Variety (April 1912)

12 VARIETY SK CASTLE SQUARE, BOSTON MAY LO SE ITS JOHN CRAIG After Seven Years, Manager Reported Very Wealthy and May Retire. Theatre To Continue With Stock Policy. Likely To Have Opposition in New St. James Boston, April 10. When John Craig's lease on the Castle Square theatre expires in June, it is understood, he will not renew it. Almost a certainty that the new St. James will establish a strictly high- class stock company, Craig does not care to clash with such opposition. Another report has it that Craig has become independently wealthy during his seven years' regime at the Castle Square and that he will prob- ably retire from the stock line. While Craig may not be at the Cas- tle Square after June, it does not mean the house Will give up its long- established stock policy. Several New York managers have been given a chance to take up the reins. FIGMAN IN SAI/T LAKE. Salt Lake City, April 10. Max Figman, late star of "The. Truth Wagon," opens a several weeks' stock engagement here at the Garrick in "Mary Jane's Pa" April 16. Figman will open at the Cort, Chi- cago, Aug. 4 in "The Truth Wagon." OPENING AT GREENPOINT. Percy Williams has arranged for his Crescent stock company, Brooklyn, to move to the Greenpoint theatre for a four weeks' stock engagement, open- ing there May 16. The bills selected are "Madame X," "Mrs. Wiggs Of The Cabbage Patch," "Alias Jimmy Valentine" and "Three Twins." The Gotham, Brooklyn, closes its stock season in four weeks, present- ing "The Spendthrift." "The Witch- ing Hour," "A Man'B World" and "The Fortune Hunter" consecutively. REGULAR SEASON ENDING. Philadelphia, April 10. The regular season of the Orphe- um Players, Orpheum, ends Saturday night. There will be a supplemen- tary season, and the reduction of salary, owing to the summer com- ing on, means a reorganization of the company. THE CANADIAN COMPANIES. Clark Brown has everything in complete readiness for the opening of his regular stock season In three Canadian towns. The Orpheum Players start agoing at the Orpheum, Montreal, May 6, the opening bill being "Leah Kleschna" with the leading roles played by Lillian Kimble and Charles Mackay. H. Percy Meldon will be general director of the Montreal company. ThA Dominion, Ottawa, opens April 15 with "The Man Of The Hour." The l«.-:ds there will be Florence Rltten- house and Henry Ingram. Stage di- rector, J. L. Edwards. The Temple Stock, Temple theatre, Hamilton, starts .April 13 in "A Woman's Way." The principal .play- ers engaged are Bertha Mann and Jack Rigney with Arthur Hoyt as stage director. These three stocks will be run by the Canadian Co. (Ltd.), of which Brown is general manager. Mr. Mel- don, who left Jor Canada the first of the week, signed a full roster for each town before departing. RE-ENGAGES BLANCHE DOUGLAS. Jacques' theatre (Poll). Waterbury, Conn., will give up vaudeville for the season May 4, placing a stock com- pany in the house May 6. Blanche Douglas has been re-engaged to lead the stock. Chase's, Washington, opens with a Poll stock company, Monday week. Washington, April 10. The Poll stock opens at Chase's April 22 in "Nobody's Widow." A. H. Van Buren and Izetta Jewel have been signed for the leads. A. S. Byron comes here for a three weeks' special engagement, opening in "The Virginian." Byron joins one of Poll's other stocks later. MISS MORTIMER IN STOCK. Lillian Mortimer closed her vaude- ville season March 81 at Keith's Hip- podrome, Cleveland, and immediately made arrangements for a special ten weeks' stock engagement at Decatur, 111. CHANGES TO STOCK. Philadelphia, April 10. The Empire, in the Manayonk dis- trict, under the management of Paul Burns (who also runs the Standard stock here), adopted a stock policy Monday, with principal roles played by Edward Fitzgerald, Marie Clifford and Jack Kearney, sent here by the Betts & fc'owler agency, New York. HALL LEAVING UTICA. Utica, N. T., April 10. The Majestic theatre stock com- pany is undergoing, a change of per- sonnel. Louis Leon Hall and Warda Howard, leads, will leave the com- pany Saturday night. Utica, N. Y., April 10. Robert Hyman has been signed by Wilmer & Vincent to replace Louis Leon Hall here as leading man of the Majestic Stock company, having been released by the Poll managers so he could accept. Harriet Duke, who closed in Eliza- beth last week, comes back to Utica as leading woman. Joseph W. Walsh will be the new stage director. LEADING MEN FOUND. Payton has had a tough time get- ting leading men for his Park stock company, Philadelphia, and the West End theatre company, but Jay Pack- ard finally turned the trick for him this week. William Conklln goes to the Phila- delphia house, while Thurston Hall has been signed for the West End. Mabel Frenyear; engaged as leading woman for the Park, has declined the place, and Julia Taylor, formerly with the Nasimova company, is being con- sidered. William Holden, of "The Woman," will be the West End stage director, and Laafdon West, of the Belasco forces, will be the stage manager. Harry Bewley and Morgia Lytton will also be with the West End stock. Emma Campbell was signei o play characters with the Philly company. George H. Berrell, of "The Bird of Paradise" company, goes there as stage director. Ed Schiller was engaged this week to manage the Philadelphia house, while Joe Payton will remain with the Newark company. SOUTH END OPENS. Boston, April 10. With "Oliver Twist" as the opening bill. South End, under Marcus Loew's direction, which heretofore has been running "pop" vaudeville, opened its new stock policy Monday. The leading players are Richard Thornton and Isabelle Evesson. STARTS AT AUBURN. Auburn, N. Y„ April 10. The new Jefferson, under the man- agement of Messrs. Macey ft Vickery, installed summer stock Monday with Leigh de Lacey and Fritz Sumner playing the leads. "PAID IN FULL** THE FIRST. PotUvllle, Pa., April 10. Arrangements have been made for the combination house here to play stock, opening April 1$ with "Paid in Full," the principal players being Mr. Devitt and Miss Gordon. MALLEY'S EXPECTATIONS. Schenectady, N. Y., April 10. William Malley's new stock com- pany opened Monday at the Van Cur- ler Opera House in "Alias Jimmy Val- entine." Malley expects to keep his company here all summer. HACJLETT CO. OPENING. Rochester, N. Y., April 10. The Hackett Stock Co., headed by Norman Hackett and Harriet Worth- ington, opens its season April 16 in "Strongheart," and after a week's, stay will play limited engagements in Toledo and Grand Rapids, then following Jessie Bonstelle at the Star, Buffalo, for the remainder of the summer. In the Hackett Co,, will be Dodson Mitchell, Walter Sherwin, Robert Smiley, Leroy Clemens, James Ash- ley, Florence St. Leonard, Alice Sey- mour, Maud Earle, Isabel 1 O'Madi- gan, Glenn Anders, Frederic Esmel- ton, stage director. Eleanor Montell, first engaged as leading woman, was obliged to cancel. "CAPTAIN BILL" DALY PUIS. Boston, April 10. > William Daly, one of the best known sporting men in the country, died April 4 at his home in Revere. He was 66 years old. He was best known as "Captain Bill" Daly and was one of a family of eight children, seven of whom became prominent on the stage. He retired from the stage a number of years ago. "Captain Bill" was the last male member of the Daly family, surviv- ing his three brothers, Dan, Bob and Tom. Two of his sisters are living, Lucy (Mrs. "Hap" Ward) and Lissie (mother of Vinie). All the Dalys were dancers, and good ones. Twenty-five years ago the Big Four consisted of Emerson, Clark and Daly brothers (Tom and Bill). They were billed as the "King High Kickers." The only one left of that quartet is Charles Emerson (Emerson and Emmons). A widow and son (eight years old) survive "Captain Bill." The funeral was held Sunday from his home and was largely attended by members of the Elks, Eagles, Knights of Columbus, and other fra- ternal organisations. Fifty police of- ficers led by the chief of the local department headed the funeral cor- tege. Scores of theatrical people made the journey to Revere in order to attend. Mayor Fitzgerald of Boston attend- ed. The house was literally filled with floral offerings. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, following the services at the Church of the Immac- ulate Conception. Martin Schwartz, age sixty-one, died April 6. He was the father of Marty S. Ward (Ward and Bohlman). Mrs. Arthur Don, known profes- sionally as Minnie May Thompson, died March 26 at her home In Los Angeles, Cal., after a lingering ill- ness of two years. Her husband and mother survive her. George Bedee died in the Augus- tana Hospital, Chicago, April 3, hav- ing been in the institution since last August. Bedee was forty years of age at the time of death. For several years he was connected with River- view Park here, and more recently was road manager for Fred Ray- mond's "The Missouri Girl." STUNG FOR $100,000. Clark A. Miller and Alfred H. Mot- ley, arrested in London last week, charged with grand larceny, the war- rants haying been sworn out by Wil- liam Ottman, president of the United States Lithograph Co. and the Puck Publishing Co., will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, according to the statements of men connected with the firm claiming to have been swindled by them. A new process for making lithos in color, a big improvement over the present methods, is what Miller and Motley alleged they had. They suc- ceeded in convincing the heads of the United States Lithograph Co. for an investment of $100,000.