Variety (March 1921)

■■ Friday, March 4, 1921 VAUDEVILLE a**: PUBLISHERS PLAN TO MAKE M, P. P. A. WORD ROLL AGENT 'resent Plan of Each Publisher Dealing Individu- ally whh Player Roll Concerns Slated to Be Dis- carded—Publishers' Cutting of Rates the Cause. ♦—— ,V >.-- S*».> ►»»■. >-.' > i .» V .V ►• > >• * > CLOSED SHOP FAILURE SEEN IN LOS ANGELES Organizer of Former Effort Sees Disruption of Actors Lob Angeles, Feb. 23. There in considerable feeling here over the question of the Equity 'closed shop" vote. The general OBITUARY CYRUS D. PRELL. Cyrus D. Prell, 65, manager of "Spanish Love" at the Maxine El- liott theatre, died Monday night after a brief illness. Mr. Prell, a native of Jacksonville, Miss., had been in the show business for more than 30 years. He began as office boy for E. G. Gilmore and later be- ne hud hern editor of the Santa Monica 'Outlook." His wife and a daughter and- s o n surviv e . A plan calling for the designation the Music Publishers' Protective kssoclation as the sole agent for all the members of the organization the matter of "word roll* rights, well under way and will probably :ome effective following a meeting be held b> the M. P. P. A. this reek. The proposal calls for in- iting the M. P. P. A. as a unit rjth 'the sole right to make con- tracts with the player roll concerns -for the reproduction of the words of all songs to be hereafter published by the members of the M. P. P. A. At present find since the incep- tion of the word roll it has been the custom for most of the publishers to do business singly with the word roll people. About a year ago the Consolidated Mutic Corp. was formed, with Waterson, Berlin A Snyder, Feist, Witmark, Irving Ber- lin, HarmH and Shapiro represented. This corporation was appointed the sole agent for the Consolidated to do business with the p!aye.* con- cerns. Some legal difficulties de- veloped and following a government suit, the Consolidated was dis- solved several,months ago. It develops that the reason for lining up the members of the M. P. P. A. with a view to making the organisation their agent for the word roll rights, was because of sev- eral publishers having cut the cus- tomary royalty rate for word re- production recently. A royalty rate of two cents Jor the mechanical re- production of the musi^ of a song copyrighted by a player concern is fixed by a Federal law. Word rights are not covered by law, but it has been the trade custom for the pub- lishers to charge the • player con- cerns a royalty of four cents for the reproduction of the words of ten cent music, and ten cents for the reproduction of the words of thirty cent music. Reports of certain publishers hav- ing cut the established rate of Hen cents for thirty cent numbers, to two numbers for 18 cents* as regards won! reproduction were verified, and it was thought de- sirable for the protection of all to get together, to eliminate the royalty cutting thing. The plan of assigning the word rights to the M. P. P. A. was then discussed, and reported as thought the best thing fcf all concerned. The arrangement by which all of the publishers were brought. into the M. P. P. A. and tax free music prac- tically abolished was brought about through the members assigning performing rights ,to their publica- tions to an individual, who in turn effected an arrangement with the authors and composers, whereby the two organizations would operate under a wcrking arrangement. ILL AND INJURED William B. Lindsay, eastern pas- senger agent for the Lehigh road, has again gone to Mt. Clemens. Physicians have advised an extend- ed stay. The Rooneys left the first-half bill at the Chateau, Chicago, when Miss Rooney was attacked with hemorrhages and ordered to a hos- pital. Ray Myers, formerly of th-> Smith and Austin act, is recovering from an attack of bronchitis, George Buck, assistant i. anager of Keith's Harlem Opera House, was about again Monday after a ten day illness. He was threatened with pneumonia. Ray Hodgdon, Keith agent, Is walking with a cane as the result of a dislocated knee. Betty Braun, one of the featured dancers with William Seabury's company, left the act at the conclu- sion of the week at the Oakland (Cal.) Orpheum to go east for an operation. . Miss Braun was recently the victim of an accident while play- ing in Texas, and as a result will have to retire from the dancing stage. She was formerly with "Hitchy Koo" and the "Greenwich Vlllago Follies." James C. McCue of th? Walker Whiteside Co., is recovering f:\vo a serious operation performed at the Mercy Hospital, Toledo. His wife and mother are with him. Al. Darling, .manager of the Royal, has been confined to his room at the N. V. A. since Monday suffering from an attack of neuritis. Al. Gorman, manager of Dave Marion's "Snappy Snaps" (Colum- bia), is ill with pneumonia in Bos- ton. AUGUST BRUGGEMAN. August Bruggemann, 64, owner of the Empire theatre, Hoboken, died Feb. 24 in St. Mary's Hospital, came treasurer of Niblo's Gardens • . ► •>..♦.>. .'%,.*,, v > », < i. * .*.».» . s ^4-Stibspst;ior5V.y h/>£f jrvod aft tWfMt|?*wJ. idea is that the theatrical ^^\ r \ he 5 X cad LT of Musnc. and 14th 1 shop will not work out. for it has street theatre. He Jtined Wagen- hals and Kemper in 1905 as treas- urer of the Astor, but retired for a few. years and only recently returned to active work. failed on several occasions in the past when it was tried. The near- est thing to a "closed shop" that has been anything like successful in these parts is that existing among the cowboys and real range riders, who are working in pictures. They do not tolerate outsiders stepping in and riding, and usually when an outsider does take a chance* once Is sufficient, providing the boys don't "red light" him. Several years ago an attempt was made to organize the minor play- ers here, and a charter was secured from the A. F. of L. at the time, but in the words of one of the organ- izers, "the bunch would not stiek together." He makes a prediction that this will also be the case in the A. E A. if the closed shop is voted Into force and that it will eventually be the rock on which the actors' or- ganization will wreck itself. HUQH BRADY. Hugh Brady, 40, lately in vaude- ville, but for many years appearing in support of leading stars, died this week in the Greenwich Hos- Rev. Thomas Dixon came to New York this week to have an X-Ray taken preparatory to undergoing an operation. PRODUCTION ENGAGEMENTS Ruth Rose, for lead in the Toledo Stock Company, which opened Mon- day in "Captain Kidd. Jr." For Edgar McGregor's n<?w mu- sical farce, "A Dangerous Maid,'* Amelia Bingham. Juliette Day, Juanita Fletcher. Ada Meade. Creighton Hale, Vinton Freedley, Frederic Burt and Arthur Shaw (Chamberlain Brown). Margaret Dale, for "Tyranny of Love." Louise Foster, lead In "Happy New Year." Phyllis Povan, "Mr. Pirn Passes By." Gertrude Jevons, with the West- chester Players, Mount Vernon, N. Y. Claude King and Elizabeth His- don, for "The Night Cap." I IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED WIFE MARY WHO PASSED AWAY FEDRUARY lit*. 1921 MAY HER SOUL, Through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. THOMAS.J. RYAN pital, Greenwich, Conn., as the re- sult of heart failure. Previously, he had withstood for three hours an ordeal on the operating table, going under the knife without an anaes- thetic. Mr. Brady, who had traveled virtually every part of the world, formerly supported E. H. Sothern and was a member of the George Primrose Minstrels and Jeff De An- gelis' musical comedy company. ■■•:*..? *OUR DARLING^ INFANT SOX OF Bert and Vera Morrissey DIJCO MARCH 3d. 1010 He Hudded on Earth to Bloom in Hear en. ,f*. V' Hoboken. He had been ill only a short time. He was a prominent real estate operator and pollution. having twice been nominated for mayor of his city. ANNA MU8IN. Anna Musin, 64, a native of De- troit- and the wife of Prof, Qvlda JOHN D. CAREY. John D. Carey, former agent for the Barnum & Bailey. Forpaugh ic Sells Bros.. Buffalo Bill and 101 Ranch shows, died Sunday at his home in Venice, Cal. Until recently Auto for Every 15 Albany, March 2. There are 682,894 automobiles in Kew York State, an Increase of nineteen per cent, over last year, ac- cording to the official figures for the year, which closed January 31, as announced this week by "Jack" Lyons, the new Secretary of State. There are 624,257 passenger cars in the State, an increase of 77,664 for the twelve months, or seventeen per cent. In New York City there are 215,- 782 cars In the five boroughs, the registration shows. This is *ui in- crease of 37,341 over the registra- tion figures of a year ago. Passenger cars in the Metropolis total 14l>,922, an increase ot 23,172. The average in New Jfoi k State Is now a car to every fifteen persons. JUDGMENT REC0BD. Advance Theatre Enterprise Corp.; T . i Drennan; $59.20. wm. Sherrill; Commodore -Bilt- more Co.. Inc.; $189.20. C. R. Macauley Photoplays, Inc ; F - S. Triest; $530.80. I^eonce Perret; C. Gravay; $LM8.20. George Scarborough; H. Neagle et W.J $1,034.20. Monmouth Film Corp.; Btograph Co.; $3,69«.7!». Satisfied Judgment. Wilner & Romberg; M. OoM- water 1920. $190.05. Granted Dec, :ii THE TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL FAY MARBE MUSICAL COMEDY, VAUDEVILLE and PICTURE STAR * Specially engaged by the management of Carlton Terrace. Cleveland, Ohio, as their initial featured attraction commencing March 1. As popular in Cleveland as in New York. Musin, of the Belgian Conservatory of Music, died Monday at her New York home. She was a concert singer of note, having made two world lours. Dr. Frederic: J. V. Skiff, director of exhibits at the St. Louis Expo- sition and In charge of American exhibits at Paris, Tokio and other expositions, died of heart failure :.i Chicago Feb. 24. He had been head of the Field Museum of Natural History since 1894. Charles B. Holcomb, founder ot the Yale Glee Club, died in Tariff- viile, Conn.. Feb. 28. Re was 78 years old and an organist and com* poser of note. He founded the Yale Glee Club in 1860. John Habbsrton, 70, author of "Helens Babies," died Feb. 26. at Glen Ridge, N. J. He was for many years on the New York "Herald." Frank J. Urquhart, historian, editor and part owner of the New* ark "Sunday Call," died . Feb. 25. He was 56 years old. The sister of Walter C. Kelly died of pneumonia at Philadelphia, Feb. 23. Harry Trout, brother of Anna and Edward Trout, musical director with Thurston's Co., died at his IN MEMORY Or MY UKAIIKST PAL. MY MOTHK* Mrs. Mary A. Mclntyre Who Dl«i February Mth. 1921 JACK McINTYRE (PECK and McINTYRE) home in Altoona, Pa., Feb. 6, of typhoid pneumonia. The father of Leslie Jordan (Smith and Jordan) died Feb. 22 in San Diego of heart disease at the age of 64. He was at one time a member of the Irving Trio, acro- bats. Esther Morris* mother of Annie Morris, Fannie Van Beasley and grandmother of Grace Tremon. and IN LQVINO NIK WO 111 OF MY ANGEL MOTHER Who died February 14, 19*1. Age 74, in Rensselaer, Indiana. Ill ijFAKTlSKOKF.N SON IARLE REYNOLDS DONEQAN.I aunt of Sam Dick and Mike Ber- nard, died Feb. 25 at the home of a daughter in Brooklyn. Mrs. Lizzie Katx Mailtm, wife of Mallini (Max), the magician, died at Presbyterian Hospital. Chicago. She was 49 y^ars old. There are two children. Beatrice Dominguez, film actress, died Sunday in the Clara I Sart on Hospital. Loh Angeles, following an Operation for appendicitis. • *"• n ■ » • »'. . • i ■ ■ c l ■ .. ■'■ >' i. . . ...,;. )ti . .: Mrs. Mary A. Mclntyre, 67 years old. mother of Jack Mclntyre (Pecic and Melntyre) died Feb. 26. ;it h r home in llolvolve. Muks <-.. . i ; ..... xq'!