Variety (Sep 1935)

Wednesday* September 18, 1935 VAUDEVILLE VARIETY 33 Mexico Wants U.S. Acts, but Ifs lor Pesos " '15eartTi' 6f"nairv5"\alerit liilex- Ican managfers cliamorlnff for attrac- ffcris Iri 'thtlt- theatreg.^ Scarcity ne- cessitates performers bicycling be- tween club dPtes, theatres and the radio to keep all open. This pondl- ^tloh -haart h e Gcn t ral Amiol' tcarn-lm- pi'esarlps angllne: for all American aot pdrcurable, according to Martin Wagneir, of the William Morris of- fice, who returned last week from a tour of Mexico. There are a dozen theatres in Mexico.city all anxious to book acts f rpm the States; another six in Mon- terey, Tamplco :and Guadalajara, Agua Caliente is out because Of the morgue atmosphere there since thft chance cathedrals were shut-, tered. Border town of Juarez never id count, . There are two drawbacks to work- ing below the border. First is the dough situation. Theatres adhere to a strlct policy of peso payoff. While salaries look healthy enough in the coin of the realm, when changed in- to the more familiar U. S. green- backs they retain little of the flush. There is a very large exchange dif- ference bet\veeh cur^cgncies of the two countries. . >^ Second is the theatres themselves. While spme are in excellent physi- cal condition, others are badly di- lapidated and considered flretraps. There are no chains in Mexico, each theatre operates independent of Its competitors. In this way, as is frequently done, acts are permit- ted to rotate through several the- atres In Mexico City by jumping in- to another house after completing an engagement In the Immediate vicinity. Wagner has arranged for the Hil- ton Sisters to go dowh. there pn straight salary basis the end of Oc- tober. This type of act (Siamese, twins) and other dumb turns are in demand because of non-confllctlon in tongues, He is also negotiating for similar dates for Sally Rand and Thurston. If set both will go In on percentage deals. Jobless on Parade Rit? Bros, have applied to Gen. Johnson for the use of 100 relief wprkers. . TMv „Tv:ant- th*jn,..S6.-jBiandr.. wlch men to cover Broadway during the Rltz' date at. the Atate,. New York, next; 'freek- (20). DUNCANS SPANKED IN BANKRUPTCY WASHUP Los Angeles, Sept. 17. Verbal spanking was given Vivian and' Rosetta Duncan by Federal Judge William P. James, in refusing to discharge sisters from' bank- ruptcy. Court said girls were, negligent in making appearances during four years of bankruptcy litigation. They were blamed for not ylgor- pualy pushing their discharge pe- tition, for shifting from lawyer to lawyer and because only $1,500 in assets can be located. Original filing listed . debts at $4D5,0D7 and assets at $22,500. Pres- ent ruling places sisters' case back In same status as originally. Midwest Vaude Adds Chicago, Sept. 17. Perk-up of vaude time in the midwest last week brought about the consummatlpn of deals for the booking of the National, Louisville, by the 6illy Diamond office as a full-^yeek stand, and the Palace, Ft. Wayne, four days weeldy. National wili use five acts. Palace Is an RKO stand, which will try vaude on a Sunday to Wednesday filng. Big State-Lake Weeks Chicago, Sept. .17. State-Lake theatre has. hit money and attendance highs for the year in the past fortnight on two special stfcge attractions: Fred-Allen Town Kail-Amateurs unit and the Dally Times-Metro finals on its local screen contest.' House did iil 20,000 In the fortnight. Apeta Sues Sassafrass Fcr $3,000 Commissions Siilt against Tony Labrlola, known as Sassafrass,. by Nick Agneta, agent for $3,000, filed in .July in City Court, Queens County, has beefn answered by the defendant and is expected to conie to trial In a few weeks. " Agheta claims $3,000 as his bit of what the actor has earned in the past year and half. Louis Randell, acting for Sassafrass, charges that the contract was breached because of the agent's inactivity in procur- ing: work for the defendant. It Is further stated that the only em- ployment afforded by Agneta were a few break-in vaude dates for which he wag- paid. Since then the actor has clicked in the current Earl Carroll show, 'Sketch Book,' which, it is claimed, Is what prompted the piaintlff to bring suit. Nature of latter is breach of contract, but in- volves the stipulated sum. Labrlola is originally from vaude, in which he appeared with Jack McLallen before going In 'Sketch Book.' Trio Shifts Personniel Vaude trio of Young, Worth and "vVyle has partially spilt up, with Young out and the act now being billed at Worth, Wyle and Howe. New- combo Is currently at the tate, Balto. MAY SEE VAUDE SI FablanJs flirting with a vaude- ville policy for the Paramount, Brooklyn, at which time the Fox would go straight sound. That's very indef, however, although the Fox musicians and declchands are oii no- tice, just in case. Swltbhabbut of ' the downtown Brooklyn film map has the Par mull- ing the vaude idea and not presen- tations. Loew's Metropolitan has some strong product on deck, the Albee (RKO) Is talking of twinning which, states the Par management, would force It Into flesh. Loop Hand-ShaJcers Chicago, Sept. 17. Lot of New York visitors looping around last week.. Among them were Abe Lastfogel^ Johnny Hyde,. Ferdle Simon and Max Tlshman. Howard Pierce and Dave Idzal came in from Detroit for some vaude look- around. Boys took some peeks at the newer units hitting <he boards, be- sides casting an eye at the new set- up of the Chez Paree. AFA CHARGES CIRCUITS 'BOYCOTTING' ASKKGCaVim SUPPORT Actors' Union Staging Mass Protest Meeting in N. V. —-Campaigjjjng in,9. Towns for Vaude. Return FOX MILWAUKEE SHAKEUP Manager Leaves, DayA MSiler From' Riverside ifts Milwaukee, Sept 17. In a.surprlse move tbat may mean a general change In the operatipn Palace theatres In the loop here, Hfirold Fitzgerald, general manag6r, announced that Livingston Laiinlhg, manager for the past several years, had resigned. No successor was named by Fitzgerald bu^. believed the post will go to Kdda Wiesrier, associated with. Fox In operation of several outlying and state houses. Lanning has made no plans for the future. Fox has taken over Dave Miller anC his band, for two years the "at- traction at Eddie Welsfeldt's Rlver- slde. Miller .goes Into the Wisconsin Sept. 21 with a revue built around himself. After playing the Wiscon- sin one week. Miller will start his amateur radio shows from that the- atre on Thursday nights over WiSN. The amateur shows have become a big draw at the Riverside with Miller haying been m.c. and chief auditioner. Miller's band will ailso be used at the Wisconsin Roof ball- room and as house band at the Palace; Aside from announcing the am- ateur shows will continue at the Riverside, Welsfeldt has made no revelations; It Is believed Bob McElroy, who has directed night club and Hotel Schroeder bands will follow Miller at the Riverside. Miller's leaving the Riverside and h's debut at the Palace comes with Welsfeldt's announcing of his. trump stage -show for the year. Major Bowes' amateuca,. Unit Girls in Crash Burlington, Vt, Sept. 17. Four girls of the 'Star of Stars' unit troupe were seriously Injured when their car overturned near MOntpelier, Vt. Hospital reports said all would recover. Arlene Clem, of Qulncy, Mass., Judy Swanson and Ruth Brlgham, of Boston, and Mae Boudreau, of Cambridge were the passengers. . Paul Dennis, operator of the. ma?- chine, was held by the state police. Kerr to M.C. Tyros Don Kerr, WMCA announcer, opens at Fox, Brooklyn, Friday (20) on Jladio Revels show, which pre- sents the weekly amateur winners In a bunch. Novice night is aired Monday nights over WMCA. Kerr released from all station chores during the stage m.c. Job. B'way Par Set for Stage Show Return; Name BiflsJ8,5i Budget Return of stage shows to Para- mount on Broadway Is novv^ set with the date still problematical, though probably the week starting Oct; 4. Dote of resumption depends on how Ions the current film, 'Big Broad- cast' (Par) will run. It starts a sec- onr" week Friday (20) and may run a third, leaving the way open for the house to start its stage ohow program Oct; 4. ■ Announceinent of the resumption of live entertainment at the Par has (ilrfeady been made on .a large plac- ard in the Inner lobby of the the- atre, This also fails to mention a slnrtlng date, l^lclure tentatively set to follow 'Broadcast' Is. 'Peter fbbelson.' Upping Admish With the stage show.s will come a hike In the admission scale (present top is .85c) to partially meet the expense of the name -ihows tiiat are planned for the theatre. While no acts have been set for the opening phow as yet, Glen Gray's Caaa Loma band, at $7,500 net weekly, Has been booked to open at the Par Oct. 18 for a two weeks' run. Deal was set by Phil Bloom of Uockwell- O'Keefe agency. Average stage budget for the theatre. Is expected to be around ?8,500. Besides the starting date, other matters that are being ironed out now by Boris Morros, Par's stage production head, and the operators are deals with the stagehands' and musicians' unions. No real difflcul-. ties, however, are being anticipated .from these quarters. Par goes into stage shows with ihfc field practically clear on Broad- way so far as the de luxers are con- cerned. Capitol, with straight pic- tures, v.'lll offer no competlsh, while tiifl Roxy, because of its much lower admission scale and cheaper shows, will be out of the Par's cla.s8. Loew's operators, before deciding on wheth- er the Capitol will follt.w suit, will wait to see how the Paramount's Initial stage start opens^ New York theatre managers were .'clieduled to meet yesterday after- noon (Tiiesday) with tho Musicians' union. Local 802, to discuss new wage scales for theatres uslncr or planning to u.se stage shows. Para- mount returning stage show policy Oct. 4 may be followed by tiie Capi- tol, also Broadway, arpund Jan. 1, A Route Asked how. he was; coming - alviig,"a^aTrtliract0r-answeredT- 'Okay. We just opened at the Roxy. Next weeit we go to Wanamaker's.' cott No Payoff, Unit's Fem. Trio Thumbs Back Home ^ Baltimore, Sept; 17. Three girls camre Intp Balto last week with tale of being stranded with a unit in Grafton, W. Va., and when no dough looked forthcoming a,fter they had subsisted for two days on the cuff, hitch-hiked here, where parents of two . of , the girls, a sister act, Rhoda and Jackie Lee (nee Snyder) live. Other femme Is Anne Trevor. Trio had been out with a 20-peo- pled unit tagged 'Palais Royale.' Show, owned by Jack Van, had been out about six weeks, starting In Marlon, O., and wlldcattlng tiiroUgh small towns, playing twP- day stands on percentagfe. Accord- ing to the three girls who thumb- wayed ' themselves here, they were ■ paid salaries for first fortnlte out and then things got tough, money coming spasmodically, a dollar or so at a time. According to the girls' version, they went to Van early In a..m. of day they left show, aroused him out of his hotel and asjted for cpln; claim were told he hid none. Van's version Is sll' '.tly different, and the unit is still out, this week plaiying Lancaster,. 6., and as far a« can be determined, none of others In retinue has decamped. Van holds that the gals did not come to seC; him before walking off show after playing .the date at thp Strand, Grafton, W. Va. Admits he owes 'em some money, but iiis figures are far under those claimed by the trio. Van says he oWes Rhoda Lee $12.90; Anne Trevor, 64c; and Jackie Leo $3.20. Tooters-Theatres Still Deadlocked in Philly Philadelphia, Sept. 17. Meeting Monday (IG) between Fox thieatre management and com- mittee representing musicians' un- ion resulted in deadlock. Dispute is now where it was efore, with both sides standing pat and saying next step is up to the other. This is the first ineetlng 'bct\yeen opposing sides, management pre-, vlously refusing to discuss matter unless union repre^ientatives were given full power. No meetings have been held or scheduled between union and Stanley-Warner manage- ment, operating Earle and various nabe houses normally using vode shows. Points dt Issue are size of house bands and whether Fox and Earle v/Ul agree to use two fcands each. Both managements turned thumbs do^v^n pn two-band Idea and offpr J.,4i^(Earle) and. 18 (Fox) men crew.s. Pending scttlemient. Fox and all Stinicy-Warner houses are on straight film polldy. Amerlca,h Federation of Actors plorfe a mass meeting the night of Sept. 25 at the St. James . theatre, -^^«w--YeFWr^-P*©t©sfe-^gainst -wliat-- claimed to be the general boy- of stage-shows by the major theatre circuits. A resolution ask- in,< the government to adPpt: a plan submitted by the AFA for national rehabilitation of vaudeville will be submitted to those In attendance. AFA at present is campaigning In the nine towns In which it has branches for the return of vaude- ville, special squads gathering peti- tions atnohg laymen, merchants, etc. Al^ut 100 men and women this week will start a similar campaign in all of New York's five boroughs. AFA spots are Boston, Bridgeport, GJlilcago, Cleveland, DetroU, Mil- waukee, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. First petitions completed were fiom Bridgeport, which Ralph Whitehead, executive secretary of the AFA, forwarded to Marvin Schenck, Loew theatre exec. Schenck rt-plled that Loew's, which also op- erates the Poll houses, has repeat- edly tried to restore vaude In Bridgeport, but it had always been uiiprofltaible; He added, however, tl-.at shows will be played there whenever feasible. Vaude plan submitted to the gov- ernment calls for ,an expenditure of around $9,000,000 to get a self-sup- porting stage show circuit started ih other than metropolitan districts. Wayburns Bankrupt Ned Wayburn and his wif<>. Mar- guerite, last week filed voluntary petitions, in bankruptcy with the Federal Court in New York. Way- burn gave his liabilities as $567,579 and stated he had no as- sets. Mrs. Wayburn's • schedule set the liabilities at $378,538 and no a.ssets. For Wayburn, the bankruptcy oath was the second taken within iaev- eral years. Penguin Act Arrives World's only performing Antarc- tic specimen, 'Pete the Penguin,' ar- rl\ed from France yesterdaj', (Tues- day) for a .spot In the 'BrJn,? on the Dames' show-unit being produced by Michael Todd in Chicago. European penguin act wa.M signa- tured for Todd by Lou Wolfaon of tho William Morris Agency. Bozo Ddesta't Look Like Bozo, So Audience Riots St. John, N. B, Sept. tt. Opening show .of-B<izo Snyder andi his musical revue, for an eastern Canadian tour, was far from auspi- cious. It was at the local Empire and in addition ip picture fare. An uproar v/as created, with nearly everybody in the house participate Ing, when a demand was made for refund of admission price. The im- pression prevailed In the audience that Bozo wais riot the original comic of that name. Disorder wais finally quieted down with the aid of police. Miller Joins Morrison Bill Miller, of the indie agency field, has Joined the Charlie Morri- son office. In charge of the vaude- ville department. Miller will represent Morrison on the RKO floor and the outside. 'Lone Ranger' Unit Chlcaigo, Sept, 17. Because of the click of the 'Lone Ranger' radio show on the Mutual and Michigan radio networks, the Gordon Baking Co., which sponsors tha thrce-tlmes-weekly r^^dlo script, aliso sponsoring the show In thea- tres. Max Halperln agentlng. / Unit Is carrying a llne-up of 16 people, including the 'Ranger* him- self, 'Silver,' the horse, plus comedy and singing characters for vaiide. Now being booked on the Butterfleld and Gr6at States time before head- ing east. Cooper Shifts to Phila. Ralph Cooper, m. c. at the Apollo, In Harlem,, for the past year and a half, opens at tile Lincoln, Philly, on Friday (20), doing similar chorea. He al.qo directed WMCA's Amateur •Vlght In Harlem, broadcast Wednes- day nights at n o'clock over Inter- city service, ever since.'its start a year ago. Willie Eryaht has succeeded hi ■xt the Apollo. Eesuming: Cushman Units Seattle, Sept. 17. Cushman units are coming back to northwest, opening week stands at Hex (Sterling), SeiJt. 29. the units to hold the boards every other week. From here acts jump to Beacon theatre, Vancouver,-B. c.