Variety (June 1909)

10 VARIETY London, May 26. There is every prospect that the com- ing two months or so arc going to be a pretty severe strain upon the vaudeville magnates over here. Throughout the country the music halls are in a very poor financial condition. Business is far from encouraging in the provincial towns. Ac- cording to an expert opinion, scores of halls will be unable to hold out. The new Gibbons and Barrasford offices, about to be opened for business, excel anything in London for luxury and beauty. They occupy three floors, Pri- vate staif ways (one could almost call them secret passages) communicate from floor to floor for the use of the magnates. The first suite of rooms is occupied by Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Masters, Mr. Collins and Mr. Barrasford, with private rooms in the or- der named. Masters is in with Mr. Gib- •bons, while Mr. Barrasford shares his pri- vacy with Mr. Collins. It is not unlikely that Bransby Will- iams will have his time in the States set over from Christmas week to Feb. 1. There is quite a delegation of American illusionists in London just now. In the number are included Carl Hertz, Horace (Joldin and Houdini. All three are playing the De Frece Circuit. Some of the English managers, accord- ing to trade gossip, are going to extreme lengths in their barring practices. It has been said that in order to secure any considerable bookings here an artist must stay out of England for some time, in some cases as long as an entire season. One artist relates that he was promised a tour of the Stoll time on condition that he remain out of England until 1011. Middleton, Spellmeyer and Co. have caught on and will have no trouble keep- ing booked up. They have Gibbons' dates for some time ahead for "A Texas Wooing." There is pending before Parliament a bill which will cause the music hall man- agers a good deal of inconvenience, and if it passes will work financial harm to them. It aims at the increase of liquor license in halls in some cases as much as 500 per cent. In many variety houses the bar profits represent a large part of the total gain and the passage of the measure will cat a big hole in this asset. Percy Percival, manager of the Hackney Empire, died last week of heart disease. Maude and Sydney Wood started on tour last week, opening at Tunbridge Wells. Herbert Lloyd returned from the Conti- nent last week. He had just concluded an engagement at Hamburg. Dorothy Ken- ton returns shortly for a return engage- ment at the Hansa Theatre in that Ger- man city. Return engagements are as rare on the Continent as an affable man- ager, and the American girl is considered to have scored a conspicuous success. Caryl Wilbur put on a new sketch at the Empire, Holborn, last week. *m LONDON NOTES VARHTTS LONDON OFFICE. 411 RSAV9, V. 0. (Mall for American* and Europeans In Evrope If addressed care VARIETY, aa above, will ha promptly forwarded.) Hayman and Franklyn have returned older ones he had the audience roaring all from a tour of the provinces. the time. Radie Furman is scheduled to play a week at the Hippodrome, Richmond, before leaving for the States. New electric signs on the Alhambra in Leicester Square brighten up the Square wonderfully at night now. Probably the best acrobatic dancer in the halls at present is Kitty Colyer. Clarice Vance has established herself as a big favorite at the Palace. At least five songs every night are sung by Miss Vance, who could make the total seven were she so inclined. It seems almost like home over here to "catch" anyone singing that number of selections, after hearing hun- dreds of single acts rush out, throw over one selection and rush off so they won't be closed in. It is about settled that Helen Trix will visit South Africa next season for a tour of the Hyman houses there. Miss Trix will likely open in the diamond fields dur- ing October. Last week she commenced a tour of the north of Scotland. Harry Rickards came in last week from Australia. Winton, the ventriloquist, was with him. While Alfred Butt was in Paris he en- gaged "Consul Peter," the ape, for the Pal- ace. Mr. Butt says he expects this monk to give London a sensation. It is announced that Cissy Loftus will fill another engagement at the Coliseum shortly. Last week at the Empire, Hollo way, Gardner and Stoddart "cleaned up" finely. They were laughed at from beginning until ending, and will probably tarry on this side just as long as they want to. Another Stoll "find," Arthur Astill, was at the Holloway Empire last week. He was billed as "the whistling plow boy." (Over here they think "plow" should be spelled "plough.") Arthur also imitates a cow and other things found in the back yard. Stoll is a great fellow to "find" acts. As to Arthur, I venture to say, without having seen him in harness, that he is a kid wonder when behind the plow. The other day Paul Murray received a letter from the other side signed by Josh Dreano. It read as follows: "New York City, May 0, 1909. Mr. Paul Murray, London, England: Dear Sir: Have you anything open for next week? Very Truly." Walter C. Kelly, who opened at the Palace Monday night, again showed that he was the popular fellow at this house. With a few new stories mixed with his Joe Welch arrived here on Monday of this week and will probably start some- thing with the Stoll people over a con- tract. In the meantime, however, Mr. Welch will slip up to Glasgow and play the Palace in that town, opening next Monday (May 31). Yvette Guilbert is back again at the Palace, doing very big, usual with her. A look over the Palace bill this week shows seven single acts earning money there. It makes rough going for the few near the finish of the show. Clarice Vance after Monday evening was moved down to close the show at the Palace as the management did not like to see the people leaving as they did be- fore this change was made. Miss Vance did all that was required Tuesday even- ing, for no one left until she had finished. Percy Williams returned to London from the Continent on Tuesday in order to attend the Derby on Wednesday. It is reported that Sam Bernard, who came over here to look over "The King of Cadonia," a musical comedy, did not fancy the play. Mr. Bernard will sail for the States from France. At a new skating rink at IIford the management is running a session at 6:30 in the morning for the working people. It is easily understood how people that skate that early in the morning must be of the working kind. Ritter and Foster, who are appearing in Cork, must have taken the Irish city by storm, judging from the press notices. Harry Tate's "Motoring" is up against a hard proposition this week at the Tivoli, where they are closing the show. Nevertheless the act holds most of the people in and they are still laughing at it. This act has played the same house for a number of months for some years back, but it never seems to lose a laugh. Sam Langford, the colored fighter, who blighted all the hopes and ambitions of one Ian Hague the other night at the Na- tional Sporting Club (when he put the English champion to the feathers), is now on the market for vaudeville dates. There is quite an interesting argument going around just now about fighters on the music hall stage. The new theatrical and music hall bill now before Parliament has caused discus- sion between the legitimate performer and the music hall artist. The bill is designed to allow longer and larger dramatic pro- ductions in the halls. That means licenses would be granted for all kinds of theat- rical productions in the music halls. "Pop" Leamy, who managed the Leamy Ladies in America, has returned again to this side. Harry Corson Clarke will shortly pro- duce a sketch in a London hall, having completed his engagement with "The Dol- lar Princess." The Palace is back again in its sum- mer stride and large and live audiences are seen there nightly. Martinetti and Sylvester arc in their last week at the Empire. It is a pity to see a little girl called Dollie Denton open the show at the Palace. Monday night, when the girlie was on, there wasn't a person seated or standing downstairs save the program girls. Dollie is a real cute-looking youngster. William Morris and a party, including Mrs. William Morris, William Morris, Jr., and Nate B. Spingold reached London Tuesday. The party are stopping at the Waldorf. On Wednesday they witnessed the winning of the Derby by the King's entry. The Morris party arriving on the Lusitania gave the junior member of the family his first sight of England from the upper deck of the ocean liner. Billy, Jr., after carefully gazing at a few "bobbies" scattered about on the dock and at a royal mail wagon, waved the small Ameri- can flag he carried across the sea, defiant- ly saying, "This ain't got anything on New York." The Morris party will return to America after short stops in Paris, Ber- lin and Vienna. Nora Stewart, a member of the Four Stewart Sisters, dancing act, was married May 10 to William G. B. Thatcher, an officer on the steamship Coronia, sailing between New York and Liverpool. The wedding was held in one of the suburbs of Liverpool, England. The other sis- ters, who were lately in America with their dancing turn, returned home to be piescnt. The bridal pair will make their heme at Harleck, Kingsway, Crosby, Liverpool. Nellie Stewart will return to the act when it again goes on tour June 11, opening at the Empire Shoreditch, London. SETTLES BREACH OF CONTRACT. A suit for breach of contract brought against Irving Jones (colored) has been settled. Jones signed contracts to play a Connecticut picture house, but played an- other theatre that week instead. When the agent brought the suit Jones wanted to settle by playing the original contract on one of his open weeks. The agent refused to consider a transaction any further in the future than immediately. The case was dropped upon Jones' pay- ment of the cost of billing him in Stam- ford, Conn., and the agent's commission. James F. Flynn, one time vaudeville agent, is in business at Smyrna, Okla. Carter and Bluford, colored, will play in Budapest July and August, placed abroad through M. S. Bentham, the agent with the yacht.