Variety (July 1909)

10 VARIETY London. .Innc 22. Middle! on and Spellmycr will sail for 11m- States Aug. 3. They will have com- pleted their Gibbons time by then. Mr. Middleton said he intended to remain longer over here, but some one sent him a picture of the old Long Island home- stead, and it was all off. Sam Collins, who has been the life of the Revue at the Empire, leaves there this week. He is expected to frame up a real live act for vaudeville. Gorge Foster, the agent, has moved to quarters in New Coventry Street. They occupy a prominent corner on Leicester Square. Hughes, of Alexander and Hughes, has obtained a divorce from Ray Wallace, who also plays in the halls. The allegations had to do with the defendant's actions while in Scotland. Marie Lloyd is reported as quite ill, and that it will be some time before she will play again. George F. Hall, under the management of B. A. Rolfe, opens in London July 5, appearing at the Canterbury and Paragon. A solid list of bookings for social af- fairs only, sufficient to keep him busily engaged for some weeks, is held by Mar- shall P. Wilder, who had a London daily give him two columns besides a four-col- umn cut the other day. So you see, "Marsh" lands wherever^e is. An awful noise on the Strand the other day sounded like a motor car smash-up. It was caused by Ted Marks' new black and white checked trousers. Morris Gest with his bride arrived a few days ago. They will leave shortly for Paris, where Mr. Gest expects to ar- range for a production at the Olympia. The newly wedded couple will remain on the Continent for the remainder of the summer. Harry Leonhardt is in London waiting for the opening of the "Big City Quartet" at the Palace. In a little while Harry Rogers, who has been over here for three years, will return to the States. With Mr. Rogers will go his sketch "Told in a Flat" and a four- act play he has purchased on this side. In the "Personal" columns of the dailies this week, generally used to make ap- pointments with people who look good to someone else, there was a little note saying one party wished to meet another at 8:45 at the Tivoli. That is when Daisy Jerome appears, and Daisy is sus- pected. Mr. Alden of the Empire was seen at the Palace the other evening in conversa- tion with Alfred Butt. A bunch of newspaper men about told me that was no cause to imagine there would be an amalgamation of the two halls. Helen Trix has decided upon the South African engagement, and will leave in October. Helen will likely play Australia to follow. LONDON NOTES LOUDON OFFICE. til 0TBAjn>, w. a (Mali for ▲■MrtcAM sod Bnroptaas la Bwopa If addressed care VARIETY, as atova, win ba proaptlj forwarded.) "Paradise Alley" will probably open at Barassford's Hippodrome, Sheffield, two weeks earlier than expected. The new Gibbona-Barassford offices are in full swing. The luxury and general layout of the headquarters have aroused much admiration. The Palace and Pavilion, in Glasgow, Sam Lloyd's houses, have been doing some tall bookings lately, worrying greatly the Stoll hall there. The largest salaries Eng- land knows of are not too big for Lloyd, which is nice for the artist but not so nice for the competitor. An acriminous discussion threatens with the presentation of Jos. Hart's "Football Dogs" on the other side. Harry Velanche, who has been playing "foot-ball dogs" un- der his name for a year back, ran into London in haste the other day when he heard of Hart's dogs. It seems from what Velanche told his agent, Paul Murray, of the Morris office, that Mr. Hart spoke to him (Velanche) several times while the latter was showing at the Foliea feergere, Paris. Velanche says Hart suggested he should take his act to America, and claims that Hart could not have secured the American rights. The man from whom Hart purchased his dogs, says Velanche, was formerly in his employ. Velanche and hia dogs are booked for future time in the States. The Stoll circuit has a great hall in the Grand, Birmingham. The class of patron- age the house attracts is also above the average. The theatre is large, and the lighting almost perfect. Horace Goldin headlined the show there last week. Ed- ward Foster, the manager, is a "good audience" all by himself. No act has a chance of "flopping" while Mr. Foster is in front. He always has ready a laugh which sounds like a crowd. There may be much talk about the hesi- tation of the English in coming for- ward with large money for artists, but a letter from Ashton's Royal Agency to Walter C. Kelly, offering The Judge $160 for a twenty-minute turn at a social fest shows there's some money somewhere over here. Belle Belmont came back to town look- ing regular, and now everybody is asking Belle how she lost the weight. It's the Big City Quartet, not the Big Four, booked at the Palace by Bert Levy. American quartets * are rather plentiful over around about just now. After playing the Gibbons' tour next summer, Julian Rose will wander on to Australia for Harry Rickards. Harry Tate is in charge of the arrange- ments for the annual outing of the Water Rats, to happen July 4. There are a lot of people over asking when Bob Tate is coming back. Bob is Harry's brother, and has been piloting the Tate acts around the States for a long time now. . In fact, from what we hear, "Fishing" and "Motoring," mostly "Motoring" haven't lost over two weeks in the past three years on your side of the water. The Tate and Karno acts have certainly brought England to the front in American vaudeville. Karno through Alf Reeves holds another such record. Both are comedy, numbers, so there's some English humor which cer- tainly gets over away from home. Paul Murray has placed Callahan and St. George for a return on the Barassford time. Murray also arranged a route for "The Colonial Septet." Tortajada won the suit brought against her by the Warner Agency for commission on the Coliseum engagement. The Warners had to pay the costs, besides. The Empire announces that Genee will return to head the ballet there July 5. Carl Hertz, the illusionist, and his own company are playing the Hippodrome, Peterboro, this week on percentage. The O'Brien Havel Company picked up any quantity of laughs last week at the Hippodrome, Birmingham. Bijou Russell was programed to play there, but for some reason did not appear. E. W. Wyndham is playing as a single act now. Formerly he was the comedian of Wyndham and Walters. He did much better when working with a "straight" man. At the Hippodrome, Brighton, last week, the Piatt's Child Trio did exceptionally well. Papa comes in to adjust the piano stool for one of the kidlets, just to show the house who is running the act. Papa's meal tickets would do much better if they would clip the turn down a bit, and stop "stealing curtains." It's funny how youngsters will "steal" curtains under parental advice. Sometimes it's manager- ial. I remember a couple of kid acts in the States, and they certainly drew the show out to tiresome lengths each per- formance by this jockeying for applause under the impression it would "boost" their salaries. Pichel and Scales are a couple of clever comedy acrobats on the Barassford time. Frederic Melville's "Moto-Girl" reap- peared at the Coliseum last week. The act is not new here by any means, but the finish, when the "automaton" speaks, went just as big as ever. Melville has given the number a dandy setting, and is using several page boys. Houdini is touring Scotland. He is at the King's, Dundee, this week. The Morris time for Clark and Hamilton has been finally settled upon for next season. They would have gone over last spring, but could not postpone "English time. A couple of Turkish women, claimed to have been the real thing at the former Turkish Court of the dethroned ruler, are at the Coliseum this week. It wouldn't be a surprise were Helen Trix to do away with the piano before long. Last week at the Coliseum Helen did two songs without it, and never missed the absence of the ivories. »«.»» "The Equerry to the Emperor of Rus sia" was at the Coliseum last week, ac cording to the program. "The Equerry's other name is Guichenet'. He has a great looking horse, and "The Maxixe" astride was very well done. HOLBORN EMPIRE. London, June 22. R. A. Roberta and Harry Tate, both im- mense favorites, are successful this week in holding up what, without their presence, would be a very ordinary bill. Dora Mar- tini opens the show. She has an excep- tionally neat and pretty routine of feats on the trapeze, to which is added a striking appearance. Rhoda Gordon dresses as a Scotch lassie and dances and sings in the highland costume. The audience showed no great enthusiasm. Mozette and Page show a likable com- edy juggling act, gaining distinction from the fact that the comedy assistant, for once, is a sure-enough fun-maker. They won the first real applause of the evening. Little Cissy Lupino starts something when, during her clever dancing act, she appears in tights, a cos- tume she fills out most satisfactorily. Lane and Lloyd offer a comedy sketch, the plot whereof concerns itself with a do- mestic misunderstanding. The vehicle is commonplace and the mainstay of the offer- ing is the splendid appearance of Miss Lloyd. Farr and Farland have an amusing string of patter. Both comedian and "straight" worker handle their matter with conspicious skill and could serve as models for talking comedians depending upon this style of work. The Four Netherlands make up a girl act. They depend a good deal upon a num- ber during which they strip off their stock- ings. The leader of the quartet is pretty rough in her methods, but the final dance, in which only three girls are concerned, is well worth while. Vites is a maker of rag pictures. The pictures develop rather slow- ly under his hands and the audience at the Empire was disposed to become restless. The completed work, however, won ap- plause. William Lee and Helen Bentley have a sketch strongly resembling an Anglicised version of "The Counsel for the Defense." Lee makes a capital characterization of the eccentric lawyer, while Miss Bentley is convincing as the coster girl whose sweet- heart is about to be tried for murder. In the intense passages, however, she fails to quite reach the proper emotional strength. Gus Le Clerq, who was one of the fun- niest things in Karrto's "Yap Yaps," at- tempts a single with indifferent success. In the Karno act he was irresistible, so there must be something the matter with his new material. The others were San- ford and Lyons, dancing, and Dan Thomas, a comedian with not a little "blue" ma- terial.