Variety (August 1924)

VARIETY PICTURES WednMday, Av^att t6. s. FRIENDS AIDING KD McCOY; PATHEnC SIGHT IN PRISON Mr*. Mors Reported Having Taken Oath to Former HiMband to Break Away from Fighter—"Life Against Me^Drew a Blank/' Says the Kid IiOS Angelea, Aug. 19. 'After a wild and hectic nlgbt, .Norman Selby, better known as Kid McCoy, pugHat, picture actor, In- •urance mafi, etc., found himself In the county )all with the charge of having murdered Mrs. Teresa Mors, wealthy antique shop owner, and who, it was believed, was to become his tenth wife, and with the at- tempted murder of W. Q. Ross, a re- tired resident of Beverly Hills, and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Bchapp, who own a millinery establishment, and were friends of the murdered wom- an. A coroner's lury returned a Yerdlct that the woman came to her 4eath from gun shots flred by an vakaown person. District Attorney Keys declares that today (Tuesday) the Grand Jury wUl Indict McCoy fo> the crime. On the other hand, McCoy, even though confronted with all of these charge* and having admitted. It is ■aid to his sister, Mrs. Jane Thomas, to whoae home he went shortly after the shooting, that he believed h4 taaA killed Mra Mora. McCoy firm- ly asserts that he did not kill his sweetheart. He also avers that the other acts, when the three people were shot, happened 12 hours after the alleged murder was done, while ke was under the influence of liquor, aatf that is mind was a blank at the ttBfie. First Glance Love The dead woman was the wif* of Albert A. Mors, millionaire antique 4«aler, and met McCoy shortly after ker huslMind went on a trip to New Torii, Biz months ago. It is said tlHit It waa a ease of love at first alght wUh the couple. They went to live together at a Wllshlre dia- irtet apartment and tke Kid, who had t>een in impoverished circum- stances, was in a position of af- fluence. When Mors returned- from tha. east he found what had hap- paned and Instituted divorce pro- ceedings against his wife. About two weeks ago Mrs. Mors, accompanied by McCoy, visited the hone of her husband and a fight en- sued, which brought the matter to the attention of the liollce. At that time Mors was Iwdly beaten, and Mrs. Mors admitted that she was going to become the next Mrs. Selby. A few days later Mors was granted his divorce. Mrs. Mors' Oath About ten dao^s ago Mr. and Mrs. Scbapp, friends of the Mors couple, returned from a visit to the east and brought about a meeting be- tween the Mors. At this meeting It was pointed out to Mrs. Mors she was making herself the laughing stock of the city, and that her friends would all desert her if she did not get away from the former lighter. At this meeting, she took an oath, saying that she would break away from McCoy immedi- ately, even though it meant murder, and go Into seclusion. The next day she was dead. There '*. was a gunshot wound and cuts and i- stabs about the body and bruises. % The body was discovered by a Jan- ff itorv who also found several notes written by McCoy, also his last will, 4 all intimating that both he and Mra ^. Mors were going to take their last \^ Jowmey together As the police were searching for McCoy, after the discovery of the body, the latter had gone to the shop of the dead woman and there, after making the men employes take oft their trousers and relieving them of money, he shot Ross, then fled to I'; the shop of the Schapps couple, '^'' whom, it is said, ho did not know, shot both of them and fled down the street. He was quickly apprehended without resistance by a policeman -■ ^rho had heard the last shots. • McCoy Pathetic McCoy in the county jail is a pa- thetic and broken sight. His friends ^^^^^aU-belleve that he had goije Insane from the ordeal that he had gone throfigh, and if he bad committed alt of the crimes charged with, he ' did so while in an insane condition McOoy simply says that life went against him. That he drew a blank. He asserted that Mrs. Mors was the ^ only woman he loved, and he,never 1^ wovld lMV« killed her under any * «lr«aBttai>c«ii. A« to the subsequent ESTELLE TAYLOR mi HELP QUF'S UEFENS Police Court Hearings on Charges Against Graf by Directors of Graf Pro- . ductions, inc. Saa Fraaelsco, Aug. 19. Estelle Taylor, picture atar, la oeming to the defense of Max Graf, film producer,, about whose head a stornv kroke recently when directors of the Graf Productions, Inc., ob- tained 'marraats for his arreston charge* of embeulement. nils was announced at a police court hearing of the case last week. The directors, Albert Casper, Harry Lapidaire, J. H. Walraven. George Newman and Leon Rey, ac- cuse Graf of purchasing furs with funds of the corporation and giving them as presents to his wife and also Ijeonore Casanova, an extra girl. But Miss Casanova denies sh« was an "extra," but a principal at $200 weekly, she says. Mies Casa- nova also states she is coming to Ftisco to correct erroneous reports about herself in the Graf matter. Graf has countered with allega- tions the directors had used force and coercion to compel him to part with 1109,000 in stock of the com- pany, hi* automobile and his con- tract, which called for t300 weekly salary. He said the direcfors threatened blm with 60 years in prison. The name of Miss Taylor came into the row during the police court proceedltvgs when Attorney Bdgar Levy, cepresenting the directors, shouted: "Tou ar* buying furs for your wife and charging them to Estelle Tkylor, and that amounts to «m- beaslenient." Miss Taylor was a featured player in "A Wise Son," the last film made by the Graf company. Attorney Harry I. Stafford, repre- senting Graf, then announced Miss Taylor would l>e present at the hear- ing of the case this week to vindi- cate the name of Graf. In Police Court Last week's police court proceed- ings concerned a preliminary inves- tigation of the charges of extortion which Graf lodged against the company's directors. One of the de- fendant's attorneys put Graf on the stand and sought to prove that the $100,000 worth of stock he claimed to have been forced to give up was not his property, but merely held in eecrow by htm. Leon Rey, director, another wtt- nC'Sii, told of telephone messages and telegrams that had passed between Max Graf .and his brother Louis, which he, Rey, had intercepted. The extortion hearing will be re- sumed this week and when conclud- ed the embezzlement chargon against Graf will be heard. CAL/S SYMPHONY ORCH. Frisco's Pictur* Hews* Forming One of 80 Man to Play in Bowl San Francisco, Aug. 19. Beginning Aug. 80, the California theatro will Install a permanent symphony orchestra under the di- rection of Max I>oUn, consisting of 80 men. There has not been a permanent musical organisation of this size In any of the^ocal picture houses since Herman Heller left the Cal- iforala some two years ago. The new orchestra will appear In concert four time* dally, and will play in a special bowl being con- structed upon the ttage. BLOCK BUYING DISCUSSED AT I mm Atlantic City ConTontion of Tri-Stote Exhibitors Being Held Atlantic City, Aug. 19. At the convention here of the Tri-State Regional Organisation of the Motion Picture Theatro Owners of America, a decided protest has been registered against the demand from th« publisbera for royalty on their pvMications. M. J. O'TooIe, of Scran ton, presi- dent of the M. P. T. O. A., is pre- siding ov<r the convention, which represents over 2,(00 houses in Southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The conventionites are also at- Ucking the block buying system, claiming once more that the ring- ers offset the plums. DECLARATION OF INDQ^NDENCE AND . CONSTITU'nON OF U. S., FILM IMMUNE Variety Bureau, Evans BIdfl., Washington, Aug. 19. Picture producers have been able to get most anything they wanted here in Washington from the armed forces of the army and navy all the way through. They've even had President Cool- idge cast in a two-reeler, an educational, but, nevertheless, they got l.im. Griffith, in making "America," had almost the entire ai;my at his disposal. Including the secretary and all high ranking officers— but when it came to the originals of the Decelaration of Independ- ence and the Constitution of these United States, the producers humped up against what appears to be an insurmountable snag! For a time it looked as if everything was all set to "shoot" these two documents. Arllne Brooke, playing the lead in the film, the working title of wbich is "The Romance of the Constitution" posed before the cases wherein rest these two historlo documents. Spe- cial permission, it was stated, had baen o|>taln*d for the removal of the documents which were to be shot in the hands of Miss Brooke while the film actress was surrounded by a score or so of Wash- ington's society leaders who are also active workers in the patriotic societies, with which Washington abounds. Men from the army and navy were also secured for the picture. The story concerning the "special permission" got out and then the deluge of protests. The Library of Congress, wherein the docu- ments are kept, was literally swamped with them, with the result that with the camera set and the director ready to start aclon. Dr. Charles Moore, who is In charge of he manuscripts of the library, refuaed to permit the twa documents to be removed from their cases. When asked by Variety's representative if his decision waa final in view of the previous co-operation accorded the picture producer* by all branche* of the government. Dr. Moore said that for tho present, ye*. "The American people look upon the originals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with great reverence, I might say with religious reverence. This, coupled with the protests re* eeived, causes me to believe that permission will never be granted to film these two documents," stated Dr. Moore. Meanwhile Charles Forrester, directing the film for the Patriotlo Film Company of Ixts Aageles, with his company. Is still her* with, the director expressing the belief that there 4s still a chance of It being put across. MAKE-UP SCHOOL CLOSED Another to Follow gele* in Los An- OFESATOB BUTS THEATBE Fittsfieid. Mass.. Aug. 19. George A. Markell, operator of the Strand Theatre for the last four years, has bought the property, In- cluding the theatre, at a price ap- proximately 180,000. shootings and robbery he remem- bers notlTing of these Incidents. Tod Sloan, Dick Ferris and a number of theatrical friends are now arranging to get a fund to- gether for his defense, as McCoy, who bad been striving for more than two years to earn a livelihood after getting out of pictures, is clean broke. Dagm.ir Dalgren, who was the eighth Mrs. McCoy, as soon as she heard of the crime came forth with a statemeat that she still loved Mc- Coy, and would do anything to help him. Friends of the KJd say that at the time of hie fifth marriage he made a statoment, that he hoped he would live to be 100 years old, and that he would in that time rival King Solomon by having iMUrried 44 wives. ''SCREEN CLDB^S" FNSH ifiST.IURTirSCUIB Police Raid Place — Fines Meted Out—Permitted Gambling XiOndOB. Aug. 11- Some months ago » club of little account hot supposed to bo com- posed of film artists, dta-ectore and other people connected with the fbow worid. calling Itself the Screen Club. wa« raidod by the police. Magisterial bearing* were more numeroo* than uAiaJ, but In the end heavy flnea were meted out to responsible parties and the club was struck off the register. This was on a Friday. The fol- lowing Monday the same manage- ment and practically the same meadbers, derelicts from the repu- table clubs, opened another estab- lishment and called It the St. Mar- tin's Club. The career of the St. Martin's has been shorter than that of the Screen. From the start the police have been Interested in this concern, and their interest came to a crisis when officers visited the place. As a matter of fact, the palace was merely a "dive," used princi- pally for betting purposes. At Bow street, Herbert Hyams was fined $375 and costs, and Samuel Marks was fined 160 tdr per- mitting the premises to be used for illegal betting. Horace Corbyn was fined 1176, with the alternative of six weeks Imprisonment for being the Secretary, and the club was struck oft the register. Notice of appeal was given. 'Police evidence proved the place had l>een under observation for some time, and at the time of the raid 42 people were found there, a heap of betting para- phernalia was seized, and $1,000 was found. A lawyer for Hyams and Marks stated an agreement had been made with the elub unite:- which Hyams agreed to pay 825 weekly for .the use of a room in which he ceuld carry on his businc.^3 as a commission ..gent in a legal manner. It was assumed casual bet- ting by members was not Ule:;al. Other defendants pl^-^Jed Ignorance of the law. Loa Aageles, Aug. 19. One of the so-called picture make-up schools has gone out of business this week, according to John F. Lowy, attorney for the State lAbor Department. Another, against which complaints have been received, will have proceedings takep^agalnst It. Harry Keaton. who operated a school at 2213 Sunset boulevard, agabist whom Mary Beaton made a complaint, is the on* retired from business, following the snspenslon of the complaint against talm. WEST COAST'S $350,000 BOND ISSUE ON COAST LIQOOR IN BIM MADE LEATRICE JOY'S LffE SAD John C. Gilbert Carousing at Home While Wife Is in Delicate Condition Wilson Has Hillcrest, Tarrytown Fred Wilson, who owns the Orcenwlch theatre, Greenwich, Conn., and is president of Reeland Publishing Co., has taken over the poeaesaion of the Hlllcreat theatre, Tarrytown, N. X<, Los Angeles, Aug. 19. Leatrice Joy, picture star, in pri- vate life the wife of John C. Gil- bert, picture star, has filed suit for divorce against him in the Superior Court, charging intemperance, cru- elty and ill temper. The Gilberts who were married March S, 1922, were believed to have led a happy life as far as the picture colony here knew, for the stork is expected to arrive within a few months. The complaint recites they sud- denly separated Aug. 10, when she pleaded with him to give up the use of excessive intoxlc!>.nts. The complaint says that on the day previous to the separation Miss Joy had gone to the home of her mother to rest and quid her nerves. On the next day she returned to her home, finding Gilbert and a num- ber of men friends in a wild ca- rousal, wearing dressing gowns and pajamas. Miss Joy returned to the home of .- mother and sent for her attorney. The complaint charges that Gil- bert's alleged use of liquor caused frequent outbursts of temper and In June, 1923, he slapped his wife In t:ie face. After that incident she left and remained away for sev- eral months, returning when he promised to quit liquor. In the last year it is asserted Gilbert contin- ued to bring large quantities of liquor into their home. As a recult Misa Joy asserts her nerves have become affected and on account of her dejlcate physical condition she is unable to work at present. The complaint state/ that she is without funds and asks for ali- mony and hospital expenses prior to the trial. Gilbert Is getting tl,50« a week under a year contract from Metro- ,aoMlwy«i 78 Theatres Seat 85,000 Peo^ pie—Play to 44,000,000 ,. Admissions Annually j| ..■■>:i''tim Lo* Angeles. Aug. If. Weat Coa*t Tlieatr**, Inc., «on«t troUng 79 theatres in California, ar« advertising for sale a t8IO,060 first mortgage, 7 per cent, serial gold bond Issue, dated July 1, 1924, and due from 1926 to 1929. The denom* Inatlon of the bonds are IBOO and •LOW. The prospectus covering the of'^ fer say* that tb* 78 bouse* bay* • •eating capacity of 86,000, and that tbe admissions are running at tb* annual rate of 44,000,000 people. Tbe call for the loan Is to b« • first closed mortgage on a plot owned by tbe company at Washing* ton boulevard and Vermont avenM^ where a new house valued at 8700,<4 000 1* being erected. The bona* will have a seating capacity of S,00*< CUBA'S BAN Cuban Coun**lor Li*t*n* to JmN Connolly in Fir«t National MattMT Washington, Aug. 19. Tbe Cuban legation here baa Jual been advised of its government's ac-a tton in banning the showing of First National films throughout Cuba. B(« fort* are being made by Dr. Arturo Padro y Almeida, counselor of tha legation, to bring about a settlement of the controversy from this end. Several letters, the last to be posted leaving here on Saturday, have been forwarded asking for reconsidera- tion. '^ Dr. Padro stated to Variety's rep- resentative that upon the represen- tation of Jack Connolly of the local Will Hays oflllce he was endeavoring to raise the ban on this particular company's film output. BOWLAHD ON COAST tiOB Angeles, Aug. 19. Richard Rowland Is expected to arrive at the First National Studios this week for an Indefinite sojourn. It is said he is coming on to get a glimpse of "The Lost World," now in the final stages of cutting and which First National expect to make their banner release of the year. Also expected of him will bo an announcement as to when he will order his companies headed for the Eastern studios to begin production. CABANNE PICTUBES, N.Y.-MADE W. Christy Cabanne is planning to make a series of six new picture*, with all the productions to be made In New York. Previous films directed by Cal>ann* have been released through Asaod- «t«d Ksbibltort.