Variety (Jul 1935)

<2 VARIETY Wednesday, July 24, 193S OBITUARIES CECIL LEAN Cecil Lean, 67, legit actor, died of a heart attack in West 4Bth street New York, July 18. Actor had been talking to his wlte, Cleo Mayileld and a friend, and then crossed the street where he collapsed. Lean and his wife had recently returned from a road tour with The Bishop Misbehaves' for Wee & Leventhal. Prior to this tney had appeared In 'The Milky Way for the same management. Previous season they played in 'Big Hearted Herbert.' • He was born In London In 1878 and debuted hla theatrical career with Frank Daniels there In 'Miss Simplicity' In 1903. That same year he went to Chicago, . where he ap- peared at the La Salle theatre for several years. He first came to New' York iii 'The Soul Kiss' at the New York theatre in 1903, In August, 1912, he appeared in hU own play, 'The Military Girl,' at the Ziegfeld theatre, Chicago. Ke ■ was also an author, having done radio sketches, plays, short stories and magazine artlcleu. Prior to his marriage to Miss Mayfleld, he had been married to Florence Holbrook. They were divorced. Burial took place in Sunapee, N. H., where Lean had a summer tabme. HARRY HICKS ■ Harry Hicks, 49, Independent ex- hibitor operating the Arlington and G^m theatres in Los Angeles, died there of a Jieart attack. July 21. He was In.the film business..a quarter of a century, hiavlng Joined Ihe Gen- eral Film Co. in 1911 and later be- .ji^mlng a district manager. He also, served In the latter capacity for yitagrcph Lubln-Sellg-Essanay, Hicks was a member of the Los Angeles zoning and clearance board, ^Iso an alternate on the city's griev- ance board during the code regime. Florence Easton, was also a singer. His second wife, Marie lUava, and a son by his first marriage survive, .WILL J. DUSENBURY Will J. Dusenbury, 70, leaped into the Scioto river, Columbus, O., July: 7. He • was long prominent in theatre and amu.sement park pro motions in Columbus and as a world traveler. He had been In Hi health several years. Survlvinf is a brother, Joseph W., a business associate. Burial was in Green Lawn cemetery, Co lumbus, July 10, IM FOND MCMORY OF MY FBIENI* t W. VANDERSLOOT 'Who Died July 30, 1931 JERRY VOGEL He WSM active In code affairs and helped to frame the first zonlngr clearance setup In the country, for the Los Angeles exchange area. He was a former vice-president of the Independent Theatre Owners of Southern California and held the same berth when Asspclated Ex- hibitors was formed and affiliated with the Motion Picture Theatre pwners. of. America. Mrs. Hicks and a son survive him. MARYLAND STRONG jlrs. Maryland Strong, 35, known on the stage as Mary Morne, died July IS In Hollywfpod. On Broddway she appeared In 'In Lovo . With Love,' .and 'Love -'Em and Leave •Em.' She later" did picture work. In 1022 she was chosen from 100,000 contestants as the Peace Dollar Girl, her' face to have adorned a special issue of silver- dollars the government, planned to mint to commemorate the Armistice. Funeral services in Hollywood July 20 followed by cremation. Sur- viving are her husband, Eugene Strong, production manager at Prudential studios, and a daughter. JOHN J. GOLDEN John J. Golden, 06, for the past 15 years mana.t;er ot the roller rlrik at Summit Beach Park, Akron, O, died July 10 in St. Thomas hospital Akron, from a heart attack. A na- tive 'of Ijoul.sville, Ky., Golden had been Identined with the Aknm amusement center since its Inrep tion and also was in charge of rlnlta In other parts, of the country. Hta widow, a daughter ancl .son survive. Funeral services and burial held in I.,ouI.sville. FRANCIS MACLENNAN Francis Maclennaii, 50, operatic tenor, died of a heart attack .M his home in Port Washington, L. I„ July 17. He made his debut as 'Fau.st' mt Covent Garden. Orera Hodse, Lon- don, 1)1 1002, after' studying in Anaerlca, hla blrthplnee." He re- turned here In 1C04 and toured with -^■the ^lenry Savage Opera Comp.in.v. then irpJng to Germnpy, where he located wltji .the Boj'nI. 9P?ra Com- pany' of Berlin. His ' llrs't wlf'>,. SEBASTIANO COSTA Sebastlano Costa, 59, died in New Rochelle Hospital July 18 of a heart aittack. He was a familiar figure as a comic cop in old Thannhauser film comedies 30 years ago. Costa, who weighed 300 pounds, was a janitor at the Thannhauser studios when selected.for a comedy role, Since retirement 20 years ago, he had bsen engaged in fruit vending. Surviving are h:3 widow, four sons and daughter. JESSIE B. CROMETTE Jessie Brown Cromette, actress, died in New York, July 20. She was at one time a popular player, but had not made an ap- pearance on the local-, stage since 1930. Last vehicle was 'Queen at Home:' "She" also .appeared In William Hodge's play, 'The Judgels Husband,' and Barry Conner's 'Applesauce.' AUGUST MORTIMER August Mortimer, 68, actor, died at the Edwin Forrest Home, Phila- delphia, July 21. Death resulted from a kidney allment.- He had been living at the home for the four years of his retirement. A brother, Maurice Darcy, also an actor, survives. Research LORRAINE RLATT Lorraine Piatt, mother of Georgia Gardner Goodwin, widow of Nat C. Goodwin, died at the St. Francis hospital, San Francisco, July 15. Al- though not Of the stage she was known In the profession through hfer daughter. Mra. Piatt was the widow of a former mine operatoi-. EDWARD E. MUELLER Edward E. Mueller, 65, musician for fifty years and one of the organ- izers of the University of Loulsvilla Symphony Orchestra, died in Loula- viUe July 18, following a brief Ill- ness. He is survived by hla wife, son, daughter, three brothers, four sisters, and four grandchildren.- SAMUEL W. SNYDER Samuel W. Snyder, for years with the Ringllng. Brothers and Bailey circus, as a harness maker, died at his home in Bridgeport, Saturday, 20th. Snyder was with the outfit until the winter quarters were fnoved to Sarasota. JOHN RYAN John Ryan, 65, long a stage hand at til's Colonial theatre, Akron, died July 10 in City Hospital there fol- lo\yi-ng an illness of three weeks. He leaves a brother, William Ryan. , Burial was made in Holy Cross cemetery, Akron. CHARLES SUTTON Charles - Sutton, 79. retired char- acter actor, died in Englewood Hospital, Englewood, N. J., July 20. He appeared in many Shake- spearean productions and. plp.yed,in 'The Pool' for Selwyn, For the past 12 years he had been living at the Actor's Fund Home in Englewood. MON RANDALL Mon Randall, film poster artist and one-time advertising art man- ager Qt the Metro studio, died of ;i heart attack July 22 at hia ranch. Corona, Calif. His mother and widow survive. CHARLES T. RENAUD Charles T. Renaud died July 21 In Syracuse. . He wa.s former organist at Keith's, Fvoew's, Temple and Strand theatres. Mother. 8-1. of (ieorge McManus, comic ;r:rip artist. diPd July 18 in [i oily wood. Mother, 67, of. Aubrey Blair, sec- retary of. ,^he J ipr .Screen Actors (Continued from page 6) the buslnesa cooperation outfit is a dlagulae and front for the Federal Trade Commission and will seek to revive abolished codes on a voluntary basis. Trade Practice Pacts Although duties are somewhat un- certain, the division to which Farnale has been attached, la ex- pected to conduct negotiations with industrial groups interested in working put trade practice agree- ments. Idea Is that the Trade Com- mission lacks personnel experienced in the fine art of setting agree- ments, has no money with which to augment its force, and generally Is shunned by industry groups who have been fighting the F.T.C.'s trust busting expeditions for years. Under the new setup Industrial groups interested in voluntary i>acts. can, if they wish, go to the p't.C. but If they want to do business with familiar people can approach the skeletonized NRA. The first voluntary code since the death of NRA's compulsory' pacts was proposed to the Commlsh Fri- day (19). Character shows how far the F.T.C. will go under its own statutes and the restricted Blue Eagle law. Contrary to expectations. Trade Commlsh permitted inclusion of labor provisions in the pact pro- posed by the Wholesale Tobacco Distributors. Agreement, still fac- ing -further examination before of- ficially oked, covers a wide variety of trade practices, banning actions which would be violation of law, and voluntary clauses on wages and general labor provisions. Pact merely picks up the general labor provisions In the original NRA code, specifying that the trade approves of. the features but not making the requirements binding on the Industry. F.T.C. will not undertake to enforce observance of the labor standards in the event the agreement Is approved in its present form but will leave it up to the distributors to observe or disregard the provisions. The tobacco code action also gave indication of the way the Commlsh will work in negotiating' voluntary pacts. Instead of receiving a pro- posed agreement and calling a pub- lic hearing as the NRA dld^ the F.T.C. sat down privately with of- ficers of the National Association of Tobacco Distributors at a closed- dpor confab in the morning and in the evening announced that the rules had been agreed on by the industry and taken under advise- ment by the Commlsh. Since thfe agreements are not compulsory and do not bind In- dividuals who are not members of the trade .associations or, if indies, do not formally accept them, the Commlsh apparently will provide no opportunity for little fellows to have oratorical field days, ,flle protesting briefs, or otherwise Jam the works. Despite repeated reports that a voluntary film agreement drafted by Tyree Dlllard has been forwarded to Washington, Government officials still Insist they have not seen any such proposal. NRA indignantly maintained the plan has not been seen and the Trade Commlsh, de- clining to reveal the identity ot groups who have shown Interest, said no overture has come from films. Variety House Reviews East Lynne (Continued from page 1) seven paid admissions, or a total of $3,50. With another promoter stepping in, the er.terprise resumed Satur- day with 'Ten Nights in a Bar- room.' Report is that new pro- moter and hotel are guaranteeing members of cast as minimum of $12 a wee?- each, with further compen- sation depending on attendance. Grace Troy, one-time leadlhg lady with the Bainbridge dramatic stock liere, is featured. Guild In Hollywood, died July 16 In Glendale, Cal. Ruth Samuels, 18, daughter of Maurice Samuels, vaudeville, died July £0 in Los' Angeles. Fathop, 75, of the Maxellos, vaude !icl-, died suddenly of heart attiack iri San Diego, Calif., July 19. EMBASSY, N. Y. (Continued from page 20) batlc stomach, modeling child gar- ments; auto testing ground on a Buenos Aires motor factory roof; congressmen inspecting San Diego naval base; French President Le Brun at Percheron show; Max Baer and bride in a silly happv-everafter shot on the beach, and an English sWan refuge threatened with dis- ruption by proposal to use area for a bomber test ground. Aviation has five subjects grouped, with the British king and Prince of Wales shown reviewing what looks like miles of planes; Spanish love flier .en route to his sweetie in Mexico; a crash proof plane; Norse voyager siartlhg long hop to Nor- way, and the hew U, S. bomber, 100-foot wlngspread and more than 2,000-h.p., world's largest' battle plane. Sports section has two star women divers in fine exhibition work, Fred Perry training for Ells worth Vines, a fine parade of Rus- sian athletes, mass calisthenics by thousands of Czecho-Slokavian girls and some lesser subjects. Standout of the sports clips la the recent han- dicap victory by Vanderbllt's Dis- covery, narrated by Clem McCarthy. Mac, the daddy of race announcers, is as close to the horses as their Jockeys In this and his vivid oral clocking of the event, plus splendid camera following of the horses, makes it a thriller. This Is a Pathe contribution. ' Half a dozen bits are dropped In for laughs, none of them too funny. A familiar free-for-all bull fight in Spain, with the whole town teasing ;the toros, has plenty of action, and Fox has brought in ironmonger Starr 'and his numerous famly for dia- lectic humor anent his evanscent diamond mine inheritance; Lew Lehr misses fire badly on a CCC subject and Lowell Thomas, with customary polysyllabic heat on simple news subjects, detracts from the value of each one that he at- tacks. Attacks Is the right word. Bon, ORPHEUM, DENVER Denver, July 17. Andre Lasky brought his 'French Revue' to the Orpheum for a week and D6nver already is talking plenty. More nakedness than has ever been seen on a stage in Den- ver, but not vulgar. He has also found a way to keep the -nut down, using a few local girls to bolster the line. Opens with Paris sidewalk cafe scene, line of 14 in three sets of highly colored costumes, two alike in pattern. Apache dance put on to strengthen Paris atmosphere. Noth- ing' drags In the hour-long stage sho-w, and especially after the crowd has seen -several of the girls stripped to the waists. Expecting more, and getting It. Heading the acts was Mile. Co- rlnne, whose 'Apple Dance' had Sally Rand beat. Bare except for almost invisible ' G string, holding a huge apple where Sally held one of her fans. She and male attired only in trunks do a lengthy dance that gave the yokels plenty to look at'. Line does the build, and the two step' from a huge Illuminated apple. MargueHte Claudet, a brunette singer, does several songs with an unusual clarity of voice. Sings in French, however, and over their heads. Roy Sedley has a line that keeps the audience going, and although some of the gags are plenty ore color, he hardly hesitates on them, but has another on the way almost before the crowd can set the point. He astonishes them with the seeming endless number of cags. Fritz and Jean Hiibert do their well-known drunk act, and get a big return. Denver is hungry for stage shows such as this, that start fast and keep going that way to the finale. Picture Is '■Vagabond Lady,' but it was the stage show that pulled nearly 1,800 In for the first show. Earle, Philadelphia Philadelphia, July 20. Earle's attendance has been pick- ing up steadily of Lite and this week's new show was greeted by a big house in the early afternoon. Show i.s lively without being out of the ordinary and audlonce greeted It with more enthusiasm than usual. Film is 'Lady Tubbs.' Opener is a song specialty bv three of the finalists in the recent Warncr-WLIT amateur contest — Ted Irving, Vincent Leor.ett ancl Joan Eoxman. They each offer a solo and then combine to render the ever-present 'Lullaby of Broadway.' Okay and not too long. Paul Roslnl, A-1 prestidigitator with a smooth style and good per- sonality, accompanies his curd tricks with a lively line of patter. Gets plenty of reward, especially for the stunt witli the hoop, for'which his tiiunib Is tied. Cliff 'Sharlie' Hall has Number 3 spot>and supplies the bill with good, broad humor. SId'ney- Marlon does the dialect part, a la Jnclc Pearl, and Hall straights as usual. Molly- Rio takes part in a number of the comedy sequences and at the end she, Hall, Marlon and an unpro- grammed male Join in singing a ditty about a fan dancer. Funniest bit In the act is a new variation of the shell-game with grape fruit used Instead of peas. Act is a little long, but has plenty of laughs. Ted Adair presents a classy and very well dressed dance act. Ha works with four extra good-looking gals, Ruth Long, Dorothy Arden, Carmelia Monterido and Jean Franr cia. At the beginning, they occupy frames and come to life as Adair spiels about the kind of dahces he likes. One's a waltz, another the Cucuracha, another a classical and the fourth a red hot collegiate. Adaij- then wlna hearty applause for his variety of taps and follows vrith a rag-doll dance with one of the gals. It's a corker. Gals oblige with solo specialties, okay but not startling, and act ends with a color- ful And lively Continental. Rough-house, pure and simple, features offering of .Harry Howard, called 'Born to Be Laughed At,' It's a "Wild and wooly act in which Howard works with a number of nutty stooges, including one pretty gal. Plenty of noise,- quick black- outs and a few songs and dances for good measure, dot the act. It's fast and funny. Waters. CENTURY, BALTO Baltimore, July 19. Billy Rose's 'Small Time Caval- cade' closes a five-act bill here this week and makes the show. When the oldsters have run through their routines the audience has about for- gotten what acts preluded 'Caval- cade.' At show caught a two- thirds house accorded the vets a downright ovation. The turns that preceded got over o.k. for most part, but nothing compared with the re- ception given the closer-and-clin- cher. Unit scored on merit as vaude- goers here don't seem to remernber what constituted 'small-time' years back. Average steady vaudfllm pa- tron hereabouts can scarcely recall the presentations that characterized combo houses' fare few years back. They seemed, at show sighted, to look upon 'Cavalcade' strictly as an excellent novelty. Sympathy angle missed out entirely, because not needed nor understood. 'Cavalcade' ran off In 20 mlns., speedily, sockily. Turns performed in the old style manner, though- strictly straight and without hoklng It. Only, and mayhap significant, concession to modernity was that with sole . exception, all caroling was chirped Into a mike. Jerry Mann prefaced the 'Caval- cade' in the next-to-shut with hla series of Imitations. He's o.k., but type of act is beginning to pall here. Almost every week there is an imi- tator on one or the other of Balto's pair of vaude platforms, and since almost all pack the same repertoire —not only characters, but gestures and lines—it Is no surprise the audi- ences squirm a bit in seats and refuse ti get. excited. in the trey, Joe 'Young, Murray Worth and Larry. Wyle, knock- abouters who spend half act prone on platfoi-m getting breath, . and nearly all the remaining half doling out to each other wallops that make each other prone. Pretty repetitive, but boys close well, uncorking some very nice aero tapping.. Deuce, Croel and Alleh, mixed cross-fire twain. Trick piano helpa much, since thing Is novel and car- ries a lot of laugh-provoking gadgets that can be resorted to when things lag, as they do several times. Allen, the guy, haa a nice comic manner which would shine to better advantage with better ma- terial. Gal about o.k., her short size contrasting nicely with tali partner. She sings a mild song, hoofs a mild dance which is helped across by guy gagging while she dances. They team up for a hoof session, too. Act could speed up. Opener, Youthful Rhythm, fiash that was here few months ago billed 'Future Stars." Tasty toggery and setting set off turn well, and the extremely youthful-looking talent takes, too. Three.gals and a guy handle the hoofing ends, working well individually and collectively. Anothor boy backgrounds several opening dancing numbers with song, and has mid-way break of own In 'one,' when he solos a Job, accom- panyIr.S self on guitar. Nice act. On screen, 'Murder Man' (MG). Also Metro clips and usual trailers. Set For Ethiopia (Continued from page 1) made by Cab. & Wireless, Ltd., ^f Londin, British associate company of RCA Communcations, interna-- tional radio-tele unit of RCA. Jleans direct wire and radio c(-ntact from RCA Communcations odice In N. Y. to London and thence ' direct to Rthiopia. Same holds good for mes- .•iagcs, undoubtedly to he used by newspaper representatives, from Addis Ababa to T'. S. Old line went by Indirect route that included a relay through radio station i^t.C.?U"o.