Variety (March 1921)

Friday, I.Iarc:i 11, 1921 . -f. ZSSZJ. EDITORIALS it KIETY Tr»d*-M»ru R«riat« r «d Pabll«b«* WmSI? t>y VAKIKTT. lae. •1MB SILVERMAN. Prealdttt ||4 WMt 44th 8tr«*t N«w York City SUBSCRIPTION ft foreign ft StngU ooplea, tt otnfa youLxii: «-** tfo. 3 A few years ago kettle drums Were generally thought to be ex- clusively assigned to symphonic orchestras and bands of the aug- mented type but within the past Ave years the bowl shaped instruments with the resounding tone have come into general use throughout the larger vaudeville houses, also some of the intermediate ones, and in the better picture palace which carry musical accompaniments to 20 pieces and up to 60. It was a mat- ter of comment not so long ago if a drummer in a two-a-day carried a set of larger drums which then con- sisted sjf two but it remained for the concert organizations and large sized combinations playing before the screen to increase that duo to three, and now, at the Capitol, New York, the tympany instrumentalist Is surrounded by a quartet of his drums. This, as far as known, con- stitutes the high mark regaidtng the number of kettle drums one man handles in any musical organization now in New York. The dance orchestras may be the next to take up the assumed neces- sity of these instruments, if the price permits, though the only "Jass" kettle drummer ever heard was at the Hippodrome, London, during the run of "Hello Ragtime" there in the sumer of '13. The drums, ten years ago, cost $80 apiece and were not sold excepVin pairs. A benefit performance for the Avath Israel Synagogue was held at the Republic Sunday, March 6. Th« synagogue was named after the father of the Cooper boys, Harry, Irving, Joe and Bert, actors and agents in the profession. Among the acts appearing were the Howard Bros., Phil Baker, Aileen Stanley, Charles King, Joe Browning, Davis and Rich and Will Morrisey, master of ceremonies. N. C. Oranlund and Bol Turek ran the stage. Frederick E. Goldsmith, In behalf of M. S. Bentham, the vaudeville agent, has begun suit for $220 in (the Third District Municipal Court against Ada Forman, of the Century Roof show, for back ^commissions alleged due. The plaintiff alleges a contract calling for $55 weekly and he Is suing for four weeks back fees. Miss Forman receives $400 with the show, according to the eomplaint. When Chris Egan of the Colonial moves up to manage Keith's Ford- bam, he will take with him from the Colonial Benny Roberts and the en- tire orchestra. Superintendent Rob- inson and assistant Jimmy Quinn. (William Bartlet now first violin at the Fifth Avenue will supplant Rob- srts as leader at the Colonial. A Virginia Pierson and Sheldon Lewis, now in vaudeville, will sail for England in June to appear in their present vehicle in England, the Continent and the Orient. Henry Beliit, owner and producer of the •ct, salffSstune 4 to do the advance .work. Ds Armour (Franklin Charles and Co.) and Louis Perez, both hand balancers, are perfecting two tricks following which they will challenge »«y hand balancing team to match them. The challenge will be an- nounced at the next N. V. A. Bo- hemian night. Harry Rapf and Nat Cordon have «*ned Bobby Connelly and Dot Wil- liams for a vaudeville tour on the Keith Circuit. They became in- terested in the children through their *ork i n tne Vera ( ; orclon fllm lea . we, "The Greater Love". ii Adelaide and Hughes are i ready to produce in the spun r '«w pie ( p f "The Cameo G muftis comedy, lyrics by ^i»i-k, music by James V. Mo ii flaking ; their rl," a (I rant aco. Nora Bayes has adopted *>y from ;, \,vv Voik o«]> J«i named him Norman Kay ni - The ( hild is z years o .i little ha nags ph t Ior- ld. SO THIS IS PARIS! Comes the comment on events from Variety's Pari, correspondent that the deputies from the rural districts are afraid to support a measure designated to Increase the government subsidies granted to the Paris Opera "because their constituents would resent a vots Imposing upon the taxpayers the cost of maintaining a chorus In the French capital." Can you conceive of the gay Paris under the menace of the straight- laced, narrow-minded French peasant. It Is unbelievable, or would be unbelievable, If you did not stop to think that Paris is not so unlike New York, and the French peasant Is the duplicate of the up-state farmer of St. Lawrence cour.ty, who Is at ihis moment doing his utmost to impose a Vutfitaif brfboath ufTon t&V metropolis. - - i "" It looks funny on the surface, but the curious parallel has Its serious side. This reform movement seems to be almost world-wide, so much so that one wonders how far it is the outcome of the war. Civilization and society practically broke down under the stress of the conflict, and all human restraints went into the discard. The social licerse that characterized the war-torn countries was reflected in the nations at a distance, and it is the belief of many writers that America's reform wave merely marks the swing of the pendulum to the opposite extreme. There is this comfort to the liberty-loving victims of, blue-nosed re- form In America. We are an adaptable people. Extremes work their own cure quickly. Presently reform bigotry will spent itself by its own excess and will get back to a sane basis of responsible conduct. INSIDE STUFF ON VAUDEVILLE. In December a diving act went to Cuba, the routine calling for aquatio stunts and dancing. Two of the flvo girls in the turn are blondes. After the second week one left the act, and the following week another fol- lowed. Another of the girls Anally withdrew, two girls remaining. One performed all the dives and the other danced, but the work was too difficult and the turn was closed at the end of six weeks. It has been playing one of the parks near Havana. The three girls are said to still be in Cuba. BUZZARDS OF THE SHOW BUSINESS. Elsewhere in this issue of Variety passing mention is made of two cases where human buzzards, part of the horde of cowardly birds who circle around the carcass of the show business, have been discovered at their favorite pastime—preying on trusting girls. In one instancs the buzzard has been trapped and is in the Tombs facing a possible ten-year sentence for defiling a young girl wno answered his ad for picture pupils. In the other ce.se, the buzzards have flown after hiring about half a hundred young women as models in a "Revue de Fashion," and failing to pay them the $60 weekly they promised. Instead, the girls, through the generosity of the audience at the Hotel Pennsylvania, were*enabled to split a purse which netted them $1.70 each. As the days wear a"way and lit fit* int6'r;muTon r y secured teg.ii'dirTg the Shubert vaude/ille, the certainty becomes almost fixed that it is the Shuberts* Intention to play the composite type of vaudeville, known as the revue kind, and best illustrated through the Eddie Cantor show the Shuberts now have on the road. Some guesses made by show students who were in a position to gather some facts for their base, appear to have been widely wrong. One of the.se was that Frank Ciodsol, who is active in Goldwyn, and who also, it is claimed, will direct the Shubert vaudeville (notwithstanding denials probably made for business reasons) sought through the Shubert vaude- ville acquisitions to build up a CJoldwyn chain of theatres for picture exhibition purposes. This, it was said, would do away with the enormous picture exchange expense now bearing so heavily as overhead on all fllm distributors. That guess carried with it the Shuberts would lend vaude- ville to the p^ture end, giving a combined big time picture and vaude- ville entertainment Better versed people, though, have said there is nothing In the Goldwyn story, and also that the Shuberts will not play pictures in connection with their proposed vaudeville. It leaves the conjecture tn the minds of these t - mi.* tl i whll the Shuberts do int'--" to p*-~**A vaudeville, they will present it in the guise of the revue and embellish it to the extent that they will proclaim Shubert vaudeville as a new and another kind. Other than the above and the attempts of the Shuberts adherents to obtain publicity for one reason or another through their supposed con- nection with Shubert vaudeville, there has been little of moment In the Shuberts' vaudeville of any news importance for the past two or three weeks. In neither of these cases was the show business, as such, involved. But you can bet you last dime the show business, as a whole, is damned and condemned wherever the stories of the victims are read or told. And the show business is helpless to defend itself against this sort of thing. So much time nowadays is taken up defending themselves against at- tacks from the injside, the organizations of managers—to whose interest it naturally would be to stop these exterior raids against the good repute of the business—have no time to investigate such things. And so long as the legitimate managers and the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry are engaged with trouble-makers within their own ranks, these fake revues and fake "movie studios*' are going to blossom and thrive. Why not let all the elements of the entertainment business, legit, vaude- ville, burlesque, pictures and the unions involved—get together and form a committee to be known as the Vigilantes, whose duty it will be to in- vestigate these non-professional shows and, where they find signs of crookedness, present the matter to the district attorney. This same suggestion goes for the reformers who eat up millions of columns of newspaper space annually with their vaporings against the "Indecent theatrical business," while ignoring these buzzard banquets which have no connection with the show business. FRILLS AND FASHIONS By ALICE MAC The 81st Street had an exceptionally good bill, headed by that clever little person, Kitty Doner, with Brother Ted and Sister Rose, who found no difficulty in establishing themselves at once as favorites. Miss Doner Is immaculate in her boys* togs, and could put many a male artist to shame for style and cut. Walter Newman has an amusing sketch dealing with the profiteering landlords of today. The young woman who takes it upon herself to teach him a lesson or two wore a charming frock of dark brown satin with scalloped hem, outlined with black sequins, that also contributed the circles on the skirt. One noticed when Miss Garland walked a founda- tion was revealed of burnt orange that corresponded with the flowers that trimmed the turned-up brim of the brown hat. Van Cleve and Pete is very similar to an act recently seen at the American as "Black, White and Useless." Both acts use a mule and a black-faced comedian. Betty Morgan with partner Jim wore a becoming gown of saxe blue velvet that had the material puffed half way down the skirt, with a single rose resting at one side, but the white satin with the roses trailing down the side still remains the favorite. The Morgans not only appeared in their own act, but played a couple of tunes with Ben Bernie. "The Powder Puff Revue," at the Columbia, has two comedians that are extremely funny, and do not depend on anything risque to provoke laughter. Jack Pearl, who uses a German dialect, held the stage for one whole scene, with laughter greeting nearly every word. A splendid straight to him was Ben Bard, who made an appearance worthy of any Broadway house. Thero were girls besides. First there were "Six Little Coppers" in royal blue velvet suits with panties so short tney were hardly present. Then we were introduced to Gladdle Riley, attired in a full black velvet frock, that had three bands of white ribbon on the hem of the skirt, which also decorated the short sleeve. By the way, Miss Riley bea.v. quite a resemblance to Marilynn Miller. Sailor suits were becoming to the girls, and made a pretty background for Leona Karl in her song. 'On the Good Old Pirate Schooner Jazz.'' For this she wears a pale blue satin tunic effect, veiled with a deeper blue chiffon, s)i.dc high necked, with a row of tiny gold buttons down the front. Smart was Florence Tslbot lu gold cloth thai had the trousers long and tight fitting, laced at the sides with dark bine ribbon. The bodice was plain and had the one-sleeve effect. But lni vampire costume was more striking, made on straight, clingiiiK lines of tv-'V crepe de chine, with small circles of j<-t her< end there, while the sleeves to the eihow were of black satin, from which hung gray chiffon edged With seal This gown was really one of the handsomest worn during ins show. Simple but dainty was Miss Riley In her frock of glossy whits satin, the ovei skirl edged with loops of cpral beads which also outlined the round neck. Miss Riley Stopped the sho* with her "Blues" number and dance, | Two Winter Garden girls were charged last week with having been responsible for the loss of jewelry from a "John." The choristers were summoned to the 123d street police court, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. The Garden management appeared for the girle and vouched for their good character. A woman in the Times Square district who has been specialising in the booking of people for cabarets,- clubs and "stags," may be Implicated in the arrests during the raid on Odd Fellows Hall at Forsyth street. An alleged "Immoral" performance was raided by Inspector Coleman of the Vice Squad. The performers concerned were arrested charged with giving an immoral performance and the spectators charged with disorderly conduct.. The "talent'' included a male magician, a male story teller and three women, one of whom is accused of dancing in the "nude." The principals involved waived examination and were held for Special Sessions where it was expected that the trial set down for yesterday (Thursday) would bring out testimony impiicating the Times Square booker. "Tin pan alley" threatens to move still further uptown again. From its former 28th street location in the halcyon days of yore, it gradually oozed up to 45th and 4tith streets, and now a concerted move by three or four publishers u A to 1566 Broadway (the Roseland Dance Hall Building) brings it still further uptown. The Richmond Music Co., Harry Von Tilzer, the McKinley Music Co., and the Harrison Music Co., all have leased space there already and will move into their new quarters be- tween aow and May. A new concern, the Strand Music Publishing Co., Incorporated for $5,000, is also reported as having secured space there. The Forster Music Co., of Chicago, has taken over the old Richmond company's quarters on Broadway and 46th street* Abe Olman and Dave Wohlman are in charge. "The Polish Jew" given at the Metropolitan Wednesday night for the first time was of especial interest along Broadway. The opera was sung in English. It is adapted from the melodrama "The Bells." Prominent in the cast was Chief Capaulicon, the Indian baritone, who has been in vaudeville for a number of seasons. Almost yearly grand opera hat ac- cepted singers from vaudeville. Dorothy Jardon was so honored two years ago, and fast season Rose Ponzillo, now known as Rosa Ponzelle, drew attention by leaving vaudeville and making a mark !n the Met organization. "The Polish Jew" has been given an excellent production. It is in two aets. The cleaning up process in vaudeville, inaugurated by the Keith offiVe, has resulted in two songs being closely scrutinized. One is "I'm Gonna Do It If I Like It, and I Like It" (Berlin), which is reported to have been ordered off the Keith tune. It was said regarding this number that one line of the lyric, which could easily have been altered, brought it into disrepute with the big time vaudeville men. Someone singing the hong was called into the Keith office and is reported to have been advised it would be necessary to change that line. Later the order was issued for- bidding the song. The other song is reported as a special number written for Margaret Young by a Chicago writer. When submitted to the Keith people, it was barred. The Music Publishers' Protective Asso- ciation has taken up the subject of suggestive lyrics and the matter is again to come up before the assembled publisher*. In these days of the blue law fanatics, the questionable lyric is certain to receive extra- ordinary attention. It has been the custom for some time among the golf clubs sear the Interstate Circuit towns In Texas to extend courtesies to the vi: king artists when given introductions through local managers. The Increas- ing number of golf fans among artists has swelled this to a considerable item in the social life of the professionals and the atmosphere of the Texas links. Actors were very popular at the clubs until recently, when one heel—one »f those who appear in every so many In any walk of life- left the state owing bills at four clubs in four successive towns: Dallas, Houston. Fort Worth, and San Antonio. The manager of the theatre in one town paid the account, about $25, and forwarded the receipted bill to New York with a letter explaining the affair. At the other clubs invitations to artists were withdrawn until another actor, an ardent fan. paid up the three remaining delinquent bills for the departed brother. The culprit is a male single, well known in all vaudeville walks, whose flruinchii tricks have frequently made him the subject of unsavory comment all over the map. In ChlcagO recently a woman single and a male single were on one bill. On one slds of the electric sign her name was on top and his bottomed, on the other side, vice versa. The woman complained, saying she had a headline contract, and she would quit unions the one sign was changed, so that she topped on both. This was done. Then the man squawkrd, saying that, as long as his name had been up, it was a gratuitous and direct insult to change it, and it showed him up, and he would quit unless the si^n was restored as a'- first. The manager ordered it so. The elec- trician protested against for the third time rearranging the sign, and the manager explained about the threats to quit. The electrician said: "1*11 settle that—ill quit." And he did. . m .