Variety (April 1920)

VAUDEVILLE *^: ^i^ [Mil THEATRES WILL USE I witLYlOOVAIi s>". ft 1^:: Povernment Plans Cfrcuit of 20 Houses if Universal f Training Bill Becomes a Law—Major J. O. donovaii in Charge»To Recruit / Frpm^Keilh Bookings. '; I A 20-weefc"c:rcuIt 6t lilberty The- i; ,«trea, to use about 100 vaudeville f '»cta weekly. Is the plan ct the En- "! !««rtalninent Department of the U. <t a. Army, it the, UnJyerBal Tralninsr W. "jailV biecoines a U.yir. : -^~ ^ ; The camps an4 8tatlon8 now us- I W entertainment features ha^e I been depleted' since the deinobillza- ;'- tlon, ar.d the present policy la le- ;S gltimate attractions-booked for one [»: nUrht performances only_. •I . If the bill goes through, the campii I- ;will All up and the. vaudeville feat- ''. ure will ag:aln. be installed through- out the Liberty Circuit. The enter- -^ talnment affairs are handled by Ma- jor J. O. Donovan. Major Donovan was formerly entertainment officer 5 M cliarge of affairs with-the Army ](. irf.,0ccupatlo.4 after the" armistice, . and. Is In charge of the camp book- ' itxgB at present. Ift.will leave the t" army in June, but will continue to '> direct the entertainment depart- -■■ ment . •■'• - ■•• '• '- V Tlie acts to be used,la the event -■■ the law becomes effective will be rc- ; cruited from the bills of the shows V booked by the Keith office. No In- .; dependent agency or consecutive :/ rouflngs will be atteiiipted. The !■; acts will bo taken from the house nearest the camp ,and the date will : be added to the route of the booker handling that particular territory. The stations at Panama, Porto Rico, Cuba, China and the Philippine Islands will get a transport show of. V: five acts which virlll be conveyed to •i the distant posts In army transports. ' The Keith ofllce. through Billy ■ Sullivan, Is arranglns a spicial camp bill for one night only, Sunday even- ing, at Camp' Uptons Long Island. '.- It will consist of six acts, with sal- ; arlea paid. Ai: camp bills are to be ■ I»aid it the new department goes tbrbugh. Ther«» are about 3,000 sol- dleti at present in Upton. *• BECK BUYS PEOPERTY. ., An announcement this week stated tbat Martin Bocic Iliad purchased 18 Xast, 64th, Eitre,et ant^ 11 Bast 67th pti^t. beck.vi:l)I]fenu>del..the 07th at^Mt properly for his New York "City home. Tuesday night, at the Waldorf, Helen Beck, his daughter, became the wife of .Howard Hoffman, who if connected with the Manhattan Bhlrt Co. ":; CLOSED SHOP becbeeb. ,;' '{Continued from-Page 1.) fcred the Fldelityites to get "In out •f the wet." .No one In authority at the Equity iwuld confirm the reported attempt to secure a "closed shop" generally ' libit season, all of the offlcers ap< |>roached refusing to discuss the '■closed shop** other than the one- tight stand, managers' edict. Some managers *' the P. M. A. Rave recently discussed the proba- ^bUlty of further trouble with'the . A. B. A., notwith8tai)ding the strike settlement contract />( Ave years be- i tyr«en them.. The managers have ^Hed one another how the A. E. A. could find a valid reason to order a strike and they have likewise dis- cussed :.ow If another A. E. A.,strUce against the P. M. A, membership should be ordered the actors', asso- ciation could expect sympathetic support from the theatrical bodies aligned with the A. E. A. through the American Federation o£ Labor connection. This referred mostly to the stage hands and musicians. The managers say th^ fundamental prln- ciple of the A. P. of L. on the labor strike proposition is that the union ordering the strike be fully Justlfled, and If It is not deemed to have a Justiflable reason fop ordering a walkout it .cannot expect support from other labor Organizations, in money or action. "Willie the managers do not ap- pear to have settled the future strike Question to their own- natlsfactlon, some still are apprehensive, though no movement of any kind up to date has been commenced by the P. M. A. or Its individual members In any sort of propaganda work, looking toward averting the possibility of circumventing It. Kor has ' any P. M. A. action meeting been held with the forthcoming election of the A. B. A. in view. Nor has Jhat been talked about, according to one of the biest known producing managers in^New York, who. stated this week the managers looked upon the A. B. A. election as a private affair of the actors' own, "although," he added, "wo can giiess what may happen around here if Lackaye iq. elected president." ANNA HELD, JR, . RECEIVES ESTATE First Payment of $225,000 Un May. The Anna Hold estate, estimated at $1,000,000, Is to pay its first in- stallment to the heir of the late and great actress toward the end of Miiy. when Anna Held. Jr., re.ac]ic8 the age of 25. The remainder of the estate will be paid to the daughter at Intervals theT'oaftcr. Miss Held. Jr.. lias temporarily withdrawn from tlio stage. Details concerning reci-lvlng the i^mount necossitnted h«r retirement. She last appeared In v.iudevillc with an act now continued by Emmctt Gull- foyle, who formerly assisted Miss ^eld in it. Assflltlng Mr. Oullfoylc in the turn is Marie Ircen. Rosalie Stewart has charge of the act. 'Walter Hnst has signed Miss Held, Jr., to'Star In n comedy he has ac- quired from thejFrench, called "Exit Claudlne." The piece is act to go into rehearsal late In the summer. Joseph B. Shea represented Miss Held in the transaction. MANNE IN "MAN WHO DEFENDED HIS WIFT' Exonerated of Killing Rowdy, ^Appears on Stage. - Chicago, April 21 ,foe Manne, the'publisher's repre- sentative, who recently struck a rowdy who Insulted Mrs. Manne I (Lillian Bernard) late at night at Clark and Randolph streets, the blow resulting In the man's death, headlined McVIckor's this week with his wife, singing Waterson, Berlin & Snyder songs. Frank Clark, Manne'a employer and manager here ror the Arm, ne- gotiated., the. engagement while Manne was still In doubt as to the coroner's verdict. That finding ex- onerated him completely. ' The billing is "The Man Who Defended His Wife." OIAHT.ANB Jni UORTON. Alf T. Wilton, who represents tho newest giant. Van Albert, professed to be 8 feet 5 inches tall (four Inches, taller than Machlnow) has the plan of placing the big fellow In vaudeville, accompanied by James J. Morton. ■Van Albert, from Holland, was led* Into the Keith booking offices early in the week, where he aston- ished the booking men through hav- ing to bend low to enter roon)s. ^ Ike Rose discovered the giraffe. DIVORCE SUIT UNDEFENDED. The divorce action' brought by Helen LIchtenstuln. known profes- sionally as Helen Kdwarda, vaude- ville dancer, against Murray Llch- tensteln, came up before Justice Bljur April 22. Although unde- fended, the court reserved decision In accordance with the usual cus- tom. The decree will probably be entered by default. Th6 plaintiff prays for the cus- tody of their child and |G0 weekly alimony. Kevle Frankel and Alex- ander F Green reproscnted the plaintiff. POPULAR SHEET MUSIC SINCE END OF LENT HAS WORST SLUMP IN PUBLISHING HISTORY ! '^m Both 10 Cent Grades and 30 Cent Listings Affected^Withdrawal of Hits Partly Accountable—Records AIsq , Blamed—Heavier Postage . 7- Sought—May Petition. Congress. , ■^■^'1^- •■■■■ '-I'r*" Art The. popular sheet music publish- ing 'business is undergoing the worst slump 6f^ its history in the xtl&tter of. sales.- This depression started at the bejglnnlhg of Lent and as it is customary for the sales of sheet music to fall off during that period the publishers assumed business would resume, its regular gait after Easter. But the expected improvement did not materialize. On the contrary, sales grew worse instead of better the week directly following.-Lent. They have been steadily (iecreaelng since. At th? present time, according to'all of the bigger publishers, sheet music sales are practically at a standstill. The slump is general, affecting the 10-cent grudoii as much as the 30-ceiu listings. ViiMous reasons are advanced by the publishers for the pro»un[ serious sales condition. One publisher who sells to the 10- oont syndicates as Well as main- taining a large 30-ccnt» catalog, statt'il In hla opinion the reason for the falling off of 10-cent sales was becauso the. public Imd been filled up with inferior "counter sellers." Since the willidrawal of hits from the 10 cent listings by most of the big publishers the.lO'cent syiidlcatos have been pushing over the counter songs ' and Instrumental pieces whoso chief merit often lies - In a 7-coIor title page. This has always been done, the publisher continued, but sliice the lO-cent^syndlcates have not been able to secure the big hits as formerly, the practice of pushing the "counter sellers" has increased .abnormally, arrangements having been made- by the Wool- worth stores, for instance, with sev- eral'small publishers whereby or- ders Of 100,000 to 300,000 have been, given, and the music "shoved" over' the counter. The falling off of the "counter sellers" has hid a sympathetic re- action, in the publisher's opinion, which, affected even the few near hits and songs that do not need pushing, which the Woolworth stores are now carrying. Another publisher declared' the s^ump lA the 30-cent music was due to the large number of rolls knd phonogrnph records being sold %t present. Still another believed the slump to be the direct result of the embargoes on freight which becani* effective during the coal strike la the fall. This caused unusually long delays In (he delivery of music ordered by jobborj, In ' many In- stances music ordered In Octo6er not having been delivered tintfli aftor/anuary 1. Whatever the cause of conditions^ tho ejibllshers.are preparing to trim their sails to meet theiii, an order for. retrenchment already having gone Into effect in three publishing houses whereby the i^taff will be-re- duced shortly.. The 'branch ofllt* ' proposition is another matter that . Is due to come up for. conslderatlpn- at the next meeting of th^Muslo, Publishers' Protective Association./ The con<J&nsu8 of opinion amoiiir publishers favors the. abolition of, air but three or four out of two, branches, instead of the 10 or JIB.. now .maintained by most. To complicate matters for tho:- publishers $he present bad paper, situation. and .generally . Increased and risitig costs of doing buslnie^S' adds to the proUlem from diintnlsb" ing sales. . • :. • One solution offered Is that thift- publishers petition Congress to in- crease the present rata of 2 cents a. word oh rolls and records. A move- ment Is now under way to that end,! dn attorney having been consulted this week and directed to dra^.up a bill, increasing, the publishers'' royalty oiv the rolls and ^'ecprda^toi. 8 cents, or possibly mbr^. .•..!!,;%(: .'v.\i ■-lcMj2.'-| ■I .''I'M FRITZI SCHEFF AND HUSBAND TOGEFHER Erroneous Report of Repara- tion—Anderson In Arrny. Through her husband, Cteorge An- dcrson, having Joined the army o story clicul*l«d, says Frltel Scheff, that tkcy lia«l separated. .That thoy are again togetliei Is the contradic- tion of that rumor, they stuic. Miss Scheff claims this season will be her last In vaudeville or musical comedy. Uercafier she contemplates playing straight light ~roles. Kefore leaving the twice dally Miss Scheff will appear at the Alle- gheny. Philadelphia; a pojt price house playing vaudeville twice ^lly cxcepthig Batunlay, when three shows are given. Miss Suheff's date Is May 10, arranged through the consent of the Keith offlcS, which books tho theatre as well as the Keith's biff time house in Phllly. This week Valeska Suratt headlines at the Allegheny. It's, one of the biggest theatres la the country, seating 3.S00. PICniRES IN OLD SYRACUSE THEATRE Two Vaudeville Houses Enough in That City. Syracuse, N. T., April SS. The Crescent, Syracuse's oldest vaudeville house since the passing of the old Grand Opera House, will be transformed into, a picture, house May 3. The theatre, owned by the Cahlll interests, has been leased by Philip Smith and E. Buck for an indednlte period. The new-lessees have con- ducted the Npvelly, Syracuse's pioneer film house, on 'West Fsyette street, for some time. . The passlng.of the Crescent Is the logical answer to the (lueiitlon asked on the local Itlalto when the new B. F. Keith theatre was flrjit pro- jected: Can and will Syracuse sup- port three vaudeville houscsT Ap- parently two vaudeville houses, one offering big time and the other fam- ily time acts, can satisfy the vaude- ville appetite of Syracuse theatre- goers. ITESBIT REPLEVIN SUIT. As an aftermath to the divorce proceedings Jack Clifford (Virgil James Montanl) has brought against Evelj^n Ncsblt, the latter began a replevin, suit asahi't her husband to recover the furniture and the real estate, of her Adlron- dacks hunting , loflge. which Miss Nesbit avers Is her sole property. Clifford had it in his own name without her. permission or previous knowledge, she says. A sheriff Is at present In otiarge of tho up-State property. House, Grossman & Vorhaus are appearing for Miss Ne«blt. Ther began tho counter-suit, last Friday. DANCE EXHiBinON AT AEOUAN, HAY 8 Twenty Schools to be Repre- sented in Demonstration. Harry Shulnian,' of the Shulmdn school of danclLg, will be the di- rector of an exhibition at Aec^ian Hall May S. Twenty of the best known dancing schools in the United States are to be represent- ed. Two pupils from each school will dance. The purpose i« to demonstrate what the schools are doing. The 20 schools represented are: Ivan Tarasoff, Luigi Mascagni, E. V. Philport, SUnisIaw Portopd- vitch. Magna, Ooldberc Albertl, Mansfield Studio, Professor De Commerce, Jack Loeb, Grace Giles, Greenwood,' Wobetor,. Brown, lilp- pel! Dancing Academy, Llbau. Rus- sian Imperlaf Ballet, McCabe, Al- vlenne, Bonnie italpln, Newburger, Junge and the Krimmell' school. The exhibition will consist of Oriental, . character, - nature, and classical interpretations. DARLINQ UNDECIDED. Whether It is to be a European trip for his vacation this summer or to spend it at home Is something ISddle Darling has not yet ueclded. At. first Mr..i>ar.;ng thought of the boat ride as.the most restful. Now he has the mourtains In mind.' JACK UNDER BOOKS THREE FOX HOUSES Succeeds Bill Casey, Who Is Retiring. The Stdr, New York; Comedy, Brooklyn, and the New Britain, Conn., Fox houses are now being booked by Jack LInder of-the Put- num Building, under the supcr- vl.Mlon of Joe IjCO. Bill Casey, who formerly handled (he houses, lu rctirlDg fi'om the show business: Tho policy is vaudeville and pic- tures on a split w^ek: Hsls. .. .. ■ $3,000 WEEKLY FOR f DOROTHY JARDON ACT ... v^. '* . . ^ ,:;:i\ Price Set by Singer Not Ac- cepted 1)y Managers. Dorpthy Jardon Is iK^llling to re*: turn to vaudeville, but wants |t,06o a wc6k salary for herself alone -If she does. TliiB tnaniigers are littt. grabbing at the . price . QuOted... Harry Weber, who represent* mIm. Jardon, has hopes of offllcabtjr arranging tho salary matter. Since leaving the twice dally Misa Jardon has indulged tq grand opera, alnaflng leading' roles with the Chtcaijo.opera.comjtany. .., ., .^. P. M. A. DEADLOCKEDi WTTH MUSICIANS' UNION No Agreement Reached De- spite Conferences.: •. /^;; The committees representing the ProtecttYe Managers' Associatioiii and the Musicians' Mutual Protec- tive Union are still In the throe« of a "deadloijk." So much was ascertained tolioi|Nr>. Ing a meeting adjourned from the pant week to Tuesday, when both committees were again In confer- ence in the ofDcci of the secretary' of the U. M. P. A. No definite con- clusion was arrived at, while there was some expectation that tite mu- siclabs would present a counter- proposition to the managers' repre- sentatives, no agreement Lad hue*' reached, Mr. J)hnson declared. > The demands are (m when firsl presented by the union, cod tho 1u- formation tlut the latter hod turned ' down the 10 per cent. Increaeo iMW already beon publlshod The mcelln(r on Tuesday v.tji t^4- Journed to another <J*l« nOt set. Representing the inanagora wer« Ralph Long (Shubort), I.ylo An* dr«ws (Belmont), l-'rar.cle X. Hope (Cohan ft H«,rrt»), Mai* l^cuscner' (Dillingham), Alfred B Aardns (K. & E.). ; \r ■ Dr. 8am A. FlnkeisM'n tthd HtC' other men ropreeen'.ed (fee' mtwi- clans. .:' ;.^-*' BRIGHXONl OFEEflRO TUfX,, The followtnj vlii enn«prl4n th« opening bill at ttt* erKhion theatre when It ifoopesa Mav I*: ".-Vim 'Cel los<- Nelson nhd Cronln, .jpw^tevpd and CIrllp. Joe Cook, Shfibli Tiirrj and Co.. Harry I/ingdon aad.^Co^ Trlxle Frlganza, Kecpan KKd iEflfr y; wards. Aerial VrtJoutin«?B. ;. ,-, ;' ijS-'' luH). ; iV:y-j.'vt».^C';-/ m ■''Mb, '.f'» f-*;- ■x.iM&££A.!^m& iaa;.i.i';i.>;'3^;a3;!ii;^u:!i£^iiiife