Variety (May 1907)

/ VARIETY ACTOR'S UNION ELECTS OFFICERS. The annual elections of Local No. 1, Actors' Union, were held last night. These officers were re-elected by acclamation and without contest: Harry De Veaux, president; William Bobbins, vice-presi- dent; Lew Morton, secretary; George W. Gallott, treasurer; James L. Barry, busi- ness representative, and George W. Rey- nolds, guardian. A new board of trustees was elected, three members being chosen out of seven candidates. No members of the old board ran. Odd Fellows' Hall, in St. Marks place, has been selected as the scene of the Grand Lodge meeting, May 10. An at- tempt was made to have the convention held in the Amphion Theatre, Williams- burg, but the movement was defeated. INDIAN 'TAKIRS" ENGAGED. After many reports, rumors and an- nouncements which proved without foun- dation, it is finally left to a man outside the theatrical profession to bring to America a band of Indian street fakirs. The importer of the troupe has been making a tour of the world for his own amusement, and concluded that these people of the Far East would be a big attraction over here. As the traveller is friendly with the Klaw ft Erlanger folks, it is more than likely that the band will be placed at their disposal. The star trick of the act, according to its importer, is done with a rope. A coil is tossed into the air. It immediately becomes taut, permitting a small boy to climb it. After reaching the top he dis- appears. ST. LOUIS EXPECTS K. & E. St. Louis, May 3. Two stories of the entrance of Klaw ft Erlanger into the vaudeville field are afloat. One originates in a statement by the McNair ft Harris Realty company. It appears that G. M. McNair of that concern was in Chicago several days in conference with Will Davis, K. ft E.'s representative, supposedly talking over a site to build upon. The story that the local papers have been handing out is that the Garrick, formerly playing attractions under the Shubert booking, will be converted into a home of "Advanced Vaudeville." It is a small but cosey theatre and immensely popular. ' In the theatrical talk locally, no men- tion is made of the now building Ameri- can theatre, which holds a franchise from William Morris to play his bookings in this town, commencing next season. If K. ft E. are to have a theatre for the same purpose in St. Louis, some arrange- ment will have to be arrived at with Manager Oppenheimer, of the American, before it can come to pass. "FRAU LUNA" COMING OVER. Weber ft Rush, the managers, have secured the American rights for the pro- duction of "Frau Luna," the comic opera written by Paul Linke, the German com poser, who was lately in -the city. The piece has had a popular run on the other side in many of the larger cities, and will be produced next season in New York by the firm at a Broadway house. JOHN W. CONSIDINE EXPLAINS. John W. Considine, of the Sullivan-Con- si dine low-priced vaudeville circuit, denied this week that the purpose of his visit was the making of new booking arrange- ments. "Our present eastern office," said he, "will continue indefinitely to be the source of our supply of acts. The only differ- ence in our arrangements is that hereafter acts booked by us for the Sullivan-Consi- dine Circuit will play their Pacific Coast time in houses either owned or booked by us, instead of playing the time of the former 'Three LV Circuit. "We have entered the territory of the 'Three L's' on the Pacific Coast, not be- cause we are anxious to make aggressions and extend our chain of houses, but be- cause the move was forced upon us. Un- der our former agreement acts played the houses of our California and far western connections under a booking contract. The contracts were signed in our offices, but when they came to be played we found that the other parties were not bound by them. "In order to get acts into our western territory it became necessary for us to enter a new plan. To this end we have added six new houses to the Sullivan-Con sidine Circuit in the Far West, either by purchase or lease, to which are added the National and Globe in San Francisco, houses in Leavenworth, Lincoln and To- peka, Kan., and Acme, Sacramento, with which we have made arrangements to play acts booked over our circuit. "The new Sullivan-Considine theatres are the Bell, in Oakland, Cal.; Lyric, Salt Lake City; Utahana, Ogden, Utah; Nov- elty, Denver, and the Grand in Denver, building operations upon which will begin June 1. Monday we took possession of the Burbank Theatre, Omaha, which we purchased recently for vaudeville pur- poses. "We are prepared to spend $500,000 in developing the western country for our in- terests and propose to make our connec- tions there substantial. We are going about our own business without worrying about the opposition." UNIFORM CONTRACT SOON READY. The printers have in their possession a copy of the form of contract which is soon to be in use by all managers book- ing through the United Booking Offices and the agency itself. The reading will conform to about the same language as contained in the present contract of Percy G. Williams. The prin- cipal exception, as previously noted, will be the "barring" clause, which will men- tion "cities" instead of "city blocks," as in the Williams agreement. HILL ANSWERS KARNO'S SUIT. Gus Hill has entered a general denial to the allegations made in the suit brought against him by Fred Karno in an action to recover $3,000 royalties under an al- leged written agreement. The action will probably not come up until the October term. Karno declares in his moving papers that Hill entered into an agreement to pay for the privilege of giving "A Night in a London Music Hall" with "Around the Clock," that Hill used the property and that he has defaulted on the payment. ELSIE JANIS WILL REST. Elsie Janis will play out her con- tracted three weeks for Percy G. Williams, and then retire for the present. The tragic death of her brother is given as the reason. When she reappears it will be under other management than that of Milton and Sargent Aborn. In dissolving the Liebler- A born injunction against her vaudeville appearance, the court practically passed upon the validity of the contract with the Aborns. Under this decision the prin- ciple is laid down that while the young actress' mother signed the contract as guardian the instrument will not hold, the mother being the guardian of her property only. Lawyers declare that this is equivalent to declaring that the contract was with an infant and therefore invalid. It is not expected that Miss Janis will return to vaudeville, at least not for any extended period. Her theatrical ventures hereafter will be confined to the legiti- mate under the guidance of a well-known manager. During her present vaudeville trip it is understood that the United Booking Offices would have been extremely pleased if Miss Janis had consented that one or more of the weeks engaged for by Mr. Williams be "shifted" to the Keith house in Philadelphia. Upon the intimation being conveyed to Miss Janis that her consent to this action might seriously affect a favorable route for the production she may be with next season, Miss Janis insisted that she would play only the vaudeville engage- ments specifically called for in the Will- iams' contract. Miss Janis is receiving $3,000 weekly while playing the Williams time, a figure that was caused by competition. While the mimic played Buffalo with "The Van- derbilt Cup," P. J. Casey of the Morris Office called on her, that office desiring her services for the opening Philadelphia week of K. ft E's. While negotiations were pending be- tween Mis* Janis and the Morris Office, Mr. Williams secured her signature in this city to a contract, agreeing to the above figure weekly in order to secure it. ORPHEUM STAFF CHANGES ABOUT. •Several changes in the staff, including both booking agents and resident man- agers, of the Orpheum Circuit are contem- plated by General Manager Martin Beck. Clarence Drowns, formerly resident manager at Los Angeles, Cal., has been brought on to the New York office, where he is temporarily stationed as an assist- ant to Mr. Beck. Charles E. Bray, late of the Chicago office of the circuit, has been ordered to the Northwest, with headquarters in Portland, Ore. Mr. Bray will oversee the new houses to be located in that section of the country. One of the far Western cities, supposed to be Portland, will hold two Orpheum houses next season instead of one, as reported. DOESN'T LIKE VAUDEVILLE. Louisville, Ky., May 3. It appears that there may be som«> difficulty in turning over the Mary' An derson Theatre here to Klaw ft Erlanger vaudeville. Peter Lee Atherton, owner of the playhouse, which was opened under the independents' booking only a month ago, makes this statement: "I am not a party to the plans an- nounced in New York to make the Mary Anderson Theatre a vaudeville playhouse. Whatever may have been done in the way of organizing a new amusement company by Klaw ft Erlanger and the Shuberts, for the purpose of arranging a vaudeville circuit, I do not think the Shuberts con- template putting the Mary Anderson into the circuit. The understanding between the Shuberts and myself that led to their taking of the lease was that I should build a theatre in which should be given first class attractions. "The contract is quite clear on this point and I am slow to believe that the Shuberts will attempt to violate the agreement." Mr. Atherton would not say that he would institute any court action to pre- vent the lessees from playing vaudeville. DISGUSTED WITH LONDON. Foster and Foster arrived from London after an eight weeks absence, very much disgusted with the English metropolis, and vowing never again to leave America. They have signed with the United Book- ing Offices for all of next season. ATTEMPTS TO ENJOIN STEGER. On Monday in the Supreme Court will be argued the motion made upon the ap- plication of Willis Steell to restrain Julius Steger from further producing "The Fifth Commandment," the vaudeville sketch which Mr. Steger successfully produced. Leon Laski, who will appear in Mr. Steger's behalf, says that he has the book in his possession from which Mr. Steger adapted the playlet, together with a note of $100 given by Steell to Steger for money loaned, and a written acknowledg- ment from Steell that no claim against the actor is held. Mr. Laski is sanguine that the motion will be denied. Mr. Steger is exasperated by the action. He allowed Mr. Steell's name to be used in connection with the piece when it was first played, he says, upon the suggestion of Geo. W. Lederer, and withdrew it at the direction of Martin Beck, who is di- recting his vaudeville tour. Mr. Steger says "The Fifth Command- ment" had its origin in the story taken from 'The Daughter of Mr. Faloncius," by Wiedbrandt, and "The Fourth Command- ment." In Austria, where the play was origi- nally produced, and Mr. Steger's native place, the Biblical injunction to "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother" is the Fourth Commandment. Affidavits will be presented to the court by Messrs. Beck, Lederer, Lew Fields and others, who have personal knowledge that Mr. Steger is entitled to the credit of the adaptation, and that Mr. Steger completed his labors before ever meeting Steell. Mr. Beck said the other day that while in company with Paul Linke, the German composer, they saw "The Fifth Command- ment," and immediately recognized it as an off-shoot of the German plays. When the Julius Oahn circuit opens its books for next season's vaudeville engage- ments Hugo Morris will be placed in charge of the engagements for that branch of his brother's agency.