Inside facts of stage and screen (May 10, 1930)

$ STAGE SCREEN PRICE 10 CENTS Only Theatrical Newspaper onlthe Pacific Coast RADIO MUSIC ESTABLISHED 1924 EDITED BY JACK JOSEPHS Vol. XI Entered as Second Class Matter, April 29, 1927, at Post- office, Los Angreles, Calif., under Act of March 3, 1879. Saturday, May 10, 1930 Published Every Saturday at 800-801 Warner Bros Down- town Building, 401 West Seventh St., Los Angeles, Calif. No. 19 PHONEY SONG CHISELERS UNDER POLICE SCRUTINY JAMIE ERICKSON PREMIERE ORGANIST—CALIFORNIA THEATRE—SAN DIEGO BROADCASTING DAILY—RADIO STATION KFSD BERNICE CLAIR ILL REMODEL EL PATIO PUBLIX JOINS IN RETURN TO AM WEST Paramount - Publix this week joined in the land- slide toward stage shows in picture and vaudeville class houses, which got its initial momentum in Hol- lywood with the proposed return of Grauman’s Chi- nese to a lavish prologue policy and the announced opening of the new Pan- tages theatre with big stage productions. Four big coast houses, the Parahount, here; Paramount, San Francisco; Paramount, Seattle, and Paramount, Portland, are slated to return to the stage support policy within the next month, it is un- derstood, with the productions be- ing built in San Francisco, Pub- lix coast headquarters. Organization of a production de- partment is now under way under the direction of Ralph Crabill, coast head. Former eastern pro- duction men with additions from the coast organization will take charge of the work when the plan gets fully under way, It is re- ported. Harry Gourfain, eastern producer for Publix, will join the coast staff. Complete details will be an- nounced by Crabill immediately organization plans are perfected. R-K-0 officials this week ad- mitted that the change of coast picture houses back to stage shows will force R-K-O to return to “big time” vaudeville on the coast within the near future. Warners were reported still adamant in a decision to stick to the all-talkie programs, but in- side reports had the Warner or- ganization scouting about to pro- tect themselves if the stage show landslide gains expected propor- tions. Meanwhile “Hell’s Angels” has been definitely set to world pre- miere at Grauman’s Chinese on May 27 with a lavish Grauman prologue in support. The new Pan, in Hollywood, opens on May 29 with the Marion Davies picture, “The Floradora Girl,” elaborate F. and M. aug- mented “Ideas” and “Slim” Martin directing the orchestra. SAN FRANCISCO, May 8.— Sol Levis, proprietor of the Strand Theatre, died last week after a long illness. Overwork and failure to proper- ly heed an incipient attack of in- fluenza brought Bernice Claire, musical comedy star, now featured by Warner Brothers, down this week. Miss Claire was reported in a serious condition early this week. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Johnigan, rushed here from their home in Oakland. El Patio Ballroom here, col- legiate and clerks favorite, closed for the summer season Saturday night, the management announc- ing plans for remodelling the place, one of the largest and most suc- cessful spots in Southern Califor- nia. Fifty thousand dollars will be laid out for the revamping, with reopening scheduled for Septem- ber 19. NEW VERSION OF OLD S0N6 racket; tried Through the medium of daily newspaper and mag- azine advertising, com- bined with other come-on stunts, a crop of fake song experts has followed in the wake of the themie craze in Hollywood. And the boys are prof- iting no little from the sudden tremendous flood of publicity that has at- tended the swift rush of the song-writing game to one of the country’s lead- ing industries. Around song writing and the at- tendant fabulous salaries has been woven of late, myriad yarns, suf- ficient to place the “tin pan alley” art on a par with the stock mar- ket in the public consciousness. And wherever you have a bait like that, the suckers are sure to flock. Fake School Gags Schools are being formed to teach lyric and melody writing; contests, an old lure to tease the suckers, are being held, and all the familiar time tested tricks that featured the early capitalization on scenario writing aspirations are be- ing hauled down from the shelf and dusted off for new customers. Many complaints are already re- ported to have reached local au- thorities, who are rumored start- ing an investigatory drive with the purpose of testing how close to the swindle line the fake music wiz- ards are sailing. _ Grab Chicken Feed Grabbing off all the fat profits in sight, ranging from $500 and a little higher, the boys are re- ported not averse to snatching chicken feed in tens and twenties, if the gullible ones can muster only that much. One of the lads even took a 1923 model Chevie from an eager aspirant for teaching him tuneful (Continued on Page 13) YOU’LL SEE IT IN FACTS I