Variety (March 1921)

"" Friday, March 25, 1921 VAUDEVILLE JUNIOR ORPHEUMS BACK TO CHICAGO FOR THEIR BOOKINGS NEXT SEASON • The Junior Orpheura theatres, ow booked out of the Orpheum Circuit office* In New York, will turn to their base, 'the Western audeville Managers* Association a Chicago, and again be booked m that office commencing with ext season. The'move was decided upon Tues- day In New York at a conference attended by J. J. Murdock, Tlnk Humphries, Johr Nash, Asher X,evy, Col. William S. Butterfield, Mort Singer and Orpheum bookers, In the Palace theatre building. The change was precipitated through the resolve of Col. Butter- field to remove the bookings of his Michigan vaudeville circuit from the Chicago B. F. Keith office to the Keith office in New York. The Butterfield proposal hastily brought about the conference, at which the subject of the experiment this past season, following the reorganiza- tion of the Orpheum circuit, of booking the main tur.»8 for its prin- cipal Jur.lor houses in the mid-west came tip. The eventual,result is expected to bring more closely together in their business relations the Association and Keith offices in Chicago, which ocedpy adjoining offices in the State-Lake building. Another resolve of the confer- ence was that, commencing with the summer, a separate office would be bpened and maintained in New York city Jointly for the Keith Chi- cago office and Association, with a booking representative in charge. Several names for the post came be- fore the conference, but no one was decided upon. The western repre- sentative In New York will have authority to pass upon suitable ma- terial for the mid-west, booking it on the western list of full and cut week salaries. Tae conference concluded, that if Butterfield came east for his book- ings, together with the loss of the Junior Orpheums to the association, Chicago as a big time booking cen- ter could be counted upon as among the departed. It was with this yiew and the failure of the experiment in booking the Junior Orpheuma from New York this season that settled the return of the smaller Orpheum theatres to whence they came. Harry Lunetska has been booking the Junior Orpheums from New York, succeeding Nat Kalsheim, who came on from Chicago with the house. Kalsheim later returned to the association out there to book the remainder of its larger string. The transfer of the Junior Or- pheums to New York was made wjth the expectation there could be mjbre efficiency and expedition in consolidated booking of the main C^phcum Circuit along with the smaller time. It failed to work out, however, according to all reports, in any way, with salary and routing two of the most important factors. The Western houses, according to the story, booking from New York, have paid more for their shows than when receiving them from Chicago. This amount is said to have run from $300 to $500 weekly. The in- stance has been mentioned of a Junior Orpheum before having the Junior tacked onto it, and when booking from Chicago, paying $1,100 or $1,200 weekly for Its bill, to find the same grade of program coming mostly from New York running to $1,500 or $1,600. This in part is said to have contributed to a reported loss of $60,000 this season at Moline, IM. Slumping business is also count- •a up in the loss column. With the removal of the Western houses to the East the agents, booking through the association in Proposed Departure for East of Butter field Precipi- tates Change at Conference in New York—East- ern Booking Experiment Reported Unsatisfactory Chicago, found the glowing prom- ises of "routes east and west out of Chicago," made last summer, mere- ly glowing bunk.. They had diffi- culty in placing acts, made more difficult through a few of the turns for each of the Junior Orpheum bills being still booked out of Chicago. This hampered Chicago booking, as the association bookers were de- layed in action until the New York booking end of the bills was con- firmed. The condition also drove Western acts East and kept Eastern acts, here, until Chicago agents found it hard to secure desirable material, though it could be booked by them on their ground.. Most of the Chi- cago agents lost their best acts in the stalling processes that Chicago bookings fell into, while the small- timers booking out of Chicago bene- fitted accordingly, by giving decis- ive action. About 12 Junior Orpheums re- moved to New York with some in- dependent association bookings, such as Peoria and Cedar Rapids. These will return with the other houses. In the more friendly coalition that may follow this week's deci- sion the association may attempt to build up its bookings, also the Keith Chicago office. Each has been standing still for some time, with the association noticeable stagnant, made more so by the withdrawals of the Junior Orpheums. The decision for the Orpheums to go back West will be comforting news to agents and acts. Many of the Chicago agents booking in the association have been on the edge of accepting other connections through the scant promise in sight for next season. None of the Chi- cago agents was permitted to come into New York to establish his own agency, and have been forced to the unsatisfactory position of having a New York connection, with a New York agent, only. Tink Humphries is in charge of the Keith Chicago office; John J. Nash is manager of the association. was unanimously viewed as a dis- aster by the franchised agents and all others to whom continuation of Chicago as a substantial booking center is of interest. If Butterfield had gone, those Keith houses re- ferred to here as the Glen Burt cir- cuit (on Burt's book) were expected to go with him. The rest of Hum- phrey's men combine with these the Keith-Western wheel, which com- prises, exclusive of Butterfleld's houses, the following: Massilon. Marion, Hamilton, Middleton, Rich- mond, Terre Haute, JCokomo, Clin- ton, Fort Wayne, Huntington, Cj*aw- fordsville, Hammond, Detroit, Brant- ford, Muskegon, Owosso, Michigan Cty, Chicago Heights, Lafayette, Sault, Ste. Marie. Mich.; Sault Ste. Marie, Out.; Logansport, a new house in Evansvlile and several houses partly lined up in this section for next season. Butterfield controls 24 theatres, including Ills nearly hhisfied vau'de-' ville house in Lansng, Mich., which opens April 14. Not all of these play vaudeville, the Michigan magnate dabbling largely in Alms and legitimate attractions. The vaudeville contingent now is Kala- mazoo (Regent), Battle Creek (Bi- jou), Jackson (Orpheum), Flint (Palace), Saginaw (Jeffers-Strand), Port Huron (Majestic). The Lan- sing house will be called the Strand, and is in a business arcade, making it the foremost structure in the ■tate capital. hooking from New York, Butter- field would have had to route his shows from Grand Rapids, which is a Sunday closing city, making the Butterfield theatres Monday open- ers. It was the consensus of opinion in the State-Lake Building that if the main portion of the Humphrey houses had gone east the W. V. M. A. would have been ruined and it would have killed Chicago as a mar- ket for acts and the associated in- dustries that thrive off such a mar- ket. OIL STOCK GYPPERS SELLING IN SOUTHWEST WORKERS EARN LESS. Factory Pay in New York at New Low Level. Chicago, March 23. News of the proposed Butterfield move leaked out on the W. V. M. A.- Keith floor, and while not publicly discussed it rose to a local sensation among the Interested group when "Tink" Humphrey and John J. Nash left for New York Sunday. All sorts of wild reports were In the air, among them the entire Keith office here was to move cast, that all the Association and Orpheum, Jr., book- ings would return to Chicago in the fall, that many W. V. M. A.-booked houses not owned by the circuit wOuld combine and demand book- ings from the east. The last of these rumors was founded on Eddie Hay man's trip to New York, llay- jnan is heavily interested in the Kedzie, and was at one time a book- ing omcial of the W. V. It A. It is known that another strong house in the booking string recently sent a representative to interview Orpheum Officials on a request to be hooked from the Talacc Theatre Building. The Butterfield proposed switch Albany N. Y., March 23. Showmen in industrial towns will be interested in the statement sent out this week by the New York State Industrial Commission show- ing that the average wage of fac- tory workers is on the decline. The February figures show that the average pay Is $28.77 per worker weekly, 84 cents less than In Janu- ary and $2.16 less than in October, 1920. "The drop in factory workers' earnings from January to Febru- ary," says the statement, "is chiefly the result of reductions Li wage rates and part-time work. Observ- ance of Lincoln's Birthday was a minor factor, while in a numb r of plants smaller earnings were re- ported as u, result of the return to work of many o" the lower paid em- ployees. Some plants, however, reported aa increase in number of hours worked, which partly offset the reductions caused by the above factors. The increases in working hours were due to the usual sea- sonable demands or to a partial re- vival in business activity. "The largest reduction in aver- age weekly earnings from January to February is a decrease of $7.29 reported in the shipbuilding Indus- try, due largely to the elimination of overtime. The stone, glass, Jew- elry and silverware and iron and steel Industries each show de- creases ranging from $3 to $4 from January to February Reductions of $1 to $3 appear in machinery and electrical goods, automobiles, Instru- ments and appliances, furniture, fur goods, drugs and chemicals. "The chief gains In average earn- ings reported in February were in the cooking and heating app iratus, leather, shoes, silk goods, men's furnishings, women's clothing and furnishings and millinery indus- tries. The increase in weekly earn- ings in the boot and shoe industry w,as $4.78 and was due to the re- sumption of full time operations in many plants." CALLED TO COURT Cormlaint Over Pat, Jr.'s Appear - . ance in "Love Birds." Pat Rooney and Marion Bent were summoned to the 64th street court Tuesday on the complaint of Officer Marque West, acting for the Children's Society, on the allega- tion their son, Pat Rooney, Jr., ap- peared in one performance of "Love Birds," in which the couple are starring at the Apollo. Magistrate McQuade asked Rooney what he had to say, Pat re- plying he was to give a benefit per* formance in aid of the Irish Funa this week, in New York and Brook- lyn, and he wanted to break the youngster in. He also said he had seen other youngsters on the s+age and believed it was all right. The magistrate informed him it was necessary to have a permit for young Pat for all public perform- ances, otherwise he was liable to arrest. The case was dismissed with the warning. The youngster is 12 years of age and attends the Peekskill, N. Y. Academy. Artist Tells of Fake That Proved Costly. Oil stock and lease promoters in the Southwest continue to concen- 4*&ta» • oo • »vawety- ,^lj>#ye*o- » going. through that territory, according to letters received by Variety fo'low- lng its description of these opera- tions. One artist declares he was per- suaded to invest several hundred dollars on the recommendations of a pair of promoters, who were for- merly vaudeville players, but now are oil stock sellers in Texas. They represented that their proposition was a producing well' and got Va- riety's correspondent to buy in. When he discovered that their statements did 1 not tally he under- took an investigation and learned that instead of selling oil, they were actually buying fifteen barrels a day to provide fuel for their drill- ing machine. Relating his experi- ence, this performer says: "These fake oil companies seem to prey principally on the performer. I was through there recently on the Loew time and I know by experience the cunning trickery they use to get the cash from the unwise investor. They cannot get a dime from the wise ones who know. "Dozens of artists are being snared every month, and a warning should be given to the people play- ing this territory* The greater number of concerns who are solicit- ing stage people are practically worthless and a warning would have the effect of making victims lay off.'" EDDIE C LARK BACK. Author-Actor Returning to Vaude- ville, in Character Skit. CELIA BLOOM ENGAGED. Interstate Circuit May Loss Its New York Booker. .11 .. JJJ.-^U M THINfc WHAT HOTELS COST YOU WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE 40% OF THIS AMOUNT? THINK WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN TO YOU OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS BECOME YOUR OWN LANDLORD V "" s l>end 20 weeks per year In and around New York. You pay from $4 to $7 per day for a room and bath. *\>r this amount on our plan we can soli you a beautiful apartment .from four to Sit rooms, and at the end of about six years you have a paid-up share in city property which Is yours valued at from six to eight thousand dollars. In other words, you have saved through our plan four to six thousand dollars. You know hotels pay * f big dividends on rate charged vou. YOUR APARTMENT CAN BE RENTED WHEN YOU AI1R ON THE ROAD AND WILL CARRY ITSELF. Jackson Heights is 20 minute* bv Subway, which runs twenty-four hours P'-r day from Orand Central Sta- tion. Same distance from Central New York as 135th St. .Just think golf, tennis, home surroundings, 4-5-6- Ite has been a performer for years. Let him give you the actor's angle on this room apartments. Ask for FRANK SHEEN, proposition. Take Queen shoro Subway Corona Lino at Grand Central Station, *et off M 2i!h Street, go to 2?nd S'i •■• ' Anaitmoht*. PHONE NEWTOWN 2740. QUEENSBORO CORPORATION Report says Celia Bloom, chief booker for the Interstate Circuit (vaudeville) of Texas, Is engaged to wed a non-professional. Following: the ceremony, Miss Bloom, It Is said, will retire from business life. She has been the In- terstate's booker for several years, starting with the circuit in Chicago under Karl Hoblitzelle, then and now its president. Miss Bloom gradually advanced Into her pres- ent position and some seasons ago removed the Interstate'* booking headquarters to the Orpheum cir- cuit's suite In. the Palace theatre building, New York. The Interstate, through its iso- lated location, covering all the prin- cipal cities of Texas only, with some minor bookings in the Southwest, has been generally known as one of the hardest booking propositions in vaudeville. The circuit has pros- pered under Hoblitzcllc's direction until ttr is now a tower o* strength in amusements and financially in its domain. Edward (or Eddie) Clark Intends returning to vaudeville. He Will reassume his position in "One" in a character skit, framed by himself and with if rs. Clark at the plana It is several years since Eddie Clark appeared in vaudeville. Since then he has gained renown as an author in the legitimate, having having written several plays and adapted many others. The old acting bee, though, has stung Mr. Clark, probably for the reason he has two unique vaudeville records to his credit. One is that Edward Clark and "His Winning Widows" of many years ago was the first "girl act" vaudeville knew. The other is that Clark created the character of the racetrack tout for the vaudeville stage, where he did it many seasons. Mr. Cla.k will likely include his "tout" creation la the new act. AMATEURS NOW REGULARS Syracuse Adding to Rank*. Vaudeville's CHECK ON BUSYB0DIES. Legislative Move to Curb Restric- tion of Liberty. Albany. N. Y., March 23. Another step to meet "blue law" a citation and curb reform busy- bodies was taken in the New Yorl< Legislature this week when Assem- blyman Herbert A. Zimmerman in- troduced a bill making it a mlsde- m< tnor to, "maliciously, frivolously or without«intention in good faith to prosecute, to make s complaint to any magistrate or police official.' T' b measure is aimed to prevent restriction of personal liberty l»y • "on of the authorities on com- plainl only. Syracuse, N. Y., March 23. Vaudeville is gaining new recruits from the ranks of Syracuse am- ateurs. Angelo Santi, of this city, well known as a vocalist here- abouts will team with Roy LaPearl. Santt made his debut at the Bijou, Battle Creek, Mich., March 18. The Salt City Quartet, a combina- tion of four World War veterans who have been appearing locally, will also start in vaudeville short- ly. The quartet Is composed of If. Koegal, L*. Arsenian, C. Mott and it. Wldtman. Nell McGlllvenay, local, In the Keith's ttyouts last week, assumed a place in Keith's regular bill this week. PHIL BAKER A HUSBAND. Phil Baker, who has been appear- ing on the Amsterdam Roof, sailed for England Tuesday on the Aqui- tanla, taking with him a wife. Baker was wed last week to Vivian Vernon, of the sextet of spe- cial show girls with "Sally" at the Amsterdam. Miss Vernon, who is 17 years old. left "Sally" Saturday. I'pon his return to New York. Baker Will start rehearsals with the "Greenwich Village Follies." KEANE IN SKETCH. Robert Kmmet Keane has Aeserte* tin ranks of the rnonologists and is appearing in a three-people sketch. which includes Claire Whitney, late of plcturedom. The new turn opened th.j week at i kstader.S, Wilmington. DoL *• ; ►»• *•>- >-/»■