Variety (Apr 1907)

VARIETY STOLL GROWING IRRITABLE. Oswald Stoll, the English manager, and director of the Moss-Stoll Circuit in Eng- land, is growing irritable under the pres- sure of the "American invasion." The McNaughtons cabled the manager the other day requesting a release for three weeks of the time booked with him lollowing the close of their present en- gagement on this side. The message asked a like prolongation for Alice Lloyd. The answer returned coincided with the general opinion of the manager. It said in effect that no postponement would be heard of, and unless the time was played as contracted for "serious proceedings" would follow. The McNaughtons and Miss Lloyd will leave New York on May 21, homeward bound, to carry out their contracts. Although Mr. Stoll has made claim in the .English press that he favors neither one nor another of the American agencies, his actions regarding booking do not bear out this statement. In a recent case where an extension was asked of the English manager to play a date over here which might conflict with a future booking on the K. & E. circuit, a refusal was promptly cabled over, although the time asked for was one week only. WELCH QUITS SHOW. Chicago, April 2o. "The Shoemaker" without Joe Welch played the Academy of Music last Sunday afternoon, Mr. Welch having taken the train for New York. The controversy which has arisen be- tween Joe Welch and Gus Hill over Mr. Welch booking his vaudeville sketch "At Ellis Island" for the Keith-Proctor Twen- ty-third Street Theatre week of May 13, and the proceedings threatened against the actor to restrain him playing the date are the causes which combined for Mr. Welch's summary action in Chicago. Speaking of the matter, Gus Hill said: "Welch has thrown me down cold and I intend to spend every dollar I have, if necessary, to get even. I shall seek to en- join him from playing vaudeville and have the assurance of Stair & Havlin that he can never play their houses again." Welch, on the other hand, claims to have given Hill four weeks' notice in writ- ing of his intention to quit, as per his contract. "Besides," he adds, "I was not an employee of Hill's, but a partner—and of course there's nothing to prevent a part- ner from retiring from a firm at any time he chooses. His redress is in a suit for damages, not in any injunction proceed- ings, as I have convinced the vaudeville managers with whom I am booked.' »» ROBBED MUSIC ROOM. Bridgeport, April 26. On Tuesday, between the matinee and night performances at Poli's Theatre here, the music room of the playhouse was broken into and some $300 worth of in- struments stolen. The music room is in the basement ajoining the dressing rooms, but none of the artists has missed any- thing. It was at first thought to be a practical joke, but when only part of the orchestra played the night show the police were sent for. So far nothing has been discovered of the identity of the burglars. WARRANT FOR LORELLA. For committing an assault upon his per- son, Jules Delmar, connected with the United Booking Offices, swore out a war- rant for the arrest of Coley Lorella, one of the three trustees of the White Rats of America, and an acrobat belonging to the team known as Inza and Lorella. Lorella was formerly of Johnson, Daven- port and Lorella. Several versions of the affair are afloat as to the cause of Lorella's action. The performer called at the St. James Building on Monday and notified the office force he intended to "do" Delmar, who was at the time in Syracuse. On Tuesday he reap- peared, and in the outer office of the suite, espying Delmar, who had entered from the inside room, struck the agent, without al- lowing time for the removal of his eye- glasses. Lorella claims to be aggrieved either through having been obliged to open the show at the Grand Opera House in Syra- cuse, or through being placed in a dress- ing room there which the Arlington Four occupied. The comedian of the quartet is colored, a fact unknown to Mr. Delmar until called to his attention. It is a mis- take often made, the other three boys being white. Inza and Lorella were booked for Ben- nett's theatre in Ottawa for the week of April 15, having played Bennett's, Ham- ilton, the week before. Mr. Bennett wired Delmar he did not want the act, and the agent, to avoid laying the pair off, sent it to Syracuse, crowding the bill there to nine numbers in order to do so. Mr. Delmar said this week that he is the only one in the United Office that has given the team any work, and as regards dressing rooms, that was not within his jurisdiction. Mr. Delmar admitted that the team opened the show, and claimed he requested them to do so, to which they assented, owing to the make-up of the bill. Up to Thursday the warrant for Lo- rella's arrest had not been served. On Thursday morning Mr. Delmar was tele- phoned to asking if he would "let up" on the acrobat in the criminal prosecution. What further action was taken is not known. Much regret was voiced by artists over the occurrence, the assault reflecting on the whole fraternity. MARINELLI'S TERMS. Paris, France, April 15. H. B. Marinelli, the international book- ing agent, has entered into an agreement with the United Booking Offices of Amer- ica, by the terms of which he is guar- anteed commissions aggregating $8,000 per annum. Marinelli's New York offices will remove to the St. James Building on May 1, adjoining those of the United Booking Oilices. ^ stipulation in the agreement provides mat Marinelli must not book an act in any town where there is a theatre oper- ated by the United Booking Offices under a penalty of $4,000. The position occupied by H. H. Feiber as the foreign representative of the United Booking Offices is not altered in the slightest by the entrance of the Mari- nelli agency into that office. ARTI STS' FO RUM C+nflne your letters to 150 words and writs ©■ one tide ol peper only. Anonymous communications will not be printed. Name of writer mast bo sic nod sod wM •O kold In strict confidence. If desired. Hannibal, Mo., April 21. Editor Variety : In your issue of April 13 you have published an article concerning our act under the caption "Demanded More Pay." The story as printed is a gross misrepre- sentation of the facts, and we desire to give you the story in its true form that you may publish it and set us right with the public and managers of other circuits. We believe you will do this, as it seems to be the aim of your paper to better the conditions of the artist. Now, then, the facts are these: We signed with the Orpheum Circuit under ignorance of conditions of travel in the West, to play fourteen weeks. We opened in St. Paul, Sunday, March 10, and were easily the hit of the bill; we were fourth. March 18 we played Denver, where we opened the show and were again the hit of the bill. Here a condition faced us that we found impossible at the salary at which we were engaged, namely, a week open and expensive sleeper fare to 'Frisco. I wrote Mr. Martin Beck that it would be impossible for us to continue unless he could advance our salary, not $50, but $100, and that if he would not, he must accept our cancellation. About Thursday of the week, Mr. Carsen, resident man- ager, brought us a wire accepting our cancellation, and I immediately turned in the transportation. You can readily see that it was not due to what they are pleased to call "over- estimation of our importance," but sim- ply a request (not demand) for a living salary. We have lost but one week since then, and the managers for whom we are play- ing now think so well of us that we are booked for returns in every house. We played here just before we opened in St. Paul. Jack Simonds, For the Columbia Four. Ben Cahn is no longer the "office man" for Weber & Rush. [The above letter is published, not be- cause we are in accord with the flimsy ex- cuse set forth therein for a "request" of increase of salary after the contracts were signed, but merely to set forth the Columbia Four's side of the question. The act booked through the ollice of the Or- pheum Circuit in New York City; was fully acquainted with the route laid out, and that route was not thereafter changed. If the quartet desired an in- crease of salary, it could have made the demand while playing St. Paul or before starting on the circuit, and not waited until Denver, which carries with it a sug- gestion of a "hold-up," which, greatly to the credit of the Orpheum Circuit, was not acceded to. If an artist enters into what he considers a poor bargain, his sense of honor should impel him to the faithful performance of his agreement. Had the Orpheum Circuit contracted to pay the Columbia Four more than the quartet valued its services at it is hardly likely from the action in this case that they would have returned the surplus. Even though the Columbia Four was "the hit of the bill" at both houses played, this did not call for an increased amount of salary unless the contract so specified. When an act attempts an advantage of this nature under a signed contract, the value of organization, or the attempts to place the artist on a business-like basis with the manager are set at naught. In the ordinary course of events, the Colum- bia Four would have been extremely gratified to have secured the Orpheum time, and having it, should have been con- tent to play out their contract. The can- cellation will not raise managers' and artists' estimation of them, and further- more, where did they receive or hold the right to "cancel"? which amounted to nothing more or less on their part than a refusal to play, leaving no recourse for the manager.—Ed.] Marion, O., April 20. Editor Variety: Reading in Variety of a "new act" produced by Countess Olga Rossi and Mons. Vaulo, entitled "During the Per- formance," would say that the nature of it may be new to them but certainly is not new to the public. Thirteen years ago we did an act wherein, at the open- ing, Miss Fulton was seated in a box "pre- sumably a spectator during the opening number." We write this if, in the future, we should resurrect it, no one might say that we had "stolen" it; one hears this remark so often nowadays. As to the veracity of this statement can refer you to Tony Pastor, Keith & Proc- tor, Kohl & Castle, Geo. Lothrop, M. B. Khea, Harry Davis and other reputable managers; also many artists to whom this is known. Leonard and Fulton. P. S.—We do not claim to be the or- iginators. Brooklyn, April 24. Editor Variety: I think when agents and managers call your attention to some one else using your name it is time to let all the managers and the profession in general know that the Dancing Mitchells are not playing in the West, but are just recovering from their severe accident which occurred August 29 last at Jamestown, N. Y. The parties I refer to are known as the Three Mitchells, "The Dancing Mitchells," and also as "The Three Funny Mitchells" (colored). We have established the name of The Dancing Mitchells, and are known and have been identified with the same for a number of years. I hope the Mitchells will cease using our name. They ought to, and if they don't, managers should decline to bill them as The Dancing Mitchells. Samri S. Baldwin. "The Royal White Mahalnia," who has been confined in the Virginia Memorial Hospital, Richmond, will leave for Jersey City in a few days. A ii'w one story building at the north- west corner of lKJth sln-et and Lenox avenue is to have a roof gurden on it this summer with a popillai priced vaudeville show.