Variety (December 1907)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

VARIETY 11 PLENTY OF IDLE ACTS IN AND ABOUT CHICAGO Chicago, Dec. 13. One year ago there appeared in the First Anniversary number of Variety an account of conditions relative to the epi- demic invasion of vaudeville in the pro- vincial territory of the Middle-West. New theatres sprung up under most auspicious circumstances in towns of ordinary "one night stand" populations, and the rush of inspired promoters to establish variety houses in remodeled stores and dwellings followed steadily until nearly every in- termediate section on the map had been thoroughly covered. The demand for acts naturally became enormous, and for a time the dearth caused alarm. The agents were solicitous. The vocations of many who aspired for the stage or waited for opportunities, changed almost simultaneously with the urgent demand, and their fondest am- bitions to become stage lights was real- ized. Among the recent recruits are "veter- ans," some emerging from the ranks of the old variety field, and others from the "legitimate," which has in the past few years given vaudeville many acts. The small circuit acts are ultimately permitted to appear in the large city the- atres, and often advanced to the "Two-a- day" schedule, depending, of course, on their merit and quality. What would become of the vast number of acts if the small circuits were reduced or vaudeville reverted to its plane before the "town" invasion began. There are more artists idle to-day in the vicinity of Chicago than a year ago. The percentage of unemployed acts is not approximately known. One agent who books for a circuit of thirty or more small houses in the Middle States, had on his books last week about seventy-five available unplaced acts. Similar condi* tior.s exist in other booking olfices. One . reason ascribed is the closing of theatres. Another is attributed to the economy of managers who, instead of employing four or five acts a week, engage only three. The ending of the seemingly unceasing cancellation practice would bring joy to the artists. The complaints are numer- ous. There is no reason why a system should not be formulated to overcome the evil and protect the acts against the lax method. The booking agent should domi- nate the out-of-town managers. The vaudeville situation here has changed considerably since the opposition abdicated. The withdrawal of Klaw & Erlanger was regarded as inevitable, but it was not believed it would occur before the end of the season. Klaw A Erlanger were important. The taking over of the Klaw & Erlanger acts by the United Booking Office caused a great deal of comment and surprise in the Middle-West. Most of the theatres in the Middle-West booking in conjunction with the United are booked up for the season. In order to make room for the Klaw &, Erlanger contracts, a large number of acts have either been cancelled or their time shifted around. It will probably be two or three months before the situation be- comes normal. ONLY SLIGHT FIRE DAMAGE. The damage done to the Bayonne The- atre, Bayonne, N. J., by fire last week was not nearly as serious as was at first thought. The damage was mostly caused by water and the axes of the firemen in the lobby. Dave Kraus, who books the attractions there, declared the stock burlesque com- pany which is to hold forth there will continue Monday. A vaudeville show is being booked in conjunction with the bur- lesque pieces, changing weekly. Amelia Stone, who closed with the Joe Weber show last Saturday, will return to vaudeville immediately, opening in Detroit, Jan. C. AFTER MY FASHION. BY KENNETH LEE. Women, wine and vile displays— Wild days of passion: Yet I have been true to you— After my fashion. Death clutches at my throat— Long dreaded hour: I would have been true to you— Had I* the power. Prayers you will never grant— Penitent meekness; I would have been true to you— But for my weakness. I have but one excuse— Jealousy shamed me. I would have been true to you, Had not you blamed me. Love's frenzy brought to earth— Lust, sin and passion. Yet I have been true to you— After my fashion. u JOHN FOX and FOX. M. ORNA Presenting a new nn<l novel upside down comedy Irish sketch. Mr. Fox la the original and only comedy band equilibria! who does singing, dancing and talking upside down, balanced on his hands. The finish of their act never falls to win the encomiums of the audience, and tbey are meeting with phenomenal success on the road. HURTIG & SEAMON TIRE PILCER. After waiting twelve months to be starred in a musical melodrama under the management of Hurtig & Seamon, Harry Pilcer has signed with Charles E. Blaney for a new production called "A Bad Boy and His Teddy Bears." The new musical show opens at the Lincoln Square, New York, for an eight-week run Dec. 23. If it is well received it will remain longer. Hurtig & Seamon put Pilcer under con- tract for five years last December, and according to the young comedian, promised to send him out in a production under the name of "Young Sleuth." Pilcer has waited from month to month for some further word on the subject, but all has been eerie silence in the vicinity of Forty- second Street and Broadway. Meanwhile he has played scattered dates in vaude- ville, but claims that there is a little matter of $1,700 salary under the Hurtig & Seamon contract between him and his regard for the firm. ALLEN IS LOCATED AS "REPRESEN- TATIVE." The vaudeville route laid out for Edgar Allen in his sketch "The Burglar," select- ed by him after abandoning "A Thief in the Night" has been given up. Mr. Allen has accepted a position with Weber & Rush, the vaudeville managers, and will be their stationary representative at the United Booking Offices. Jos. Weber, the firm's general vaudeville manager, will come into New York for his weekly trip and bookings as usual. Mr. Allen will re- main on the premises continuously. MOULIN ROUGE OPENS WITH REVUE. The Moulin Rouge is slated to open un- der the new management about December 20th, next, with a big revue as the fea- ture of the first bill, according to infor- mation reaching here this week. "Das Programm," the official paper of the International Artisten Loge of Ger- many, has taken occasion in a recent issue to call attention of artists to the new man- ager, Aumont, formerly of Moscow, Rus- sia, where he gained a reputation of being a free spender in the entertainment of women, but rather neglectful of his obli- gations to the artists on salary day. LEO CARRILLO. Leo Carrillo, whose clever cartoons on the passing show of vaudeville in Variety have attracted wide attention, is a Cali- fornian. He was born in Los Angeles in 1882, and graduated from St. Vincent's College in that city. Having shown no lit- tle talent for illustrating and original drawing, he attended the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco, and afterward became a member of the art staff on the San Francisco "Examiner," where he remained three years. Mr. Carrillo was during this time a member of several San Francisco clubs and became recognized as a clever amateur en- tertainer. His first professional engage- ment came quite by accident. There was a sudden cancellation at the 'Frisco Or- pheum, and Mr. Morrisey, the manager, at his wit's end for a substitute, called up Mr. Carrillo, asking him to fill in for the emergency. Mr. Carrillo played the first few performances as a favor to his friend, but his .specialty "caught on"^unmistak- abfy, and the engagement was prolonged. The fascination of the footlights had done its work and the amateur became the pro- fessional. He played his way East, and has long since established himself. The history of the Carrillo family is closely interwoven in the development of California. The pioneer member jour- neyed thither in the early '20s. When Commodore Stockton sailed into San Diego Bay during the Mexican War, the family provided the cattle which replenished the Americans' low stores. Another bearer of the name was a member of the California legislature, and his services to the State are mentioned in "Fremont's Reminis- cences of the Early History of California." A MONTH'S DELAY AT MONTREAL. Delays in the delivery of structural iron work at Montreal have so put back the work upon the New Columbia Amuse- ment Company's house there that the opening has been set back from the first week in January until late that month or possibly early in February. The same difficulty in getting building materials on the ground held back the opening of the Toronto home of the East- ern Burlesque Wheel nearly a month.