Variety (June 1913)

VARIBTY VAUDEVILLE'S SEAMY SIDE (From the NEW YORK SUNDAYaTIMES,yune 1, 1913) Vaudeville actors—sometimes the most prosperous ones—have many business troubles, according to one of the younger veterans of the profes- sion. "We cope with the shrewdest wits of the curb to secure booking dates," he said. "Sometimes it is the agent who overreaches'the actors, and sometimes it is the vaudeville magnate himself. None seems able to resist the tempta- tion to grab a part of the actor's sti- pend on some fanciful pretext wherev- er possible. Many and devious are the schemes employed to this end. Even the contract which is drawn by an able lawyer to protect the actor may become the means of his undoing. Who was it that could drive a coach and four through any law of England? Vaudeville managers and booking agents can handle the ribbons too! ''In the first place a vaudeville act- or's contract nearly always contains clauses which permit any theatrical manager to dispense with his work in event it should prove unsatisfactory. So, any theatrical manager may break any contract he chooses by pronounc- ing the actor's services unsatisfactory. In cases where the word is not in the contract the manager may break it, anyhow. That is his business. This process, in vaudeville slang, is called 'canning the act.' "Vaudeville actors who produce acts at their own expense aim to book con- tinuous dates over a term of many weeks at so much per week. That is the only way to realize any profit from the investment of time, labor, and money. All this simply means that actors seek to be reimbursed out of the receipts of the managers. But managers are crafty. They are prone to invent ways to derive gain from the work of the actors and at the same time pay less than they should. By giving the public a taste of expensive productions for a few performances each week the manager can palm off cheaper acts upon the public for the remainder of the week. Most vaude- ville theatres are owned and controlled in chains or circuits with a single management for the whole. By hustling the expensive acts from place to place on the circuit a deal of money may be saved on the entire chain. The money, of course, comes out of the gains which the actors had expected tc realize for themselves. It appears that each house has a local manager whose special business it is t^ find fault with 'acts' in order to 'can' them and send them along out of the way. "Then, too, the actors are often made to pay exorbitant fines for triv- ial offenses," he continued. "One re- putable actor recently booked for three weeks—a limited run—on a cir- cuit of 'canneries,' so called, his ob- ject being to break in a new act for larger bookings. At the first theatre he performed for nearly a week in a business suit of brown, and on the last day changed his dress to a business suit of black. The actor was fined $10 by the manager for appearing in 'street dress.' A good lawyer could recover the amount, but surely it tould be done only at many times the cost of $10. "Some theatrical managers and agents make no contract but give a mere slip which states the name of the theatre or theatres in which the actors are to play. As a rule these slips are obtained from the New York agents of the theatres. Just recently seven- teen prominent acts which held these slips were swiftly shot through a cir- cuit, playing two days instead of two weeks at each house as per contract. "All irresponsible vaudeville man- agers—and nearly all acts sooner or later come into contact with them— unhesitatingly book more acts each week than their houses can play. Of necessity many must be'^canned* or canceled, while those retained are not the best, but the cheapest. Sometimes the best acts are retained, but only in event the actors will consent to cut their salaries. "One manager regularly promises the actors that he will play them in two nearby Jersey towns, each for half a week. These places are not highly esteemed as theatrical centres by the headliners or expensive acts. But the manager glowingly offers the assurance of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago and St. Louis. Of course the actors are not made aware that the manager's power is limited to the small places first mentioned. At the end of the run in the two towns the acts are informed that the work has not been satisfac- tory. Accordingly they are *canned.* "Sometimes the amount realized by cheating the actor is pitifully small," said the vaudeville man. "One very rich vaudeville manager owns a theatre in a rural metropolis where Sunday shows are not allowed. He gets seven days of full profit out of the actors by means of a scheme. He makkes the act- ors play six days at his own theatre, then farms them out to a manager in a neighboring town. The acts are obliged to wait for their money until they have played the last stand and of course get nothing for extra travel and work, although the manager realizes from it heavily. "One theatre managed by a woman pays off the performers in nickels and dimes at the end of engagements. As a rule, the performers wait until they are on the train bound for New York before counting up. They discover in- variably that they have been short- changed a dollar or two. "Crooked agents above all are the bane of all vaudeville actors. One Kame of the crooked agent is to offer an act, say at $250 a week, to the man- agers of vaudeville theatres, and in many cases this amount is the upset price at which the act can make a profit in view of traveling and hotel expenses. To this offer the reply of the managers is that $200 is all they care to pay. But the crooked agent, who thinks only of his cash fee for hooking the act, hands over a slip to go to work at $250. Only at the end of the week, when settling time is at hand, does the act learn of the real situation. "Hardly less annoying is the crooked agent who books an act to play two performances per day at a remote the- atre, when he knows that the manager will insist on four performances per day. In such cases the act is forced to finish the engagement on the mana- ger's terms. Few vaudeville actors can afford to pay the expense of long jour- neys and lose salaries besides. "One manager is known to stand in with the house expressman. If on some Monday morning the manager, who controls a circuit, wants to get rid of an act the expressman loses the bag- gage of the actors. When at last the baggage is found on the following day the oily and unctuous manager ex- plains that he is sorry, but inasmuch as the act has missed the first matinee the booking must be canceled. "There are incompetent agents who jump heavy acts over wide areas with- out notice and send collect telegrams after each performance. There are the hagglers who purposely delay acts with spacious negotiating, the object being to make the actors desperate so that they will gladly accept a cut in sal- aries. »» LOWER PRICES AND SAIjARIES. Chicago, June 4. Lower prices have been inaugurated at the Majestic and with this inaug- uration comes yarns of trouble from players. Several acts complain that they have been asked to work for from $50 to $75 less than they have been getting. Some of the acts have stood for the cut, and others have refused. It is rumored that the entrance of Jones, Linick & Schaefer into the "loop" district is the cause for the cut in prices. TINNEY IN WHITEFACE. Frank Tinney is to work in white face with "The Follies," as a sort of harlequin in knicks. He will also pre- sent his specialty during the show. ALWAYS DOUBLE-CROSSING. Now that some of the vaudeville agents have been moved to the Palace building, the United Booking offices will not move over until the fall. This decision was carefully kept concealed until all the agents had been saddled with leases commencing from June 1. Four floors have been set aside for the use of the United—the third, fourth and fifth for the "big time" executive departments and the seventh for the family department. The ten percenters are wondering how they will be able to secure book- ings in the houses handled by one of the booking managers on the big floor, over in the new building. This particular manager has long been known to have an abnormal pen- chant for "chicken" typewriters. Wherever possible he has personally visited the third, fourth and fifth floors of the Putnam building while the agents were "upstairs" and booked his acts direct with the stenographers. It finally got to be a standing joke that the only way to reach the man was via the type-pounders' route. The girls will now have a respite from the book- ing man's attentions until the big of- fice moves in the fall. The ten percenters are not happy in their new quarters. Most of the rooms are so gloomy as to require artificial light throughout the day, with no chance of any fresh air unless the doors are kept open all the time. On Wednesday, Alf. Wilton and Harry Weber gave a little reception to celebrate the opening of their new offices. Champagne, sandwiches, pie, cigars and cigarettes were freely served. In addition to the hosts there were present "Doc" Steiner, Sam Tau- ber, Rosalie Muckenfuss, Frank Bohm, Fred. Bierbower, Sol. Schwartz, Lester Mayne, Carl Lothrop, P. Alonzo, Carl- ton Hoagland, Claude Saunders. Wil- ton did his famous clog and there was a grand chorus by the entire assem- blage. DATE WITH A KING. The headliner for this week's open- ing program on Hammerstein's Roof has a date with the King of Sweden July 16 at Stockholm. The headliner is Harry Houdini, brought back to New York to feature the Hammerstcin show for two weeks at a total salary of $5,000, it is said. This was all the time Mr, Houdini could obtain releases for before sailing. He is booked abroad for the next three years. While in the city Houdini will put over a couple of press feats. The first is listed for this week, when he will escape from a cell in the Convict Ship, anchored off 79th Street on the North River. The engagement with Sweden's Kinj? calls for Houdini to give a special per- formance for His Majesty. Bessie REM PEL Harriet M<M ting with unusual succeH In vaudeville. HOPKINS-BROWN TURN. A new two-act forming for vaude- ville is composed of Emma Hopkins and Sammie Brown. Max Winslow suggested the combination. Hiss Hopkins was formerly of tin- Hopkins Sisters. Ethel Hopkins has !>ccn out with the Gertrude Hoffmann show this season. The company closed Saturday night at Montreal