Inside facts of stage and screen (February 22, 1930)

SATURDAY, FEB. 22, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE THIRTEEN WANT RKO MARQUEE IN FRONT OF S. D. HOUSE (Continued from Page 12) tian. And the least of these sug- gestions would be about the orch- estras. Some big names and some great orchestras have held forth at the Egyptian—in vain. * * * In the first place, the architec- tural plan of the Egyptian strikes me as altogether wrong. It was a great idea for the designer but fatal to the owners. Next to the “Roman Ballroom” I can think of nothing worse than the “Egyptian Ballroom.” Both types of archi- tecture are necessarily stiff, formal and dignified. The Egyp- tian Ballroom, by nature of its design, prohibits pleasure. The sit- ting figures, silent and mysterious as old King Tut himself, the beamed roof, the ancient symbols of Egyptian mystician. the hiero- glyphics—it is all cold and re- straining. It suggests a temple. It is as revoltingly incongruous as a jazz-band blaring rancor- ously beneath the awe-inspiring roof of Notre Dame. Psychologi- cally, people feel these things, even though they know nothing about them. They have had cen- turies of dancing in gardens and palaces and in the market-places, but the austerity of temples, pub- lic buildings and prisons are re- straining to their happier emotions. The ballroom designer should also know something of human psychol- ogy. * * * Ted Moore, saxist and philoso- pher of San Diego, concludes from our recent argument, Mod- ern Music versus Art (or some- thing like that), that we are both welcome to our opinions and John Doe to his. To which I heartily subscribe. In controversies of this nature conclusions rest on defini tions and definitions remind one of the ancient conception of the foundation of the world. Atlas supported the planet on his shoul ders while standing on the back of a turtle. Where the turtle stood no one seemed to know or Hiram S. Brown and Frank Vincent made a trip to San Diego last week in an effort to install the standard RKO marquee over the entrance to the San Diego Or- pheum Theatre, the house playing RKO vaude. there. The RKO sign has been on can- vass, whereas the other RKO houses have a trade-mark marquee. The officials wanted the S. D. house to conform. However, the theatre owner wanted a bonus for changing over the front of his house in a way that would make it appear to be owned by RKO. ORGANIST AT T-D OAKLAND, Feb. 20.—Baron Hartsough is the organist at Fox’s T and D Theatre, working along with Peter Brescia’s concert or- chestra. BURGESS IN CRASH A1 Burgess, of the Robbins Of- fice, making a trip to San Diego on business, turned his car over at Oceanside, same identical place Ted Doner met with an accident a year ago. SCHENCK SHIFTS Herman Schenck, representing the firm of Shapiro, Bernstein here, will join the Red Star Music Company. Offices 'will be in the Majestic Theatre Building. STILL DOUG BIZ The “Song Herald,” a large sheet upon which is printed about a hundred choruses of the latest song hits, mostly restricted num- bers and all copyrighted songs, is still being hawked about town. Some time ago, action was taken by the Department of Justice to suppress the printing and .selling of this paper which is distinctly a violation of the copyright law, but those responsible for it are said to have left town before they could be apprehended. As no marking indicates where these are printed, it is impossible to trace the publishers through the sheets. There is an impres- sion that the work was done upon some press out-of-town and shipped in here. The papers are sold about the downtown district by men on the street corners for 10 cents a copy. These hawkers are of the type of hoodlums who know what it is all about, for they particularly re- sent questioning about their source of supply. They are wary, of the police, however, for while the papers are a violation of the fed- eral laws, they do not come under the police jurisdiction, so all the local force can do is to keep the boys moving. When they are shunted from one corner, they take up their stand at another. The trade on the sheets is brisk as they are particularly desired by radio own- ers who can follow the lyrics of their favorite songs when they come in over the air without the necessity of pungling up the half dollar required for a copy of the sheet music. A strenuous effort is being made to locate those responsible for the printing by both the mu- sic publishers and the music stores, whose business is being seriously affected by the flood of these lyrics each sheet of which represents approximately $50 worth of songs if bought regu- larly at the authorized dealers. DOBBSIE NITE AT KPO Orchestra Reviews very (Continued from Page 12) plated showmanship with a easy and natural talent for being pals with his violin. A smaller- sized edition of Paul Whiteman, name also uncaught, scored second in the comedy honors with a song concerning Quirt and Tlagg and finishing “We’ll Tell the Cockeyed World.” Plug No. 2, the first being a very conspicuous “Old Gold” sign on the drum. Good orchestral entertainment from stem to stern and well liked by the matineers above and apart from the Whiteman ballyhoo. F. A. H. FEATURED ORGANIST Madge Briggs is the featured organist at the Uptown, playing two solos weekly. TOMMY BOYD ORPHEUM SAN FRANCISCO (Reviewed Feb. 10) In conjunction with Radio’s musi-comedy, “Hit the Deck,” on screen, Tommy Boyd and his RKO-lians had a nifty program of hits from the celluloid attraction. Numbers were nicely arranged and presented in A-l style by Boyd’s stellar musical organiza- tion of twelve. Included in the effective med- ley were the ditties, “Join the Navy,” “Harbor of Love,” “Some- times I’m Happy,” “Keeping My- self for You” and “Hallelujah,” all blending into an effective com- bination the presentation of which spelled heavy applause for the gang. Members of the orchestra are: Fred Forman, tuba; Charles Run- yan, piano; Frank Colvin, Irving Parsons, violins; Harold Harris, George Garland and Shim Lan- dis, saxes; Jack Sprigg and Frank Westover, trumpets; Roland Hook, trombone; Arnold Hutto, drums, and Boyd, violin and di- rector. Supplementing the regular or- chestral concert was Buss Mc- Clelland’s organ offering, a classy console duet done by McClelland and Charles Runyon. Selections from “Tannhauser,” and plenty nice. Hal. HERB KERN Organist-Master of Ceremonies FOX WEST COAST Long Beach, Calif. WM. (Billy) KNOX SOLO ORGANIST Fox Oakland Theatre RUDOLPH N. SCHRAEGER PREMIER ORGANIST Chinese Theatre, Hollywood INDEFINITE OAKLAND, Feb. 20.—Athens Athletic Club, where Reg Code and his orchestra are featured, is setting aside the night, of March 13 in honor of Dobbsie and his Shell Happy Timers from KPO, San Francisco. All of Dobbsie’s gang including Richard Jose from KFI, Los Angeles; Sambo and E, Clarence Tolman, Dixie Marsh, Reg Code and Charles Dennis and numerous others will take part in the evening’s special en- tertainment. Over four hundred reservations have already been made for the special event which is being handled by Code. MADGE BELLAMY’S SONG ON AIR LOSES JOB Madge Bellamy, once a shining screen luminary at Fox, but for the past two years or so in train- ing to become a singer, signed a contract recently to sing in a se- ries of short subjects for one of the independents. The inde was looking for a name and she was signed on face value, the voice taken for granted. Then, she was called upon to sing over the radio on an impor- tant program which included Paul Whiteman. After hearing her on the air, and reading the gentle panning of the air critics, the inde cancelled her contract to sing in the movies. BELLE BEiETT TO OWEN SWEETEN FOX THEATRE SEATTLE (Reviewed Feb. 14) After the elevator brings this 15-man unit up to stage level, Sweeten leads the orchestra through a neat arangement of “Should I?” An effective’lead of the verse and first chorus was carried by the brass and string sections after which the entire band warbled a chorus to good results. The boys sounded nice together. Homer Sweetman, saxophonist, sang the third stanza while the band boys hummed the melody. This bit was very pretty and took a nice hand. A forte rendition of the final eight bars closed the number. Kamani-Ostrow was the classic on this week’s concert. The brass and string sections were again fea- tured, with the fiddles and banjos sounding especially pretty. Some Belle Bennett is being groomed by Warner Brothers for the posi- tion Pauline Frederick formerly held with this organization, it is understood. Cause of the reported rupture between Miss Frederick and the W. B. is not known, but it is ru- mored to be because of differences of opinion on billing of her last picture, “The Sacred Flame.” Miss Frederick, who got off to a bad initial start in talkies due to improper recording of her voice in “On Trial,” made a strong come- back in “Evidence” and “The Sac- red Flame,” showing herself as convincing a talkie actress as the screen has. If she decides to con- tinue with pictures instead of play- ing stage engagements, it is un- derstood she already has received offers from other of the bigger plants. Miss Frederick was to do “Cour- age” for W. B., but the casting was switched and Belle Bennett was brought on from an eastern stage engagement to do the role. It was then announced that Miss Frederick would do “Fame,” but casting was also switched on this picture to give the part to Miss Bennett. It is understood that W. B. bought up the balance of Miss Frederick’s contract. “Fame” is to be directed by John Adolfi, who did “Evidence” and was to have repeated with Miss Frederick. Night Clubs SILVER SLIPPER SAN FRANCISCO (Reviewed Feb. 12) With approimately six months of business behind its back, the Slipper still continues to draw the bulk of San Francisco’s night trade. And the reasons are evi- dent. There’s a nice floor show headed by Joe Wright’s band; there’s good food and there’s gen- uine hospitality displayed by Clem Gaviati and Ed Spohn, operators of the spot. The passing of each month has seen much improvement in Wright’s orchestra until at the present time it .rates well up among ’em for effective orches- trations and punch delivery of tunes. With Wright at the head of it, the band puts over a classy repertoire of dance and entertain- ment numbers, and, in addition, plays for the show in nice style. Gretchen Arnold stages the floor show and tops off her cre- ative work by participating in the various numbers that feature the night’s entertainment. She is versatile, singing, dancing, and playing the piano, as the occasion demands. Ann Perkins and Eli- nore Clausen in dance specialties are a mighty clever pair of girls, doing their pedal work in a pol- ished style and with a grace and ease that is nice to watch. Casey Jones master-of-ceremo- nies the works and also puts over a song or two. Mildred Markle, teamed up with Jones and later with Miss Arnold, displays a nice voice and nets nice returns. Hal. OFF $12101 BEIT heavy trumpet work that wasn The salary debts of Colorart Synchrotone, amounting to $12,- (X)0 or thereabouts, incurred dur- ing the making of “Mamba,” when the stock market crash crippled their financial arrange- ments, are gradually being paid off. Two payments, one of ten per cent and a second of seven-and- a-half per cent have already been made, with assurances given that 11 the balance will be met shortly. POM POM LOS ANGELES (Reviewed Feb. 14) Under Jay Johnson, m. c., an Arabian idea, with scenic settings to match, featured Hadgi Ali, Kader, Irene Berry and a line of six girls. Johnson first introduced the six girls in an Arabian dance, followed by Hadgi Ali, w T ho drank a bowl of water, swallowed a couple dozen hazel nuts and then spouted the water like a fountain and brought up the nuts one by one. He also bit a dime in two. Then Kader, who has been seen here at intervals for the past year, put on his usual acrobatic number and got over with it. Hadgi Ali came back again, swallowed some more water and a tumblerful of kerosene, then blew it out in an eruption of raging fire. Irene Berry offered an incense dance, Jay Johnson sang “Medi- cine Man for the Blues,” then the finale, with everybody on stage. Jay, with his accordion, continues to be a very popular master of ceremonies. Woody. James Kirkwood has been cast for a role in Nancy Carroll’s next starring picture, “The Devil’s Holiday,” at Paramount. ANDERSON AT ROOST SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20 — Norm Anderson, singer, entertain- er and dancer, has joined “Red” Lockwood’s band at Topsy’s Roost or. the Great Highway. TRIANON CLOSED SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10.— The Trianon Ballroom which re- opened several weeks ago with many flourishes and Harold Gib- son’s orchestra is closed. BROADCASTERS, GET THIS ONE “BONITA” F0X TE0T KARAN DUNN, Publisher KRESS BLDG. SAN FRANCISCO PETER PAUL LYONS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA LOEW’S WARFIELD SAN FRANCISCO hard to listen to preceded the forte finale that brought the en- tire band to its feet. Billy Ulman, a newcomer to this orchestral unit, was next heard warbling “Through.” Ul- man is being billed heavy here as “Seattle’s ‘Rudy Vallee’” and he comes through in fine shape. He’s nice to look at and his tenor can get by in any spot. He used a short megaphone for the first chorus and strummed his own ac- companiment on a steel tenor guitar for the second. Heavy ap- plause called for an encore and he replied with “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” done equally as well as the first tune. “Harmonica Harry” brought the 14-minute concert to a close. After a fast and snappy rendition of the verse the entire band sang the chorus. A1 Taylor, from the sax section, picked up the second chorus for a harmonica solo that was well played and different. He sang a hit and picked up the clari- net, sax and cornet for interpola- tions. The brass and reed sections offered the third chorus snappily on harmonicas to bring the offer- ing to a close. Plenty of applause for this one. Sweeten handles his men nice and is a valuable addition to this big house. Frog. MINOR AT WARFIELD SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10 — C. Sharp Minor opened at Loew’s Warfield as concert organist this week, coming from the Fox The- atre, San Diego. The allocation of the money is being handled by the labor com- mission at the request of the company, so that no dissatisfac tion shall arise over its distri- bution. According to Burtis U. Cain, president of Colorart Synchro- tone, the company is rapidly re gaining its financial feet and will soon be free of debt and actively producing within the next sixty days. KAY’S PIANIST Miss Frankie has joined Eddie Kay, Coffee Dan’s master-of-cere- monies, as pianist. Kay is playing a number of club dates, his ex- temporaneous style proving high- ly popular at these affairs. Miss F.rankie plays all the dates with him. ; , gilM ONSLOW STEVENSON DIRECTOR, ANSON WEEKS’ S. S. MALOLO ORCHESTRA You Can’t Go Wrong With Any Feist Song Jay Brower Master-of-Ceremonies FOX EL CAPITAN San Francisco Years A Natural DRAW Majestic Ballroom Opening After One Year’s Absence February 24th FREDDIE CARTER iS? ORCH. LONG BEACH, CALIF.