Variety (September 1919)

BUY BONDS •m ww 8 fci mSKS WBSSSk mSBm , i^4yg- aftfy " I W/ ■ JM VOL. LII, No. 5 NEW YORK CITY, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1918 MARCUS LOEW AND PANTAGES Pantages Circuit’s New York Repiresentation Will Withdraw from Loew Booking Office hy Oct. 15. ^.oew Finds No Benefit in Connection. Bookings Only Affected. By Oct. IS the Pantages Circuit booking representation in the Marcus Loew, New York, will be a thing of the past. It was reported this week, and not denied, that the Loew Circuit had informed Alexander Pantages no . space could be oro^d ded in the Loew office for theJPatrtages representative after thajxlate. I^lfw F. Keefe represents Pantages in New York, in the Loew suite. It is probable Mr. Keefe will leave the Loew offices at the same time. Carl Milligan, Mr. Pantages’ personal rep- resentative, also located in the Pan- tages office i the Loew agency, will move to Pantages' nevv New York ad- dress. The arrangement between Loew and Pantages, in effect about three years, was for bpokings only. It was an ar- rangemenTexpected at the time effect- ed to work for. the benefit of both cir- cuits, through the added bookings it would give on a consecutive route, covering the Pantages houses in the west along with the Loew time. In addition Keefe also booked the Miles houses, with the Jones, Linick & Schaeffer theatres in Chicago looked upon as attached to the Loew Cir- cuit. It has been well understood among the booking people for some time that any advantage resulting from the dual booking arrangement rested with Pan- tages. He secured “Loew acts” through those acts receiving eastern and western time, eastern particularly. While Pantages could secure the acts at a price by reason of this, Loew in- varislbly had to pay close to the Pan- tages salary, if a turn played both circuits. That amount often was more than .Loew, with his own 30 week's (most^ of short jumps especially in New York and New England) .could have secured the acts for, without the Pantages connection. It has also been said that Pantages often irritated the Loew bookers with his dilatory methods. Pantages per- sonally oversees about everything there.is in connection with his circuit. Located in Seattle, Pantages, who has been in New York but once since book- ing through the Loew office, was too far away for a quick decision in any matter. He has been reported holding up Loew office bookings at' tirnes through his negligence in replying- when quick action was required. James C. Matthews represents Pan-- tages in Chicago, and is in charge :pf the Loew Circuit agency in that city a? well. What disposition will be madeV. of the Chicago iPantages connection and the Loew agency out there has n'ot yet been settled. NAMES FINEST STUDIO. The British Ministry of Information has requested of Famous Players- Lasky the plans of one of its American studids to be utilized as a model for the erection of a plant in England, for the making of propaganda pic- tures for the British Government. In response. Adolph Zukor has for- warded the design of the Paragon Studio at Fort Lee, regarded as the finest in this country. WOMAN RECRUITING OFFICER IN. Sergt. Marie Wing DuPree, the only woman recruiting officer in the Army, is to enter vaudeville as a propaganda turn, for recruitiltg. Sergt. DuPree has been recruiting at Fifth avenue and 42nd street. She has prepared an act and star':' with it next week, on United Booking Offices time. INt-LUENZA IN SHOWS. Chicago, Sept. 25. The serious epidemic of Spanish influenza, which has struck Chicago, has hit show business. In a number of the choruses-in town- several of the girls were affected. “Oh, Look” at the La Salle was hit hardest. The Misses Martin, Bennett, Cornell, Crawford and McLaughlin were forced to lettve because of tb? ailment. MONKEYING WITH POLITICS. There was a half-hearted attempt this week to form a theatre leagu^for the support of A1 Smith-in his cam- paign for the ^governorship. A meet- .jrtg was called Monday afternoon by an old friend of Smith’s,, but no one could be located who attended. The impression among showmen was that entering a political campaign as a body was “bad stuff,’’ One manager ventured .the opinion that the promoter of the meeting (also a manager) stayed away himself. The picture people are non-com- mittal in the coming state election.' The exhibitors look with favor upon - Whitman through his attitude in veto- ing the Christman-Wheeler censorship bill two years ago. For Whitmah^s last campaign D. 'W. Griffith personally directed a 1,000-foot picture, entitled “A Day W‘th Whitman.” There were posted in front of the picture houses throughout the state some_10J)00 one- sheets booming his candidacy. The exhibitors, however, will hold a meeting in Albany shortly, to ascer- > tain the attitude of the respective candidates toward the picture indus- try in this state, and while there will be no official endorsements of either candidate they will throw their sup- port where they believe their interests lie. BERLIN IN ACT FOR RED CROSS. Wednesday it looked very much as though Irving Berlin will appear for four weeks in the larger vaudeville theatres of New "York and Brooklyn, at an agreed upon amounUwith the managers, with Sergt. Berlin donating the entire amount of the salary to the Red Cross. . Several offers in the past for Berlin to play vaudeville never reached con- summation. Rose & Curtis, the agents, are said to be responsible for, the pending arrangement, with Sergt. Berlin having the Liberty Loan Drive as an incentive for his theatrical en- gagements at this time. THEATRE PLASTERERS CLOSE. Syracuse, N. Y., Sept. 25. The first up-state industry to be closed as a result of the war is that of the W. H. Maltby Sons, Corning, N. Y., manufacturers of ornamental plaster work for theatres. The concern, which in peace time employed a large staff,' found it next to impossible to secure needed raw ma- terials because of priority orders in freight shipments which classed its raw materials and product as luxuries, Can’t best roe nor pass roe, CBAfl. ALTROFF. PRICB TIN ClI^TS ENLISTMENT ENDS CONTRACT. Draft and voluntary enlistment both sever automatically any contract. As soon as a man has actually been talcen into the service his contract is ■;dancel($d.' . .■ ,'■• This is the opinion of Sjegbert Lew- in, of the. layir firm .of House, Gross- man &: 'Vorhaus. Should the term of a contract be lodger than the duration of the war, the contract may not be renewed, necessarily, upon the return of the individual; and should the war outlast the term of the cpntpSict or. should ehlistmerit or the draft cut a contract in . tvvo, there is no legal. ground for the renewal of either the whole contract or part of it after the war. . ■' 1 ■ ' A . A contract may not be made depend- ing in any way upon'the duration of the war, as that is, too indefinite. Men living at home and doing daily service. such as being stationed at bridges or piers may continue, their nightly occupation as |6ng as it does not interfere with the work of the Service. This does not apply to men who would have to secure ^special Jib- erty each -night. LOniE PICKFORD’S VALUATION. Lottie Bickford, who is'^ a film stab on her own, aside from the sisterly rela- tionship to the only Mary, is looking favorably at vaudeville. Miss Pick- ford is prepared to enter it if the managers will pay her $2,000 weekly as salary. The managers if they have heard about it have expressed no opinion. BOSTON EPIDEMIC. Boston, Sept. 25. The theatrical and picture people here are very much exercised over the possibility the authorities may close all places of amusement owing to the epidemic of Spanish influenza. 100 deaths were reported here the past week. BAGGAGE ACCOMMODATION. With the complaints of delay in the- atrical baggage all over the country, one theatrical man said this week that it was not surprising, since he saw, he was certain, at least 10,000 pieces of baggage in the Pennsylvania terminal. New York, when searching there for a mislaid trunk. UPTOIIREm . Camp Uptori, L. I., Sept. 25. The camp theatres, closed during the influenza scare, will reopen next week. Sept. 30 the Liberty will have “The Mimic World." j