Variety (Feb 1941)

Wednesday, February. 26, 1941 OBITUARIES MELBOURNE MAQDOWELL Melbourne MacDowell, 84, hus- band of Fanny Davehport-and a star in .hie own right, during the red Slush era of the theatre, died at the lasonic Home in Decbto, Cal., near. Oakland, Feb. 18, of ft blood clot on the brain, : Despite his advanced years Mac-: Dowell had "been- working for sev: •ril years in collaboration with Mrs. Anne Broughtoh on .twto memoirs:— one 'dealing with \the , life of Miss Davenport, which is practically com- pleted, another with his own career. Mrs, Broughton, also 84, Is an in- mate of the Home.'• MacDowell ran away from home to go to. sea as a boy of 11. By the time he was 24 he. had his mate's papers, arid then! he turned , to the theatre, making his start with Alice Nielsbri in' Montreal in a theatre op- erated by his brother, the" late Ed- ward MacDowell. MacDowell, a matinee Idol, spe- cialized in heroic roles, -winning ac- • claim - as Marc Antony, Scarpia in •La Tosca,' Boris Ipanofl in 'Fedora' and Andreas in -Theodora Virginius.' He appeared with Miss Davenport Until her. death, when he co-starred for' several seasons.: with Blanche Walsh. He played films in the silent days. It was of MacDowell that Amy Leslie, Chicago critic, wrote in her book, 'Sbnie-Players,' published in 1899; .'He is ' Fanny Davenport's greatest work of art.' MacDowell's death followed within a few. days that «jf Frank B. Hart- fnan, superintendent of the institu- tion, who' succumbed to the same ailment at the age of 70. He had Seen a walkon in New York. in a McCullpugh . production in which MacDowell had a bit. They did not meet, however,, until both had reached Decoto more than half a century later. Erlanger, died Feb. 21 after a two months illness at his home in Mor- ristowh, N. J. - ; , Born in Ireland, Powers went to Chicago as a youth .'and began his long career^ in. 1877 as an usher. in Holley's theatre .there. Later, he was appointed its manager and after refurbishirig. - the house in. .1898 changed its: name • to the Powers, The theatre: remained, in his hands until its sale in 1923. . As president of the Amusement Company bit "Illinois,. Powers' ; . oper- ated the Illinois and Blackstone the- atres for years arid with A. L. .Er^. langer had a . joint Interest In the: house named for the Broadway pro- ducer.'Retiring 10 years ago, he had only, recently, moved to Morris-, town. ." ■ •; .:• Surviving are two daughters, Jo r sephine M..- Powers and Mrs. Ed- ward T'. Dunne, both of '. Morrjstowri,. and a son, Harry J, Pbwers, Jr., of Miami, Fla. His wife, Mary, died a year ago. ROBERT P. GIBBS Roberto P. Gibbs, 81, long a prom- inent Broadway actor whose career spanned several decades, died Feb. 22 "at a 'nusing home in Clifton, Staten Island, N. Y„ after a long ill- ness. Gibbs, who began his career in 1883 in Shakespearean -repertory, was horn in Scranton, Pa., and, after trouping in stock, appeared in the original cast of 'Mr. Barnes of New York, in 1888. An active, player In the '90s, he also had roles , in 'Hands Across the Sea,' Trilby' and The Ghetto.' Trilby,' an 1895."production, in which Gibbs supported Virginia Hatned and Wilton Lackaye, afford- ed him perhaps his best-known role. After the turn of the century he was seen in a 1904 revival of 'The Two Orphans' and appeared as a mem- ber of the original casts of 'Madame X,' 'Blossom Time' and The Pit.' Among his last engagements were those in -Ashes of Love' and a Walter Hampden production of 'Caponsac- chi,' both of which were 1928 pres- entations; ■ Funeral services will be held to- day (Wednesday) in. New York un- der auspices of the Actors' Fund, with burial-, taking place In the Fund plot at Kensico cemetery, Westches- ter County, N. Y. A member of the Players and the Actors' Fund, he is .survived by a brother,. Dr. L. H. tGibbs. SIR HAMILTON HABTY Sir..Hamilton Harty, 80, irish' ebn- ductor and composer, who batoned in San Francisco arid Los Angeles some 10 years ago and later officiated as guest conductor: of symphony or chestras at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition, died Feb. 19 at his home in Brighton, England.. ' ' Knighted in 1925 in recbgriit'ipn of his, siervices to 0 Irish. arid English music, Sir Hamilton was born in Hillsborough, C.bunty "Down, Ireland, and received muclrqf his early musi- cal education at the. Royal Irish Acadetny; While still -a youth. he was regarded as one of the most able piano accompanists of his time. Among Harty's compositions were . such works as 'With the Wild Geese,' 'Irish Symphony'arid''Comedy Over- " ture.- A former conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, he. long directed the Halle Symphony of Manchester.. HARRY J. POWERS Harry J. Powers, 61, retired ■Chi- cago theatrical manager who once owned the Illinois and-: Blackstone theatres there, , and long was the Looo reoresentative of the late A. L. GEORGE LORIMER JOHNSON George Lorinier Johnson, 82,. vet- eran stage and screen actor, died Feb. 20 at his home in: Hollywood after a long illness. He is survived by his widow, one son, Richard K. Johnson,' a. Hollywood production manager, and two sisters. During his. youth Johnson was connected with the diplomatic serv- ice in Washington, leaving the corps to enter dramatic stock. He spent many years in stock and legit, his initial stage effort; being in 'Nordick,' with the late Frank Mayo. , Leaving the legit field Johnson en- tered films and for a number of years was a director for Vitagraph. He left during the World War to go to South Africa and was the first, director ever to film a picture there with a native Zulu cast. . In recent years. Johnson played numerous parts in Hollywood films. ARTHUR J. EHEHALT Arthur J. Ehehalt, 56, New Haven musician, died in New Haven hos-; pitai Feb. 18 after seven weeks' ill- ness. ■•■«.'. A native of New„ Haven, Ehehalt spent most of his life in musical activities.. An early concert player, under Eddie Wittstein, he later joined pit orchestras in New Haven's Bijou, Poll and Paramount vaude houses. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and served as its personnel manager. Also was secretary of. Local 234, Federation of Musicians, for 15 years. Widow, daughter and brother sur- vive. ; ALIO A DURAND Mrs. Alida .Durand, 78, formerly In vaude, died Feb. 21. at her home in. Cheshire, Conn.. Born In New Haven, deceased was married to. Howard W. Durand who, together with their children, were in vaude as the Five Musical Durands. Team was made up of father/ mother, two daughters arid a son. Act gave some 3,700 performances on old-time vaude circuits. Couple, also con- ducted a costuming company in New Haven for some years. Surviving, In addition to husband, are two daughtersi one son and sev- eral grandchildren. WALTER D. GREENE ' Walter D. Greene, 68, veteran actor, who retired six years ago, died Feb; 20 at his home in Great Neck, L. I., after a long illness. A native bf Baltimore, he usually took, support' ihg roles. In his 35 years in the thea tre he had appeared In <a number of Dayid :Belasco productions; .. . A member of The Lambs arid Actors Equity, he leaves a brother, Thomas, and a . sister, Mrs. William Bussang, bf Stamford,. Conri; Funeral services were held in New ; York Saturday (22).: \ •".■*;■■/ nual collections of the best short stories, which he had edited Since 1915. He was also editor, frbrn 1921 on, of Best British . Short Stories. ■'. .- O'Brien was. born in Boston, edu bated at Harvard; arid began his career as a. book reviewer for the Boston Evening Transcript; JAMES H. GRADY James H. Grady, 70, vaudeville and musical, comedy. : performer, whose retirement some 10 years ago ended a long arid colorful stage career, died. Feb. 17 in Lynn, Mass. > / Born. In Boston, he. moved to New York at an early age and appeared in such musicals as The Student Prince* and.. other .'.' contemporary operettas. He also had roles in sevr era! plays produced by. Robert Edson and James O'Neil. ':' He leaves two brothers arid a sis- ter. -.' : v ,'..'. " ' -•:•-' ' v"-vV - CLARA T. BRACY . Clara Thompson Bracy, 94,who started her stage career 50 years ago, died in Lbs Angeles, Feb. 22. ■■ Deceased made her .first appear-, ance at the Drury Lane theatre* Lori- don, and later, with her husband, Henry Bracy, concert tenor, she pro- duced operettas in Australia. Mrs. Bracy. arrived: in the IT. S, in 1910 and went under/ Charles Frohman's wing, appearing - with John Drew, Otis Skinner,. Ethel Barrymore and others. One of the, earliest film actresses, she made, pictures for Kinemacolor and later' Biograph. JANE HADING Jane Hading, 81, long a star of the Paris stage, died in Neuilly, a Paris suburb, on Feb. 18, according to word received in Vichy. The daugh- ter of orie of France's foremost melo- dramatic, actors, she was born Jeanne Aifredirie Trefouret.. Miss Hading'studied music at the Marseilles Conservatory and went on to become the reigning favorite for 20 years at the Comedie Francaise, She was particularly noted for her acting, in 'Les Effrorites' and 'L'Ad- venturiere.' * to Ft. Dix -Continued from page I5 DAN BURGUM Dan Burgum, 63, former film thea- tre manager in Des Moines, died in a Kansas City, Mo., hospital, Feb. 17. He had been in" ill health for three years. . . ' Burgum went to Des Moines in 1907 and later became manager there of the Garden, picture house. A num- ber of years ago he. left Des Moines to manage a theatre in Greenville, Miss. Survived by widow, son and one daughter. - MRS. EDYTHE PORTER Mrs. Edythe Porter, 57, an actress, was found dead in her New York apartment Feb.. 23, an apparent sui- cide by Illuminating gas. A daughter, Virginia, with whom she -lived, was but of town and was not immediately Informed bf the tragedy. - JOSEPH COYNE Joseph fcoyne, 74, died Feb. 20 In a nursing home in Surrey, England. American comedian: resided in Eng- land for the last 35 years. Details in legit section. LEO MOHAN Leo Moran, 30, trombonist for- merly, with the Hal Kemp band, died Sunday (23) in Brooklyn, N. Y. Further details in. music section. Mrs. Helen E. Berry, 52, owrier of the Princess,: theatre,. Edmonds, Wash., died at her home in Edmonds Feb. 15. Surviving are. her mother arid . two daughters. Mrs. Berry was one of the few women theatre operators in. the Northwest section. WILLIAM A. KONSTANCE , William A..Konstance, 58, former, pit conductor in Ppli theatres, died Monday (24) at his home in. Bridge- port, Corin. "''..-':• K musician, in the U, S. Marine Corp? in the Boxer rebellion and the Philippines. Konstance played violin, sax and-clarinet. . EDWARD J. O'BRIEN Edward j. O'Brien, 50, European story editor for Metro-Goldwyn- Maybr, and internationally recog- nized authority ori the sTIort story, died in London yesterday. (Tuesday). O'Brien was best known for his an- Mrs. Mary Silvers,' 71, mother of Louis and Sid Silvers, died last week in New York after a lingering ill- ness. Louis Slivers goes east for the services and turns the musical direction of Monday night's Liix airshow* over : to Rudy Schrager. . W. C. 'Cap* Holliway, 71, Frisco newspaperman for over 30.years; died in Pasadena, Cal., .Feb. 22. He was:, father of . Harrison Hoillway, general manager . of stations KFI- KECA, in Lbs Angeles. ■■ .;. MH. . Antoinette Kallz died In. Los Arigei.es: Feb. 17. Her. son Armand, actor-writer, died only two weeks ago at the age of 40. dress in ' freezing tents, and when the mike began sounding like a pneu matic drill, It was 'Hellzapoppln'— in spades. Show, riot playing on Mondays in New York, marched on Dix to pro- vide this unsuspecting 20,000-mari Army post,. accustomed to iibthlrig more violent than S-lrich field pieces, with its most.exciting day since No. 258 in person arrived, last fall. It was staged for the. benefit of the Army Relief Fund, which provides for widows arid orphans of soldiers. Net-was in the yicinity. of $1,000.. , . • , $1-$1.50 Admlsh -,'-.' Admish to the show was $1.50 for reserved seats, and. $1 for others— Salute ; Ft. Dix, Feb. 25. . .. ,Ft. Dix yesterday . (MondayV for biit the second time in -re-:. cent history, put bn a full regi- mental review to honor civilians. At the receiving end of the Balutes were not Government of- ficials, not foreign dignitaries, not personal friends of the. gen- eral, but—Olsen and Johnson. '. - Review of more than . 5,000 in- fantry troops, mechanized forces, artillery and equipment wds staged in . appreciation of the comics bringing 'Hellzapoppin* to Dix for a benefit performance. The other civilian honored with such a parade was Mayor Frank Hague, boss of Jersey City; . Father, 78, of Gyles. Isham, British stage and screen.actor, died in Lon- don, Feb. 19. and in that lies a tale of near-mu- tiriy. With those comparatively fancy prices (film admish here is 14c). tickets were offered only to officers. A hpwl went up .from the enlisted men, a few newspapers mentioned it; arid the ducats became, available to any soldier with a buck. Officers had gotten everything in sight, in the 1,034-seat theatre, however, by that time. Then came orders that part of the camp would practice a 'blackout march' (rip lights of any kind; even on the trucks). Monday night Of- ficers assigned were, forced to cancel reservations for 'Hellz' : arid Joe Rookie got a break. About 200 Were also allowed to stand along the Walls —which they later discovered Wasn't bad at all because the chorus gals had to scramble over their feet to get to their dressing room in the rear of the house. Iri addition to being the toughest conditions under which a Broadway show has ever : operated, it was also the closest thing to a real first-night that an army camp has seen since Chateau Thierry. Front of the hew theatre, resplendent iri lavender neon, was jihobbed by hundreds of soldiers hoping to be able to pick off a seat at the last minute or, at least, get a glimpse of the celebs and the Col. O'Gradys and their ladies in evenirig dress. A whole company of military police perspired like a 45th street cop keeping the mob back and untangling the jam of cars. Co. of 126 Troupers 'Hellz" marched on the camp ' 126 strong, including 25 musicians and nine, stagehands. Everyone donated his time on his day off . (they had pre- viously played a regular show arid the British benefit at the Radio City Music Hall on Friday, two shows Saturday and two_shpws Sunday). Two army trucks took the: stagehands, costumes, lights arid props dowrt in the morn-, ing and three buses transported the cast during the afternoon. , When the stage crew arrived, they found they had no curtains! A hurry : call to New York' and -some fancy rigging.remedied that—with the.cur- tains j.being-presented to" the carnp. after the show by 0. & J. Then the electricians found the. Ft. Dix electric system on the lightweight side ^ for their heavy equipment (which In- cluded the Winter. Garden switch- board). There was another hurry call and . army scout cars began re-' cruiting New 1 Jersey for a portable generator.: They finally; f purid one at the armory of an anti-aircraft battalion in Jersey City. State police escorted, it most of.the.way to Dix. When, it arrived, accustomed to such prosaic tasks as lighting million-can.- dlepower ■ airplane-spotting search- lights, it balked. Fiobd arid spot- Hgbts, however, ' suddenly went on iri the middle of the first act. - Croix de Something for Mears ■ Next baffling .discovery was :a complete absence of dressing rooms. Chief carpenter Jack Mears-^whom it is rumored the army is going to decorate with a distinguished service medal—solved that orie by use of a couple of offices at the rear of the hall arid the erection of tents out- side exits near the stage. Drapes covered the path fronx exit to- stage. T^iny stoves,' their iron pot-bellies glowing red, made only minor al- terations in the frigid Ft. Dix. air. . - Cast. was guested at a sandwich- arid-coffee lunch in the Officers Club before the show (with nothing less than brigadier-generai iri the army's new blue dress uniform pour- ing the mocha). Very elegant buffet and dance followed the performarica with the Mt. Holly '(N.. J.) Musket- eers providing the tunes, until Shirr; ley : Wayne, p. & J.'s own deadpan heavyweight fiddler, cou,ld stand the pace on longer and demonstrated in a jam session. Show itself—arid' that seemed to the cast the most' minor event in the . day—found the , audience strangely. cold," other. shows here have. ■ It's impossible riot to laugh at much of 'Hellz' but whenever it was. possible' much, of the house kept a straight face. Whether some of the gagging was over their heads or, gold braid stiffens the arms it's im- possible V to determine, although ap- preciation for the troupe as a' whola was well-eviderit. ■ ■■ -,- Localltlor the Zanyisms '', Much of the gagging.wais remolded for a: soldier, audience. This angle clicked even better; than anticipated at the start, when Gene Meredith, with .his slightly-dazed, expression, attempted his crossing through the . second row. to get to the seat at the side of. the stage, frpm which.. he reads his: newspaper throughout the proceedings.; Instead of his usual clothes, he was in the. denims, of a recruit and carrying an old. suitcase.: General on the aisle mistook him for a fnccoy 'jeep' (a new recruit) arid tried to. kick him but. Johnny Bnrke's Wow Names of commanding officers wei-e applied to all the stooges to provide further laughs and. Ft. Dix biggies also were spotted for the usual awards of the live chicken, cake of ice, step ladder, etc. Biggest personal, hit of the evening, hpw« ever; was scored by Johnny Burke, who's not even In 'Hellz'; He's to be in OV it J.'s next show, 'Crazy House,' but does a soldier moriolog so was Inserted, for an audition. Such cracks as "This is a raincoat, but. all It does Is sieve the water' had the privates in near convulsions. Next Monday night, through the . effort of New York ag'ent, Phil Morris, who was also instrumental in bringing 'Hellz* down, King Fea- tures will send down a number of. its name writers; and cartoonists. They'll include Robert Ripley, Bugs Bear, Alan.Segar, Otto Soglow, Russ Westover and; others. Admish, will be 25c, also to go to the Army Relief Fund, which pays all expenses, as it did for. buses, food, etc., for the O. & J. gang. MARRIAGES Margaret. E. Harper. to Paul' F. Harron, in Philadelphia last week. He's president of WIBG, Philadel- phia. ■ Helene Del Valle to Lee Bowman, film actor, Feb, 21 at Tijuana, Mex- ico. Nancy Kelly to Edmond. O'Brien, iri. Yuma,. Ariz., Feb. 25. Both are film players. Joan. Wetmore to W. Palmer Dixon; in New York, Feb. 21..Bride's a legit actress. Ann Rodgers to Jay Jackson,'Feb. 14, in Columbus, O. . He's announcer ' for WBNS there. Iryirig Small, -engineer : at WELT, New Haven, and Celia Corick, Feb. 23 in New Haven. ' Nellie Stone to Maurice McKerizie, Feb. 22, at Crown Point, ind. Groom retired as executive assistant to Will Hays..: -. BIRTHS Mr. and] Mrs. Lee LeBlanc, daugh-; ter, in Holiyw.ood, Feb. 18, Mother is the former Helene CosteHo, film actress. ... . ' Mr. and Mrs. Earl Long, daughter, . Feb. 12, in Duluth^-Mirin.Father Is manager of; Garrick theatre, Duluth. • Mr; and: Mrs. . John Harris, son, in Pittsburgh, Feb. 5. Father's manager., of the Palace theatre there and, son of Frank J. Harris, , president of Harris. Amus. Co. : Loa Mlndllrig;. tendered farewell, party at Gotham hotel; N. Y., Mon- day (24). He's leaving MCA to do publicity on his own.