Inside facts of stage and screen (October 11, 1930)

I OCT. 11, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE FIVE In Hollywood—Now By BUD MURRAY To the Masquers’ First Fall Revue, which was short and sweet, with every act clicking, and no stalling. The two honored guests were Mr. Louis B. Mayer of M-G-M studios and Mr. Wm. Le Baron of the RKO Studios. The most remarkable thing we always notice is the manner in which both the members and guests disport themselves, and the spirit with which the actors work to make the show a success, espe- ciallv those that play the girls—We personally know that these boys— Glenn Tryon, Bobby Vernon, Lee Moran, Ernie Hood, Don Lee, Billy Sullivan, Irving Mitchell and Frederic Howard only rehearsed three evenings and did the dancing finale called “Medita- tion” (which we staged) perfectly, and not a hitch— The girls were great (no foolin’)—and that Para- mount Band directed by Harry Casey was marvel- ous—How they played the overtures and all dance numbers— Mitchell Lewis, Harlequin, was the Jester of this first show—and with the aid of Harry Joe Brown, Edward Earle and Don Lee, certainly made a great job of it. The Siamese Twins, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsev. did a bit which was a classic—and our old friend, Walter C. Kelley. “The Virginia Judge,” had this stag audience rocking in their seats— Irving Fisher was superb in his rendition of real “Heart” songs—and our dear friend, Harry Lang- don, surprised even his closest friends—Harry seemed to be the most popular man on the Bill and received a tremendous ovation. And then after the Revel—all hied themselves downstairs to the supper room, and we noticed here and there. Charlev Chase, Dick Carle our dear friend, Julian Eltinge, Charlev Murray, Hale Hamilton. Ed Kane. Sam Hardv. Georgie Stone, Antoine Moreno, Wm. Collier. Wm, Arnold. Marshal Neilan and his bov friend. Lew Cr>dv — Jack Mulhall— our Chicago boy friend, Addison Burkhardt —and Walter Catlett. And many more notables of the screen and stage world, but space won’t permit to include them all in this issue and, dear readers, it is a pleasure to be able to do something at this club, and a privilege to be a member, and we are proud to be included in this category—IN HOLLYWOOD NOW. Then to the Olympic Fites, where Hayden Wadhams put over the first real sell-out of the season, and why, because he gave a show—-and what a show. Sammy Tackson gave a better account of himself than the smart alecs expected—but Young Corbett was too experienced for him, and that rapier-like left never missed— Sammy never winced, but kept pouring into Corbett’s ribs— We noticed our Ex-Harlequin, Sam Hardy — Walter Hiers — our boy friend, Charley Mack, whom we trouoed with in ‘The Maid in America” Winter Garden show, in 1915— Roy Cummings, one of the few old-time knock-about real comics who was at the Winter Garden, too— Mr. and Mrs. Sammy Ledner — Abe Roth and Mushy Callahan (our pupils)— Charley Murray (no relation), wish he was— Dave Bennett all tanned up. It must have made the Olymoic management feel great to see them Standing up all over the house—So we add—Give the public real shows and they will buy tickets—IN HOLLYWOOD NOW or anytime— Tom Hodgman, one of the old school of business agents, said to us very seriously that he was studying Spanish. So we fell, and answered “Why?”—Tom very dryly remarkt, “So he could lay off in two lan- guages”— We quote another ‘quickie,” and Joe Frisco, Sol Violinsky or Arthur Caeser did not pull this one—YET— Ben Bard’s new partner, Marty, said that times are hard in NOO YAWK—to wit:—He was standing in front of the Palace Theatre one afternoon, with his hand on his hip (not effeminately) and lo and behold an Adagio dancer jumped into his hip- pit, knee first— The boys at the Masquers all heated uo over a “Doug” game between Jack Holt, Ben Bard, Ernie Hilliard and Tom MacDonald — To the Brown Derby for a little lunch (Try and get in unless you have a pull with Nick. Head Man)—Tn one booth a few old-timers, in- cluding Fatty Arbuckle. Lew Codv, Wilson Mizner and all of them look- ing very chipper— Jimmy Starr, Cinnematters himself, in a very serious conversation with Jerry Hoffman of the Examiner—and John P. Med- bury (The Mutterer and Mumbler)— Lew Pollack is still at Warner .Brothers— Tubby Garron and Rufus LeMaire. all in another booth—All bv himself, that dear old man, Bert Levy, looking in the best of health and always with his pleasant smile— just as he was in the dnvs we watched him at Hammersteins, about 1905 —and IN HOLLYWOOD NOW. On the Boulevard, ran into Harry Wardell, who contemplated doing nothing in particular until Tanforan ooens, and our boy friend’s string of horses comes West—Yes, sir; A1 Jolson has got them—With Harry were two old-timers, each having done their own vaudeville acts, and now framing an act they say will ‘goal ’em”-—These two kids are Johnny Johnson and Johnny Davis, and the act will be called ‘The Two Johns”— We were the guest of honor with Oscar Schmidt, who built the Caliente golf course, at the Western Chamber of Commerce Thursday at Marchetti’s Cafe—Rev. Jimmie Brougher made a snappy talk and "Jimmie,” as he is known in his parish in Glendale, is called the “Holy Terror”—What a showman he is— Christa Shaffer did a beautiful pianologue— Betty Le Roy did a stnging and dancing specialty that stopt the show—while our Ballet teacher, Mary Frances Taylor, made quite a hit with her dance— Arthur Wenzel, the hot-shot publicity man. did the contact work, and we ate a Dinner for Breakfast—IN HOLLYWOOD. We would like to say that Lafe Page, our associate and Director, has done the impossible—Lafe has hit oil in Venice—with his brother Johnny, and they are turning out 1500 barrels a day—OIL—(no foolin’) —So it looks like Lafe is going from one Oil racket to another—Shall we say he is OIL-RITE— A surprise visit from Mitchell Lewis, Harlequin of the Masquers— Lee Moran — Glenn Tyron — Roger Gray and John Sheehan, and so when School closed, we dropt in upstairs to the L. A. Press Club —for some lite refreshments, and a real good time was had by all IN HOLLY- WOOD and how-— Then to the Hollywood Fites Friday Nite—where no particular show was staged and therefore there were very few pa ; d admissions as cus- tomers—Rite next to us our Great Necker from Long Island, Charley King, who told us he just returned from Europe and was glad to be back in Hollywood with his family—Charley was with our pal, Gus Shy, former star of “Good News,” “New Moon” and “Desert Song”—Both are big features in pictures here IN HOLLYWOOD— We never miss seeing “The Dummy” newsboy at all the fites in this vicinity—The Dummy is smoking unusually large cigars lately— stealing B. B. B.’s stuff— Bobby Woolsey, one of the cuckoos—rite oppo- site his playmate, Bert Wheeler, who just finished “Half Shot at Sun- rise”— Larry Ceballos rite at the ringside—and he isn’t in Noo Yark— Bud DeSylva and Rav Henderson of the marvelous song writing combination, Brown, DeSylva and Henderson—whose latest Screen effort, “Just Imagine,” opens next week at the Carthay Circle Theatre— Another real actor formerly at the Winter Garden but now IN HOLLY- WOOD is our dear friend, Charley Winninger —and opposite Charley is the boy who made rubber legs famous— Leon Errol — See John T. Murray is back at the Fites again—We have missed him for several weeks— B. B. B. and Frankie Richardson at ringside— Tom Patricola and Cy Kahn — Pat Collins — Jimmy Finlayson and a few other Brother Masquers who are not rehearsing for the Masquers Revel —IN HOLLYWOOD. And so we end the week with a little snack at Henry’s after the Fites, and bump rite into Mr. and Mrs. Sammy Cohen —Those two funny fellows in the “Temptations”— Carson and Lester — Bert Prival, who stops the show with his sailor dance—with his brother, Maurice Prival, Bud Murray Pictures — (Continued from Page 4) “HARLEQUIN’S REVEL” THE MASQUERS (Reviewed October 5) First of the “Masquers’ Revels,” put on Sunday night, attracted a capacity crowd, despite the torrid weather. Introduced honored guests were Louie . Mayer, Joseph Snit- zer and William Le Baron, who went to be entertained, but they also probably were on the look- out for anything suitable for shorts. From the many spicey and de- lightfully humorous bits, they prob- ably will be able to glean several good numbers for the films—after due censorship has been exercised. The affair was a stag, and the en- tertainment conformed to the occa- sion. It was the first revel with Mitch Lewis as jester, and it all was as funny as the cartoon of Mitch on the program cover. Ever since the event, he has been receiving lau- dations. As a closer for a lengthy pro- gram of 13 acts, “Meditation,” staged by Bud Murray, had enough class to stop any show. Bobby Vernon, Billy Sullivan, Frederic Howard, Irving Mitchell, Glenn Tryon, Donald W. Lee, Lee Moran and Ernest Wood, with only three rehearsals, did a serious routine of ballet that was nothing short of marvelous. Audience, after liberal doses of burlesque, expected plenty of ho- kum, when the program hinted that these eight boys were to be garbed as girls for a ballet. Ser- iousness, with which they did their work, removed any aspect of rough house comedy. Always dependable for stories to suit any occasion, whether it be the W. C. T. U. or a Masquers’ Revel, Walter C. Kelly provided one of the funniest spots on the program. SAM KRAMER RETURNS Sam (Blood) Kramer, after an extended trip to Europe in company with Raymond and Wells, has re- turned to Los Angeles this week prepared to do big things. BARNES SHOW WEST The Al. G. Barnes circus is on its way home. Swing on the cir- cuit will come to a close the middle of October at San Pedro. The show will winter again in Los An- geles county. ROBBINS CIRCUS DUE Robbins Bros. Circus, now play- ing the San Joaquin Valley, will play next week in Pasadena. Pro- gressing on their circuit, it will swing on to Texas where the show will winter. HOFFMAN SIGNED Otto Hoffman, has been signed for a supporting role in RKO Radio Pictures’ “Cimarron.” BENNY RUBIN BACK Benny Rubin is back on the Metro-Goldwvn-Mayer lot, playing a comedy role in “Remote Control,” William Haines’ new talkie. BROOKS IN MOON Taylor Brooke has been added to the cast of “The New Moon,” co- starring Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore at the Metro-Gold- wyn-Mayer studios. SHRINE CIRCUS SET The Second Annual Shrine Cir- cus will be presented at the Shrine Auditorium, January 17 to 25. Al 1 acts booked for this production will be secured through Charles S. Hatch of the RKO office. MRS. KEN DAILEY ILL Mrs. Ken Dailey, wife of man- ager of the Bert Levey office, un- derwent an operation for gallstones at the Hollywood Hospital, Tues- day morning. MARION, BELLHOP George Marion, stage and screen veteran, celebrated for more than half a century for his portravals ir Shakespearean repertoire, will por- tray an antiquated bellhop in RKO’s “Hook, Line and Sinker.” the movie villain and suave German Officer in “Hells Angels”— And on our way out, a most pleasant surprise was to sit for a few minutes and chat with our ex- boss and talk over his present suc- cessful venture, “Temptations”— We hope it isn’t a breach of confi- dence when we say Mr. Warner contemplates re-organizing and staging ‘Oh Susanna,” real soon, for a HOLLYWOOD presentation before the New York premiere— REVIEWS He had the house in an uproar with his delightfully spicy yarns. Harry Langdon provided an- other highly enjoyable period. After his long absence from the stage, it was a real pleasure to see Langdon again behind the foot- lights. His act was one of the funniest, keeping the house in shrieks of laughter. “Rope’s End,” a skit by Crane Wilbur, played by Eddie Kane, George Baxter and Cornelius Keefe was another of those hilarously spicy bits of stag drama. Curtain rose on a noose dangling in an attic. Kane goes to hang himself, over a love affair. The window is open, so he gets his coat to avoid taking a cold. Baxter enters to kill himself, over the same woman. Kane refuses to share his rope, and tells Baxter to get his own. Reverand Dave Barnum and his deacons, three black facers, were too serious for a revel, but served to introduce Barnum’s good voice. A lot of comedy was kicked into the show by “The Lowdown on the High-Up,” written by Al Ray, and olaved by Roger Gray, Richard Carlyle and Glenn Tryon. Scene, heaven, a place so dead that Gray, as George Washington, was sorry he hadn’t told a lie. Not so good was “Mr. Popleth- waite Goes Shopping.” It was as elongated as the title role. William Austin and Edgar Nortin did their best with dry talk. One of the hottest and spiciest was “La Lune De Meil,” by Joseph Santley, and played by “Louis Al- burning, Billie Souliven, Roberto Greaves, Eduardo Cankane, Augus tin Simones and Maurice Noir- Blec,” dignified by the appendage of monsieur, according to the program It was a hotel scene, with a honeymooning couple. Should be seen and not described in a publicly TOM WITH WARNERS Tom Satterfield, formerly Paul Whiteman’s arranger and known as one of the most famous music ar- rangers in the country, has com- pleted a symphonic orchastration of "Kiss Waltz,” which appears in Warner Bros, special, “Dancing Sweeties.” — ‘Legit' circulated trade paper. Laughs came several to the minute. A nice drama, suitable for any theatre, was “I Will Repay,” by Ivan Simpson. Charles McNaugh- ton, Frank Dunn, Ivan Simpson, Al Austin, Richard Tucker, Claude King and Charles Delaney played it. Featuring a gag on one of Holly- wood’s new professions, “The Grim Reaper,” by Addison Burkhart, was played by Frederic Howard and Ian Keith. A mother, apprised by Death that her prop child was going to develop into a theme song writer, was ready to surrender her son pronto when the “grim reaper” called. Irving Fischer sang three songs, and did a good job of it. A big part of the show fell to Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, masters of ceremonies, who kept things hot whenever the comedy and spice on the stage slowed for even a minute. They worked hard and all their overtime was appre- ciated. As an opener, “Dressing Room Dirt” gave a hint at what the rest of the show would be. Written by Roger Gray, suggested by Percy Westmore and with music by Billy Sullivan, it was a travesty on what chorus girls say about the directors. If modified a little, this is another of the few, which could play a theatre patronized by mixed au- diences. William Arnold, Richard Car- lvle, Donald Lee, Frederic Howard, Tohn Sheehan, Ernest Wood, Lee Moran, Eddie Sturgis, Percy West- more, Glenn Tryon and Bobby Ver- non played the parts. The Masquers Orchestra, directed by Harry Casey, clicked all through the show, adding just one more good score for Mitch Lewis’ highly successful initial attempt. Josephs. BOOT-BLACK ACTOR Oscar, Hollywood’s boot-black actor, will be seen as the Zulu dancer of a medicine show in the Universal feature-length comedy, “The Cohens and Kellys in Africa,” fifth of the Charlie Murray, George Sidney series, now in production at Universal studios. Vin Moore is directing. ATTENTION AGENTS! We can supply you with the highest grade talent obtainable Line Girls and Acts cleverly costumed and routined Our representative will call personally on agents interested fENiSAUI THEATRICAL PRODUCERS 112 W. 6th St. LONG BEACH Phone 667-67 EARLE WALLACE Always Busy Developing Dancing Stars but Never Too Busy to Create and Produce Original DANCE ROUTINES and REVUES That Sell Belmont Theatre Bldg., First and Vermont Phone Exposition 1196 Los Angeles, Calif. (Premier Danseuse) “Oh Susanna," “Gone Hollywood,” "Broadway Melody" “THE ORIGINAL MURRAY SCHOOL”, .OF NEW YORK, CHICAGO AND LOS ANGELES, N. Y. * STAGE & DANCE DIRECTOR & PRODUCER * L. A. PRACTICAL DRAMATICS AND STAGE DANCING TAP, Off-Rhythm, “Modernized BALLET” & Acrobatics “MODERNIZED BALLET” by Mary Frances Taylor “Student Prince,’* GEORGE and FLORENCE BALLET MASTER AND MISTRESS Formerly 68 Successful Weeks Producing Weekly Changes in Australia’s Largest Theatres THE STATE, SYDNEY Producers Desiring Originality WRITE or WIRE -Permanent Address: INSIDE FACTS, Los Angeles