Variety (Sep 1933)

Tueeday, September 19, 1933 TIMES SQUARE VARIETY BARKERS FADE, YOKELS WISE Cleveland Beer Expo And Spicy Side Shows Pat Eyent in Black Cleveland, Sept. 19, First beer exposition staged here by beer manufacturers and dealers got off/ to a slow start in city's Public Auditorium but finished its eight-day engagement with a 175,000 att<ehda.rice record aiid in the black. Closing nights drew in .from 10;000 to 16,000. Forty exhibitors and' a mob ,bf. entertainers were represented 4n the show, the biggiest one produced here in ten years. Total cost. In ^rodilcing was estliinated at 1^6,^00^ with tickets priced at 50 ce^nts,.^ JSxhibits and entertainment filled three halls of Public Auditorium. Main hall was turned into a beer ^garden, with. runway and stage in: cianter, where cast did ..fpur-arday. Show included Schumann rHeiiik, Julius Tannen as m. c., Arthur Pry- or's band, Wildwood opera troupe, a chorus of: ^0, besides groups of local German and Swiss sliigers. Best drawing card in expositioh was a Barbary Coast exhibit t3taged. by "Robert McLaughlin, fot-mer pro-, ducer of Ohio's sunimer stock, and George Fox; his * -stage director. Its Frisco Kate da^nce hall, with a bar and flock of costumed shimmy- shakers, out-drew the beier garden upstairs. Some ot its acts and a •Streets of Paris' show were con- sidered so hot by a few officials that It was tanied down before half the week was over. El wood Salsbiiry and Ralph Newman, promoters of entire beer exposition, now closing deals to produce similar shows in St. Louis and Detroit next month.— STRONGARM LEGAL BEER SALES GET INTO OPEN The ' muscle method in peddling leg^l beer may create., a lot of dis- turbance through a Brooklyn, N. T., pliich when a: beer-garden propri- etor and his wife were banged up by hoodlums who wanted to-sell their brand In favor of the label, being vended. The muscle Idea, akin to the beer racketeering during the pre-legalr beer era;.-has been talked of in ,whlspers around Greater New York. The strong-arm stuff is also said t6'have7reax;ted--unfayorably-to-cer-^ tain- brands be.caufiie of oyier-pro- ductibn iind customers' coniplalnts that the quality has suffered through lack of proper agelnig* Chorus and Code ROSS FRIGHT VICTIM fighters Nerves O. K. Before Ring Crowds Shies at Fbots tit r-^e Woods has Barney Ross, ilghtweight chainp, for vaude. But It may hot do him any goftd, because Ross is skeered. The fighter is. said to think noth- ing of doing his own stuff befox*e crowds, but acting is another matter. May go for some dates, in his native Chicago, but that's. all. MARRIAGES Lenora Kpnti Bushman, daughter of Francis X. Bushman, aiid Pr. Webster L, Marxer, Los Angeles physician, have obtained a license to marry. t Marjorie Ringlihg to Jacob K. Javltz, New York, Sept. 13. Bride Is the daughter of the late Alfred Ringling, of the circus family. Irma Jean Kiaiser to Al Bayes, Chicago^ Aug, 22. Bride was for- merly of Allan and Jean Corelll. Groom Is of Bayes and Speck. Harriet .Evans to Clyde Beatty, Bristol, Tenn., Sept. IC. Bride is an aerlalist and groom is the anl- -mal trainer^ Both with Haggen- beck-Wallace. Frances, Grlnker to George Corey In New York Sept. 15. Groom is on the publicity staff of the J. Wal- ter Thompson agency; bride,: for- merly with the National Screen Service. CJayton t. Wrlglit, assistant manager of the penliam, Denver, and Carolyn Hall, cashier of the theatre,, were married in ..Denver Thursday (14). Jean Harlow to Harold Rossoh, film cameraman, in Yuma; Ariz,, Sept. 18. Both are with Metro. Lucille Brown, screen actress, and James Flavin, Jr., actor, at Tia Juana September 17. BIRTHS Mr. .and Mrs. Arthur Fisher, daughter, Sept. 15, at Malverne, =^.^L,=-Ir-:Father=is--the.rPantages-vaudeu booker. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas ince, daughter, at Monte Sano hospital, Hollywood, Sept. 12, Mother. i.s Nancy prexel, picture actress. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Weinberg, Pes Moines, a son, Sept. 8. Father is general manager for ..Central States Theatre Corp. Mother rion- pro. (Continued from page 40) Bryant stated, the Gaie Foster girls were required to give Si3% hours of their time to the theatre, counting time elapsedv between the^ first call in the morning iand the girls' depar- ture at night. Actual w.orking time out of the 93^ hours,, and minus only such time as allowed outside folr meals, amounted to. 78% hours They were paid $26.13 with commls- sioh.' deducted. The working schedule of a $20 girl at the Capitol has her 57 houris in actual work, with 14,% out for lunch, out of a tpital.working period of over 81 hours in a weiek. Salary, $^1.50. At the Radio City Music Hall the singing chorus is on the spot 87 hours, of which Si houris is actual working time. The Roxyettes one week had art 85-hOur sciiedule,. with 67.% hours of that working time Lester Cole singers at the Para niount drew $25 for 60 hours work Out of 80 hours around the theatre. Mrs. Bryant's statement regard- ing a Fanchoii & Marco unit claimed that:'rehearsals were called at 10 in the morning and, with an hour out for lunch, an hour or an, hour and a half out for dinner, last^^ ed consecutively until 12, '.one and two o'clock the next morning. This was before the opening. It was a general practice to c^ll rehearsals; following the opening of the unit, after the last show at night and the morning following such rehearsals to call rehearsals a,gain at six and seven a.m. When the company laid off, as it did approximately every other week, the Chorus ytete called regularly for rehearsal although ho salary was plaid during the layoff period and during this .period with- out salary the members of the chorus were fined for various so- oalled infringements of rules, such as being late a few minutes for re- hearsals, late for cues, etc' Double Shifts Chorus Equity's demands on the evidence presented are for a 40-hour and six^day week, to be computed within 10 hours of the firist call for rehearsal, wardrober fitting or p.er'- fofmaiice; $30 minimum in a two- shift house, $40 in a one-shift house and on the roiad; minimum salary, fov. brea;k-inS( try-outs, public audi- tion^; no independeiit contractor pei-mitted to rehearse a. unit unless having, a contract for at least/two weeks' bookihs" immediately follow- ing a maximum two Aveeks' free re- hearsal, iperlod. ABA'S code Is ba- sically the same as the one it pre- sented two months ago, asking a $10 daily or $40 weekly minimum, four-a-day maxir.ium, guarantee. of two weeks' work'with pay. for ar- tists re<iuired to rehearse four weeks, and over four .weeks a guar- anteed week of playing time for each additional week or rehearsal, no free a-.idition.'s, break-ins or try- SPIEl IIPPEIIL ILDS NO LURE Once Had a Circuit of Their Own •— Clianging Public Psycho Washed Them Up •^Ended at Last with the Whales Banished, Chorines Featured Japs Way to Break Girls Strike too BAD outs, etc. The'circuits' proposed clau.se bar- ring stage shows in auditoriums was deleted from the exhibs' vaude code early in the week, by mutual agfce- raont between the circuits and the Williai ■ Morris office, 'which had .sent its attorne-s and George Jessel as representative of the Morris acts to Washington to fight the clause. Daylight Saving Baylight .savlrtjg time in New York goes off this coming Sunday (Sept. 24). Connie's Bows Oot .Los Angeles, Sept. 18. With American mob psychology having lindergohe a complete change during the past 10 years, the barker, strictly an American institution, has passed as an important adjunct to show business. With the exception of Coney Island, the Chicago Fair and the three large circuses, bark era are a thing of the past. Time was when the 'professor* or 'dbctbr' who made tha opening pitch for circus side shows, museums, freak, shows and medicine shovys thrilled the yokelry with his exag gerated word pictures of the sights to behold oh the insi ^ which for some reason or other never fulfilled the>. glowing promises of the glib- tongued lecturer. During the past decade, Amerir cans have refused to be . cajoled by the pleiEidines of barkers.^ . Too, barkers have changed in type; Few of. thei old timers, who despite their calling were a dlignlfled lot, remain. They have been replaced by a crop of younger m.en assisted by public address systems. -Any mechanical assistance was disdained by the old- sters who considered a .barker who used a megaphone effeminate. Beau Brummels Most of them weris a colorful lot who affected ascot ties, Prince Al bert coast, canes and diamond horseshoe stick pins. No one .seems to know how they become 'Profs* and 'Doc,' but it Is reasonable to believe that as ;30on as they reached the big time spots In barking, they adopted the degrees. Uisually when they so honored themselves they grew zMs. Of the big leaguers who have been in. the business for years, only a few remain. Deian Is Clyde Ingles, who has been with, the Ringling show for years lecturing in the side show and making the big show an- nouncements. Ingles' voice is so powerful that he was too loud for the new Madison Square Garden, The Kingpin Greatest lecturer of all times, ac- cording to the craft, was *boc' Hutchinson, who made all his open- ings in rhyme. His command of English was so great that ifew of his listeners ever knew what he was talking about, but thiey liked the poetry. Lew Graham, another of the old timers, waa with Barnum for years as was 'Dop* McKay, niow frdiltihg for a mechanical \vax show at liong Beaicb, Cal. For years the 'Doc' nuide the pitch for what was considered the greatest freak of all times, Barnum's 'Zip, what is it?', a New Jersey colored boy, who made a fortune for the showman. McKay, notv nearlng 70, has been a barker for 60 years, starting with Buffalo Bill when he flrst went into business. 'Doc' Cunning is another of the fast passing crew. He was associated, with Al G. Barney' Circus for 30 years as annouhcer and side show lecturer. Last year he thought he needed; a change, went to Chicago to ballyhoo at the fair. Several days after he opened the owner of the show stuck a mic- rophone in front of him, told him to use loudspeakers. Cunning walked. Had a Circuit In the old days these barkers wjprked the Heck, and Avery _Mur ^eulSsC a"^circuit dF"freaK""s^ows Irf Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis • and other midwest cities. They .Were con.sidered more im- portant than the freaks by the mc- seum operators. All at some time or other have drifted into other lines of endeavor only to return to pitching. Those who quit for good usually landed up behind a hot dog Connie^s^_Inn, long _ a._.Haxl?nL Ikndmark as a black- -tan cab- ai^et, will most likely not reopeln this season. Plans are for the na- tive ifartemviafe bunch to take it oyer as a beer j;ai:den, thei Irhmer- man brothers to step but. Connie's for years was the Cotton Club's sole competlsh. The C.C. continued to charge $2.S0 convert and Connie's latterly has had to cut its own $2 convert In half and later eliminate It altogether, leaving the ofay patronage hi-spot to the .Cotton Club. CaUNeva for Splits (Continued from page 1) one. If you ask why you're sunk Because the answer is that only i low person would lie to the judge. It's very siniple, Nevada law re quires six weeks-on-the-square resi- dence in the state as ia prelude to a divorde. The lad's lieutenants shove a load of logic at you: If you don't want to lie to the judge you've got actually to own a home in Nevada. Liake Tahoe is in NeVada and what would be sweeter than to own home on the lake where yoh could have fiin waiting for tiie time to pass. It is six-two-and-even that you tumble. After all, if .you're from e^ist of the Rockies, which you probably are, it's. 10 to one you've never seen a.log-and-knothole house befor^. So you make the down pay- ment and move in. Give-and.-Give Three hundred grand has been spent at Tahoe during the past sea- son by easterners trying to giet away from their other halves. That is, 300 grand has been spent for homes. Nobody knows how mtich dough has slid across the boards at Cal-Neva Lodge, which happens to be very close to the real estate layout. Nat- urally, after you'Ve bought a home, you can't spend your nights contem- plating the Dog Star, so down to Cal-Neva you go to watch the little ball roll while the big wheel whirls, 'Very fsoon your schedule meikeB It necessary for you to be up all night bucking that ole debbil tiger. Tou sleep all day to recoup your energy, dieamlng of recouping your losses, and your log-and-kii'othoie house pro_yes to be ^useless. Wise Guys The ■Vanderbllts; or some of them, are said to own spots at Tahoe, as do a couple of .ex-I>fevada senators now practicing law and smart enough to stay close to their clients. The. fact Is that you ha,V(^ to be a plenty penny to be able to buy. The prices are something for a mugg to snick at. The genius behind the de- velopiTicht, however, is no hog. If you balk at his prices he'll match you for a house or lot—double or nothing. His worst loss was When he tossed a coin for a layout priced at $7,500. Fifteen grand or nothing was the play, and he called the coin wrong. The next day he delivered the deed to the . -inner, bought a drink and laughed; Tokyo, Sept, 2, Strikes of the revue troupe of Shocliiku Theatrical company ended with certain concessiions by the management, in Tokyo girls were moved from theatrei ir. "Asakusa district to Imperial theatre, where rehearsal ma'lr, and other facilities were not being used, since the house had gone sound. Later a revue called 'Aye^ Mol' was produced and ran a week In the. Tokyo th<»atre.. —Tokyo- ' ruipe 'ffloinagemeht has announced a new policy.. In .future it will not bill indivlduar stairs. Girls in top rating will be rotated in lead- ing roles, so that the company will not be dependent oh stellar names as In past, ' -^ Takiko Mizunbe; outstanding star,; is still on the suspended list and will stay there foip another month, while the management investigates alleged suspicions that she led the strike. Everj^ strike of any kind brings charges, of cbnimunism from the affected management, for com- munist scares are at present the favorite diversiort of the sensational newspapers.. However, from the beginning, no- body took such charges serloilsly. The girls Weren't reds or even pinks. The papers referred to the strike as the 'peach-colored affair'. ROSS KEEPS HIS TITLE BY SHADING CANZONERI .stand or .some- oth^r type of grease joint, """OldtlnieraT^d]"( ""a^omeiTdSin yo.ir.s ago but it wd.s .short lived. Owners of embalmed whales In- .si.sted on having lecturers of the old .school on tour. About 20 of them secured jobs with the big ll.sh. It wa.s tlieir grand comeback. 'Whale Interejjt petered out on the second season with the openers forced to sink ..back to their desuetude. They said that Barney Ross, of Chicago,, couldn't stand up for 16 rounds in a championship fight to* retain the world's lightweight titl«» which he copped from Tony Can- zonerl in. the 3arly summer, also that the lO-rounder out there was tinged with one of those native . son decisions. But Barney proved that he was just enough ijetter than Tony at the Polo Grounds, New York last week and he's still the champ* it w£ls close enough for some fans to think the result should have been a draW;. Even then the new boy would have remiained boss of the division. Difference of opinion was shown by the fact that one judge votied for Canzy, the other going for Ross. That put it up to the referee and he nominated Barney. Thereupoi} Joe Humphries raised the Chicagoan's arm. Award met with general satlsfaetlon, Ross hav- ing entered the riiig a 6 to 5 favor- ite; New York's dailies gave much, advance attention to the match, virtually every fight reporter cov- ering the training campis with daily stories for weeks. As a re- sult the ticket sale was strong and attejadance of , 35,000,. .while, con- sidera.bly under capacity, meant a promotional profit. Net gate at JLO top was $110,000. No heavy sugar to specs who dropped good loca- tions down from. $25 to $15; Experts predicted the meeting to be the best lightweight ba:ttle in a decade, but. it didn't come out that way. Fight was Interesting as a contest between tW'o good, little m^hi The crowd was raring to go several times When either nian landed a telling blow, which wasn't often, but in total the event was not exciting. No knockdowns. Beist sock by Canzy came just at the bell ending the 11th round, arid it looked like Barney wobtjlcd a bit to his corner, Prominent sports writer who rates his fighters with some ac- curacy claimed after the fight that Ross is the best lightweight in 20 years. None of the others agx-eed. Perhaps the final . ouWooi^ show listed ^or""tKe hTetrbpoli3""A>^a.C"dlB- appolnting because there weren't enough fireworks. Ro.ss .say.s he will return during the fall and fight Chocolate, Kid iierg or Canzy, If tl>e latter want.*? to argue it out again. Fiiffht would be pz'omoted by the Tim Mara-Al Weil combo and, therefore, not in the Giarden.