Variety (May 1922)

(I VARIETY'S LONDON OFFICE CABLES * ^** MartinU Place, Trafalgar Square CALLED BEST SCOTCH PLAY SINCE '^UNTY" JK= Fridayr May 5. 1922 ^s^- Author and Star of Piece at Queens Hailed as Genius Loiulon, May 8. "Lass o* Laughter," which came to the Queen«», April 29, is declared by the London commentators "the best Seoteh i>lay since *Bunty'." It ba« scored a tremendous hit. Xan Mariott Watson, Its st.ir and part author, is hailed as a genius. Fhe comes before the British pub- lic suddenly and without prelimi- nary rxp]oitr\tion. "Lass o* LauRhter" !s a kind of Scotch "Peg o* My H«art" In Its Btory outline, although its atmos- phere ar.d people are Scotch instead €>t British and Irish. The Selwyns are prominent nmonjr the Americm managers who have plared bids for the production riphts in the United States, al- though ihf^re Is some division In opinion as to the play's appeal on the other Fide of the water. as Ca- cuncert DEATHS ABROAD Mme. Schneider, ' nown mille 01»er, French cafe einger, difd at Maryeiihs. Charles Marcobelli, clown <^:farco- Belly act) died suddenly at Mar- Bcillea, France. Joseph Oiler, whose death was re- ported by cable, was born in Spain in 1839. and was the inv« ntor of the •Tari-Mutuel" (mutual betting BchemB now controlled on F^rench race tracks by the government). The French State prosecuted him as a gambler in 1875 for using his bet- ting machine, and in 1887 offered Its official patronage by making the system compalso y; Oiler thua passing from a sinner to a saint in government eyes when money from taxes on betting was apparent. Oi- ler owned at different periods the famousMouIin Rouge, the Olympic music hall. Nouveau Cirque and the Jardin de Paris. lie was Instru- mental In the creation of come oT the new race tracks around Paris. H. V. Esmond. English play- wright, died In a Paris hotel from heart disease. April 17, at the age of 53 years, while on his way to London from Algiers. He ^ras the son of R. CJ. Jack, and wae formerly on the stage. His lir.st play, "One Summer's Day," was produced In 1897. Ilis best known work Tfe pr(»bably * When We Were Twenty- one.*' He married the actress, Eva Moore, in 1891. and leaves a son and daughter. 7,000 POUNDS IN TWO IRVING BERLIN DEALS Darewski t^ays 5,000 for Two- Year Extension of Pub- lishing Rights IN LONDON Boyce Combe and Van Hoven wonder why they are not on all bills togethor, well, often is all 1 mean to say. Omaha is closed. Meet Mr. Combe and his charming friends. Have an enemy booked to ride daily in M»ikeljohn & iHmns big blue FRANK VAN HOVEN PO9R DETECTIVE PLAY Dec;o: see Mildly and Clerc's Offering Received at l^ntokie Paris, May 3. "Le Spectre de Monsieur Ember- ger," the four-act detective story by Henry Degorsse and Henri Clerc j birthday anniversary. Lord Dewar presided London*; May 3. Irving Berlin la reported having completed two deals which put more than 7.000 pounds to his credit. On one hand, his represen- tative. Max Bornstein, has complet- ed a deal for the- extension of pub- lishing rights to Berlin music with Darewski, who pays 5,000 pounds advance royalty. The other reported transaction Is between Berlin and Sir Alfred Butt, who, It is understood, has completed arrangements to produce the Music Box Revu« 1 -xt Autumn, paying 2,000 pounds for the right.'*. The Sam Harris New York office had not been notified up to Wednes- day of the closing of the deal. liondon, April t. Robert Courtheioge has arranged that Peggy O'Neil shall return to London in a new play at the end of her vaudeville tour. The Savoy's next attraction will be C. Haddon Chambers posthumous play "The Card Players' In which. Godfrey Tearle, C. V. France and Peplta Bodadilla (Mrs. Haddon Chambers) will appear. 0) The lighting strike of the musicians on the Gulliver Circuit is at an e nd. A settlement was reach- ed between the Amalgamated Musicians' Union and the manag- ment and those conductor^ and musicians whose place were filled will resume work at once; others will return as vacancies occur, said vacancies to be within a month from April 17. The .«:um total of the strike therefore seems to be a month out of work for most of the men. will choose p1ay» -which will trMid him to "show his ability us an and not aa a beauty." ACtOf W. H. Pennington, the oMmi British actor, is 89 years of a «^ tS hale and hearty. In the VictortE days he was known as "GladstonS favorite tragedian." Apart from hli age and record as a player, be li noteworthy as being the only »ur! vivor of the Eleventh Hussars who took part in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. rl i WM. MORRIS' PARTY English Notables Gather for Amer< ican Manager's Birthday London, May 3. Fifty representatives of the thea- tre and commercial activities gath- ered at the riccadilly Hotel Monday to give a surprise party to William Morris, the American vaudeville manager, on the occasion of his 49th from Frederick Boutel's novel, was produced at the Theatre Antoine, April 28, and was poorly received. In the cast are Arquillicre Bou- lieu and Charles Boyer, Mesdames DuluamUnd Leclerc. The plot deals with spooks. A young man murders his uncle as a result of the nephew's love for his young aunt. In an effort to cover up the crime, the young man im- personates the dead m.in, hoping thereby to persuade the family that the uncle still lives. But a clever detective also imper- fionatea the dead man and thus wrings a confession of the crime from the guilty nephew. master. Other notables plimeatary things about ican gVest of honor. as toast- said com- the Amer- The late Albert Mitchell, for long a member of the Stoll managerial circle and latterly the business man- ager Of the Winter Garden liieatre who died on March 13, aged 55, lef^ £1,213. Fred Warden and James Fortescue who have taken over certain of the Gulliver halls for the summer months, will not i)ut on variety pro- grams. They will rely upon drama, musical comedy and revue. •ILE' IN ENGLAIIE .♦ London, April 20. ••He," the third of Eugene O'Neil's plays to be produced here, met with success at the Everyman, April 17, when it was included in Norman Macdermotfs holiday program. Like Oic two previous piece.*?, "In the Zone" and "Different," It is mainly a «tudy of seafaring men and man- ners. Three other playlets comprised the program. "Daily Bread," In which Milton Rosmer an! Isabel Jer.nri satirized a flirtation very cleverly, "The Bargain," showed a Persian swindling a British officer who was buying "dud" Jewelry, and John Galsworthv's war sketch, "De- feat." END PLUGGING FEES English Publishers Decide to Stop Paying Acta London, May 3. The end of the old sy-stem of payments to mu^ic hall acts by music publishers for singing cata- logue numbers is believe*! to be in sight. Although the sy;stem of premiums for pushing soI|gs survived in Eng- land long after it had been dis- carded in the United States, the British publishing trade has taken its first step to eliminate the prac- tice. At its last meeting here this week the music publishers' Association adopted a resolution to refrain hereafter from such payments. SAY STOLL HAS "REFEREE" London, May 3. A rumor is current that Sir Os- wald Stoll, who was a minor di- rector in the 00m: any controlling "The Referee^' has bought the prop- erty. V'The Referee" is a Sunday new-'spaper which specializes in the- atrical and picture news and com- ment. Chambers Play Artistic ^ London, May 3. The posthumous play '^The Card Players" of C. Haddon Chambers was disclosed at the Savoy, April 26, as an artistic production. Its* appeal is sympathetic with special address to the Intellectual and its future as a- commerci.il property is the subject of specula- tion. The repertoire for the first half of the run of the British National Opera season at Covert Garden which commencing May 1, in- cludes: "Parsifal," "Maesterslngers," "Rhelngold," "Valkyrie," "Siegfried," "Twilight of the Gods " "Tri.stan and Isolde," "I^ Boheme," "La Tosca," "Madam Butterfly," "Aida," "Sam- sonn^d Delilah." "The Magic Flute." and^*!he recently produced "The Goldsmith of Toledo," According to prej»ent plans the season will last eight weeks. The long rest which followed Marie Lloyd's illness last yeart'ttta supposed to have resulted in a com- plete restoration to health. She rj, turned to her audience, who '!*« ceived her with all the old enthiiri* asm. The "come-back" unfortu- nately seems to have only been of » temporary nature, for she collaps«4 on the stage of the Empire, Cardiff. After singing one number she burst info tears and the curtain wiU'run down. The management explained to the audience the comedienne had recently been seriously ill and wai 'unable to bear the strain. Sara Allgood has acquired thei right to revive "The White-Headed i;t»y" during the run of the Irish 1 layers at the Aldwyoh. The re- vival takes place at the matinet April 8, "Mixed Marriages- finl»h- ing its run the night pr*'vious. NOTHING IN SIGHT Savage Returns to Londop Report- ing Dearth of Material J. J. NOT INTERESTED Lond(»n, May 3. J. J. Sii ilitrt is among the recent anivals in the British c.ipital. He declares he is not on businesA and has no desire to see the majority of cuirent shows, judging from the re- pojts that have reached hini. He will go to the 'Jonlinent few days, r« mainii-g abroa<l mQrilhs. - ~ )n a tw<^> SAILINGS R« port'.d through I'.wjl T.iusjg ^• Son, 104 East 14tii stic»»: .May 3 (from Rotterdam to Kew Yi>rk), Si.\ Sarattofi (Ryndam); (from .New York to Kuropf) May 6, Hen IJoytr (Homeric); iMay 0, Max Alc.\ (Yorck); May 16, Gen. Kd Lavint. Mr. and Mrs. Robins (lleliance); May 110, The Flemings, Char^)tle Parry, Oliu and Johnson (Majestic); June 1, Six St«.llas (Bayern). July 11 (New York to Germany), Jules Nouman and 7 Braac^ks. May. 11 (New York to (Jerniany), M.'i'guerit^ and Alv;n'''tz. May 2, Fred Iloff (Aquitania). May 4 tLondon for New Y'ork).— Edward Kinsfila (America). May 2, Allan A tawnier, Ray llcn- 4er.«ion (Aquitania). London, May 3. Henry W. .Savage retu.ned from the Continent late last week, re- porting that he had seen .nothing worth while fgr America during hi.'^ visit across the Channel. Sophie Tucker in Hipp London, May 8. Sophje Tucker joins the London Hippodrome show next week. Dur- ing the engagement she will also appear at the Metropole cabaret midnight show. Alan Brooks Liked London, May t. Alan Brooks opened in Manches- ter this week and is reported as scoring substantially. He plays in London next week. Ambassadeura VauJeville Parts, May 3. The Ambafisadeurs reopens May 5 with a summer season of vaudeville under direction of Oscar Dufrenne. The ~X)ndon County Council, chief oppres.sor of the entertainment world, and which recently refused to foot the bill for Shakespearean performances and readings given at their schools, makes the somewhat startling announcement it is pre- pared to establi.sh two annual dra- matic scholarships that will provide tuition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for two years. The scholarships will be aw.arded to the students of 16 and 20 who show most aptitude for dramatic art. It would be rank hereby to insinuate that the London County Council is ^ettinr: "wet under the tliatth" or suffering from incipient senile de- cay. We must therefore assume they wish to perform a sort of amend honorable to a profession they have sorely harrassed by re- cruiting for the ranks of the stage- struck, tbe incompetent and the un- employed. The final performance of "Clothei and the Woman," in which Irli Hoey is starring in the provinces, came to an abrupt conclusion b.fer« the end of the first act at Princf'n Manchester, when the Midland J^« way offices next door took fire. i1 i 1 Fortunello and Carillfno. the acrobatic comexlians in the "League of Notions" here last year, have signed for a tour of the Keith .Cir- cuit. Maurice E. l/^andman left £33,052. By his will one-fourth of all he pos- sessed is to go to his private sec- retary, Annie Lewinstein (Nancy Lewis), in recognition of her loyal and faithful service; also silver, personal trinkets, jewelry, furniture and a motor car. « Of late, British dramatists of thf Intellectual class have developed tbt habit of explaining their pieces, should anything mar the triumph of the first night. XJeorge Bernaird Shaw started the ball rolling seri- ously after the production 'of "Heartbreak House." Arnold BetJ- nett is now explaining his '^h^ Love Match," assisted by a newepA- per dispute in which the prod))cer Frank Vernon states his reasons for wanting the play altered and Ben- nett Ills for refusing to fall into line with the manager's commercial views. FREDERICK VEHICLE Mc Woods Will Present Star in Laughlin's "Fires of Spring' London, May 3. A. H. Woods "Will present Paulina Frcdfiick in America next sea.son in i'-irts of Si>ring." the new i»lay by Kobrit McLaughlin. -McLaughlin home Robei t J. McLaughlin, rnana^* r of the Ohio theatre, Cleveland, and author of 'Decanuron Night.**" now curr«-iit at the remodelled Drury Lane, London, returned to iS'cw York on the H«JTneric yesterday. He will remain here for a week or ten ilays completing arrange- nxiitH for an attraction for nr^.xt season's franchise on tli«' .^liulxit time. PEGGY O'NEIL'S SUCCESS I,.ondon, May 3. I'« ggy 0'.\»#l was a personal suc- cess at the C«jlisrum (vaudeville) this week in a marhine-made sket^^h called "Kippers and Kings," The vf*hicle was especially pre- pared for the London venture. Jenny Colder III Paris, May 3. Jenny Golder Is temporarily out of the Folies Bergere revue owing to illnes.s. AMERICANS IN EUROPE Pari«, Ap. 17. Rosalie Miller, soprano, is in lion- don for a song recital, which she re- peats ii Paris May Enid Watkiiifi has sublet one flat of Clara Robinovitch, pianist, in I'aris, the latter having gone to the South of France. Genevieve Pitot of N« w Orhans, who has been singing at concerts in F^urope during tlie season, is at the American Hospital, I'aris, condi- tion is reported as improving. Earl Leslie, after several months In Paris lor the run of the. Casino de Pariv reVue. is now dancing with Mme. Mistanguett at the Alhambra. Brussels. Leonora Hughrs, dancer, has gonf to Pari.« from London. Harold Henry, piani.st, has tak« n a new studio in Paris. .\m( ng the visitors are Edward L. Martin, of Harper's M.^Igazine, and his daughter, Lois W. Martin; Crosby (Jaige, theatrical manager of Detroit, arrived from a tour through Germany, Lundon Is taking kindly, if by degrees, to the cabaret habit, and the "Midnight Follies' ftt the Hotel Metropole is doing well despite the grandmotherly restrictions of the London County Council, an august body that dislikes Innovation and gaiety with a puritanical narrow- mindedness more in keeping with the days of the Reformation. The charge for supper and the show, wines not included, is 30 shilllngR a head, and a profit of $1,000 a week is being made. The current pro- gram includes Los Caritos. Gertrude Lawrence, Fred Duprez. Jack Buchanan. Norah Blaney and Gwen Farrar. Dancing is intlulgrd in dur- ing the interval. T. Nelson Downs, the coUi man- ipulator, arrived here recently and immediately t0f»k to his brd with bronchitis and Influenza. After an Illness of 17 days he is now fit and about again. With its second week's bill the Alhambra comes withfn me.isurabl* distance of its old glory. There is apparently, however, a l.imentable dearth of comedia».s The mantles of Dan Leno, 'iarry Randall, Her- bert Campbell, Chirgwin, and » hundred other |>rime laughter makers of 10 or 20 years ago seem still to be suspended. They cer- tainly have not fallen upon either of the comedians to be seen at the Leicester Square vaudeville bouse this week. Jay Laurier-onust have won his position in the v.iudevil^ programs with vastly better stuff than he Is using now, and Datt Whitley Is anything but up to standard. Doris Lee and Elsie Steadman give an excellent turn, the musical equivalent to cross- talk. The New York Havana Band repeated its Coliseum success and took several genuine and hearty calU. Gene JUerrard is the oni laughing sudft'ss of the program, and his "bibulous * act is absolutely without offense. Herbert Clifton scored. Hetty King makes her "first appearance in London after her triumphant American success,** according to the program. The final turn was "The Disorderly Room" provided by Leslie Henson and Tom WallM. Ltd. This skit on a soldier being brought up for orderly room trial is played cut, and its jokes are threadbare. However, it^ music and the old jokes went well with a great portion of the au(li»?>ce. who obviously r cogniied dear old barrack-room friends. Artht^ IV^Irinff Eni;aRCin<'ntfl ta Enirliind—C unimnnirtife With 1.6. 1602 Masonic Temple Chicago BIdg. !Matinee idols srom to be goincrout of fashiiMi. The late I,iewls Waller suffere<l considerably from feminine adoration, his admirers herding to- gethfr as the "K. O. W.'s" ("Keen on Waller"). Now the British mat- inee idol among mntinro idols, Owen Naros, revolts against the halo whi^h has been handed out to him. He threatens thatin thefntu-e he WILETTE KERSHAW THEATRE ROYAL I>Kl RY I.ANF. I.ONDOV FOSTERS AGENCY, Ltd. CEORCiE rOSTKK FOSTER PRODUCTIONS ii^HUYFO?r»B KNGLANDH I.E.VDINO THKATRICAL AND VAUnKVlLLB A<5K-NTe. T<^coRnis«><l Artd Hoquirin^r Europran nooUinjr«< rifase <'oTiiiriuni<-.'itP, rilARINCi ( ROHH IIOI SR. 2»ft ( IIARlNft CROS.S RH., I.ONIMIN. W. «,Vifs-. l«bl« AJdrcMt CoBflrHMtkm, lM>ndao. AMERICAN HOOKlMi.H Tlll«>t^<'*'' WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY, INC. , ^„„ ,-rt TVtifAM BVILDINO. l«t» BBOADWAV NEW VOBR CTt*