Variety (March 1921)

Friday, March 25, 19&1 VARIETY MUSIC PUBLISHERS LOUIS BERNSTEIN, President -J The smashing sensational ballad hit THE •s\ By LOU KLEIN, EDGAR ALLEN and MAURIE RUBENS THIS HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST THING NEW YORK HAS HEARD IN A GENERATION, BUT- THEY HAVE NOT YET HEARD IT AWAY FROM NEW YORK CITY. A SENTIMENTAL SOB BALLAD THAT MAKES A HIT THE VERY FIRST PERFORMANCE IT IS RENDERED. IT WILL FIT YOUR CLOSING SPOT TREMENDOUSLY. - and Novelty Songs just ready ■ Broadway and 47th St NEW YORK CITY BOSTON JAMES GALLAGHER 240 Tremont Street BALTIMORE SAM TUMIN 1405 Madison Avenue LOS ANGELES BARNEY WEBER 320 Superba Theatre Building MINNEAPOLIS WALTER McGRATH Lindley-Skiles Building ' •a song published, carefully systema- tized Rn -to number **f copies^ or- chestrations, royalties', etc., which will most likely be adopted in gen- eral by the other publishers. , Oeorge W. Meyer, Gene Buck and Joe McCarthy, representing the Songwriters' Union, are still nego- tiating with E. C. Mills, represent- ing the M. P. P. A., on the question of a standard song writers' royalty contract. The association is in re- ceipt of the songsmiths' contract form and are considering it. One or two points are still undecided, the song-writers among other things demanding quarterly royalty state- ments as against the usual semi- annual; and also a direct mechanical royalty statement from the phono- graph and roll companies. The Meyer Cohen Music Publish* "ig Co.. Inc., is named defendant in •t $2,.']0l .Supreme Court suit by Robert Teller Sons & Dorner. music printers and engravers, for goods «old and delivered between a period from Feb. 4, 1920, to April 20, 1920. Mevejr. CQben, whose name heads the corporate title, has since died. Papers were served on William Suffes, who Is alleged to be the vice-president of the corporation. The company itself is pas.se as far as its actual business activities are concerned, being continued only a short while after Mr. Cohens de- mise. Of a $2,701 bill, only $400 was paid according to the complaint, and the balance is now being sued for. Shapiro, Bernstein A Co., Inc., through Alfred Beekman of House, Grossman & Vorhaus, have brought suit in the Supreme Court against M. Witmark & Sons, Wilner & Rom- berg, Max R. Wilner and Sigmund Romberg for an injunction to re- strain the defendants from further selling the sheet music of the lOflgfl of the "Love Birds" show (for which Ballard Macdonald wrote the lyrics), and an accounting of the profiis The cause for action is baaed on the fact Mr. Macdonald is under con- tract to the plaintiff corporation and did not authorize the music 'pubiislrors or other defendant:* to publish or negotiate for the pub- lication of the song. Macdonald's affidavit alleges that he granted Wilner & Romberg, the producers of the "Love Birds" show (starring Pat Rooney and Marion Bent) the stage rights only and made no stipulation anent the pub- lication rights. Mr. Louis Bern- stein's affidavit avers he had dis- cussed the matter of publishing the music with Jay Witmark and Isidore Witmark at divers times, suggest- ing they both share in the profits, but had come to no final arrange- ment, only becoming apprised of the fact tho Witmarks had published the music when purchased by an employee in a store. "The Love Birds" hook was writ- ten by Edgar Allan Woolf and com* p<d by Sigmund Romberg. Mr. Romberg is Under contract to the Witmark company, and this ac- counts for the clash which involves a very interesting problem in that iwo of the collaborators aro tied up with as many different publishers. Macdonald's contract with the PTOdueiag wj^ugcra **t the shnw calls for a one per cent, royalty up to $10,000 on the weekly gross re- ceipts, and 1% per cent, above that. Recently he threatened to bring legal action against Wilner & Rom- berg to recover some weeks' back royalties alleged due, but the matter was adjusted through the Equity interceding in his behalf and promis- ing to protect the lyricist's Interests. Argument on the motion for an injunction pendente lite was heard Tuesday morning with the court taking the matter under advisement for more deliberate consideration. Three Stocks for Jessie Bonttelle. Jessie Bonstelte wi)] have three stock companies n«-xt Reason* rotat- ing from Buffalo to Rochester to a third city not y< i Announced. Charles C. Shay, former president <»f the I. A T (S, i:.. Is now in- terested in .!• " p.<lif *cs. NEWS OF THE DAILIES (Continued from page 14) —for the firm that put the personal touch in all the relations. A com- bination of the roll-top desk and the dressing table is her recipe for feminine success. In other wordsi be a woman but keep your busi- ness sense. The Dreamland site on Surf ave- nue. Coney Island, was sold for $407,760, March 22, to William Fox, Kugene D. Wood and Mrs. Timothy D. Sullivan. The Fox Film Co. will erevt -an"'MBfWMtrttr,4 pftric th«5re. Tho sale was tho result of fore- closure proceedings by the holders of the $750,000 bonds. Efforts to delay the sale to get a better price were denied by the Appellate Di- vision. The decision to hold the music festival of the Oratorio Society of New York at the Manhattan Instead of the 71st Regiment Armory, with its capacity of 5,000 seats, will cost Charles M. Schwab and other wealthy backers about $25,000, be- cause the opera house can sell only 3,000 seats. The change was made as the acoustics at the 34th street theatre are better. Henry Miller, Jr., has been com- mitted to the care of private at- tendants at the New York State Hospital, Bloomingdale. Mary Jane Outcault, original of her father's famous child character in his "Buster Brown" comics, and lately with Frank Bacon In "Light - nln,'" eloped Saturday with Frank E. Pershing, nephew of the General. The parents of Miss Outcault had announced her engagement, but the runaways did not let them In on the marriage. Bert Leston Taylor, the Chicago "Tribune's" celebrated "B. L. T., M died In the Windy City Saturday. He was 64 years old, and for almost 20 years has held a place among America's foremost humorists. In addition to conducting "A Line o' Type or Two/' he was the author of numerous books and poems. The Aquitanla last Saturday brought back to New York Arch Selwyn. In 12 performances in New York Pavlowa netted $60,000. Her Ameri- can tour Is said to have grossed about $760,000, from which the dancer and her manager, Oallo, each got $100,000 net. Louise Homer, concert singer and daughter of the famous prima donna, Is to be married April 12 to Ernest Van Rensselaer Stires, son of the Rev. E. M. Stires, of New York. The latter will conduct the wedding ceremony. Edith Mason, opera singer, has returned to New York. She Is un- der contract to sing in Buenos Aires next season. David Belasco has filed answer to a suit for damages brought against him and others by Willy Pogany, artist. Pogany declared use of his name in "Call the Doctor" as the monacker of a character who ac- cepted money from women was slanderous. Belasco said he did not know the name belonged to a real person, and that he caused its elimi- nation when so informed. The "Sing Sing Bulletin," recently edited by Charles Chapin, former city editor of the New York "Even- ing World," and now serving a long time for wife murder, is to be sus- pended on account of the high cost of publication. This will be the first time Chapin has been out of a newspaper Job in 40 years. A Saturday matinee crowd saw a man leap to death from the fourth floor of the Hotel Normandie 39th street and Broadway. Patrolman Kellerman saw tho man preparing for his fatal dive and tried to get to him, but was too late. "June Love," a Sherman Brown production, will be tried out in At- lantic City April 11. Johnny Dooley, Lois Josephine and Else Adler are in the cast. E. H. Daly and James C. Duff, of New York, have been appointed by the court to act as executors of the estate of tho late August in Daly. Richard Dorney, long "associated with Mr. Daly, and the last surviv- ing member of the original trio of executors, died about two months ago. Adelina Patti's castle in Wales has been purchased by t lie Welsh Memorial Association. Her cattle and other properties on the estats will be sold later. If is definitely announced Caruso is out of dansjer and iiis removal to Atlantic city for convalescence is regarded as only a matter of days. The circus got ■ rafl of publicity in the dallies March t% b:> trying to g< f into the Garden secretly. A (Continued on page 30)