Variety (July 1923)

Thursday, July 1». 1W83 VAUDEVILLE LONDON? FIRST HAH YEAR W SAW BAD PLAYS AND BIG LOSSES I ^ Most DiMtstroiM Six Montlis in Engliah Tlieatrical ^ Hittoiy--$2S0,000 LmI— Shorlett Run, 4 Days, * for **The IneTitoblrf* London. Juljr I. This last half year has been one of the moat disastroua known In Ix>ndon theatrical hiatory. Nerer before have thera been so many flops In the West End« and the es- timated lossea coma out at over £60.000. The record short run was that of •The Inevitable" at the St. James',. which only did four dayf, while <^resi>asse8." at tlie Ambassador, only reached 10. •Marriage by Instalment/' "Good ■ CTacious, Annabel," "The Picca- dilly Puritan," each ran under three weeks, while the other failures in- clude. "Her Temporary Husband," i*t»ove in Pawn," wnich after a fort- night was run as a "common- wealth"; "The Love Habit," ''Xn- gelo," "Merton of the Movies," "The Insect Play." "If Winter Comes," "Carte Blanche" and ^'The Young Idea." George Gray, whom many people .remember as one of the biggest . d^raws in vaudeville some years ago, ' has thrown up the stage entfrely, and is now going in for local pol- itics. He lives in the Channel Is- : lands, and is a member of the Jer- sey House of Legislature, which ap- pears big in print, but in realty is little better than the ordinary Brit- ish town council. ^f Officer Jack Russell Yokes and "Don," has been able to postpone . 4ome of his Moss Empire's time so . as to allow him to go to Bouth .. Africa to visit his mother, whom he ' has not seen for over 20 years. He will not play any South African time, but will return to this country In November to pick up his post- poned dates, and will return to America at the end of December. SPEC LOSES Court Throws out Ch«rg« Againt Palace Officer Magistrate Goodma'n in West 64th ■treet court, Friday of last week, refused to entertain the charge of assault preferred by Rueben Weller, the ticket speculator, against W. H. Genet, a Palace theatre special offi- cer. The magistrate, after listening to the case, advised Welter, in a severe arraignment, to withdraw his as- sault charge, following which he discharged the defendant. Wednesday night of last week Weller and one of his "diggers'* got •Into a battle in front of the Palace, both being arrested for disorderly conduct. They were admitted to bail In Night Court coming up for trial Thursday morning before Magistrate Goodman, who sus- pended sentence on them. The latest arrest Is the outcome of the Palace theatre war on the ticket speculators. Some weeks ago Weller caused the arrest of an- other Palace employee on a similar charge but failed to appear when the ca.so was called. J. J. BOOKS DELYSIA Paris, July 11. J. J. Shubert has Just booked Madame Delysia for a long Amer- ican engagement. LEAVING 'MUSIC BOX REVUE" London, July 11. The lirox Sisters, Jos. Santley and Ivy Sawyer are leaving the "Music Hox Revue" in two weok». "Tancicd" at Kingway, -'uly 11 P;iul I)!ivi<l.Hon is proihu ing the KJitli Millb.'uik .idapHon «.r th<' Oen n i ara eli , ov*»l Tin rri.tl" :it the Kingsv.av. .Itily 16. Goldwyn's "Don Hur" Agreement • London. July 11. Ooldywn li.i.s I'nU'iotl into an aKtecniont witli {he rnione Cine- matoRraphiqr.e Il.iliano. the Italian t\lm trust, for ihe making of Hen Hur" in It;»ly. DEVILS WALKED OUT ON MONTREAL'S SEERESS Bendetta's Work a Bit Rough, So Cops Get Her— WiH Know Fate July IB .■■*■•■-■/;•••'.■•' • Montreal, July 11. The way of the fortune teller Is hard. One little seeress In Montreal can vouch for this. 8he took pride in her supernatural powers— ^ And cast out devils— Sometimes casting 'em in— To unfortunate Montreal cltl- «ens— Charging a goodly price for her ministrations. But— She found a Judge— . Who could not cast out devils— But who could— /; Raise * — And he did!! : ^ And thereby hangs a tale. liittle Bendetta Denica, " 'taliano gaV suddenly discovered that she was possessed of strange powers, a la Conan Doyle. Oliver Lodge, Hux- ley, Swedenborg et al. About the same time a young married couple in Montreal found that they were not feeling up to the mark. Everything was blah-h-h-h! as It were, and strange and divers causes were attributed by physi- cians. But it took little Bendetta to hit upon the right dope. "Sick, nawt^- ing!" she warbled. "You are both possessed of devils. The devils ha^e mixed your blood and they mu~t be separated, otherwise it may mean croak." Bendetta first got one hundred bucks from the joyfdl pair and then proceeded to strut her stuff. The ailing lady was given a body belt to wear with a small phial of salt and a crucifix attached to it. "The devils call at It o'clock sharp," warned Bendetfa. J"But my maglo belt will frlgltten them away." Lieeches. those beastly little Mack sucking reptiles "that every small boy who Investigates slimy ponds for frogs and tadpoles has a pecu- liar affinity for. were also applied to the couple. Even Bendetta "stuck" to them—as long as they could stand it Somehow or other Bendetta's stuflt didn't get across. Either that or the unkind devils came back re- inforced and Ignored the belt. And then the strong arm of the law took a hand In proceedings. Bendetta was hailed to court, where she was called upon to stage another little act. The couple were on hand, too. It was the day of teams and singles— Bendetta doing the latter. The Judge listened to It all. Devil talk in court and hotter'n out- sjide. as one worthy lawyer put it. Perhaps visions of long, dark glasses or moist earthenware steins, filled with that liquid now only a mem- ory across the border, speeded up the offlclals. Anyway, the case was surely hustled along. "And—" mojinicd the woman com- plainant. "She told me that the devils alway.i came at 12 o'clock sharp. And she " "Standard or daylight saving time?' yawned the Judge, as he po- litely, but firmly, informed the weeping liendetta that >»he would know her fate July 18. WILUAM SEABURY Mr. Seaburjr opened' a new act last week at the Hamilton, and this week is at Oeorge Robinson's Brigh- ton Theatre. Brighton Beach. Seabury is agisted by Ina Alcova, Biille Beck, Genevieve Bamett. Marion Hart. Agnes Russell. Max Dolan and Roxey Clementa The act is under the direction of RALPH a FARNUM (Edw. S. Keller Office) BEAITTY CONTEST SET FOR OaOBER IN N. Y. ANSALDI OPENS CABARET l»;tri.v .July 11. JuloK Ans.ildi, forriprly m.-inager of the S.nna Souri and Martin's, New Yirrk. i.s r«t the head of tJio new C'hannp.^ niy.sef.«( r.T^nrrt, in- .•ius;uraied lliis week. PITT CHATHAM DIES I.ondon, July 11. Pitt Chatham, i^ed 37, ciciitor of Jeadiii? iol<-.s in "lU'Kuar'H OprT.-t" and "Polly.'' is dead, following an operation for ipivndif^itiH. H. Z. Pokj-ess. president of Scott's Preparations. Inc., which, markets the Mineralava beauty clay, states that the New York "beauty con- test" heralded on Mr. and Mrs. Ro- dolph Valentino's cross-country dance tour will take place in the metropolis early in October. The place will be either the Mad- ison Square Garden or the Metro- politan opera house. The beauteous maidens selected by public vote in the respective cities will be brought to New York, suitably accompanied by a chaperon, to participate in the final contest There are 87 such contestants. It is the Mineralava company's desire to have each participate for the op- portunity of being acclaimed a beauty contest winner, and earn a chance to appear in Valentino's support on the screen. The injunction by the Famous Players against Valentino empires next February when the contract ends and makes Valentino free to appear on the stage or screen any- where he sees fit His cabaret and dance hall appearances have care- fully avoided violating the Injunc- tive order. The Valentines are scheduled for sailing July 28, to make a picture abroad. With the expiration of the injunction Its exhibition throughout the ^universe would be permissible and Iwould not limit ^t* commercial field as at first assumed. Mr. Pokress states that while it was announced the beauty contest would be held in June, the tour was extended beyond the initial plans and the announcement was accord- ingly changed to the effect 0 would be a fall convention. Valentino's tour with the Mineralava people will not be extended la the fail, but the "sheik" will be one of the committee of Judges. Regarding the |7,000 attachment levied by Max D. Steuer^ on beha'f of Valentino against the corporation, it Is stated this was made necessary for mutual protection. If the Min- eralava* people paid the final week's salary to Valentino It would have been applied to a $48,000 attachment Arthur Butler Graham had levied against the actor for legal services rendered. If paid to Valentino it would have been a contract breach since Graham heretofore received all moneys for his client The beauty clay company has bonded the attachment The Valentino tour started In Omaha March 17. and concluded in St Louis June 14. Over 86 cities were played, mostly in one-night stands. The Mineralava Co. Is circularis- ing a form letter to the succe.ssful contestants reading in pirt: "CTpon their (Valentino) return to the ITnited States the final Valen- tlno-Mineralava beauty contest will l»e hold here In New York, and thl.s, wo f'xpect. will be some tinnc in Oc- toi)«r. We are already making prep- aratioMH. which you ran well Im- agine inu.st be very extenaivf. to^ fake care of ho tremendous a project. .'•When the exact date has Ifpen de«idod upon, you will be given two Uveeks' notice and all the necessary in.strurtions and information rela- tive to tfie necessary preparations Cor your trip to N'*w York." BUDAPEST IMPORTANT CEIfTER 0 - OF CENIVAL EUROPE THEATRE Janney Producing LengydU New Miller's Purchaset—^Two Americnn Budapest Plays in ^,000 FOR GIBBONS ON PAKTAGES TOME Opens July 15 at Minneapolis. Usual Fighter's Act —^Tre- mendous Reception "■■•■■■ ■*■.■■■ " ; ■•.'<;• .■ St. Paul. July 11. Tom Gibbons opens Sunday at Pantages, Minneapolis, for a tour of the circuit. He will receive from $2,600 to $3,000 a week for 1& wecjcs, probably playing under a guarantee against a percentage. Tl.e deal was made between Alexander Pantages and Kane Tuors. Gibbons' manager. A tremendous reception awaited Gibbons when he returned to his home toWt> Saturday, after going 15 rounds with Dempsey. July 4. at Shelby. The general impression that the championship battle, though resulting in Gibbons' defeat through a decision, would foe of greater benefit to the vanquished battler than to his conqueror wfts borne out by the reception given Gibbons at every town his train stopped at while en route to St. Paul. Crowds turned out at ali^ hours to cheer him. and twice he had to leave his berth, appearing on the car's platform In a bathing robe to acknowledge the hurrahing. Pantages's pre-judgment of this condition in booking a defeated fighter at the salaiV; the first time on record it has ever happened, was immediately vindicated when the trip for home started. The belief here Is firmly set that Tom Gibbons is Just as popular today in any part of this country as he is right in his own home city, where they always looked upon Tom as a champion and stUl believe it. After reaching home Gibbons at- tended the performance of "Spice of 1922," a stunt Nat Phillips, man- ager of the Ed Bloom show that Jack Lait wrote, arranged. Gibbons made a iu>eech of no consequence during the performance. The Gibbons act will be the usui^ one, with Tom talking a bit, also boxing with his trainers and the usual incidental utuft. Budapest, June IT. In Central Rurope Budapest has become one of the moat lm|>prtant centers of theatres and of playwrlt* Ing. Budapest takes about tba same place In playwrltinf as Vienna does in musical plays. As Vienna has her famous com- ponlsts like Lehar. Kalman, Strauss, Fall, etc.. so'Budapest has her own play writers such as Lengyel. Molnar, Biro, Hercseg, Dregely, whose plays are equally known all 0¥er the world. • The small country of Hungary ex- ports more plays than tha whole of Central Europe, including Germany, and comes directly after Paris. It Is owing to this that the American managers and directors who visit Europe come to Budapest to see end book for their New York theatres. Gilbert Miller, who recently paid a visit to Budapest with his director. David Burton, bought Molnar's "The Swan," Orbok's "Casanova" and Dregely's "Miss Blue Beard." In the latter Irene Bordoni will appear at (Continued on pa|re S6) SHUBERT UNIT HOUSES FOR SPECIAL nCTURES Last Season's Vaudeville The- atres on Shubert String Listed for Other Policies KITTY GORDON 45 Lsdy Beresford Swears to it Befor i Referee Testlfyii.g before Referee Philip J. Dunn of 15 Broad street. New York, Kitty Gordon on cross-exam- ination admitted she was L<ady Beresford and 45 years of age. Her counsel, Frederick E. Goldsmith, ob- jected that such interrogatories were Irrelevant but the referee thought there was no harm In them. The Bodlns Studios recovered a $1,500 ju4gment against Miss Gor- don for having constructed a vaude- ville production set for her. Miss Gordon has secured a stay of execu- tion and this argument befoie the referee was for the purpose of setting aside the judgment on the ground she vas not properly served. The Shuberts appear to have for« saken vaudevdls for next ssason in several of their last ssason's thea- tres for that policy, according to reports current that the policy of the former Shubert Vsudeville Cir- cuit will be traveling attractions and feature pictures. The Crescent, Brooklyn, a former vaudevllls sUnd, and lately dark after a session with stock. Is sobed* uled to open Labor Day with ths feature picture. "The Covered Wagon." ' Kenney's. Newark, another last season unit stand, will house "How Come," the colored revus which took to the road last Saturday after a run at the Lafayette, New York. The show will remain at Kenney's as long as business warrants. The Shubert, Pittsburgh, as reported last week, has been taken over by the Keith circuit Hall Putting en 'Civilian Clothes" London. July 11. • "Civilian Clo»hes" will be pro- duced here by Thurston Hall, who came to London with the "Broken Wing." Americans in Paris Paris, July 11. Jack Haskell, Clifford Fisch^ and Ritchie, the cyclist, have arrived lu Paris. Metier in Palace Revus ■ " ^»arls. July It. Hequel Metier operfs iq the Palace Revue July 2C. , > TREMENDOUS STIR-UP IN ./' BERLIN OPERA WORLD '^ Horlin, June 21. A tremendous ntir-up has oc- curred in the Derlin opera world. While Hartman, the director of the DeutHChes Opernhaus, was in America mi ringing the Wagnerian festival lliere, 4lie heads of the or- ganization here quietly voted him out, and whiu iic returned he found himHclf without a J6b. He at first threatened to sue the company. Bay- ing that they r ould not fire i>im. as his contracts liad still three more years to run;^ but it appears that this was not suITlciently groundcfl. as he has since given up hla suit and is witiiout »uy official i»o5(ition. The Deutsches Opernhaus tried to get in a famous conductor to lead their organization, but both Bruno Walter, who returns to America next year, and Klemperer, one of (Continued on page 35) TiM brti •bUlaaM* loitrurtlon at STUMOSOV SIACE DAMONC ^ 1841 Broadway ■St NOKTUWRST COa ••!* HT