Variety (May 1923)

** r Wednesday, May 30, lttt VAUDEVILLE i 9 STATE "FIDDLING" CONTEST BRINGS OUT OLD TUNES "Crippled Chicken" Won — Missouri Jig — Old Timers* Contest Goe* to Kid of 65—Twenty-five Compete for State Championship Kansas City, May 29. The State "fiddling" contest for the championship of Missouri was held at Paris Thursday, and at- tracted more attention to the little town than a circus. There were I some 30 contestants. Maypr Keil o! St. Louis and Mayor Crorffwell Of Kansas City were the judges. Each conte^ant was allowed to select his own tune. Some of the airs rendered brought back memo- ries of the long ago. Each of the "fiddlers" had a version all his own CHI DIVORCES Tin ee Theatrical Decrees Granted— „ One • Newspaperman • Chicago, May 30. Bonnie Lloyd has secured a di- vorce from Jake Kennedy on the ground.-, of desertion. In the court records the names are Selzada Ade* hue Sutzman vs. Jacob Suhtman. Nina Seaman* Bestor obtained her divorce from Vernon R Bestor JOYS AND GLOOMS OF BROADWAY Some of the titles, as announced on the grounds of adultery. Bestor Is a composer and musical director. Caroline Warmer*, of "The Passing by the Judges, were **Lost Indian "Hill Billy Bill." "Little Brown Jug." "Hound Dog Blues," "Jimmy. Are You There?" "Money Musk," "Buffalo Girl." 'Unlucky Dog." "Irish Washerwoman." "Grey Eagle" and "Get Up and Go." In addition to the State cham- pionship, won by Henry Taylor over a -field of 25 entries, there was an old fiddlers' contest which brought out the real old-timer*. The tune which captured the State championship was a well- known Missouri jig. 'Sallie Goodin, or Crippled Chicken," while the winner of the "old folks'" affair. William Stalcup. 65, took first money with "Leather Breeches." Show." is named. Margaret E. Churchill was granted a divorce In the Superior Court from Thomas Cecil Leonard, said to have been a newspaperman and theatrical producer. Mha Churchii; appeared in musical pro- ductions HIP STILL DILLINGHAM'S (Continued from page 1) ham's version of the Parisian operetta "Dede." CHARLES ALTHOFF HAMILTON "HERALD" May 226, 1923. There's a laugh a minute and many a one sandwiched in between when Charles Althoff comes on to the boards. . . . and what he can't do and what he can do with his little old violin provides the enter- tainment of his program. Charles' personality is such that he was called and recalled. Address cars EDW. 8. KELLER Never before in theatrical history hav| there been so many ftrls avail- able for shows as at the present time. Ned Wayburn raves OV*» the beauties he picked for his revue at the Shelburn, Brighton. Ned I ir. all his career he never had such marvels. Earl Carroll claims the I •■ I in the world rehearsing in his new revue. George White says his girts this year top anything he has ever had. And still there arc other beau- ties available for other shows. Under present conditions the producers have the pick of the beauty market, and a girl who isn't exceptional has small chance of getting in. • Sunday was probably Will Rogers' farewell to the New York stage for some time to come, as he leaves Saturday for California to fullflll a con- tract with Hal Roach to make film comedies, in closing his talk Sunday Rogers said: "I'm Baying good by to you folks and won't see you all again for some time. I'm going out to the Coast to make pictures. The last time I went out there I went to take Charley Chaplin's place. This time I'm going out for Valentino." Will's final words were: "All the success I have ever acheived haa been due to Mineralava." Al Jolaon seemed lo enjoy his appearance at the Songwriters' affair, particularly his impromptu talk fcpfore he started singing. Jolson claimed he is the "best second verse writer In the world, and wrote more vamps than any living song writer." In closing he said that if It were not for the wonderful material the song writers were constantly feeding him he couldn't be a great success. • GARRY OWEN WAS LATE And Is Given Notice by "Compli ments of Season'* Producer Garry Owen, principal of "The Compliments of the Season," a Paul Gerard Smith vaudeville sketch at the Palace, New York, last week was given notice Thursday night after missing the night show at the house. Owen was dining with friends and lost trtfck of the time. He was in proper condition, but ar- rived at the theatre after the act had gone on. E. K. Nadel. producer and agent of the act, notified Owen his services would no longer be re- quired. For the night show Thurs- » day John Clayton switched roles, taking Owen's part, the carpenter of the turn taking Clayton's usual role. Friday, Paul Gerard Smith, the author of the act, jumped into Owen's j>art. He will remain in until a new man is secured to replace Owen. "Compliments of the Sea- son" holds a route from the Keith office which calls for the original cast, but a satisfactory replacement will not affect the bookings of the act. Owen was engaged this week for the new summer rev*ue at the Earl Carroll theatre, "Vanities of 1923." Hearn's department store, a Four- teenth street landmark, may occupy the Hippodrome site. . When the big house was offered for sale it was variously reported it would be used for a hotel, the possibility of a department store moving there also being mentioned. It is under- stood the Hearn offer is now being considered by the U. S. Realty Co., which owns the Hip. Hearn's is the last big depart- ment store in Fourteenth street, once the center of the^ retail dis- trict. Most of the big establish- ments have moved uptown, Macy's landing at Herald Square and Stern's moving from Twenty-third street to its present location on Forty-second street. The latter is really the only department store in the Times Square district, but more strictly belongs to Fifth ave- nue. The only big store south of Hearn's now is Wanamaker's." STOCK LEADER RALLIES (Continued from page S) that point looked to have been done by rank outsiders. If Wall street insiders had any hand in the movement downward, or if the uptown crowd was playing that way, the best indication that the drop was over came out last Saturday, when the statement of earnings for the first quarter was announced, giving the business an especially rosy complexion. The statement showed current profits at the rate of $15 a share on the common, or $1,200,000 for the first three months, a substantial Increase over the rate for the same period a year ago. At the same time capital was made of the approaching sale of Los Angeles theatre property. which would make it possible for the company to pay oft its remain- ing bank loans. These obligations have been gradually reduced until they now total only about $2,500,000. Emphasis was placed on the fact that the company has retired 13,- 000 shares of Its 8 per cent, pre- ferred stock and further retirement Our friend, the "Broadway Comic," is back in town, after touring the south and west with his own troupe. He's starting right in to produce a summer show on Broadway. He has found someone who will let him have some costumes and scenery, someone else who will let him have a theatre, he's written al' the numbers himself, and has discovered some new comics and performers In the sticks, so he's all set. Whenever performers, particularly in cabaret, come in close contact with the audience, something is bound to happen. A patron discovered a new way-to annoy a girl when he lit a match and started to burn up Therma Edwards' grass skirt in her Hawaiian dance at» downtown place the other night. BOHLER'S SHOW Chicago, May 29. The banquet held at the Hotel Sherman on Wednesday night of last week In connection with the M. P. T. O. A., was voted a large success. R. F. Woodhull of Dover. N. J., was toastmaster. The enter- tainment was provided through the courtesy of Charles Bohler of Bohler and Van, who has made Terrace Gardens in the Morrison hotel fa- mous by his cabaret entertainments. The fact that George B. Flint, the Bohler and Van producer, was for- merly secretary of the Iowa branch of the M. P. T. O. A., give the show additional interest to the picture people. BEN MEROFF'S TROUBLE Springfield, Mass., May 29. Ben Meroff. dancer, will be tried in Springfield this week on a charge of violating the Mann act. Meroff. who dances to the music of his p.wn jazz hand, is accused of bringing Edna Heiditer from Baltimore, Md.. to Trenton. N. J. So far is is known, the girl did not accompany Meroff to this St >tc. PEARSON-LEWIS' A TO Z ' "A to Z" • « title prevlouslj U ed in London) has been selected as the litis q( th.> musical revue Arthur Pearson and Ted Lewis will jointly product this summer. The cy>i will ilso conl mi Jamta Coughlln and Pmttl Moore. Rehearsals >t«ii on •'•»'ie U. Yvonne Shelton and Lilyan Tashman leave this week for the Coast for J- Visit. Bert LyteM arrived from Hollywood Saturday to start his Cosmopiltan contract. A few vaudeville acts git a break this week in pictures when Famous Players engaged several dumb acts to work in a French Theatre scene with Gloria Swanson. A complete theatre was built on the set. It rep- resented the theatre where "Zara" played. She was preceded on the bill by six acts. The opening act was five Zeigfeld girls, headed by Haael Webb, on swings. Harry Shea furnished the vaudeville show which fol- lowed. Clowns, strong men, a tramp juggler, and a small circus com- posed the bill. Jim Thornton gave a Keith booker a laugh a few days ago. Jim ar- ilvcd at the booker's office on a particularly hot day wearing a big fur (oat. collar about his ears. In answer to the bewildered "booker's query as to why the heavy raiment, Jim replied: "Don't pull any summer salary- was being accomplished by market! Kluff n me .. SCHWABS SEPARATE A public announcement was made this week in New York by Laurence Schwab, 755 Seventh avenue, that Schwab had separated from his wife, Marie, and will not be responsible for her debts. The address Is that of the Earl Carroll Theatre building. In which Laurence Schwab, of Schwab & Kusell. producers of "The Gingham Girl," has offices. BILL LYKENS STRICKEN Atlantic City, May 29. William L. Lykens, the New- York vaudeville agent, suffered a paralytic stroke here Saturday. He is at the Lcedon hotel, 163 Ocean avenue, with day and night nurses in attendance. While the first stroke, due to Lykens age. 63, his condition is considered serious. Nat Sobel. representing the agents of the Keith office, came clown here over Sunday to make certain the stricken agent received all possible attention. YOUNG LUCAS WITH SENNETT Mack Sennett has engaged young Jack Lucas to appear in comedy films for a year, from June 18. next. The bey's father (Lucas and Inez) will remain with him in pictures, while his mother, commencing with next season, will continue in vaude- ville as a single turn. Thi« week th«' act is in St. Pa'Jl, and next week wit; visit relatives in Otnal .i before leaving for Holly- wood . Lulu McCoy's Baby Has Measles Los Angeles, Maj S& Lulu McCoy »l»* v Is and McCoj » • i here Monday for New York on receipt ot report that th^ir baby had contracted measles Davis will continue over (h-*;- i* tntagi ■ time is i single. purchase. This Is the stock that is redeemable at maturity for $120. It is quoted day by day around 91-92 and every share purchased repre- sents a big saving. Besides it re- leases cash from the amortization fund for active capital. At last week's meeting the board declared the regular common stock dividend of $2 for this qdarter, payable July 1. Loew and Orpheum It appeared true that in both Loew and Orpheum the speculative angle was neglected. There may have been some raiding of Loew, but it was short-lived, for the reason that insiders paid no attention, declined to Rive support aggressively and the price broke before the shorts could get important lines out at attractive figures. One of the downtown sta- tistical establishments has recently completed a survey of the Loew po- sition and although It has not yet been issued, the report has been heard that It will show the company In excellent shape and current profits at the rate of $2 a year pet- share of common stock, meaning that the company's business is re- turning its old rate of dividend. This applies to the entire current fiscal year ending July 31 when the an- nual statement is prepared. If thfs estimate of the company finances proves true the annual statement should make good reading and it would appear likely that some move to discount its publication would be shortly in order. Orpheum has been allowed to ride by company insiders. According to k Chk-ago sources, more than 6,000 shares have been accumulated by interests identified wifh the concern over a period of gome months. There has been no aggressive bidding. Company officials acting on the same campaign would rail upon their broker* for quotations and when the offered price was under J9 would place orders at stated prices. When the price showed a disposition to get out of hand the company buyers would withdraw and wait for more offerings. In this way the stock was accumulated without gunning prices up. From the Chicago statements and from the heha\ ior of the stock it would look reasonable :.i suppose that company buyers were In agreement not to bid ngainsl each other if they acted In* dependent!)'. Or th** accumulation may h;i\e been done through a manager after the manner ot po.>i opera tlon, _ The Inside dope on the carnival which was to have inaugurated the Coney Island Boardwalk is that it was a big flop, and something is about to be done to correctly handle the publicity for the new project. The biggest flop of the week was the "Bathing suit parade** Saturday after- noon. Four girls, with more or less good figures entered, and all won prizes. Over 100 prises were provided; which were turned back to their donors. There doesn't seem to be anybody at Coney Island alive to the necessity for proper publicity for the Boardwalk, and It suffers in con- sequence. Flo Hart sails for Europe June 20. Ann May, coast picture star, is on her flrst vbdt to New York. lietty Dudley has left the "Follies" to go into pictures with Fox took exception to Variety's state- ment that stock transferred by in- side people was coming into the New York market, make this expla- nation: One of {he Orpheum men, whose market operations are of consider- able volume' placed a block of Or- pheum stock with a Chicago broker, to be used as margin for purchases of other stocks. According to the brokerage custom both In Chicago and Sow York, this pledged stock had to be transferred to the broker In order that It might be available for use in the loan market. The brokerage operation Is perfectly legal, for every contract to buy car- ries a line specifically giving this permission. It's legal, but It has somewhat the complexion of a "privilege" and If it works against you In a deal you are excused If you call it a "graft." In any event the broker does not have to-return the customer the same stock he puts up as collateral and the original stock may have traveled a dozen trades away before its equivalent, borrowed elsewhere by the broker or purchased when called for. Vn re- turned It is In different certificates and the original deposited certifi- cates have joined the so-called float- in- supply. It's a complicated op- eration, but the explanation seems to • over the case convincingly. New Goldwyn Out Ooldwyn'l new stock was ad- mitted to listing Saturday when one trade of the new issue at one to four of the old came out on the tape at 21. representing the equivalent of T.*; of the old stock. Broadway con- tinues to hear tales that dividend will soon be explointed. It is no! easy to see how .-• company the! i-.oo-; through the year with a heavy d- licit pan pay a dividend, bul the new organisation of Cohtwyn- < n-ph»uni interests thai recently I Hearst mav mean i new aval em nl financing with the acquisition of im- portant cash. There Is no way of telling what is going on and the dividend talk Is all pretty vague and in the form of film trade lips on the bull side. It was significant that the heavy trading of the last six months in Loew, Orpheum and Ooldwyi) stopped dead with the decline and at the low levels transactions were at a minimum, especially In Loew. The Curb issues were remarkably Inactive. Only one transaction i out—1,000 Triangle at 1» cents, g drop between transactions of 6 c<*n' and a new low for the Issue which had just completed a round trip. from IS to SR c«»nts and back to tS. The vumni.1') of transactions May H I 2d, laclwtrt; 8TOCK EXCHANGE Thursday- Hale* Ht*h biir.Uit. ('!•«. ram. Piay-T,... S.oiiO 70 l^ 7» HW OoMwyn 000 fi% »•; .1% 4 '« f.ww. Inn 1.500 1«% 1&*4 10% + '. Orpheum ...... S00 IV* 18', IS'fc 4- \ Fare. l»lay•!.... 1.300 79 76% 77% I Ds.. prt »<*» 0'."i oo% sos •+- &, Ooldwyn 1,700 ft% .I', .".V* •» '« I^oew. Inr (too 10', 10% 10% 4 •» Orpheum MS PT« 1*7, UTi gsterdai Tarn. l'!a>-<r 1.100 7"% 78 78*4 t*v. pf.j 200 »P, 90% SI', + % Ooldwyn 2»2 -'i 20'* II Ixwvr. inr 400 17% 1S% 17% 4- % Orpheum »M) 18% 18'i 18% - ', ■foftdar - ram. Play r,... i.ooo so 7W. 78% I>v. pM M" SlH 04>4 ll't fluidwyn. i<»iv.. !•>•» 21', 21'i 2l'j r>n»w. In. 100 17 17 17 — % Orph-nn o 0 19 18\ 11% TU«"!I<|M\ — ram. PUj r.. . . 2 *»<» 7I»', TM> 7» *, D*„ i»M 2fX) «>!'_. 0!>4 !»!% Hold wyn oH .. ♦<)> .'•% 5% .".% I.'"w. P ' .TOO 17', bi-n 17 Orphaura !w*» IS !S-- t m\ i -, D» t>M M0 '•»•. N% U\ \\><lllf«.||| v — it >IM iv. SUMMER SUBSCRIPTION for VARIETY $1.75 (three months)