Variety (Sep 1935)

34 VARIETY VAUDE - BURLESQUE Wednesday, September 18, 1935 Burleycue-Film-Legit Combo Policy FjM01dFifthJbe.onJkflai^ Unusual policy three dlfstlnct types of entertainment—burlesque, ft)m.!?, pjn[<3,legit—jvUl. be, itt?mpted at Jack Stern's Fl?;th Ave. theatre, New York, thlis fall. A burley arid pictures are incumbents' and change In policy will add legit revivals, *JJr"W- '«»^«'.TO.r,tIy.. erlxys a c^,mbo of antiquated films and burley after ■f- I... ~a~y'H<i\'U'iit vaii'siy, ^eglt 'and vaude; on-utrlko • It's located on Broadway at 28th Street. Around mid-October old - time mellers ssuch as 'The Drunkard' will come in for exhumation. Stern! will have a repertoire of nearly every old vehicle that played the house during its heydey. Reference to the public Hbrrfry has assisted. Strip- pers and films will grind during day at two-bits arid legit will come on nightly at |1 top. George Damroth, who directed for Stern's summer theatre at BlVerhoJ, N. Y., will han- dle the legit crews. Intention is to install pseudp gais lamps, sell peanuts and litter the floor with proverbial sawdust for 'atmosphere.' Run of show depends on time warranted. Stern will hold each play until milked. • Casting for stock company is al- ready under way. Rehiearsals start In about two weks. Augmenting the plays, films of 'The Great Train Robbery* and reels on the Tommy -Burns-Jack Johnson fight of 25 years ago, etc.,. will be. used as pro- eram fillers, The Fifth Ave. has. an unusual history and has quartered some of the theatre's gi'eatest personalities. In its prime It played Drews, Barry- mores, Edwin Booth, Maude Adams, James O'Neill, Joseph Jefferson and Eleanora Duse's American premiere at $30 per box. It passed through the handis of Gilsey, Daly, Miner and Proctor to. the present' lessee. Possible that the City Theatre, Newark, N. J., will get a revival of. 'The Drunkard' also under Stern's banner. He has already engaged Jerry Sylvon, who played role last year in New York, for the lead in mosquito to\yn venture. STARS ON PARADET (INDEPENDENT WHEEU " Aliout th«J.' dHiy' fchattg(j "firi' the 'new' burlesque, about • which the Minskys and Issy Hirst have been speaking dining formation Of their Independent Wheel, is the $1.50 a w.cff.W^cro.'iflc-in .chorus girls' Sal- aries. And the girls had to go put Holly>vood._Sept. 17. ._ " ^with "the~strrke' se'ttledr"*'Life"Be- giris at Mihslty's" reopened at the PJajiJiQVise. Friday (13) for t>vq.days before leaving Hollywood, Troupe plays the Civic Auditorium, Long; .J3.(?ach.. .0^1 Sept,.. . fiIi.d-.22.;.. I^Ibero.,. Santa Barbara 24 and 25, and opens in San Francisco for a. run Sept. 28. Nothing set to follow 'Frisco, with the show probably going to Miami •Swh-tlie ^•intier; Joe Weinstock is h*- Sari Francisco looking for a. ho"W8?. Mi's 2 Burlys Buffalo, Sept. 17. Buffalo y!tt\ have two burlesq ■hows beginning this week, Thp Gayoty will be reopened by . Flanigan & Irons with a stock and twenty-flye girl chorus. The Pal- &ce. which has been open all sum- mer to good returns, Is continuing with stock burlesque and pictures. BUBLT-YOSE COMBO Newark, Sept. 17. With the settlement of the strike, the Empire began to show burlesq with two acts of vaude Sunday (15), under the. management of Henry Brock and Ed Rose. Admlsh Is 26-36C mats and 35-56- )5c at night. Show is continuous. Now, perhaps, .the Minskys arid Issy Hirst, arid all the other bur- lesque managers for that matter, ought to go out on strike, and may- be they'll wind up with something besides the sarrie old boloney; 'Stars on Parade,' first of, the season's traveling troupes to reach the Republic on 42d street, follows formula and attains the status of saleiable stuff only wlien the. strip-, ping is on. There's plenty of strip- ping, however, and some of it by a couple of lookers, or at least lookers on the stage under dim lights and with their clothes off, Pat Paree, for Instancfe, of the Peaches Strange school, and the nearest to Peaches that's cbnie along yet. . AI Golden, wlio has ga;ined the topmost heights of burlesque straightmanshlp because he knows a few more three-syllable words tlian the average, produced 'Stars on Parade,' and. you'd never suspect It uriless seeing the show, Golden didn't neglect hiriiself when dishing out the material and spots. His stuff, leaning tenderly In the direc- tion of abnorriialities which are now considered the zenith of burlesque humor, Is all over the place, and Golden along with It. They've seen Clyde Bates' bar- tending bit so often as to recognize every little movement, yet this drew the be^t laugh returns of the show. In the troupe besides Golden, Bates and Miss Paree are Stariley Simmons, Marion Carroll, Sammy Weston, Jack Hunt, Connie Ryan, Jack Ryan, Minnie Mae Moore, Car- men, Diane Logan arid Jacquet Wil- son. There are 18. girls, all strip- ping tor the poslne. bv^ yet to learn a time step. So this Is 'new' burlesque. Tch, tell, those Minskys are such kidders. Bige, Girl Act to Oriient Seattle, Sept. 17. Di (jaetanp dance act, five girls, sails in 10 days for Shanghai, China, to open at Cathay early In (Dctober. Otto Schmidt, manager, and a directress, go with the act, which starts on the far east circuit, under, persorial direction of Ed. J. Fisher, Inc. Booked in orient for about a year. Bijou Circuit Week of Sept. 22 Vanltensers—Republic. New York. Scan DollB—Werba, Brooklyn. Pop)>in' The Cork—Gayety, Baltimore. Pace Makers—HoAyard, Beaton.' BverythlnR Goes—Troc, P)illadelphla. Hit Hat ■ Rev—Bmptre, Newark;. • . Wine, Women &. Song—Hudaon, Union City. Say It With GlrlB—KSayety, Washing- ton, D. C. The THEATRE of the STARS MINSKY H'WOOD SHOW GOES NORTH TO FRISCO Theatrical agents in the Los Angeles sector, particularly those oper- atthg In the vaude, club,'party arid night'spot fields, are undex'golng' a quiet checkup from state labor comriilsh oflUces, charged with licerising «r.-d'poHcirip^^ the percwtcp^v- ■ . >^ Probe, plus tightening up on'iBeuance of llcehses. Is reminder that - Age nts a r c fl uantriaHy-reapeftslMfr-ari d must operate in-etjttcai-manriei'.—---- SYR. BURLESQ ON PROBATION Syracuse, N. Y., Sept. 17. Return of stock burlesque to the Civic, under the George Katz bari- ner. Is 'probationary/ according to City Hall report. Company, headed by Benny 'Wop' Moore, with Beverley Carr produc- ing, opend Saturday sans city li- cense for the house. If the operat- ing policy meets the: city adminisr tration'a specifications iEor 'cleanli- ness,' the license will be forthcom- ing; if not, It will be curtains. Chief Inspector; of Public As- semblies Charles Wilkes will eye the shows for. William E. Rapp, com-, missioner .bf public safety. Wilkes Is a fireman, doubling as Rialto liai- son man for the City Hall. Operation of the house by Katz last spring was riot exactly satisfac- tory to the city' administration, which reportedly received strong complaints. Criticism was directed at both dialog and strip artists. This didn't prevent Katz from featuring three of the latter In this week's first show—Ruth Donald, Mabel Francis and Evelyn Cusaway.' New troupe is B. A. A. with Moore a.s deputy. Spring lineup was non- union, and this was another factor in the behind-the-scenes squabbles then. Katz made overtures to the Stage Hands and Musicians Unions for the full unionization of the thej aire: this season, but found the for- mer asking for six men at $60 each, and the latter also talking pre-de- presh salaries. So Katz has four non-union stage hands at $25 each, and a pit band In kind. Latter has Gary Schumann, brother of Henriet- ta Schunnann, concert piaiilst, lead err 2 Balto Burlys Open Baltlniore, Sept. 17. Mlnsky's Palace reopened this week with Indie plx and burlesque policy. Grind from 10 a.m. till 6 p. .m. films and fiesh. House then shuts till 8:30, when one burlesque- only performance plays. Nite top. 7.5c.- Current show la Intact from Minsky*s. Republic, N. Y. Nexf Wfek's show ilikewise, but from then on'stock troupe will be put on tap Maurice Castclle lis managing house. Burg's other burly barn, Hon Nickel's indie Gayety, reopened after summer slumber last week. At 99c. top, house threc-a-days tour- ing shows on the Izzy Hirst circuit. Inside Stuff-Vaade Ned Dobson, back from Hollywood, brought Joe Phillips' screen test '^Ttlf^Trin"sd"lJ3iirs~TC"^ltirr£yTrai^^ Test fllmi has the comic hiding under a toupe and feverishly thumbing a telephone book to call up a; notorious woman. Phlllfps went .tb Hollywood" on' the rfd^rice'Ol SidriSy arid TSchenck; First film'assii^nmerit will be in 'Riff Raff' (M-G5|. Spotting was done by Rufus LeMalre. Dobson also plans going back to Hollywood. Odd sltuatloa has cropped up with amateurs, who have won prizes on Major Bowes' broadcasts, offering thiemselves for stage show booking as Bowes' amateurs which they actually are as a result of having appeared on his program whether winning prizes or not. Rub is that booking of the amateurs confilcts with personnel Of Bowes' own amateur units, five of which are out on the road at present, his own theme, ^Hollywood Moods,' written by two 'of tlie boys. Buck Ram and Dick Maltby^ Immediately thereafter , it's 'Rhythm Is Our Business-,' then the trio, Dixie Debs, In 'L'amour,' and again the band in .shOrt order on 'Nightmare,' also a Maltby penciling. Chavez, a welcome novelty at this time, flips cards and closes his act by swallowing one egg and by re- gurgitation bringing five back up. This stunt Is hard on the supper show, since by the time the third egg appears, evei-ybody is ready to do an act of their own- The band some more,. Skip Moore vocals. The Tafts, fast and clever, bririg the show up and the Interest here. Duo has soriie kick steps tliat are honeys. Rita O'Hayer, hit songstress of the layout, gets this semi-colleglate mob right by the hands with four songs;; Al Kern, forsaking his trum- pet, comes down for a nut mousey bit which pleased those who paid a dime. The Debs and Billy Han.son, doing 'Ufty Mufty and Gufty,' finish Into the band's 'I've Got Rhythm,' which drops the curtain. . Miss O'Hayer and Skip Moore, Siamese twined as. they ■ are with the mike when singing, should learn to come out from behind it once In a while, that Is, if this tour is really supposed to be a personal, appear- ance. It's a class show, well costumed and the rhythms snappy, a,nd alms hard at the ether addicts, which should justify Its selection by Messrs. Dick Bergln & Warne Jones for this footlighting pilgrimage. Barnev. Unit Reviews BILL HOGAN UNIT (ORPHEUM, LINCOLN) Lincoln, Sept. 13. Riding on the crest of plenty of time over CBS In the past few months, Hogan was piclied to open the midwest RKO time starting here and routing through Sioux City, Ia.,.Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Minneapolis and St, Paul. He's ofr fering strictly a band sliow, In fact, as clocked here 32 minutes of his 48 on .stage are devoted to the band alone doing six numbers,- and an additional l-,^:f dozen backing vari- ous singers. Finish and performance of the troupe is almost flawless as far as mu.slc is concerned, but the two acts carried, Ben Chavez, card manipulator and magician, and the excellent terpists, Ted and Mary Taft, aren't enough to make' it a good stage show. It's generally too much of the game thing. Opening is a radio bit, overlong, wherein 10 different air programs are clowned from behind the drop, Hogan being the only member of the organization out front and riiak- irtg the motions of tuning a set. Uses this as an excuse to bring in 42D ST. FROLICS (VARSITY, LINCOLN) Lincoln, Sept. 13. This is a local assembly as a unit, the idea being provided by Manager Milton Overman and m.c. Paul Spor. It's a good bill after It gets rolling, but has a hard time getting there. A fast novelty or flash act to open would have helped and brought it away a winner. As Is, the mob Is satisfied by the time it's finished. Bob -Stickney and Co., on first, are greatly handicapped, due to heavy cutting necessitated by In- ability to hang his drops. In this presentation style. Result Is he's doing a short five rriinutes of his original 11,. which hardly gets him or the audience warm. He works on stilts and does a difficult dance routine and Is followed on the stage by diminutive Lillian Aylen, Second are the Carltoris, cla.ssy ballroorii team, In a waltz. A big hand, top. In this spot which has gone to town on this terp material In the past couple of weeksi Npxt Is a band bit with Spor out front doing the familiar manuscript stuff and band misculng. for the laughsl Ju Fong, Chinese lad with a surr. prise tenor, does an Italian selection for a beginning and then 'Irish" Eyes Are Smiling.' Uses 'Sing Song Girl' to move out with and gets a trerifiiendous hand. The Carltons again, this time for a Continental. Closing turn, Al "Verdi and Thelma Lee, Is an air- tight laugh producer, "Verdi being a master at mugging and clowning with a cello. BarneV' New Acts DANCE JUBILEE (5) Dances 12 Mina.; Full (Special) G. O. H., N. Y. Curtains part disclosing entire flvesome, four girls and a boy, on full, stage for a I'un of standard hoofing. Act breaks up while girl and male partrier remain to hop up and down some low steps."^ It's familiar stuff by Itself, though de- livered quite well by the duo. Next, t:vvo girls who resemble each other enough to be-twine, re- turn for a rope-sklpping dance. Other solos are confined to con- tortion bending, fast whirling arid sundry acrobatic fiourishes. Nom of it can be labeled expert hoofing, as It looks too strenuous. AH get together at the end for a straight hand-out of tap dancing. Act Is costumed In fair taste; Set Is simple but has enough color to brighten up the fiash. Audience none too responsive, even in view of the fact that the flvesome worked hard and maintained a certaln.zip In presenting their stuff. A closer at this show. THREE SPEEDS Novelty 6 Mins.; Full G. O. H., N. Y. Trio, two men and a blonde girl, on roller skates for an opener. It's regulation fare, consisting for the mairi part In a lot of twirlirig, some mild dancing and general space coverage. At least there's move- ment. One sltater manages to light a cigarette while In action. The girl whirls In mid-air suspended from her partner's neck. She gets the brunt of the chores, having to serve as the main flash in practically all of the feats. , Act very short, and while not too smooth In running order, served Its purpose in getting things started at this riabe house. Hal Thompson's ork moves from DuPont hotel, Wilmington, to Four Horsemen Club, Philly, Sept. 30, re- placing Joe Frasetto, who goes to Hotel Pennsylvania (Phllly), same date. Jimmy Tyson replaces Dei Regis at Ancliorage, latter going on tour. Universal Artists Bureau set them. PAULINE COOKE 1674 Broadway prrRentH JOHN ELDREDGE In "The Goose and tlie Oander" Strand, Neir York MIKE CONNOLLY, Pilot DOROTHEA ANTEL ZZn Wrmt 72nil St.. New forb City Blrthdiiy Bvnryday, COnvnlexmit OreellnK CardR in Boxed ABRortments, 15 exclusive and orlRlnal cardR to the box, tl 00. Special discount on \iTi;e quantities. Write for Partlcnlnre ' MADALYN WHITE AVPEARINO WITH BELL BROS. AND CARMEN FEATURING NOVELTY DOUBLE CANE TAP DANCE Created by SAMMY DilKNS T H K A X R E3 S 127 0 SIXTH AVENUE RADIO CITY NEW YORK