Variety (Jan 1935)

Tuesday^ Jannaiy 1^ ld35 VARIETY 117 Vaud^Ue in Midwest WB OUSTING VAUDE Six-Act Policy Being Propped In L ot Anqele i ■ ■ i Chicago, Dec. 31. ■ VwdevllIe lB making an effort to come bick In thla terrltpry. Times Beem rlpia' for a revlv^LV ©f jflfieh, (B-nd lii several spots where variety hag been given a fair chance it has caught on arid built to steady busir neBB;^The old baloney that the pubr. He '^eflhvl Ji^antr v|iudevnie is^'not holding waiter; slricS proof ^as been given iri many situations that the public does want flesh, If •properly presented. In ChlciiBfo, yaudevUle Is In fine condition; there/belng mbre variety theatres operating at- present than /jit any; time in the. past flye yiearB. Baliibaii & Katz rates as the tead- ihg circuit as far aa vaude Is con- cerhed. The • outfit has steadily, built stage ^howis ' in! the past' i» months, • starting, with, one ■ or two week-end spots until /It haa ' rein- stated vaude. in the Oriental, Mar- brb, Uptpwri, Southtown, , Tlvoll ■ paradise, ■ Gonghress, Harding, Sen- ate, Belmont, ■ Tower, Norshore* .Cientury,^ and, of course, tiie down- tbwA Chicago, tirhlch has never :dropped its combo policy; :. This circuit, which has never been prpminentlY identlfled , "wl\h vciude, suddenly figures ais -the: guid- ing light in the vaude rfeviyal in the midwest. And the B.;& k. ,afflllate, ■ the Publlx-Greait States . clrculti; Is , als6 resuming vaude. , having stage : shows ln-iomeLjO-town^^:in:. Illlriols ' and Indiana ind giving Indications of increasing Its vaude expenditures, 8 Week* In Chi . To such an extent; has. vaude In- creased In these pa.rtB. the Xihlcago vicinity at prfesent has more yaudei. than, any other territory ip proper tlojn to populationi' : There are eight . - jwceka-ln^ChlcagoJjItaelf tJi*ll^^ outlying. towns add ahbther eight weeks. Vaude. has hopped Into such tbWns as Kansas City, Detroit,- In' dlanapolis, Toledo,' LoulBVille^. St Paul, Miriheapblis, and this month saw the return of stage ^ows In St. Louis, where va,ude has been completely'put for more than a yeah Fanchon & Marco led the way In St. Louis i^nd a build-up should fol ••. .low.. :'• ■'- ■ That is prbven in instance after In- stance, but the yaudcvlUc people 1 themselves are Bemlngly doing everything, possible to, hold It back! I Those 16 weeks .In this territory; loom very large whi?n- that inside- vaude handicap is considered. Fox: Figurino 8tudla Teriner for : Harlem Hoofer V- ' Hollywood, i)ec. SlV . With his original; assignment, Little Colonel,' at Fox; cpmpletedi Fox is corisiderinir giving Bill Rob- inson a term contract. Meiariwhlle, Universal wants.him for 'The Great ^legfeid'. and Radio is after him for 'Four Stars id Love.' Robinson Is in the new. Gpntl- hental club for four weeks. . All this Is.a very liup e ful sign, but the -spread that vaudeville needs is iri the smaller towns which used to bloom on the western vaude books, the Butterfleld .time_inL Michigan, :as an instance. . -It Is alsp essential thiat the tem peranierit. of. thbktre! mana,geri3 be attuned to the variety policV' Some of them have kilied the chances for vaude In their tiieatres because they know only pictures; they lack the sense of ishowirianshlp: variety calls for. They are so accustpmed to a ca,n of film that when they are given live;;. taierttc.they .doh'.t knPw, . how. to sellJt... ; . . 1^^— Blaming Agenta, Acts ""Tlf^'audevllle "Is^ slowly" coTtnlng t»ack. It la coniing: back despite the theatre manager, the agents, and finally, despite the performers theni- selvea, most of whom are so care- _lesa-as-to-materlal. .— •-• : SEALING BILL ROBINSON? . LoB Angeles, Dec. 81. Warner's Doyrntowhi which has been using six acts of Vaude weekly, booked by the B^rt Levey pjince, has given notice to musicians a,nd stttge hands, effective jin. 9. Straight; fllm policy will become bperatlVe on :that~date • or ishortly thereatterr'de^' periUing bri later action by the War- ners- po>yers Jn Kew York. . Vaude policy was undertaken to bolster plx whbn; Warneris' Hblly- wood arid RKO Hillstreet- entered their day-and-date run policy, using features previously do-y-and-dated between the two WB houses. Christmas Carrols By Joe Laurie/Jiv •Well -Aggie, here's yptir Christ- mas present; ■ From me tQ -yoU,/ alnt much Aggie, but you're a gdbd straight. Tpu knbw all the answftrs.*^ 'Thanks, ; jbhnhy.: Here's a little sPmething fbr you, tbo. Ijprfrit tellln' It's worth all the dough in th» world. Arid' how we .got the rijem- orles. . AVe at least can say that . ' when we had it we were no pikers. •That's sbmethlrig',; ain't it, Aggie?'. /Johnny, you ahva,ys did the right; thlnjs as file.: s I'm :cbncei\hed. You spenU-nxoney^nd you made mbney. We didn't, .hdve to wph*y. about get-,^i^ what it^s^Defore ybu^p^n lt> bu^ HxM dates^those days/ hope they keep ybur ha:nds warm.' •Thanks, Aggie. Now :give nie my regular-Christmas klsa^ then I'll, tell •Speti.kin' about dates,- Aggie,' I don't want to spoil ' your Christmas, but I've -flgured it: all out. .1 think to Prison Show for Llncolri, Dec. SI The ' unusual reception accorded the a.nnual presentatlbn of the 'Big House Follies' by the prisoners- at ' ;h«"NetAaRa'Stat¥^ enlteritlai^ led theatre men here to angle to get the show on at one of the tbiea- tres downtown. This" year It was a minstrel show, .and about 1,000 i>eo pie were turned aiway. -. It may be tough to get the boys out of ^the can with the legislature about t6 go in session, but some thlnic It'B -worth a ■ try.— Jules JEtach- man, former Omaha' theatre oit eratpr, wrote, directed and staged the performancis. 4 Members of Meroff Band Act Suing for Auto Crash Damages ' Iowa. City, la., D^. 31. Four members of Bennle Meroil's band act. Injured In an auto crash here, have filed damage actions in district court ' against' thp- v Des' Moines Iowa Transportation com- pany,, total damages amounting to .^11,000. The accident occurred-east of here, Oct. 26, In a smash.between a rtrtick-'and an - auto |n which the four were' riding. John C. Hiil, Chicago, owner of the musicians' auto,.'.{^B $1,0.0.0 . leglng that he cannot play a guitar more than 16 minutes at a. time sirice he was Injured. His -wife, vaude entertainer, weks $4;600 for injuries; Dolly Bell; ' acrobatic dancer, asks $6.000 for an alleged you that I gpt a pair of woolen | vaudeville la all shbt to hell; W^eVo gloves for you, too.' They both laughed awkwardly,. ;i don't know why you spent the few pennies you have on me, Johnny/ 'That's what money's -for, Aggie, | people put thumbs' down on us. I been holding pn for two. years now thlnkln' it may get back to the old days. But I can't get a date. You know I've tried. ~ Even the radio tb spend. I always spent my money when I had It. You remember that Christmas party I gave In St..Louis? told them that I knew more gag« than any of these young punks they. got on the. air that think they're What a party! I guess every big funny. They'd give a lot to get shot in town, dropped in oh us that rilffht. The mayor, chief of police, the bunch from all the other shows In town. They were all there. Real beer I gave 'em. It was hard to get those days, but I knew everybody and I could get it. Maybe they were atres open, and to get dates In 'em all there because we were head- liners Aggie. Carrol and Carrol, the seasori'js comedy, senaatlpri.:. .Gettln' big dough and sittln* on top of the world, •Yeh, Johnny, but 1 liked the Christmas we had in Fiisco. Re STANLEY PTTT RESUMES VODE WITH JACK BENNY stiff knee that slows lip her per- formances, whpe Meyer Druzinsky, comedian, asks $600 for alleged con- tinual headaeh. j : that, he says, makes him miss cues many times..'. Saranac Lake By Happy Benway Pittsburgh, Dec. 81. Betty Huntington getting along g**'^^^ - ^!^ ^ I fl"*'- She's also ■duibblng a local column. Vernon. lAwrence left with the 'go -hom e! okay. He will Lon g ahold of my gag book. Everything In it from afterpieces to cross fire. for any kind of team. 1 can switch a lot of gags around to At a stooge. But . the giiy sez 'No'; And now there's" only a few. Vaudeville the- member the big tree we had in, pur theatres' you gotta be a draw; Either you're worth five grand or you're worth, nothln'. ■ Beln'- a good performer dbri't count. McGulre thought he could get me a doorman's job, but he told me yesterday, that It was off. They don't need. doormen In closed suite, at. the-hotel?.. And. aftet_the show the swell feed we gave for the whole' bill? And we gave 'em. all nice presents, and 1 told the m it w as •Don't worry, Johnny, somethlngTl— turn up/ ■■■ 'Aggie, I'm going to see Dan to- morrow and-see4f-we can- get in the • - from that opening act's little, girl. Horiie. Don't look at me like that. Her name wais Minriy. Remeriiber what an undernourished kid she | was?' We can be together there, and It's warm and cohifo(table. They treat you like a headliner, we'll be with 'Sure r do.: The name of the act people we know and that know vs. was Mellen and Haynes. Trapeze And w hen thin gs get goo d again in ■ act. and a good one; Sure I remem ber. Didn't I take the kid out and buy her a whole new outfit? And I told her that Santa Claus told me to do it for him. And she believed It. Her old man and woman "was a nice couple, too. All the acts would kinda laugh at him for living in cheap dumps and for doln' their own cookin' and things. But he told me that, they weren't gettin' much dough for the act, and when the vaudeville we can go back and do the act. I'll keep ' on addln' new gags and keep right up to the mln- ute« so ■■ they don't say we're old timey. What about It, Aggier > •Okay the date, Johnny. You al- ways.did the business for this. act. You book .'em and I'll: play 'em. We still got each other. That's some-" thin*. ■. V. ■ ■-^■.■r "At a girl- Aggie. And If ariy of them mugs In the Home think we're fare s and the oommi s siori oam P out I (jataji (jtme jiji show ' e m th o se scrap luxer, resumes stage shows Jan. 11, when Jack Benny and Mary LIv Ingston, surrounded by a unit, come m for a week's stay. . They'll miss only one perfoirriiance, Sunday mid night show, due to their weekly Jello broadcast, which will take them back to New York for single day^ It'll be the Stanley's first vaude since Paul Whiteman's band played here, almost two months ago. Stage restimptlbn by- WB Is likely to plunge rival Loew's Penri back Into cpmbP policy aga,in. iSave for oc casibnai • bookings, ' deluters ^ hav e left stage field to Alvin and Pitt Whiteman Set for Mo Vaude, Aiito Show Dates Island it and- resume his toiling as a theatrical technician. Marilyn Miller Will be crowned Queen of the Winter Carnival at Lake Placid for 1936. She was chosen while'vacashlng at the Lake Placid club. Jack Caset penciled In to leave the lodge after eight months Bessie Crouch Is iMrting up on the O.K;" side: of the ' ledger, Her husband is 'Artfiur" (Crouch,* mag writer. - Danny-Murphy* afterrthree-years left with an absolute arrested pkay. He will start over the air in the near future with a new broadcasting novelty, Robert Heney. - of Warner Bros., they just had enough, to get by on. But they had to have the work be- cause they spterit alPt of dough on the | kid; Spmethin' always w r ong with her, bad eyes, ears, everything. Yefi,' they was nice people. I wonder I what's become of 'em. Never see | 'eni billed any more.' •We' certainly had fine times, Johnny. But the Christmas in Okla- homa City , will always stand out to me.' •You mean the first Christmas we was together? Just two months after we got married. Gee, Aggie, you're gblri* back 25- years/ 'It may be 26 years.'but I remem- -ber--It-like-yesterdia,y.---We-made-a jump from Gadsden, Alabama. No sleepers, stayed up all night. Got In on Christmas Day and you re- hearsed- while I made early Mass. ril never forget how I prayed for us books. Johnny end Aggie Carroll* a comedy sensatibn, topping all bills, plenty of. dough, ;always. played benefits arid always on the up and up. Owe nobody nothin', eh, Affn gle?' •Yeh, Johnny. Look at us. A fine comedy act; we are sittln' here bawlin' .like kids. Come on, snap out of it. ITpu'lI spoil your make- up. Give me a kiss, Johnny. Put seme pep in it like you did in Oklar hpma City on our first Christmas. . We got just as much as we bad. then;. .Meiry ChristmaSi Jphnny.'!... :. IThat. goes. .double,. Aggie, i ai.n. ' ways said you was a great straight woman:^—— ■ ——.—_— The agents In Chicago are same mob that has been around for years and few of the 25 of them have the right Idea on vaudeville. They rCan see only the pos si ble Sunday date for a flash act. The agent used to be a showmari In his own. right could advise an act when to cut or add; when to take a date and when to refuse it. The Chicago agent to da y is a submitter of lists, with no Baltimore; Dec. $1. Paul Whiteman's orchestra has been booked into the Indle vaud- filmer. Hippodrome, for a week dur- mg January. Date is nexiDie, t"b~bff^ consummated when band washes up Its current night-club stand In Montreal and. some one-riite dance date's that have been set-to follow. 'Whiteman is also. Inked in for salesmanship, no shpwmanshlp; Irian who usually feeja 'what-the heir. And the acts arp reflecting the attitude of the agents. They spend no time developing new ideas. Audi ences sit through vaudeville show single nlte during Auto Show here, Jan. 21. Frisco for Europe Chicago, DeCi 81. ■Tno T?rfgrn fipphfl thft first wieck In I leaves curevUle tb go to work after |a short vacash in Florida. Amorig some of the gang that are I Yuletldlng at their homes are Fred Rith, Murl€l. Slrgheney, Ruth Hatch I and T onHny-yie k s . ■ ■ : Among, some of those about to re celve a real holiday gift in being deemed O.K. are, Maurice Pearson Tommy Vicka. Jackie Roberts. Amelia : John8bn,... Bert .Ppfd, CrIs TTageaonirlryirig-Horri, Joe Dabr ski, Betty Huntington. arid Muriel Slrgheney. ' ~ - ■ Ruth Hatch and Frisco De'Vere are taking up French, While their class was In session, George Har- mon sent word over to teacher aak ing it he could teach-Wm—to-tftlte Variett. -. •;■ ■„ The. holldiays bring three new members into our Good Sariiarltan Club, Dave Furgersori, N. Y. C; Bobby McGulre, Lbs Angeles; and Danny 'Loeb' Murphy, N. Y. C. Alice Carman Is still fighting a mess of ; trbuble: : -M^ Blake is porting UpHb a smile. Doris ^hrage Is getting ready for the 'nerve' operation. Hazel Gladstone up after a slight hospital siege.. ; Phir Harris, " ' QTtihestra—leader,- came in to ogle his trombone player. Bin Fletcher, who has aired to good results. Harry Warner and Major Albert Warner . sent the ©zoning gang wind-breakers. Everyone was togged out, with Harold Rodncr doing the Santa Claris honors. The mall man delivered over 6.000 letters during the holidays at the lodge, V . ■ ... Write to thoie you know at Saranao. ■■; to get over.' '. 'Yeh, we did six shows and put on bur first Christmas dinner at a Joint. I think the guy put on some extra grea,i3e on account of it was stmasr^^and . he h ad—the—place- fixed up with a lot of tinsel. Some of it fell on the food. I don't think it hurt It any. In fact I think it made it taste better. 'What a joint, and what a'lousy dinner/ ^^-^But-we- were-happ^yr-Jphnny.?^ •You said it, Aggie. Our act was gpin' great, .and. we sure .was nutji inSoureSch■ other. Xn^"I was'tellln' you my plans for a new big act,' 'You gave me a diamond sunburst Arid I. gave, you a diamond horse gVino pin T tVilnV H fnnlf ng until tti WB and Indie Renew ^ArfrVande^Compelish Atla.ntic city, Dec. SI. Temporary vaude truce between Wnrn<>rg TCarlfl nn d the Ind ependent Hollywood has ended. Both houses will run flve-act shows and pl?c In competlsh with each other. Earle opened Friday (2,9) with ■'three-'day Shbwa-; the'-^ -'Molaasea-and January./- Harry Waxman, of the Hollywood, started.Xmas Day with a show fea- turing FiflDorsay. .— - • Another Salary Suit after vaudeville show waiting for eoriiethlng new. As each act fin ishes,, the audience perks up hoping that the next act will deliver that new twist, new idea, some novelty But they're usually disappointed The next act Is just like the one that, preceded it:. a .guy., cracking Bome old. jpke, doing a tap dance a girl- doing some back-berids and some kicks; soriiebody whispering a pop tune Into a mike. Sameness, dullness and a lack of -originality in act after act. . Of course, the squawk will be that there Is" not enough time around to •pend money on building a new act That's a flock of spinach. Standar acts are being':i:epeatcci three and four times a year in houses such as the Chicago, Palace and State-Lake ; because talent is so scarce. A good .act still gets work and at. teal coin. It's the act that is still trying with material It's been doing for 15 y^^^^ that Is suffering. Midwest audiences want vaude. March in a 'crazy quilt' type of prb- duction at the Scala in. Berlin for Edward Duesberg. Salary reported at (1,000, with Joe Hess doing the bobklng job. : ' . Hess also set Mlckie Braatz for an engagement at the Scala. ThavulV Canada ShoW Chicago, Dec. 81 Thavlu is putting an opera and comic operetta tab ehow„lnto the Capitol, Toronto, starting Jan. 4. - Thavlu directed the orchestra at the Streets of Paris at the World's Fair last summer. ;foliowin' Christma.s tb pay off.' "Aggie, those were the two last | things to gOi'ypu know, in pur vault at Simpsons. May as welliet him hold those things ifor us, nobody, wears 'em any mbre. "That sun^ .burst pin I gave you was as yellow as an egg; But what a flash!' --.'-You - nfrvei^-misaedt^-giyln— ^Ome ijlecc of jewelry every Christ- mas after that, Johnny/ 'It's a lucky thing that I didix't, AggJe^-Cauae I ..dPri't'iuioAV. y^hat: we'd a done the past few years if riot for your diamonds-—^" 'And your insurance— . Radio Rogues In Vaude Hollywood, Dec. 81 Radio Rogues, vaude and air act, are due on the Coast Jan. 28, for three. weeks of personals, opening at tho Warfleldv Ban Francisco. Posslbllltiea are that the act will go into Par's 'Big BroadcaBt- 'Weil, Aggie, I don't, regret .a penny of it. 'if I had to do it over again, I'd do the same thing. All the actors would say I waa nuts be cause I was buying wine a.rid pi-es- enta and .glvin' tho.se big Chi'i.striia.s parties. But I made a lot of poople happy, arid we were happy seein' everyljody laugh in' y nd oIf)\vriln'. J always like to: 'make people happy Against Young m Chi , Chicago, ■ Dec. 31. Erriie Young is running Into a lot of legal storms. Acts are startlnj? proceedings against hlm.^JCor-salary.-, iatest-.tp,igo._;to.. .court.is. .WJ.irr.e.dL_, Dubois." He haa filed bankruptcy proceedinR.s .against Yoiing here. Week before Charlie Althoflf had a salar y cbm pltilnt against bblh?. Young and EArl Yaylbr,. wit^^ off taking hl.s .squawk to the local Musicians Unibn, Aviiich ..is ■ forcing a .so It lorn en t of the claim.; • AL WHITE'S ROADHOUSE Al B. White, v'auUc tipmic, vviio dabbles In tlie nilofy biz. oixiurtd the (Gliatt-au JialGwin, iJalilwii), ' L».. I. Monday (.11),.. A.fiilo fn^iTi n sni.-iH b.TnVl, Iif's the only enlcrtainer. \.