Variety (Dec 1934)

December 4, 1934 V A HDEVII-LE VARIETY 19 (Me Change AlthOUfH » cxeeptlon« •wore taken, *«n©ral aatlsfnctlcin was ♦»x- ^r^giic^ in vaudeville circles last: week ovei!; ili^ *i|»ei»di» to the Vau^l^¥ltl•V,PNW^:|^|l?^ by the mat»m^:^iti/^^[^^ tborUy. '/■ ' ■ tTntelMi unforrsoon squawks ariso |0t#(»«n and then, thct vAude- yiUe qucfilon may fe^AlMWw^ In conipiiiMtive peace ^rhen th* code !■ rpcpt'i''' for ptiblie hearing In ;*JVn«hiiiKt(>n noxt month. In that i|yent, thf vaudevUlo chanses, alter- mtb*m,ii»X.Wfi^ik^ ^tii •wt^: .tirrpuKh It w«R exiieeted that Ohoru.s I&liilly would volrp opposition to the two proposed chanRoa afTootlnj; chorus people's worUinj; condilionK, ||>ut. |o thoi (contrary, Dorothy Hry- ^ihir i|iHratiiniK tot* that organltation, paid tho proponals appeared wvtis- facttiiy. Hut Chorus Kqulty will ob- ject to the article creatinj? a special Vaudevillo *-V»n">»ittee of live meia- r:'i<irt"'-fti"--H*,'. jprpseht: form, ■■'#iid; aisd ' .".not ;>at#'i jdn^'- Uie vfMm^t^l|iidi^i' likAklng the eartlest rpf»ii»tti^i<l eait- l-llniiS'tairm.Jnstejid of 0. ' The Vrtudevllle ronimittee tunend* ment must 1)0 clarilied before it will .ie AccejRjl;ahle to Cliurua Kqulty, aald Uumt'Vifiimj: -'''fllH»"1i' .not'ln'favor-of lihe setup, which does not Include a chorus represcntativo and api)ar- ently elassi s clmru.s people under a general performer headlnpr, with one rep. She atad thinks the pViwerii io be irranted th0 VaudeviMa 'Commit- , taa Are not clearly jriviMi; ■ v W«e INyan* jfcciMttneV' ■ |: RegardinR her ciaaniKe Of heart In filot oppoFint; firorking condltidh changes for choruses this time. 'audi as more leniency for producers |.4uring layoffs. Miss Uryant ex- ijplalned that Chorus Bkiuity origi- f iuilly tfiaiet^ oil the alleffedly ^in- fair' provisions in the present code In order to possibly force the the- atres into adoptinfr a uniform open- ing day. This would have encour- •CM OonawicutlVe playing time, *he ■■. :0J^r ajb4 automatically eotved the ■■ layoff ealary problem. Hut since the theatres have re- frained from acting on the opening' day matter^ and no relief ia in eight from, t|itttT4iifl^^tr, Chl^^ Equity - Wbfl*t '«pfltoRii»' A 1^^ <te«kl for pro - ducers as rpcomni#«<jH*i : 1^^^; the Code Autljority. American Fedcrjition of Actors, through llalph Whitehead, ^antp mure tiiiia t«» itiidi> 'i^ before comtnlttintf it|Niif« V ' John Illekey (IlYeke;^ ft AnKer), unit j)r4>(lu( < i-, l);i.s called a meeting of all active iiroduccrs for tonight ;(Tuesd;iy) in the r.ilace buiidin* tb ■O^ycr Uje liroposed code changes ' ■■■:;iW|ii*yj»*r,'*ip<toon\|for, t ;t0 put .T united front .at the 'teojietilng of the code far tlio plucc- trictit of an neUve, unit prbdueer on the cvA. -;^ ■'■ ACTORS PUT UP HGHT. VAUOE LOOKING UP Glii Aiients Party for By g iiB First Chicago, Dec. 8. Uusiness must be getting back to the goo4 liifiii Of beeaiiie the vaude igents arc beginning to hold the occasional get-together the way they used to. ^'aude'' agents. ii,i^ead ij^n informal feaat'-'Taat'-^iiNNk' ^ 'vtM«:'''|ic6Mlbn''of Dick Bergen's leaving the RKO book for the Ualaban & Katz-\Vm Morris ofAc<^..ili|rik|i:::|^.:^ ettatcH time.. ■ - ^v* •■/'Vv'^" ' It - was thi/:A^^bi»ii|m^ kind In mor<|/.1iHU^ this town. . ■■-■7'''■ Bradley Here and J^ick Ultddy Bradley, wbo haii a dance iitudio in tiondoh, rettirns to the liriti.sh capital Dec. 15 taking his brotlter, Arthur, along to assist him., ■-■.■■•.^ firadley long %ith the late Billy PlerCv'e studio in New York, going oyer to London to train the Londiiii ..j^tlatcal comedy people us he dli liii«iind Bl^:MU1Rray, and re<- mainicd abroad for a number of years. He came back to New York JESSELATHELM Mayor Uto AIDowOn Stand in ^^^^^^ ■>..-'v'-';. ■■ .s;.7v^8t;-j!U!ii».-,l*>'il,.-.i>tc. .3. Hari'lsonl nfiemberH of ja; tab show touring the maritime provinces, were returning to their lodging ; house.after a night performance in t||i|'y:^^ 8., when ■tjittacked by throe thugs. The ma- Tauders deihanded money which \vns V refu.sed by the actors. A battle re- ., suited, and while Harrison escaped ; With a bruiHes on the face and 1^ had threi9 front . Jtecth knocked otit and h leg injured painfully. The actors put up such stiff oppo- sition thO thieves rata *#ay Without - fitting any ine^ney. Apporch^y. the liiWMiiptwrs had been fjHiiir l« #ait L for (lie two actOra^ Jumping out pif' ;i an alley in an ufifrentiented spot ih : the town at 12:30 a.m., when every- : body lit jB||krli^g|Vi)t .M ^ Pamelly Foster in Chi ■ Cliicnvo, Dec. ' S. Val Parnell and Harry Foster were in town last week taking a squint at likely- Wttde miltejriai fi>r ■ Kngllah dnte.<^. . ' Were accopipanied by Lou Wolf- '.AI:D!Oir'^orilke;:A;#';P;^;X>^ indie bocMdilg^iMiii^' the N. Y. License Department last week to answer charges of mis- representing an oi^Iginal banquet at tiie ;Waldorf-Aatoiiii, a* * ebarlty affair to name acts and not paying them off for entertaining. Matter caitae to ComittlasloneF Itoiif iiHen«> tlon via an anonymous letter on the burnup of the Merchants and Bales- men's Club of Brooklyn. '. Banquet was held Oct. 18. Itese than half of the name ttcts pro- grarnined showed up. and those tvhO did claimed they were glad to 'aid such a worthy cause.' They were Hal LeRoy, Mary McCormack, Es- tcUe Taylor, Baby Rose Marie and Arthur Tracy. \ ; ■ Under questioning by Moss, pow admitted that he was to receive fl.COO for providing talent for the show, and that he disbursed $800 for the ae^a and the rest on liquor {(f|d champagne for the tali^nt. He defied telling tlte ae|e that it was a charity affair, or ttiat any of t^ were unpaid. Only one of the acts in the show, Dave Vine, put In an appearance at the hearings Jle stated h< W?elved : |75: ttwr;-4iie;;,ay*iiljWg,; .,lPttt-.'-iras-vnot cortalh that the other hif^ts received any payment. Heforo Dow left the stand Com- missioner Mf)ss .stated he would try to.Jret aflldavita from LeUoy, KS' telle "Taylor, Mary McCofmaek and the others, and, if he finds that the Dows misrepresented, he would re- voke their employnii iit agency li- cense. T'p until yesterday (Mon- day) none of the names had ata- 8wered.;M.os8^.1etter«i■;V■■.■^,>:.^:■ When Dow mentlbhed that he spent $800 for wines and liquor, Moss got hot under the rollar. *It is a racket,' he said, 'and we're going to run it down. . JC . you are not gti tlty. then' Mthifn^ iMif^h to you. Let no agent Interfere and collect money for charity and then deprive tlio artists of their money. Vou expended money for liqupi:'.' .'^pend the monejjip Oil tbe shoiir.* ^ Oeorge Jessel may head a, fS.OOO unit for Loew's,. th^ Idea how bejing (iR^er.^ais^ik|ii»^ cult s 'b6okjiili;ii^ dian. If it goes through, he Ip^lii the only name In the show. , ' :. Mean^hllei iyeaii^l'^e^Hii Friday (7) at the Capitol, N. Y., for an iiulelinlte fun along with Garbo's Tainted Veil,' which is expected to last at least two weeks on Broad r wa[y;;ahd'':may'''''gO' ^■fbUl^i'"'■ Along with Jcssel in the Capitol .''how will be Gomez and Wltiona, the Honey Family, and Shirley Ross, singer under contract to M^trp. Lincoln. i)ec. 8. A new booking ollVce pain came to light here last week. A.call for a juggling act netted one witli excellent equlproent, freshly painted. lCl)i*:: act. though standard* i'Mi't^ down. 'It looks too new,' said the tkOoker, 'they'll think it's just f«&M.-Miisicians' Jam Yai^^^ in Dec. 7 St. Louis, Dec. 8. Difflcultlea between Fanchon ft Marco and the muatcUttut* witon have been straightened eiut. Cifage ^.aw«t fiffit In St. Xoula in a year, <n.' ---:--''^- -, ' " For the first few weeks, the ahows will be laadi* up of flva or aly a^ts aant ehorvi. dr tt/ a4 bvi botti niay be installed later. FftM has engaged Al Arteaga, who was with Benny Mertrff for a couple of aeaaona and alio with other mtittMUnia, m }mi lliii An > baaaadorpit' Ituid.' "V \ SVUNCATE AGENCY Ro rtim, Hestr3i% U^iei^yera A ScHeu - ing agency dissolved last week when Kd ^cheulng le.ft to open his own oftce^ L llaiTy .'Biilt^y'il leavc-tiiking a .t»\v montha ago and" Walter Meyf rs 6penfng of ail ; WTIeb drt the! OWlttt. It put an ehd to one of the most ambitious attempts at an nirency syndication. Orit;in:il setup w;is ;i Saranac Lake By htappy Benway Jack Nicoll, a five-year alrer, wlio took Uie rib operattaft neHtbs ,app?fcvp<fe.«#iff- Bro*dw«ar"ii. waume work.- ' Danny Murphy ozoned himself to a 'go-home' o.k. Two years pf the NV'A san treatment did the trf<Ck» Louis Bheingold haa pOnoiled two odes.''. Answer to many inquiries: Good S.amaraitan Club membership is the outcome of good deeds done for the sick. No one can Join. The mem- bership is a bestmihM^ Jkonor. Qscar Lorraitie voted into our Good Sahiarltan cttib. Mrs. William (Mother) Morris reached another milestone. Com- mittee consisting of Happy 13en- wuy, Tgm^y yicks, Chris Hagedorp, Datany -IH^vkit^ > 4nd Haaei Glad- stone, representing the patients, sneaked up on her with an appro- pri;ite gifty tromi...Ilia:.;Pfn:';of.';:|x>tiis Uhcingold. This town is going to split it's all-health' attitude, and will go for n n (PTctensive ad campaigh on sports J. Li. Connor ", of Albany, N. Y.. admitted Into our Good Samaritan Cluh. He's continuous donor of periodicals for our lounge rooni .reading table.: ' Ruth Motrins Will. Camp Interuiilai: Rion it for a apail. Qal t^^^ tuS-: nimtilnted poundt#i, l^d :,PMli^.' go In for wrestling. Cang here at tho lodge i^Nipfti iVPS; for the Bed Cross drive* ^'v 1- lir. Karl Fisehel li^|ti <W hlr looking for items tor fhk:i6r.iH'M'M'pt. his ozoning gang. .<inf e Jack Kskin got that n« \v chef, here's some of the addod fioundage for a siJr-rhoiith period: Tiobeirt Heney; 20; tlappy IJenway, Ifi: Chtfa ITagedolrtiv J2; Joe ba- ^lirowski, 10; Irving Horn, 15; Jacki. A new company has been set up by Paramount to book stage talent in tho south and southeast. Incor- porated in Pelaware Friday (30) at a Mthlluit fiapit of ll.ooo, it will be known «a SoutWerft At? tractions. Inc., and maintain head- quarters in Charlotte, N. C. Organization of the new company sigiliflee a greater return to stage attractions in th* south and along the Atlantic seaboard. Southern Attractions will operate in the States of Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, with H. P. Kineey and R B* Wilby In direct charge of Its activities. While of- ficers have not yet been elected, either Kineey) or Wilby will probably be pr«iiimm,:tm'^^^ dant.:- The bb<Alng oiliee subiildiary Is controlled B0% by Famous Theatres Corp., principal theatre subsidiary of Paramount, and S0% l^r of FanaOua in the south. ' ■ P(»oling idan with all partners Hhar- , n<.Lerts. 30; Jack Casey. 11; r.etty ihg fi|''the pr6li^:-'-^>^:^'y\:') ."'-^''t'^-' Sylvia Abbott. Previous attenvpt ai-fcli; Igeiie^^^ who hav< • yndlcate ti ie<l bv Artlitti* '■'tiy'*itir: pnf ort frhm one .tp llvt pouikldn, ■:iid Walt.-r Hi.t.Oi.-lor ahout: eitrhl ' Write ti^^V;-!*?**. ■ JN*^ months ago, aiso; blew quickly.' .v ,;• ■ j.Ssrsnsc. >'X':r-/V-'' VAUDE LOOKS GOOD IfinneapoliSj, Pec. 8. With ^reei iMtp film houaes now uslnt fl<i^hraiiia-Mo6di siage shows have made a comeback here, yaudeville in particular is off to a tpraat itairt J^^^ the <Qrpheuna and Palace; ';. .■'^. The 1,900-seat Palace, which shifted from a straight dime sub- sequent run grind film policy to five vaudeville acts and first-run pictureei* played to ap(plN>xiinat^ly 14,000 people during the first Satur- day and Sunday of the now policy. Billy Mick, veteran vaudeville the- atre managei-, Is at the tielm 0$. this house.' ■'■ ' ''■''^> ■'" Since Inaugurati ig vaudeville four weeks ago, the Orpheum hasn't had a single losing weitu Tho State also h#a bc^n makliii^! money with ita\aitii(t::li*fwi:;'> Vet Vaude Agents in J^ertyvHills, pec. 3. Twd'^«ip;e^iiifiii New York have <rtlfi*iBd the agency field here. They aire Al Freeman, for 20 year* beoi» I hg through tjoewis, and i*hilrMorris, whb was aroiihd the Keith and RKO ofn< es f<it al- most 25 years .'is agent and pro- ducer of acts. Tliey have tied in With Irving Frankel, who is the third''inemliief'; dif'*h«','WttB.:C:. '.v Their plan iw to brihg player.<-- from legit and vaude In the east to th6 coait for pleture tries. About 100 n^enibors, mostly mal<»» . of AW'^iwikn •.'Federtttlon ■'of ■ • Aaw' tors yesterday {Monday) forroed Ik ■. ; banner-bearing corps in front of ' ■ tbe IMlaco theatre and staged a hunger March on Mayor LaC.uardia of N. Y. They were prutestlng laclr of sufAdcnt free shoyk'^ to citre |«f the uriethployed Variety perforiifte'r,' The 'march* is only IVguratlve, for the actors rode to the City Hall in two chartered trolley cars at a nickel a head, their posters framed in the Windows for paiaert-by fi^ sec such epitaphs as HSlrcus t'er'- formors Also Kaf. 'VaudevillaV Played Y<nir Benefits,' 'Wo Wanjt Food for uur Children.' 'Give Us a Chance to Earn a Living'. "We jiever eald 'No' tci Oth^ra* and "iVa Pon't Want Dole—We W^isittt Work*. It was the first demonstration <^ ^ its kind by performers and. becauso they ,wew intetak^^^ with a conin^uatitlo.^i^^ by City Hall a ttaches, there a battalion of police to meet them at the en- trance to City Hall park. The , Mayor's otllco had called the AF.^ . and. in the belief thl^t It was spcak<* iiig to Ralphr^a^lMfta^ exebuttva .secretary, decreed that there be no lelcgation. only a small committee, calling on Mayor LaGuardia. White- head never got the message, ho cUtlmed,; iBO the sign- bearers wera forced to stand a few hundred feat from the Mayor'M/dflioa lt«0tf w^ Whitehead; .i^; \krifm«ifAi^^ went in. Along with Whitehead were Wil- liam Mahoney, atate organizer for the American Federatt)^ of Allen Correlll, tho resistance per- former; Joseph E. Howard, song- writer-actor, and John McCarron, The Mayor was full of sympathy, promised he would perconaliy do him best, but a4pittt)«d that ht« ]MM|# ,! were tied. ' '■ ' The Oi' Buck Pats For one tiling, he said, it looked aa though Waahlngton was going to cut out cilnaOat all White-collar lief contributions; Another thlhA N. Y. is currently spending close to $20,000,000 monthly for the relief of the unemployed and viras not in the financial positioii t6 allot mor«| moneys to take care Of the actor.' However, LaOuardia promised that he would personally approach Washington for a separate appro- priation to take In show biz employ- ment In free ahoifli, addlhig that Waahlngton should do thia in view Of iihetaet that while the majority of performers are centered in N. Y., few of them live here, coming to this city • f-'T'-H•.rrrnfttn'/trf ''3ifli||tiiii' .^nienta..' ^'.■^.[■.■■■j': ^"-^T:- ■^i^;-- ;':1iWii<lii-'■ .'Whitehead''"pro'teeted'. ^'■.th«>;! fact that there are close to ^BO leifii actors at work in the CWA's fir*f : shows against only ',2 vaudevillianai Maxor LaGuardia stated tbf^ iMt w9|il»H-'.'•P.toally .InterettM." ■ Hi ■ -'Iwrif-'• c<|i|t4j|«8 from the dIfferent branches or the busrtness, only in the amount of people who weic getting relief, be they from legit or variety. How- ever, he called (3racc Gpsllh, deputy administrator of the Emergency Re- lief Commission, and arianired ail appointment for WlVit* li( ad and liia committee for today (Tue;:day) at 11 a.m., asking her to see what she could do In, tb<| Wf^ ot providing rti^tfre Woi'k for ftiis vaude actor in the CCC-lnstitufional shows. Whitehead also asked tlio Mayor to oi)en up the city-owned theatres to variety shows, which, the ^"FX exec atated, co.uJd bei iielf<sup(K>rt<>: ihg at a low admlastbn ip^ie.: Mayor LaGuardla isaid he wbuui look Into the matter, but that he wouldn't go into compe' ;on wiili the regular ilieatrfS! .as, that would only add t<> the ttheiiiple^meil^t;- He did not; k n9w where ,^;«i||^i^w ned theatres are, nor' waa :^!r|^t^^N<^ locations. ■ ' ■•' ■ " PEGGY TAYLOR DOUBLING Peggy Tayl .r and Kitchen I'irule. go back intr) th«' rasintf d*i I'aref'. N, y., «huw. Sumlay ^9)* , .stars,',muf'i'al which ^pw^Jf* t^^'' «lliol^W09d, 1^90, IK . Abe liistrorxel, geiierui biaJiager (5»t'- tlie' Willlfim •,M(>rri's h,g( ncy, shoved ; ofl' Fiid.iy for the ('i.a:t to o,6,' the intt rnatioiial show.'f. ■ n'•^•'« Hoi- lywofxl at livitif s. Liisl!< ;,'<•! will i e- main about tAVf> n|r,tit]i-8 there. ..ffi% wife, Frani-V's Anns profp<?j^!orifltily, .lecoiiij>ani"-" hio). Willi.'ini •Morri'^. Jr., who w.is to tiave gone along, l.'^^n't. From an . almost .|','0'^^' californla expatriate, Blit iflow 4«>!esn't even Svant to '^9 ; near the toWn^4U>A':|i'\.lM«ad«l«^^ • ling ./caaL ;.v■; ; "-f