Variety (September 1907)

VARIETY ARTISTS' FORUM Con fin* your Utters to 150 words and writs so Anonymous communications will not bo printed, held In strict confidence. If desired. de el paper only. •f writer must bo signed and will Bluffton, Ind., Sept. 4. Editor Variety: I read in Vakiety the salaries asked by Home acts and the amount received by a certain agent or was demanded by him. I think it very poor form for a newspaper such as holds the merit Variety does to print names of these artists and their salaries, as it does not benefit an artist's salary at a future date. I think the artists' names should have been omitted " and the agent's name exposed to managers of parks and fairs. Artist. (The matter mentioned by "Artist" in the above letter was considered before the list referred to was printed. We even went so far as to confer witk JR. ~C. Mudge; president of the White Rats, whether harm could accrue in a monetary way to any artist named. Mr. Mudge agreed with us that it being well known artists do not hold to their customary salary during the summer when playing parks and fairs, the publication would cause no financial loss in the future. In reference to the name of the agent he is immaterial. The agent was known to us at the time, but this man is simply one of many, and the list was used to inform managers and summer amusement promoters, particularly in the East, of the manner in which they were l>eing cheated, not by one agent, but by a clique of agents.—Ed.) Miss Earl and the original one of "A Wild Rose," written by my wife, and they in no way conflict, and are similar only in one small point. Miss Earl evidently is not playing the act according to MSS. sold her and has worked on this one point so as to make the acts similar and con- flicting. Arthur Forbes. (Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Forbes and Co.) Sept. 7, 1907. Editor Variety : I notice in your issue of this date in re- viewing my act you state that my newest selection ! s "Reincarnation," taken from "The Follies of 1907." In justification to myself and your read- ers I wish to say that "Reincarnation" was written for and sung by me in "Noah's Ark" last season, some time be- fore "The Follies of 1907" opened, and in fact was taken from me by the manage- ment of that production. I enclose a copy of the original song from "Noah's Ark" to bear me out and mist you will rectify your statement. Harry Bulger. Trenton, N. J., Sept. 10. Editor Variety: Some few weeks ago an article ap- peared in your paper regarding "A Mid- night Mistake" played by Miss Virginia Earl and supposed 4o have been written by .Wm. M. Cressy, and "A Wild Rose," written, copyrighted and being p'.ayed by Mrs. Arthur Forbes. This matter has been taken up by the Vaudeville Comedy Club and settled to the perfect satisfac- tion of lsith (Vessy and myself. The enclosed letter will explain Crcssy's connection with the act. I have com- pared both the copy of the MSS. sold Carthage, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1907. Editor Variety: Well, still comes more proof of what I told you on July 6 that I have played on J he .same bill with the headline acts. Here we have Dale and O'Malley. Ask them do I know them for nine years? How long will they stay? Not four years nine months like your pal Mike. Three letters you will read, one at a time, commencing about Sept. 15 or 21. First, to prove what a cheap actor is; sec- ond, to tell you how I got on and how I have been getting on for 18 years; third, to prove I am champion. Not one will refuse to take my by the band on Dec. 14. I don't talk about what I hear, only what I see. Vonr comrade at all times. Mike »Sfco<f, The Roving Irish Dancer. BAKER OPENS MONDAY. Rochester, N. Y., Sept. 13. The Baker Theatre opens on Monday, the 16th, with Klaw & Erlanger vaude- ville, playing in opposition to Cook's Opera House. Early in the summer the Lyceum played the same class of shows for a temporary season, but is now back again in the legiti- mate fold. The Baker has been redecorated and generally made presentable for the new enterprise. ELIZABETH DOING WELL. The new Proctor vaudeville house in Elizabeth, N. J., opened this month, is re- ported as making excellent progress. It was thought at one time that the proximity of Elizabeth to Newark, which holds another Proctor theatre, might af- fect the attendance at either place, but this has been disprove.i. Virginia Earl is the star of next week's show at Elizabeth. ONE UNITED HOUSE IN M'KEESPORT Due to several minor theatres at Mc- Keesport, Pa., billing their weekly shows as ••Keith & Proctor Vaudeville." the United Hooking Offices, which has charge of the bills api>earing at the Altmyer The- art.e in that town, has exi>erienced some little difficulty in having artists understand that the Altmyer is the only McKeesport theatre playing the United shows. An Announcement to this effect has been made. It is not known if the United or the Altmyer's management will take any steps against the houses with the appro- priated hilling. REDUCES BALCONY ADMISSION. Boston. Sept. 13. The price iif admission t» the second balcony of the Orpneutn theatre (United Booking Office*) has been reduced to fif- teen cents, and advertisement.; to that ef- fect in the papers lay special stress upon it. S.-C. GIVES UP SCRANT0N. The Sullivan-Considine vaudeville thea- tre in Scranton, Pa., will discontinue giv- ing vaudeville bills Monday, changing its poliry to dramatic stock. 8. Z. Poli opened an opposition vaudeville theatre in the Pennsylvania town Labor Day and since then the receipts at the Sullivan-Con- sidine house have fallen off even from their former slight proportions. It is the general understanding that while the house was counted a Sullivan- Considine property, the Western concern really held only a half interest in it, the remaining equity being owned by John J. Ryan, of Cincinnati, the power in the nominal owner, the International Theatri- cal company of Chicago. Since Sullivan-Considine took it the place has never made a dollar and some of the losses were considerable. The Poli en- terprise threatened to cut down the re- ceipts still further and the prospect of added opposition by the opening of the Co- lumbia Amusement Company's burlesque theatre discouraged any attempt to con- tinue vaudeville longer. MYERS BOOKING AT LARGE. Henry Myers, manager of the Doric, Yonkers. is not booking acts with a brass band to attract attention these days, but Mr. Myers is giving his weekly show in Yonkers, declining to say where the acts come from. It is pretty well settled that Myers is obtaining some acts from the Morris of- fice, but from all understanding he is not violating his contract with the United Booking Offices through so doing. It is said the contract calls for a commission on salaries paid by Myers to be turned over to the United, and this is being done. It is also reported that Mr. Myers upon claiming he can obtain a useful act for himself at a reasonable figure elsewhere meets with no opposition in the United Offices against the engagement being made. Myers' Yonkers house is somewhat unique in the matter of bookings, it being generally considered "New York time," and conveniently located for acts which may have a week to "lay off" here. "The Ixmdon Fire Brigade," a Klaw A, Erlanger attraction, is billed there next week. LEVY MAYER BACK. Levy Mayer, the Chicago lawyer, and attorney for Klaw & Erlanger, who recent- ly left for abroad on a mission said to be connected with "Advanced Vaudeville," has returned, but no statement has been given out regarding anything Mr. Mayer may have accomplished while away. SMALL BUSINESS AT LOW PRICES. The vaudeville venture at the Third Avenue is reported to have shown discour- aging results. The Saturday matinee last week drew eighteen persons into the house, with an admission scale of 10, 15 and 25 cents. There were six single acts in succession on the bill. The talk about an effort to dispose of the property to the Columbia Amusement Company as an Eastern Wheel burlesque house seem* to have dwindled awav. There is no denial that such an effort wjis made, but the proximity of the Mur- ray Hill worked against the successful carrying out of the deal. AGENT EVADING SERVICE. A new complication has been introduced into the Meyerhoff legal tangle. By a Supreme court order this week the taking of testimony in the contempt proceed- ings against Harold Cox, Arthur Blondell and James Plunkett, was turned over to a referee. The testimony of these three will be taken and placed before the court. Mean- while, Felix Reich has not been served with papers in the action, and it is re- peated that Hans Meyerhoff is abroad evading service. DAVIS GIVING STRONG BATTLE. Pittsburg, Sept 13. The vaudeville fight this week is very much one-sided. At Harry Davis' Grand Opera House is a bill which probably has attracted more attention than any vaude- ville show ever given in this city. The Ihiquesne is not drawing much busi- ness to speak of and its show does not compare with Davis' in either excellence or cost. The salary list of the Grand's bill is esti- mated at $4,000, while the Klaw & Er- langer show may cost about $2,500. HOUSE OF "TRY0UTS." Maurice Boom's Grand Street Theatre, which has been given over to a moving picture and illustrated song show, will play vaudeville beginning next Monday. The stage, which measured 20 by 14, and is 10 feet high, has been refitted with scenic equipment, and two acts will be given in addition to the pictures and songs. The vaudeville turns will not go on in the afternoon but will give five shows of 45 minutes at night. The matinee ad- mission will be five cents, and at night the scale will double. Any unknown act applying fqr Boom's vaudeville time (six weeks in Pennsyl- vania) will be offered an opportunity to give a trial show at a stated time during the afternoon performance. The scheme is designed to make up for a shortage in prevailing medium priced acts, Boom believing that among the hun- dreds of this class seeking an opening in the city, and unable to get a trial show- ing, he will be able to select valuable material. The Pastor and Union Square "supper shows" have been the parade ground for these acts heretofore. MANAGER DOUBLES. Besides looking after the interests of the Keith Proctor Fifty-eighth Street theatre, E. M. Robinson is the resident manager of that concern's vaudeville the- atre in Jersey City. Mr. Robinson wit- nesses the matinee performance in the Fifty-eighth Street Monday afternoon, and then hurries over to the trans-Hudson city to inspect the night show there. It has been decided that the scale of popular prices adopted in Jersey late last spring will be maintained during the win- ter. Heavy bills are being played, and it is said the house hns been drawing exeel- lent business. A boycott by the local labor unions has been lifted following the unionizing of the house, and this action has had not ;i little to do with the changed conditions.