Variety (January 1909)

8 VtfttBTT London, Dee. 22. Edgar Lee, editor of the Encore, died Dec. 14, after a short illness. Alburtus and Millar move from the Hippodrome to the New Cross Hall next week. Frederic Melville and his Moto-Girl open the Stoll time at Liverpool next Monday, Dec 21. Vesta Tilley will probably be seen soon in America under the management of Percy Q. Williams. Kurkamp, the singing musical director from the States, is making good at the Holborn Hall. Fougere is held over at the Holborn this week. The French comedienne is making good here forty ways. Horace Goldin is working at New Cross Empire Theatre. Mr. Goldin just finished an engagement at the London Hippo- drome. The entire vaudeville situation over here just at present, as far as it relates to artists, agents and managers, remains un- changed. Callahan and St. George play Birken- head next week, where they will receive double the salary for which they came to England. The Empire, Oldham, one of the houses barred by the agents' association, has again been placed on good terms with this body. Last Monday at the Coliseum, Jos. Hart's "Polly Picklet's Pets" opened very big. At the Hippodrome Mr. Hart's "Rain- dears" did very well. Creasy will most likely be seen at the Palace in the spring, as an engagement has been offered him through Paul Mur- ray of the Morris office. Daly and O'Brien were successful at the Canterbury last week. Saturday night they received a whole garden of flowers from enthusiastic Yanks. Julian Rose made a tremendous suc- cess at the Lyceum in the pantomime, a new departure for Rose, who appeared in his Hebrew character. The Lyceum piece is built round Rose's "Levinsky." The Great Monohan, roller skater, has been making a tour of England and Ire- land playing the rinks. TTe will be seen in London shortly at the Olympia Skating Rink. Marie Dressier has started rehearsals for her own play at the Aldwych Theatre. It is hoped that Miss Dressier will break the spell that has hung around this the- atre for some time. Bill Manning, formerly of Manning's Players, has secured the rights of the "Mysterious Cross," an illusion, formerly owned by Carlton. Mr. Manning expects to travel with the act. LONDON NOTES VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE. 418 ITEAVD, W. 0. (Mall for Americans and Euro|iran» In Euro|* If addrt-Raed can- VAItlETV, as above, will be promptly forwarded.) Alf Holt, the mimic, writes from New Port (England): "My voic is all right again, and Mr. Stoll anticipates a tre- mendous business on that account at all houses along the line where I am booked: tt "Sweet Inis Fails," the Irish dramatic sketch that opened with Mr. Barrasford at the Hippodrome, Brighton, was closed after the second night. This squares the management, for it was a sure enough bad one. Arrangements are being made for Helen Trix's appearance at the Hippodrome during the Pantomime season. A simi- lar act to Miss Trix's has never been shown at the Hip, and it will be a nov- elty for the house. In all probability B. A. Rolfe will open a producing agency over here. Mr. Rolfe thinks that there is an abundance of tal- ent on this side, and if handled properly a good share of it could be turned into good vaudeville productions. Fred Karno's "Casuals" is playing the Holborn Empire this week and getting away big at every performance. Karno has put a lot of clever people in the sketch, and the comedy all the way through is ahead of even bis other sketches. A report saying that the Alhambra, Brighton, has been taken over by the Barrasford Tour has been going around for the last week. If this is true Mr. Barrasford has this popular resort all to himself, that house being the only oppo- sition at present to his Hippodrome. At the Vaudeville Club a reform move- ment has been started. The time limit, which did not exist before, has been placed at 4:30, and some are sore. In the case of Frank Fogarty or "That" Quar- tet making another trip over here a spe- cial concession will have to be made. "Willie" (his last name doesn't make any difference) at the German Club is making preparations for the big New Year's affair that occurs in this place yearly. Willie said that the bunch made an awful dent in his wine cellar last year, but hopes for the be-t this year. Leon Zeitlin, who has for the last six months been associated with Brook's Agency, will take up the reins, with Will Collins as associate manager, of the Payne Syndicate Booking Office. Mr. Zeitlin was in the employ of the Syndi- cate office before he went into the agency business. 'Tis said that Belle Belmont is turning down oflVrs for pantomime right and left. A part of Belle's talk runs something like this: "Say, Party, let me slip you a little talk. You know I have had enough of that first part, olio and afterpiece to steer me from that Panto thing. And I know they are just as close as the Dewey is to Ziemer's." Dorothy Kenton says that while wait- ing to go on at the Wintergarten, Ber- lin, one of the bears of an animal act that happened to be in a cage in the wings grabbed her, and tried to drag Dorothy through the bars into the cage. A trainer beat the hugging kid away, and Dorothy states that not much damage was done. Tis said that bears like blondes, and the banjo girl admits it was some hug anyway. Fred Ginnett's "St. George and tha Dragon" is also at the Holborn Hall. A witch's cave is the opening scene. The head witch has the seven champions of Christiandom, meaning the knights who had won the heavyweight title in their own country, in her power in the cave. The main witch is strong for St. George, who is champion of England (with apolo- gies, Gunner Moir). She shows the knights of the other countries to her white-haired boy (St. George), and she does it with a speech something on this order: "This is St. of Spain, most gallant knight, but the everlasting friend of the sons of Britain." When a house full at the Holborn don't fall for that stuff then it ought to be enough. The same kind of a speech with every knight and not more than two hands throughout 1 Outside of this the act has nothing but bad acting and a fight between George on a pony with a dragon, which is good enough to look at, but it does not square the first part of the act by any means. There are seven ponies ridden by the knights. They look good enough to make up a capital f»nimal act. At the Sadler's Wells Music Hall this week the "Kidnapped King," a dramatic sketch, is showing. There is nothing like keeping right with the audience. That is. the producer of this sketch must think so, for he takes a character out of one of the penny weeklies, called Sexton Blake, and puts him in this playlet. Blake has the same standing in England as Old Sleuth has in the States. In the plot there is a young king whose relatives try to get his job and kidnap him, sending him to the "woods" in charge of an old hag. Then Blake is put on the job, and the excitement commences. The detective does a "R. A. Roberts" all over the place, fooling all the king's false friends and re- lations. It's hard to tell how the plain clothes man gets away with all these im- personations, but he always was captain of the guard at the right time, and it did not take him long to find the king and settle the affairs at the palace. At the finish the court try to induce him to stay, but he, like the rest of 'em, says: "No; I must go. There is much work to be done in London." This all happened in a country called Meislan. COLISEUM. Week Dec. 17. Enough vaudeville last night (first an- niversary, Dec. 10) to hold 'em for awhile. Twenty-five acts on the bill, and all but one appeared, Laurence Irving and Co. being the absentee. The show ran from 7:30 until midnight, and towards the end the audience grew restless. The turns towards the finish suffered through this. Carrie De Mar and Evie Greene were both on late, and only sang one song. The house favorites pulled through very well, despite the sleepy audience. Frederick Villiers, the war correspon- dent, another of the regular program, gave a very interesting lecture with pic- tures, but the act seemed slightly out of place. And then for a finish he makes a speech advising all sons of Britain to spend their spare moments practicing with a rifle, for "no one knows how soon the clouds of war," etc., etc. All very well, but is a music hall the right place to express such sentiments. Dorothy Grimston and Co. and the Gems, two more regulars, were very well received. Howell and Scott and Barton and Ash- ley are another pair that get away nicely on the long bill. Gus Garrick, in a cos- tume of the R. G. Knowles type, imitates the different styles of the English comic singer in a very pleasing way. Steve Bartle, a concertina player, does the remarkable feat of giving an imita- tion of church bells without announcing the same. And some more farmyard imitations. Argo, by his announcements, tries to con- vey the impression that he is from the Continent. His imitation of the lion with the ever-present lamp chimney, was done in English. Of the added attractions Mrs. Cecil Ra- leigh and Co., in a sketch: Hubert Car- ter and Miss Edyth Olive, another sketch; Maidie Scott; Elmer Spyglass, a colored comedian with a very good voice, and Helen Trix, the "Piano Kiddo," were the ones to get away with the honors. JAY GOINES Of ANDERSON AND GOINES. The much talked about team of "Polite Colored Corned I ana." New York City claims the act la far above the average of colored teams, being out of the ordinary. They acored very heavy at K.- P.'a 5th Ave. and 125th Street Theatres past two wceka. En route West, United time.