Variety (November 1921)

Friday. November 4, 1921 LEGITIMATE IS TWO "MARYS" GOING OUT AS CONCESSION TO PLAYWRIGHTS Sam Harris May Sponsor Presentation in Which Cohan Will Have No Interest—Deal Made Be- fore Departure* AGENTS FRAME NEW COMMISSION DEAL Two companies of "Mary,*' George If. Cohan's musical success of last reason, may be sent on tour this fall by Sam H. Harris In association with the authors. Vltual agree- ment as to sending the show out Again was arrived at before Mr. Cohan sailed for England three weeks ago. It was at Cohan's sug- gestion that Louis Hirsch, composer, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, librettists, of "Mary," and Julio Mitchell, who staged the- show, secure their earnings^ from the show, and he told the writers he would gladly relinquish his rights to that end. The Cohan produc- tion program called for four "Mary" companies this season, but like the other tep^ attractions planned, all went overboard when the manager-^ author-actor withdrew upon the passing of Equity s "closed shop." Mr. Cohan after the decision to quit producing stated that the au- thors of the plays withdrawn were the innocent third parties. He also expressed admiration for support of the playwrights who ele*2ttd to stand on his decision to step down as it producer. It is known that neither Hirsch, Mandel aor Hn.- bach ever queried Cohan aa to their royalty rights. They merely ex- pressed themselves a* being against the closed shop in the meat re as in- dividuals and as members of the dramatists association which went 1 on record against "Equity Shop. The authors in seeking the advice of Cohaa in regard to sending "Mary" out again, asked him to name a manager best fitted to take over the show. Cohan then ANDERSON AT ODDS WITH ASSOCIATES Producer Peeved at Changes in Cast and Numbers Changes in cast and numbers for "The Greenwich Village Follies" is said to have developed differences between John Murray Anderson and others interested in the production with him. Anderson was opposed to some changes and went off on i vacation. He returned last week but the matter has not been patched up. Leon Errol was called in to stage the added numbers, with no objection from Flo Ziegfeld. Changes in the cast may lead to the abrogation of contracts of sev- eral players. . Claims have been made by Charles Edmunds and James Watts. The latter has been succeeded by Gordon Dooley. Ed- munds with "the haunted violin" was engaged under a contract call- ing for at least 20 weeks during the season. He worked for four weeks. He- alleges he was not instructed whether the management will use him further, but In the absence of formal notice of the engagement being ended, there has been no ac- tual contract broach. Ada Foreman has been switched to the 1919 "Vil- lage Follies" on tour, Jessica Brown going Into the cast. Organizing Association to Regulate Transactions A meeting of licensed dramatic and picture agents has been called for Friday afternoon at the Conti- nental hotel. The agents will form a permanent organization which has for its objects the adoption for gen- eral use of a form of equitable agreement for use between actors and agents, and to work for a better understanding between managers, actors and agents. It is expected the first meeting will also attract agents not operating under the license law. It has been proposea that the agreements between agents and act- ors include a power of attorney to the managers, who are thus empow- ered to collect agents' commissions. Such a provision would make the manager a third party to the con- tract. Such a device has been pro- posed so that the earnings of agents be made actual instead of the present system, which works at a disadvantage to the agents in the way of collecting formal commis- sions. Lyman Hess, an attorney, who has specialised in agency matters and agency law. has been asked to ad- dress the meeting and organize the new association. When organized, U is believed bogus agents will be a target of attack by the llfcensed agents. EARL BOOTHE OUT OF CENTURY; WAS OPPONENT OF LACKAYE Shubert Manager Supplanted at Important Post and Goes on Road—Quit Equity After Bitter Cam- paign Over Presidency BRADY MANAGING MANN SHOW AT APOLLO FIRST IN BALTIMORE New York Date for Former All Fidelity Co.—New Cast "In the Mountains," the Louis Mann show now under the direction of W. A. Brady, will open at the Apollo Nov. 14. "Love Dreams," a musical play, is the current attrac- tion, it having started several weeks ago, but failed to draw. Notice of closing has been posted, but it is not certain whether the piece will close Saturday or continue next week. The Mann show has been given a seven weeks' booking at the Apollo, which is listed to house Griffith's "Two Orphans" picture as a holi- day card. Another house may be assigned Mann later. "LILIES" BALK AT CUT-IN ON PAYROLL Object to Promotor Who De- clares Himself In named Sam H. Harris, and the au- Actors' Fund Benefit to be Given at thors are reported having received I favorable consideration from that manager. There Is no inference in the presentation of "'Mary** by Mr. Harris. When the Arm of Co- han a Harris dissolved the former stated he would not again form a managerial partnership and both principals proceeded successfully on their own. It Is said that Cohan agreed with the "Mary" authors to accept a comparatively nominal sum for his interests, explaining his only object in selling out being to make It pos- sible for the authors and Mitchell to secure the potential royalties which would accrue from the ter- ritory not played by "Mary" last season. There will be no road companies of The O'Brien Girl" sent out, al- though the same authors wrote it Mr. Cohan stated he would carry out the contracts given players for that show, but would not go further. The only stipulation made by Co- han In regard to the touring of "Mary" under another manage- ment was that the show must not be advertised as being under his presentation. Ford's November 4 Daniel Frohman announces the first Actors' Fund benefit perform- ance ever given in Baltimore, will be held on the afternoon of Nov. 4 at Ford's. Incidentally It will be the first Actors' Fund affair of this season. Fifty society girls of Baltimore will offer a pageant as part of the program. It is hoped that city will be permanently added to the list of those holding annual benefits for the Fund. CLOSING "SONYA" The notice for the closing of *Sonya" at the 48th Street theatre was posted Saturday night of last week to take effect Nov. 12. Upen reaching the closing date the piece will have completed a 14-woeks run and will not be sent on the road, due to the reported poor conditions out of town. "3 MUSKETEERS" ENDS Next week will be the last one of the run of "The Three Musketeers" »t the Lyric. It will bo followed by "What Men Do Want." another film feature produced by Lois Weber, on Sunday, Nov. 13, for a run. The presentation will be under tho di- rection of F. B. Warren Produc- tions. BATES feUTT SETTLED The suit brought by Albert L. Weeks, author of. "Her Family Tree," for an accounting from Nora Bayes for royalties on the piece, has been amicably settled out of court. Weeks Is dramatic editor of the Detroit News and alleged he was not supplied with box office state- ments nor weekly remittances. Through his attorney, Henry Herz- brun, he sued to* recover. Nathan Burkan acted for Miss Baycs. WITHDRAW FROM EQUITY Attorney Pmrk%r and Organizer O'Neii Said to Have Withdrawn There came very near being no performance at the Klaw theatre, where "Lilies of the Field" is play- ing, Saturday night as the cast re- fused to go on until a certain pro- motor, who has a piece of the show agreed to give up what he claimed to be his commission on certain sal- aries. The controversy came about through the promotor declaring him- self "in" on a piece of the play, through having secured the backing, and then felt entitled to commis- sions on the salaries as well. Mem- bers of the cast were not booked by him and saw no reason for the donation from them—ftence the kick and threat not to appear until the • It was reported in Equity circles this week that Raymond B. Parker, an Equity attorney, and James O'Neii an organizer, had handed in their resignations. The supposed with- drawal of the officials is laid to in- ternal differences. O'Neii is said to have objected to dictatorial meth- ods employed. Parker has been as- sociated with Paul Turner, the of- ficial Equity lawyer, and it \n under- stood he will leave Turner's office also. Parker is said to have been, unfamiliar with theatricals. promotor claims. agreed to lay off his CLAIMS "FOLLIES" IDEAS Blanding Sloane has brought suit in *he Municipal Court for $300 against the Bohemians, Inc., claim- ing the amount due him for two scenic ideas accepted and now be- ing used in the current "Greenwich Village Follies." One of them Is a cyclorama idea and the other a proscenium drop design. WOODS HAS MARIE LOHR Marie Lohr. the English actress, who is now in Canada, has signed with A. II. Woods for her first American appearance, which will take place early in February. The title of Miss Lohr's initial play has not been announced. FOLLOWING "6.50" Elsie Ferguson's New 8how Booked For Hudson in Three Weeks "Varying Shores," the new Elsie Ferguson starring vehicle now in rehearsal, is scheduled to follow "The Six-Fifty" into the Hudson in about three weeks. The Ferguson piece will have an out-of-town breakln and will be gotten Into shape as soon as possible to be brought into New York. An attempt will be made to keep "The Six Fifty" in until "Varying Shores" is ready, the former playing out the ten weeks lease held on the house by James Elliott for "The Man In the Making," which lasted two. The Elliott lease has three more weeks to run with the house having been dark two weeks after the closing of his play. ASKS $5,000 FROM CARLTON Harry W. Dunning has brought suit against Carle Carlton for the recovery of $5,000 which the plain- tiff sets forth he deposited with the producer in 1917 as a surety bond. Dunning was engaged Feb. 15, 1917, to tour with the Lubowska com- pany through South America as company manager and treasurer and was asked to post the $5,000 as evidence of good faith, but when Earl Booths, who has been man- aging the Century for the Shuberts for the past two seasons, has been succeeded by ' Charles Wuerz, Boothe handling "The Last Walts." which left the house Saturday and is playing Brooklyn this week. Whether he will continue on tour with the "Walts" or be assigned another post is not definite. The Century berth is one of the most important in the Shubert organiza- tion. Boot he's salary is reported at $250 weekly. The Shuberts engaged Boothe shortly after the settlement of the actors' strike. He resigned from Equity following the bitterly fought campaign for the presidency of Equity between John Emerson and Wilton Lackaye last' year. Mr. Lackaye used as campaign material the fact that Equity agreed to give Boothe 10 per cent, for the handling of Its benefits, the percentage being understood to be In addition to a weekly salary. It wa. stated at a ' meeting at the Astor that Boothc's porcentage was but 2 per cent., but it was later shown that the claim of 10 per cent, was true. * At the Century Boothe in addi- tion to managing the house also handled all the arbitrations with the Chorus Equity Association and it Is said he recently refused to further take care of the chorus girl disputes because the conditions imposed by the Chorus Equity made it too dif- ficult. Boothe came to the front during the actors' strike. He had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army and was an ef- ficiency expert in Washington. Equity engaging him for similar du- ties. His experience as an actor is safcl to be virtually nil and that he was but a junior member of Equity because of that. BARRYMORE'S RUSH John Back from Europe to Hurry Sherlock Feature John Burrymore returned from abroad this week and will rush through the making of a special "Sherlock Holmes" feature for Fa- mous Players. This is deemed nec- essary to forestall the release ot a Carlton did not send the company j 8er i es 0 f 15 two-reelers on the Conan on tour that season, he demanded the return of his money, which was not forthcoming. Nathan Burkan, representing Carlton, has filed a no- tice of appearance, but no answer. WEBER'S PLAY PLANS "BIRTH" GETS $8,000 MORE Atlanta. Nov. 2 "Tho P.irth of a Nation" has just I completed another big rcr\ ipts week here in the home of the Ki KluxJ S0TKERN DISCUSSES PROBLEM Portland, Me., Nov. 2. E. H. Sothern, of Sothern and Mar- lowe, who have played to capacity houses the past week at tho Shu- bert-Jefferson, addressed quite a few social gatherings, including tho Kiwanls Club and the Maine Teach- ers' Convention. In his address before the Teach- ers' Convention, Mr. Sothern spoke very highly on the Children's thea- tre and commented on the stand taken by San Franci-co and Cleve- 'Honeydew," now on tour, has ........ ..„ - - been closed for the balance of the Klan. This is about the tenth l"l nn(| |n thIs n . yprc t that the picture has made hen-, and last week the gross wa< almost j SX. 000 at $1 top. ■cason, but will go out again at a wter date, some time next fall. Joe Weber also has a dramatic piece ft nd a musical show which he states "ill bo produced next September. Godsol and Kendall In Mr. Sothern advocates the found- ing of Children's theatres wIcto th«> l.esl in drama could be cultivated. Harold Conway, formerly '»r ; phcum Circuit publicity dire* t«>r. i> , mow handling publicity for .li.hr. j 4 . K °nJ. R Hamp'on~ who came east C»rt. Mr. Conway came to the this week, i H understood to have ar- Orpheum staff from the liippo- JUiged for the financing of bis druim-. where he was associate*! future productions by F. J. Godsol, {with Mark Luescher in directing E - J. Bowes and Messmore Kendall, the Hipp publicity. PAULINE MARKHAM'S DIVORCE Chicago, Nov. 2. Pauline MailJi.itii of the Ermlnie Co. lias obtained her final papers of divorce from Prank J. Markham. The decree wan granted by Judge McDonald for extreme cruelty. TRANSPLANT ANOTHER Fred Latham, who staged the pro- duction of "The Wandering Jew" over here, has been assigned to similarly direct the presentation of "Bulldog Drummond," the drama taken from book form and still play- ing In London. The play will have Its initial per- formance out of town breaking In at Buffalo, Nov. 7. A. Ej« Mathews will be In the leading role. FIGHT FILM ARREST San Francisco, Nov. 2. Jack Brehaney, local film ex- change manager, Is the defendant in an Indictment returned last week by the Federal Grand Jury 'or hav- ing transported and received tho films of the Dempsey-Carpentier match. A bench warrant was is- sued by the United States Judge and bond fixed at $1,000. Doyle's stories by Alexander Film Corporation, who secured them from the Stoll Film Co. of Lonoon. It is planned to start releasing the two* ree'ors about January 1. DUE 'BLUE EYES" CAST The road comrany of "Blue Eyes" sent on tour by FuJeher and Bohtn closed Saturday night in Hornell, N. Y., with salaries due the mem- bers of the company. The piece h ?d an all Equity cast due to the pro- ducers not being members of the Producing Managers' Association. The Equity allowed the producers to give a note maturing Nov. t% to cover the amount of salaries due In order that the piece might be brought back to New York, which necessitated sn outlay of $300 to cover transportation. CASKEY MAKES CHECKS GOOD Ogdenburg, Nov. 2. Complaints filed with the district attorney's office against L. J. Cas- key, manager and backer of the "Winter Follies" theatrical com- pany, by local tradesmen wore with- drawn when Caskey arranged to make good on checks turned down at the banks. A warrant for Cas- key was issued on complaint of John Arnaud. of the llcstaurant J-Yancai.se. CLARE KUMMERS' OWN Clare Kummcr la to enter the producing field \/lth h**r latest play. It is the intention of the new pro- ducer to start work Immediately on her initial production in order that the piece may be gotten into shape to be brought into New York dur- ing the holidays. Miss Kummer first came Into prominence when her comedy, "Good Gracious, Annabelle," was produced by Arthur Hopkins, and later with a vehicle for William Gillette which was produced by tho same manager. J. J. VISITS BOSTON P.oston. Nov. 2. J. .1. ShubiTt was in the city Mon- day looking over "The Passing "Aloha," a llawlian play by Ethel- ] Show." The scenery of the show bert Hale and backed by Al Jolson. closes Saturday night in Springfield, I Mass., after two weeks out of town, j It Is planned to have tho piece re- 1 written before it is given another came on to see hovr the show try. llookcd. was wrecked by a lire, but one per- formance being missing, however, and itb scenery was awaiting the show when it arrived hero. J. J.