Variety (Apr 1935)

Wednesdaj, April S, 1935 VAUDEVILLE VARIETY 49 -PASSING OUT Union Rule Bans Clowning Musicians And Novelty Overtures in Vode Spots House bands are barred from do- ing any clowning either In the pit or on the etage as the result of a resolution passed at a meeting of the New York muslciaris union in Carnegie Hall. Resolution also pro- hibits the house men from acting, or singing, or standing in, or leav- ing the pit while playing. Action Is directed particularly toward the vaude' Bouses which , have been . making a practice of using the pit musicians to do bits during a com- edy or novelty overture. Resolution as passed reads: 'No member Is to be allowed to act or _fiICL\vn- in any way in any theatre unless the musicians are a legiti- mate act appearing In the same act each week at a different theatre.' Violation of the rule calls for a line of from $10 to $200. Also passed at this meeting was a resolution urging the New York Board of Alderman to bring within tlie scope of its taxation for relief funds all theatres which, while in otieratlon, do not employ musicians, actors or stagehands. Resolution suggests that only theatres which carry on their payrolls workers in any or all these classes be exempt from the tax, with the required minimum number of employed de- termined by the seating capacity and scale of admission. Loew's Band PoGcy Out in J. C, but Staying Elsewhere Loew is dropping Its production and permanent m.c. policy In Jersey City, N. J., Friday (B) with a stand- ard vaude show going In to replace , Ted Claire and the specialties. House tried the Idea for nine weeks, Johnny Perkins lasting for seven and Claire two. Loew Is going ahead with a simi- lar plan at the Paradise, Bronx. Ed Lowry-'Op^ns at the uptown deluxer Friday (5) bn a contract calling for four weeks with options. Same Idea, though on a smaller scale, will be tried at Loew's Globe, Bridgeport, Conn., -also starting Friday, where Charlie Melson will head a stage band show that's set for at least two weeks. Globe, one of the Poll houses acquired by Loew's, has been In straight pictures. MARV SCHENCK'S LOEW MOVE NOW OFFICIAL Though unonicially there for sev- eral months, Marvin Schenck" for- mally moves over to Loew's theatre operating department this week as assistant to Charles C. Moskowitz, ■ with headquarters In the State thea- tre building instead of the Loew annex. Schenck will conWnue to operate In a supervisory capacity In the booking office, but Sidney Plermont will shoulder most of his previous booking activities. J. L. Lubln re- mains Loew's general booking inanager. •Schenck has been In the vaude booking end of the business ever since Joining Loew's, but decided In the last few years, with vaude pass- ing out, that his future lay In the theatre and film ends. CATTES BEOS. IN FLASH Pat Rooriey and Herman Tlm- berg, -who are playing In a unit of their own, will produce a six or •even-people flash around Louis and Joe Caltes, standard hoofing team. Sam "Tlmberg will do the staging ftnd special-material writing. Costly Silence As ah" exploitation stunt when (and If) working, Doyle and Dohnelly are Inserting want ads in the local papers. Copy reads: 'WANTED— more laughs for Doyle and Donnelly at the, theatre.' So far no answers. BOWES IN RKO HOUSES IRKS LOEW Breach between Major Edward Bowes and the Ldew-Metro organi- zation actuated by his leaving WHN to go on NBC with a commercial is widened still further this week through Bowes' acceptance of vaudeville engagements In RKO the- atres. His Loew associates frowned upon the major quitting WHN for Chase & Sanborn. Bowes Is playing fbur days at the Albee Brooklyn to be followed by three at the Palace on Broadway, doing one show nightly as an added attraction. Both RKO houses are opposition to nearby Loew theatres. For his stage dates Bowes Is car- rying the winner of his Sunday (31) NBC amateur program and three others from the last slmon pure troupe. Bowes is doing m. c. Bowes Is continuing his Sunday morning Capitol Family broadcasts over WHN for the time being, and be remains nominal managing di- rector of the Capitol theatre, but has been divested of all executive authority with the Loew theatre and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture com- panies. AFA GETS $2,500 ON FIRST ANNUAL BALL First annual ball of the American Federation ' of Actors, held Satur- day night (30) at Mecca Temple, New York, was attended by 1,600. The organization grossed about $2,500 on the affair and program. Entertainment was topped by a ballroom dancing contest, of which Sophie Tucker, Pat Rooney, Sally Rand, Ben Bernle, Rudy. Valloo, Jesse Kaye bnd (5ae Foster were the judges. F. & M. Sets Second Unit for Mex. Keys Hollywood, April 2. Fanchon & Marco are preparing to open their second unit produced especially for Mexico in Laredo, April 20. Spots to follow Include Monterrey, Tampico and Mexico City, with other bookings to be set. John Sapp Is in Mexico City as personal rep for F&M. StepanofF Dies Theodore StepanofC, dancer who headed one of the best known flashes In vaudeville, 'Yarmark,' died Thursday (28) at the State Hospi- tal, Central Islip, L. I. He was. CO. Further 'details will be found in the lOblt department. CHOSS-DUNN TO LONDON Cross and Dunn sail for London April 27 to open at the Cafe dc Paris, London, May 6. Engagement Is for four weeks. Set by Dick Henry rCurtls &. Al- len). "^OFONEOIiy CROSS INSTEAD Plan Calls for Participation of 1,000 Circuit Theatres -—May 6 as 'NVA DAY' —'Added Entertainment and Extra Shows with No Contributions Asked EDDIE CANTOR'S PLAN Board of directors of the NVA Fund, Inc., has under consideration a fund raising plan in which thea- tres operated by the major circuits would participate, but which would eliminate plate passing entirely. The plan, suggested by Eddie Can- tor, requires the theatres to con- tribute 10% of one day's box-offlce receipts. Also Included Is a pro- posed gigantic benefit show to be staged in New York, It Is estimated, in statistics pre- sented to the NVA Fund's mana- ger-members by Cantor and William Morris, Jr., that the pro- posed hew fund raising method would easily bring the NVA the $200,000 required for a year's operation of all the organization's functions, and at the same time eliminate all the objectionable fea- tures of the audience collections of the past. Proposal calls for naming the first Monday (6) In May as 'NVA Day' In around 1,000 theatre^ throughout the country. Theatres will Include practically all de luxers in the major keys and lesser houses operate'd by the circuits. One or more extra shows will be given on the chosen day to boost the grosses, while, wherever jjosslbic, stage at- tractions will be booked In for the day In straight picture houses as well as vaudfilmers. 5«cIalon This Week NVA Fund will decide on either this or another method some time this week. The drive must be set in a hurry 1^ order to be staged be- fore the warm weather sets ih. Usual NVA drive time Is April. But, in any event, the circuits declare they are determined to discard the collection gag. Possible settlement of the Henry Chesterfield suit against the NVA Fund, which threatened to postpone an NVA drive indefinitely, was temporarily stalled. last week due to new demands by the former J>JVA club house boss. NVA Fiind mem_- bers were on the verge of agreeing' to the maintenance of an Inexpen- sive clubrqom In New York In re- turn for Chesterfield's withdrawing his suit, but the latter stepped in with a demand that he be placed in charge of 'the s disbursement of funds, as fofmerly. It was stated late In the week, however, that some agreement will be reached. Chesterfield .has declared hlmsolf several times, lately as willing to contribute his services In a club- house free, If the NVA Fund will pay for the maintenance of one. It is understood he will be asked to do .30. Under the proposed settlement. If made, the temporary clubrooms operated by Chesterfield at 46th street and Eighth avenue and the NVA Fund business office at 1619 Uroadway will be combined under one roof, with no added cost to the I'-urid. It l.s the Intention of Harold Rod- ncr, who is serving a^ superyLsor of the NVA Fund functions without renumeratlon, to see that no expense i.s added to the NVA overhead that would detract from the NVA San at Saranac Lake. That goes for a luxurious New York social club- house with high salaried employes. Figure* quoted on Mltzl Green last week were Insufficient. Instead of $18,000, the Michigan, Detroit, grossed 128,000, while the Alvln, Pittsburgh, achieved $13,000 instead of $10,500. When's a Booker Not a Booker? Right Now Just Stooging for Mgrs. Pro Rata Blush Lincoln, April 2. . . A new angle in booking came up here when an agent for a fan dancer offered the femme to a night spot for $12.50. The night spotter asked If the price was for one or two nights. 'That's the one night price,' said the agent, 'You got to fig- ure my fee, transportation, and, then, there's her embar- rassment,' MYRT ¥ MARGE GET $2^00 BOOST Myrt 'n' Marge (Myrtle Vail and Donna Damerel), entering their fourth year on the Wrlglcy (CBS) program, are going vaude for the second time, but for Loew Instead of RKO. Their last date was at the Palace, Chicago, at $950, Now they're getting $3,500. Femme radio pair will use a skit based on their air serial, entailing six people In all. Open the week of May 10 at Penn, Pittsburgh, going from there to Rochester. Latter spot, in straight pix, Is going vaud- film for the one week. ■William Morris office agented. ALLEN AMATEURS MINUS AUEN AS VAUDE UNIT Amateur end of Fred Allen's air program Is the latest going vaude, but without the name to head It. Show will be billed 'Fred Allen's Town Hall Tonight Amateur Win- ners' and will Include a cast of 10 topped by 'Uncle Jim' Harklns.. Comic will be Red Skelton. Harkln.g, former vaudevlllian, has his own Bustalner on WMCA be- sides scouting for amateurs for the Allen program. Unit is going out under the direction of Hickey and Anger with Allen's permission. According to present setup, show will play one-nlghters as well as vaude houses on a straight percen- tage. ^Vaude Suffers When laiicaster Mgrs. Agree Lanca.ster, Pa., April 2. By mutual agreement between .Jack Frcre, manager of the Colonial, and Ray O'Conhcll, of the Capitol; Lancaster's vaude season Is prac- tically at an end. Unite, which crashed for plenty of buslnesH In these parts several months ago, have been taking "dives and the houses have been taking It oii the chin. O'Connell had planned to run stage shows until May 1, at least, and Frere had an Idoa about yiar- around shows, but present slump changed thing.s and both spots are running Saturday shows only. Fay's Layoff John Hickey' and Harry Anger suspend activities as producers of .special shows for Fay's, Philadel- phia, for three Veeks commencing aFrlday (5). Unit producers have been on the Job for two weeks, bus- pension coming because of previous unit bookings. Shows going into .spot during the stagers' layoff are 'Platinum Blondes', a Bert Smith tab, and 'World's Fair Scandals', in order. When Is a vaudeville booker everything but a booker? In '35. .. Conditions now are such in the majority of the talent-buying de- partments of the major circuits that the finger Is pointing toward what may eventually be a complete pass-oiit of bookers. As it Is, In many Instances, the district and theatre managers are doing the ac- tual booking, with the bookers act- ing more or less as go-betweens for agents and acts. This circumstance Is especially in order of the RKO booking floor, where the bookers have their own say-so on talent in but a small per- centage of the RKO theatres using stage shows. In regard to certain houses, same condition Is In order at Paramount and Warner Bros. Loew's bookers are about the only group still unaffected by the branch-^ out of operators as talent Judges and buyers. At RKO, before the bookers (Ar- thur Willi, Bill Howard, Danny Freudllch) can buy talent for Al- bany and Troy, N, Y., H. R. Emde, district manager, must be consult- ed; talent for the Palace, Albee; and Coliseum, New York, must be sub- mitted to Charles McDonald, also a d. m.; Dave Itzell must be consulted before anything Is set in Detroit, while Matty Fox, manager, is the last word on talent for the Acad- emy, N. Y., Skouras-owned, but RKO-booked In a pooling deal with the Jefferson. Warner bookers (Steve Trilling, Harry Meyers) usually consult most of the managers on talent, but es- pecially Guy Wonders, manager of the Earle, Washington, and Clem Murphy of the Rltz, Elizabeth. Harry Kalchelm, Paramount'a book- er, has to get okays on talent for Buffalo from Joe McFall, and, for the Metropolitan, Boston, from Harry Gourfaln, who's the house stager. First bookers to be forced to con- sult the ops on talent were th» Indies, but then only on high-sal- aried names or something special. However, same as RKO, Paramount and WB, the Indies now also Vun to the theatre men with most, every- thing from acrobats to prima donnas. Loew Dusting Off Pix House Stages For Occasionals Loew Is starting to opon houses to stage shows, that have been in straight pictures for months, if not years, but only when an attraction comes along. Experiment,, which was first tried In the New England Poll houses. Is being extended fur- ther. Latest spot skeded to dust off Its stage Is the I-oew hounc In Mem- phis, Tchn., which takes on a stage policy for one week beginning April 28 with Ted Lewis. Another house u.sing the occasional attractions Is Loew's, Rochester. Honoring Rooneys The FrlarH' Saturday NIte Boys switch to a Sunday (April 7) in or- der to go 50% femme by way of honoring both the Pat Rooneys-— Pat and Marlon. Occasion Is the Rooney.s' 32d wedding anniversary. It win be the first function of the Saturday Niters to bo attended by ladles. ETHEL DAVIS ILL .Ethel Davis (Mrs. Macklln Meg- icy), former vaude single, is in St. Luke's Hospital, New York, serious- ly ill. • Her Illness has cau.sVd cancella- tion of her twice-weekly .su.stalning programs with Fran I-'icy, over WMCA, New York.