Variety (October 1910)

VARIETY London, Sept. 21. Business at the Hippodrome of late has been up to the capacity, showing that Cleo de Merode is the expected draw. The dancer has been engaged for five weeks beyond her original contract. George Lashwood will open on the Morris circuit in America Jan. 2, 1911. The Australian Wood-cutters have also been engaged by Morris, to open next March. Wilkie Bard, probably the most ap- proached English artist for engage- ments in America, has again been made an offer from a large agency. This time it is $2,500 a week for four weeks. Wilkie at present does not want to consider it, but probably it will not be long before the English comedian will appear in the States. Mr. Bard started his London season at the Tivoli Monday. Paul Murray, lately joining the Marinelli office in London, wishes to deny the report of a few weeks ago saying he would have charge of the Marinelli London branch. Mr. Wol- heim, as before, will remain in charge. Middle. Charpenter, a Russian prima donna, was at the Coliseum last week, her first appearance in Eng- land. Owing to the Russian craze the .singer was an attraction, but will hardly go much further than the Coli- seum or the Hippodrome. Sam Stern has been booked for four immediate weeks at the Empire, Lon- don. He was at the Coliseum last week. Stern is working without the Hebrew make-up. The change is quite an improvement. Radford and Valentine have just re- turned from a trip on the Continent and will play in England for some time. They have been placed with the Theatre Royal Pantomine in Shef- field for this year. The first Sunday evening concert at the Vaudeville club will take place about the early part of October. Leon Zeitlin has been selected as chair- man at that entertainment. The hill this week at the Coliseum with Sarah Bernhardt at the top amounts to about $7,250 in salaries, according to a rough estimate. Bern- hardt receives $4,000, net. Scott and Whalley, at present on the Continent, have been booked by * the Barrasford-DeFrece circuits for a return tour. The manager of the East Ham Palace was arrested and fined this week for parading a bunch of sand- wich men in naval uniforms to ad- vertise a sketch playing at that Hall. The authorities said that it wasn't right to use naval uniforms in this way. Ernest Shand Is the latest of the comedians to go Into the Empire, Lon- don, starting an engagement there next week. The Three Keltons have arrived In London and will probably open on the Stoll time in another week x Wil Collins is handling the act. Teery's Theatre, the smallest and one of the oldest theatres in London, will be turned Into a moving picture house soon. Fred Karno has revived his "Foot- Ball Match," and the act Is played in Edinburgh last week. Will Poluski, Jr., is playing the lead. The Wieland Agency has booked the following acts with Harry Rick- ards for Australia, Wilson Hallet, Barney Armstrong, Niagara and Falls, and Black and White. "Ma Goese" according to a cable received from South Africa by the William Morris office, has been very successful at the Empire, Johannes- burg. George Nagel, from America, put on an act at the Tivoli last week. That is about as far as it will go. The act reminds one of a ten year old burlesque after- piece. Nagel has two good looking women in the act with him. Monte Bayley, a sketch actor, in- tends to sail for America in about a month's time. Mr. Bayley will bring two people with him and will in all probability show one of his dramatic sketches. Edward Jose, the man who plays a sketch alone (although not a protean actor) sailed for the States Sept. 2 4 to open on the Morris time. Mr. Jose will act a piece called "The Strike." Hartlet Mllbnrn will shortly produce a sketch for the halls called "Jim." Conway Dixon and Netta Lynde will play the piece, written by Ernest Bu- calos8i. Mervyn Rentoul, an actor, and son of Judge Rentoul of the criminal court in London, will open at the Coliseum Oct. 17 in Harry Vernon's "Her Lady- ship's Guest/' a dramatic sketch. PARIS NOTES BY EDWARD O. HENDREW Paris, Sept. 20. The Casino de Paris reopened Sept. 16, under the continued management of Albert Cailor. Mile. Sahary-Djell, in her "Salome" pantomine, so well advertised by the Belgian authorities recently, Is included in the program. Among others are Howard Kennedy, illusionist; the giantess, Abomah, and a short ballet, "Floridylle." by R. Berger. At the Olympla there are also some new numbers, notably "Dick," the dog which can write. On the 19th, the present show underwent many changes. Louis Hardt, Lea Rinoni, eccentric comedians; Baggessen and Regina de Bergoni, Russian chanteuse, went in. Wenzel and Curtis' ballet, with Lilian Graham, Yette Rianza and Ettore Caorsi remain, also Seeth's wonderful monkey, "Prince Charles." Caite Rochechouart opened Sept. 16 with a host of local talent, two sketches, and Kitty Lord, "the Ameri- can star," as she was announced at the Ambassadeurs. M. Houcke, who formerly managed the old Hippodrome, and later the new one, in partnership with Frank Bos- tock, assumed control of the unfor- tunate Cirque de Paris Sept. 17. He will only play Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; the other days the cir- cus will be leased for public meetings, etc. Footit and his sons, with the "colored-clown" Chocolate, migrate from the Nouveau Crique to this es- tablishment. Nipper Lupino Lane, while practic- ing off-stage Monday evening at the Coliseum, broke his ankle and had to be taken to the hospital. The acci- dent happened just before the little fellow was to go on for his turn. Harry Vernon's play "Mr. Wu," will be presented by Arthur Bourchier's company at the ending of Mr. Bour- chier's present run in "Henry the VIII." The Two Bobs finish their engage- ment at the Tivoli this week. After a week in a provincial town the boys will start a run at the Oxford in Lon- don. Jack De Frece, a report says about here this week, will open the Casino in Paris as a music hall. Leeter OollLngwood, a very well known theatrical manager of Birm- ingham, was killed this week in a mo- tor-car accident. Mr. Collingwood at the time of his death was managing the Alexandra theatre, Birmingham. He held the lease of that house. The Russian Balalka Court Orches- tra, now at the Coliseum, will sail for America at the end of their present engagement to open at the Metropoli- tan Opera House, New York. The or- chestra closes here Sept. 30. La Scala inaugurated its winter season Sept. 16. In addition to the punning operette "Circuit du Leste," by P. L. Flers and E. Heros (authors of the Folies Bergere revue) Henri Fursy has engaged a long list of sing- ing turns. Among his troupe will be Alice de Tender, Mary Perret, Irene Bordini, MM. Morton, Sinoel, Robert Casa, Rivers and Paul Lack. The sum- mer season at the Scala was most successful. Theatre du Vaudeville revived the piece of Paul Reboux, "La Maison de Danses," with Polaire leading, Sept. 21. Victor Silvestre, once manager of the Folies Dramatique, Renaissance and the Alhambra, is credited with taking the Theatre des Mathurins, which he will convert into a home for classical music under the name of Theatre de Monsieur. He proposes to give only works of the XVIII century. It was from Silvestre that the late Thomas Barassford took over the Al- hambra, after lengthy and difficult negotiations. The Hippodrome opened Sept. 16 as a skating rink. Moving pictures were fairly successful over the summer, but the few evenings devoted to box- ing have proven much more so.—The rink in the Rue St. Dldier will start again Sept. 30, under new manage- ment. H. E. Rice, of Chicago, has arrived in Paris, and will be in charge for J. C. Brown, of the "Magic City," on which building operations will com- mence at once. It is to be ready for Easter, 1911. Ike Rose is highly satisfied with the business being done by the Prague twins, Rosa-Josefa, at the Olympia. A small group of artists, having formed in opposition to the Union Syndicate des Artistes Lyriques, a pro- tection society, has just held a meet- ing, the report of which reads very sincere. They protest at the salaries paid to certain singers in France, as low as $f> per week, and particularly the goings-on in South America, all of which is unfortunately too true. But this propaganda does not carry much weight hero from the fact that the said society "Solidarite Ar- tiBtique" is not taken seriously by the majority of artists themselves, and it was the very group which three years ago opposed the passage of the law forbidding women to collect money in the body of the low class music halls throughout France. Their conten- tion that $ 1.r»0 should be the mini- mum salary paid an artist, no mat- ter where engaged, is approved, but they have been a long while realizing this, and might have joined in with the Union years ago on tins same ques- tion. The Union now, in its turn, publishes a notice in '))<■ press dis- claiming all connection with the new- agitators.