Variety (February 1908)

VARIETY SHUBERTS CONSIDERING <TIC- TURES* .■ Just how far-reaching is the agreement between the fathers of advanced vaude- Tille and the United Booking Offices may never become known to the general pub- lie, and the scheme now under considera- tion by the Shuberts may or may not oome under the ban as prescribed by the contract referred to. The Shubert Brothers have of late been in serious and prolonged confabs with the promoter of a more or less pretentious moving picture circuit of houses that is rapidly assuming such proportions, and shows such signs of unmistakable pros« perity as to cause any owner of a legiti* mate theatre, no matter how successful, to sit quietly for more than a few min- utes and try to do a little figuring. Whether the proposition under discus- sion between the Shuberts and the moving picture man emanates from the fwmer or the latter, has no bearing on the case. The scheme remains the same and em- braces the throwing open the doors of a large number of the houses of the Shu- bert Circuit for the permanent present* ment of moving pictures with a modicum of yaudeville. . It is rumored that the vaudeville por- tion of the program is the stumbling block, as even on so small a scale it might be a Tiolation of the agreement signed by all eoncemed. Nothing definite has been arrived at up to this time, and the plans may fall through, 80 there is small likelihood of any offieial confirmation of the story for ■ome weeks. LXTSSCHSS NOT AT WEBER'S. The management of Joe Weber's Music Hall did not pass into the hands of Mark A. Luescher last Monday, as was expected. It was said that W. R. Sill, who is Mr. Weber's personal representative with the show, claimed a year's contract, and de- clined to abdicate his position in favor of anyone. The Weber plan was to place the man- agement of the entire forces at his house under one head. Mr. Luescher was se- lected for the lone position, but the legal claim set up by Sill brought about a postponement. Mr. Weber thought the difficulty would be solved by dispatching Mr. Sill with the second company of burlesque on "The Merry Widow," which goes to Chicago. This organization has been delayed, how- ever, and pending the adjustment of the managership at the Music Hall, Mrl Luescher is considering a proposition to take charge of the Circle, when thaf theatre passes into the possession of Felix Isman and Gus Edwards. SUNDAY SHOWS AT TOLEDO. Toledo, Jan. 30. Manager Abe Shapiro of the Arcade an- nounced this week that Sunday vaudeville shows would be given at the Arcade here- after, the remainder of the week being filled in in any way, presumably with moving pictures, since the new "Merry Widow" film, with orchestral accompani- ment, has already been selected to show. If the moving picture enterprise proves successful, it will probably be continued. / INSIDE INFORMATION OUT. Baltimore, Jan. 30. ' Some one with intimate knowledge of artists' salaries and future engagements is supplying installment jewelry houses in this city with the information. There is a concern in town which re- ceives weekly a list of all acts playing Bal- timore, Philadelphia and Washington. The salary received by the artists, as well as other general information which might be made use of by the installment people, is contained in the weekly letter. This person, who is known, received a payment of $30 from one of the concerns here and acknowledged the receipt of the money by letter. As the acts booked for these cities^ are supplied through the United Booking Of- fices only, the source of the information must come from one having access to its offices and data. "RICHEST ACTOR ON Sinf nRCUIT." The editor of the Oiarleroi (Ohio) paper is inspired to the following eloquent ut- terance: ■■•-..■.■.:■'■•,i■•■":•■• ,-\ /■■ "The Star management will present for the first time in Charleroi three of the greatest acts in vaudeville. Credit can- not be given to one without giving all, as one act is just as strong as the other. La Raab and Scottie will introduce their laughable skit. This is one of the few acts of its kind that is a success. Bertha Holland, sister of the great actress, Mil- dred Holland, will show some of the cleverest toe dancing and mechanical doll dancing on the vaudeville stage to-day. Arthur Borella, the clever clown musician, will be here. Mr. Borella is the richest actor on the Qus Sun Circuit, and has made all his wealth from the well-known musical act." In addition to this richness, '^r. James will have a new song and the sterograph will show handsome moving pictures." SOUTHERN VAUDEVILLE MANAGERS MEET. A meeting of the Southern Advanced Vaudeville Association was held in Mont- gomery, Ala., last week. Articles of asso- ciation were adopted and an executive committee chosen. This board is made up of William Wasaman, Nashville, Tenn,; R. B. Kelly, Birmingham, Ala.; C. L. Dobardelaben, Selma, Ala., and F. N. Johnson, Meridian, Miss. The officers of the association are: F. W. Bandy, Savannah, Ga., president; O. A. Vocovich, Pensacola, Fla., vice presi- dent, and P. R. Whiting, Montgomery, Ala., secretary and treasurer. There was present at the meeting Sam DuVries, of the International Theatrical Company (SuUivan-Considine). It is said by its officers that the Southern Vaude- ville Managers' Association will be repre- sented by a chain of between thirty and thirty-five vaudeville houses in the South, each house under different ownership, but all bound into the confederation. COLORED TROUPE FOR BERLIN. A colored troupe of 25 musicians has been organized by Dial & Armstrong. Through Levy & Lykens it has been booked for Berlin by the H. B. Marinelli agency, and the act will open in the Ger- man city on May 18. EXCITEMENT FOR "MORRIS ACTS." Four or five acts playing or scheduled to play William Morris' time, especially the two weeks made up by Springfield and Worcester, Mass., this week, were storm centers for a while between the United and Morris Offices. ■■'■ '<■ x First Harry Bulger, who is headlining the Springfield show, was informed by the United that his weeks at Chase's, Wash- ington, and Davis' Grand Opera House, Pittsburg (Feb. 3-10), had been canceled owing to his appearance in an opposition theatre to one booked by the United. Manuel Romaine and Company, who were expected to play Morris' Nelson in Springfield, did not appear. A lengthy list of bookings by the United is said to have figured largely in his change of mind. Gertie LeClair and her "Picks" at Kee- .ney^B, Brooklyn, this week, were to have (been a Morris attraction, but someone „"got".-to- the. act- from the other side. A supreme effort was turned upon Ferry Corwey to induce the musical clown to remain away from the Morris territory. He was induced to believe that a trip to Sheedy's, Fall River, a United house, this week, would work to his advantage. It was also promised him that did he sail for his foreign home immediately after, a large contract would be carried away at the same time calling for a protracted tour over the United circuits next season. When this became known to the Mor- ris office, Geo. M. Leventritt, Morris' at- torney, discovered that in '06, the office held an unpaid commission claim against Corwey amounting to $320. A summons and complaint served on Corwey for the amount brought him to the Morris office, where he was told if the Springfield engagement were kept, to be followed by Worcester, Hamilton, and the Hippodrome, Cleveland, the claim would be forgotten. Corwey at once left for Springfield. KATIE BARRY SAYS 'TAINT TRUE. Katie Barry asks for large type and a denial that she is married. Variety mentioned last week tWt the little Eng- lish comedienne was engaged in the man- agement of a music hall on West 116th Street, together with George W. Wilson, who, the item incorrectly stated, was Miss Barry's husband. Mr. Wilson is Miss Barry's personal representative. Miss Barry appeared at the opening performances of the establishment to give the venture a start and because she was interested in its success through having loaned money to its promotors. THE RECORD "LEP." In these days of long "jumps" for vaude- ville artists, particularly those holding contracts bearing the Klaw & Erlanger signature, the "lep" accomplished by one of Richard Pitrot's acts recently is en- titled to notice. ' The act is Marcello, a European rag modeler, who "jumped" from Florence, Italy, to the Empire, San Francisco, where he started upon the Western States Vaudeville Association circuit. The trip required two weeks, but Mar- cello was rewarded upon opening by having his ten weeks contract extended by ten more. '^TRIMMING*' THE ''TRIMMERS." The lot of the theatre ticket speculat- ors who swarm so thickly about the New Amsterdam Theatre these days is far from a happy one, for the merry popu- lace has discovered a shrewd method of "getting back" at its pet popular aver- sion. The box office of the house where "The Merry Widow" makes its home has de- clared against the "scalpers," and mem- bers of that ilk are rigorously excluded from the lobby. To beat around this condition the speculators have been in the habit of soliciting passers-by to transaet their business at the box office, giving the obliging citizen large chunks of their hard-earned to spend for tickets. Now a few days ago the pages and other house attaches discovered they were permitting much easy money to get past them. So, according to the statement of certain speculators,' they organized to "do dirt" this worthy and hard-working class of highbinders. It operates this way: When the citisea who has fallen a victim to the speculat- ors' blandishments appears in the lobby, he is approached by a house attache. It is delicately intimated to him that by riding to an upper fioor on the elevator he can be transferred to the Forty-first Street end of the building, and make a clean get-away, the house attache pre- sumably insisting only upon being "de- clared In" on the loot. A speculator declared that on one day alone this week the total losses to him- self and his confreres by the operation amounted to $57. ASS'T MANAGER NOT RESPONSIBLE. John Buck, assistant manager of the Union Square Theatre, was discharged by Judge Kemochan when arraigned before the court on the complaint of allowing unlawful acts to play on Sundays. Maurice Goodman, attorney for the United, argued that Mr. Buck, as assis- tant manager, was not responsible for the conduct of the theatre. The Judge svm- tained this contention. WRITE PIECE AROUND SCHREYER. Dare Devil Schreyer has been engaged for Paletina Park, Havana, Cuba, through the William Morris office, to give four shows there on February 8, 9, 15 and 16 respectively. Mr. Schreyer will appear in hia spectacular high dive. He was billed at the Cleveland Hippodrome this week. Reaching that city last Wednes- day, Schreyer informed the management he could not do justice to his act under the conditions. Max Faetkenhauer, manager of the Hippodrome, consented to a cancellation after much persuasion. Schreyer re-en- gaged for the week March 2, to commence a run of six weeks. By that date, the present closing piece in use at the Hippo- drome will have been dispensed with. A new finish will be written around S'chrey- er's exhibition. The bicycle leaper sailed for Cuba this week. Little Garry Owen was made an honor- ary member of the Elks, when the boy played Watertown. Garry is but nine years of age, but was held over for the second week at Watertown. He was the feature of both bills.