Variety (June 1917)

VARIETY VifclETY Trade Mark ftegutei** Published Weekly by VARIETY, Inc. Sime Silverman, President pity vaudevile and pictures through the summer. ««i New Yeffc Advertising copy for current iaroe will be accepted at Upe New York office up to Wednee- day night. Advertisements sent by mail should be ac- companied by remittance. — SUBSCRIPTION ' "" Annual ft Foreign $5 Single copies, 10 cents. Entered ss second-class mstter December 22, IMS, at the post office at New York, New York, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Vol. XLVII. Variety is issuing one day late this week, owing to the holiday falling on Wednesday. Ada Portser has left the, act of Grohs, King and Co. C. H. Miles reached New York Mon- day, to reamain about six weeks. Milton and the De Long Sisters are motoring to Denver. Sohmer Park opened its summer sea- son May 28. "Johnny Get Your Gun" will go into the Duquesne, Pittsburgh, next week for a five weeks' engagement. Anniversary Week and 12 acts will be at the Brighton theatre June 25 for the week. The New Yorjc Elks subscribed to $100,000 worth of Liberty Bonds at the meeting Sunday night. 'There She Goes" is a new musical show under the direction of Harvey T. Orr. "Stop, Look, Listen" goes out again next season, direction of Gus Hill and Martin Sampter. Jessie Mae Hall is motoring to Chi- cago with Mrs. John H. Norton, of Los Angeles. Marietta Craig has been chosen as the star for Lem B. Parker's new play, "Reason," for next season. The Ferrari Shows, a tent organiza- tion, is preparing a musical tabloid as an added attraction.' Michael A. Carman is manager of the Colonial, Reading Pa., a new house, seating 2,000. Edith Ward and Dennis Player, both members of the Red Cross, are taking up aviation. 'His Majesty Bunker Bean" will be sent on tour through the one-nighters next season under the direction of Wil- liam Currier. James Thatcher, who is in New York engaging players for the Poli summer stocks, has written a song, "In Walked Jimmy." Jimmy Lane's flat at 108 West 95th street was burned out last week and all the wardrobe and manuscripts were de- stroyed. No insurance. DeRue Brothers have booked a long tour through Vermont and New Hamp- shire for their Ideal Minstrels this No. 1 summer. The Brighton Beach Music Hall is to have a picture policy this summer, opening July 1. Sam Water, son of Water, the Great, the magician, has enlisted in the En- gineers' Corps and is stationed at Fort Totten, N. Y. "The Broadway Follies," produced by Clark Ross, will take to the road next season as a popular priced musi- cal comedy. Nate Erber, manager of *be ^atace Danville, I!!., has taken over the Lin- coln Square theatre, Decatur, 111., and will put it into pictures. Jos. H. Tooker has bought the Hog- encamp property at Deal. N. J. Con- sideration reported at $50,000. It will be Mr. Tooker's summer home. The open air theatre at River ton Park, Portland. Me., reopens July 25, playing musical tabloid booked by the Gorman office of Boston. The "Sonoma," arriving at San Fran- cisco May 22 from Australia, brought back Wilmos Westony, The Flemings and Mile. Lingard. George Harcourt is at Madison Bar- racks, N. Y., at the officers' training camp. He will be attached to Col Bates regiment and will go to France with that unit. Thomas J. Armstrong;, son of Jim Armstrong, the vaudeville agent, is now stationed at Fort Meyer, Va., where he is attached to the Officers' Reserve Corps. Joe Levy has joined the 69th Regi- ment. He is a brother of Mark Levy, who says he booked his brother in the army, as summer was coming on with things looking dull. James J. Corbett has presented an engraved gold watch and chain of the latest design to George O'Brien of the Harry Weber office, which books the former champ in vaudeville. Perry J. Kelly has secured the road rights for the coming season of "His Bridal Night" and will star Frederick V. Bowers in the production. There will be but one company on tour and it will play the first class houses. Harry Cort, manager of the Stand- ard, and John Scholl, orchestra leader at the same house, have organized a company to present "The . Substitute" on the road. Bob Jeanette, now with the National Print, was formerly in charge of the 125th Street theatre, not the Harlem opera house, as reported last week. Harry Swift is manager of the opera house. The stock company at the Royal Alexandra, Toronto, headed by Flor- ence Roberts, produced for the first time on any stage this week "The Claim." DuMonr*s Minstrels, which closed a long season in Philadelphia, has taken to the road. The minstrels may stay out six weeks. Eddie Cassady is with the show as principal comedian. The Alhambra, New York, which ended its vaudeville season Sunday, now has a straight picture policy, with "Joan the Woman" the first program. "Dewdrop Inn," a musical comedy now in rehearsal under the manage- ment of Rice & Mayer, will have its opening in Chicago within the next fortnight. Percival Knight and Fred- eric Santley are playing the leads. The Strand, New Bedford (formerly the French theatre), which has been playing dramatic stock, has a musical tabloid policy, starting this week for the summer. (Miss) Jean Smoot, one of the few women theater managers in this coun- try arrived in New York Monday to arrange bookings for the coming sea- son at her theatre in Montgomery, Ala. Dunne and Langley have dissolved, with Harold Dunne securing a com- mission as chief electrician in the navy. Miss Langley expects to go to France with a Boston hospital unit. The Colonial, Pittsneld, Mass., Loew booked, closes this week. The Hart- ford theatre, recently added to the books of the Loew office, discontinued vaudeville for the "summer last week. The Shuberts have taken a number of the girls who closed with "The Passing Show of 1916" and are rehears- ing them for the present Winter Gar- den show. The Garden show has been shy of girls since its opening. Bobby R. Robinson and Lillian Ro- maine (Mr. and Mrs. Robinson) have agreed to disagree and after playing . the Princess, San Francisco, will part Bob Robinson may continue in vaude- ville as a single. The Steinway theatre, Steinway, L. I., has vaudeville, booked by Paul Allen, brother of Edgar Allen. The house plays three bills a week, two shows playing for three days with a special show for Sunday. Francis Wilson is now in Pekin. An interesting letter from him was read at the annual meeting of the Actors' Equity Association at the Hotel As- tor las^ Monday. Wilson is president of the organization. Elliott Forman departed for Chicago the latter part of the week, where he will personally represent Alan Brooks, the latter opening at the Garrick next Monday in his new show, "Dollars and Sense." James Murray, some .35 years ago playing the piano in Henderson's Bow- ery shows, now a doorkeeper at the Columbia, Chicago, came in from the- west Monday for a visit with friends and relatives. The Regent, Baltimore, has Charles W. M oseley again in charge and w ill Leslie Morosco, brother of Oliver Morosco, who has been conducting a players' agency for several years, has added a play reading department to his offices. Thomas E. Shea will start another road tour next season in "Common Clay," opening Labor Day, going to the Coast and back, playing all week stands. Associated with Frank Stammers in writing the new musical show, "Some Girl," which Anderson & Weber will produce, is Harold Orlob, the latter writing the music. The stock company at the Hudson, Union Hill, will produce next week for the first time on any stage Roy Fos- ter's melodrama, "After Office Hours." Arthur Aiston has the producing rights to the piece and will take it on the road next season. Harry Spingold, the Chicago agent now in New York, was set back a week in his plans through being confined to his hotel for that length of time with a severe cold. Mr. Spingold will prob- ably return to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Dan Sherman has opened Sherman Lake Park at Davenport Center, N. Y. Billie Grace is there producing and Harry Cotton is on the job with a 40- horse power merry-go-round.. Arthur Grismon is the leader of the orchestra and Jim De Forrest has the miniature railroad. Bill Quaid, manager of Proctor's 5th Avenue, has been getting out a line of pretty posters and throwaways for the big hotels in the near vicinity of the theatre. Special designs in colors make the advertising extra attractive. The 5th Avenue will remain open over the summer. George Cohan is one of the biggest contributors to the "Liberty Loan" bond sum voted by the Friars. In ad- dition to the $25,000 subscribed he may take another block of bonds on the sec- ond sum that may be agreed upon by the organization. The Friars have taken $100,000 worth of the bonds. The action of Kitty Gordon against Joseph M. Weber for salary claimed due while a member of "Alma Where Do You Live" was discontinued this week when the plaintiff failed to ap- ?»ear after the Weber interests had orced the action, pending several years, to a court hearing. An action has been commenced in Boston by Harry Saks Hechheimer, as attorney for Jane Kennedy, for an in- junction and damages against Kinney and Lusby, formerly engaged in "Danae Fantasies," a vaudeville act. The act was produced by Miss Kennedy, with Kinney under contract to it until next December. Unfair competition is al- leged. — The Baker, Dover, N. J., will start a four-act vaudeville show next week, playing vaudeville the first three days, feature films Thursday and Friday, and vaudeville Saturdays. Byrne & Kirby are booking the acts. The house re- sumes its legitimate attractions next fall, Joe Payton's repertoire show open- ing there Sept. 3. Henry Hadlev proposes a grand opera version of "The Garden of Al- lah," which may be produced by Cleo- fonte Campanini, who has already ac- cepted Hadley's Indian opera, "Azora," for production next season. The score to the "Allah" production will be writ- ten by Hadley, while Henry Meltzer will furnish the libretto. ■ William Fox is reported as unde- cided whether to close the Riviera (which adjoins Keith's Riverside and plays pop vaudeville) for the summer. The house will close providing the 81st Street theatre, also playing vaudeville and pictures, shuts down, but if the latter remains open the Fox house will also be operated owing to the keen rivalry between the two houses. A singular coincident occurred last week when both L. Wolfe Gilbert and Carey Morgan of the Jos. W. Stern Co.. were arrested in different sections of the city for speeding. The couple had just written a number called Some- body's Gonna Get You," and had left for the respective homes when the ar- rests took place. Both *were subse- quently discharged in the speeder's court. A number of stage folks and vaude- villians who own their own autos were greatly concerned last week by a re- port that the Federal Government might seize their machines and put them into army service, but men at- tached to the U. S. service deny that such a move is contemplated. The Government is having all kinds of army autos made per contract and under no consideration would commandeer any- body's machine unless war reached such a crisis that overland need made such a move imperative. There are many TDfti though who have the right to commandeer any machine for several hours at any time they see fit, but de- claring such a necessity exists for the good of the army service. Of course, the proper credentials must be shown.