Variety (March 1921)

Friday, March 4, 1921 VAUDEVILLE NO BASEBALL IN SALT LAKE, IF BLUE LAW GOES THROUGH Pacific Coast League Men Say Proposed Puritan Enactment Would Cross Town Off League — " Measure Attacked* hi Press. Salt Lake City. March 2. The "Blue Sunday" law has struck Utah. Representative Parker of Cache County has proposed a measure to the House that will effectively ruin the theatrical busi- ness in Utah if passed. The hill is aimed as a death blow to all forms of Sunday amuse- ment. Under its provisions Sunday baseballi and all other exhibitions and amusements are prohibited. The bill prohibits the showing of all motion pictures in which cigar- ettes are used. The "Blue Sunday" feature of the measure is the most sweeping and drastic ever proposed in this State. It shall be unlawful under the provisions of the proposed act, for any child, under the age of 16, to attend any motion picture show, or any vaudeville or theatrical per- formance after the hour of 6 o'clock in the evening, unless accompanied by its parents, guardian or other adult person, designated by the parent or guardian. Theatre men when informed of the terms of the proposed bill said the measure would practically close all motion picture and vaudeville theatres in Utah. Officials of the Salt Lake Club of th* '/a-nllc Coast baseball leapue sal* tint big league baseball would no# *« piayed here If the bill should b»c*»fi»«» % lew I ACTOR SUED FOR $25,000 Up-State Husband Charges Castle* man Alienated Wife Syracuse, N. Y., March 2. Twenty-five thousand dollars is the valuation placed upon his wife's love in the Supreme Court aliena- tion of affections action brought by Marvin Cramer, of this city, against Earl Castleman, Rochester vaude- ville entertainer. The Syracusan's suit is scheduled for trial at the trial term which convenes here to- morrow. Cramer's plea for a divorce is now before Supreme Court Justice Leonard C. Crouch, who reserved decision when the ease was tried before him in this city. The Syra- cuse husband named the Rochester vaudeville man as corespondent, and evidence was introduced to show that Mrs. Cramer had been living at No. 40 Park avenue. Rochester, as Mrs. Earl Castleman. The couple separated by mutual agreement. Then the husband was ordered to Oklahoma by his em- ployers. Cramer h*f sworn that he did not secure a divorce in FAY MARBE A HIT. Scoraa at Opening of New Clave- • land Cabaret. Cleveland, March 2. The opening of Cleveland's newest cabaret, the Carlton Terrace, Mon- day night, waa a clasay affair, and the entire program reflected credit on all concerned in the n*w regime. Fay Marbe waa the bright nr.d flhj.n.!;i& stay of* the evening .Her. ftfa ferings are clever and her powers of entertainment conspicuous. Her first number, "Kiss," went over with some snap and demands for more were loud and long. Her succeed- in~ item, a French dialect number, was also well received, and when she rendered "I Want My Daddy" she had her audience at her feet. Ralph Williams and his orchestra, a California aggregation, helped in a large measure to the success < f the opening. Taken by and large, Carlton Terrace is a decided acqui- sition to Clevelansd'aumsemne nu sition to Cleveland's amusement list. FRAME THREE THEATRE GROUPS IN NORTHWEST This is Miss Marbe's initial ap- pearance as a cabaret entertainer. She was booked in New York at $750 a week and fares for herself, mother and maid. Her contract calls for her to do but two songs. BINGHAMTON MAKES CARNIVAL BAN STICK Effort To Admit Crounse Show Fails l/i * front page editorial on the Oklahoma. propo.ieo isw the Salt Lake Tele- gram says lp part: •*.... Mr. Parker starts with a proposal to prohibit the showing of any film in which a cigarette appears, even in a minor role. He concludes by locking the State up tight on Sunday, prohibit- ing picture shows as well as exhi- bitions and entertainments of all kinds. We do not understand why he does not order the keys thrown away lest these institutions operate the other six days of the week. . . . No one can explain the motives prompting these asinine adventures in legislation. ... If the Utah Legislature had deliber- ately set out to destroy the business atructure of the State it could have done but little more. . . . With the same bold design Representa- tive Parker would wreck the in- vestments of millions which have been placed in the theatrical indus- try. And to what end? The people who attend these shows on Sunday are good people. They will not be made better but worse by the back door requirements of the Cache County solon. Mr. Parker should go one step farther and make It mandatory upon the public to do the things which meet his own moral code. . . .'* Neither Mrs. Cramer-Castleman nor Castleman appeared to contest the divorce suit here, and Castle- man, it is said, never filed an an- swer to the heart talm suit now to be moved for trial. Deputy Sheriff Andrew Berg, of Monroe County, served the sum- mons and complaint in the divorce action on Mrs. Cramer, and he gave his version at the suit's trial. "I want to forget all about this Cramer marriage," she said, accord- ing to the Monroe County deputy. "I don't want to hear anything more about this or about Cramer. I am married to Mr. Castleman. I received a letter from an Oklahoma City, Okla., lawyer telling me that I was free, and that I could get married again, and I did." Binghamton, March 2. Charges made by Humane Officer Samuel J. Koerbel that there has never been a carnival organization to visit Binghamton that has not left a trail of crime, blocked action by the Binghamton Common Coun- cil on an ordinance introduced to permit the A. G. Crounse shows to exhibit here. The site chosen for the carnival .is located close to the corporate limits of Johnson City, and the legal counsel of that municipality entered energetic protests against the pas- rage of the ordinance. Bingham- ton religious societies and others also added their protests against the measure. Crounse was represented by local counsel at the Common Council ses- sion, and th^ attorney attacked the authority of the aldermen to bar the the carnival. He asserted that the council's sole prerogative was the fixing of the license fee. Clinton-Meyers Interests Ac- quire Duluth Properties. Duluth, Minn., March 2. Three new theatre companies, which will operate playhouses at the incporporation with the Secretary^ of State during the last week. These are the Proctor Theatre Co., the Diamond Theatre Co. and the Star Theatre Co. They Involve the oper- ation of a large number of picture theatres in Duluth and Superior. The incorporators for the Proctor Theatte Co. are: Peter Charrler. Ella Charrier, J. B. Clinton and Charles P. Meyers; for the Diamond Theatre Co., J. B. Clinton, S. J. Blackmore, E. A. Blackmore and Charles P. Meyers, and for the Star Theatre Co.. Emll A. Nelson, J. B. Clifton, William % M. Spehn and Charles P. Meyers. Mr. Clinton, of the Clinton-Meyers Co. stated that the new corpora- tions furnish a method by which his firm har, acquired an interest in downtown and suburban theatres al- ready built and being built, and added to the string of the Clinton- Meyers Co. four successful theatre operators forme; ly operating as in- dividual units. B'ackmore Brothers operate the Diamond Theatre in Duluth, the Capitol Theatre in Superior and the Tempest and Alhambra In West Du- luth. Mr. Nelson operates the Star Theatre in the West End, while Peter Charrier formerly operated the Savoy Theatre In Proctor, now closed. CARUS DRAMA FOR B'WAY. Corned,enne Proposes to Do Piece Noxt Season. Tuscon. Ariz., March 2. Emma Carus will appear here the week of March 14 In "The Salt of the Earth," a comedy drama by Harold Bell Wrlgnt. for the benefit of the Tuscon Tubercular Charity Hospital. Every penny received at the box office is to so to the hospi- tal, private sources meeting what expenses there are. Miss Carua is said to have arranged to come here at her own expense. Miss Carus plans to present the play regularly next season with Broadway the objective. Her sup- port here will be local amateurs. Mr. Wright is particularly inter- ested in the novel presentation of his play and h* is directing it. Robert H. Poole is acting as busi- ness mannger for the playwright. TWO-PLY POLICE BENEFIT. Murdock Will Handle Mt. Event. Vernon Mt. Vernon. N. Y\, March .2. The annual benefit performance for the Mt. Vernon police depart- ment, will be staged simultaneously at the Westchester theatre and also Proctor's, here, early in April, it was decided at a conference last Satur- day. General Manager Murdock, of the Keith offices, will handle the show. There will be len acts. LIBRARY CHANGES HANDS-. Brooks Theatrical Costumers. inc., have secured, through the executors of the estate of Henry J. Heinz, of Pittsburgh, the greater portion of his valuable costume library. The collection comprises several hun- dred volumes, with thousand? of il- lustrations of historical character and general theatrical attire, as Worn in every part of the world dating far back. Many of these volumes are orig- inal manuscripts and contain hand painted illustrations. Kills Dancer Wife. Chicago, March 2. > Jotcph Boggtollnl, a chef, mur- dered his wilV. Dorothy, 28, and killed him: elf. leaving a letter that *hs refused 'to li,,. a decent life" 1 '"• woman had bcc.i a dancer in lunch revues. ■ aaai aaar aaai i „ ....... T '. 1 y ... vfnv . . . i ... ,....: jp -^ ... The Man who tells mz WHAT f'Q DO AND W#£&£ TOGO. FIFTY SHOW A WHALE The Casino Benefit Nets Club $3,200. , KATHRYN LYONS, in the Traveler, says JACK OSTERMAN wins Bxl.n of Mr- individual entertainers, .Ta«-?< Osterman Cakes honors. This clever juvenile with h : hundred per cent, personality and good looks ami an abundance of lalenl proved him sell a distinct fav- rite when he offered l". minutes of nonaj, monologue and dancing. Th ■ audience would gladly have welcomed many minutes more of hi^ entertainment, —Direction, HARRY WEBER. The Fifty Club put over a concert Sunday night at the Casino, in aid of thoir house fund, that should ko down on the books as one of the best of the season. If not more than that. The show ran somewhat over three hours, with the curtain de- scending at 11:40, which allowed It distinct turns to come forth and offer their abbreviated bits minus ah^itVr^iasioVr it' was entertain-* ment all the way. Tommy Gray was awarded the announcing post and pulled the prize laughing "crack" of the even- ing in describing one volunteer as, "the late star of the U. S. Navy, and hurt in the battle of Washington. He fell off President Wilson's lap." Tommy also publicly thanked the shubcrts for the use of the theatre, which they donated gratis, and E. P. Albee for granting permission to the different acts to appear. There was no effort made at arranging a suitable running order, and to this extent it was reported there vera only three acts present, back stage, when the performance began at 8:30. Those appearing simply went on as they arrived. Bob 0*l>onnell and Harold Atteridge attended to the staging, in addition to which "Our Bob" had nerve enough to show himself during one of the acts. The seats for the "benefit" were sold by the club members at the normal "top" of $3.30. while the boxes were auctioned off at the club room previous to the night of the entertainment. In all, the organi- zation took In enough on the ven- ture to show a" clear profit of $3,196.90 after expenses had been met. Every one that "showed" totaled more than the average amount of acknowledgment, but the outstand- ing incidents, from the viewpoint of those In front, were the reception tendered to Marie Dressier, Mae West's "shimmy." the dancing of Maurice Diamond, the club's own comics In the persons of Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmer and Prank Fay, and Jimmy Hussey's right scene from his late show. Those who appeared were: Moran and Wiser. Keegan and O'Rourke, Charlie Kin*'. The Boylans, Frawley and Louise, "Rubberface" Galla- gher. Maurice Diamond, Robert Emmet Keane. Jack Straus, Johnny Blank. Marie Dressier, Mae West, GeorRie ^rlce, Jimmie Hussey, Cor- tez and Peg^y, Pay-Kalmer-Ruby and McKay. Donald Kerr, Jimmie Flynn and the songwriter contest, for the worst number, which Harry Ruby always wins. HOROWITZ'S PLAY ACCEPTED Charles Horowitz, song writer, who was severely bu r ned. several months ago, being confined in the Coney Island Hospital for three months, has recovered sufncier.tly to be around. Horowitz completed a new two- act comedy, "The Two Family House," durin j his period of con- valesence, which the Shubcrts have under cot sideration. The play is based on Horowitz's experiences in a two-family house in one of thr Brooklyn suburbs. EDDIE MACK'S LAPSE. The n.an who Introduced W. J. Bryan at a political meeting in Georgia as "that sterling orator, William J. Brennings," had nothing on Eddie Mack. Last week. In his Variety ad., Eddie wanted to say a lot of nice things about Jack Inglia. And did—only he forgot to mention .lack's name. WHOSE $1,000? Cincinnati, March 2. fltn Dorfman, former checkman at Hi". C«>n.«y Inland ^clubhouse, is charged with being short $1,000 in a warrant sworn out by Arthur I,. Ricsenbergcr, general manager of Coney. The police are looking for Benny, SAILINGS Louise Ulanid. v. ho p!;ived th* High Prieetesa in 'Aphrodite" at the Century and nosed for the orig- inal poster, on the "Anuitania" March 22. She la said to have had a musical comedy offer from Char* lea r. Cochran. it. a. Roberta, tiu> English protean artist, mi):- i«>r Pouth Africa from Londo Bepl 23 n< xt f<-r a long tour mniii >in> management of the Booth African Trust, Ltd Thin will be Roberts' i.u." ■! lisi to that c-un- t<. . ---