Variety (July 1923)

VARIETY Thursday. July 18. 1923 B. F. ALBEE, President J. J. MURDOCH, General Managei; E. F. PROCTOR, Vice-Pr^^ B. F. KEITH'S VAUDEVILLE EXCHANGE V(AGENCYy . ' -.r^^' (Palace Theatre Buildings New YorfcX ^*K.^ B. F. KEITH, EDWARD F. ALBEE, A. PAUL KEITH. P. F. PROCTOR ArtitU can book direct addressing W. DAYTON WEGEFARTH r ■->. /'■ * rca Booking Agency General Executive OFFices LOEW BUILDING ANNEX 16O WEST 46^"ST-^ - NEW YORK JHLUBIN OKlTKIiAL MAMABJUi i' cnicAeo ori^iCE • l6o2(^toind^ simney^wEisMAN IN cHAaac / BOOKING DEPARTMENT^ , Palace Theatre Building yNEW YORK EXECUTIVE OFFICER itate-Lake Building ^ CHICAGO -. "1 THE STANDARD INDEPENDENT VAUDEVILLE AGENCY FALLYMARKUS 1547 Broadway NEW YORK Bryant 6060-6061 GAIETY THEATRE BLDQ. QU8 8UN» Pr««id«nt (Eatablished 1905) HOMER NEER, G«n. Book'g Mgr. THE GUS SUN BOOKING EXCHANGE CO. / New Regent Theatre BIdg. (MAIN OFFICE) Sprinqfieid, 0. THEATRE MANAGERS ShU'URR TOUR VAUDEVILLB ACTS THHOUOH OUR OFKICBg WE OUARAMTinE YOU FIRST CLASS BKRVICK VAUDEVILLE ACTS ' W« Can Offar From Fiva to Thirty Weeks for First Class Acta BERT LEVEY CIRCUITS VAUDEVILLE THEATRES ALCAZAR THEATRE BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO PAUL GOUDRON. CAPITOL BUILDING, CHICAGO Detroit office. 206 Breltmeyer Bldg. 'SEE US WHEN IN CALIFORNIA" MEIKLEJOHN and DUNN AmuMment llanaaers, Tbeatrical AKfnt% Personal Representatlvea Vaudeville. RoaA Shows. WASHINGTON, D. C By'HARDIE MEAKIN A little flutter of interest andlhen back Into the aummer slump. LAwrenca Beatus. manager of Loew'a Palac^, witWMra. Beatus and Lawrence, Jr., have been vacationing in Bluemont, Va. Upon their return Mr. Beatua goea back to work while the family continuea their vacation at Atlantic City. BRANCH OFFIC'KS : ' N«W YORK CITT BUFFALO. N. Y. DETROIT. MICH. CIIICAOO ^^J'^Vi*!?!! *5**** «>•• I^'«yette BIda. C:oIanil>i» HOA I>«>lawar« UUlr. J. W. TODD. Res. JENK JERGE. Rap. Theatre Ulda. BILLY DIAMOND, Rep. Affiliation; V. C. M. CIRCUIT, 801 FLAT IRON BLDG., ATLANTA, GA. ACKERMAN & HARRIS EXECUTIVE OFFICES: THIRD FLOOR, PHELAN BLDG. ^MARKET, GRANT and O'FARRELL STREETS SAN FRANCISCO ELLA HERBERT WESTON, Booking Managmr SBVEN TO TEN WEEK CONTRACTS NOW BBINO ISSUBD. ?*! !— ■ I" the auction sale yesterday, a part of her understanding. ALHAMBBA REMAINS OPEN Paris, July 11. Altliouurh previously announced to close Friday nii(;ht for a aummer vacation, the management of the Alhambra has kept the fai.ous Anglo-French music hall open for a time, the show incluling Carmo, Illusionist: Alva and Young, Two Rogers, Ore* Trio, Sla Asakays. Japanese troupe; Slrco, whistler; Tatlna Pavlova, singer, and Yennl- courts, equilibrists. Albert da Courvllle and the agervt, Shereck, are interested in the sum- mer venture. Bernhahdt'a Bella lala Rasort Paria. July 11. Sarah Bernhardl'a Island property, Belle Isle, Brittany, has been sold for 150.000 franca. Her house is be- Inir eoqverted into a hotel and res-; taurant with a dancing hall. Tha place will be operated aa a fashionable summer resort. Billy Jackson, the Chicago agent, who has been making his headquar- ters in New York for the past two months, leaves today (Thursday) for a short visit to his home in Chi- cago. Jackbon will return to New York City in about two weeks. The Sunday picture section of one of the local dallies carried a photo of Roland Robbina, manager of Keith's, on tha ••Leviathan," where he waa the grueat of Uncle Sam. * Leonora Hughes Restlna / Paris, July 11. Leonora Hughea la rcsiinrj in Swrltzerland, preparatory to oponfnR A danclnt? engagement at Trouville. She win sail for New York in Sep- tember. 10 lulflll a series of ong.ige- nients. The Al Q. Field Minstrels will open rheir season at the Grand, nanluo. O^ July 31. EMPIEE ON BLOCK (Continued from Page 2) office of Sir Alfred Butt, was also offered on the block, but withdrawn after a top bid of £20,000. Pictures Now at Empire CosmopoUtan'a "Enemies of Women" feature is at present play- ing the IJmpIre under a temporary lea,se that is said to extend until the end of October. It will be followed by "Little Old New York," the same American film producer's i>ic- ture. , '■■■,,. V ;;'•'•;;'■ The Empire Is finely located but with a limited seating capacity Jhrough when a music hall of Inter- national renown its having had a large promrtiadc at the rear. While the promrna !♦» in its variety days was the principal attractio»i im- nalives and forefgncrs, It cut ofC a large section of available orchc?;tr.» (stall.«<) space. The Aliens of Canada some years ago forfeltoil a large depoait they had made to elToct the purchase of the r^mpiio. Of recent tiinos the Empire had not been looked upon as available for pictures. When Reine Davies of (he International Story Company. of New York, lately visited London, she obtained for her playbroking firm a temporary lease, later sub- leasing to Cosmopolitan. Miss Davies created something of a stir in London show circles by her quick movements in obtaining and disposing of the unthought of but greatly desirable house. After returning to New York, Miss Davies evidenced further enterprise by ar- ranging through her London rep- resentative for a short time refusal to purchase the property or lease it on any terra up to twenty-one years. Reine Davies' Unique Scheme Miss Davies had conceived a unique Idea for the Empire, to in- crease its seating capacity to at least 3,500, which would have made it the largest aeater of any West End theatre. This was to have been accomplished through reconstruc- tion of the rear of the Empire's or- chestra, by* removing the big promenade. London showmen immediately pronounced the plan aq excellent and feasible. The estimated cost of the work was guaranteed by Miss Davies not to exceed JlOO.OOO and lo-h«» completed v/ithin six months. Possibly, thiofigh doing bii.sine.*s with aOwoman, although a New Yorker, the Empire people ntade prohibitive terms en a leasing ar- rangement; Ihey demanded rash fi^uaiar.toea aiiproximating over $200,000. and refused to give a time allowance on the recon."(ru('tion IH riod In communication with liiroe or four por-ple on both .^ido.s of the ocean who would like to have tu- curcd the Empire, the terms |>te- vented, and Miss Davies al).»T;dt<ned her efTorls, although had she leased the property it would have stopped Current In picture houses: Loew'a Columbia, "Divorce"; Loew'a Palace, "The Foff"; Crandaira Metropolitan. Katherine MacDonald in "Money, Money, Money"; Moore'e Rialto, "The Spoflers.' Relne Davlea at the offices of her International Story Company, 601 Fifth avenue, atated Wednesday there waa nothing to add to the cable report from LondoiL Miss Davlea aaid that after ahe had leased the Empire In Londen to Cosmopolitan, it had occurred to her the value of the hotse could be only permanently enhanced through the alterationa ahe proposed. "It's in the line of my business of selling or buying. Theatres are the same to me as plays, stories, or scenarios, it's all in our business here. Naturally I would have liked to have placed the Empire and the Empire folks were very gracious in giving me an option to sell or lease without charging me for It, but I understood the magnitude of the proposition and am not disap- pointed." Reine Davies before "going into business" as a playbroker was an actress, a star in musical comedy, and a headllner in vaudeville. Fol- lowing her enlistment with the Mo- tor Corps, which her sister, Ethel Davies, also Joined (the two girls having presented to the corps an ambulance which they drove during the war). Reine concluded not to re- turn to the stag^. At the time fhe fa(ctiou.sly ri-marliod she "would do fhe ^stage a favor and quit it." In her playbrokin.T coinmis}«lon bus!nosy Miss Davies has been re- markably Huccissful. rapidly ac- quiring a marked knowledge of bu.siness for a ^irl of the theatre. Her dcaIinR.s in tlie picture as well as the legit show circles of New York and London have firmly estab- lished her as a business woman of acumen and capacity Manager L, S. Leavitt of Polla and Mra. Leavitt are leaving ahortly for two week* In Atlantic City, while Mr. and Mra. Robert Long of Moore'a Rialto are ahortly to have their var- cation also. Clara Humphreys, sec- retary to Mr. Robbins at Keith's, is on her vacation, having gone to hef home In Pennsylvania. Eddie Cantor la set down as the opening attraction for the National, which Mr. Rapley claims. will be ready for occupancy at the time of the regular opening of the aeason. Loew'a Strand, Loew's pop vaude- ville, closed for the aummer, with Mr. and Mra. Sparrow (Mr. Sparrow manager) packing up for their so- journ at the seashore. After the cool spetl the summer parks are «igain getting into their .stride. The roofs also doing well, the Willard, with Its new roof, seem- ingly having caught on very well. The La Paradls still continues the most popular roof in town. Oeorge Boe.sel remained here after the closing of the Smith-Duffy stock at the President, and is painting a number of productions of "Abie's Irish Rose" for Anne Nichols, the author-producer of the money-mak- ing farce. Boesel has already com- pleted the production now in use In Montreal. Another, Just completed, was shipped to Atlantic City yester- 'V'V. where the piece opens the com- ing week, and he is now working on l»roductions of the same piece for ('U'voland. (Miioago. Toronto and.De- t'oit. Ho is bo'TTlr a.ssi.sled by Rirh- rlrd r.affcr, v.hilo Ceorgo 0'Mnne> and H. Nel:<t«n nre building the pro- ductions. Word comes through from ihf coast that Ilonry Duffy made ll»e rross-cf»un(ry trip in his car in rec- ord time and that pre|>ar.stio:)3 f'»r the oi>eniiig of a .stock under hi*- direction in Sacr.imotito are being made, with the opening date set for the latter part of this month. *.' >.