Variety (Nov 1936)

1 JJIL.U-^IUM" Wednesday, NovenabeE 4, 1936 VA II B E -NITE CLWBS VARIETY 47 independent exhibitprs and small tiouse. ihroughout •major portion, ,of ISJ«!Vir: Yoyk City vrtf ei -Md to rstop th^^ir present am- ; «teUir, cabiaret or vaudeviUa shows or take out« vaude license My Cemr Aissloner Moss Ijast we<ilc< Nunierpus iiiclfie fiiii) theatries have been using ^aqoateUT;/.niighis additjlb^ to . double feature bills. Many of theriii r '^egi^edly negl^ted to take out 4he iifecessairy licenj^ . nee^^^ fbr stage -jthows, Not only Is thi! city anxious to. re- "lieive any additional revenue to be 'derived from such licenses,- but also 'Ceiiiimssidher Moss brieves the -''amatuer^ stunt/nights and so-called [ cabaret performances fail- to bienefit ; tiie regular 'pr8fesi^ional vaudeville 'iutor. The 'chickien-feed' coin ^yen at these ;;^all house iaihateur nights fkldom goes to. the regular Vpro- artlst and fUrtHer ^rags down his ':wage standard when acceptiip in ■ d^qp«ratioii, according to i^epbrts , .eelved h^^^;^^^^^ ijdditibn, -^:^($..cash .only a ■■ weekas''a;r^^ ... tJnde the ftlb'siB' ru^ the small . ' •xhib will.have to take oiit this n^^w Ucense lor stage perforniahces or :ehihinate ihenx:, LiioeAke for the^treff . present . .itage . shpyrs. * ^ $500 annually ifor large sea!ters, tui smaller nei^bor- hood'houses c^^ fior. $250 to $300. Filial decision; on shuUler ; fee is understood to be entijreljr in thie hands of Coniinissioher Moss CENTRAL OFFICE FOR REICtt VM BOOiK Oct, 25i Pefteptible uneasiness, amoiig local : yaude aj^ents f9ilowin^ a conference tield here this week at the offices of " the Reichsfachsdiaft Artist official kovernment body circus and cabaret ehtertainment. Agents ;were. told that the Artistik ; Plahs to dp 6way with all agents in the Reich, substituti Central office similar to the in opera- tion fpr legit actors. Idea would mean another Pareniia, ill-famed here because hiving caused / losses, amounting to over $1,000,000. Parenna was originated by the late Max Berol-Konorah, then heitd of the I. A, L., and was almost lpO% boycotted by managers. With cbnditions changed, managers , , would be forced to book through the new institution, if the plan, now heavily opppsed,, gets through* & Sets Route for Olsen and Jqhnsoii Unit .,Holiywobd, Nov. 3.. Isen and Jbhhson will be sent on ibur weeks' tour by Fanchoh & Marco in a unit^ 'Hollywood Discov- enes.' , Comics open , at the'benbani, Den- ver, ...Nov. 18,. With Kansas City, .i. umaha and Minneapolisi to iollow. '; Par> Bands Parambuht has spotted three name bands for dates In three different towns; ,. ">. / Horace Heidt'^ Crew goes into the Met, Bostbh, week of Nov. 27; Ted •r*]?^«; ^^^^^ Buffalo Nov. 6, while ied/v^eems i^ bpoked for the Minne-: ^ota, Mirtrteapolis, Nov. 27. ■ MES. EILipT j SUES , . Nov, Bernard W. (Bernie) Elliott, hlte Club operator, is being sued for di- i Supreme Court here by j Edith . EUiPtt. Recently Mrs. Elliott sued for sep- I . r wfth"" Eilllott counterclaimlrig 1 for divorce. Present action super- sedes the separation case. Me and the Prez, Los Angeles, Nov. 3» pbby Vernon, m.c. at the Orpheum, is p r p b a b 1 y first iactpr ever • tP ' share headline b^Uang with the President of the United fStates.' ' House Is screehihg 'The Presi- dent's Mystery,' " ith . photps. and lithbs of Robsevelt decb- rating the lobby, and Vernoh'ii n^ugg .alongside. $75,000 NET FOR Net . of $75,000 ;w?is -realized Wednesday ight (28) f roin; the an- nual> !Nig<?t; Stirs' heheflt at Madison Square Garden,, N. Y., sppnspred by the United P^estine Appeal, Jpint pistributip'h . Commit- tee andi N* y.-ibaily Mirrpr^ r Funds are used for relief .and rehabilita- tion pf persecuted Jews abrbs^d; Lpiiis IC. ' idney, head of WHN, chainniinned the entertttinment com- mittee, witii all the vaudeville bbok- ing officeis co-operating, . Garden, wiis close tp a aellbut fpr the affair.. In Adjoining Swim Pool Lynchburg, Npv; 3. Suit for. $10,000 has been ALU against Carey H. Falwell and others, owners of the Merry Garden here, as the result of the drowning of a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool operated conjunction with the nite club. Falwell maintai the pool was not in use at the time of the drown- ing, and that the child slipped in un- observed by attendants. Father of the boy, . .daims an attendant aq^ cepted a fee and assigned the boy to a locker, and that the nite club man- agement was negligent in not pro- viding life guards and other s^ety measures. ^ .. ., . According to Falwell, the pool is used only by guests at the club and the. hotel adipining,'and is kept filled mainly as a reservoir from which Water fould be* drawn in case of fire.. ^Exception* Made for Ellington in Dallas Dallas, Nov. First tiine a band has been bbpked into Texas nitef club fpr longer than one night occurs when Duke Elling- ton bpehs Nov. 10 at Chez Maurice here. '/ Ranioh and Reriita, dance team, have a four-week contract at spot. They take a reqess during Elling- ton's stay. Reiders Divorcing Pittsburgh, Nov. Ann Rei ight club singer, asked for a i vorce last week - from Paul Rei star halfback on the University of Pittsburgh- fpotball team in 1932. She charged cruelty and. deserticn. According to the wife's charges, Relder bias never seen their seveh- month-old son. They were married .three years ago. For Food C^iarlotte,. N> C., NoV. 3. A vaudeville bill is booked for the Charlotte Food Show Npv. 11-21, sponsored by independent grocers.. Acts are MerriU Brois.': and Sister, Don Beibardp,. Los Gintanpes,, Jasbo and Babbit Foot, Virginia Ralston and Harviey and iiiale. ■ Circuit Will Sell Acts to Itself through Th eai t r e Booking Office — • Tryiiig to Get Outside Vaude and Cafe Biz — Two-Way Commish IN n.y:, too? icagp, Nov, 3. ; Balaban & Kaitz is going into the agency business, with a new setup, the Theatre Booking Office. This becomes a direct agency headed by the B. & K.' booker, Richard Bergen, for many years with the RKO and in chdrge of B. & K:.-Great.States yaude time, B. & K. will own 50% of Ithe TBO agency^ with Bergen and Al Borde, indie producer, splitting the other half. . Office . will havet a 'favored agency' understanding with B. & iC., and will sell most-of the acts to the Oriental, Chicago, and any other of the houses on the B. & K.rGreet States circuit playing sta^e shews. Besides thiis incpme, the agency will try to specialize in outside cafe, hotel and radio bookings. Outfit is opening offices iti the State-Lake building and starts active operation arpimd the middle of this mpnth. Borde, who will participate aiS' k partner iand act as general man- ager, is a local'producer with experi- ence in the cafe anid cabaret field a$ well as in vaude.. . New agency will not affect Para- mount, Balaban ^ Katz's own thea-. tre organization, the Artists ..Booking Office. This is strictly a house office that deducts 5% from all acts play- .ing for Paramount, B. & K. or any of their" cubsidiaries. With its own agency, B. & K. will be collecting two-;way conimish from. actSv Understopd .. that same sprt of agency in New York is under con- sideration ..to -service. the Paramount theatres booked there on the same basis. General meeting of Chicago agents was called yesterday (Monday) by Borde and Bergen in Lou Lipstone's office, with agents given outline of plan and projpositiohed. They, were invited to submit their lists of acts to the hew agency for nite clubs, radio and other bookings outside vaude. as Part of 'Save Kmy Upstairs Sympathy , Nov. 3. Rex Weber, with Tolies d'Ambur' at. the Orpheum, put so much: feeling into, his per- formance, balcony patron took him seriously. When Weber went into' his forte :;png, 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' somebody in the balcony contributed Weber number and walked. VAUDE TOUGHENS UP IN PARIS Paris, Oct 25. Competition between .music-halls in this town is getting tougher and tighter. vUndou]l)tedly the; large, number of houses offering straight variety bills has something to dp with it, for the existing situatipn . has managers scratching for idea9 on how to pull 'em in, almost regardless of the caliber of the bills offered. Alhambrd is reverting to the w.k. act of cutting' b.o, prices for two nights a week. Hereafter, instead of paying 60 and 75c.,' custotners who come in on Tuesday and Friday nights will get the best seats in the house fo.r 40 and SOic. Trianon is using, another plan. In- stead of offering lower prices induce- ments, management is 'allowing' the audience to- 'choose' acts for. forth- coming .billis'. At show each spectator is given- card whereon he or she is asked to write the names of three artists they wpuld like to see. Perkins* Quickie Johnny Perkins,; current' at" the Capitol, Washington, for Loew, has been: rebooked' by the. circuit' a quick repeat iii the town.. .He goes,■ in the week of Nov. 20. NEW FEHHE OBK Irving Mills bias revamped the former Boh Jbhn Girls, a truhipet band, into a regular dance brchestra of 15 pieces. Girl iooters jiist got back from Europe. Durelle Alexander -will baton the femme musickers.' Sam Lyons, Who Hesigned,' Goes Back To Loew-VaBee Via HimlUs Time TEST DATES BRING MORE TEX. TIME FOR CUSHMAN , Nov. 3.> for Comer-; fprd-Publi steady time for Cushman uniits stairts] Nov. 9, when it. Kat Klub' show opens at Ritz, Rl Nov. 13, with 'Comedy Stars of Hol- lywood.' Fox-Wyomi theatres line up Nov. , when ' ilk' star at Sheridan's Lotus, Campaign Over^ Chaney And Fox Back to Work San Francisco, Mayris Chaney and .Edward Fox are back at the Deauville Club here after a tri . ith.Preisiderit ind Mrs. Roosevelt in the eaist. The dancers, personal friepds of the Roosevelt family, werd guests on the c&mpaign train.' ' Sam Lypns (A. Lyons, Inc.), who called a one-man strike on Loew's bopking pffice last.' Spring, has apparently patbhed up iis dif-; ferehces all; around; Last spring he 'resigned' Loew's* franchised- agent. Last weick he reinstated him- self. The crux of , the ispute, .Rudy Valleei was also the crux of the Wig peace. the spring Sarh Lyons submitted Vallee's band to Loew's, which, however, claiming that it got it for a cheaper price, bbpked it through the Simon agency. And Sam Lyons burned up enough to pay for two scorching telegrams to Loew'i and Hymi Bushel, VaUee's attor-;; ney. Now- Vallee has been booked again by Loew's, ' but , this t'^^^e tiirough Lyons, Date is the* State on Brbadway, either tliie ' week of Nov. 20 or Nov. 27. Salary is IQ.OPO". , Vallee wi^s. originally booked, for the Paramount on Broadway, but ac- cepted ., is prerogative ' tp cancel when his date was mpved back be- cause pt the • holdover for three weeks of 'Big Bro^tdca'st' (Par) (cur- rent) arid the impending Male 'West personal with 'Go West, Young Man' , (Par). 'The world*s nibst icbstly pight club' and what; wiU. be .Qnje .of- the ftpest hotels.;direcUy' in,■ the< theatre, zone are amPnk the;'. imprpvefhieiitdl in' what may be 'regarded- is .'^Save'^'- BrpadWay' mbvement. ' There have been predictiphs' /made that the amusement district, legit theatres in particular, would. gradually have to move eastward, but thai is still'spec-, ulative,' . The international Casino; which is being readied in , the new Criterion theatre building wiU cpst $500,000. Hard by, pn a site yet to b^!.cleared of its realty angles,' is the . proposed new hpteL It is expected that when that operatiipn ;starts the long talked about razing of the. Gaiety, Astor, Fulton and Bijoii theatres will also occur to be replaced by modern theatres and probably anbther hotel. The hostelries' keehnessr bh Times Sq. arises frem ttie Astos .ahd .Edi- son hotels* reiaievi^ed proisperity; ih recent months. Three stagers, will produpe the Iriternatioiial Casino v shows, two coming from Pari^, Pierre Sandrini of the Bal T&barin - and Jacques Charles of thfe Cdslnb' de Paris will cooperate, with^fi^e American stager, Allen It, 'Foster^ Broadway; musical producer*." IVenebfflfitt' arrived in ' •, Site^'of- the International Gasinb is th^t of 'the ..New' Y-oik • roof .- where the; flrjft = *fMn^ gtagfed?' t^ Ziegfeld. to 56 fmr Morgan Club Charles (Luckly) Luciano ws^s prospective backer ;pf Helen sjior- gan ill the establifibment pf House of liiforgan nftery,' to Harry Kanheii, who continued Friday (30) as |i' witness^^fbre' the referee in' banletrupticy'for Hark, Inc., under which the nfght club operated. David Schwartz/ trustee,' jasked Kan- neh concerning an entry in one of his privBtfVbclOkii'^iih -iit^bich a refer* ence *^as m^de^ to^^v X»i»cky.' kan- jien, adn^itied'the' pei'son teferred to was Lucky Lucidno,' whip. .' -. how serving time in the Feder&il Prison. After heitiu, warned ; that he must answer the' queirtion, Kdnnen said: ''At the tfnie I signed the lease tb open the' restaurant,; Mr. LUcky thoujght it *a good . proposition. He conferred :Witj]j me iaind wanted ..to^ take an inter<2st ii| It," He invested^ $5,000. Irfiter 'bn he found that I was going'ntp name- the club. The House of Mbrgan. He thought it a" bad idea haine^ club after a girl, i disagreed Jind returned hitn. hi $5,000.* ■■ ; ■ • The—^heatijn g wati ' cpntiaued— tc _ Nov. 13; MARCU&SHiMBACKIO ORIENT IN THE SPRING Chicago, Nov.. A. B..Marcus will take .his show back to the Orient next" spring for at least six mbnth's in the'far east, - tpurihg Japan, China. French Indo- China, Australia and New Zealand. . Leave;s early in March tp open in Slunghai March 31. V "This is \ re- peat tour in the Orient for Mjkrcus, jvhb is at present picking up^spi^e midwest vaude dat<es with his' uni Mitchell-Durant BR/i^gr Own Unit, Delmar Prod. Harry Delm,ar of the Lou :irwi office ,is prbctucing ' ^ "Eollywbpd Scandals' unit for Mitchell, and Durant. Opens in' Hershey, ,Pa., ■Nov. ' " \, '.' ■ . '•Besides Mitehell:ahd;' Durarit, who aie baidcrolling, shpw h^?'Lila Car^ men,' Harry Ki|)g and the Sinclair Twins, 'and a line,'