Variety (June 1912)

8 "SPLIT" COMMISSION STARTS ON ORPHEU M CIRCU IT BOOKINGS United Agency Said to Have Instructed that Commission be Deducted Hereafter on the Western Time and Col- lected by Its Adjunct. "Split" Made Retroactive. Commission Nets United $500,000 a Year. VARIETY Bsss^BBsaaaaBsnsESBoaa According to a reliable report the Jrpheum Circuit has been informed oy the United Booking Offices that hereafter the agents' commissions on Orpheum Circuit bookings will be "split," with the Vaudeville Collec- tion Agency (an adjunct of the United Offices), the collector of the agents' monies, which are to be forwarded to it by house managers, and the agents settled with at stated periods, as is the practice with the United bookings. The '*split" is made retroactive, and covers all outstanding contracts for Orpheum Circuit theatres. The agents were not surprised by the action, expecting it following the combine of the United and Orpheum Circuit. The commission collected annu- ally by the United and Orpheum of- fices amounts to around $600,000. Something like $7,000,000 is annu- ally paid out in vaudeville salaries. Of this the United receives 7V» per cent, on its own bookings. The additional two and one half per cent, is forcibly collected by it and de- ducted from the five per cent, which is also charged by the vaudeville agent, now masquerading as a "man- ager" or "representative" through the agency law prohibiting an "agent" from charging over five. As the United holds an agency license and Is legally permitted to charge five per cent., the outside agent who places the act with the United must evade the law by calling himself something •lse. Up to the date of the combine, the Orpheum Circuit had never "split" any commission over five per cent., and had been known at times when an act refused to pay more than five per cent, in all to divide the five re- ceived by it with the booking agent, securing only two and one half per cent, for its share. Since the agency law went into effect, the "Central Promotion Co.," the corporate title for the agency branch of the Or- pheum, moved westward to all in- tent, and the Orpheum Circuit booked its turns "net," i. e., deducting five per cent, from the price asked and having contract read for net figure; a $1,000 act received a contract calling for $950, with no commission to be deducted from that amount. The "split" commission, while it will amount to $175,000 to the United agency yearly, is said to cost the vaudeville managers $1,000,000 or more annually in increased salaries. This amount will be raised still higher when the "split" becomes operative on the Orpheum Circuit. The agents believing the big agency was grab- bing something that did not belong to it, and helpless against the "split" order, connived with the acts they booked to raise salary. It has been no secret. The managers knew it. Most of them seemed as helpless as the agents to prevent it. Of the raise in salary, the agent declared himself in for a share, until instead of receiv- ing two and one half per cent, of the total salary, often the agent's share amounted to twenty per cent, of the whole. The actor was satisfied for he calculated that through the increase, out of which his agent took the per- centage, he was paying no commis- sion at all, and making a little money besides, over his previous wage. The interest of P. O. Williams in the United Booking Offices was in- cluded in the sale of his theatres to Keith. That interest, at one time said to have been one half the net profits, is now reported to have been divided among the Keith people in the United agency. F. F. Proctor is the only other United manager who partici- pates in the agency profits. DR. HERMAN'S ILLUSIONS. Two or three illusions, never shown on this side, were brought back by Dr. Carl Herman, who returned last Saturday from a quick trip to Eng- land. Of the mysteries, the first to be shown in New York will be "Tlg- naria," said by the Doctor to be the greatest optical illusion he had ever seen. The bookings for the acts have been placed with Pat Casey. DISGUSTED AT VAUDEVILLE. With disgust apparent all over his features when speaking of vaudeville, Charles Marks has announced his abandonment of the amusement, and hie management of stars who appear in it. Mr. Marks piloted Richard Carle and his troupe over the map for many seasons, and then took charge of Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth during the early part of their recent variety tour. As a picker of easy ones to manage, Mr. Marks long since earned the plum, so when he quit the Bayes-Norworth combine, he chose Mabel Hite. After officiating for a few weeks as her di- rector-in-chief, Marks admits he has had enough. OSWEGO NOT BUILT FOR TWO. Oswego, N. Y., June '5. Oswego is not a big town, so Mon- day the Richardson theatre, booked through the Family Department of the United Booking Offices, reverted from the two-a-day policy tried with vaude- ville back to the three-a-day, r' icing this village in the "small time" class again. ROGERS, GENERAL OBSERVER. With the opening of B. F. Keith's 'Union Square theatre Monday as a high class vaudeville house, and Elmer F. Rogers in charge, it was said that instead of assisting Bddie Darling next season in routing the programs for the Keith theatres in New York, Mr. Rogers will become a sort of general overseer of the local houses. In this capacity he will note con- dition of theatres, reception of bills, and give his entire attention to build- ing up "Keith Vaudeville" in New York. In pursuing this vocation, Mr. Rogers, according to report, may take the entire direction of the Colonial theatre for a few weeks at the open- ing of the season. This is looked upon as the most important of the "Williams houses" lately purchased by Keith. The regular manager for tha^t theatre, whoever he may be, will act as Rogers' assistant meanwhile. A report that Rogers would be given the same supervision over all the Keith theatres on the Keith Cir- cuit, In and out of New York, could not be verified. The entente cordlale existing be- tween the Proctor and Keith adher- ents goes merrily on. To celebrate the opening of the Union Square by B. F. Keith as a "big time" house, the bill poster for the Proctor's 23d Street house "sniped" everything tangible in the vicinity of the Square announc- ing the summer prices for his house would be 5, 10 and 16 cents. Both the Union Square and Fifth Avenue are billing heavily in Long Island and Jersey cities and the Fifth Avenue advertising agent has secured a number of choice paid locations for stands facing the Square. LAST "WILD MAN" DIES. Boston, June 6. The second of the "wild men of Borneo" died last Thursday, at his home in Waltham, at the age of eigh- ty-five. He died from grief. The first one of the "wild men" died in Walt- ham, five years ago. He was known as "Waino;" the one that died last week was called "Plutano." They were exhibited all over the country. Their right name was Davis. The last one to die was Elijah W. Davis. The first one was Hiram W. Davis. For many years they had made their home on Crescent street, Waltham, with Hanford Warner, their manager. He died two years ago. Then the other "freak" went to the home of his son, Henry D. Warner. "Balyhoo-men" loved to dwell on the ferocity of the two wild men. They also told of their enormous strength. This last statement was founded on fact. Each weighed about forty-five pounds, but were able to lift men who weighed 300 pounds. For more than fifty years they were on exhibition. It is claimed that they made an Immense fortune for their manager. Their parentage was un- known, but it Is stated that they came originally from Ohio. Both of the "wild men" were buried at Mt. Ver- non, Ohio. $2,500 FOR REN SHIELDS. The benefit at the Grand Opera House Sunday night, tendered by Cohan ft Harris to Ren Shields, the author and song writer who has been ill for sometime, netted the bene- ficiary $2,533. The big score of the benefit was Bernard Granville, who once appeared in New York vaudeville with Bernard and Dorothy Granville. The young man has been with "Louisiana Lou" at the La Salle, Chicago, all season. He is due to open with "The Winsome Widow" at the Moulin Rouge June 17. The same day Dorothy Jardon replaces Emily Wehlen in the title role of the show. McCUNE'S INFORMATION SHEET. G. E. McCune, manager of the Fifth Avenue theatre, has revived one of the Innovations he inaugurated when he occupied the post of press representative at that house a couple of years ago. Every Monday morning the dram- atic editors receive by mail a schedule of the program of the show, giving the running of the bill, the time each act is on and specifying which acts are new. AWFUL BRIGHTON CONFUSION. The confusion over the vaudeville bookings for this season at Brighton Beach has become awful. Dave Robin- son and Doc Breed are the contestants, the former managing the Brighton theatre (now open) and the latter running the Brighton Beach Music Hall, which will not start until June 19. The latest struggle between the two managers was for the possession of Lillian Russell as a star attraction. Robinson claimed Miss Russell had promised herself to him, to repeat the engagement of last season at his Brighton. Breed, however, got the e'er youthful prima donna under con- tract when the United Booking Offices,, after threatening dire consequences to both Robinson and Breed if they did not cease upsetting the agency with their squabbles, decided Miss Russell should play for Robinson first this summer, If she appeared at the Beach side at all. Mr. Breed has landed many "big names" for his programs, and his ac- tivity in the quest for features has kept Mr. Robinson's nose to the grindstone "doping" out bills that will run alongside. '•FAT MAN'S" WIDOW OBSTINATE. Elwood, Ind., June 5. When Morelan, Barnum's "fat man," died May 26 his widow refused to let anyone, except the undertaker, look at the body and declined also to make any funeral announcement. The Elks, Red Men and K. of P.'s offered condolence and assistance. It is expected the county officials will be asked to remove the body by force as tho grave was ready the following Tuesday. Morelan had a fear ghouls would steal his body and his dying wish was that his remains be cremated. His widow refused to comply.