Variety (November 1919)

'^S^^fifSSf^S^^i^^^f^^^Mj^S^W^ VAUDEVILLE ' V. % ■■ ■<■■ ;•■• ' ■ ' ,'-■■■ .:.'■■•■■■-,■ . -,.-■■"' i — iii.;;^^ I RINnFCJV ;; ^M IW BINDERY !.' ■•- .; ; , •: ill &>■■'. THE HISTORY OF THE SHUBETS The history of tbe KHuberts runs from ;: their present prominence of- today in V New York, in the United States and pi Canada and from the Old World, back , to tbe Seventh Ward of Syracuse, N. Y., Bomo 50 years or more ago, when the I Shubort family, like many another, came | to America seeking an opportunity lost to them forever in the land of their na- fvity, . Sam S. Shubert founded' the Shubert - Institution. Now the Shuberts operate •bout 100 theatres, either their own or "held by them under lease. Twenty of vv these theatres are In New York City. Hundreds of other theatres throughout the country are booked by the Shuberts who, up to date, have dealt almost ex- clusively with what is known as the V legitimate-drama and farce, comedy and musical. t ; The Shuberts have six theatres ot their own in Boston, four In Philadel- phia, four in Chicago, thrco in Wash- ington, two in Detroit, two In St. Louis, two in Providence, two in Pittsburgh, two in Cleveland, while some of the better known towns where the Shuberts.have their own houses are Baltimore, Kansas . City, Sari Francisco, Los Angeles, Mil- waukee, Minneapolis, St Paul, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, New Haven. . Lee and J. J. Shubert are the surviv- ing members of the Shubert firm. Its founder, Sam S, Shubert, was killed some years ago in a railroad accident en the Pennsylvania near Harrisburg. Sammy Shubert was a part of the thea- \ tre. He passed programs In a Syracuse theatre when so-small his dlmlnutlve- 0088 was an attraction in Itself. Sammy '.-.-. was a small kid, but with a big head for , the show business, in stature he re- mained frail and small as he developed a massive brain. In time Sammy became treasurer of the Welting Opera House, Syracuse, now operated by his brothers. I One summer he spent his vacation as j.'.», box office man with a circus, He didn't care for the big tops, but his In- i elination toward the managerial and producing side; of the stage never left htm. Charles Hoy fa "Texas Steer" had been a marked success at the old Madi- son Square Theatre in. New York City, ■ but had never gone on the road. Sammy secured It, negotiating direct with the late Mr. Hoyt. That was in the nineties. He- traveled with the show, made money, and the next season the Grand Opera House, Syracuse, was under the direc- . tion of Sam S. Shubert. Tl»en followed the Bnstable. Syracuse, Cook's Opera House, Rochester, and finally. Sam S. Shubert landed on Broadway, about two years afterward, as the holder of the Herald Square Theatre, secured under • lease from the firm of Hyde & Behman. The advent of a Shubert on Broadway ftgainet "The Syndicate," the temerity of the adventurer and the timidity of his personality drev- all theatrical' attention to the little mite from Syracuse; That Is why in greater part that until this tune, when the name of the Shuberts are ... -mentioned in controversy, the city of their youth, Syracuse, is connected., in thought, at least. No one may know where A. L. Erlanger was born,,nor Al Woods, but*Shubert and Syracuse is more synonymous than George M. Cohan and Providence. Along about this time In the career of Sammy Shubert, his brother, Lee, en- tered into the business area ot the- atricals. Lee had* also spent all of his early life in Syracuse. An unassuming boy, he lived with and helped his folks along as did his brothers, Lee lending his assistance mostly by clerking In a hab- erdashery on East Genesee street. But I It was Sam S. in those days who car- Wed all the glory of the then rising | Shubert family In theatricals. . £& Sam S. Shubert held so much bril- liancy in association with the theatre (;;that ho^ulte smothered anyone around I him. Sam S. knew the theatre from the image tot 1 the box office, from the shop to the fi |u| He could produce, manage and Kmte, ^nd his greatest talent was In production, though Sam S. has had his times when he was perforce obliged to forego all else in theatricals to manipu- late, for the Shuberts' were then work- ing alone. Another Syracusan was with the Shu- berts in those days, Joe Jacobs, who re- cently passed away. Like the Shuberts, Jacobs had merited no uncommon at- tention in Syracuse, but like the Shu- berts he had an inherent Instinct along certain lines that Syracuse was too nar- row or limited to find out Occupying a minor position In the Beatable Theatre there and elsewhere, and unfortunately not accepted at-hla full worth in Syra- cuse,. Joe Jacobs in New York became a big man in big affairs. He was. the financial man for the Shuberts and that meant a great deal. As the enterprises of the Shuberts expanded Jacobs ad- vanced with .them until to those who were aware of Mr. Jacobs' life it was incomprehensible how he could have lived in Syracuse as long as he did with- out having properly located. The Shu- berts developed him and to his dying day Joe Jacobs was with the Shuberts, mind, body and soul. He gave them what they most required often when starting to ad- vance—the most skilful direction in finance a theatrical firm has ever had. That this direction was needed—in fact It was paramount to their business, be- came more marked when it is appre- ciated that the budding Shuberts were fighting against the healthy resources and wealthy influence of the most pow- erful group of theatrical managers the theatre had ever witnessed, up to the advent of the Shuberts. This group fought the Shuberts, but made their greatest fight too late. The leader o. this group is reported to have often said: "Oh, those fellers" (referring to the Shuberts). "They're through and will be broke within a month. Their credit is gone and they can't borrow a dollar. Stop talking to me about them." This remark was often addressed to thpse who were talking to "The Syndicate" about the Shuberts, telling this man as well as the others that the Shuberts were coming and couldn't be stopped. The Syndicate people wouldn't believe It They had "Yes men" hanging around who came with tales of how badly bent the Shuberts were, how long they would last, and so on, and the other side pre- ferred to accept this solacing infor- mation rather than realize the fact that their power was doomed from the day Sam S. Shubert took over the Herald Square Theatre. It was the selfsame Sam S. Shubert who may be said to have been the first theatrical manager to Induce invest- ments in his business In a legitimate manner from capital outside the theatre. This the slip of a Shubert who ever looked like a mere boy was enabled to do by right of his reasoning and his con- vincing personality. He was enthusiastic and conveyed his enthusiasm, carried the others along with him and when they in* vested, gave them ample return in per* centage income for the monies they had placed under his care. So that when Sam S. Shubert met his lamentable and unavoidable death, the affairs of the Shuberts in the theatre had advanced to a stage where they were of the utmost importance to themselves, their asso- ciates and the theatre, but more so even to the professional and the producing and theatre manager. "it was just then that the Shuberts were threatening to break the grip of the Syndicate upon the legit show busi- ness. The death of Sam S v stunned the show world. Copious arguments were held if that meant the end of the Shu- bert reign could Lee or J. J. or both replace their brother? J. J. Shubert had no business record beyond his connection with the Shubert firm. His brothers were in theatricals and J. J. decided he would go with them. Then as now he was-persistent, a pcr- (ConUnued on Page 21.)' \ ZERO IN ROYALTIES. Chicago, Nov, 5. The hSgh cost of things, artistio as welli as substantial, has struck this re- gion and extended its talons even into the smaller centers. Through a con- troversy between, the Waterson, Berlin & Snyder office and Morton, Bonnell & Kllmt producers, It appears that "The Gumps," a cartoon-created musical show touring hereabouts, is paying %i gross per performance as royalties, equally divided between the author and the composer. It seems that Frank Clark, represent- ing the music publishers, loaned the writers to the firm to do a rush Job, and partially undertook to. publish the numbers. So far they have not been published on the ground that the time played is too bush-league to warrant it The producers desire to fatten their Income—probably to help meet the roy- alties—by selling -music in the lobbies, and are making dire threats ot legal action unless the special songs are im- mediately sent to press. 0LC0TT MENTIONED IN Fill. Chicago, Nov. 5. May Anna, a pretty girl who recently started hereabouts In a single act booked by Charles Olcott the penologist, and toured jointly with him over a vaudeville route. Is in Detroit at the Tuller Hotel suffering from serious injuries. She was moved there from Rockford, ill., where she. was found on the sidewalk with a crushed skull. She had fallen or been thrown from a hotal window on the third .. tory. -Ol- cott and May Anna were registered as Mr. and Mrs. Olcott, but Olcott. denied an; knowledge of how the girl came to plunge to the street 8h«. entered vaudeville last year In "Not Yet, Marie" and when she left it was understood Olcott had signed her ar>d written her a single song, dance and comedy act. BIG ACT FROM CHICAGO. Chicago, Nov. 5. A vaudeville production called "Green- wich Village" Is being prepared here under the direction o.* Ernie Young. It is aimed for big time, and will cost around 17,000 before first shown in December. ' The'act has twelve people, and will feature Eddie Lambert, Allan Sells and Helen. Yoder. Mr. Lambert played the comedy part in "Katinka" here. About 36 minutes will be the running time. ID C0NGDON SOLED, Saa Francisco, Nov. 6. Ed Congdon, general manager of the Bert Levy Circuit, was killed at San Bernardino last Friday, when a tiro, en- gine collided with an auto bus and he sustained a concussion of the brain. De- ceased was about 40 years old and was just completing a successful road tour, having added several weeks to the cir- cuit. VERNON STILES BECOMES AN ACT. A vaudeville tour will be started by Vey.on SUles, the tenor, next week at the Orpheum, St Louis. Besides the Middle Western big time Mr. Stiles has been placed in the East also through Max Hayes? It will mark the singer's debut In the varieties. DAINTY MARIE HURT. Chicago, Nov. 5. Dainty Marie, closing the bill at the Palace Monday matinee, lost her grip of the flying rings and sustained painful injuries-by a fall to the stage. In her fall she struck Dan Russo, the orchestra leader, and knocked him cold. Both were carried offstage. It is not known if Miss Meeker sus- tained any broken bones; an X-ray ex- amination will determine. "The act was replaced on the night show by Swain and Oatman. MISS BATES REMAINS SILENT. : Buffalo, Nov. 5£/,.. ; An enterprising reporter sprung one last week by hitting on the story that the latest Mrs. Jack Norworth, who was ■-. playing in "The Magic Glasses" at Shea's, and Nora Bayes, who was at the Teck, were both stopping at the Iroquois and on adjoining floors. : 7 The Present Mrs. J. N. was inter' viewed and stated that the situation was "most embarrassing." Miss Bayes maintained silence/ :« '■V'ii ■■:•-?** OTOUEN-DeKAR DIVORCE. ^-^ Chicago, Nov.-V-^te;*? Grace DeMar procured a sudden and: ;/,Vv silent divorce here against George';'>i^ O'Brien, the New York booking agent K'.ifeffl charging desertion. O'Brien was-nei^-^^'i,'! present ; .'.'■• ■';■' •■£:$!. '• The testimony was limited to Ju«l ', enough, to establish the technical . grounds. ( ' Ml" DeMar l^':tpr'$a:''0^' y i]l^-:\i phcum tour. •".' : : : . •'■'•.; \'<pV' : L$f' ' Local papers missed the vtory.y . V.w* ; SHOOTS AND GOES FREE. ; V Seattle, Wash., Nov. 6. ' Edward F. Klenstra, local attorney, was freed on the charge of murder in the Superior Court Saturday.. Wednes- day he Shot John Cocorlo, owner of the Columbia Cabaret Corcorlo died. Ow-y lng to lack of evidence Klenstra got off. during which time physicians state his condition has not changed. Darnell was driving from Cincinnati to Bloomington when his automobile- turned over. '••■, >'; '■Hffji :,M '■J-.r'i m HARRY LAUDER OPENS. >•? The Sir Harry Lauder road show bo- Kan its American tour under the direc- tion of William Morris at Liberty Hall, El Paso, Texas, last Friday. The show did capacity, filling thai hall which accommodates 4.400 persons.. It played there * three performances, Friday night and. matinee and evening; Saturday. ,;. .... ! M08CONP8 8BPARATIN0, , (fcjg The Moaconi- brothers are splitting their turn, rated. as one of the best dancing acts in Vaudeville. _ There-are no differences between the)' brothers, Charles preferring the mer* cantile field to the stage. He is to em- bark lit the brokerage business. v Louis Mosconl will continue In vmido- ville, either as a single act or with another partner. 'frjt • . -v EDWARD BARNELL INJURED. . Indianapolis, Nov.. B.';. r •• Edward Barn ell, vaudeville, whose' home is In Cincinnati, is In a serious condition at the Robert Long hospital here following an automobile accident near Bloomington, Ind., last .week. ,■-•:* Both legs are paralyzed, and Barnoll Is suffering Internal injuries. Ho has been in the hospital more than a week, 8COUTINQ FOR PANTAGE8. ^ Houston. Noy.-J. ; ; Ray Stinnett, owner of the Jefferson in Dallas, and southern representative for Alexander Vantages, was in Houston Tuesday scout lng for a theatre, In which to book the Pantages vaudeville rood shows. Unfortunately for him, lease prices here have gone sky high. Alios Lloyd Using Pisnf.t. "^ ■Toronto, Nor. Bi..' For the first time since sho hati ap- peared in vaudeville, Alice Lloyd 1b us- ing a pianist in her act at Shea's here this week, ' ,: ■'.'■' Miss Lloyd will continue with him'at the Riverside, New York, noxt week. Acrobat Leora Hurt. '« Portland, Ore., Nov. 8. , While swinging: on traps high above the stage at Pantages, Monday,' Charles Leora, acrobat, fell, fracturing a collar bone. He will be laid up two months. :;>& '^:-:i, I ■ .' * fc "*"""• ""*■ ,u tuonunuea on rage zi.) „;. snow oy Bwain and ostman. bone. He will he laid up two months. w.vw If".-. ''' .i '•.•.'■'•'.• ■•■ ■ ".''?>' ; 'k'-'SI ¥ v • i •"•■ •'.-.'• • • • .■ '. 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