Variety (March 1921)

Friday, March 25, 1921 VARIETY ■ i CABARET ing time. A couvert charge of one dollar Is laid for the supper hours. Billy Arnold's American Jazz Band, which haa been playing in England for several years, is now at the Municipal Casino, Cannes, France. Arnold will pay America a visit 1-. June, returning to take up an. engagement at the Caaino, Deauvilie. Liquor peiees have been fluctuat- ing of late. With the withdrawal jmt permits, rye started to shoot ahead in cost of all the other divi- sion* briskly advancing to $75 and $81 a case, in lots. That was the .'most marked increase, rye having been hvld pr* ously as low as $45 .-*. ease, peolers stated they thought T y would advance beyond Scotch in a short time, but their predic- tion was dimmed with the Issuance of former Attorney General Palm- er's oplnlin, that carried with it a reassurance for the liquor f men. During (he brief but troublesome period when it looked as though Scotch would either come over the borders or not get out at all, Scotch went to $10o-$ll0 a case, in lots. OIn dropped down to $50 and below, but with no guarantee of genuine- ness. Gin has been a ticklish liquor te buy of late and the same mey be •aid of rye. So much phoney of ^ Bob v Murphyf llA ? r 1 op " e *- or °JL *w both have been around that even New K ™ m0 ™ * ' ^ ^^ , N * Z'' ... i .^..j,,.. presented the premiere of his the Wise ones have grown skeptical. * . ' T r 2 „ :V ^ w i - _«.«- Rainbow Room 1 vue" at the Champagne has appeared recently . . , , __. . , * ■ Z *i»i <, *v~,~ #„-~~*..i., cabaret in the hotel last Wednes- in larger quantities than formerly - capacity attend- with prices varyirg. One offer of an J e of dinors . Twelve artists com. a standard brand Pommery) at $To reyu .^ a case with the buy of 100 cases j made a condition was the lowest price wine has hit eince prohibition. That offer was only open though for about four hours. Other known brands have held around $110-$120 a case, In single cases, with the price going as low as $100 in in- stances. Wine, like rye and gin, Is always subject to suspicion around New York. One brand is so openly suspected that when it's genuine the liquor people won't believe it. Cordials are commencing to come In with the best known held at good prices. The demand is strong, but not strong enough to make large cargoes immediately profitable. While New York, also alpng the Atlantic Coast, probably is seeing the lowest liquor prices just no 7, the farther one goes west the higher It comes. Chicago is. badly off for liquor, as peculiar as that may seem. Private stocks are held there -In plenty but the case or bottle trade Is nearly barren, with rye, retail (not in a restaurant), bringing at the rate of $20 or $-5 a bottle, with it being almost impossible to secure, a case quotation. .On the Coast the condition is the same. In New York of late in the retail places where liquor may be pur- chased by the bottle, the sale of whiskies has pushed up the sale of w0D. While some places have been cjftrglng $30 and $35 for a quart of wffte, the usual charge has been $25. Vffih the whiskies sky-rocketing in prices and reaching the same ajnount per quart, the buyers evi- <£ntly thought they might just as 7091 have wine for the same money, Hfn the tables reminding one often oijthe old days. A restaurant man, asked how ranch be was selling, replied the eeHlng had been dented very much through people bringing in their own. At the time anyone known in the place would have been served, Jbut Tew ordered, though almost every table had its liquor of one kind or another. With corkage mentioned, the restarauteur said tfibre wasn't much chance of mak- ing a corkage charge excepting once tjj a while when someone would ask tmt a bottle of wine be cooled. In an office the other day a simple teat was made of phoney rye that mar be of value to others. Two bottles bearing the same label were on the table. The persons around knew one bottle was phoney. Each bottle was well shaken, causing babbles to appear on the surface. The bubbles of one bottle almost In- stantly disappeared, while the other remained for perhaps 60 seconds or more. The long bubbling bottle was the genuine one. It's nearly a cer- tain test, better than any degree tester, but It can only be used for rye. Scotch bubbles* quickly die out. It's safe to say any rye that will not hold its bubbles for 30 seconds at the least should be shied away from. Labels, bonded paraphernalia and oher symptoms of the genuine that may be found on or around a bottle mesn nothing. The bootleggers have bottling establishments where they can frame anything, from the bottles themselves and the labels to the stuff inside Not so long ago bottles that hnd the genuine labels were selling for $150 each, empty. The conversion of Thomas Healy's Golden Glades from its lee rink eabaret to a dance salon looks to have been a shrewd move. Hcaly's top floor has been picking up in business since the premiere of the ballroom three weeks ago. The music at Hcaly's Is one of the at- late. Twice In one week the police walked into the place and removed women who were intent on* doing some Wild dancing, some going so far as to remove clothing while dancing. No publicity was given to either of the entrances by. the police. tractions. a. Baldwin Sloane framed up the musical combination of 10 pieces with Columbo as his concertmeister, Mr. Sloane leading. With the removal of the ice in the centre of the room and a boarded dance flooring replacing it, the en- tire atmosphere of the Glades has been changed. # an$l f$r the . better. Dinner Is served at si* and dancing j weekly, "against' one-haIf the cover is continuous thereafter until clos- charges and a percentage on sales. INSIDE STUFF .ON LEGIT Should an author receive royalty on the gross of a guarantee per* formance or simply on the guarantee and not over that ? This question' was put to Marc Klaw by Sam Shipman, who, as he says, after several years suddenly occurred to him that he was not getting all that he should. He fortwlth went to Marc Klaw and the latter's reply was that in the case of guarantee performances he (Klaw) always paid hig authors the May Leslie is in charge of the Paradise Room of Reisenweber's. Sophie Tucker is in charge of the room downstairs, with Miss Tucker receiving a guarar>>ee . c£ fl^&OA royalties, accruing with the guarantee.a^d over that in the event, tbarjine., gross 'on a guarantee was over the original estimate'.*'' Shipman then went to William Harris, Jr., and put a similar question to him declaring that where the guarantee was topped by a new gross he was entitled to more royalty on "East Is West." Harris's comment was that he wanted to be "in Klaw's class," and that thereafter Shipman would And himself reimbursed for any losses. in royalty that he might have suffered as a result of the guarantee system. Shipman declared that he has been enriched as a result to the extent of $1,600 so far, and more to come. It also appears that A. H. Woods will have to pay Shipman and Hoff- man, co-authors of "Friendly Enemies," an additional sum of money as a result of Shipman's sagacity. Shipman called the accounting depart- ment of the Wood's office in the matter, and the latter is said to be coming through. ( Walter Windsor opened a show at the Mayflower restaurant last week. The 14-people revue is titled "It's All In Fun," written by A. L. Haase, Windsor's general manager, and pro- fessional manager for the McKlnley Music Co. in New York. A new Windsor show is scheduled to go in- to Somers', Brooklyn, nert Monday, also with 14 people. The piece Is titled "Misses of Melody Lane," with lyrics and music by Haase. •»»-*•■ 1921," and was staged by Earl Lind- say, B; 4 rnice Ecaumon^, a dashing brunette, walked off with first honors on the opening night with her toe dancing. Miss Beaumont is a nifty dancer and made a big hit, being called upon for several en- cores. Gertrude Spindler, as the pr.ima donna, has a good singing voice, and ri"als fdiss Beaumont for premier honors. Peg~y Randall, the ingenue, scored in popular songs, and Helen Devere pleased in several eccentric dance numbers. Harry Jans was well received as the Juvenile. The chorus, which displayed abil- ity as dancers and singers, and is a good looking bunch. comprises Grace r!^. May Fox. Jerry Trevor, Betty Brown, Blossom Saunders, Bobby Valle, Betty Campbell and Elsie Lewis. The revue is booked for four weeks, giving two perform- ances nightly. Gelt's band of six pieces, organized . by Mr. Murphy, furnishes the music. Nr^cover charge is made for the dinner ihow. a table d'hote being served for $2, but $1 a person Is charged after 9 o'clock. The cabaret, popular since the opening In January, Is packed nightly, and patrons are turned away after the theatres because of the limited capacity. Mr. Murphy is now preparing another revue to put on when the present one ter- minates. When the Dave Marion Inn at Tom's River, N. J., reopens May 15. it will cover a space of two city blocks, With 110 rooms, having been reconstructed during the winter from a small structure- with 30 rooms. Dabney's Society Orchestra opened at the Martinique, Atlantic City, last week. Assemblyman James H. Caulfield, Jr., Republican, of Brooklyn, this week Introduced a bill designed to regulate the manufacture and sale of beer for medicinal purposes. The idea is to anticipate the recent rul- ing of former U. S. Attorney Gen- eral A. Mitchell Palmer, which would loosen up the dispensing of the foaming fluid. The Caulfield bill adds a new section to the public health law prohibiting manufacture or sale of beer for medicinal pur- poses unless the principal ingredi- ents are hops or malt. Under its terms the health commissioner shall determine whether the use of these elements makes the beer a medi- cine. Tait's downtown, San Francisco, is giving a rather imposing cabaret performance. Burt Hall, formerly a feature at Hcaly's Golden Glades, Is producing and appearing at the head of the show, which Is known as "Burt Hall's All Star Revue." While other downtown cafes have discontinued the cover charge on week days, Tait's has strengthened Its entertainment and increased the cover charge from 60 to 75 cents. Six good principals and eight first rate girls Are enough in themselves to Insure cabaret entertainment of the better sort, and this revue has that and then some. There is Dorothy Valegra who is Burt Halls partner, having appeared with him at Healy s, and also w^th the "Little Whopper," which stranded out here. She Is good looking, with a good figure, a clever dancer and a plead- ing picture at all times. Eunice Vernille is another dancer of the interpretive and loose-jointed and high-kioklng sort. She Is tall, beautiful, graceful and lends charm to the revue. Edna Malone, recently added to the show, is vivacious, and a lively dancer who can do classical stuff, as well as the jazzy kind. Miss VernlUe Is considered a "find" out this way. Helen Hughes, a mezzo- soprano, fills in between numbers satisfactorily, and Hazel Randolph a pretty Ingenue, leads a couple of the number acceptably. Burt Hall Is a nifty juvenile who sings a little, but his neat dancing with his part- ner gives the show a lot of class. Hall stages the numbers and de- serves much credit. The costumes are pretty and flashy. The line-up has Alice Blake, Laurie Beedle, Nancy Zann, Barbara Sherwood, Helen Snow, Mary Elree. Elvira Ervllle and Jean Beban. A better looking bunch would be hard to And anywhere. Herb Meyerlink's or- chestra furnishes the music for both the show and the public dancing be- tween shows. Business Is good at Tait's. A musical show which has been working it* way back from the coast was closed last week after a season of 30 weeks. The owner ef the show figuring the gross on the season for the attraction found that it had played to $200,000. A survey of the expenses of the' company showed that the management had lost $10,000 regardless of the apparently large gross, for a road attraction, without figuring in the coat of the production whlph had been paid for last season. Business in the south which at one time was reported strong for musical attractions has fallen off materially of late. A musical show with a Broadway reputation played to a gross of $680 for four days hist week In Memphis. ; • - • • The manager of "The Girl in the Limousine** which played two per- formances in Bridgeport, Conn., Monday was informed after the evening performance the company owed the; house $17 on the day. The show played the house on a percentage basis, «'••>., At a dinner tendered David Be'asco by the Authors and Composers Society Sunday William A. Brady i was assigned the last "spot" for speakers. Mr. Brady started: "I see in Variety that Mr. E. F. Albee has inserted a notice in the Keith house programs abeut glvmg the last act on the bill a chance. I'm the last speaker toplght, j please dpn't walk out on me." It was worth a laugh and the speaker held the diners. The Shuberts have offered Willie Howard, the Wlntergarden comedlaAT $2,500 a week with a percentage privilege, to split up the team of Willie and Eugene Howard and to feature Willie alone, according to a source close to all parties concerned. • •-.•»• . « - Eugene and Willie Howard were i originally a vaudeville act'; Willie doing his Hebrew character opposite Eugene's straight. They played* all the standard vaudeville circuits until drafted by the Shuberts for one of their Wlntergarden shows several years ago. Since that tune they have been together. i Eugene is reported to be the business man of the act. Their joint salaries don't equal the figures qupted above according to the same source, but the Shuberts believe that Willie Howard could be publicized into another Jolson or Cantor. . "Eileen" which will have Its premier^ revival at the Music Hall, Cleve- land, March 28, is part of a general Irish propaganda ■rograra. Two. Cleveland priests are said to be the actual backers of the snow which will be given In halls and theatres in the central west with the- Auditorium, the Chicago stand: Special speaker:- will be used at tbe various engagements and Victor Herbert will travel with the show, leading the orchestra. Mr. Herbert composed the "Eileen" score. Theatres and restaurants on Forty-eighth street have formed a plan for the better lighting of the thoroughfare which will be pre- sented to the city authorities. It is proposed to install a number of ornamental posts with high tension lamps. There are now seven the- atres on the •street, five be!ng be- tween Seventh and sixth avenue*, and two (including Hi-* new Hits), West of" Broadway. The Post Lodge, on the Boston road, near Larchmont, N. V., has had some strong competitive bid- ding of late. It is on the market, thoueh by now may have been transferred. One offer was $10,000. The Hotsl Butler, Seattle, is to have a revue of sixteen people, in- cluding the chorus. The principals are Marjorle Bateman, James J. Brennan, Harold Raymond and (Miss) Leslie Colby. Bob Hughes will produce the show. Paul Salvin will move the Faul Whiteman band from the Palais Royal to the Hoffman Arms on the Merrick road, when opening that resort for the summer. The Hoff- man Arms, among It" many altera- tions, will have two kitchens in- stall* «1. an American and French. Florence Wslton at the new Drake Hotel, Chicago, Is alternating with Lee Leitrum and Alexander Vlad as dancing partners. The latest innovation since the alcohol ban is the installation of dancing In food emporiums without ar.y extra charge, check room fee or cover. The stunt has been tried by a proprietor in a side street Just off Broadway in the Times Square district and lo reported a success. The "proprietor In question opened his restaurant cold and decided he needed something to get them com- ing. He tried the dar.clng and it has been Instrumental In building up a steadily increasing clientele. The music and sacrificed floor space are the only additional expense :r.- talled and the proprietor found he could Install the dancing without any great increase In food prices. The place Is strictly 'dry." One of the dance restaurants In fho Ziegfield, Charles Dillingham, and all other New York producers tention! Material to burn with no one to appreciate it. Thousands of dollars of beautiful scenery, beauti- ful girls and a Broadway produc- tion of principal*, in a third-class cabaret. At one time the Winter Garden courteous waiters and soaking of diners, it has put the kibosh on a money-maker. Ideally located in the centre of the Loop, In the base- ment of one of Chicago's busiest buildings and surrounded by the- atres with plenty of floor space, both for diners and dancers, with the stage large enough for almost any kind of a revue, the better class refuses to enthuse. This cafe has played everything and everybody, ( from Mr. and Mrs. Carl Hyson. An- drl and Sherry, Gus Edwards' Re- vue, down to Its present form of re- vue which is meaningless. Jack . Rose, as the comic, and probably the best cabaret entertain- er In America today< Is the heavy feature. Robert Clifton Long, an operatic baritone, with class and poise ready for a $2 production any time. • Mary Riley, a local sensation, iete of the Edelweiss Gardens, a singer of jazz numbers, par excellence. Eileen, an elfish little dancer, what Ziegie calls a "type." Frank Libuse, a burlesquing clown and a mimic of ability. Marcelle Hardy, a 15-year-old soubret, who needs a lot of tutoring. Dora Maughan, prima donna, stunning appearance, fair ability. Ten chorus girls, each one a dream. La Da's Louisiana Five, great dance orchestra, but not so forte for revue music. Drops, drapes and scenery by Universal Scenic Artists Studio— a riot in colors, artistic in design. Charles Anderson, producer, with all these assets failed to deliver and live up to expectations. l'atrons few and far between. The Moulin Rouge, Atlantic City, has been taken over by Billy Mans- baoh, former capitals at the Beaux Arts. Orpheum's Rep. on Coast. San i'Yanciseo, Mar. 2.1. Charles Hamilton, head of the OrpheUHl circuit's building depart- ment arrived hero last week to su- pervise construction work on the Junior Orpheum. He will also fu- cafe was Chicago's foremost cab {roadway group is reported.net palace, but with the changing [ per v I ho. the work being don«* on the having taken desperate chances ofof styles, bad management, dis- Junior house in Los Angeles. ACTOR CHARGES EQUITY (Continued from page 15) had secured a summons for O'Brien.) , "The position taken by the Actors' Equity Association that the libel herein is not malicious is wholly gratuitous and inconsistent with both as to the facts and the law. , "The complainant testIfi d upon the hearing that the charges of e accused were untrue, that he and the accused, although members playing in the same theatrical com- pany, were not on speaking terms for a year and that the charges to the Actors 7 Equity Association con- taining this libel Were with- drawn. ... "Both from tbe surrounding facts of the case and from the vituper- ative character of the'letter, there can be no doubt that it was malic- ious. "The Intervention of the A. E. A. is predicated, upon the further ground that its morale may be dis- turbed and hampered if members face criminal charges in presentli g complaint to Its council. "Earnestly strjving to see the is- sue eye to eye with the Actors* Equity Association, It Is not com- prehended haw its best interests and alms car. be served by trying to mitigate a crlmo which strikes at the very basis of fraternity and makes social Intercourse impossi- ble. The accused wrote a communi- cation so calculated in phrase, so rounded out in insinuation, animus and vituperation as to leave not the slightest loop-hole for urging that the libel was conceived in good faith. The act of the accused be- comes aggravated in the—general knowledge that the Actors' Equhy Association has placed Its mor,;il in- fluence back of the offender. The association is placed in a paradox« lea] position of avowing a basic aim to improve the morale of the the- atrical business, and then condon- ing a vlcloua libel against one oT its members In good standing. "... The principle tersely put III this: How far may members go in (Continued on page 88) «... • , ,.) • . ,: || ,, e'^jft,