Variety (Mar 1937)

62 VARIETY L t s Q n E Wednesday-, March 17,1937 ELTINGE, N. Y. If occasional nudity of performing personnel is burlesque, then the mar- qqei of the Eitinge does not inisrep-: resant; Otherwise, the hodge podge of acts thrown together on stage rep: regents the operators as being mar- tyrs -to the cause of reviving vaiide-: vil'e: of a type peciiUaiiy their own, an-l hone too good. Current black-and-white revue is Simoly another indication of crea- tiveness of average hurley, imprer sairios who accidentally get a little inci entail burlesque in their shoiws. Many have tried different ideas, with most resorting to acts. Few succeed uildiri* anything that remotely resembles burlesque. The Eitinge is n'> ex'*eDti6n. Neither Robesonesque . colored Tn:\'.i singers, nor St. Patrick's Pay cnloring of production numbers which iemploy aged grannies (mccoy V ^ a , inning wheel.' surrounded by a bavy of nude bumpers, with Iri^h. reels thrown in for good measure. can,imore.ss as being burlesciUe.'Last iteni. Mother Machree picture, hits extreme, in poor taste. and can do inopq? barrn. than good as a gesture to ob.'?>rvers of the holiday. Southland back.crounds for.Jelli Smith's, singing are alsb' out of place. To alioW room for. the vaude. iiise .sgpp-trts oiily three stripp'^r.s currently, Diane '.■ Roland, one. of the better lookers, and also one of. the fe-.v nbssessing dictionary: kho.wlcdge of the - term tease; Barbarai " Doane an^ , Panette. fan dancer, turned st'vober or.; vice versa. C-»Dpar' pal line Of seven do no Ee^iino;. but plenty of hautchihg arid p> danoiPf! that makes their lighter sisters of the iehorus look much .i)aler .in Dertormahce. Some also double in bits with . Jbiner and Williams, comic , blackf.'=ifce mdle. duo. Latter ppT'- "Share dubious , comic honors v.'' '> Harry Levine. T -iyine's comedy-is about the near- • thin»? to genuine.burlesdue in the " 'e motiev collection. Blackouts ■ -"I -^yini? Hall ■ Bauser .und George little, foiling for .Levine, get" bluish, ut even that :is a respite from what someone ima.Tihed was production.' Jiin.ft.r. and Williams are hearer yr^rrle; thou.gh not entirely unfunny. '"•Wniiams. shortest" of twain, . has s->r--!t.hincr on the bdll.. .i^ont Hattie, 250'pound risque W'-bler* while one of the .freaks of burle.sdue. cannot be counted a loss. With her.own. songs and her comical peel. *Hefty Hattie' fits" into th" burley PisJifKe .of today;, -S'vr?w^*n*tSnger weiht. a little awry In is geography putting Indian music to a Burriiese production num- ber using, mixed colors. Like rest of the show, it's in a general direc- tiort, and anyway who eares-about accuracy in burlesque. Hurl. IJiDlES IN LINCERIE (PRINCESS. YOUNGSTOWN, O.) Youngstown^ O., March 14. ^ Adri-Arin, lOcal black-haired con: fribution to the strip-teas6 prbfes' sion.'drew three encores at opening performance with her 'Ladies in Lin- gerie' reVue, current at the I^incess, . where the grind policy of stage and ficT'^eh. shows continues to attract. One of the highlights of the new {iroductidn ■ is the finale when 14 ookers parade in various, types of „lih.gerie under the iiltfa-colored li.?Ming effects. Several new bits are contributed by the dbmics. Hal Rathburn, who has. been x)ut of the cast because of 'illness. retUrhs, and Homer Meech- um cliks in several of the bits. Bud . Evans continues to please as.vocalist. Red-haired Bea Baster and Else De- ,WaU remain as featured strippers. Most of the comedy is. dated, of course, but the settings and pres- entation make the production one, of the smoothest presented since the stock policy was inaugurated .several weeks ago. Macfe. EMPIRE, NEWARK Newark, March 13; • Harry Brock's family theatre for burlesque, the Empire, is showing no igns of dropping off for Lent;^-turn'^ ihg theni away all; week. Reason is Tommy *Boz6' Snyder returning after a long absence. But Brock's build- ^ up for this house over a period of a year' and a half, and .Newark's own Comic. Jackie Gleasbn, in the role of permanent m. c, has a lot to do with it. 'Snyder is the ace show here, this season, equaling the records.of Anh <iCorit>-and 'Black Jazz' of last season. " Snyder's pantonrime is different. His dumb antics are jidmirably sharpened by a voluble and clean-cut foil, Joe Forte. They .first do the band bit to- gethsr, and then the sketch, .'Unwel- come Guests,' with Ruth Donald, comedienne, who dead-pans in hilari- ous fashion. She later strips and sini's. with nothing oiitstanding. her best being done in comedy. Mai'gie KeWi^Vi featured stripper; does a po- lite disrobing, her gowns decidedly clever in design. Sammy Spear.s with Bobby Vail has the girls lined up with numbered hearts and gets a lot of comedy out of their selection bit. Better voices than Clyde Hodgei^ ^ave been heard on this stage, but he does a neat job with several PPP songs when against the mike. Jack and .Pblly. Goldingi youngsters, do a tricky lock-.step dance, chained to- gether. RomanO' Bros;,- the inter- polated feature, are local guitarists and comics whose; , wop numbers rcigiister stronslyi No matter how good a show may be elsewhere, Brock always likes to throw: in an extra act or two for good measure. No show is complete at the Empire these days without Jackie Gleasbn, who worlcs in street clothes With no facial adornments, and just walks on with an' ungainly ..stride, clutching his sleeve cuffs. He teat^s through a half a dozen sketches a performance. Never tiring and then rushes off to his Club Miami, to wind up. the eve- ning. Has a large following here.. The productions at the: Empire this year show a distinct improvement irt scenery, being novel and fresh- lookin,''. and the shows themselves are faster .paced. mm' BURLY BALLY UPS 5TH AVL BIZ M "Milton rooks, operator,of the 5th Ave. burley, (N. Y.) stock is bally- hboins a VARiETy pari notice; by ad- vertising his show as the.'worst bur- lesque in N. Y.;' adding that VAhiETY agrees that his ^ advertising does not misrepi'esent. Brooks reports a 30% increase in biz. Since smothering his theatre front with the dizzy come-on ads and similar newspaper space in. tabs. . Burlesque Actors Assn. resents the, use. of ;the term burlesque by the 5th Ave. and claim it gives; them a black eye, but B.A.A; efforts at lining up house, have been fruitless so far. Donble-Shift Plan Nhed Request of operators of the Eitinge, N. Y. to employ two full casts to al- low for additional shows, has;been nixed by the Burlesque Artists Asns. Decision, had been hanging reply, for iEibout two.months.. House sought to add extra crew to beat. the. time limits. which prohibit, opening before 1:00 p;m., eliminates all. biit one midnight show weekly and wanted to cohtiriue mninterrupted by the two hour off . supper regula- tion which starts at 5:00. p.mi Okay would have permitted opening at 10:ipo a.m. .and, iri all, increase oper- ating time about six hours daily... .Max RUdriick and partners were going to install a colored cast sUch as being used now in .black-and-tan policy, befbire. being turned down by B.A.A., which thought it dangerous to set the precedent of added time, whatever , the personnel incre.ase, an- ticipating a clamor by neighbor pp- eratoris for similar considerations. No Burleiy Flood Show Looks now as if the benefit for. flood sufferers, proposed by Tom Phillips of Burlesque Artists Asso- ciation, has gone the way . of all attempts to line.up. burley-managers for any constructive good. when feeling was high for relief, Phillips prof erred plari to stage bene- fit in N. Y. A month has gone by arid it's still an idea, so Phillips has given up and marked it off a^ another ex - ample of non-cooperation. Phillips Looks 'Em Oyer , Tom Phillips, president of the Bur- lesque Artists Assn., leaves N. around April 1 on annual survey of the field which comes about with closing of association's fiscal year. Trip will require about two weeks, in covering Boston, Toronto, Syra- cuse, Chicago, St, Louis, Philadel-. phi , Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Ohio tbwns to discuss.conditions and rem- edies for next season various outlying managers. Independent Burlesque Week of March 21 'IV.cf Tru.st^—ChHino—VUt!»bur<ri), '.Sjviiijr ■(jii-iM'--l'Jtiii)rt',<i.s-r-l'lnclrm.'ilI; "I'vvinUle T<'i'a>-Kii ro'uls! -to ('l>lciiK<J. 'I'i.>|)i)(;r PoL'—Cii.'^iiio—ToronVo.. • .'JJii/.o. Kii.vdpr'—T,.vrlf.'. AMcnIawn', Moh- Tuf.M,; M.n.H'.xilc, Hai i'i.«l)iiiK';. Wed.; .<'!ii)U (ol, loinllTDT.. 'l'iiuis-l''i l.; ..\liijptiUo, . W'll- lium-Mpoi-t; Silt. , .'.S W1 >i K l"*..-! —T.i op --nil 11 n iM |) 'Nn| liiui,'' illi t !.);» mV-M'—fcJhiVliv—Xow- nrk. 'J'lir'io iuiiniir'—iroward '— nosldn. - , ., • M'jiilH r.y Jii/jiii'—r,i|Uury—■ I'ookl.vn. ■'Mot\(e- C'lU'lo' Girls:—Uuil.soK—L'nIoii niy: ' .iKtlea I.ln(;ei'le'.^r;u.volj—WitMh-' Iniirioii ■ . ■ "M('rI'y ;» ii!h'— C, n}fo Iy—R:i It 1 hioi'e. 'Oi-leiil.-il liirlii'—l'aiilli)l —^I'KlciTo, "IVii.ses uiitl Wlieev.e.i"—(j;iyoiy—Di*' Irol.t." "Piivl; New Burly Stocks in Erie and Minneapolis irie, Pa., March 16. Park here, opens Friday (1^) for burly stock. House operated by George Katz, who recently had the same at the .Princess in You Minheapbli , March Hjirry Hirsch to i-ebpen the Gayety here, March . 27, to play burlesque stock. Bobby Pengrim will again produce the shows. Male Fashions (Goritiriued from page.l) tailbr to dandiesi she presented a combined show at .hef dre.sshiakirig establishment on Friday ight that proved her wisdom' to such a such- ness, that, indeed, one .lad i his eagerness to get in walked l-ight through the plate .glass window. At 9:30, the time scheduled for the shoyi^ go ort. there was standing rooni only.' At 10:30 when the show went on, there was riot, it seeriied to the dear ladies faint from the presence of so riiuch masculi ity,: breathing space: The models had to pick their way over carpets of guests sitting on the floor, choking the stair- wiays, bursting the halls. A pity, for the igirl. models were sb sweet; the rhen madels, for the most part, ,so rugged and yet so: shy. RealrLife Clothes Horses For the meri models wei-e not just n\bdels;.good heavens, no. They Were people; celebs, even, both major and minor. Agai the sagacity of Miss Hawes and her conspiraitor, Mr. Wii- liams. They sensed that men might not take just .male mbdels—that, would be worse that just ladies' dresses. If. there \yere to be , men niodeliing, they wbuld have to be real^ people, comtortable, gehiiine people with figui^cis full of flaws and faces full 0*—call it character. Peo- ple like the guests, people that one knew. So Miss Hawes and Mir. "Vfil- lisims coaxed and persuaded ever so many of their gentleman friends and put it up to them as a lark, arid sure enough, the idea roused the sporting blood of not a few. The plan was for them first to Show Off their new suits that Mr. Williams made .for them, and th'eti, for a smashing climax, to w^ar fantasies of Miss Hawes' designing, suggestions as to what men's clbthes rnight be if only the dears had some courage and imagination. John Anderson fell i ith the plan gravely; Paul raper, grace- fully; (Mr. Draper's costume for the dance was cut on the bias); William Chadbourne, gaily; Jo Mielziner, conscientiously; Frank Chapmauy suavely; Tony Williams; dutifully; Lucius Beebe, pettishly. In fact, Mr. Beebe's modelling demeanor was the surprise of the show. He j List didn't have any, and though - his. shawl- collared^ plum colored dinner jacket —-with which he wore a camellia, a saphire stUd set in molten platinum^ and a significantly narrow tie-^lay as easy across his broad shoulders and clung as devotedly to his power- ful neck as .any ever he spoke ecstatically of in his column, he ap- peared-as pained as Cholly Knicker- bocker, must get when he is forced toi record that one of his people used to live on the West Si However, it was. a very jolly and successful evening. BUoyed by the sight of their friends rrtodclling clothes and looking variously sheep- . ish about it, many husbands gi-ew ciareless and mumbled, as a. lady model edged her precarious way past;. 'that might lo^k well on you, deai:'-^irrev,ocably committing them- se;lves to its purchase. A, fate they deserved, though, since even at that very.rnpnient they themselves were plotting a visit to Mr, Williams in the morning. OBITUARIES CHARLES A. ELLIS Charles A, Ellis, 81, long an: but-: standing figure in American musical affairs, ied at his homie in Boston, March 14. lie is perhaps best known as the organizer of the Boston Sym- phony- ox'chestra.- Back iii 1881, on the order ; of the: late: Maj. Henry L. .Higginson to *go put and get an orchestra,' he re- cruited 75 men under the^direction of George Hertschel, its first leader. Later he . handled the concert tours of many artists, inciuding Melba, Padercwski, .Kreisler, Rachmaninoff, Geraldine Pa.rrar and many others of equal standing. He directed the fortunes of the orchestra uiitil .1918. Follow! resignation In that capatity'" formed an opera cbm-^ gany Pr. Darntosch, which made successful tour' of the country.- Hart Benefit (Continued from page 1) nianagement. On the basis of le.gal fees and cohimissioh losses, it has: been conservatively estimated that his diffierences with the circuit cost Hart at least $l,0b0,006. With the departure of the Albee regime and the switch to RKO, Hart regained his franchise, but that was when vaude- X'ille started to slip and he couldn't recoup.; His try as ■Hollywood agent also met with indi cess,: Sam H. Cirismari is dbnating the use of the Hudson theatre for Hart's bdhefit. Theatr "Authority, which takes a cut on all beineflts for the actor-charities, is. • iviag its sli VIGTORIA C. H. SPAHR . Mrs, Victoria Clifton; Hbman Spahr, .51, former actress- and . circus per- former, ied March 3 at the honie of her daughter at -New Philadel-' phia,. O., after a lingering illness. She was long identifleid with the ■legitimate stage arid many years was a .danceir With the Barriunri & Bailey circus. Heir stiage name was Cliftbn. Surviving, besides her daughter, are the' foUttWing bfOthersTTiiid sisters, members of a prbriiinerit eastern the- atrical, family: Charles Homan,, New York city: Alfred Hbman, Whitney Point," N. Pdisy Amos, Syracuse; ^I. Y,; Elsie Yocuin, Reading, Pa. Funeral services were held from the daughter's home ..and burial was at Dover burial parjc there. years. Funeral services and burl was local. ' KO IBA Kb 50, w.k. Japanese music critic, ied in Tokyo Feb. 25 pf typhoi . Was pi-of of musical art at Nihon University arid connected with a number of niusical organizations besides authoring several books in-' eluding 'Theory of Japanese Musical Criticism.' ■ Musical funeral was planned by former piipils and friends. GRACIE MAY Gracie May, .:77, formerly of ' the vaudeville teahi of Bartlett and May died in Bayshore, L. I., March li! She had been for some tim? a gue« of the Percy Williams Home at Isli" .She made her stage debut as the child in Joseph Jefferisoh's ' ip Van Winkle,' but Was best known for her vaudeville work. Interment was in the' N. V, A. plot in Kerislco W. GRAKAME BROWf«r W. Grahame Brbwni 67, third hus- band of the 72-year-old Marie Tem- pest, died in London, March 11 of pneumonia. iHe had been playing in support of his wife in 'Retreat From Folly' -star when his illness caused is retirement from the cast a Week, previously. For the past 25 years he had staged most of the plays in which he appeared, including, among the more recerit, 'The First Mrs. Fra- ser>' 'Marry At Leisure,' 'The Vi - egar Tree,' 'Mrs. Moonlight,' arid "The Command "To Love.' He made his stage debut, in London in 1891 in 'The Dancing Girl.' He has been seen over here in 'Caste'.arid 'Variity Fair' in 1910. JOHN FISH 0OODRICH John Fish Gbpdrich, 50, sceniarist and magazine contributor, died March 11 in Los Angeles fbllowing an abdominal operation. Burial will be in Delavan^ Wis., where mother lives. Widow and a l()-year-old daughter also survive. Goodrich was a member of the board of governors of the Writers club arid was active in literati afr fairs. When the World War started he enlisted iri the British. Rojlal Horse Artillery, He won. a .lieu- tenancy for gallantry in action, dur- ing which he. was badly wounded, carrying a piece of shrapnel in his head up to time of his death. ALLEN WARD NAGEL Allen Ward Nagel, 44, died in his New York hotel March 12, of pneu- monia. He had played with the Proyince- tbwn Players fpr several years arid last season had been with the WP'A experimental theatre. He was re- hearsing fbr 'Native Ground,' a Fed- eral productibri sobn to be made at the Venice the'atre. He had played in 'Desire Under the Elms' with Walter Huiston, and other Broadway shows arid had alsb done Shakes- pearean repertory". He is suryiycd by his mother and a brother. CHARLES WlDOR Charles Marie Widbr, ied . in Pari March 12. Well knpwri as a composer and orgariist, he was fPr- meily director of the American Cbn- servatPi-y at Fontainebleaiu. He was an bfflcer of' the .Legipn of Horibr. Appointed assistant organist at the CJhurch cf St. Sulpice in 1870. he re- signed as chief Organist only three, years ago, a service of more than .60 years. BERNARb J. MECHLiNG Bernard , J. Mechling, 41, manager of the .Imperial theatre and vice- president of the: Zariesville .Theatres, Inc.* at Zanesville, O., died at his home there March 2,. after a linger- ing illnes.s..' He had Been identifted with the- atre, operation at Zariesrille for many MINNIE b. KQPPEL Mrs. Minnie C. Koppel^ one-time secretary of the Los Angeles motion picture code authority, and prior to that for number, of years secretary of thie Independent Theatre Owners of Southern California, died March 5, in Los Angeles; ;after :ness,. The husband survives. RICHARD VAN DINE ^ ichard Van Di ; 93, recordi secretary and archivist pf the Amer- icart Society of Magi ' , died in Jersey City, March 14, after an ill- ness of; 11 days. He is survived by is widow, a stepdaughter and a sister. ■ JACK ECKERT j;ack Eckert, 62, circus fat mart, weighing 739 pounds, was fatally injured in ah automobile wreck near Flbmaton. Ala., Feb. 6, dying iri the hospital there March 11. Details on the outdoors page. MICHAEL F. TEAHAN Michael F. Teahan, 62, who had operated concessioris at old Midway iBeach, between Troy and Albany, and at one or two other- amuserrient parks, died of a heart attack while drivirig his automobile in a subdl*b of Pittsfield; Mass., March 10. " LEONARD A. BLimiBERG Leonard A. Blumberg, 58, former general manager of the Shuberts' Philadelphi theatres, died there March 10. He had several plays, produced. ALEXANDER GRANOWSKT Alexander Granowsky, 47, founder of the Moscow Yiddish State thea- tre, died in Paris, March ,11. Details in film section. Dr. Arthur S. Fauman, 46, hxjsband of Clara Kimball Young, died in Hollywood,: .March 12. He was a member of the Holly wood. Troupers' club and other theatrical organ- izations. Mrs. Georffe Hecht, mother of .Lou Brock, died in Hollywood^ March 12. Body was sent to Buffalo for burial. Mother of \yillie Hoppe. New York, March One son, three, daughters,- and a brother survive. :,. Father bf .Edward Berikert, record^ ing se'cretairy Of Chicago Federati of MuSiciahSi died Sunday (14). :Wife of W.,,G. Handy, composer. pE 'St.,Louis Blues,' died in New York, March 12. Mrs. ilvers, , sister Jack Bregman, ied. ;New YPr March 7. She Was 32. School Snoop (Cpntiriued frpm page 1) talent in the world always avail- able,: whenever, we Want it^ If 1 have ah. iannpuncement to make during sbhool houi:s 1 can sit here at my desk and make it, without having to: call a general as.scrribly or write put announcements. 'The supervisory feaittjre—which is causing all this stir about snooping or spying on teachers—is of last ini- portance. 1 haven't used it—yet.'