Variety (February 1920)

: ' • ' • - kRIETY ! 11 VARIETY Baaa-lbHt BafUand Pnbllihed Weekly b? X VARIETY, loc ma stlyxbman, rratde* 1M West 44tk *re* WwrTwfcQlr _ SUBSCRIPTION Annul 17 For*ljn ff Single copies, 20 cents / VOL. LVH. No. 11 :. ■ i I-? *. The tcheme of "razzing" acts at va- rious vaudeville houses in Greater New York is assuming serious propor- tions. Tie Colonial has been an of- fender in this respect for some time and it now seems to be a regular thing - to accord such treatment to unknown artists at the Bushwick, Brooklyn, es- | pecially to performers from England, Not so many weeks ago Grock, the ' European music?! clown, who regis- tered a big success elsewhere, was compelled to quit in the middle of the week at the Bushwick and Monday af- ternoon of the current week Farr and Farland, a two-men straight and "nut" team were driven off the stage there. In the evening they were transferred to the Riverside,' New York, where ■«. they were courteously received and A • Trailing actors and artists and traveling salesmen—all who have to maintain a dual living scale—should be allowed to deduct from their income tax their extra expenses. "To be spe- , cific: a vaudeville actor who has to pay hotel expenses on the road and also maintain a residence at home for his family should be permitted by, govern- ment regulation to, deduct-his travel- *' ing expense from bis income. This is simple justice. The allowances now made for a man with a wife and children and others dependent on his support are slight enough. It is a manifest injustice to force him in addition to pay a~pre- mium for providing this very support x . Traveling expenses, such as board and room at a hotel, is such a premium. It is immeasurably higher in cost than ■ what he could live for at home and the government should recognize the duty done to the country in raising a family and providing for it in such manner -as suits him. / It la'easy to say all this. What is needed is action.. The vaudeville in- terests have provided an elaborate > clubhouse for members of that branch of the show business. Many legitimate and many picture managers-are show- ing an interest in their employers as •considerate and wholesome, but in this matter of a government allowance in deductions they can do a little real help.. • t Scattered everywhere at this, time, the actors are in no position to make a concerted-'effort. Their own organi- zation could well combine with the managers' associations in bringing pressure to bear on Congress and the Treasury Department. Such pressure would be effective. Individually, the managers here are heavy property , owners in a position to demand a hear- ing from Representatives and Senators. The picture people, moreover, are close to the Government, ..which is asking their support to combat, the spread of Bolshevism. •'. Actors know how heavily the pres- ent arrangement rests on them. ■ They should begin immediately demanding action in this matter. The sooner action begins the sooner results will come about The managers themselves could do nothing better than come for- ward of their own accord to set this ball in motion. made a successful metropolitan debut. In the old days such receptions to acts was a regular thing and consid- ered funny. It resulted in-keeping the .better element away from any house that permitted it to continue and could only be stopped by such managers' who had the courage to adopt drastic measures to curb this nuisance. The. only known measures to cope with such a condition in the olden days was the judicious application of a blackjack to the ringleaders in the gal- leries. A proper resort to law and order can be applied at the present time by the presence of officers of the law, who will single-out the aforesaid ringleaders and bringing them before a police magistrate. The Bushwick section of Brooklyn includes many Germans. Allen 6 Green'are now booking the Lyceum, Nyaclc^N. Y., playing six acts Wednesday and Saturday only. Sim Kerner has severed his connec- tions with Tom Jones, and is now as- sociated with Jack Potsdam. The Six Day Riders dosed, their ten- weeks' vaudeville tour in Newark, Feb. 1 Rosamond Thompson (Mrs, Charles Richards) and her daughter sailed for England Jam 27. . Sir Olive* Lodge, who is on a lecture tour over the country, is under the management of Lee Keedick. Michael Fox, father of. William Fox, is back at the Folly, Brooklyn, after a three months' vacation. Marvin Welt, formerly a vaudeville agent, fs now with Rose Mullaney in picture agency in Los Angeles. Edward F. Hawley and 'Company opened a tour of the Fox time booked by Harry Shea, on February 2 at the Audubon. ' Tony Feni formerly of Proctor's, Mt Vernon, N. Y., staff, is now repre- senting Harry Burton in the Keith of- fice (fifth floor). Anna Windsor, assistant treasurer of the Strand, New York, is to be mar- ried in Montreal Feb. 9 to Albert O. Franklin, non-professional. Sam Fried, manager of the City the- atre for several years, has resigned. He was succeeded by Frank Dean, for- merly at the Davis, Pittsburgh. There are no new developments in the mystery surrounding the? disap- pearance of A. J. Small, the Canadian milliaaoire theatrical man, and hit sec- retary. ., > ■ George Lane.'who collapsed while playing the Alhambra last week, is out of bed "and convalescing. Lane and Mdran will resume their bookings next week. Lee Kraut returned to New York this week, after spending three weeks in his.home town, Chicago. Lee wasn't lonely for that town; he wanted more acts. .-' V*\' •• ' FRIDAY CIRCULATION. With thia issue VARIETY again circulates in Greater New York on Friday and will continue on that day until further notice. •'■ rv TOMMY'S TATTLES. By Thomas J. Gray. There must be a lot of money in ; America. German marks Tmd Irish £ Liberty Bonds are both selling very, well. ••.-. -:•-': '. ■ •-,• ■:■.:.:* Since ball room dancing has passed^ out, you donft hear of so many "So-.' ciety" girls running away from home - Seventeeto.yenr.old George Black- wood, Canton's (Ohio) boy actor,-is with "Aphrodite" at the Century, New York. Less than a year ago he was a bellhop in a Canton hotel. Eleven months ago he joined the Selznick jto go on th^ stage. picture forces. V ™, * We often wondered what society g W. E. Smith has resigned as manager of William Fox's Star, now playing vaudeville. He was replaced by Louis Williams, who has been manager of the Comedy, Brooklyn. Eddie Cline, treasurer of the Crotona, has been ap- pointed manager of the Comedy. these girls ran away froqi. f\. ..... . . . . \ .. -, . - ■ " '<? —"73 A lot of people aire making-a -fuss^ over-one Austrian violinist who is ap-l^I pearing, in America, while there are ; - any number of Germans posing as Bet*" giansr and French before the public. You can tell by the Liberty Loan but- \ tons they still wear on their coats. M Gay Bates Post, while in Kansas City V tw »5 ' recently, kept a special train which c..„i,.„.,t.rr'.i was tq convey him and "The Masque- ^MffiS„* *£"*""' ^"T w " rader company Xo St Louis waiting 8 j / f and « d before >t opened, which should over six hours while he and a number Rjg. gllg ^J>g*^ P™*»;&*l of friends went to the studios of fc^" 8 W r ar ahead of -*•«!' Hipon-Connelly, the photographers ,y - who had turned out some pictures of Mr. Post which he expressed as being so fine "they almost talked." Mr. Post ordered 100 of these pictures be- fore he left the studio. •;« . Mark Lnescher, who is handling the publicity for "The Night Boat* to- gether with several other Dillingham attractions, started the show off at the Liberty Monday with -* nifty device to attract attention. Resting on top of the canopy at the theatre's entrance is a replica of an Albany night-boat with illumination coming from the drains to be a manager after7llV port holes. On the "bridge? is a small , j, ; searchlight which/describes 1 an arc, is Guess everybody who travels-wo* the feature of the novel effect which ders why, if there is a child on aitlgl stands out from the many signs which train, that it .has to be in the same light up 42d street. train with them. -■> The Evolution of Comedians—- I Makes hit in act with partner. Quits partner—hires straight man. .Gets job irr show. Makes hit Fights with management. Quits show. ••".. - Lays off. Decides to put out own show. Looks great at rehearsals. ' Puts all his own stuff in. Show opens. - -, - " '■■:■ > : Nvv Trouble starts. Begins to wonder, if it doesn't :- J&. ,rm Office rents In the New York theatre buildings have been raised from 100 to 200 per cent., tenants having been advised of the increases last week. The buildjng recently passed to control of the FamousrPlayers-Lasky corpbra- tion. Due to shortage of office in Times Square, a -number of vaudeville and theatrical agencies have moved into the building within the last year. The offices there are so arranged that much of the room is waste space and there is no practical way to increase the revenue therefrom save through rentals. Some of the office buildings in the theatrical district intend rais- ing rents 150 per cent VARIETY'S OFFICE IS NOW AT ' 154 WEST 46th STREET (EAST OF BROADWAY) Another nice thing is to have some- one with a cough eating a box •of-, crackers while they read three or fouMg, newspapers in the berth opposite to ■- you. ^ ;■■-. H| It seems the newer single men acts* like the black .face comedians,' all work the same way, and do mostly the same stuff, with one or two exceptions.' Now if the boys would all 1 go to the same tailor everything would be uniform. ; jl& It must take an awful lot, of 'nerved to, do that -^11-the-other-actora.are^ m-t her e-listening-so-please" applaud ^ me" gag. But now that T. Roy Barhetli has gone in pictures the boys whd^ took it may.feel easier about it 4S1 Funny speeches! " : ,'M «L wiH now amg my ,atcst success."-^ If you will pardon me for stepping out of my character." ■•>■■-=■ -m 'What will I do now, folks." % "A trick which my partner origin- ated." ■ "■• -;-ax_ ■ ■••■ - V.—79I ■ —• ' <,'■'■] -■ : : > -"s Some actors will never be satisfied*** to work in moving pictures, regardless^ of the salaries, until they find some-4 way to allow them to take curtain calls ^ or bows. ... '"■&>% Many people wonder why the car- .toon section of the Sunday dailies are'31 called the "Funny Section." v ;|§ . Lots of authors with bad shows are- going to blame it on the Flu. Reports from Cuba say everything is going "well down there. The ticket| speculators have not yet arrived.