Variety (Apr 1939)

WeineaSmj, April 12, 1939 LEGITIMATE VARIETY 49 ONE-NICHT ERS' COMEBACK : : ' '■ + -t : IjmtFoDtaDne Give Mem^ a MiU Sliock; Ay^ed S{H(% in Idiot' Phy _— ♦ Stagehands, TMAT at Odds Willi &pity on Sundays; Qm Actm Org b Stymidng ^bbath Shows ■ f As result of the furore over their recent appearance here in 'Idiot's Delight,' AUred Lunt and Lynn Fon- tanne will probably never again play Memphis. Pair are burned at state- ments that iTunt 'Inserted extremely vile language' into the Robert E. Sherwood play during Memphis per. formance. They are also Irate at the local censor board's announcement that in future they must submit scripts of their shows for approval prior to performance. . It is considered significant that on their current nationwide tour, the Lunts sliipped Omaha, where they ran into censorship, complications last season. In that case the mayor banned 'Idiot's Delight' on the ground that the play contained a de- rogatory reference to the icity.' He later rescinded his order and the show was given according to sched- ule, hut the stars were indignant at the hubbub. Theatre Guild also ob- jected to the extra expense in- volved in moving the production out of the theatre and back again when the mayor's ruling was reversed. The Lunts never made any public- statement about the matter, but that Incident is understood to l>e the rea- son they avoided Omaha in boolung their current tour. Similarly, al- though they have made no an- nouncement, it is. considered un- likely that they will ever again ac- cept engagements in Memphis. Wht^ther they will again play Phila- . ddlphia, where State Senator George Woodward last fall raised a public clamor against .'Amphitryon' as an Indecent show. Is anottier matter. In addition to being a regular Theatre Guild subscription city, Philadelphia is one of the key road dates, normal- ly good for at least two weeks of hefty grosses. According to Col. Lloyd T. Bin- ford, chairman of the Memphis cen- sor board, 'that fellow Lunt substi- tuted a lot of things in the night performance- that he didn't use at all in the afternoon when he knew Charlie McElravy (house manager of (Continued on page 51) Jenniiigs A|ipears Set For More U. S. ActiYhy With Lycenm Takeover Acquisition of the Lyceum, N. Y., Indicates that Victor Payne-Jennings will devote considerable time to show activities on this side, despite his London theatre interests. Deal for the theatre, which was about to be taken over by the Bowery Sav- ings bank through foreclosure, is a provisional leasehold. Jennings has •^ until Aug. 1 to exercise an option to. rent the Lyceum for three years. Occupany of the house may de- pend on the presentation of 'The Mother,' a drama by Karel Capek, which is due to debut April 25. Show Is current in London and is the sec- ond import offered by Jennings this spring, he having opened 'The Flash- ing Stream,' with an all-English cast, at the Biltmore Monday (10). Under- stood that if the "Mother' engage- ment is curtailed, manager has the right to terminate'Ihe rental. Jennings is interested in the oper- ation of five XiOndon theatres in as- sociation with Charles Killick. They also conduct a modified subscription system, which affords members the privilege of buying tickets at each of the houses at reduced rates. Jen- nings' first Broadway venture was *Whiteoaks,' with Ethel Barrymore, -whioh-played-thfr-Hudsen-last- season- and which is having one of the long- est tours currently. Should the Lyceum be retained for three..years, a sliding scale calls for a total rental of $96,000 during that period. Fixed charges are around ^,000 annually. Charles Stewart, general manager for Jennings, will handle the house. James Troup will be back with the show, with Arthur Wright and David . Stewart in the boxotflce. Group Must Pay Extras Extras' rehearsing in the Group Theatre's productions of "The Quiet City' and 'My Heart's In the Hi^- lands' must be paid rehearsal money for both shows. That ruling was made yesterday (Tuesday) by the Equity council. Group had asked permission to pay such walk-ons-at the single re- hearsal rate of (15 weekly, on the ground that the outfit Is a repertory company. Equity's council denied the repertory plea, ruling that the players involved must be paid $30 a week, Aljout half a dozen extras are Involved. equTtymay LEASE FAffi TOAFA After apparently having failed In irts regulations concerning salaries and working conditions at the New York World's Fair, it is indicated that Equity will hardly seek more attractfons than currently tmder its jurisdiction. Fair committee hud- dled with the American Federation of-Actors last week In the hope that some bonformity in the rules of both would be worked out. It was quickly perceived that the divergence is so wide that there could be no such result and the ses- sion was promptly terminated. Ob- servers are of the opinion that while AFA's working conditions were framed with the idea of having as many members in Fair jobs as pos- sible, Equity's rules tended to dis- courage the activities of concession- naires and exhibitors by imposing a limit on working hours and up- plng the minimum wage. AFA places a limit of 12 hours daily on its vaudeville, specialty and night club people with jobs at the Fair, a total of 84 hours weekly. Elquity sets a maximum of 44 hours weekly for rank and file people and requires time and one half for any additional hours. It also calls for a six-day week, whereas AFA mem- bers are on a seven-day basis. Equity proceeded along the lines of trying to get as much as possible for its members, who will constitute a minority of professionals at the Fair. Committee was for demand- ing a high minimum, compromise figure of $50 weekly being fixed. AFA's minimum is $40. Last week a petition was circu- lated, idea being for Equity to call a special meeting for the purpose of readjusting the Fair situation. When the requisite number of names was secured, the petition was presented to Equity. When the latter asked some signers what their intentions were, they replied they had affixed their names without knowing what it was all about. Whether the peti- tioners aim to make additional de- mands, or to make the regulations more attractive to concessionaires, was not made clear. Equiy people said the meeting, if held, could hardly upset agreements already entered into with Fair e?c- hibitors, latter having signed agree- ments and posted salary guarantee money. Kane, of Century, Steering PiiAer- Morrison Agency Tom Kane, of the Century Play Co., is in temporary charge of handling of affairs of clients of the Pinker & Morrison Agency. Kane has not actually taken ov,er fUU rep- resentation, but is acting as a sort of trustee, pending outcome of Eric S. Pinker's difficulties, due to em- bezzlement charges. Some agents and playwrights are reported still trying to work out some method of self-regulation. OIKIE SPOTS SEEKING SiWS Mostly Picture Houses Now, butWUling to PlayUgliter Dramas for Change of Pace—^Advaiace Men Re- port Plentitude of One, Two and Three^Day Stop- overs If Terms Are Right BIG '40 ROAD Advance ineii back from the road report that one, two and even three- day stands, which were supposed to have been largely eliminated, are again available, provided the right type of attraction is offered and the terms equitable. They assert that local showmen in any number of spots .between the east coast and the BilississippI basin welcome' stage shows now and then. Nearly .all. the houses where book- ings can be made have a picture poUcy, hinterland managers conced- ing their willingness to play occa- sional stage attractions to provide a change of pace. Not acceptable, however, are dramas on serious sub- jects. The intellectual plays which do well on Broadway .are generally nixed out of town. When one of the more lively plays was suggested re- cently, a manager in a one-nighter readily agreed to book it, while an- other in a town some distance away stated he would guarantee the show three nights. Matter of terms, however, was fre- quently brought up as a deterrant by the out-of-towners. It's indicated that an independent booker might be necessary to work out a route with such managers. Latter are al- leged to have expressed dissatisfac- tion over the terms offered by the United Booking Office aiid it has been suggested that the latter be ap- proached to make special provisions for.the stands. Objeoto «« 5% Beoklng Fee Small standers say they are will- ing to go for the extra expense of housing a stage show and take a chance of losing on the dates, as a gesture of compliance to the wishes (Continued on page 82) Camera's White Lie Jimmy Durante is sort of dressed up in ^Stars in Your Eyes,' Majestic, N. Y, but nothing compared to the Easter outfit which he sported for a color picture with Ethel Mer- man, rotoed in last Sunday's (9) . Daily News. .In topper, tails, striped pants and ..spats, the Schnozzle appealed to be very Robert Taylor. Friends insist it's an optical Illusion. HOIMS WOULD AGAIN T08R RIGHT Plans to send Td Bather Be Right' to the road again are being consid- ered, with Taylor Holmes playing the Cieorge M, Cohan part Former is known to have the required back- ing, matter of terms apparently be- ing the main factor in holding up the tour. Understood that Sam H. Har- ris, together with (George S. Kauf- man and Moss Hart, who authored the book and have a percentage of the show, sought 50% of the profits. Holmes countered with ah offer of 33 1/3%, plus $500 weekly regard- less of what the earnings would be. Those Interested believe that "Right/ with Holmes, would prove an excellent draw, particularly west of the Mississippi. In recent seasons he toured the territory successfully and Is rated one of the best known stage comedians there. 'Right' Is figured for San Francisco during the expo- sition and one or more backers are said to be Coast showmen. Sunday performcnces for legit shows on Broadway struck an un- expected snag when union people met with the managers, .as repre- sented by the League of New York Theatres, to talk It over. Responsi- bility for the failure of Sundays to materialize was placed directly at Equity's door. The musicians read- ily agreed to go along w"th- Equity if the letter's membership voted for Sabbath shows without extra pay during the World's Fair, but the stage hands were anything but pli- able about the Issue and the Theat- rical Managers, Agents and Treas- urers elected to ride along with the deckhands. Not only did the stagehands ques- tl<m Equity's right to dictate on the matter of Sundays, but they came- out for an a'ctual seven-day week, aiming to knock out the reliction requiring one day off in ever> seven. It was virtually admitted that the six-day clause in I^w York's law was Inspired by Equity, which later Invoked the double-pay rule, which made the statute practically value- less. There Is no doubt about the other unions opposing the position as- sumed by Equity on the issue. Point- ed out that Equity members are working Sundays in other engage- ments other than legit wltlwut EquI^ interference. It was also de- clared that some stage attractions have in effect dodged the one-day- off provisloni and it is believed that no objection would be made if seven days were played. Equity's delay in sending out the Sunday referendum was also criti- cized, its idea of vralting to see what th. other stage unions tiiought about is being derided. Tuesday (12) Equity said no referendum untU the attitude of the others is deflnitdy established. (Continued on page 52) Sam Eioofli Going ToMThbWeek On Ticket Tax Raps TMATtoAskWagerilkfwB:0. Men, Also House and Co. Maiagers Material salary increases will beagree on suggestions that treasurers askied from managers for at least groups of members in the Theatrical Managers, Agents and Treasurers union. This was revealed at a pow- wow between committees of the League of New York Theatres and TMAT last week. It was also. Indi- cated that changes sought in the present basic agreement, which ex- pires August 31, are being steered upon advice from the International Alliance of Stage Employees, the stagehands' organization. Hinted that TMAT will be virtually absorbed by lATSE on an autonomous basis, which was planned two years ago. t Principa{ly concerned with the pay tilts are the boxoffice people, cur- rently paid $75 for treasurers and $50 for assistants. Former want $90 and latter $65. There are around 350 b.o. members in the union, which has 745 paid-up members, so that the ticket group is the largest in TMAT, -altheugh-having-the-lowest-minimum- pay. Understood that about a dozen treasurers are paid over ttie scale, only a few because of ability, the others because being related to pro- ducers. Claimed that the b.o. pay Is not a livable wage, especially because emolu''i?nts, 'Such as. 'ice' from agencies, is supposed to' no longer be a perquisite of the boxoffices. Mat- ter of dark weeks was considered by the TMAT board, which did not be guaranteed a fixed, number of weeks per season. Proposals to set that figure at'30 weeks was voted down. Press agents, who are the highest paid members imder the agreement ($150 weekly minimum), will not ask for more coin, but house man- agers want $125, or $25 more than at present, while company .managers will aisk for $150 when on tour. Plan to merge the so-called Broadway p.a.s and the road agents appears to have undergone a change through the week, and latest reports have it that the idea is cold. Known tijat TMAT and lATSE have been having friendly contacts for some time, two unions formerly being aloof over procedure used when the basic agrement was being effected. TMAT, not having gotten to first base with the World's Fair Federation of Labor affiliates, and its plans to picket the Fair may depend on what these organizations have to say about the situatioa Explain Assessment Explanation of TMATs one per- cent salary assessment from working members is the operating nut, but it is. stated the assessment will not ex- tend beyond June 1. Monthly cost is $2,600, of which $1,600 goes for (Continued on page 50) Appeals for clemency having failed, Sam Bloom, of the Leo New- man ticket agency, enters the federal House of Detention, New York. Thursday (13) to start serving four months for admission ticket irzegu- laritles, for which he and Phil Guy- ran were convicted and also fined, C^ourt suggested the sentences be alternated and Bloom decided to go first With five days monthly al- lowed for good conduct, Bloom should be freed the last week In .< July, at which time Guyran will take the rap. After the appeal was denied, a motion was made to Judge John. C. Knox to suspend the sentences, court refusing with the comment: 'Were this application to be granted, it were well that the prosecutlm ot the defendants had never begun... the Government wotild have bezA spared the expense to which it was put in over-coming the defense... which In my judgment was v/ithout the shadow of validity...the re- pcntence and remorse with which the dettodants now say they are bowed down are of the same quality as their protestations -of honesty upon the trial—failse in fact and fraudulent in intent.' . Court also remarked that the management is expected to look for -suppoFt^fPom-IA-and^thcr-Ameriean- -m.pjicy_jthfiy—expende d in d e fense— might have better been applied to the sum claimed by the Govern- ment part of which is said to have been paid. Something like $2,000 was figured withheld, both men be- ing fined that sum, plus, a fine of $2,500 against the agency. - Ticket men Insist the claim is based on pyramided tax called for in the statute, legality of which provision has not been ruled on by the higher courts.