Variety (October 1921)

i'»Hi"iHl»i K^ridav, October 7, 192 I VARIETY m9t^f!!af FlWW^i9fj0 > K t SCARCin OF 'BREAK-IN' HODSES fTHER PRODOCERS AND AGENTS yaudeville Managers Refusing to Chance New Acts— Booker of Independent Theatres Offers to Pay fs. Theatre "Sffeekly Fee and Supply BUI Without Cost To Place "Break-Ins." oV I The Hcarcity of "break-in" vaude- tlPe theatres around New York haH ^gcomc botherHoine to producers ani g|^tf, ttlao vaudeville bookera, of tie metropolis. One independent booker of several tlK^atres is declared t# kave made the statement last week he would pay a weekly fee to any theatre permitting him to use it as a "break-in/' afrceing to also fur- niah split week bills of at least seven aats each without charge of salary for any of the turns. A vaudeville prMluoing firm is re. ported to have agreed to furnish a small time booking ufiice with suffi- cient acts to keep any one of its bouses designated open. with break* li turoH, without charge. The booker frankly replied he could not find such a house and agreeable manager. The imallest theatre on his books, he ■aid, would not allow a break-in to ahow. The percentage of good or available turns resulting frora break-ins has besB cu small, according to the gen- eral comment, theatre managers are chary of taking a chance with any Btw turns . in other days each cir- cuit or booking office had houses where new actM could go. The small- er independent agents kept **hide- aways,*' as they v/ere calloiU, for that eapresH purpose. They no longer ox- lat, it is said. A couple of secluded very small time housoH with a flat icole for acts that dues not exceed a IS maximum daily sulnry, are reported aa having notified agents no brcak-ina Bust be submitted. A proposal was made last week to lay before the management of bur- lesque theatres around New York, looking for extra attractions and often playing an amateur night performance, a pinu to take two nights weekly, or eveu more, after the regular bur- lesque performance, for the showing •f new turns, without the audience being advised as to the exact char-' acter of the nets. It could be left to the audience to judge whother thoy were try-outs or ainatourp. The larger big timo and Nmall time circuits plooc such acts as they may .want to SOP at certain theatres, in unimportant spots on the programs, in the main, but they also shy at mis- cellaneous break-ins. CUBA CntCUS SMARTS Santaa & Artigas Show Opens in Payret, Havana, To.day The Santos & Artigas circus opens today (Frday) nt the Payret thea- tre, Havana, got ting the start of the Pubillones show its rival by a week. Mrs. rubillones will start her out- fit Oct. 14. Next week Santos & Artigas will add a side show with freaks wliich will occupy the Prado opposite the Payret. The S. & A. show is mhdc up of Four Ueadings, Rrtts Seals, Five Cornallas. Ed. and Euith Walton, rid- •m; Tokio .Tapanpsp Troupe, Phina Bros., musical acrobats; (ireat Cal- vert, high wire; Rae and Kae. con- tortion and ladder act: Casting (\'imp- I kellH. Cadieux. bounding wire; Ilor. » bert's Dogs. Right Piccianis. Cnr- »neo nn,l .Tossika, jugglers: Poli.lor «nd Co., chjwus; Robcrtini and (iuer-- fpro. clowns; Mllo .JpsMika and pon- »<'». Paioli's Elepliants. Tom Wil- •Jioth .,nU his Lions. Herman Wee- tlons tigors and panthers, and Robert r Johnson s Raliyhoo guart»'t. Theatre and Restaurant Date Paul Whiteman ond band opened k three weeks' engagement at the Pal- ece. New Yftrk, Monday. The band is also playing as usuat at the Pala'.s Royal ro^tauvant. It may follow the palace engagement by a trip around the New York Keith houses. Harry ^ Fitzg^ald arranged the vaudeville* dates. GOMHERGIJIL INDICATIONS (Wall Street iiulats the bulnosa tide i \j qd the stock exchange &Iuce last hz* UiriMd An4 the maajr rcportlne Auftust avenclea are furnlahine a flocJ of data J to prove the worst of oommercla! de- rr<;;«lon la over and the country la on the eve of an at leaat partial anu ara«l- ual rwcevery. ShcArmen argoo that the tbratre'a recovery oeaht to move apaou with bualneaa progreaa. Here are a few Items gathered In the ordinary cuurae of the tlay'a newa. Indicating the aort of tcndenciea upon which the optlmiata baae their hopea). MAUDE ELLET FBATURKD IN "GIRLS OF ALTITUDE" Another one of the BURT COR- TELYOU AGENCY star acta that have been routed solid over the W. V. M. A. and B. V. Keith'8 (western). ORITUARY JOSEPH HART Joseph Hart, vaudeville producer, playwright and actor-manager of prominence for many years, died at his home in the Adlon Apartments, 54th Street and 7th Avenue, New York, Oct. 3. Deatli resulted from apoplexy and followed an attack of paralysis suffered two days previously. Mr. Hart was bom in Boston. June 8, 18C'. His name in private life was Joseph Hart Iioucrrow. He en- tered theatricals as a child, appearing at the old Boston Howard-Athenaeum, in 8ueh standards as ''Ten Nights in a BaF-ltoom," -Uncle Tom;s Cabin," etc. As a young man ]Mr. Hart played in the variety houHea of the period, doing a double banjo act with a male partner. He also did a blackface Mingle turn with the banjo in vaude- ville. He wa8 with several well-known minstrel troupes during his early the- atrical career. • In 1880 he formed a partnership with the late Fred- erick Hallen, under the team name of I'allen and Hart, and they starred successfullv togellier under their own management for a decade or more in "Later On", "The Idea" and other musical farces, which Mr. Hart wrote and produced. It was in these farces that Mr. Hart made popular the character of a middle-aged rounder, termed in the parlance of the day "a sporty old boy." Several years lati'r he created the role of **Foxy Ornnd-Pa," taken from the newspaper cartoous. appearing as the star of"that piece for a number of HcsHons. In 11MK» Mr. Hart took over the Ned Wayburn vaudeville productions, .^.i>i.Ki uud brother from their home in Berkeley, California. Services Saturday morning at 10 o'clock at Holy Cross Church, West 42 St., between 8th and 0th Avenues, New York City. In meaavry of our true. lntrllia«^iic and falthfal dofr "R O D" Dom nt Ayr. Hrotland. May 8, lUlO. I) <m1 ut TO Koonrvelt Ave., Ilattlc C'rrrk. Mich.. Kept. t7. 1931 A ron>.tant pal tlirouah prosperity »nfl hard tlmpa. In heuith uml In hirknena. Iterply ffrievtd hy NOHA AND SIDNEY KELLOaa Plunkett's House Booked by Carlin The Pnljce, I»oM Kirhmond. Stato-i Jsland, hooked by .Innniy Phinkett for JJ'voral years past, h.-is hccn nddcd to Hurry ('«ilin-M list in tho Keith Fam- ily I><'r»artmcnt. I'lunkott owns thr IN>rl Ui(hnion(j ^'•'•^•'- It play.s foMr acts the lirsi '»nlf and five the second. Two More for Shuborts ^'I.Trk and Verdi, tlie Italian conic- <tans, nnd Wh»rj|.ie, Huston and C... both of whom appeared Ht Kcilh houses last \^^ 'or Shiibert vaudeville. week, have been signed which included "The Kain Dears." He was associated with Wm. A. Brady in a revue iu the Wistaria (jrove on the New York Roof and produced for tile legitimate on his own initiative. As a vaudeville pro- ducer Mr. Hart established a high ro()utation, handling big nud im- portant productions, among which were "The Futurity Winner", "Twen- ty Odd Years" (with Hurry Beres- ford), ".Mind Your Own Business" (with Digby Bell. (Mift«»n Crawford) "Brother Frnis", Tom Lewis. Ilohart IJosworth aud ciMuJtless other acts and stars, introduced to vau'lcvillc under" Hart's direction. He was a l)ioneer in the matter of big scenic jircductions for vaudeville, "The Futurity Winner" with its race horse scene typifying a style in which he excelled as a producer. Althoiii;h liaving lost the siglit of one of his eyes in au r»peration some five years ajjo. and suffering from almost total deafness, hearing only throtiRli me- chanical aid for many years. Mr. Hart was active in his business right up to the time of his last illness. Iiavinjf several important productions uinler way when he died. He leaves a ^^ife. Carrie De Mar, a sister. Mrs. Maftie Cheney, and « hroflier. Clias. Iloudrow. He married Miss I)e Mar in lSiH». Mr. Hart was a member of the Lnmhs. (Jreen U<»om. Clul) and B. V. O. Flks. Ue will be buried in Calvary Cemetery Saturday, al.so made a year'.s tour in vatideville WILLIAM DOOLEY William Dooley, brother of Johnny, Gor(V)n and Ray of the theatrical family of that name, died Sept. 29. at his home 308 west 07th street. New York. An antopsy performed by Dr. Ilohmans, assistant Chief Medical Kxaminer of the City of New York, determined the cause of death to have been chronic nephritis (kidney dis- ease), aortitis (heart disease), and cirrhosis of the liver (hardening of the liver). Physicians called into consulta* tion to attend Mr. Dooley, following a fall he received while leaving a taxi-cab Wednesday* afternoon. Sept. 2f), as he was returning to the PaL ace theatre, New York, where he left the bill that day, diagnosed the cause of death as concussion or compres- sion of the brain. In accordance with the law which necessitates the calling in ol the Me- dical Examiner, an official which cor- responds to the former Coroner of New York, in the event a patient dies who has not received medical atten- tion for more than 24 hours, the I'iXaminer's office was noti6ed, and the autopsy later disclosed death to have resulted from the three dis. eases mentioned. Mr. Dooley was HO years old and born in Scotland. He came to Amer- ica at the age of six, and settled with bis family in Altoona, Pa. loi- ter the family movea to Philadel- phia. Mr. Dooley entered the show business at the age of 20. He was a member of the acrobatic trio of Klliot, Bellaire and Elliot. He played in burlennue for a season or two. following which' he became associated with Bart McHugh. as manage, of the Metropolitan Minstrels, a vaude- ville act. Mr. Dooley first attracted atten- tion as an actor as a member of the cast of McHngb's "Lawn Party." also a vaudeville production. He was with Frank (r)rth in vaudeville, for a nhort time. The combination of William. Cor- don and Ray Dooley whs then formed and the trio played with VHitcby Koo," later joining .Morris (Jest's Century Roof Show. Ray Dooley dropping out of the uet. William and (fordon played with the Shuberts in a Winter garden show and in other musical [iroductions. The two Dooley brothers i>lnyed vaudeville last with the Morin Sisters, Tli<> funeral was in I'ijiIa<lel|Mii:i «m(. 1. Mr. Dooley was a member of the X. V. A. A njother. fa'her, andd sis- ter survive, in addition to his l»roth- ers, .Johnny and (tordon, and sis- ter Ray. DAVID BISPHAM David Bis|>hHm. aged (>4. died in his New Y(»rk ai)artment Oct. 2 of stom- ach trouble. Thriugh not active dur- ing his latter life except in oratorio Jind concert work, he had been (»ne of the famous baritones of his time, sinking at Covent (Jarden and the Metrop<ditan. He was als«> an actoi of ability. StartiuK in the woolen business, he did iimaleur work f(»r a time, milking his professional dehiit in l.S!)1, and had a repertoire of 1!.- (MH> snURs. He wrr»te one book "A Quaker Singer's Recollections." and A survey of factory wages just completed in New York State by In- dustrial Commissioner Henry D. ^ayer, based upon a tabulation of 1,- 048 reports from representative manufacturers, shows a alight In- crease in average earnings from Jtdy to August amounting to about 17 cents. The average wage is reported et $25.43, and although the increase api>ears insignificent it arisen from the important factor that while many less skUled workers were laid off, the expert and higher paid factory work- ers were put on increased working tJme, inrli^^ting eipandiug production qf goods. This condition applied par- ticularly to up-state plants. New York City wage averages actually de- clined. In spite of a wide drop in prices the September sales total of t^ears, Uoebuek 6c Co., Chicago mail order house, whose business is looked upon as an index of country wide retail buying, amounted to nearly $15,000,- (HM) compared to $16^5,624 for Sep. tember, 1020. The report emphasizes the factor of lower prices being re- sponsible for the decline rather than reduced volume of sales. Sears-Roe- buck stock had advanced substantial- The price of contract cotton on the New York exchange reached to new higii mark for the season this week, gettiiig close to 2t cents a pound as compared to the low of less than 11 cents for the old crdp. Au R. O. Dun A Co. survey said: **The more encouraging outlook, due pri- marily to the recent rise of cotton prices, has attained considerable pprominence in the South. While re- covery from depression is not de- veloping quickly nor in all quarters simultaneously, the hopeful aspects are multipying in number and the les- sening of monetary stringency is re- assuring." Wheat prices moved vp to around $1.25 a bushel this week and in- creased pric«>s for oil were announced in several districts. Nearly all the raiiroa<ls reported more freight cars loaded on own lines and received from other lines for the last week in September. A notable case was that of Alcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe. Total idle freight cars reported i^ept. 23 was 414.000 or 18.- 000 less than for S^pt. 15, the. week before. The Motor and Accessory Mana- facturers' Association published a re- port for August business. T)iat month is normally the lowest of the year, but the report Hhowc^iMlles of parts and equipment to car and truck manufacturers of more than 1 (Continued on I^ge»ll) JACK NORTON "A VERSATIUE COMEDIAN" MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE'FOR THEIR KINO OFFERS WILL APPEAR SHORTLY IN A NEW ACT BY HUGH HERBERT His wife was (Caroline Russ.'l of rhiladelphin and he leaves a daugn- ler, liConie. His son, Dovid, was killed during the war. He himself was a graduate of Itaverford ('ol- lege, which gave him in later life the degree of Master of Arts. JOSEPH DILLON .To.seph Dillon, formerly of the Sliu- herts' publicity department and bo- fore that advance agent for Lew Fields, died suddenly ut his home in .Marmaroneck, N. Y., Sept. I'M. He was 54 years old. Mr. Dillon served an ai)i»renticeship as re|»orter on the New Orleans I'icii- yunc and later was on the staff of the .New Vo:k \V<»rld. One of his lirst connections with the theatrical busi- ness was as advance man for Iticliur>l .M.'insfield. He Icave.'^- a widow and one dauKht'^r. MARIBEL SEYMOUR Maribel Seyn>our, in private life the wife of .lolin 10. Hogarty. died at ber iKune in New York City, Sept. 22. Mr. Hoc.irty is company manager for "S ilin" 'i'lirouRli." Miss Seymour's last apiienr.'ince was with Chauncey Olcott. (he home of her parents at 17 Hill- crest avenue, Jamaica, L. 1. The mother of Leona Le Mnr died suddenly Oct. 1. Miss Le Mar known as "the girl with a thousand eyes,'* is appeariug in Hbubert vaudeville. Current booking is couceled. The mother of Charles Quinu (Broadway Saxo Harmonists) died 1p ber Imnie in .New York, Sept. 'St, from cancer. She wah 54 years old. Engelbert Humperdinek, German conijjoMer, died iu Berlin last week, ngcd (17. The father of Chad Iluber (Chad and Monte Huber) recently died at the age of VA. ^ * The motbtr of the Angell Si.sters lately passed away. Maude Packard, 12 year<« old. daughter of Jay Packard, the i)!ay sirid Htory broker, died Oct. 4. ;it the CMiildren's Joint and Lind) Hospital, f(dlowinf; an operation for osthe(»ui liticH by Dr. (jrausmu:v The huri.-i! will take place today, Friday, from B-B CloalBfl lir Horfolk Oct. 18 The official closing dste set for the Ringling Bros.. Bamum-BailcT Circus is Oct. IR at Norfolk, Va. Owing to conditions sourh. the big show rut out the Oklahoma and Texas dates. BETTY COMPSON'S ACT The turn I Jetty C.!ouipson, of pic- tures, intends doing in vaudeville, will I»e the siime turn .Miss ('ump.soft it|il»e!ired in s;»me years ago while on the < ►ridi) um Ci'-euit. .Miss Coii;)son has been engaged for .^hiil>> It ^ ;nid<'ville. She is tinder Jlie in;iii:i){e!nent of Irwin Rirliard Franklvn.