Inside facts of stage and screen (December 6, 1930)

DEC. 6, 1930 INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN PAGE THREE THEATRE IS FULL OF NEW GADGETS In Hollywood—Now By BUD MURRAY Bud Murray DANCE FLOOR IS INNOVATION The glamor of Picture premieres seems on the wane in HOLLY- WOOD NOW, as we witnessed the Opening Tuesday, November 25th, 1930, at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, of “Morrocco,” featuring Gary Cooper, and the much talkt of Marlene Deitrich and Adolph Menjou. The picture itself was reviewed last week, and the less said about that, the better—it’s a lucky thing they decided to have a Fanchon and Marcc Prologue “to boot”—This one called “Moorish Melodic etc.” and staged by Larry Ceballos, wa: gorgeously mounted and had a cast of about Si people. And so we wander thru the Court of the Chinese Theatre, and notice Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, taking a short cut in— Mary Brian, (our pupil) looking sweeter every day and stepping up to the Microphone to say the usua^ “Hello Everybody”— Gus Shy, former star of sucl well-known stage plays on Broadway as “Good News,” “New Moon,”— Gus is now a regular pic- ture Actor— Jimmy Hanley, whom we workt with on many Winter Garden Productions—Jimmy i: now writing songs for Fox Studios— Arthur Caeser. broadly grinning and cracking at the proceedings. Fanchon strolling into the broadcasting booth, followed by Marco, and both saying a few words to “their public”— Fanchon lookt adorable in a tremendous ermine wrap—Notice that Herman Timberg is back in Hollywood, and the lure of Premieres stuns Herman — Wm. Gibb McAdoo, who gave us our first ride in the Subway about 1900, steps up to the Mike—and last but not least, one of our dearest favorites just back from Noo Yawk and looking “Gorgeous,” and its no one else but our pupil, Jean Harlow, who starts immediately under a new contract to make pictures—yes, B. B. B. was there in all his “cellartorical” attire, and rite in HOLLYWOOD, NOW. We have been receiving several letters from Noo Yawk, bewailing the hard times, and all, in the same vein, cry “Its better to lay off in Hollywood, than in Noo Yawk, with its inclement weather”—one from Will H. Philbrick, who came here to play his part in “Whoopee,” then played in “The Gorilla,” got a taste of California and threatens to come back—also received a letter from Redmond and Wells, who played a few weeks around N. Y. and is on his way back— Tom Patricola, also playing vaudeville, has a very strong yen for “The land of Sunshine,” when it isn’t raining— A letter from Portland Oregon from Art “Beef” Rogers, “the policeman’s boy friend”—Art likes the rough and ready country where men are men, but we wonder how he horned in up there— We dropt in to see our favorite girl dancer in any style, Marrilyn Miller in “Sunny,” and received a sort of heart-pang while looking at Joe Donahue, and we couldn’t help but compare him with our dear de- parted Pal, Jack—Joe follows in the footsteps of his brother Jack admirabjv— Strolling up the Boulevard, a few words with “Uke” Ike Edwards and “Believe it or not,” Ike was waiting for a street car—then we bum’' into Lester Dorr, a great character actor and comedian, whom we workt with in several Broadway Revues— Lester just returned from a short seige in Vancouver Stock Companies—Dashing by in a Cream colored Ford Sport Roadster, with a large Cap to match, (we Mean Sam Hardy) ex-Harlequin of “The Masquers”—IN HOLLYWOOD. John P. Medbury, is now affirmed and confirmed Master of Cere- monies, after handling the Ceremonies at the opening of the Chinese Theatre, he is now a regular of the Columbia Network. —At the Chinese opening they very wisely had John cooped up in a Tent, so that anyone dissatisfied couldnt get at him—John’s no fool—And bes : des that he hat his body-guard rite with him, you know his impressario, Hal Horne— We took one of our periodical trips down-town and stept into thr Majestic Theatre, to witness the Opening Nite of Jack Russell and his players—The house was packed—We noticed in the cast bes : des Jack Evelyn Du Fresene and Garrett Price, who were with him while we we were all at the Strand Theatre, Long Beach— but, Not for long— Not long ago— The Wedding Number by Du Fresne and Price and the Chorus wa- very well done—The high-lite as far as dancing, was the Three Jays three very youthful and graceful Tap-dancers—In a curtain speech Russell remarkt “If you come and pay, the actors stay and,, play” and that sums up about' everything—(The picture was terrible, Thank, youl Not all the good deeds are recognized or published; To wit; we dropt in to a special show given bv Carlos Curtis of the Main Street Fite Club, and the idea of the Benefit was to feed thousands of hungry Newsboys, on Thanksgiving Day —and how they were fed, at the Alex- andria Hotel, with real “Toikey and stuffin’ ” — Here are a few of the boys who helped to make the show a success which hardly anyone hears about—There was B. B. Beebse as the Mas- ter of Ceremonies— Lew Cody, who was Honored guest, and Eddie Nelson, our playmate for the past 10 years, jumped into the ring to referee one of the bouts—Naturally Dolly was there—Mushv Callaha- put the gloves on for an Exhibition bout, and still “holds”—but Mushy is smart enough to say “Uncle,” as he now is go : ng into the Haber- dashery business—Armand Fmanuel refereed a bout between “Wildcat” Ace Hudkins and Bert Colima— A high-spot bout was the one between deal old Billy Papke and his son, Jr., who has been knocking them out once a week at the Olympic — Dan Toby, the tenor announcer, officiated in h : s usual sterling manner —and rite in the front row “One Eyed” Conolly, who crashes even a Benefit—So a Good Time was had by all, Amen. We had an unexpected visit from our dear old friends, Mr. and Mrs Eduardo Cansino and the whole Casino family, Marguerita, Sonny and Vernon, all “Dancers” following in the footsteps of their il'ustr’ous Dad. who runs a darn good Dancing School too—In Hollywood NOW. To the Brown Derbv for lunch and in a booth we spy two clever Harry’s, Harry Delf and Harry Dehnar, two darn good dancers, writers stagers and actors—Ed Kane and Tommy Dugan, two real stage plavers from vaudeville, doing nicelv in pictures, Thank vou.—Mickey Ne’lan. brite and chipper—Chariev Judels in a hunting jacket—What’s he hunt- ing for in the Brown Derby?— And so, to the Fite Friday, at the Hollywood Legion, and we notice a flock of old time stage performers who are doing O. K. with the young-bloods in pictures— Wm. Collier, Sr —with W. C. Kelly, the Vir- ginia Judge— Charley Winninger — A1 Jolson himself, and his boy friend. Harry Wardell — Bobby Woolsey and Walter Catlett, and they both wear horn-rimmed “specs"—Frank Fay— And, roaming ’round, is Jackie Osterman, shak’ng hands with long lost friends— Busbey Berkely is back in town and with his wife, Miss Muir, who recently made such a hit in "My G ; rl Friday”—Another old timer is spied and that’s Bobby North, of that famous old team of Gordon and North, whom we workt for in “Burlesque” about IS years ago— A1 Boasberg. scenerio and gag-writer, with another black-out king, Paul Gerard Smith, whom we workt with on Le Malres Aairs 1927 —The Daddv of ex-heavyweights watch the awful final bout between Cook and Elliott, and thoroughly disgusted, as he was looking for some opposition for his protege, A1 Morro — And so we drift into Henry’s Restaurant on the Boulevard, and immed’ately see that rute comedienne, Frances M^oy—A few words with Walter Brooks, George Whiting and A1 Von Tilzer, who are col- laborating on a new colored show to be produced : n Noo Yawk early in the Spring—Walter leaves this week with the finished play—Stuart Holmes in abooth— Abe Roth, that diminutive referee who fears no man “The Los Angeles” theatre, lo- cated on Broadway near Sixth, rep- resents a total Investment of more than $2,000,000 and is declared the last word. H. L. Gumbiner, owner of the Tower, is sole owner and will per- sonally operate the new playhouse. sum innovations as a l.mu ui uu. six seats to a row, an exhibition room for objects d'art, a club lounge with dancing floor, a cosmetic room, two children s p.ay rooms and nur- series, and a cafe are included. Projection of the identical picture shown on the screen in the main auditorium on a miniature screen in the lounge room and also in the nursery is another new nicknack. World premiere of Charlie Chap- lin’s “City Lights,” two years in the making, will mark the opening. No definite date set for opening but anticipated Janunary 1. Notes Along Fifth Avenue SECRETARY FINDS TIME FOR PAINTING Luci, Lucille, Ward has an exhi- hibition ot her paintings, Salome, jealousy, Dance of Life, Devil’s Pium Tree and others, all done in her original, exotic style, on the mez floor of the Roosevelt. This young woman, in addition to being secretary to Bobby North at First National,, finds time for painting, designing and other art work. Stars, numbered among her patrons, are A1 Rockett, Ford Ster- ling, North and many others. GEO. GIBSON BACK George Gibson has returned from an eastern business trip which embraced all the states on the At- lantic seaboard, in the interests of Fashion Features. WEBB IN PARIS Millard Webb, Hollywood direc- tor, writes that he’s in Paris and becoming a boulevardier, bon viv- ant, or what have you? ‘GRAPES’ FOR RKO RKO Radio Pictures has purch- ased screen rights to stage play, ‘Sour Grapes,” produced in New York by William Harris. TIFF. COMEDY FINISHED Paul Hurst has completed the second of his two-reel prizefight comedies for Tiffany, “De Woild’s Champeen.” CHANCE TO FLARE Natalie Moorhead in “Hook, Line and Sinker,” must be best dressed woman in the cast. EMIL STURMEE MUSICAL DIRECTOR PARAMOUNT THEATRE SAN FRANCISCO STOP and LISTEN to the WESTERNERS MALE QUARTET KFRC San Francisco Behrendt-Levy-Rosen Co., Ltd. General Insurance Insurance Exchange Building VA 1261 HAVE YOU HEARD BILLY VAN On K. G. E. R? ON THE INSIDE - IN SEATTLE ROY OXMAN Representative—630 People’s Bank Bldg., MAin 0799 Tiny Burnett looking over a new radio . . . but only window shop- ping . . . Rose Valyda kidding Dave Trepp . . . Homer Sweetman sing- ing to a bunch of Frosh at the U . Madge Baldwin out dancing . . . and being rushed off her feet . . . Lois Lansdowne at Sherman-Clay’s . and proving to be a valuable woman . . . Betty Shilton now a member of Rube Wolf’s band , . . Ken Warner and Terb Sobottka in conference . . . and out for lunch . Henry Dow and Stan Adams out front of the Blue Mouse . . . Don Smith scheduled to join the Will King gang . . . Sammy Seigel accusing a press man of taking ad- vantage of a busy day . . . the funny part about it was that the paid his admittance ... Jim Clemmer being congratulated on his new usherette uniforms . . . Paul McCrea doing double work for KOL. RUBE WOLF TAKES LEAD LANG A GANGSTER Walter Lang, having just finished the direction of “The Command Performance,” is preparing for a gangster picture. Both James Cruze productions. SEATTLE, Dec. 4.—Rube Wolf came to town this week and was ad- vertised the greatest showman since the days of Barnum, and of course the biz came in like wildfire, which snows that somebody somewhere is holding on to that extra sheckel. So the stock of the Fifth Avenue went sky high with about $23,000 changing hands. It has been so long since a sum like that came through the window that they had to say “Just Imagine” on the screen. Orpheum with Peter Higgins and “Tolable David” doing their stuff, brought $14,000 into the coffers. Just a couple of “noses” behind the Fifth’s gross.” The Paramount, with “Sea Legs,” d i d fair, gathering in $11,500 on the week’s opus. No stage show at this house, which is a crime. Fox did poor on “War Nurse” taking a bow for $7,500. Next week “Big Trail.” Music Box on the finis of “Door- way to Hell” received only $5,900 for the week. Blue House poor on “Third Alarm,” which didn’t even prove such a big success in the si- lent form. Vancouver Varieties By A. K. MacMartin 618 Homer Street VANCOUVER, Dec. 4.—Van- dals smashing $3,000 worth of talk- ing machine equipment and slash- ing the new screen at the Fairview theatre, small house operated by Circuit Theatres Ltd. New equip- ment and screen installed in time for next performance. * * * “Africa Talks,running three weeks at the Dominion to big busi- ness. * * * Calvin Winter and his Home Gas Symphony Orchestra, making a hit over CKWX with his weekly broadcasts. Frank Gow, general manager of F. P. C. C. suburban houses, giving away washing ma- chines and other household goods to the patrons. * * * Gladys Attree Dancers giving a benefit for a local Christmas fund at the Vancouver, after their return to the home town from a tour over the RKO circuit. * * * MGM’s “Big House” pulling good business into the Capitol. The Beacon, (Old Pan) stampeding the fans with heavy exploiation on “The Indians Are Coming” a chapter play. * * * Pearl Allen smiling broadly as the “Dumbells” Revue, an all Canuck organization, pulled old time business into the legit house. Eddie Zimmerman, assistant man- ager at the RKO Orpheum, sport- ing a brand new Tux outfit. Lloyd Pantages, former manager of the vaude house of that name, a 100 per cent member of the ope- rators union. Management of the Empress opening the gallery for the benefit of the unemployed where they may enjoy the British Guild Players in action, without de- positing at the b. o. Business everywhere a little be- low norma! and blamed on the an- nual pre-Xmas slump. DENVER By DUSTY RHODES DENVER, Dec. 4.—Frank Milton has installed sound equipment in his Rivolie theatre. It is rumored the house will drop stage shows and go straight pics in the near future. * * * Harry Huffman reports business far above normal in his theatres here. The New Tabor doing much better than his fondest expectations. * * * Georgia Lane Dancers, all Den- ver girls, now touring Fanchon and Marco circuit with the “Rhythm-a- tic” Idea, enjoyed a full day’s lay- over here at home, enroute from Butte to Wichita. * * * Harry Huffman, theatre owner and a number of local business men are doing their bit in relieving the unemployed here. They have es- tablished a rescue house, where the needy can get food and lodging. * * * Plenty of first class pictures hold the spot on Curtis Street this week, and all seem to be getting a fair play. The Denver with “War Nurse” and The Publix Stage Unit, “Sky High,” taking top honors, further uptown. * * * Civic Symphony Orchestra, Hor- ace E. Tureman conducting, ap- pears in concert at The Muncipal auditorium on Dec. 5 and 7. PUGLIA IN ‘TRAIL’ Frank Puglia, D. W. Griffith’s find, playing the role of Zeke in Italian version of the “Big Trail.” CORSARO A TRAILER Franco Corsaro given leading part in Fox’s “Big Trail,” Italian version, playing opposite Louise Caselotti, the female lead, at Fox Hills Studio. when giving decisions—and Abe is with our old boy friend from Brook- lyn, Tom Kennedy, now acting in pictures and a fite Manager on the side—and we run into Georgie Stone, who is now a confirmed “op- eration add’et” IN HOLLY- WOOD NOW. Ross at Dollar Harry Ross, for the past two two years at the Strand Theatre here, has taken over the manage- ment of the Million Dollar Theatre. TEL. 6721 QyNXlRK, N. Y. * STAGE & DANCE DIRECTOR & PRODUCER * L. A. (FACULTY)—Bud and Gladys Murray, Byron Cramer—(BALLET)—Mary Frances Taylor PRACTICAL DRAMATICS AND STAGE DANCING TAP. Off-Rhythm, “Modernized BALLET” & Acrobatics Only AUTHORIZED “Bay District Branch “--JANICE SPRAGUE SCHOOL 127 Marine St., Ocean Park—Tel. Santa Monica 63145 “THE ORIGINAL MURRAY SCHOOL” ,OF NEW YORK. CHICAGO AND LOS ANGELES,