Variety (Dec 1940)

"W^ednesday,. Pecember 25, IQIO LECltlMATE 49 At a quarterly meeting held Pri- (20) at th«. Astor hotel,- N. Y., ttW new issues were developed, but a, number of pDintii -were tbuched- up \iy ^^xeciitive ' secretary^ Paxil' Dult- tell's rei^ort.. Not the leasi was meni- tidn' pf the boosting of niinlmum pay frorn^ ifi46 to. |50,'■ accptjipanied ; by. raising the initiation. . Dullzell told , the members that it: wai too early to discern whether the increase will affect employment/ ; He stated that^ at the- end of: the -seasbn: they would. be ift a better position to decide if; the move was beneficial.,, . Membjers" were also advised on ithe; matter of social security prolectidn. All contracts afe how stamped- with provision making it incuinbeht oh . the rhahager to pay the Government the security levy., The iaW so stlpUri lates, but soriie. shownxen have, been lax in making_such payments, also; the payroll percentage due the state for unemployment insurance. • It apr pears that laxity has mostly, applied to short f un attractions. Stated that It is more a matter of carelessness on the managers', side rather than an: Intent to ;evade the laws, . ' Aniohg other.-mattef s was a xecom-: mendation.that the:Standard cdnt^ : provision, which erisufes, tp - maii- agers the ^exclusive services . of. the tictor, be. jitribken out, It will go he- fore the . council ior xonsideratio.ji. Proposal arose because an 'actrisss appearing oh ; Broadway -was' JBned $500 for piayi.hig a night club besides: accepting" radio engagements vvithotit the permission of the producer, Sug; gested that,.i£ Uie clause be deleted, a : playier might assent; io the exclusive services !anyhpw.;and such prpyisioh be in the forhl.of .a rider to . the cohv •;tract; . ,.' • ' ■'. . ,■ .There are differences of opinion among actors, however. /While some • seek the chalice to earn additional money, others argue. against multiple Jobs. Latter faction points dut that, when a player is engaged, outi^ide. appearances shpuld be available to those not, employed. . Council was asked to appoint a committee IP act for rhembers called for army training. It was also pro- posed that junior members' be al- ' lowed to vote, but this: is bound. to be contested. Plan. to keep .radicals from holding office in Eciuity, or be employed by the association, was touched upon, it being explained that the matter is still'in committee and that chariges. in the.' constitution wo.uld have Ip be rnade before that Issue is decided. I'Vl'lE AUDHAS FINANCIAL TROUBLES .. . Louisville, Dec. 24.: Memorial Auditorium, 2,400-seater, which is the town's centre of culture and plays road •shows arid concerts, was threatened With closing la.st week; wheii the. bity cut pfF lthe an-' hual quartef-cent aptJrop'riation from' ,the budget,. Message fi^om the mayor advised thie Auditdrium commivssion, which lias supervision of the build- ; fng, tq. 'ffet: out: and work -fOr busi- •ness' instead of waiting for it to come to .theiti. Local interests; civic clubs, etc.j\ have expressed themselves that the Auditorium can b^-self-sustairi- Ing. with appropriation of tax inoriey ;td keep the bu il d in g open; . .. Building; which cost. $700,000, and . oiii which'. some. $50,000. has . .been spejit, is poor acoustically and dfa-: matic and imusical'. performances ^are inarred . by. objectioriable. echoes. ■Several- name •stars,' ..including Katheriney Cofneli .'and^ k Hepburn, are reported: .td: have ex-^ pressed their dislik* of the building's acoustics and were quoted as; saying'; ^feafter they; would shun Louisville ;dn that account. ■ Mpvement 1 s :under *ay to provide a lekit house, locally for stage ;.shows,. with, the dark Na-; tjonal under corisid-eratipn. . ights' Bonus . Tor. the second successive year the. Playwrights have passed around iChrlitmas bonuses;^ Each.member of: the cast of :There Shall Be No\Night,^ except the Lunts, were given gift coin, receiving $10,0 and $50. In ad- dition,, the office, staff in New .york. were preisented with- ah extira week's 'salary;■ ..I ■. . Shubert Office is. rejpprted having stepped out, also, stenographers and other office: employees .getting $10 .:e'ach'.• . - _:— . • -' Dennis King Musical Setfor Chicaga Jan. 19 .Chicago, Dec. 24; New musical, tagged 'She Had to Saiy ; Yets,' conies liitp the Grand Opera House here' next month. Opening is slated for Jan. 19. DehnisV king,-who will star, Hub Tather' Company To Ray Philly Walnut^ Indicates No UBO Truce 'Life. With Father', will play the . N. Y. .Th.e., group; of Broadway ticket, brpkera who have beea questioning the: legality , of the Mitchell law,'' limiting the preinlum on' all tickets, at 75c over the boxofflce price, have started new proceedings after aban- ddning the original action. It was believed that the hew suit would be filed in the federal court as a' more direct route tp. possible appeal, to th* U. S. Supreme Court. • Instead; the agencies' attorney; William Hyman, went into N. Yi supreme' coUrt':again, ■ First pfodeedihg was ruled upon by Justice Bernstein,: who declined to issue a writ restraining Paul Moiss, N. Y. City license commissioner, and Lewis J. Valentine, police commis- sioner, from enforcing the law. Case went to the Appellate, Division;: which unanimously affirmed Judge Bernstein,, but thie right to trial was retained. Recently Hyman argued before Justice Ferdinand Pecdra for the right to amend the complaint, Latter's trend of inquiry led the brokers', counsel to feel that the re- sult might also prove unfavorable to his clients,. It was.- then decided to drop the . whole action, which was done Friday (20) by paying tlie costs. Efforts of the ticket men were re- sisted by Assistant Corporation coun- sel Charles W«nstein, with the sup- pdrt of Equity and the League of New Ydrk Theatres, Same, opponents will face the brokers in. the new ac- tion, argument of which' will be re- vised from the original complaint, activated by Judge Pecpra question- ing certain arguments put forth. ~ Commissioner MdsS announced that , strict enforceihent of the . Mitchell law. would start Jan, 1. His first ordier will be directed against side- walk ticket speculator?, who wiil be summoned to court by police. Walnut,; Street, Philadelphia, upon, cOinpletidn of the Boston run. House was ; sub-letted to . the : show's : pro-. ducer, Oscar Serliri. undeir. an. ar- rangement' whereby the legitei- will have the four, walls' upward of three mdrtthsl Deal indicates ' . that, the young producer has hot come to an understandihg with the United Book- ing Offices, the Erlanger-Shubert combo. . While an open breach is de- nied,- uhderstOpd" that ho agreement on sharing terms \yere reached when feelers for bobkingsi were made., Last season, when Serlin decided to .:send; a' 'Father*: company to Chir cagOi. offered bookings were rejected and. he. took, over the Blackstohe, under ■ ; rental- deal, outside of the Loop and then regarded as und€.sir- able. The show is still playing the stand : and is in Itis 43rd week, A .company . for,; Bostdh followed arid again the producer did not do busi- ness: \v,ith. the UBO,' He leased the Repertory theatre, also separated from the theatre district arid 'Father' there Is in its 13th. week. Original show at the :Brnpire,: N, Y„ Is playing, on sharing teriiiis and is in its 59th week, aimed through a second sea- son. House is independent, therefore not' required to play out of town un- der UBO regulations. Boston engagement will reach its 18th week on Feb. \, at that tihte breaking the modem rUn record in the, Hub established by,'Three Men On a Horse,' which played 17 weeks there. Record for the stanWhow- ever, was made by 'Abie's Irish Rose,' which played 34 weeks! -Abie' similarly opeirated : without regular bookings through most of Its exis- tence, leasing theatres . In many, stands, ■■'-. Hirst Leases Philly Wa.Inat Philadelphia, Dec. 24. , The Walnut theatre nas .been rented to O-'scar Serlin for !Life With Father' by Izzy- pirst, burlesque operator. He recently leased the house for 'the express purpose of keeping, burlesque opposition from, playing the. spot, ; . Hirst Immediately sought legit bddkirigs.' Locally it is believed he Is competing with the Shuberts in the legit field. Charity Suppers Off •.. After a series of . three benefit supper, parties held at;the.Algonquin hPtel, N. Y.v: bytlje .American' Thea- tre ; Wing of the British War Relief Society, th.e star-hosted Sunday nights. have been. ,- discontinued temporarily at - least. Proceeds were devoted to the purchase of mobile kitchens, much needed in England. The ■, three suppers approximated a net of $850, . As the feeding uriits cost.$2,000, other means to earn the baian ce.-will .b e used if the Sundays- are. not .revived! Frank Cc<se; who operated the hotel) gave the Wing a libierar 70-30 split. TO ORGANIZE Managers, through the League of New York Theatres, have started an- other cariipaign to promote theatre- going, or 'organize audiences' in neighborhoods and the suburbs. Last seasoh the League expended $2,500 to experiment- with the idea; which got little results,:: Showmen seem to feel that a more. effective plan can be :worked out anil another $2,500 was alloted for the purjpose, . . James F: Reilly, :League's' ,secre- tary;, is how seeking the cooperation of. general managers for -, producers; .figuring that they are closer to play- goers than the managers themselves. He has invited them to attend a meet- ing, to be held this week, at which time the various plans to interest po- tential patronage will be discussed. One is known as the Neighborhood. Ticket. Distributors, the idea being that orders for . tickets he , accepted at local drug, stores, Another plan Is the deposit of $5 at the boxoilice as a guarantee that tickets reserved would be called for. Claimed, that this method met with more favorable response last seasori than other ideas, submitted. Deal is proposed with the Times Square ho- tels, AvhichhaVe ah organization of 34 hostelries and. participate iri a 'patkage' plan, offered visitors. Contact has been made with the N! Y, Association of English Teach- ers,: • which has. 1.500 members. Stated that the 'organization could dispose of 9,000 upper floor tickets to students. Estimated that .63% of the total could be sold at 55c each, 23% at 83c. 13%. at $1,10 and only i% at $1.65, Prof dn liieaiVe to Act Pittsburgh, Dec, 24. i ■: Mary Morris,, veteran aciress: and/ . assistant'.professoi; at the Carnegie , Tech drama school, has .i?een granted ' an' indeflhite leave of nb.sence by Henry Boettcher, head of .depart- . menf, so she can take the lead in Lynn Riggs'. new play, 'Crearii In the Well,' now. in rehearsal; . • , ' ■ .Leave will last for' duration of run.,1 6t Usudl Advertising Rdtes Reservations and Copy May Be Sent to Any ^ y NEW YORK , HOLLYWOOD ; V CHICAGp - ; > LONDON 154 W. 46th St; V' 1708 Noi Vine St. 54 W. Randolph St. 8 St. Martin's PL .; Equity's stake in Sundays is tha expectation that such performances will lengthen engagenients oh Broad- way and therefore benefit the actors. There are Iridlcationsjthat some: inW betweeners playing Sunday are stick-, ing because Of that, but Equity is hot satisfied with the way the managers are,, or: are not, ■ cooperating In the experiment. . :: , • • •' Principal objectlori la : that leiss than 50% of the legit shows' are using the Sabbath and for that reason the possibilities . are not being truely tested. One of the '• actors' leaders -tHHt-If-tlie maiiagers don't: want to play Sundiay 'we'll use it. ourselves,' implying that Equity would favor reverting to double- play after this, season. There .are two theories .concerning Sundays;;. One is that all shows must be played to test the drawing pos-; Slbilities. The Other is that If the Sabbath Is supposed to aid shows which do not command , exceptional draws.- the present schedule' Is logi- cal, . There, has been some; doubt exr ptessed whether Sundays Avere not rushed too niuch,- arid v/hether a prd- mdtidnal period of sieveral months would not have attjracted a greater riumber of theatre-goers among those who come to Broadway only, on that day. ;^ , :■ So far. there has been no rush to attend. legit on Sundays. New 'Cue For Passion;' added to Sunday shows drew mjich- better :than expected, With .admission scale lowered:. ; Whatever the benefits in bettering grosses, they havie been compara- tively hdild, with 'several ex- ceptions, Managements of high- scaled musicals giving- Sundays no thought, and that goes for the straight hits also. The pre-holiday lull, dur- ing which Sundays havie been, played SO far, may explain. :the fairish re- sults so far- and. after New Year's there ritay , be a more favorable trend. •. , Factor Of prices: is important as in- dicated by the Sabbath demand for., moderate price tickets. Again-there is talk along Broadway about straight shows lowering to $2:20 and musicals having a top of $3.30, Little doubt that the $4,40 shows are affected during periods when the volume of visitors drof>s, such as : between Thanksgiving ?nd Christmas. How many musicals: with high scales can , continue will depend on attendance .after,;Jari. .1. , ■WHITE CARGO'PliVRS ACCUSED OF INDECENCY Los. Angeles. Dec. 24. Eight members of the 'White Cargo* legit cast, presented pt the Beaux Arts theatre here for the past two years, were released On bail of $5,000 each; after pleading not guilty of staging .s indecent performance. Jury trial was set for Jan, 16. ' . Players:are Patricia Saunders, Wil- liam" Howard, Franklin. Wade, Lawr rcnce ; Harri.s, Richard - Gofidard, Frank O'Neal, John Harvey John- .son, Jr., and Gilchrist Stuart. W D, Swanson, producer, now in. San Francj.scb, was also named in the complaint, ■' ' . 'Udies' Back to CU .'..■';,; ■ Chitago, \pec.: 24- |. Flora. Robson,.' ' ..'Lad ie.s in ;n'^l i re- ment.'. returns to the Hariris here on Jan. 19; . ■:■ \ ' ' ^- i; . Show had a; two-week stay earlier ' in.' the .season, , ' \ I Bridgeport Wants I^egit I - ■ . Bridgeport, ; bee, 24. 1 City of Bridgeport's, getting legit- • minded. Comptroller Perry Rod- : man, in charge of new Klein Memo- rial theatre for city, has been-nego-. : tiatihg. with. New York booking of*, flees, to route road Shows; into 1,5()6», seat auclitorium bequeathed 16 com- riiunity by late Jiacbb B. Klein and wife. • ■ -■ - ; Rodman has al.so been cons.idering '.<;iimmer--.stock setup for 1941 -.at Plea.sure Beach, amu."ie'mc'hl. . park owned arid opcrajtcd by ,rnunicipality, ' -r^lga Lee, 'talent afjent. has added a .script departrncnt.,' charge of 1 Emilie^ Wirigat^,; . :'' '. , v