Variety (July 1923)

w VAUDEVILLE Thursday. Ji»ly 19, 1923 "' ADIRONDACK&AS PEROVAL-SEEN FROM CAMP "NEXT-mOSING" Now Regular "Newspaper Choruspondent" with "Ritcrs Card"—TelU Why Dave Warfield Buys Delicatessen Lunch v ; V By Walter Percival „j^;' Camp •.'Ncxt-T-Closlng*' in the Aderondaks, ''**vi ; • Saranac Lake, N. Y., July 16. Bdllor Variety: .-.'■ '■^<\:-'"-r,..-^y- .•.■>•':•■■■•■../.:"':.■ :^ I r«c'd your letter In whkh you sent me a blue card whch tells the world t)Mt*I'•m .&. dully athorized newspaper choruspondent. This c*rd with the seal of "Variety" on it gives me the rite to ask all the hlKh-clASs people up here in the Aderondacks there personal bus. and as thl» la a rich m'an's country on a'cct of the price of food, etc., and ♦nyone that's rich must fear the power of the press or thev no that the press win up and tell the Federal u/nnd Jur^ how they got there money. So this Titer's card you sent me is my ACE in the Hole with those Ritzle folks. So I apreciate your making me your nummer corespondent, as I sure ■will LORD it over a lot of swells up here from now on soon as they tet hip I can go to print If they don't catter to me and the Mrs. Toul see by thin letter that I am making all the news in the form of Ring Lardn^r's stuff, also like that "Con" guy who has been "mooching" cflln you for years. I'm making belief that I'm a smart hick up in these mts. telling the show world who can cford to sogern up among the ellght. This type of hick stuff that Lard nor and "Con" and the 199 others rite Is only a stall so the world wont get wise to there litery .•:hort-comeings. I'm wise to that suposed llcteracy—and as none of these egs haa ever proved who staged that stuff flrst in which they cover there not being able to spel I gues I'm safe in Jolng them out with the same kind of stuf for my wekly news letter, then again as all us campers only bring one suit of knickerbockers and a cupple of Kiki shirts whi.h wont .«^how the dirt you woud't expect me to have a dickshonairie in camp to look up words which would look good In Variety. Now the News Is—To-Wit: All your readers can see \^ the heading of thl.s letter just wher this Dews has to do with. Ive been here three weeks. Aint that name of my camp the Cats? that NOM-D-plumb was given to the place by an agent, you see most of the other miUonaers up here have names for these pa^as^s they call camps. So when Ralph Farnum, who is the fall puy for eddie Kellors offlco, was np here during the hot spell of 2 Wks. ago I showed him this place where I'm sheltering the wife and me until Eddie Darling gels back from europe end starts the Mrs. and me on our root. So as Farnum had noticed all the rich birds who can efford to live here had names for there camps he got a crasie notion and took my one bottle of Canadian ail and smashed it on our front porch and gave it the Christian name of "Camp Next-T- Closing." Morris Rose, who digs up the money for Jack Curtis to torr europe on, was with him and he objected to Farnum giveing it a christian name as he said "it would be better bus. if it wasnt called by a christian name on acct. of the many mgrs. who came here in the summer season." He •aid It would be better bus. if we called it "Camp Mottsa" on acct. of the air'givelng everyone a appltlte up here. The man who ruas the Riverside Inn Hotel here made me a rate for Farnum and Rose befor they got here—told me after they left that I owed him $10 for extra food for them and he wanted me to make good for the leg of one table where Farnum set on acct. of a crack Farnum made about getivr up the first morning hungry enouKh to eat the \^g of a table. Anyway after they left for tfio rorring 401 ies to book Halllgan and the rest of his kind who do liot conserve there rcsorses durring the season and hense must stay down in the heat of the rorring 40tie;3 and angel around to grab a summersalcry wk. now and then to keep the wolfs from »ff them—wile fellows like me and the Mrs. can get to Gods country while the agents are stalling around europe makelng a bluff they are looking for material. ^ Thats a laugh—can you emngln guys like Curtis looking for material In paris—the only kind of stuff he will see over there is acts who oould cnly be played at "the Eagles or the Moose and then it would have to be under police protection and at a STAG, as a fellow who was on a Jont with him told me he never lookes at nia'crial untill after midnite. So its easy to see why him and those others will coihe back ;>nd report the lack of suitable acts in europe. halls. Dave Warficld's Reason David Warfield got out of a big car yesterday which pulled up to the curb and which same looked like a section of the hotel Aaiors parlor on our Main Street today. He and his Mrs. went Into Muf n Bros, (thats the high class Jip food place of our villiage). I followed he and his Mrs. out of defrence to Mrs. P's curreosity as I dldnt think it was War- Held when she spotted him. But—sure enouph it was him in the flesh— as I sidded alongside of him and ordered a lofe of bread from the clerk for a stall so i could get a close-up. He sort of noded to me as I guess his experience has been such he reckognlzed a fellow artist. His Mrs. was gettin material fur nite lunches which is one thing you cant get here on acct. everyone going to bed at ten. I asked his shoffer where he was liveing at and he said "Mr. and Mrs. Warfield were at Chases Loon Lake House." Thata a place wher they charge fifteen a day and up per person and they make no rates to the prof. So 1 can undcr.stand why he comes over to Saranac I^ake for lunch materials as its a pipe a guy who has been playing shakespear for a season couldnt pay extra for lunchs at nite with him paying 16$ a day late per person. The day after you kent me my card Saranac Lake was the host to a lot of tho members of the National Editorial Association, there were editors from evevy state in the union and every prominent paper waA represented. So you were in the Knick of time sending me the card as 3X>ur ritter was among those present, the members of the ^as.nn. was taken In the local bus. mens cars for a tori> of the mts. and ended up by being driven to "Camp Intermission" the home of Wm. Morris for refresh- ments (as we are near the Canadian border it is easy to get) and as Bill Morris is still the mgr. of Harry Lauder and Lauder still plans on makelng a cupple doz. fare-well torrs yet and these rlttcrs are on papers in the towns where Sir Harrv will play it was anything but a dumb trick for Morris to refresh these ritters. During refreshments the Boys Club Band of 45 peaces played stlHng airs. When they were well refreshed they were driven over to Placid where the Placid Club.is to foot the bill for a couple days pleasure. If it wasnt for my Mrs. I sure wouJd like to use my riters card and join them out as they get everything grates for the entire torr and it lasts for a cupple wks. yet. (Wouldnt this make a soft racket for Bill Halllgan imtll the Friars take Bill back into the fold?' Why dont you give Bill St riters card?) 2 Gait, of Gat Awsy Fred Stone the Dillingham star has bought ground for a camp over at Wilmington, which Is at>out two gnl. of gas v;ith a Liztie from here, the one store in Wilmington has boosted the price of rope for larrlcls M rtf. per ft. sinse he bought the place for his camp. . Anyway the ofor said Js all i fetl i ought to wl>"h on yoii as thli* fvks. ENGAGEMENTS WlUiam Kent. "Battling Butler." Bernard Granrllle. Lillian McNeill and Bert (Shadow) Ford. Carroll's "Vanities." Al Stem. "Hollywood Follies" (Columbia Burleeque). Florence Mason. "The Streak.** Francis Clark. Kurta Players, Bethlehem, Pa. Elizabeth Shirley. "The Fool" (road). Ottllie Corday. 'That's That." Beverly Qale, "Newcomers." Edna Richards. Jack Wilson's vaudeville act. Mydie de Sasnowski. "Perfect Fool" (road). Polly Dodd, Lewis' "Frolic." Walter Brooks, director, "That's That." Sybillia Bowhan, dancer. Rich- mond Hotel, Richmond. Va. Beatrice Maude. Interstate Stock, Birmingham. Ala. Royal Byron. Brady's "Clean Up." J. Hammond Daly, Wanamaker's "Thumbs Up." Priestly Morrison to stage the piece. June Bradley for Woods' "Whole Town's Talking." Anthony Stafford and Margaret Paige, for Fiske O'Hara's new play. Harriet Qimbel, late of Greenwich Village Follies, "Artists and Models" revue. Leon Donnelly. "We've Got to Have Money." Eldon Costello. "Abie's Irish Rose" (New York). i Ruth Davis, Harry Walker Revue, Chicago. Joe Brown, Karyl Norman, Lester Carton, The Canslnos, "Greenwich Village Follies." Helen Devlin and Roy Martin, "Daisy Won't Tell.' Jack Smith, "The Dream Girl." Frank Lawlor, "Tangerine." Mr. and Mrs. Tom Waters, "Bring- ing up Father on Broadway." FVank Conroy, Bob Cummlngs. Bob Kenyon. "Tin Gods." Thelma Carleton, "Broadway Brevities." Buddy Doyle, "Artists and Mode's." Hattie Carmontel, Rachel Car- ruther.s, "Mary the Third." Suzanne Bennett, succeeding Gilda Leary in "The Dancing Girl." Chi- cago. Pamela Carew, Proctor Players, Troy, N. Y. Ben Meroff and Band, Hurtlg & Seamon's "Nifties of 1923," Colum- bia burlesque. Joe B. Brown, Daphne Pollard, the Briants. Willie and Joe Mandel, Wells. Virginia and West, Tom Howard, Sammy White, Eva Puck, Irene Delroy, Al Sexton, new "Greenwich Village Follies." Etta Stone, (formerly of bur- lesque. Stone and Pillard), for Shubert's "Artists and Models," on Century Roof. Ruth Greenfield, "The Crimson Glow." Harry Brool^s, **Jane." Maybelle Anderson. "Squaring The Triangle" (Vaud©.). Hal Ford. Tom Lewis for Cos- mopolitan's film. "Cain and Mabel." Alice Hageman, Irma Marwick, No. 1 "Gingham Girl." Leon Gordon, "Help Yourself." "Little Jessie James" (complete). Nan Halperin, Allen Kcarns, Mil- dred Richardson, Maurice Holland, James B. Carson. Winifred Harris, Roger Gray, Clara Thropp, Miriam Hopkins and the James Boys Or- chestra. "Children of the Moon" (com- plete), Henrietta Crosman, Louis Calvert, Florence Johns, Beatrice Terry. Paul Gordon, I^angdon Bruce. Eugene Ordway, Harold Winston. Florence Pendleton, for "Twee- dles." Alice Weaver, for "Vanities of 1923" (replacing Gertrude Lemmon. "Gingham Girl" (Chicago), Joe I^aurie, Bertie Beaumont. Walter Jones, Julia Ralph, Mldgie Miller, Joyce Fair, Maude Lydiate and Babe Stanton. Road company, same piece, Lorin Raker. Irma Marwick, Alice Hegeman, Gertrude Mudge, Peggy Maloney, Frank Readlck. Bob Nel«on, "Artists and Models." Clara Moores, "Tin Gods." Virginia Gregory, "The Devil's Disciple." Kitty Kelly, "Plain Jane."" Edward Harford for Colonial Players, Pittsfield, Mass. Wyn Richmond, "Playthings." Trlx Sisters, "Paradise Alley.'" Mistlnguett, Karl Leslie. English ver.«<ion of "En Douce." Gloria Dawn. "Tangerine" (road). FBTEEN YEARS A(M .' ; ,T Jtem* reprinted from Yarietv dated July 18, 1909 An alT-theatrical merger with A. L. Erlanger was up for consideration" even so far back. This time the report waa that "the Syndicate" had its • eyes on vaudeville interests represented by the United Booking omces, (Keith's), which had lately won out in a battle with Erlanger. The public sale of stock was contemplated- Martin Beck was away, and his abs^ce waa believed to be holding up conferences on the subject. They had begun the excavation work on the Maxine Elliott theatre in 39th street, but nothing was known about the proposition except that the Shuberts were concerned A plan had been broached to put up a house adjoining the Shubert building (former Parker house), but the i^^ite was owned jointly by ^Felix Ismun and the Shuberts and neither , would sell out to the other,;., " '^^ Felix Isman disposed of almost all his theatrical Interests. He had been involved in William Morris and Advanced Vaudeville and thereby earned the disfavor of Syndicci^e people. Now he had bits of numeroulpf legitimate productjojis a^iii joteeded routings for them. He was hooked up^. In the several ventures with "Little Tim" Sullivan and "Little Tim" was supposed to have taken on his properties. Thereafter there was x)0 ob- jection to Syndicate bookingH for such peces as 'The Merry-Go-Round*', (musical comedy), In which Isman was concerned. Percy Williams sailed from London.•announcing he had booked Vesta Tilley for a return cngaRemenr in America and Claire Romalne. Miss Tllley had played for Williams durltig the "vaudeville war," and Miss Ro- maine also had been an "advanced vaudeville" attraction. Williams was in the U. B. O. —^ : .: ■ .■ .\::'''f That Foy "Hamlet" story got its flrftt rTart^ln lifA it was first de- clared that Foy w^ould stagi a travesty on the tr*t£cUy and the date was set for the Brighton Beach music hall. ' ^ E. E. Mozart had just completed the Mozart, Elmlra, N. Y., when the. ;2 local newspapers begun to get hints that certain large New York interests, | believed to be Koith-Proctor, were bidding for the Casino property in the same town. Mozart declared his conviction that an effort was being made to force him to book through the U. R. O. Mozart booked inde-, f pendently and was negotiating an agreement with the White Rats for providing actor-manager reciprocity. The Rats were agitating the estab- lishment of a booking ofTlce and Mozart ^&s among the first to talk busi- ness. ■■■■'■•,.■; '•..•- ..-.• ■"■■;■ . r ■ -■ . ■'''>•■.•'■■'■••'•.-:■■■■.■. - (\)tf Lo!s Elwell, who followed Ethel Jackson in the name part of "The Merry. | Widow," produced by Henry'W. Savage, opened negotiations for vaude-j J^ , f ' <Contin'ie<l on page 31) • . « .,'^| JOYS AND GLOOMS OF BROADWAY Eight New York chorus girls were engaged for what the;^ thought was a hostess position in a road house and cafe in Chicago. Without question:%, Ing why New York girl should be selected and railroad fares paid, when % there are hundreds of Chicago girls available, they signed contracts and ' went in care of a New York agent. Arriving in Chicago they discovered tho "cafe" was a gambling resort, run by a man whose reputation in Chicago was so bad no girls would work for him. Because they wefia \ broke, the girlu stuck it out and did the best they could. They were promised $50 a week and commissions on what they could make the players spend on drinks, llalf the |60 was paid back to the owner of <he place for room and board and the '^commissions" never / materialized. In addition to this the treatment accorded the girls was so/ bad they left as soon as they could. The place where they worked is well known in Chicago. ^ » • • 'r^^ Plans for a monster stadium for Atlantic City to house international sporting events of every description, including automobile races, are finally nearing completion. Started by Harry Latz, former owner of the Alamac there, three years ago, it has been taken up again, and work will start within a few months. It is planned to have important football games, field meets, auto races, etc., in the stadium, and a special com- mittee will be appointed to go after these things. m Laura Bennett, one of the three Bennett Sisters, girl athletes, has started a woman's gymnasium and reducing parlor. Miss Bennett claims by her methods to take off from one to four t^ounds at a treatment, an^^, guarantees results or nn money need be paid. Two weeks ago this column contained a brief note to the effect that Elaine Palmer, "Follies" ehorus girl, devotes all her spare time to dress- making and makes clothes for most of the glrlg In the show. That nots brought her a small avalanche of newspaper reporters, photographers and magazine writers to her apartment, which contained her workroom. The writers declared frankly that they were skeptical, and said the article in Variety was a press story; but after they saw her actually at work they saw material for a good story. Several articles followed. At the present writing Miss palmer has more work than she can pos- sibly attend to and Is hiring new help constantly. She is also opening a new shop and has received three offers of financial assistance to establish herself in her own place. This is not written as an Inducement to adver- tise in Variety, but it indicates the fact that this publication is widely and intensely read, not only by the show people, but outsiders as well, jartlcuparly newspaper editors In search of new material. She was a chorus girl and principal In a show whl^^h just closed ©a.! Broadway, in love with a relative of the producer. After a quarrel, and ■ In a fit of anger, ^v married a man she had known but two days. Re- morse came after the ceremony, and she refused to live with her husband. The quarrel with her sweetheart Is patched up and the husband is con- veniently, allowing his wife—in name only—to get a divorce, and now everyone is happy again. ■ m Mary Beth Milford of Hollywood came east three years ago to go into* pictures. Opportunitlcf were lacking and she went into the chorus of-; "The Music Box," later doing a bit. She went back to Hollywood a few" (Continued on page 31) * news letter on acct. of you saying you would pay me space rate for my wkly letter—besides advertise my name. Surely you dldnt pay that space rate to that Judge Kelly when he got all those chances to pull Donald Kerrs big words on Jack LaitT besides there wasnt any news In those letters—just Kelly calling himself King for no reason at all and Lalt being foolish enough to rap Kelly on acct. of Kelly not loving the country which has the big open spaces and where men are men and prize fighting if a bust. Anyway as a native of that country that Lalt raves about and as one capeable of judgeing—its the bung along side of this the adopted country of your new ritter—The Oloryous Aderondaks. . Youl here from me next wk. when I shall take my ritters card and prie Into the llfes of some of the other members of the prof, who are up here and any others who are wise onough to come to Gods Country. Untill then i will sign myself. Tour Aderondake Ritter. WALTER r. PERCIVAL. (Of Noel and Percival) <P. S.— t had to ad the Mrs. name as she said If 1 didnt i cou'ld get a new oook.) FIBE 1)AMA6ES HATMARKSI « Chicago, July 18. The Haymarket has been badly damaged by fire. It is owned by Irons & damage, last playing stock burlesque. The test records of Joe Raymond., and his Pavilion Royale Orches- tra have been passed favorably upon by the Victor and, from now ( on. ho is an exclusive Victor artist The first records will be released soon. Jack Mills iP expected back » New York Saturday on the "Levi- athan." He flew from Paris te London and caught the prime U. »• Shipping Board vessel back. . Jack Fagan of the E. B. M^'JgJ ' professional staff is to nnrry K^'r? Durkln on August 4, at Jersey City- .iL.i'V.:^.-^-."'.a^W o ...v - ■d