Variety (July 1913)

VARIETY PRICE CUTTINQ IMMINENT IN CHIC AGO'S "LOOP" FIELD Reported One of the Big Time Vaudeville Houses in Windyto^n May Try to Meet Pop Price Opposition Tiirough Reducing Admission. Would Mean Bigger Shows at Colonial and McVicker*s. Chicago, July 2. It has been rumored that when the pop vaudeville policy is installed in McVicker's, Aug. 4, by Jones, Linick & Schaeffer, the Majestic (which has never reduced its admission scale until this summer) will be sent out to meet the popular priced house on even terms and an eight-act bill will be given with prices about on the same level as those at McVicker's, 10-15-25. If this hapens it will leave the Pal- ace the. only big time house in Chica- go, although the move would prob- ably mean the switching of the Colon- ial (J., L. & S.) into two-a-day vaude- ville with top prices at 50 cents. SINGLE ALL SUM.>fER. Billy Inman, who is jiggering around the vaudeville circuits hereabouts with his base ball skitlet, was the victim of a midnight sneak thief last week while week-ending at the Clarendon Hotel, Brooklyn. He of the gumshoe pro- fession went south with a grip, full of Inman's marriage certificates. Incidentally Inman, recently divorced from the latest Mrs. Billy, announces his intention of remaining single over the summer. LADY RICHARDSON LEAVES. Lady Constance Stewart-Richard- son left New York Tuesday for her country home in Scotland. Accom- panying were her three children, all boys, the oldest nine. Two are her own sons, the third having been adopted. Lady Stewart-Richardson will not return over here until joining the three-star vaudeville road show com- posed by Morris Gest. The English title had but two weeks booked for this country, at Hammerstein's, which were played. EVERYBODY PROTESTING. Since the appearance of last week's Varibtt and its publication therein of an attempted assault upon an actress by an employe of the United Booking OflRces, the majority of the men con- nected with the sixth floor of the Put- nam Building have been protesting, each for himself, that he wasn't the one referred to in the story. Appar- ently each felt a disclaimer was neces- sary to clear himself of the allegation. MARRIAGE REPORTED. It is reported around Times Square James Diamond and Sibyl Brennan, vaudeville partners, were married in New York last week. CUPID'S CLEAN-UP. Cupid has been paying regular visits to the "Three Musketeers," the vaude- ville performers. Sam Edwards was married seven months ago to one of the Lee Sisters; Jack Dunham mar- ried Cassie Martin three months ago, and the remaining member of the trio, Joe Farrell, married Emma Higgins of Brooklyn, a non-professional, !ast week. *'M3IB. SHERRY** LOOKS GOOD. Atlantic City, July 2. George W. Lederer's condensed ver- sion of "Madame Sherry" had its initial presentation at the Savoy Monday af- ternoon, running 65 minutes. In the evening it was reduced to 50 minutes and now has been cut to 37. In the present shape it is considered quite acceptable as an important head- line attraction for the big vaudeville circuits. HART St WHITB DISSOLVE. Joseph Hart and Clayton White have severed their connections as joint producers. Mr. White will return to the vaude- ville stage next season. Mr. Hart will continue to produce acts. FROG EATER GAN*T WORK. The European frog eater, McNaugh- ton, was escorted before the Humane Society Monday by Frank Jones, of Hammerstein's. Mr. Jones wanted the Society men to see McNaughton's ex- hibition, but they declined to look at him. Which leaves McNaughton with naught but an ocean trip back home before him. He was to have opened at Hammerstein's this week. ACT'S NOVELTY SCENERY. Cecile Cunningham, prima donna with "lolanthe" at the Casino, is going out in a singing act assisted by six show girls. The act is a novelty in the fact that the scenery is something new to America, and is said to be an electrical illusion by which it changes to the four different seasons of the year without the lowering of the curtain. Frank D. Thomas imported the ef- fect from Germany. ♦» 96,000 FOR "HONEYSUCKLE." T. B. Harms & Co. receives $6,000 from J. H. Remick & Co. for "When It's Honeysuckle Time in Normandy." The Remick concern believes it can make a popular number out of the mu- sic, first used in the Weber & Fields show at the 44th Street theatre by Bayes and Norworth. Hatfms & Co. is a "production" firm, not having facilities for pushing a pop- ular song. This brought about the pur- chase by Remick of the number. The San Francisco Company of the Kinemacolor Company, showing the Panama Canal will close in that city on August 2, and return to New York City. NORWORTH*S QUINTET. Jack Norworth and the harmonious quartet of Californians known as the Honeymoon FoUr Will not return to vaudeville next season, as previously announced—at least they will not re- turn together. The Honeymoon Four have come to the conclusion that quartetting is much preferable to quintetting and for this reason there is a good chance of Mr. Norworth's Stewart (stewart being a sea-going cook) receiving two perfectly good tuxedo suits, the same formerly encasing the male members of the Honeymoon outfit. From the outset, things broke the wrong way for Norworth and the Honeymooners. When the company played the Lincoln theatre in Chicago under a phony name, all future pros- pects of the offering dwindled to an invisible speck, for it is reliably re- ported, the audience failed to enthuse. One performance was sufficient and they moved right away from there. Internal battles finally jinxed the company. When the quintet separated at the Savoy, Atlantic City, recently, Norworth decided to prohibit any of the Honeymooners singing his num- bers. "Garden In Sweden" called for his closest attention, for it had been a big hit with Kelly and Fern. Inci- dentally the same song is being made popular in the small time vaudeville and movie houses throughout the country. Norworth has not announced his next season's plans as yet. CHTCAGOANS HERE. Celia Bloom, booking manager of the Interstate Circuit, in company with Sadie Jacobs, who until recently was also \ member of the "Association" in Chicago, l}>lew into New York this week to look things over as vacation- ists. This is Sadie's first visit east. Kerry Meagher who arrived here last wrek is now in Atlantic City. Another Chicagoan in New York is Jacob Sternad. Jacob is also here on busi- ness. AGENCY OFFICE OVERCROWDED. The M. S. Bentham office in the Putnam Building is overcrowded. It has two tenants, the agent himself and B. A. Rolfe who sub-leased the suite from Bentham. The latter expected to remove to the Palace theatre build- ing along with the other goats, but something intervened. Rolfe pressed for time and space moved into the office he thought he leased, and now occupies it jointly with "Mike." MARINELLI HOLDING OFF. (Special Cable to Vartetv. ) Paris, July 2. No answer has yet been returned to the United Booking Offices of New York by H. B. Marinclli on the Unit- ed's demand that he either stop the booking of Anna Held with John Cort or lose the patronage of the U. B. O. Last Friday Marinelli received a ca- blegram, probably from the United Booking Offices, inforniiti)^ him of the story in Variktv' coiicerninK' the Held contract, and directing that Marinelli discover the leak in his office staff. Marinclli is still looking for it. EASY AGENT—GOATS. The U. B. O. agents feel that they have a kick coming—one or two of them have even gone so .far as to whisper it to what they regard are their intimate personal friends, who won't repeat it. It is concerning the parsimony of the Palace building management of furnishing them with but one elevator instead of two and wasting a consider- able amount of their time, not only in running back and forth from the Putnam building, but in waiting sev- eral miniutes for the lift to take them to their Palace headquarters. The agents still domiciled in the Put- nam building are giving the other goata the laugh. BUT ONE AGENT LEFT. Two theatrical concerns only are left in the Fitzgerald Building. One is Co- han & Harris, producing managers, and the other is Harry A. Shea, the agent. When all the theatrical agencies were ordered out of the Fitzgerald Building. Mr. Shea was permitted* to remain, though without lease on his suite. This will probably l^ad to the Shea agency moving at some time during the sum- mer, if the building does not grant him a written lease. EASY CRAP GAME MONEY. Portland, Ore., July 2. While "The Red Widow" was in town, George White, with the show, made a statement this hat been hit best season, as he has been traveling without spending any money. Mr. White informed his friends here he was saving up for the crap game in New York. White will reach New York July 21. He believes if the game isn't too strong that evening, he won't be broke until the night of July 22. The crap game fortunes underwent a change this week. A vaudeville agent who had been rolling up a bank account from it, having purchased an auto from a portion of his winnings, struck the slide late last week, losing $3,400 in two sittings and has replaced about $5,500 of his gains thus far. Some bad checks appeared this week. One youthful and smooth-shaven young man in the Putnam Building, just re- turned from a trip with a road show, went into the game with a $60 bank roll, on the theory he couldn't lose over that amount. He won $200, but it is represented by one of the bad checks. A tip on a 20-1 at Belmont Park Saturday made the crap game seem slow for a day or two. Several were down on the stable information, clean- ing up their money while watching the race amidst cooling breezes in the grand stand instead of losing weight watching the other fellows under a row of incandescents. TEAM SPLITS. Fitzgerald and Odell, several years as a vaudeville team, separated last week. Dick Fitzgerald has arranged to enter the hotel business in Middle- town, Conn., Odcll in the meantime teaming up with Anna Armstrong. The latter couple will shortly produce a new act by Tommy Gray.