Variety (September 1913)

VARIETY RESPITE IN SMALL TIME SCRAP; ALL SHO WS DO ING BUSINESS Philadelphia Vaudeville Resting Following Aggressive Action Taiien by Nixon-Nirdlinger Faction. One War- rant Only Served. Ching Ling Foo Playing for N-N Against Pauline for Loew. Philadelphia. Sc])t. 24. Thi'ngs quited down in the vaudeville war followiii)^ the swearing out cif war- rants for Marcus Loew and eiyht others by F. (i. \i\on XirdlMiLier charKiiiK the defendants with "i;e-.p iss. conspiracy and restraint of trade." FuKenc Myers, manager of the Metro- politan Opera House lor Loew, is the only one so far who has been served with a warrant. The niJurs named are: Marcus Loew, Chris (). Brown. Jack Goldberg, Joe Schemk. William Atwell, Isaac Kupvcr and Louis Wesley. Meyers was released on his own recognizance by Ma^^istratc McFarland for a further hearing;. None of the other warrants had been served. Nird- linger stated Monday he intended go- ing through with the ti^lit now that it had started in earnest and declared he was forced to this action to protect his business. Louis Wesley was said to have conic over for the purpose of having the war- rant served, but it was not done, ac- cording to report. There was no ex- citement about the theatres Monday and the bills were given at the Grand Opera House and Nixon according to the schedule, except that Walsh, Lynch and Co. failed to appear at the Grand. The newspapers here are making big stories on the vaudeville scrap and the contestants arc getting plenty of noto- riety out of it. Marcus Loew is credit- ed here with placing the blame for "pulling out acts" on the booking agents, claiming he has nothing to do with it. A red hot billing war has developed since the vaudeville scrap started. It is claimed that Loew quit the Bill Posting Company here because it did business with Nirdlinger. The bill posters hired by Loew plastered announcement on the dead walls of the Chestnut Street opera house, now being renovated, an- nouncing the opening of the house with Loew vaudeville. These bills were cov- ered by the rival posting company and were in turn covered again by Locw's brush wielders. This has been goin.u en since Saturday, the walls carrying diflFcrent paper every day. Ching Ling Foo, recently featured at the Metropolitan by Loew, is at the Grand Opera House this week for Nirdlinger and crowding the big house. Loew has Pauline as the Metropolitan feature, and he is drawing. Between the two is Zimmerman's Liberty book- ed by the United Bookinj.^ OtTues aivd doing its share of business, so that tiie war has not hurt any of the houses. Nothing new in the opposition bat- tle between the Nixon-Nirdlintrer and Marcus Loew forces was reported in New York this week, other than the application for warrants against tiic Loew people on 'The Trust" allega- tion of N-N's, as printed in Varieti' last week. .'\t the Loew booking oflice it was said a counter-suit might be brought against Fred Xixon-Nirdlinuer, asking damages for false arrest of ICugene Meyer, the Philadelphia manager of Locw's Metropolitan. When the question was put to Jos M. Schenck, general booking manager for Loew. as to whether any negotia- tions were on between Loew and the N-N faction looking to a settlement of their differences. Mr. Schenck an- swered that the only settlement that could be made would be upon their (Loew) terms. He would not com- mit himself as to whether these terms had been asked for or submitted or if there had been a conference regarding a settlement. The Loew press department this week issued the following statement: The silence of several days on the vaude- ville "war" In Philadelphia, was broken Tuesday by Marcus Loew. who Issued a state- m«'nt In reply to the charges of Nlxon-Nlrd- llnger of Philadelphia in which the latter ac- cused Loew and his associates of maintain- Ine a "trust" and saying he was going to fight. Loew's statement follows: "Judging by the interviews in the newspa- pers by .NMxon-Nlrdllnger- it loolis to nie as if he Is looking for some free advertlslnt; for his circuit by stating the number of weeks he can give and Intends to give. His charges against me arc too absurd for comment. Judging from his interview business must be bad with him and he is trying to use mc to boost his business. "He talks of forcing me to flght. Tp to this time I didn't know I had a fight. I don't know what he means when he says he's going to force me to fight, but when the time comes he'll And us there. But he must remember that when a man goes Into a flght he must have clean skirts or it will be dan- gerous. "As to the number of weeks he claims he is booking, he must have got them very quickly, for up to three weeks ago. when he was l>onking through our office, all we knew him to have was three weeks, outside of five- cent picture houses." NEGRESS IX>SES SUIT. Rochester, Sept. 24. Louise W. Hill, colored, who alleged discrimination on the part of the Vic- toria t :eatre. operated by the Roches- ter Theatre Co.. has lost her suit here. The Victoria is a picture house, oc- casionally showing vaudeville. The plaintiff charged that she purchased a ticket in January at the box office, and that when she tried to take a scat on the ground floor was instructed by an employee that she might have a seat in the balcony. She demanded $500 damages. PICTUIIKS IN LINCOLN. Chicago, Sept. 24. The Lincoln at Lincoln and Belmont avenues, which has had a varied ca- reer since opcnin,!.^. will remain a pic- ture house the coming season. SAMPLE ORPHEUM BILL. Omaha, Sept. 24. (Jne of the reasons why "big time" vaudeville is losing caste may be found in a sample bill on the Orpheum Cir- cuit, at the Orpheum this city. The show was played as follows: La Valera Spanish Danseuse Melvin Stokes The Dramatic Tenor in "A Dash of Spanish" Virgina Rankin Band Solist Willard and Bond in "Deleclivism" Marshall Montgomery Ventriloquist Katheryn Kidder and Co. In "The Washerwoman Dutchess" Otta Gygi Violinist Romanos Physical Culture The first two acts both contain "Spanish," while the third is a single instrumental number, contlictmg with the next-to-closing turn, Gygi, a violin- ist. There are five single acts in all on this program, three in succession. The second and third numbers were probably never heard of east of Chi- cago while a couple of othtr acts have appeared on the sinall time. This bill is accepted as a possible indication why the Orpheum people think it is expedient to purchase an interest in the Sulllivan-Considine Cir- cuit, through B. F. Keith's interven- tion. MENTIONED WRONG SHOW. An Indianapolis dispatch to Variety recently compared the business ot the Eastern W^heel and Progressive Cir- cuit houses in that city, to the disad- vantage of the former. Inadvertently it was made to appear that the Ben Welch show (Eastern) was opposed to the "Monte Carlo Girls" (Progressive). REPORT ALL SHOWS GOOD. Chicago, Sept. 24. Hatch & Sullivan, who have been making a censoring tour of the Pro- gressive Wheel, have returned to Chi- cago. They report all shows satisfac- tory. Next week they will meet F. W. Stair, and the three will make another tour. The Englewood did $600 last week o\er the opening week of the house. Other houses all report good business. The Ben Ali theatre. Lexington. Ky,, seating 1,507. built this summer by the (oliti H. llaggin (O.. opened Soi)t. 23, booked by the Sliuherts. CHANGING HOWARD SHOW. E. J. Carpenter is back from a three weeks' stay with his burlesque show, the May Howard troupe, putting in some new comedy material at its stops at Toronto. Detroit and Buffalo. He expects to make some other changes before the show reaches New York in five weeks. DM yoa notice the difference In the Hippo- drome orchCNtni thiH jtmrt MOI.LER AUXIIy- lARY PIPK-ORCHE8TRA In the answer. C. 8. lAtmb, Brookl/n, N. T.—Phone. CLAIMS IT A "TURKEY.** A Morning World advertisement Monday week wanting a young man to play a part in a burlesque show, expe- rience unnecessary, ft)r a small invest- ment, resulted in many applications at the address given on West 94th street. One of the young men answering wrote Vauieti', saying he could join the company by "investing" $35 and reporting at the Lenox Casino (116th and Lenox) for rehearsal. A Variety representative was told by a Mr. Rush (not Ed. F, Rush) at the Casino the show was no phoney frameup but a "turkey" burlesque troupe that would play dates in the middlewest and southeast. He said it was the former "Virginia Girls" show which recently closed a successful sea- son. Renamed, Rush said that the men behind the show, Messrs. Jack- sen, Sells and Malloy, would reopen within the hext ten days. He said the young man writing to Varietv had been told he was not cap- able of even learning a part and that a young man had been secured for the role in question. Young Mr. Rush also said that the Mr. Jackson who is interested in the proposed show once obtained heavy damages against a paper for printing alleged libelous statements about him. CAN'T GET ENGLEWOOD. Edward Beatty of Hatch & Beatty, proprietors of the new Englewood, Chicago, now playing Progressive VN'heel shows, arrived in New York this week ror a short visit with the Wheel diriTtors. Beatty t.M.k occasion to deny a re- port the C jlumbia Amusement Co. would seer.re the Chicago house, add- ing that v.hile representatives of that circuit had made overtures toward a deal, nothing couM possibly happen to change the policy < f the house, owing to the existence of a ten-year contract with the Progressi\ c people. PROGRESSIVE IN TRENTON. Trenton, N. J., Sept. 24. Beginning Sept. 29 the shows oi the Progressive Burlesque Circuit will make a three-day stand at the Broad Street theatre. The rest of the week will probably be taken up with a continu- al ce of the Stair & Havlin attractions. The last half goes to the burlesque people. TERRE HAUTE CANCELLED. Terre Haute, Sept. 24. The bookings of the Progressive Burlesque Circuit have been cancelled at the new Empire, and until a substi- tute stand is secured, the shows will lay oflf the three days that were to have been played at the local house. The building authorities of the state and the city fire marshall have refusffJ to permit the Empire to open. Joe Barnes has declined to obey their or- ders to remodel the place. The Progressive New York office declared that no arrangement had yet been made to fill in the gap. Charles Barton was out of town the last days of the week.