Variety (Aug 1940)

^(rednesday^ August I4v 1940 VAUDEVILtE S7 \ lly JOE I^eeport, Lbng^^^^J which in its day wsis the vaudeville Hdlly- wobd of the country, w&s the scene Sunday night (11) of another send- off £6r Charles j. Freeman to his jiew post: With the interstate Circuit in Texas. Freemah leaves Aug. 18, so seme oi the boyis cooked up a surprise siibw; on the fprme? chief RKO booker's lawn, r ;: . Actually it was about as much a fiiirprise as a piece of flish to a trained seal, but welcome just the same. John Hickey,: th6 agent, and Harry' Pucki who, is looking for an agerit, framed the show, but not. as many iactors as, thiey had hoped for showed lip. ■[ Result was that Free* man ^arid the missus, Ciirrie, had to the entertainment, d snappy Cakewalk up aheiad ofthe Vi;uld ;Lang SyneV finale. " ; Rat Samuels, doing; a rube song; Ruby Rpthnour (Mrs. Harry Puck), singing 'Song of Songs';' Hal Nei- roan,' working without the misfits for thie comedy delivery of 'Man- dalay'; Tyler Mason, in blackface for 'I Need Somebody to Lullaby Me,' Hughie Diamond and Arthur Havel were some of the a.k.s. and near- a.k.s.. in the show. Harry Puck was the orchestra at a baby upright and Joe. Laurie, Jr., who is no baby him- self, was the m.c. ■. A good part of the audience was composed of non-pro neighbors, but nothing happened the first 10 mi'*- utes so they, had plenty of tiriie to study the -etage, >vhich. was the basketball court dressed up with an old vaude drop and a proscenium made of cornhusks. The week pre- vious, Buddy -Freeman, who is 24 and claimed by his father i to be a pushover for a layoff, presented a parody of 'Our Town' on the same stage, with neighboring kids in the cast. This was a rib on Freeman, ' Sr., and claimed to have been bet- ter than what ■■ the pros. ! put on. Laurie introduced Buddy early as 'the worst m.c. in the world.' Buddy put the show right back in Laurie's lap, saying 'this place is under new management and it's all loused up.' Still Nothing Happened i Then Laurie let Puck, Havel, Dia- mond iind. Neiman do their stuff;. but still nothing happened. Laurie, who remembers back when . the Lights Club put on some real shows in Freeport on Saturday nights, then remarked: 'You can read the label off .a tomato can and top anything that has happened so far.' , . , Tyler Mason preceded his special- ly by saying that the number he was going to sing brought him a route at $500 weekly from Freeman - back in the '20's. Later, Freeman said that if he paid Mason $500 weekly because of the way he sang that song it'is no wonder he was out of a job—as was Mason; Latter is now an agent, associated with Eddiie- Smith, " : . Miss Samuels (Mirs. Marty For- kins) and Ruby Rpthnour got over, but later there was 'Babes in Arms' switch and four youngsters really showed the a.k.'s how it's done nowadays. Miss Samuels., brought on. Mildred Law, her pro- tege just returned from filming 'Too Many ■ Girls' at RKO on the Coast, and she did a rhythm tap taught h^r by Bill Robinson, putting it oyer nicely despite the handicap of a ce- ment floor. Sigrid Dagnie, a cute Bcil Cofjee in England Leicester Square LONDON. WEST END Ex'Muacle Man John Hickey wanted one of . the. oldtime physical culture acts for the surprise vaude show given Charley J. Freeman. in Freeport Sunday night (11), He contacted one of the two per- formers of that type he knows.. : 'I'm sorry,' the forrher picture of health replied, 'but I haven't got any more muscles.' . ■blonde dancer in .'Higher and High- er,' who simulated a toe routine, and Lyda Sue, also a pro and a cracker- jack high-kick aero dancer, followed and scored. Buddy then brought on Don Maxwell, a local kid who does imitations, and his takepffs of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt, got the house. ,- A number of acts scheduled failed to show; Will Morrisey .was one and J. Francis Dooley another. Dooley had to take care of his 'saloon,' so Mrs. Dooley (Corihne Sales) begged off for both of''em. V . Freemans'. Their Own Topperi:: ' Charlie . and (Carrie Freemans' Cakewalk .was the- show's topper and, .when Freeman shouted. at Harry Puck to play :the music faster. Puck's retort, 'don't holler at the or- chestra,' . brought the evening's strongest laugh.. The audience found the seating arrangements catch-as^catch'-can—' either on the grass, or benches, or, if lucky, a stray chair. Later most everybody crowded;, irito the Free- mans' home for hot dogs and sauer- kra.ut, washed down with beer from a tap in the garage, plus English musichall songs by Arthur Havel. Latter was -betteir. in the hou$e than oh the lawn. Freeman hesh't yet sold the house, but he and his family are leaving for Texas regardless! Only one re- m.aihing. in Freeport .will be. Buddy, who already has paissed one ex- amination for the U. S. Air Corps and expects to go into the service by Jan. 1. Until thehj and while the bankroll is in [ Texas, he's acquired a job with the telephone company. Yesteryear Colony '. Departure of the Freemans deci- mates Freeport's shpw .biz : colony even more. Town, .which was most famous during the Lights Club era, once buzzed ;With performers - and managers whp lived either in Free- pprt or the near vicinity. The names ..who niight have been at Freeman's surprise; party years ago, but were missing Sunday night for one reason or another, included: Barry and Wolford, Dugan and Raymond, Mc-. Kay and Ardine, Conlin and Glass, Eddie and Gracie Carr, Norwood and. Hall, Middleton and Spellmeyer, Norman and Grace Manwaring, Moore and Littlefield, Sam Hearn and Helen Eley,, Crawford and Broderick, Conlin, Steele and Carr, Morton and Glass, Sam and- Kitty Morton, Mike Mulvey, B. S, Moss, Arthur; Deagon, Cartmell and Har- ris; Sam an^ Bright Tayber, Vic arid Bob Milo, Minnie the Mermaid, Barber and Jackson, Bobby Hen- shaw, .Ed and . Gracie Parks, The Three Leightohs. Wood and Wyde, Alan and Lou . Dinehart, Diamond and Brennan,; Craft and LaMont, Masters and Kraft, McCJonnel and Simpson, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Fresc'ott, The Sharrocks, Puck and White. ■ Some N> Y. Bookers Cited for LoMf IV Pates4--Perforiher Had to Play 4 Houses, in 3 Dayi '■■ for $65 CONTRACT-FLASHING Some of the New York indie book- ers have brpken out in a rash of old-fashioned chiseling methods, in- cluding ■ cpriti:act-flashing., Situation, on [ top of the low salaries paid . for oniB, two arid three-day dates (from $3 to $5 per person pay day), is causing a major burriup amonjg per- formers invpived. . Also on the pan, besides the in- dies, are RKO and Lpew's, both of which have somie . one-night stands; and .pay $5 per person. RKO is cited for low salaries; ditto Loew's. Later pays the same arifibunt even for. performers playing; the Globe, Bridgeport, 140 -miles away, Saturr day nights.. Circuit also: includes bus fares," but the actors aren't paid salaries v • expenses .until the fol- lowing Tuesday noon, the payoff be-^ ing made at the h.o. cashier's win- dow in N/Y. Performers state they wouldn't accept the $5 date if they didn't need the coin, so hence the paypff : should be forthcoming the night of the engagement.' Contract-flashing is attributed to Abe and Joe Feinberg, booking some small Pennsylvania stands. One p^r- forriier. viras. irecently spotted by them tp play what practically amounted tP four houses in three days at a total salary of $65.. Actor played the Lyric, Honesdiale, Pa., at. noon, was then rushed to the Ritz, Hawley,. 10 mil^s, away, for .an. afternoon show, and returned to Honesdale for, a night performance.He was offered $9.50 for this bicycling, with the bial- ance of the $65, less booking fee, to come from three days at the Family, Scranton. Idea behind the : $9;50 payoff was to enable the Feinbergs to show houses booked by opposi- tion show-buyers how cheaply they can buy acts, ■ George Godfrey, who was once chief of the RKO booking office and is now buying shows for one and two-day houses, is involved in an- other angle; He booked a performer into -a Jersey house at $10, less $1 commission. When the actor left for the town, Godfrey gaVe him a letter, which he; seemingly forgot to seal, for the house manager. Letter stated that the. actor was ,tP g^t $20' and this the performer took: in check form.:; He had a photostatic copy made of it before bringing it tP: Gpd- frey, who gave him $9 change. : Los Angele.s, Aug. 13. ■ Dual suits for $26,000 damages ' each have been • filed in superior court here by Rose Pliimer and Dave Daggett against the Burbank (bur- lesque) theatre.. . Libel and wi^origful use of pictures of Miss Plumer.are charged. - RENCr atici R O O^ /'■ :: 500 CLUB . . . Atlantic City, N. J. . "Renee and Root, team whose grace is reminiscent of. the PeMarcog or Veioz and Yolarida, dance brilliantly.'? ^--Atlantic City Pr«M. .. 'HeHz' Suit Vs. Meroff Unit Comes Up In SepL Chicago, Aug. 13. With hearing set for September in New. York supreme cPurt, Al Borde arid Benny., Meroff ;; have retained Loujs Nizer to deferid them in siiit brought by Olsen & Johnson against title 'Hellzafire,' vvhich Borde and Meroff were using; for a' vaudeville unit. ■ ;-■■•■;.. ;■;, .;;■■■■-' '■ Olsen & Johnson obtained an in- junction against Borde and Meroff, preventing title from being used, and are suing for damages, allegedly in- curred while unit operated under name 'Hellzafire.' Since then it has been using tag of 'Funzafire.';. WSkes-Barre Biz Off . Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Aug. 13. : For the .first. time in' eight years this city has two -houstis playing vaude and units. I The Irving plays vaude three days of each week. . The Penn ppened ' Friday (9) with Major Bowes' '1940 i Prize Winners.'' Business is poor, however, despite the pleas of natives to 'give us stage shows and we'll jam the houses.* Hot or Cold • Ten minutes after Harry Car- lin, cafe booker, was found dead in his New York office last week, another booker phoned one of his cafes and inforriried the owner that Carlin had died. He then asked the operator to turn, the spot over to him for booking. 'Why don't you wait until the body is cold before phoning/ said the operator. . .; 'Hot or cold, I want- to book your, spot,' was the reply. . N. Y. AGENTS Despite a request from the Ameri- can Guild of .: Va'riety Artists, this Artists Represeritatives Assn., of New York, has . advised the vaude-nitery unipn that hone of its . member- agents will submit copies of con- tracts and data on bookings. I. Robert Broder, counsel for the ARA, wrote Hoyt Haddock^ AGVA's executive secretary, explaining ARA's stand. ;...-; Haddock in tiirh has threatened reprisals, iricliidiiig revocatipn.- pf agents' AGVA franchises, but ARA is standing firm, . Agents' group claims there is nothing in its basic agreement with AGVA that makes it mandatory for them to ; fuimish AGr'VA with the details: requested^ There will shortly be a joint com-, mitteie meeting to thrash but ;the matter. Besides taking the positiPn that AGVA. has.no right to request all the minute details . of agents';. business, the ten-percenters also want to duck the" clerical work involved in fur- nishing such reports, 'which, they claim, would cause unjustifiable ex- pense. ARA Insists that it is living up to the letter of its basic agreement with ACVA,. especially. far as representing only actor-members of AGVA, diamond Gets K.C. Tower Chicago, Aug. 13. Booking of Tower, Kansaa City, has been taken over; by the Billy Diamond agency here.: : Initial layout from Diamond office will open Sept. 6. ^ . ■■ .. ]■ Sally Rand, and the comedy trio of Sid Tomack knd the Reis Bros, have arrived at a tentative settlement of their, dispute evolving from Miss. Rand's cancellation of the act after the first week in the Cocoanut Grovo at the Park Central hotel, New York. Dieal. was made after a : conference including both parties, Dewey Barto, president of the American Guild of Variety Artists, and Hoyt Haddock, executive secretary. It rests now iuir til a final, okay from 1.; Rpbert Broder, attorney foi the trio. " As the settlement stands on the trio's contract, which called for an- other 10 weeks, at $500 weekly, from Miss Rand, the fanner will in- clude them at a higher salary when her unit plays the Brandt. vaud- filmers this fall, about two arid a half weeks. She'll pay oft the balance, she sajTS, from her salary at the Club Bali, Philadelphia, which will either. precede or fpUoW the Brandt dates. Tptal arinount of monies , the boys may receive from any work contracted for .between how and what would have been the normal comipletion. of their contract with Miss Rand will be deducted from the, total amount ($5,000) she owes 'em. . The dispute betweien the act and Miss Rand almost resulted-in a cause celebre at AGVA. Act accused Phil Irying, N. Y* local exec sec,, of being incapable of handling a claini iri- volving'important money. Irving in turn stated first that the boys should not have called in a lawyer, (2) that complications had arisen because thie hotel management was now partially guaranteeing salaries of the Rand troupe, (i) • that he w'as working hand in glove with the musicians and stagehands unions for an event- ual settlement. Inasnmudh; as . both Miss Rand :and all her performers are .AGVA members^, it wais pointed out that cooperatipn pf outside unipns wasn't necessary tp cpllect a valid: claim. Haddock and .fiarto were in agreement on this and called for the conference with Miss Rand and the trio. Sara Strauss, Harry Puck Form Prod. Partnership Sara Mildred. Strauss and Harry Puck,' both recently returned from Hollywood, have joined forces iit' New York for dance direction and production. They are now staging their first unit. ■■ Maxine Lewis; moved Into Bill Jordan's Bar of Music, Hollywood. TheJHEATRE of the STARS J . H . L U B I N ^ GENERAt MANAOER SIDNEY H. BOO KINO MANAGER