Variety (February 1914)

VARIETY 13 ENGAGING STARS. Pittsburgh, Feb. 18. The stock engagement of Edmund Breese at the Duquesne winds up Feb. 21, and Thomas W. Ross succeeds him, to appear for three weeks. It is said the next star Harry Davis is dickering for is James K. Hackett. NEW FIRM IN STOCK. Dallas, Feb. 18. Manager Charles Mangold has leased Lake Cliff Casino for the coming sum- mer to Oliver, Charninsky & BuUman, a new theatrical firm, who will install a dramatic stock company, opening June 7. PITT THEATRE ROBBED. Pittsburgh, Feb. 18. The most sensational robbery in Western Pennsylvania in years oc- curred Feb. 13, when the safe of the Pitt Theatre was dynamited and 11,960 stolen. Emmiett Turner, watchman, and Thomas Cuff, stage hand, were gagged by three expert yeggs. Later they were arrested and are in jail wait- ing a hearing. A newspaper employing a detective the day following advised the public safety department that it believes the robbers to be Tim Fendel, known as "Toledo Slim," "Turk" Brennan and Sam Sylvester, alias "Cedar Ross." Each of the trio has a price on his head by the Post-Office department and all are in the rogues gallery. KEENEY'S AND STOCK. Frank A. Keeney, who takes over the American, Philadelphia, Sept. 1 next will rename the house Keeney's and will install a stock company under his own management. NORAH BROKE A LEG. Pittsburgh, Feb. 18. Norah Lamison of the Pitt players did not appear as Salome in the pro- duction of "Herod." Instead she went to the hospital with a broken leg. The story goes that Miss Lamison was try- ing to outdo Salome in the famous dance eduring rehearsal Sunday night and was so taken away with the stunt that she did not notice a fight of stairs at the end of the stage, and fell. Monday morning the players were recast and Miss West appeared as Sa- lome. ROLLO LLOYD DIRECTING. Springfield, Mass., Feb. 18. Rollo Lloyd, who recently operated his own stock at Concord, N. H., has joined the Broadway theatre stock as stage director. PLANNING AHEAD. Des Moines, Feb. 18. Stock at the Princess next .\uKUSt will find Preistly Morrison as direc- tor. His wife. May Home, will also be a member of the organization. WESTERN STOCK ITEMS. Kansas City, Feb. 18. The Al Gorrell Stock Company has opened at the Waterloo theatre, Waterloo, la. The Majestic tluatre at Tulsa. Okla., which closed recently, will open soon with a stock company^ it is said.. SUING FOR LOST HUSBAND. Reading, Pa., Feb. 18. Suit for $10,000 damages was entered yesterday against Virginia Mann, for- merly leading woman of the Orpheum Slock Co., on the charge of alienating the affections of Robert Hyman, lead- ing man of the company. Action was started by Mrs. Mary Hyman, wife of Hyman, known on the stage as Mary Balsar. Mr. Hyman has tendered his "two weeks' notice" to the theatre n*anagement. The legal affair is the climax of a scene at Gerstell's Cafe Monday after- noon, to which place Mrs. Hyman avers she followed her husband and caught him in company with Miss Mann. The scene attracted a crowd, in the midst of which Mrs. Hyman fainted. Miss Mann says the entire matter is "silly and ridiculous." A certain amount of momentum has been added to the finale of the series of happenings that began with the giving of the two weeks' notice to Miss Mann two weeks ago. Despite the happenings all the trio appeared before the public Monday night, Miss Mann playing in the lead- irg role in "The Stormy Hour." MISS SHIELDS IN R. I. Reading, Pa., Feb. 18. (Miss) Sydney Shields, leading lady here with the Wilmer & Vincent stock, has been engaged for a similar posi- tion with the Albee stock company at Providence next summer. BERGER'S ANNUAL. Chicago, Feb. 18. Arrangements are under way for the annual summer stock pilgrimage of the Lief A. Berger Co., with Lief to be seen in some new roles. TWO DRAMAS A WEEK. Westbrook, Me., Feb. 18. The newly-organized Dorothy Thay- er Stock opened Monday at the Scenic before a capacity house. The company will play two dramas a week. "St. Elmo" was the opening bill. Dorothy Thayer, Gus Tapley, A. W. Wilson, Lloyd Foster, O. M. Paul and Kitty Ray are the players. May Be Stock at Columbus. Columbus, Feb. 18. J. V. Howell, owner of the Colonial theatre, has instituted suit against the Dusenbury Brothers for possession of that house, which they have been sub- leasing from the Shuberts to whom Mr. Howell originally let the theatre. The policy if Mr. Howell regains pos- session has not been divulged, but knowing that he has a leaning toward stock, it would seem that this might J" the outcome. House now playing pictures. DeWolfe Taking Lead. Fall River, Mass.. Feb. 18. Stanley DeWolfe wa« sent here l»y Paul Scott Monday to assume the loads of the Bayles<;-Hicks stock conip.-my at the Bijou. PROSPECT STOCK'S FUTURE. What will become of the newly or- ganized Prospect Theatre (Bronx) stock company is a matter of conject- ure. Business is not up to expectations and a numbe.- of changes are soon to be made in the organization. Mae Desmond, leading woman, has been engaged by Oily Logsdon to strengthen the Worcester stock, join- ing March 2. Corallin Waide, of the erstwhile Harlem stock, has been engaged for Worcester, also as ingenue, while Grace Shanley, with the "Littlest Rebel," has been specially engaged to play her original role in the Worcester stock production of the former Dus- tin Farnum play. CHARGES NEGLECT. Spokane, Feb. 18. Mrs. Adelaide Appleton, formerly Adelaide Laird, a member of the Jes- sie Shirley stock company here, has sued Dr. Appleton for divorce, charg- ing neglect and abuse. PLAY CENSOR, BY HECK I Haverhill, Mass., Feb. 18. Haverhill has a play censor, by Heck. No more questionable shows will have a chance according to Alderman Alfred Bartlett, director of public safety, not if he has to see them himself to pre- vent it TURNER'S CO. FAREWELL. Yonkers, N. Y., Feb. 18. The Clara Turner Stock is making this its farewell week at the Warbur- ton. Tim Leaven's Own Players are scheduled to open next Monday. CAT CAUSES LAY-OFF. Des Moines, Feb. 18. Robert Dempster, leading man with "The Right Princess," twas compelled to cancel his three days' engagement here last week because of a severe wound on his face inflicted by the large Maltese cat which he carries in the first act of the piece. While playing in Dubuque the first of the week, Mr. Dempster received a deep scratch across the eye and cheek. When he ^ot to Des Moines, his eye was so badly inflamed he was placed under the care of a physician. From the West. Bayonnc, N. J., Feb. 18. Jerome Vitts, the western stock actor who lately closed with Mittenthals' "Mendel Beilis" show, has been added to the Broadway .stock company here. The newly-formed Kathryn Jamison Trio opened in Baltimore this week. Daisy Harcourt has been re-engaged tor the Pantages Circuit, openinj^ her rettirii tour .^pril 20. SMALL STOCKS WIND-UP. Kansas City, Feb. 18. Four small stock companies gave up last week in this section. The Newton Stock closed at Walnut Ridge> Ark.; McDonald Stock at Gardner, N. D.; Haile Stock at Wilburton, Ok. Some of the Haile people were in a bad way. The Hillman company went bump at Humboldt, Neb. LYNN'S A TOUGH TOWN. Lynn, Mass., Feb. 18. Two stocks haye failed to make it go in Lynn this season. The first was the Lindsay Morrison Co., which closed Christmas. The second is the Lynn Theatre stock (Kendall Weston, manager), which after four weeks of poor business, closes Saturday night. Musical comedy will play here next week, "Seven Reasons Why" (J. w! Gorman's Co.) having been booked, while the following week pictures will show. Local talk this house will be a fif ture on the Progressive Burlesqa. wheel next season. STATE RIGHTS CHEAP. Chicago, Feb. 18. "The Traflic" is making money for iti backers. The production at the Whit- ney is controlled by Oliver Bailey, Ed. Drew and Jos. M. Gaites. Bailey and Drew put on the piece at the Seattle, Seattle, when Bailey's stock was run ning there, and it looked so good thai a road production was planned. In or- der to get it started in Chicago they let Gaites in on a bit for obtaining the Whitney theatre. Bailey and Drew have out a "No. 2" but are not in on the Coast show, controllei' by Arch Newman who bought the pro- ducing rights for five states at a time when no one cared for any state. As h stands B'ailey & Drew cannot encroach on the territorial rights of Newman, who paid $300 for a piece of property that is now coining money. Newman is playing in his own show. Louis Rosenberg is associated with l)a\ir| <ial\vey in the Fitzgerald build- ing. REVIVAL OF PICTURES. (Continued from page 3.) be presented in the legitimate play- houses and not to be shown in the oth- er picture houses receiving the regular "licensed" service. Class B will neces- sarily be shown at a lower price and will be partially made up of reprints of former successful reels. For the Class A service it is design- ed to subdue as far as possible the stan- dard established names of the manu- facturers in the so-called "licensed" Kroup. For instance, the Biograph out- |)ut to be billed as "Klaw & Erlanger- presents," the Vitagraph advertised as "Broadway Features," Pathe to release features under the Eclectic trademark, and sf) on. Two inii)ortant meetings of the ex- ecutives of two of the big producing film concerns of the country had for their object the planning of ways and means of acquiring staffs of scenario writers who could turn out sure-fire one-reel comics. The dearth of comic material in the film game repeatedly referred to in Varif:tv' continues, and the film purveyors are at their wits' ends to discover a way out of their paucity without it costing them any- thing.