Variety (January 1914)

/ol. XXXIII. No. 6. NEW YORK CITY, FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1914. PRICE 10 CENTS SINGER TAKES FIRM GRASP ON WE STERN VAUD. ASS'N rtas "Tenpercenters" Frightened. Settles Davenport "Franchise" Dispute. Jones, Linick & Schaeffer Giving Up Vaudeville for Pictures at Will lard. Wilson May Follow. Result Poor Booking. Firm's "Loop" Houses Very Profitable. Chicago, Jan. 7. The vaudeville situation in the windy middle-west was handed a few mid- icason jolts with the arrival of the new pear in the double announcement that Mort Singer had been selected as the new business executive of the W. V. M. \. by the directorate of that institution, ind that the Williard theatre, a valu- able prop of the Jones, Linick & Schaeffer string until that firm began to realize the possibilities of small time "loop" vaudeville, would discon- tinue its straight variety policy, com- nencing Jan. 19, and offer films ex- :lusively. The former item created consider- ible gossip, since the Singer appoint- ment—apparently made at the sugges- ion of Martin Beck—is looked upon as he forerunner of the inevitable gen- eral shakeup in the "Association" 'anks, a rearrangement of its business nethods and a concerted effort to cor- 'al sufficient houses west of "the Duma's" marginal line to offset the oss of the 19 franchises recently awarded the U. B. O. as a result of the :echnicality uncovered in that agree- ment by J. J. Murdock. Those houses, :omprising an important section of the 'Association's" total strength, will :ome under the booking supervision of 2. S. Humphrey (the U. B. O. Chicago epresentative) early next season, thus ortifying the eastern agency's strength n the middle-west at the expense of he older organization. The Simons Agency dissolved as a corporation yesterday and practically evered all connections with the Asso- ciation. All acts previously routed hrough the Association by Simons will »e played, but no new contracts will be issued until matters are straight- ened out. The ultimatum issued by Singer that no Association employee shall be inter- ested in outside ventures automatically killed the Simons corporation since, it is understood, several Association em- ployees owned stock in Simons' office. It is expected that Simons will be ad- mitted to the floor as an independent agent later on. Mr. Singer, accompanied by Judge Trude (the W. V. M. A. attorney), left hurriedly for New York last week to confer with a quorum of the agency's directors (but before his departure ac- complished several tasks that speak well for his business sagacity and the future of the department over which he has been given control). His most im- portant move was the adjustment of the troublesome Davenport "franchise" which came near disrupting a couple of perfectly good circuits. A peaceful conference between Frank Thielen, who has the new Columbia, Daven- port, and the Butterfield-Hyman-Kahl interests, who own the American in the same hamlet, resulted in an ar- rangement through which the interests of both houses were pooled. In all probability the older house will con- tinue with a cheap vaudeville program at ten cents, while the Thielen property will play the better grade of attrac- tions. The wrangle for awhile threat- ened to fatten up the roster of some independent circuit, for while the bat- tle was at its height, rumors that one or the other circuits would secede from the "Association" flew thick and fast. The remedy, a little business diplom- acy, was repeatedly suggested, but {Continued on page 13.) The OFFICIAL NEWS of the WHITE RATS 'ACTORS' UNION and ASSOCIATED ACTRESSES OF AMERICA, as formerly printed exclusively in appears on Page 8 of this issue. Player IRENE FRANKLIN'S RETURN DATE San Francisco, Jan. 7. Irene Franklin closes her engage- ment at the Gaiety Jan. 17 after a five week's stay and has arranged to go back east by a return date over the Orpheum Circuit, probably opening Jan. 19 in Los Angeles. ANNA HELD ASKING $3,000. Vaudeville has been requested to pay Anna Held $3,000 weekly, it is said. Miss Held, who closed her road tour under John Cort's management at the Casino, New York, last week, has been dickering with the vaude- ville managers. Unless they get to terms very shortly, Miss Held is quoted as saying early in the week, she would sail for France. The Held salary with Cort is re- ported having been increased from $2,- 200 a week for vaudeville to $2,700, with $100 extra each for all perform- ances beyond nine a week. Lillian Russell, who closes with Mr. Cort and her road show this Saturday, may also return to vaudeville. Miss Held received an offer from the Shuberts to appear in "Oh, I Say." OSCAR'S SOCIETY CHORUS. The chorus girls remonstrated to Oscar Hammcrstcin against the hard- ship of rehearsing for the recently can- celed grand opera season promised by Oscar Hammerstein, only to be dis- missed after attendance since last September. The impresario retorted that next season he would have for his chorus girls only the hordes of society women who were willing to pay hand- some bonuses for the privilege of sing- ing the operas Oscar directs. MASTBAUM IN BOSTON. Boston, Mass., Jan. 7. Jules Mastbaum and his associates have secured a prominent playhouse here for the presentation of moving picture and vaudeville programs after the manner of their direction of their 12 theatres in Philadelphia. TABERNACLE FLOPS. Shamokin, Pa., Jan. 7. The new tabernacle which opened Christmas Day is a bloomer and has been placed on the market. The taber- nacle, seating 3,000, was expected to start something, but local religious en- thusiasts refused to embrace it at all. MARRIED SO YEARS. Minneapolis, Jan. 7. Richard Pitman, husband and lead- ing man with Rosalind Coghlan, at the Orpheum this week, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the wedding of his parents. The elder Pitman was closely con- nected with Boston theatricals for 30 years at the famous old Bos- ton Museum as stage director in the days of William Warren, Fdwin Booth, etc., and later at the Castle Square. TIMES SQ. "COUNTRY STORE." Times Square will have its first "country store" attachment to an en- tertainment when Locw's American theatre installs the give-away feature Monday night next as a weekly added attraction there on that evening. The K'oof's admission is 25 and 50 cents. Proctor's theatres at Plainfield, Perth Amboy and Elizabeth, N. J., have commenced to have the "Coun- try Store" thing twice weekly.