Variety (January 1909)

VARIETY BECK'S BOOKING SCHEME BEING HELD IN ABEYANCE Latest Report Is That Martin Beck Is Fortifying Against a Future Emergency. The latest report, and the one gener- ally accepted as Martin Beck's plan of organizing his own booking department, independent of any other agency, is that Mr. Beck has been planning to fortify Mm«*if against a future emergency, pending the expiration of the instrument which at present binds the East and the West in a territorial agreement. This agreement, -which has about a year yet to run, prohibits the Orpheum Circuit or the interests represented in the Western Vaudeville Association, from playing vaudeville in the East in which it may be directly interested. From Chicago comes the report that everything is not at all harmonious in the. relations between several important members of. the Western coterie and the , United Booking Offices. E. 0. Kohl, of Kohl & Castle, Chicago, ..Is said to be somewhat antagonistic to- ward any move the United may have on foot, and Mr. Kohl is even rumored to have said that at a "show-down" he would enter New York. - The Eastern people laugh at this, claim- ing that Kohl was one of the first of the Western crowd to call for quarter when Klaw & Erlanger placed vaudeville in the Auditorium, Chicago, and it has been gen- erally accepted as true around New York that the Western contingent forced the United-K. & E. settlement. About Broadway this week, however, it seemd to be generally accepted that the purpose of Mr. Beck at present and for a few weeks past has been to place himself in a position where, if any un- toward event occurred, he could immedi- ately proceed on his own hook. SOME LAUDER RECEIPTS. From a fairly authentic source the fol- lowing receipts during the Harry Lauder tour, from the opening December 14 at Philadelphia to Christmas day at Chi- •cago, have been obtained: Philadelphia (2 shows) $6,000 Baltimore (night) 1,030 Washington (mat.) 1,060 Philadelphia (2; return) 6,600 Baltimore (night; return) 1,060 Pittsburg (2 nights; one mat). 0,600 Cleveland (2 shows) 4,600 Detroit (2 shows) 6,000 Toronto (2 shows) 7,200 Buffalo (2 shows) Unknown Chicago (6 shows) 18,000 Milwaukee (mat.) 1,650 Up to Christmas day Toronto held the record for one day's receipts with $7,200, Baltimore taking the honors at the other end. Before the show opened in Chicago there was an advance sale of $10,000. An attempt by speculators in Chicago to se- cure tickets was checked and on the re- turn engagement (Decernbe i 31-January 1) every effort will be made to have only the legitimate purchasers secure the pasteboards. The Lauder tour is expected to end Jan. 10 at some Canadian oity, which so far has been kept secret. Jan. 9 at Mon- treal has been the date given out for the termination of the trip, but the Sunday following will be played. SPECULATORS ARMING FOR DEFENSE The ticket speculators, lately dislodged from their license privilege by a city ordi- nance, are preparing to fight. They are collecting a large fund for the purpose of retaining the most prominent lawyers in the State to represent them when the clash comes. Both ex-Governor Frank S. Black and lion. Alton B. Parker have been ap- proached to carry the case of the sidewalk men into rourt The method of procedure will probably be .this: The ordinance goes into effect January 15. When it is in operation a selected member of the speculators will attempt to ply his trade. He will be ar- rested, arraigned in a magistrate's court and probably held for Special Sessions. At this stage of the game habeas corpus proceedings will be instituted in order to get the matter before a Supreme Court judge without loss of time and the battle will be fought along these lines. It is possible that it will even get into the United States Court of Appeals. APPEAL TEST CASE. The legal proceedings to test the valid- ity of the contract issued to artists dur- ing the life of "Advanced Vaudeville" are not yet over. Maurice Goodman, counsel for the United Booking Offices, which took over many of these contracts, re- ceived permission this week to appeal the judgment of the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court in the case of George W. Day against the United. Day, who is a comdeian, laid off two weeks under an "Advanced Vaudeville" contract, and refused to accept substitute time from the United. He was sustained by the Supreme Court. On appeal this verdict was sustained, one of the three judges dissenting. It was on account of this division of opinion among the judges that the further appeal to the Appellate Division was permitted. The judgment in Day's favor sustained the legality of the K. & E. contract. The United hopes to have it set aside or re- versed. In which case they will contest a number of suits now pending. DOROTHY RUSSELL ILL. Dorothy Russell, who recently played a vaudeville engagement at Hammerstein's, was seriously ill in the home of her mother, 161 West 67th Street. She caught cold during the Hammerstein week, and for a time it was feared that it would develop into pneumonia. She is now out of danger. "TWO-DAILY"; GENERAL CHAHGE. Chicago, Dec. 80. Following the last, visit of. Martin Becfc.- to this city, tip report has gotten out that Mr. Beck, in conference with E. C. Kohl while here, agreed that there were about fifteen houses booked through the Western Vaudeville Association and at present playing three shows daily, which could easily succeed with but two daily instead. The twice daily would increase the standard of the shows and the patronage, it is claimed, and the plan will shortly be placed in operation, according to re- port. The general scheme of the Western people, it seems, is to spread-eagle all available vaudeville territory in this section. BIDDING FOR SINGER. Several of the agents have sought to secure the signature of Alice Neilsen, the singer, for vaudeville contracts. Miss Neilsen returned recently from a concert tour under the management of Henry Russell, and is staying at the Hotel Will- Rrd, New York. None of the agents has so far succeeded in attracting the prima donna's attention. MATTHEWS REPLACES FABISH. Chicago, Dec. 30. While William Morris was in the city last week he changed the manager, Ar- thur Fabish, of the local branch by in- stalling J. C. Matthews in his stead. Mr. Matthews had come on here in ad- vance of the Lauder show. It is not known whether he will be permanently the Morris Chicago manager, but prob- ably will for some time anyway. Mat- thews will still maintain his booking agency in New York City, where Al Jundt is in charge. Fabish may start in a booking agency of his own. He has been the Morris manager for about two years. At one time the Morris Chicago office had sev- eral small houses to book. At the time of Mr. Fabian's departure there remained but Rock Island, III., and Davenport, la. Since Matthews assumed charge several agents around the city, according to re- ports, have offered (for a consideration) to place their bookings with Matthews and also enter the Morris office in the capacity of employees. If Matthews accepts these propositions it will go a considerable way toward building the Morris branch up around Chicago. It had deteriorated a great deal of late. The advent of Morris with his Lauder Show has brought his name out promi- nently hereabouts. On Saturday night last Matthews re- ceived a wire from M. Friedenwald that the Rock Island house had closed. The same manager directs the theatre at Davenport, playing the Morris shows. One removed the other from the Morris books, leaving Mr. Matthews a clean sheet in the office. Maurice Freeman and Co. open on the Poli time next week. Charles Bornhaupt, of the New York Marinelli office, protests that Fred Wal- ton did open at the Wintergarten, Berlin, and after one performance agreed to re- tire from the bill upon receipt of an in- demnity. He was booked immediately for a London appearance. POSSIBLE ST. LOUIS DEAL. St. Louis, Dec. 80. There > a pnMibtnty of a "deal* here whereby the American Theatre (con- trolled by the Oppenheimer Bros.) will discontinue vaudeville, playing either stock or musical stock instead, leaving the vaudeville field solely to the Colum- bia, directed by Tate & Middleton. Tate & Middleton have, according to report, a one-half interest in the Ameri- can, and the losses there, caused by the Columbia's opposition, is* rapidly taking away the major portion of the Tate &, Middleton's profits on their own house. When the American opened last sea- son in a clear field, it started off with a bang, but with the opposition of the Co- lumbia, which has been improved at n cost of $70,000, the American, located poorly for a high class vaudeville show, dropped off in receipts until lately the account book has bean showing a de- ficiency of around 12,000 weekly.' While Martin Beck and Pat Casey were here the situation waa gone over, and the probable change in policy is ss id to be the outcome of that conference. Louis Oelal, who was the original "big boy 1 ' of the American, is rumored to draw down $60 weekly from the American, with ten per cent, of the net profit the house earns. EXTENDS CARRIE DE MAR'S EN- GAGEMENT. London, Dec. 23. The engagement of Carrie De Mar at the Coliseum has been extended by Os- wald Stoll, who has proposed to Miss De Mar that she play the entire Moss Stoll Tour, returning again to the Coliseum at the expiration of the trip. Jos. Hart, Miss De Mar's manager, has taken the offer under advisement, his star having developed into a big popular suc- cess on this side. WILLS AND FIELDS TO STAR? A report was abroad in New York this week that Nat M. Wills, the tramp co- median, and W. C. Fields, the comedy juggler, might next season go on a tour with a show of their own. It was said that the pair were considering a play written by Stanley Murphy as their vehicle. KEITH OPENS THE HIPPODROME. Cleveland, Dec. 30. At 1:30 Keith's Hippodrome threw its doors open to the public. A small at- tendance was expected for the afternoon, but the house was sold out (4,600). Big changes have been made. The entire the- atre has been re-decorated, fine draperies have been put up and the walls adorned with costly pictures. , The bill included: The Morton-Jewel I troupe of five; Little Hip, performing ele- phant; "A Night on a House Boat"; James and Sadie Leonard and Richard Anderson, travesty; Gillette's Dogs and Monkeys; Johnson and Well, "In the Sunny South," with ten colored players; Walter C. Kelly, "Virginia Judge"; Jef- ferson De Angelis and Co., "The Re- hearsal"; the Mirza Golem troupe of acro- bats. A big party from New York, in- cluding A. Paul Keith, witnessed the opening.