Variety (June 1907)

VARIETY BASEBALL BY TELEGRAPH. The Manhattan Theatre moving picture show gave place Wednesday to the new baseball report by telegraph. This ex- hibition under the direction of the Electric Specialties Company of 600 Fifth Avenue has spread pretty generally over the land- scape within the last few weeks. The company claims to have twenty theatres in its string, including about a dozen of the burlesque wheel houses. The show is put in on a percentage basis. A large green field is shown on the stage representing a baseball diamond and tiny lights in the different players' positions show the changing fortunes of the game. Some years ago a similar venture at Madison Square Garden returned only financial disaster to its promoters. T. G. LAFAYETTE BACK. The Great Lafayette returned to the city this week. He was offered vaude- ville time for next season, but refused to give any decision. In any event he will not let vaudeville interfere with his next season's tour with a company. He leaves for Europe in a short time for a four or five weeks' pleasure trip. Lafayette asseverates with great earn- estness—and a little pain—that the story of his lion's escape in Georgia was only too true. The animal got away from its cage, and when Lafayette went about to square damages with the community, he was $1,100 short in his bank account. CHEAP ADVERTISING. The ushers are now handling ticket cou- pons on silver trays at Hammerstein's. This is to keep good faith with the public through press matter sent out earlier. "The Mute Review" is another inexpen- sive, but highly profitable idea on the roof. The net cost of the "Review" is $3 for sign painting. The live stock in use is expected to increase in value. The Hammerstein ledger before the Roof opened carried this "Profit and Loss" page: Charge: Silver trays (5) $3.10 "Mute Review" ' 3.00 $6.10 Credit: Free advertising (estimated) $2,500 INTER STATE IN FLORIDA. Chicago, June 7. The Inter State Circuit of Majestic theatres will build a theatre in Pensacola, Fla., adding the house to its circuit. One is to be also built, in Atlanta, Ga.. ac- cording to the announcement. BARNEY GERARD STILL WORKING. Dave Marion and Barney Gerard have gone to Mr. Marion's new home at Tom's River, N. J., and will begin writing a two- act musical comedy to be presented next season by Tom Miner's "Bohemian Bur- lesquers." Mr. Gerard will also elaborate "A Mad Stampede," Carew and Hayes' new act, a tale of the plains, written by Charles H. Mackie. As soon as the above work is finished Mr. Gerard will go on a three weeks' yachting trip, and after a few weeks in the mountains will return to New York. PARIS NOTES. By O. M. Seibt Variety's Paris Office, 6, Rue Laflltte, Paris, May 22. The Hippodrome Bostock in the Place Clichy has been taken on lease with an option of 30 years by Mons. A. Sangey, formerly director of the Nice Opera and now director at Vichy. Mr. Sangey has formed a syndicate with a capital of $300,000 for the purpose of fitting up the premises on the lines of the Prinz Regent Theatre at Munich. The new establish- ment is to be called the "Theatre Lyrique International" and is to be opened at the end of October. Mons. Georges Marty, conductor to the Societe du Conservatoire, will be musical director. Negotiations are going on at the pres- ent moment for the taking over of the Casino de Paris by the Moulin Rouge man- agement. Since its opening last October, the Casino has been a rank failure, so we shall watch with curiosity the efforts of its new director to pull it out of the mire. The Nouveau Cirque and the Cirque d'Hiver have closed their doors for the summer season. They both will re-open in September. Business has not been ex- tremely good, specially at the first-named place. Mme. Merelli, the ex-companion of the bank thief Galley, on their remarkable voyage on the "Catarina," has been the victim of an accident in a lion's den. Ap- pearing at a fair at Alfortville with the lion tamer, Marck, her role was to lie stretched on a sofa between two lionesses. Unfortunately, on Monday, one of the animals suddenly rose and dealt Mme. Merelli a formidable blow with its paw on the left thigh. The tamer interfered in time to prevent further injury. At the Olympia front hall there is a certain Mr. Carosi "posing" on a platform, dressed as a cyclist, who sits on an ordi- nary bicycle about three or four hours without moving. This poor fellow lost his balance one night and fell to the ground with his machine. He sustained a frac- tured rib and had to be taken to a hos' piial. There are many well-known faces from your side in this city, among them Oscar Hammerstein, Percy Williams, Ed- ward Rush, Nora Bayes, Al Fields, Ted Marks, Alfred E. Aarons, Marc Klaw and Ike Rose-Saharet. Oscar Hammerstein has purchased for purposes of exclusive reproduction at his Manhattan Opera House in New York City M. Debussy's opera "PellGas et Meli- sande." Mary Garden has signed with Mr. Hammerstein and will sing the part of Melisande. Paul Ruez announces the reopening of the Printania for Saturday, June 1. Dick Nash is headed Eastward, having played two years on the Coast. Marie Lloyd is said to be booked in Paris for one week only, namely, for the week of the "Grand Prix." Miss Lloyd has given it out as her intention to spend Grand Prix in the French capital. Fay, Coley and Fay are booked for 15 weeks on the coast, opening this week. They have made many changes in the act, and now appear in white face altogether. Nellie Keeley, of Arthur Stuart and the Keeley Sisters, hereafter will play in a sketch, "A 100 to 1 Shot," with her hus- band, Walter Washburn. Mr. Washburn wrote the piece. Ed Dale, of Dale and Rossi, is confined in the German Hospital, New York. The baseball team of the Actors' Union Local No. 1 was strengthened this week by the joining of Billy Hallman, an old- time "pro" who played first base for Philadelphia in the National League, but has for a season or two been at the head of a melodrama. Hallman will hold down his old position on the Actors' nine. West and Van Siclen have been booked for a week, commencing July 1. Frank Mayne, while standing in the hallway on the eighth floor of the St. James building one day this week, re- marked "I wish these offices were located on the roof." "Why!" inquired a by- stander. "Then they couldn't 'take the matter up' any more," replied Mayne. Jeanette Dupree has closed her engage- ment in stock at San Francisco, and will play six weeks in vaudeville along the Pa- cific Coast. Lulu Keegan and Jos. Mack have or- ganized their act. They are now playing in New England. Maida Dupree, formerly with Chas. H. Burke in "The Silver Moon," will play in vaudeville or musical comedy next season. "The Silver Moon" was obliged to close owing to the sudden disappearance of Mr. Burke while playing at Schenectady. Since then he has not been heard from. Sydney Grant, with his wife and sister, drove an automobile from Boston to New York (255 miles) in 11% hours recently. The record is 9 hours. Eflie Hartwell, of Potter and Hartwell, successfully passed through an operation at St. Luke's Hospital, and is now on the way to recovery. It has not been determined as yet whether May Irwin will play for the United Booking Offices before next fall. Miss Irwin is now at hor Thousand Island summer home. The "legal office" of the United Agency in the St. James Building has been re- moved to room 816. It was formerly on the seventh floor. Virginia Sargent, the Harlem society woman, will play her first vaudeville en- gagement at the Union Square week June 17. Miss Sargent is the wife of an up- town business man. Gus Edwards' "Blondes" with Johnny Stanley in the lead, will play at Young's Pier, Atlantic City, next week. 11. H. Feiber, the United's foreign rep- resentative, will sail for Europe in July. During June, Mr. Feiber may snatch a few days' recreation. If he does, it will be the first time in eighteen years that the agent has taken a rest from labor. He does not consider the many ocean voy- ages made during the past years recreative periods. This record is bested by D. F. Hennessy, in the same offices. During the entire course of his business career, with me exception of one month spent at Long Branch in '93, Mr. Hennessy has never been away from his office, nor has he failed to be at his desk Sundays, holidays and other times when the office force was diverting itself. After standing poised for a flight into vaudeville for several weeks, Belle Gold has given up the project. She will return next season to "The Ham Tree" company, of which she has been a member for two years. Thomas W. Dinkins has taken up his summer residence in his new place at Cen- tral Park,. L. I. He will make bi-weekly trips to his office in town, spending a few hours there Tuesdays and Fridays. Summers and Winters are coming into vaudeville. Charles Summers and his wife, Josephine Winters, compose the act. Buckner, the bicyclist, will return to the other side, having been booked to open at the Reichshawlen, on September 1. The O'Donnell Bros, have a new "Irish" playlet called "True to Nature." Jordan and Harvey, the Hebrew com- edians, will sail for home from the other side on September 28. Barton and Ashley have returned from England. Herbert Lloyd, the juggler, is again in the city. During Mr. Lloyd's foreign tour, he has kept himself in the vaudeville mind at home, through the unique self- advertising devices which have reached here frequently. When the Al. Reeves show played at the Trocadero, Chicago, some time ago Mr. \\eingarden, the manager of the theatre, engaged "Battling Nelson" as an extra feature on a guarantee. Mr. Reeves did not favor ..ie idea of sharing a part of the receipts with the fighter, and made the fact known before the first performance on Sunday. Mr. Wein- garden then bought the show for the week, giving Mr. Reeves a good profit. Mr. Wein- garden was not disappointed. The large stipend guaranteed Nelson was more than doubled in excess of the usual receipts at the box office and as a result the theatre was about $600 ahead of the show in net profit