Variety (February 1924)

I Thursday, February 7, 1924. VAUDEVILLE VARIETY f RIGHT OFF THE DESK By NELLIE REVELL Somerset Hotel, New York. When I recall what I've gone through In the past few years, I oc- casionally wonder how I manned to stand it all. Sometimes I was quite sure I could no no further. But I did and now I'm glad, for if I hadn't I couldn't have conducted this column, and if there had been no column perhaps the cases of other shut-ins like myself might never have come to the attention of the great-hearted persons who are willing and anxious to help when they know whom to help Things are now being done to make some of these sufferers happy and from every such deed I get just as much happiness as they. Word somen from a man who made one slip and is now paying his debt in a western prison that, after having read of Dorothea Ante! in my column, he has arranged to send every magazine subscription originating in his institution to her. Dorothea Antel is the cheerful girl, who, exiled from her world of the theatre and from active life of any sore by ■ phys- ical mjstorti'ne. has started a subscription agency to earn her living. An effort is to be made to intere.-t every prison welfare league in this same project. [ have never seen th^> man who conceived this kindly act, hut I am to'd he will soon exchange his number for a name, and I can think of no cue who will have better '"earned a right to renewed eltlsen- ship. One mo * reason for my happine s is a letter from Hold Is Richardson of UlSVj Central avenue, Charleston W. Va ,Go:die is another girl who, by every right, should be enjoym-i life la Its fullest these years, but win', instad. bears her suffering bravely and patiently. 14 A1I thot is wrong with me," she writes, "is my paralysis! (The ex- clamation j.o'ui my own ) 1 in p'nnnin.; to graduate from our high school by finishing th- course here at home. No on° in my condition bar ever done so. but it isn't impossible, so why should I not try? For Christmas I craved a typewriter and received a fountain pen. for I m one o ! " 11 chil- dren, so we're far from millionaires nut I was certain'y glad I could use the pen.'' Just :'S 1 was reading that portion Kddle Cantor walked in the letter over to him to read. Cold' craved. an 1 I paused k< r.ow has the typewriter the Being a writer -at legist the writer of a book, one edition of which sells for $100 -is far from consisting entirely of bee. - and skit.Its. n is just a case of you can't ple as e them all. For instance, Sam Williams bought one of the «ICO books, and when he tamo to read it found thit the pages were uncut. Then he had to u: e his razor ta separate them, and the next time he went to shave the razor W«S SO du'l thai he peeled m;>st of his face off with the whiskers. He was forced to go to a bmVttBf the next day. The barber, when ftim walked in. v as reading a $2.50 copy of the book, with every page nDely trimmed off ami no labor at all to read it. which does semn an unfair division of i.-ibor, as far as the man with a taste for expensive books is concerned. Kate Elinor suggests I enclose a can-opener with every de lux^ edition. Then there's the squawk that Senator Murphy of vaudevil'e has Jurt registered. lie said he sat down to read the book several hours before he was due to go ojxand that he couldn't find any stopping place short of the end and he almost missed getting to the theatre, and might have lost his job and everything'. He asks me kindly to include a few atop-overs in the next book I write. Certainly. Senator, I'll do that, but'I hope you'll pardon me for not having written in any intermission in th s book. All around as much of the town as I can see from my windows the flags are Hying at half-mast today, and I am sad. A great man and a great leader, sometimes mistaken, sometimes misjudged, but always sincere, has gone. No matter what we may have thought < f his policies, never could anyone question the earnestness and idealism of his every motive. Mr. Wilson and I were cut down by physical misfortune on the same day, and I watched the progress of his health almost as interestedly as I watched my own. Several times I had notes from him congratulating me on my app'-Daehing recovery. As I have said, there has been a shadow over the day and part of it was cast by the sight of a faded, tattered flag at half-mast over the Leavitt building, on 46th street, between sixth and Seventh avenues. The only excuse for a tattered flag is the heat and scars of battle, and a battle-flag should be on display In a war museum. Somehow it does not seem to me that flying a worn, ragged banner was the way to honor the memory of a President and a man. Tommy Gray, humorous writer, was In town, which accounted for the broad grins in Times square. He told them some of his Los Angeles jokes. He called on me, and, for the sake of novelty, brought me a pogo stick. There are several things. In this world I don't need and you can take my word that a pogo stick is all of them. In the first place I have had enough ups and downs In my life, and, in the second place, I can't practice on the stick in my room because Sam Harrison, manager of Zlegfeld's ''Follies," lives in the apartment under me, and if I make a lot of noise he probably won't let me In to see the show when I get well enough to walk up to the box office and ask "Do you recognize the profesh?" Julius Tannen celebrated his 24th wedding anniversary last week by buying de luxe editions of my book and presenting them to Bill and Charley, his boys. The boys were nice and polite about it. but I'll be* this was the chorus when they got out of Pod Tannen's sight: "Gee, and we wanted skates.'' About six months ago an actor acquaintance of mine sat by my bed and told me In what bad health he had Ijgen for a year. He needed an opera- tion, he said, but he wanted it done by a particular surgeon, and as yet he didn't have enough money in reserve to pay for his services. I sug- gested that undoubtedly the doctor would be glad to perform the work with the understanding that his fee could be paid in installments later. The other day the actor came in again. He was bursting with health and confided that he had had the operation and was working again, set- ting aside so much each week to meet the installments on the surgeon's bill. "Two more payment!," he said wl'h a grin, "and the operation will be mine.'' This i* meant for the people who think that vaudeville has lost some of its sparkle these days. The reason is that Bonnie Gaylord has retired to be Mrs. C. W. MacCash of 12.13 Colling Wood avenue, Detroit. She writes me (hat she is happily married and even intimates that it is to "the most wonderful mat. in the world" and that she doesn't care if she has washed up for good. Answer to las week's puzzle: A quartet playing the I.oew time. MADGE HART'S CASE ON Despite a supreme court justice's opinion that Hart was the victim of his w !"'■>• "legal persecution." Mrs. II... : (Madge Fox) is still pressing I. . litigations. Another hearing before a referee was held Tuesday. Max Hart says he personally bore all the expenses of his suit against the big time, refuting the report Kppstein & Axman, his counsel, financed the trial, ROLFE BANKRUPT ROXY LaROCCA WIZARD OF THE HARP in "THE BASHFUL ONE" Former Producer After Relief From Judgment Benjamin A. Bolfe, now a cornet- tat In Lopez' orchestra and at one lime a picture producer and a part- ner of Jesse I., l.a.-ky (u Ro!fe .*;• La sky vaudeville acts, ha* filed a petition in bankruptcy in the V. B. District Court of New York. Rolfe'a biggest debts date back to his film ventures, Including an Item of (33.93S.18 In favor of Harry lluu- dini (Houdlnl Pictures) which rep- resented a Judgment as a result of a breach of contract suit; $1,400 to Olive Tell oti a Judgment of leb.. 1922; $420 to Douglas Leavitt. actor, for a cai h loan, and 13.350, money borrowed from Charles It. M iddock, vaudeville producer. Rolfe gave his occupation as a musician In the Vlncet Lopes bard, p'.uyirg at the Hotel Pennsylvania. New York. "GYP" SMALL TIME AGENTS AGALN STARTED Demanding $25 and 5'< for "Break-in" Week at $100— Exposed Before in Variety The class of vaudeville agents known as "gyppers" are getting In their work again. Following a series of articles which appeared in Variety several months ago, these agents who make a practice of gouging acts, plajed safe. Now they have started again The latest case is that of a two man team looking for an inde- pendent opening to break in a new act. The agent informed Diem he could do nothing unless paid $2fi. j The week's work returned $100. With 10 per cent for commission and the $2."i "present" for gettin- the opening. Thia left the act $0fi But the "gyp" agent Informed tin- act if it wanted a couple more "break-in weeks" he would have to receive an extra 0 per cent. Tin: reduced the salary to $60 on th week. According to the agent, the $20 and the extra 5 per cent had to he "split" with an invade booking man. the usual excuse given by these agents. DFCKFRT HAS ANNULMENT Nancy Deckert has been .awarded an annulment decree of her mar- riage to John F. Itaumel. a broker. Miss Deckert said when marrying hist May she was under age. She wV\ be 17 in March, nil Johnson represented Miss Pecker!. A'f T. Wiltf ii will secure a Keith engagement for Miss Deckert. JOHN KELLY IS DIVORCED In the Queens Supreme Court, be- fore Justice Selah II. Strong, last week. Mrs. Fdith Kelly was award- ed an interlocutory decree of di- vorce ." Din her husband, John Kelly, vuudevitllun. SPECS BUYING GALLERIES Preying upon eleventh-hour cus- tomers, mostly from out of town, a syndicate of small-time specs are making a lucrative practice of buy- ing up front-row gallery seats for favorite shows in the Times Square district for Saturday evening per- formances and selling them at 100 per cent premiums and even more. The specs have runners stationed In the lobbies of the theatres, and approach the disappointed patron, offering them the usual $1.10 ticket for $2 20. SANTREY LOSES Court Orders Him to Continue Ali- mony to Former Wife According to a decision handed down by the Appellate Division last week, Henry Santrey must continue to pay alimony to Mrs. Olga Grod- sky. The recent decision sustained that rendered earlier by the New- York Supreme Court, whereby San- try was ordered to pay Mrs. Grod- sky' $50 weekly and $800 counsel fees. Santrey secured a divorce decree against Mrs. Grodsky in Chicago, and later married Anna Seymour. The decision is important because of its bearing on many other par- allel divorce decrees. It Is another instance what complications the different states' divorce laws lead to. John Cumberland's Sketch John Cumberland is shortly to invade vaudeville in a new comedy skit by Frances Nordstrom. The piece went into rehearsal this week. "Clipper" Reviews OF DISK RECORD8 \< N naitable fur th* outdoor* BANDS AND ORCHESTRAS Reviewed weekly in "THE CLIPPER" 10c Boosters' Indoor Circus at Utica 1'tico. N. V.. Feb. «. An indoor fair will be staged here next week by the Booster Club of Com t Horatio Seymour, No. 40;, Foresters. There will be acts to round out a varied display of booths with at- tractions. William P. Donlin is promoter. AFTER GYP AGENTS (Continued from page 1) To show he means business, the commissioner a.-ked Variety to pas. along word that acis wno have been approached by these easy money boys Will 'do well to file complaints against these agents at his office. Meanwhile, the commissioner has assigned several of his subordl- nates to conduct an investigation of a list of suspected agetr.- and will act upon any tangible evidence. In cases where the charges are sustained, the commissioner will im- mediately revoke the license and forward a transcript of testimony to the District Attorney's office and have the latter determine whether or not they should be prosecuted ci iminally. JUDGMENTS (First name is judgment debtor; creditor and amount follows.) Gus Hill j II. C. Fisher; $2'I,29G.6 t. Jose Bacardi; N. Bacardi; costs. JUS 60. Joe Wagener (Alabama Anuis. Co.); Park & Tilford; $435.38.- Gold Medal Photoplay Corp.; City of N. Y.; $179.70. His Little Widows Co., Inc.; same; same. Pandora Producing Co., Inc.; $11 1.36. Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger; Hankers Trust Co., executors; $.1,302.86. Harry N. SteinfeU; M. Bchlott; $2,373.40. Tanagra Corp. of Am. and Ed- ward P. Schreyer; Smoot Corp ; $197.17. Equity Management Corp.; City of N. Y.: $669.76. Interstate Opera Co., Inc.; same; same. Iceland, Inc.; same; $.'06.40. John Cort and Harry L. Cort; J. Thalheim; $5,604.87. Herbert Lyon Smith; Madeleine Traverse; $81,465.60. ILL AND INJURED Fred Jarvls (Jarvls and Harrison) confined to his home for the last two weeks threatened with pneu- monia, is convalescent. Frank Walker (Walker and Davis) is confined to his home in Rayslde, 1^ I., with pneumonia. Philip Stern, who sells books and souvenirs with the "Chauve Souris" had a hemmorage of the lungs last Friday and was removed to Un- American theatrical hospital, Chi- cago. On Sunday he was sent back to New York In care of Al Hptak, prc-s representative. Mile, Dasta (Fellowes) lias em'Ted St. Vincent Hospital to be operated upon by Dr. Sayre for some Internal disoi der. BUDDY DOYLE GETS IN THOMASHEFKY'S CASE Corespondent Interposes An- swer—Mrs.Thomashefsky, Defendant Fiuldy Doy'e (Artists and Mod- els"-) has taken tl." unusual pro- cedure of Interposing an answer in the Thomnshefsky divorce suit. Harry Thomasefsky has started suit for divorce against his wife Lillian, a chorister, uraler the name of Lillian Herman, and DoyU) is named as the co-respondent. The plaintiff is the son of Bores Thomasefsky, veteran Yiddish ac- tor-manager. The alleged misconduct is spe- cifically named s having happened at the home of Bores Thomasefsky. 240 Riverside Drive. Dec. 23. I9"3. Doyle. In his interposed answer, de- nies the charge. Doyle Is also the defendant in a $50,000 alienation of affections suit started bv Thomasefsky. Mrs. Thomasefsky was formerly married to an attorney, who d - vorced her. Her present, husband was named In the proceedings. AFTERPIECE OHDEBED OUT "O. K. for any other house, but too rough for the Palace," was tl o opinion of the Keith booking depart- ment in regard to Olsen and John- son's after-piece on Monday. Among the things objected was the clown- ing, where a comedy trio bit. which had three men wearing whiskers as exaggerated Hebrew comedians and each with a small balloon on h!fl back giving the effect of a pawn- broker's sign. Tuesday night olsen and Johnson did their regular turn, closing tbe show, but the singing trio did not appear with them. FOX BOOKED AND WALKED Objecting to his billing. Harry Fox walked out of Keith's Cinch - nriti last wee!;. When the show had been found to be short of an a-, t in "one." he was hurriedly booked at $800. Fox was hooked into Cincinaitl from the Ri.o'l, Toledo. a-Pantug- » house, considered "opposition" bv " Keith's, "MOUNTAIN MAN" SKETCH Arthur Henry has proposition' I Sydney Blackmer to star in his original role in a tabloid version of Clare Kummer's romantic corned". "The Mountain Man." which Henry is producing for vaude. lilackmer is at present appearing with Elsie Ferguson In "The .\i ion Flower." Linda in Cirroll Act Linda, the Chicago girl, an i - rentrlc dancer, will replace fdu My Chadwlrk In the Harry Carroll »i t. NEW ACTS Nance O'Xcll has the Al red Sutro's sketch. "All (he World I- a Stage." Ruth Warner aid IMia Bennett, two male dancers, and teven-piece orchestra. Bobby Roberts Revue (Chicago). D'Albert and Lewis; man and woman (D'Albert Quintet). Frankle Hunter and Co. In skit. Nance O'Neill is rehearsing a sketch for vaudeville. After an absence of four years In pictures, Ben Deeley will return to vaude In a black-face act. Lewis & Gordon are rehear, in* their latest vaudeville act, ''Trip- lets," a comedy sketch by Clyde North. A cast of four Includes Devah Moorel. Fiank Readick. Norah Ryan and Mort Stevens. Madeline Belmont (Relmont and Rosen) and Frank Shea. 2-ael. Karten and Abbe, blackface comedy skit. A two-art Tor vaude has been formed by f.vda Gardner. 73. aid Chic Harvey. The latter was form- erly of Chic and Tiny Harvey (Chicago). Ressle R.irriscile will shortly start rehearsing a new skit "Scrub* by" an abbreviated version of IhS play by Howard Hickman. Miss Bsrriscals has closed her vaude lour in ''IMcklng Peaches " James Watts, the travesty [v-m ■!« .impersonator, opens on the Keith circuit next Week st Hie Orphenm, lirookl) i, in his flu-- people vaude* \ ille turn. I.avi'-ne and Mtyhew, ml led 2- ;n l.