Variety (December 1921)

Friday, December 2, 1921 VARIETY 27 •>cc: -> NEWS OF THE DAILIES *Two theatre dUaaaterafeatured dally newspapers this week, flfwt broke when the Rialto, S e w Havei caught Are Nov. 27 Of "The ae- g » Seven are dead, ten Sw and many others injured & taken to hospitals. Yale stu- Kmta distinguished themselves by work. The building Is a con- Jrted ehurch across from the Taft Etel and subsequent inquiries led £ the arrest of the house manager, fAwreiu- J. Carroll, and a severe lllng of City Building Inspector foieph B. Austin. The fire is un- rstood to ».ave originated back t-ee where incense was burned in nnectlon with the showing of the eature picture. The house was crowded and flames qulekly swept through the building. The second disaster occurred in York Nov. 29 when the par- tially erected American, Bedford avenue near Parle avenue, Brook- lyn, collapsed. Fifty workmen were in the building. Six dead were re- covered and as many more are ex- pected to be found. The injured number 19. Faulty construction is alleged by officials against Rosen- thal & Moskowitz, builders and owners. The columns, the foreman to charge declared, did not properly support the span. These partners. Sylvester Rosenthal and Samuel Moskowitz, were held without bail, charged with manslauKhter. Mos- kwitz had left the building only a few minutes before the disaster. He declares the plans for the building were approved by the Building De- partment in August. John J. Reisler (John the Barber) Ip being sued for a separation by his wife, who names her sister. Bertha Katz, as responsible for the family trouble. Leon Koblln. Yiddish playwright, GIRLS DE LOOKS (Continued from page 10) approval on the part of the audi- ence. At the Columbia this week Bar- ney Gerard is presenting a corking show as far as burlesque is con- cerned. It has Jos. K. Watson and Will H. Cohan as the stars of "The Girls-de-Looks," presenting the ve- hicle with which these two come- dies have been identified for a num- 'ber of seasons entitled "Bankers and Brokers." The general theme is unchanged after years with the ex- ception of tho Hongs and the com- pany supporting the stars. Tho show is lively, the girls are good-looking, nicely dressed, there is nothing wrong anywhere in the book, but still the audience did not rave over it. There were but two outstanding hits.during the evening. They were score.1 by the soubnt, Gusuie White, and Eddie Green, the colored danc- ing comedian of the show. Miss White isi.'t much on vocalizing, but she is a snappy looking plump girl who shakes a mean "Chicago" of the style that is loose on the floor o- the Broadway cabarets almost any nt 0 ht. That is what got over with the boys in front. She started working it during the opening .of the final scene of the first act and kept it goii right down to the fin- ish of the show. Green scored his hit in the final scene, a cabaret af- fair made up of specialties. His bIjw drag dancing w::h some acro- batics caught the gallery, and he completely tied up the show. Tho layout Is a little different from tho run of the Columbia at- tractions. Tho "Bankers and Brok- ers" 'portion opens in the brokerage office of B. Dunne Goodc, played by Will Davis, the straight man. From that it goes to a scene in "one" on 1919, Woods bought a number f Yiddish play 3, agreeing to pay 5 per cent, royalty if produced as written and 2% per cent. If rewritten. Kob- lin says he has received no royalty. Charlotte Carter, scenario writer, Is convalescing at the Hotel Plaza, New York, from the effects of vero- nal poisoning. In interviews she spoke of an unpaid hotel bill, a fruitless search for work, an unsuc- cessful love affair and how Mary Roberts Rlnehart had been her lit- erary sponsor, dedicating a book to Iter. When taken ill she asked that Reginald Vanderbllt be summoned. She has been on the stage and is a daughter of Herbert Flather, ac- cording to her story. claims "The Man's Name" is an la pier, and tho close of the first act altered version of his own "Who Is Guilty?" In a suit demanding royal- ties from A. H. Woods. In August, MISS N. Y., JR. (Continued from page 10) In a "chorus specialty" number which must last for 20 minutes and reaches its climax in a "surprise" stunt wherein what is apparently one of the choriHters contrives a raw bit of business with occupants of a stag" box., only to disclose "her- self" Just at the final curtain as a female impersonator. The comedy is in the hands of Eddie Colo, who dresses in green and alternately does Dutch and He- brew dialect while wearing a semi- tramp facial mukeup, and Mac Car- ter doing an eccentric tramp. Their fun making is as indefinite as their characterizations, although Cole does manage to get a few laughs with some of his specialty tricks, such as paper tearing and equill- brlstic burlesque. The pair work, hard and noisily, but the labored 9 clowning gets laughs only when it goes into rough-and-Uimble slap- stick. Then they laugh upstairs. There was not even much of this Monday night. Colo was once moved to inquire insinuatingly, "Can you hear me there over the hill?" when there was no response to some of his funnlments. Absence of comedy blankets the whole show. Some of the numbers were spirited In dancing and chorus maneuvers, but the house, which never was really awakened, re- mained listless. Apparently this has been the rule right along the route, for at the end of ensembles tho*girls and the number leaders trouped off and right back, obviously accus- tomed to taking encores without waiting'for applause. Cole did a specialty consisting of three paro- dies. He took no chances, walking to within three feet of the tormentor and then returning to the center. At tho end of the third parody he went entirely off and was not in- vited back. When a burlesque au- dience won't fall for parodies the returns are in and counted. There wero two passages that aroused enthusiasm. One was a highly spiced chorus display with raw lyrics. The girls appeared in "one" wearing cloaks, and one after the other held them open, to reveal a figure in a thin union suit and MURDER ATTEMPT AND SUICIDE (Continued from page 4) suicide, marveled at the fact he did not die instantaneously, as all three bullets entered his heart. Grubb was 45 years old, unmarried, a o.atlvp of Baltimore, member of the Baltimore local of tho I. A. T. S. E. (stage hands union) and weighted 830 pounds, with a proportionate height. It was his stalwart physique that enabled him to live even for a short time after shooting himself, accord- ing to the examining physicians called into the autopsy. Tho shooting and suicide, accord- ing to Helen Campbell, a member of the "UndeV the Apple Tree" chorus and an eye-witness, oc- curred at 6 30 p. m. Friday. Miss Bart ley, also a member of the "Apple Tree" chorus, remained In her dressing room at the Lyric after the matinee, to do some sewing. Miss Bart ley, requested Miss Camp- bell to remain after the show and keep her company, Miss Campbell says, Miss Bart ley adding she feared Grubb might harm her. Not Too Friendly Miss Bartley, according to Miss Campbell and other members of the eompany, had never at any time p shed tho man aside, Mis* Ban>y meanwhile starting to move away. As she d'd Grubb drew a. revolver and blazed away. One of the three bullets fired at Miss Bart It v grazed her head, going through h< r hat, another penetrated her in;< ^tinesj and a third hit her in the back. Miss Bartley ran serainiiu; down the staira as the three sh<v- rang out, that Grubb fired into Mm self, directly after shooMng .Mi«s Bart* ley, Miss Campbell calling f>r help. Miss Bartley Is 21 and a native of Troy, N. Y* The last few years she h* lived in Chicago, her father be« lng a civil engineer in th.it city. She was with the Frank Tinney show "Tickle Me" last year, and ' *lned t'\o Choos' act at the begin- ning of the current season. She it unmarried. Drinking Heavily It is claimed by the members W tho company that Grubb had been drinking heavily the previous :light* He was not addicted to liquor or- dinarily. George Choos' producer and owner of tho "Apple Tree" act; stated Miss Bartley bore an excel- a is on the deck of a steamer Florida ribbon sash. Some of the choris- bound. i tcrs are more than plump, and the In the act there are seven num- ' proletariat aloft found th6 expose and the barroom lyriC9 that went j Lorraine Lillic, entree?. hafi brougln suit for divorce in Now York against William H. Llllle, ex- pert accountant, of Toronto. bers in the first and last scenes, with Watson and Cohan doing their double specialty in "one" with cross- fire and parodies. The three prin- cipal women, Gussie White, sou- brette; Monica Redmond, ingenue, and Hallie Deane, prima donna, di- vided honors as far as numbers are concerned in this section without any of the trio getting any the best of it. The chorus worked hard In every number and made five changes in the two scenes. The second act opened at Palm Beach. This ended the "Bankers with the evolution hilariously funny. This brief incident, by the way, was the only time the girls wore any- thing below the garter level except •socks. The elaborated "chorus spe- cialty" stuff at the finish, with both comedians clowning roughly with the girls, was the other detail the crowd found diverting. For the rest the bits evoked thick gobs of si- lence. The other two men are Joe Mur- ray and Hank Engelman, both doing straight for the most part, although one contributed a bit of "nance" and Brokers." After that there was 4 "comedy In the second act and was Clara Taylor, former show girl, last week secured her divorce from Lord George Cholmondcley, David Bispham left three-quarters at the estate he inherited from his grandfather, David Scull, to his widow and two daughters. The bal- jan™ h . ft . W '- t o. M - y JUtow -i- :! s-r.vav- ler Ten Eyck. Charging grossly cruel treatment, Beatrice Carlisle, former Ziegfeld fcenuty, Is suing Robert Leroy Rip- ley, the cartoonist, for separation and alimony. Justice Burr awarded ilr $125 a week and $750 counsel sees. Louis Abramowltz, 14-y«.ar o!d boy, started <. fire in tho Jefferson, Thanksgiving evening, to see the engines come. It was quickly ex- tinguished and the boy arrepted, charged with juvenile delinquency. Admiral Lord Beatty wears his jap oh the side of his head, "not pom swank, but because of a •ump." "if I wear it any other way « always gives me a violent head- •che," he explained. Al Jolson Is gofhg to appear as JKhello in a special matinee per- ronnance of the Shakespeare play •wing the holidays. * lc i ard O. Herndon will revlv *• Theatre Pari.sien ft •my at the Belmont shortly. George C. Tyler plans to revive oaiomy Jane" and "Alias Jimmy valentine." the latter with H. \\. w »rner, Margate Gilmore and Otto Warner is also anr.oum »d BL.M 0 Da "Ber Mark," by Cosmo lit \ ]t 2 n > at «ie 33th Strr. \ pro- ceed by Carle Carton. a scene in 'Vme" devoted to a mono log by Watson, and then the final scene given over to the spcialtles. Watson and Cohan carry practi- cally all of the comedy, laugh after- laugh coming with their cross-fire and tangled language bits between the numbers. ^Topical references to "Indian guides, etc., get over for a wallop. Larry (Skinny) LaMont, doing secondary comedy, got a few laughs in his initial scene in the first act, but after that lie failed to register, even though bo was given a whale of a chanco In the Talm Beach scene in a bathing bit. through getting the soubret's bathing suit during the five months she had lcnt reputation The membci s of thfj known him been on anything more than ordinarily friendly terms with Grubb, tho latter being regarded by the company as a sort of good- natured chaj), who would treat the girls to meals occasionally. It was stated by Miss Campbell and sec- onded by others in the "Apple Tree" company that Grubb and Miss Bart- ley-'were not sweethearts, nor any- thing more than friendly pals, at any time. Grubb, however, it is said, did not take this view of the n.rtter. Ho assumed the exclusive right to Miss Bart ley'a eompany. Members of the company say Grubb had threatened Mis~ Bartley once previously and that Miss Bartley feared the man. As Miss Bartley and Miss Camp- bell came on *he darkened stage of the Lyric Friday afternoon after climbing the stairs from the dress- ing room below, Grubb was seated on a property trunk. Approaching the girls Grubb informed Miss Bart- ley he wanted to speak to her, fol- lowing which request Miss Campbell company stated likewise. The "Apple Tree" act was to hav#" played two more weeks of the Cana- dian time booked out of the Keith' office, having been scheduled to go to Toronto this week, and Montreal the week following. The two week* were cancelled by Choos because of the notoriety resulting from the shooting. It had been Choos' In- tention to bring the act in at the end of the two weeks for re-organ* izatlon. Lorlng Smith, featured with "Ap- ple Tree," stated Miss Bartley had requested him to ask Grubb to re- frain from annoying her recently, and he had accordingly warned the stage carpenter to let the girl alone, if she did not care for hie 4 attentions. This is the second tragedy occurring in a Choos act In the last four months, a chorus girl member of Chocs' "Japanese Romance" had a bottle of vitriol thrown at her by the wife of a principal while the company were playing in Colorado^ in September. responsible for the female imper- sonation. Murray was .severely straight in the pieces, and by way of a specialty obliged with a recitation, one of those philosophical bits of catch-can verse, a 14th street ver- sion of "Life's a Funny Proposi- tion." So much for the masculine division. With reasonable support the wom- en principal would have been ade- quate. But they had nothing suffi- ciently distinguished to offset the dullness of the rest of the perform- ance. They worked under tho handi- cap of a chilly audience, but even at that managed to brighten up an otherwise profitless evening. Gladys of the legal copyright Is meeting I Pin, Una Tyber, Spadaro, Thro* after his clothes had been taken. ". " { Z!~*£m—r- i-•«*■««-* —-^n 15S?u*£*¥* ^"^ a WO ? b,t 2"Z m ing soubrct-Frencl with bitter opposition, the majority of authors being, repugnant to the Idea of a government being In a position to "collect royalties on works the copyright of which has elapsed. There will be no objection to the life of copyright being pro- longed. It Js argued a picture be- longs to a painter's heirs until they dispose of it, the same as real estate, hile the public has a right to make free use of a literary work as soon as the copyright falls out. But the idea of tho State Inheriting tho rights forever is very distasteful. Peaux Rouges, Rlstorl and partner, Glnette-Dubreull, Chester Kingston, i Paulo Dorian, the Woodsotis, Au- # gustin and Hartly. k * Ing the first act and a portion of the second, and with Joseph offered a series of musical specialties, start- ing with ukes on shipboard, follow- ing this with guitars nnd finally slipping over a couple of banjo bits in the last act. There la little to choose between the dressing of the principal girls. They all look nifty in the most ap- proved style in burlesque dressing. Tho ingenue and soubret made fre- quent changes, with the former af- fecting exceedingly wide floppy hats. For looks Hallie Deane has It over the smaller girls, and as for voice she had everything that could bo asked for in the numbers han- dled. She had the prettiest num- ber of the show, closing the first scene of the last act. In it she was assisted by Will Davis in the choruses, as well aa having the baeking of the girls. Eddie Green seemed to be on in almost all of the numbers, helping along the chorus work with eccen- tric stepping, and despite this, when he cut loo«;c in tho final seme, be __ cleaned for the whole show in the the Theatre"ParYsien" W'matin^s ' way of applause Incidentally, Wat - ! son tried to bui'd up the epceialty of the soubret in this station wh« n she put over "Dardanella," but seem- ingly those in front had tired of her "grind otiiff" by this time, and ihey did not accord her sufficient ap- plause for an encore, until Wat mom on tho .--Ta^o started lr for h"r and motioned to the audience to Join hi'.ri. Pot* ;if:.tr lor s«T»u,d ch"i»».- i f v :i«- > 11 ill. Hai\''-y * !••)• tro v» '•♦ nioi" . \ on ii!»' i n,'i< TV- v> is 1 i\i| g eouorct—*Tonchy and chic in dressing and singing and dancing style. She had more snap and vi- vacity than the rest of the princi- pals together. She makes a delight- fully trim and sprightly little blonde figure. Myrtle Andrews is a bru- nette of about the same dimensions, a pleasing number leader, but with- out the style of Miss Stockton. Katherlne Murray is a stately prima donna and displays some exceeding- ly sightly clothes, running mostly to snug bodices and full tights. One of white with strings and strings of pearls sets off her Amazonian fig- ure admirably, and another was a stunning black knec-lcngth affair of heavy Jet. One thing to be thankful for was that the women principals were not drawn into the rough stuff. which was confined to the choris- ters. Among tho outstanding Incidents not enumerated were a comedy quartet with the four men, which got some return on its harmony and none on its comedy. A colored boy and girl Interpolated as a singing and dancing specialty and not pro- gramed and a fast rough-and-tum- ble dancing "contest" as the finale of the first part. /c*4A. "Monsieur de Pourceaugnac," the three-act comedy ballet in prose of Moliere, with music by Lulll, has been revived at the Comedlc Fran- caisc. Raymond Charpentier is re- ■ ■p onsiM e for the Present verxion.. wYiich V Biii'npi'uouVTy"moui:led, but lacks a ecrlain sincerity. The French version of 'Mr. Hev- erlcy" wjll be revived at tho The- atre Femlna early In December, with FJrmin Gemlcr in the tit?e role. (Co ' son nnd Bernhardt PARIS i Hi.) from Ccclh W\< •e Hartley, « •-:: t.-«l« *s from Chicago. \\,h ^! ot .md' -I" Hy wounded ■• " — - ''•■■• ' '•:■•: to M»iV fl"' :■ iv in :ili !ii Hamilton. (Kit PI ween ny j;iek C;ubb, anactor in I'-o-tomsng 1* v-r, pi trim-** 1110 company, whom she had •»urneu. Grubb then ehot himself. ! and work fngoth'-r very we)) Sw*ff. p Ham mora toin announces ! about •dv\S U6 K ltten." a musical com- I be ta '' Wltn Joseph Cnwthorn. :;hii«1 ,ii)»l •'!•' • Vy. Toe IS k at all times Abov» be said for and 'The Cii ls-dt-1 *'Oh.-." it m'.-t 1 Ml.'. ' :< i«f S V!( ;t). ' show. pace 2) Crandson-ln-law. Mnc\ uprr'-cd to an lucres'-o of rmt of 00,000 fran and promised to sp^ nd half a million fraixs in rcib-e»>rr.tin^ th»» th'-atrc. Mine. I .V|.)r»-?:o had also olTer* d to b'ase 'tin' huM'T. but pr^f'-r^n-'e ujh ^iven \ to •,,,. iiiv,»r,t •umiit, who has still i i ;"\ -vi .ii' li-avr 'O ri)I), so tilv* pt'O- ^irls show a lot of ba< and work topei all things that can ior at:oa is r«a )y ior live year.-.. The propo«ut ion of «i Frer>'li states- man M. ll.nni il. licit the Sta'e shoold In!:' rit the control of all lit- erary and musteal works after the f \ p:r ■.(■ :•■!. of fif'> \vai.s or the en<i i PARIS THEATKKS—Ta Passonte <Th. de Paris), Pede (Tlouffes), JaeQueline and Faisons on lteve (Kdouaid VII) La Maison do rilomme (Antoine), I^a Belle de Paris (Apdlo), Celul qui tient la Lampe < Albert I), Le Val de rEvcojie, etc. (Nouveau Th.), Pel- leas et Mellsando (Champs Elytees), Cousin de Valparaiso (Arts). Sl- mone est comme ca (Capueines), La Oioiro «Sarah Ii^rnhardt), L'Eper- vler (Ambli'ii), Robert Macalre (»»orte fit. Martin), Chcmln do Dames (Vaudeville). Zaza (Renais- sance), Amants <(.»ymnase), Lc Vcrbo Aimer (Mathurins), Peg o' My I.art (Marign>), Around the World In 80 Days (Chatelet), Les Bijoux Indiscrete (Marjn.l), Mani- cant est un Safyre (Koala), T'occupe pas du gosse de la bonno Cluny), Hrne.-t et son Ixiupiot U>eJ zet), L'llomme de la Null, etc. (Grand Ciilgnol), ^'oinedlcnne (Nouvcau- tos), .Sin MVfnina), Pit e Boheme (Morador), chiii^ctir d».- ehez Max- im*.v il'al.iis Ho;.al), Alain, sa mere et k.i n»aits •'-■■~o » .''otinlerc), Mon- li-y'H Paw, etc. (I)i.nix Masques), 1'a tad Ik Ferine « At hence), Bella of \ov York »Moneey), Louis XI, • ■'hIcmx homine (Odeon), Marriage de '!'«;• rii.i<[ue and repertoire (Op- « rn «;..;»),,pji ), .m. de Pom c«-au^nac 'Mi' 1 r»'P'T»cur«' iCoinedl • Fi .irn'ai: e); r«i-« (oic at OfM-i.i, <;aife, Trianon. \ it nx (."olontoii r; nvnc ut Casino do Paris. Ha Tn-Clan, C.it. Rocho- • •'Moaar', Alavol. I«*<»1: # ■ *> lt'-rtjere, Mi' h«'K \ :n ■'<< ie<;, Ci^r;.| ■. PHOtJl: A.M.S- AlbaFiihia, Paris, ltbldediilo, AlCi'l l.o,i>, I'our Mad- inic;, I -~ •»* - )•/>, . w ".iOi I'.a; :■■■», Ai:iiV d^ CHICAGO SHOWS - (Continued from page b) tlal how. Seamon repeated, as f*r as success was concerned, with hie talk, songs and Instrumentalization. Johnny Coulon, with his mystifying stunt of "Now you can and now you can't lift me," came next. Aft*u« nar- rating his experiences in Kurope Coulon Invited a committee of six from tho audience to try their strength. Among them was a neigh* borhood pugilist, and ho was the" centre when he first raised John way o.-rr Ii.'.-. hi at!. When he eooid not budtfc tho little 110-pounder caused the panic. The others fared no bet- ter. Coulon made his exit laugh- ingly, with the houso breaking loose. Sampson and Douglas had the next-to-shut position. %The woman, a comedienne of no mean ability, making her entrance oa the end of a long ropo which the man waa dragging along, thinking he had his dog, started right in and never let up throughout the turn. The couple have a few rather off-side gags. Talk of that sort for a neighborhood audience is somewhat out of place. They have sufficient smart dialog. The man has a pleasing singing voice and rendered several ballads well received. Just another bit. The Midgets closod the show. /nip. a, is «>1 v ill I i 1' I I ■:io atid I.i MABRIAGES William Jochlmson, of Ibookiyu, to Marion MVXamara, of Pluln- fleld, N. J. Vaudeville, in Brooklyn. Nov. 24. Billy Casey to Gladys Bn. Uridge, New Orleans, Nov. 28. Captain Rufua A. Parsons, II, United States Army, of Mt. Vernon, la., nnd Dcslreo Stempel, 21. with "The Champion," at CInelnoatI. At a publicity stunt, the bridegroom, who sat in the audience at th" 'band opera house, was asked to li-e dur- ing a performance. Fay Painter to Lieut.-Commander Reginald Venable, V. S. N. The marriage, announced last w. eW, has been kept a secret for several months. Craco He Marest (Kan » '..n,;cr,> office. Leo Feist) to *ol Zancy at Oklahoma City, Nov. 22. l»esirce Stcmpel (of "The Cbam- fdon" eompany), Nov. 16, to )Jeu*. Rufus A. )'arsons, in Cincinnati, where the compauy vas playing. Tho bride will continue njMi UlO show for Hie reinamd. r ©r tile ; -a son.