Variety (August 1915)

VAUDEVILLE FRISCO GIVES SUNDAY THE HOOK; MINISTERS WALK OUT ON HIM San Francisco's Clergy Committee, After Inviting Bill to Save the Town, Disagrees With and Criticises the Per- sonally Promoted Evangelist. Sunday Goes to Los Angeles. San Francisco, Aug. 11. "Billy" Sunday cancelled his revival engagement here and left for Los An- geles in a huff as the result of con- siderable dissension with the committee o' 100 preachers that induced Sunday to come here. At his initial se«non Sunday criti- cised the other clergymen present and their methods of fighting the devil. Sunday's sermon and criticism did not please the committee. Immediately after Sunday finished the committee disagreed on their verdict of Sunday. Dr. C. F. Aked, who is considered the city's leading censor of public morals, instantly resigned from the committee. Aked's resignation caused more trouble among the committeemen which resulted in Sunday airing his opinion of Aked and leaving town. After Sunday's departure Aked ex- plained why he resigned and this is the gist of what he said: "I do not know of any consideration in the world that would induce me to become a party to the buffoonery and blasphemy of a Hilly' Sunday mission. Nothing on God's earth can justify in a sermon the leering suggestiveness of Dr. Sun- day's phrases. I will not join in any attempt to suppress indecency of action on the Barbary Coast and countenance indecency of speech at the Van Ness Tabernacle. I know nothing of the fiendish diety of Dr. Sunday's ravings —nothing of the silly devil and nothing of his gruesome hell. If the pulpit and pew substitute for the religion of Jesus Christ the Gospel according to 'Billy' Sunday, then the Protestant Christianity is doomed." San Francisco gave Sunday the hook before he could start enough in the evangelistic way to injure theatrical business. JACKSON WITH KEYSTONE. Pat Casey has closed a contract with the N. Y. Motion Picture Co. which calls for the services of Joe Jackson, the cycling comedian, for the next two years. Jackson is to start work im- mediately. NOT MUCH ROUTING. Although the United Booking Of- fices managers met for two days last week and again this week, no routing of consequence has been accomplished. Last week it was all talk, and no action taken on the acceptances of the salary offers made by the United to acts for next season. How many of these ac- ceptances were ready to be acted upon did not become known. It is said the U. B. O. is offering 34 weeks in the east. Of these 11 only are f u!! sal. . .C-V.*,," tLc remainder be- ing "cuts" of various sizes. Included ir. the "full salary weeks" are the Pal- ace, New York, and Orpheum, Brook- lyn, of the New York houses. Others are Keith's, Philadelphia, Boston, Cin- cinnati and Cleveland; Shea's. Buffalo and Toronto; Temple, Detroit, Grand, Pittsburgh; Maryland, Baltimore. K. C. HIP TROUBLE. Kansas City, Aug. 10. A petition in bankruptcy has been filed against the Hippodrome Co., of this city, Frank Talbot, president, and B. S. Starr, manager. The creditors active in the proceedings are Frank Lowe, the Kansas City Billposting Co., and the National Newspaper Associa- tion of Colorado. Lowe claims $650 due as attorney for the concern, the billposting company asks for $360 and the Colorado firm claims $1,020 due for advertising. The Hip company has not operated the house for several months, the last show being cancelled by the landlord for non-payment of rent. It has re- mained closed since. BUYS PRIZE EVENING GOWN. San Francisco, Aug. 11. Helen Nelson, of Edwin Kcough's act (Keough and Nelson), purchased the evening gown that won first prize at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, and proposes to make it part of her pro- fessional wardrobe. Closing Palace to Clean Up. Chicago, Aug. 11. The Palace will close one week for renovation. "Maid in America" leaves Aug. 28. and vaudeville will open Labor Da$r. WALTER KELLY ALL RIGHT. Atlantic City, Aug. 11. The earlier reports of Walter C. Kel- ly's condition as a result of the knifing " hich he suffered at the hands of Rob- ert A. Fulberton, a New York gam- bler, were considerably exaggerated according to the monologist. Kelly while returning to America some time ago, advised a friend to steer clear of Fulberton, whom he sus- pected of trying to palm off a bunco game. Fulberton nursed the grudge and met Kelly on the boardwalk here Monday. He attacked Kelly, who stood defenseless, and slasked his vic- tim across the face with a knife. Be- fc re he could inflict any serious injury, Kelly had disarmed him and shortly afterward an officer appeared and placed Fulberton in custody. Kelly will open at the Majestic, Chi- cago, next week as per his booking engagements. KICK OVER A NAME. The addition of the De Kalb theater to the Loew circuit was not accom- plished this week, as expected. The deal has been pending for sev- eral weeks. Three Brooklyn theaters in the Bushwick section were to have been pooled, De Kalb, Broadway and Shubert. The latter is now playing Loew vaudeville. It was to have been the house for the combination attrac- tions, but according to report, Klaw & Erlanger, who were removing their bookings from the Broadway to the Shubert for the benefit of the pool, wanted the "Shubert" name changed when the legits entered the house. To this the Shuberts arc said to have ob- jected, hanging the transaction. KEITH'S NEW YORK OPENINGS. The dates of reopening with big time vaudeville of the Keith New York the- atres will be: Aug. 30, Bushwick and Prospect, Brooklyn; Sept. 6, Orpheum, Brooklyn, and Alhambra, New York; Sept. 13, Colonial, New York. It is understood that the Keith Royal in the Bronx will continue with its present policy of pop vaudeville, three times daily. Last season the Royal played big time. VICTOR MOORE'S BIG OFFER. Victor Moore, now a member of the Lasky picture staff, was approached by up. independent manufacturer this week v ho offered the slang star a seven- >ear contract at $50,000 yearly. Moore has an agreement with Lasky to star in three more photo produc- tions with an option for six months additional for his services. HOWARD ESTABROOK Who scored a hit In the lead with "SEARCH ME" at the Gai« ty theatre. His personal rep- resentative is CKAMBERLAJN BROWN. MUSICAL LIMES. A rather unique musical offering is about to be thrust on vaudeville by one Professor Dorc who plays operatic and popular selections on raw limes. Dore cuts the limes in two and pro- duces music with his fingers much the same as is done by musical glasses. He has been appearing in museums, but an inspiration has induced him to endeavor to uplift the limes and br'ng them under the notice of the two-a- day patrons. NEW ACTS. Dorothy Jardon, single turn. Gilbert Gregory and son in two-act. Jack Conway and Florence Mills, two-act. "The Ballet Mignon," with nine peo- ple (Paul Durand). Lightner sisters and Alexander, billed as Lightner and Alexander, three-act. Hugo B. Koch, new playlet, "After Ten Years." Harry Tighe and Zoe Barnett, two- act. Pisano and Bingham new act, "At the Barber Pole." Mary Balbare, sketch, "At 1 o'Clock," by Charles T. Del Vecchio. "Cranberries," with Marion Day, Neil Pratt and Frederick Parr, (Max Hart). Upton and Ingraham have split. H. L. Upton will work single next -season. "The Clock Shop," produced at the Lambs' Club for Sam Chip and Mary Marble in vaudeville. "Pier 23," with ten people and four principals, produced by Herman Becker. Jack Devereaux will take Wtnsor McKay's comic film of "Gertie" over the vaudeville time this coming season. Ida Clemence and Charles O'Connor (latter formerly of the Six American Dancers) double act. Alexander Carr, in a Hebrew sketch by Edgar Allan Woolf (Arthur Klein). Halsey Mohr and his wife, Helen Arthur, will appear next season as a turn. Mr. Mohr was formerly of Kim- bcrly and Mohr. Adonis and Dog are back in this coun-. try after two years in Europe and are booked to open at Keith's, Philadelphia, Aug. 23. Alice Lazar, single act, being pre- pared by Felix Adler of the Bert Les- lie-James J. Morton-Felix Adler com- bination. Gertrude Vanderbilt, now in Chicago in "The Lady in Red," has arranged with George Moore for a two-act once more, when "The Lady in Red" closes. Mable Russell (Leonard and Rus- sell) and Jimmy Hughes, in two-act. Hughes played as "Smith" of Smith and Cook for p«st three seasons. The Baroness De VVardener is the latest royal addition to vaudeville, the Baroness having arranged to work op- posite Tom Waters in a new skit, called "The Turk and the Widow." The Six Brown Brothers with "Chin Chin" have delegated a sextet to han- dle their offering for vaudeville to be known as the Symphony Sextet. Four men and two women make up the cast. Pop Ward and Lillian Fitzgerald, two-act; "Spirit of Hawaii," eight peo- ple, produced by Manager Druitt, of the Hawaiian Opera House at Hono- lulu ( M. S. Bentham). Clarice Vance in a musical revue for vaudeville, to be produced by the Irving Cooper agency. The same con- cern will put out Noel Travers and Co. in "The Man Behind" by Franklyn Seawright. The Big Cakewalk Revue, of which L liberie Hill is the producer, is to be offered for vaudeville under the man- agement of Jasper Dunstan of the Shccdy office. Yvonne Robinson is leading the act.