that the company had not taken precautions against fire. It developed that Goldberg Brothers had a short time before this cancelled their advertising with this particular daily. Mooney Boosts Two Salesmen NEW YORK. — Paul C. Mooney has appointed Louis Reichert branch manager at Kansas City and Robert Mochrie as branch manager at Albany, N. Y., for Producers Distributing Corporation.