Variety (Aug 1932)

tiiesday, August 23, 1932 VA U D E V I L L E VARIETY 27 F. & M. AS PARTNERS six acts that have been waiting for their money since the. no-payoft final Roxy, New York, show in July, have acceptecl 50% down arid a promise of full payment later on. Unpaid stage hands and ' musicians also agreed to the 60% arrangemient. Minor members of the closing Roxy bill, such as the ballet, Roxyettes, Ringing chorus and a group of child entertainers, were paid. In full; The payoff took place Friday (19), the day before the Roxy reopened, at the V.M.Ai, with Major Donovan disbursing the funds. Donovan had been working on the case in the acts' behalf since the closing. ' He also arranged for payment to the stranded theatre scrubwomen. Acts, paid on the 50% basis were Ted Healy, Ann Pennlngtcin, Keller 81sters and Lynch, Irene Rlcardo ■and-Roy Smeck. Total paid was around $8,000. Another $4,000 is due. The Roxy's reopeinlrig Is under Fox management, with Spyros Skouras in charge of operation; Frank Cambria is the managing di- rector and' stage production heid and Harry Hollander the stage booker. FEMME PLANE PILOT DIES ON TERRA FIRMA For several years making daily airplane flights as one of the coun- try's few women commercial pilots, Georgia Christie, wife of Wayne Christie, RKO agent, met death on the ground, Aug 16. She died of injuries received in an automobile accident near Hohokuis. N. J, Her car .smashed Into a telegraph pole as she waia returning to her Long Inland home from the .Monticello airport/ , Mrs. Christie, 32 yeafs . old, was known In vaudeville as . Georgia Meltonio when she married. Christie, ■who was then a Keith booker. An aviation enthusiast for years, she obtained a pilot's license four years ago. and had been making a busi- ness of flying since then. For the past two years she had been plan- ning an ocean flight. A Route? Harry J. Conley is back from an up-to-date,. modern . 1932 vaudeville route on the RKO time.. To play four weeks, he beat Peary's trip to the north pole by six miles. New Orleans was the full week opening date, to be fol- ! lowed by Chicago. While Con- ley wis en route to Ghl the booking office swltchisd him" to Kansas City, but he wasn't notified until .arriving In the Loop. . Back to K.C, then a week's layoff. From there Con- ley jumped to Boston and then layed off for another week, He finished last week at the Albee, Brooklyn. LONDON BOOKING MAY COST TRIO B'WAY SHOW mi mumm Negotiations Opened in New York — Playing Time at 50 -Wks. Minimum and 100 Possible—Pact Must Carry OK of Fox Films and Fo|X West Coast- Beck Agreeable MARCO BOOKING HEAD The "Three Diamonds may lose their first crack at a legit musical spot through refusal by the manage- ment of thfi Palladium, London, to release' the act from an alleged prior European booking. Charlie Morrison : place.d the vaudeville knockabout/ trio- In iSchwab & DeSylva's 'Humpty Dumpty' last week. . Attempts to set aside a previous London engage- ment which the William Morris of- fice arranged were turned down, If the London booking must be played the act will have to drop oiit of the show, for which the boys are now rehearsing, and sail in. time to open at the Palladium on Sept. 12. The Palladium claims the act Is booked for four weeks. $13,000 Gets $40,000 Playing the most expensive stage show ever spotted in a neighborhood variety theatve> Lpe.w's Paradise in the Bronx Is also on the way to estab- lishing a record New York nelghb gross this week. Indications' are that the re- ceipts win reach ?40,000. On screen is 'Skyscraper Souls.' The vaudeville bill amounts to around $13,000 in salaries. Morton Downey, .Phil Baker, Bert Lahr, Hannah Williams, and Veloz and Yolanda are the acts. It's for splurge purposes mostly, with a view to exploit- ing the theatre at the risk of a loss on the week. BACK TO EARTH Raymond Bond on Pigeon Farm in hiwa Lovilia, la., Aug. 22. Raymond Bond, In vaudeville for 20 years, has gone back to the simple life. Running a pigeon «arm with his wife, the former Helen Sullivan, and her brother, Thomas, Feeding squabs instead of audiences. Bond started on June. 1 with 70 pairs, multiplied to 125 squabs now and expects to have 1,000 pairs of Btock by next summer, with a week- ly hatch of. 600 squabs. ' ■ ' yaude Singles for Revue Before New Carroll Show .Earl Carroll has decided to use Lillian Shade and Milton Berle In •Vanities,' prior to placing them in his Imported book Show, 'It's a Girl.' Latter will open about two nionths later than 'Vanities,' which Is now In rehearsal. Carroll's idea is to pull Miss Shade and Berle out of the revue when 'Girl' is ready/ The Carroll engagement Is the first In legit for both vaudeville singles. Berle is auditioning this Week for the Lucky Strike program on NBC. The clggie account wants him for this Tun m.'c. spot currently occupied by Walter O'Keefe. Clara Kimbairs Single Hollywood, Aug. 22, Clara Kimball. Young is breaking In .single, with woman pianist, at the State, Long Beach, Cal., this week. Former film player goes to the Golden Gate, Frisco, Aug. 26. TRIPLE ASSIST Marcus to Godfrey to Bellit—Santa ' .' Glaus Gesture The A. B. Marcus Show, which formerly booked direct with RKO, is now paying commish .to an agent. George Godfrey made a present of the act to Henry Bellit. Godfrey represented the Marcus tab when he turned agent after leaving the booking ofilce the last time. After his return and until the gift to Bellit, Marcus had been do- ing business direct. . Chicago, Aug. 22. •Burn 'Em Up Ned' Alvord, from legit. Is being anticipated with some qualms in vaudeville circles here. He Is advance agent for the Marcus tab, booked at the Statie-Lake Sept, 3. Last year in advance of Billy Rose's 'Crazy Quilt*, revue, Alvord's exploitation left streaks of charred and cimouldering niemories behind. Loop Is currently sensitive about dirt, due to the unpleasant reactions Balaban .& Katz got when ijppart- Ing from Its traditional family policy In presenting a couple of stage shows, full of Broadway Indigo and innuendo. ' Indications are that 'Burn 'Em Up' will be carefully censored for vaudeville consumption. RKO Vaude Dates During An NBC Air Build-Up Radio Rubes, slated to go on an NBC build-up the latter part of next month, have been spotted Into three RKO houses In the mean- while; . . Play' three days in Trenton, starting Aug. 30, and follow with the week of Sept. 10 In Providence and Sept, 17 in Boston, OdB Am) DUKE'S INDIES Duke Ellington unit plays three indie stage dates In the east during October. First date is the Hippo- drome, Baltimore, the 14th. Pearl, Philadelphia (22). and the Howard, Washington (29), follow. Cab Calloway band •will precede Ellington in the latter two spots, going Into the Pearl Sept. 3 and the Howard a week later. 'On the verge of making a long term contract for a substantial amount of .'playing time 'with ^ Fan.-- ch^ & Marco on a minimum basis of weeks, RKO has' reconsidet-ed and is currently making a bid for a working partnership under which F. & M.' will assume' the co-opera- tive direction of. RKO'S booking de^ partment. So far it's only in the informal talk stage. M.arco . under the proposals would . likely' be- come head of the booking depart- ment. Marco talked with M. H. AyleSworth and Harold Franklin last week in New: York. Martin Beck is reported agreeable to. ride alongside as HKO's repre- sentative. The combination inmme- diately could effect playing time of not less than. 50 weeks, with the ultimate possibility of 100. Marco now serves all but one of the ma- jors. Including Par and Warners, with units. Loew Is t|ie exception, F. & M. now; has. around 30 weeks of playing time. \ Fox-FWC Must Okay Any merger involving F. & M. must have the okay of Foic Film and Fox -West Coast. Which means, in part, Spyros Skouras. La.tter through his operation of Fox West Coast controls a half interest In F. & M. There are two ways in which the RKO-F. & M. hookup can be ef- fected. One Is an RKO out- right purchase of FWC's Interest in F. & M. The other Is a combi- nation of the three forces, with Skouras and Marco forming an alli- ance under a trusteeship that would protect FWC's interest, iahd the two. then dcallnr with RKO. The terms of the 11X0-F. & M. negotiation are not known. Even doubtful if negotiations have reached that etage. In any working partnership with F. & M. RKO may guarantee a spe- cified minimum of playing time,' which also Is the basis of F. & M.'s partnership with. Fox West Coast. All parties:. concerned will likely hold confabs this week to effect some result. HEALY GOES WITH RKO DESPITE SHUBERTS RKOVODEEACK riNAtL SAGA OF A CHORINE F. & M. Line Girls' Sad Fate and Torontoan Benevolence Toronto, Aug. 22.. Sad story Is that of Norma Perrhi, ranchpn & Marco line girl who took a two weeks' lay-off here and. was taken ill. She didn't know a soul but the Imperial staff adopted her and Howard Knevels, house "man- ager, guaranteed payment of ' her hospital bills. The staff again contributed to bring the mother to the bedside when the girl grew worse, but the little dancer died and the entire theatre staff attended the funeral, ushers acting as pall-bearers. Not a daily carried a line, the story just leaking out a week later. Evelyn Niair's Divorce Hollywood, Aug. 22. Evelyn Niir, solo dancer with Fred Waring's Pehnsylvanias,. given a divorce here; from Will Morgan, former trumpet player with the band, who Is now working In pic- tures. His last appearance was in 'Crooner.' Miss Nalr is now en route to Bos- ' ton to rejoin the band. " Ted Healy will open as booked by RKO at the Palace, Cleveland, Aug, 27, over objections from the Shu- berts and despite the.legit firm's ad- vice to RKO that It will eieek- an in junction. Healy quit the tShuberts' 'Passing Show' revue last week dur- ing rehearsals aiid contends he did _s6 rightfully. The Shuberts claim to hold a binding contract. RKO'S decision to play Healy re- gardless was made by Martin Beck at about the same time Equity ruled that the Shuberts have no claims on the comedian. ; Last week's walkout, waia his sec- ond during the 'Passing Show' re- hearsals. He was In the rehashed version of 'Hey Nonny Nonny' on a percentage basis. Healy held that as long as his pdsltlon was practically a partnership, with his IncQme enr tlrely dependent upon the show's merit, he was etititled to a say in the casting. The Shuberts' first se- lections of isupporting players were not satisfactory to Healy,' so he quit. While a revised ontract giving Healy the right to dei^ide on the cast was being drawn up by ibe Shu- berts and the comedian's lawyers, Healy booked the RKO vaudeville dates under the Impiresslon'iie 'was but of the show permanently. When the; new contract •was ad- cepted by both" sides Healy returned to rehearsals, but left afteir a few days when he was again restrained from exercising authority. Three weeks in the south and four on the Coast are likely to be added to the RKO vaudeville book before the end of September. Hous- ton, Dallas and San Antonio of the former Interstate time are tenta- tively set tq return to stage shows Sept. 17, while the recently closed Coast time's revival depends largely on a western trip being made by Martin Beck and other RKO execs this week. Before leaving New York yester- day (Mionday) Beck declared there Is no doubt as to the Coast houses' return to vaudevlliei due to the fiop of the straight picture try-out there. Policies and theatres are to be de- cided oh within the next week or so, he stated. Los Angeles, San Fran- cisco, Oakland, Seattle and Port- land, Ore., are the towns. With the south iand Coast back, RKO'S vaudeville time, nov/ down to around 18 weeks, wilt approach the 25-week figure recently set by the theatre department as the maximum amount decided on for the BtJ^rt ot the season. EX-BLIND BOY Earl Musselman Regains Sight and Frames Act . ■ ^ Earl Musselman, Allentown youth who regained his eyesight through an operation about a year ago, and to whom considerable space was devoted In metropolitan newspapers and who spoke over the NBC chain, is going into vaudeville. He opens Aug. 26 for Warners at the Rich theatre, Elizabeth, N. J. Earl Musselman and His Pals will be under direction of James H. O'Donneil, former actor. In ad- dition to/MusfSelmah, two blind youths who Tere his fellow stu- dents at the Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind, will be'. In the act. They are Charles Lichtenwalner and Ralph Sterner, botH of, Allen- town! O'Donneil will also be a member of the company. After Elizabeth, Musselman is at the Mastbaum, Philadelphia, and Warners' Earle, Washington; thence to the 'Coast. McKay-Ardine Again It took George McKay a year to find out that after 20 yeai's It's no cinch to do without the^ missus, George's enlightenment has brought Ardine McKay out of retirement and the team is McKay and Ardine again, Mrs. McKay decided to retire, last year and her husband tried, a series of new acts with other partners, none of which- was successful. Vaude Act's Short ' Hollywood, Aug. 22. Metro has signed the Five Max- ellos, vaude i.ct, now at Chinese, to work In a Pete Smith sport short. Jack Cummlngs directs. FAILY MARKUS BACK IN INDIE VODE FIELD Fally Markus, ' at one time the foremost independent vaudeville booker. Is back after a two years absence from the. booking field. Under a revision of .the Amalgam^* ated Vaudeville Agency, . he will have charge of the office and book- ings on a par tnership ..arrangement with M. E. Comerfbrd and I^nk C, Walker. Two and a hiilf ; >weeks of play- ing time now^ booiced by Amalgam- ated win be used by Markus as the foundation tt>t a proposed extensive Indie vaudeville book. The basic time comprises a full week each at Fay's, Philadelphia, and Pay's, Providence, and a split at the Binghamton, BInghamton, N. Y. To return' to booking, Markus sold his interest in the Photographic Reproduction company and stepped aside as an inactive P|artner In the Markus & Blrman employment agency. He formed the latter when giving up his booking office. Markus' return has been brewing since last winter. At that time RKO wanted him to head a proposed Family Dept. revival. RKO again started negotiations with Markus two weeks ago, but Martin Beck and Markup agreed to call it off, with the Amalgamated connection made meanwhile. Hi^et Forgot AlimoBy, Chained $2.50 WUy Extra Barnstable, Mass., Aug, 22. . Howard A. Knbwles, 4d-ihch mid- j get formerly of vaude and leglt^ didn't succeed with his reconcilia- tion 'vvltii his. nornial-slzed wife after a futile attempt to divorce her. But Mrs. Knowles demanded . .. separate maintenance and 'won it. Ruth Hoyt Knowles, former vaude actress, told the court her husband had promised to give her $5 a week after their January dl-. vorce spat, but that after being on the dot he began to overlook pay- "'^ ■ ments. Tho court decided i.lie should have $7.50 a week and the hus- band, who charged his •wife had hurled him around as though he were a football, seemed satisfied. SijnE CAEE's loss ' Kansas City, Aug. 22. June Cai'r,' on the Miinstreet's bill this -ytreek reported to the police that $645 hnd been stolen from her dressing room. She said she discovei^ed the loss upon returning to her dressing room after tha i.-ict show "Wednesday night