Variety (August 1925)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Wednesday, August 8, 1928 VARIETY I VARIETY'S CHICAGO OFFICE HAL HALPERIN in Charge Stete-Lak« Theatre Bld(., Suite 520 Phones: Ceutral 0644-4401 CHICAGO Prof«uion«lt hava the fr«« us* of Vanety'a Chieaso Offic* for information. Mail may b« addrMMd cara Variety, Stata-Laka I'ha- atra Bldg^ Chicago. It will be held aubject to call, forwarded or advert'sed in Variety'a Letter List. A show that looked great on paper from a comedy and entertaining standpoint bad a tendency to drag considerably througrh too many turns usins <ull stac4 for bits or other- wise. Despite standard variety acts composing the program the esseit- tial drawing card for Palace audi- «ncea is minus. The bill ran ac6ordftig to the program save (or the substitution of Edith Clifford, who waUced out on account of being assigned the No. 2 position, being replaced by Paul 8ydeU and "Spottie." The latter turn fitted in more adequately into Ske running of the show, as there VM plenty of singing without Miss plifford. y' Business was Ju«t fait, but the gathering seemed to be more n- Bponsive than the usual Sunday at- Wkmn in Chicago ] Vimi ThM€ Hk» I •A" HARRIS Now fuS That Off!! * —with— mtm. W. BcM ghlriey BmUI Ma>yere> ShadMlferd Alaa ■■■■■ Xerval KeedweU HiMto VMay BABSAIM MATS. W«d. aad Hat.—««.*• '^.. .■"tj'r- CBARRim f EN TR aL ftrtgliteet Theatr* la ChiOMro. VaaBaraa at MIchlgaD Avcau* Tk CAT and the CANARY WOODS Seats rire Weaiu la Advaaee Arthur Hammaratela preMnu tbt btcceat niuloal hit avar prodaead in Amarica *«OSE-MARIE'' Coropaar of !•• Symphony Orebeatra i ternoon gatherings. Frank Van Hoven took the comedy hit of the show. Van Hoven took time to go out in the alley and get cooled off, but still kept the audience In con- tinuous laughter with his blabbering routine, Venita Gould with her impressions of well known stage celebrities fared well in the next-to-closing. Her interpretation of Gertrude Lawrence singing "Limehouse Blues," which is executed in full with a male as- sistant, was a masterpiece and drew the largest amount of applause. Dan Rusao, orchestra director and walked on at the finish, sang a number with the band, which sent them away to slight applause. Not eveq enough to warrant a bow. An intenalve publicity campaign over a period of weeks put the open- ing of the new Diversey theatre over big. If the customers continue to come as fast and as thick as they did last Thursday the neisrhborhood around Clark street, Broadway and Diversey parkway will assume a metropolitan aspect. No ceremonies marked the open- ing. Nobody made a speech, and CORRESPONDENCE All matter in CORRE9PONDENCE refer* to eurrent week unleae etherwiae indleated. The oitiee under Correepondenee in this iacue of Variety are •• follows and on paseat Pase ATLANTIC CITY 46 BUFFALO 48 CHICAGO 39 CINCINNATI 46 CLEVELAND 43 KANSAS CITY 43 LOS ANQELES 44 MILWAUKEE 46 Page NEW ENGLAND 47 ROCHESTER 89 SAN FRANCISCO 46 SEATTLE 43 ST. LOUIS 42 SYRACUSE 46 XORON I O ..••••ee«e«esoSeeee 47 WASHINGTON 42 WILDWOOD 46 - A. H. WOODS' ADELPHI Special Chicago Company DONALD GALLAHER PRKSBNTS "TheGorffla" By RALPH SPEMCE 1 > S E L W Y N 63d Week in Chicago DUNCAN SISTERS In 'TOPSY AND EVA» -5«y It unth Flower^' V Louis Moteff Floral Co. 30 East Randolph St. " ^ CHICAGO. ILL. BOOM 9M ': Phonaa: Oantral lt«<. Daarbom <*S4 tpaelal 9mUm te tha Thaatrlgal Pre t 8«ai«a •♦SPOOKS" Chlcaco'a BiKgaat Dramatle BU Robert J. Sherman AUTHOR Special Material Written 648 No. Dearborn St., Chicago C. B. S. Stock Production Circoit hanaobhb wantimo intormation ■TOARDINO OntCinT or Hion CI>A88 STOCK COMPAMIBS WIRB OR WRITS ■OKACK 8I8TAKK, Baslnesa Hanacer MAJESTIC THEATRE PLAYERS Waukegan, III. —A VevB Play Every Week — pride of Biouz City, clipped off a corlcing overture that set things humming:. Ted and Kathryn An- drews, with the assistance of a male pianist, whirled through several routines of dances which scored. Paul Sydell and "Spottie." the latter a clever acrobatic canine, cap- tured the applause honors. The animal goes through a ditllcult rou- tine if hand-to-hand and head bal- ancing, finishing by doing a com- plete double somersault and bal- ancing himself on the palm of his trainer's hand by his forefeet. The violin virtuoso offered by Sydell at the opening also registered. Billy Dale presented a concoction of comedy, song and dance which is labeled "Congratulations." Dale handles the comedy with his old man characterizations, while two mixed teams supply the song and dances. It is cleverly constructed and will get over anywhere. Aunt Jemima, breaking in an en- tire new repertoire, has also con- ceived the idea of two pianists, l^e boys play well together with their specialty going over.l Jemima was inclined to be a bit shaky at times, sold herself to the audience so much that she was forced to take three encores. The ballad which is spotted in the early part of the routine should be moved down fur- ther, as it is a pretty number and well handled. Steve Freda and Johnny Palace followed with a routine of ancient and new "wop" talk. Though the turn procured innumerable laughs it could stand a little strengthen- ing in the comedy department. The vocalizing and the strumming on the guitar by Freda was by far the hit of their routine. Stacia Ledova with the asnistance of Danny Dare, Rudolph Malinoff and a flve-plece string orchestra in- troduced terpsichore in all classes, including "Charleston." Miss Le- dova executes a beautiful toe and adagio work with Danny Dare tak- ing care of the snappier dances. The turn has proJuction and talent and more than sufficed. Frank Van Hoven and Venita Qould both followed after several minutes of waitinp. The two singles registered strongly in their respec- tive work. Webb's Kntertalners would have found it a tough assignment hold- ing them in were It not for the announcement made by Van Hoven that Jemima would appear and do a couple of numbers. The present routine Is perfect when the act la In the middle of the bill, but when closing a show it r.eeds rearrange- ment In order to pep it up somewhat. The musical and vocal numbers, though Introduced pretentiously, bear -repetition Inasmuch as they p6sse8B the same tempo. Jemima dragged throughout. Perhaps the ■peed4ness of the four preceding turns made it appear that way There is not sufficient strength in the full-stage scenes to warrant encour- agement. The only thing that got over were the dance specialties in one. The leads, male and female, possess ordinary voices, with the comic being exceptionally weak in his line. Despite that this was the opening night, and the customers seemed overly responsive, there were numerous walkouts before the turn was half through. All>ert Debel, business manager for Samuel Cummins, producer of "The Naked Truth," has signed with the Ckirrlck, Milwaukee, for the showing of the sex film for two weeke com- mencing Aug. 14. Sybilla Bowhan, who plays WaiiHa in the Chicago comP&ny of "Hoee- Marie," has completed a bunch of hand-painted totem dolls, which will be auctioned oft Aug. 4 at a midnight frolic to be held at the Chicago Beach Hotel. The proeeeda ft-om the noctural party will go to the wounded soldiers at the Speedway Hospital. The Merry Garden Ballroom, one of the most progressive in thinking up new stunts to bring in business, announces it will stage a "terrific snowstorm and bllssard" in the midst of summer. YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT Bvarybody Tlsltlag CItleaco Oaea t* Rothschild and Leiderman's Best Food Entertainment RENDEZ-YOUS CAFE 'tlSr OIVBH81 rARHWAI AT BROADWAT Orchestra RKHODIXRD THE FROLICS »«»«CORATB) "AMERICA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL CAFE" la Beat tM 8traet (appoalte "V itatioB). Chlaa«o, lU. Tha RandaBTOai af the TheatHcal Btara CIVIC AND POMTICAI CKI.EnRITIRS RALPH OAIXKT. Maaager „..„..-».... RBSBRVATIONS ACCBPTBD Phona CALUMBT Iltt the Bhow went off as punctually as an alarm clock. Later in the fall Balaban & Katz will turn their Riviera over to the Orpheum, so, with the Diversey and the Riviera, the circuit will be well established on the north side. Inci- dentally this invasion of the residen- tial districts by the Orpheum may be the beginning of a renascence of the once-numerous neighborhood vaudeville house. Except for the dally change honkey-tonks most of these neighborhood houses have vanished in recent years. But the Diversey is a far different kind of theatre than the old music halls. Naturally it is bigger ani more sumptuous, but this is not all. The whole organisation bears the Im- print of the ultra-modern movie palace, and particularly prominent is the Influence of the Balnban & Katx formula from the uniformed orchestra to the militarized ushers, with their elaborate and sugary po- liteness. "While the architecture is impressive and the decoration rich and vivid, the lobbies and foyers are big and formal like art galleries. These were not characteristics of the old-time vaudeville houses. The Diversey was built by Fred Becklenberg, a real estate manipu- lator, originally leaBed to Jones, Liinick A SchaefTer, subleased to Balaban & Katz, and then turned over, to the Orpheum to operate. It is said the three firms share^ and share alike on all profits or possible losses, with the Orpheum getting a regular booking and office fee. There are S,100 seats, scaled at 26- 50. Lew Judah, formerly of the State-Lake, is manager, with John Thoma, assistant at the Palace, as- suming the trearureship. Lee Strieker has the orcheatra. The di- rctor of service la a young chap named Brown, who has the B. & K. idea down pat. The house will use five acts on a split week, with a feat- ure film. An effort will be made to build a strong matinee clientele at 25 cents. Acta wiU do three shows a day. For the ptesent all bookings will be via New York, but later it is expected the Orpheum Junior will handle the house in Chicago. The opening bill ran smoothly throughout and clicked 100 per cent save for the closing turn "Honey- moon Cruise." The latter turn hin- dered the running of the progam tn more than one way. The flash occu- pied 45 minutes which was half the running time of the entire variety bill. It also caused a stage wait while installing the gangplank. "Honeymoon Cruise" has several pieces of business in the audience which the balcony customers were deprived of seeing and which will eventually have a tendency for all to seek main floor locations, figuring they will miss something if they perch themselves In the upper sec- tion. Joe FantOn and Co. gave the per- formance a great start with a novel and daring exhibition on the rings. The six-minute offering pepped up things for the succeeding turns. Harris and Holly chalked up a hit with their strong comedy chatter and their dancing running wild fin- ish. Deno Rochelle, with the assist- ance of a male team of dancers and a flve-plece musical combination, in- troduced their terpslchorean novel- ty, garnering the applause hit of the program. Joe Weston and Grace Eline followed with a fast routine of nonsensical talk that procured spon- taneous laughter. The "Bowery" bit also came In for a good share of laughs, terminating with solid rounds of applause. "Honeymoon Cruise" clo«ed, and Philip R. Davis, lawver, poet and dramatic critic, is no longer con- nected with Chicago "Topics " Marie Hecht, wife of Ben Hecht. novelist, has succeeded him. Milo Bennett has bought Nelsen Lewis' old rural comedy, "Along the Mohawk." George K. Spoor of the Essanay Film Company is now engaged in securing showing dates for his new process moving pictures, which he expects will revolutionize the cinema industry. keys will unlock a golden chest on top of the 85-foot diving platform in the center of the natatorium. At a pistol shot the crowd starts its search of the pool's bottom. After a key is recovered bathers climb to the top of the diving tower and try them. The winner collects $10. Charging that he has been "frozen out" in the management- of the Plymouth Theatre, and that his partners are conducting the place "Improvidently and negligently," Harry Tiahcott has brought suit for dissolution of his partnership with Isidore Rubin and Morris Bach- muth, both of this city. TishcoCt also asks an accounting, dating from Feb. 27 last, when the thre* 'j took a lease of the theatre from Bernard LIpson. Tishcoff claims his partners on July 16 assigned the entire lease to Joseph Resnick of Brooklyn without consideration. Roder and Doans, Cannon and Lee, AI Nuttle, musical clown, and May Collier, diver, ar« on the tree act program for the Wyoming County Fair, eurrent week at War> saw. WILLIAM F.ADER Thm Thmatrical Lawyer 11 South La Salle Street CHICAQO Andy Wright and Frank Maddox will Jointly produce a tabloid "Why Men Leave Home," which will tour the tabloid time of the Chicago Keith-AIbee office. Rehearsals will begin Aug. 9 with .' n Aug. 18 open- ing. Wright will have two other units. Bob Jones will leave "The Cat and the Canary" at the Central, Chicago, Aug. 8. He will go to New Orleans as stage director of the stock at the St. Charles. ROCHESTER, N. Y. By H. D. SANDERSON Lyceum — "The Dark" (Lyceum Players). Fay's—Vaude. and rrhe QUI on the Stairs." Victoria—Vaude. .and pictures. Eastman—"The Desert Flower." Piccadilly—"The Lady Who Lied." Regent — "I'll Show You the Town." William Hurlburt's latest, a com- edy, "The Shortest Way Home," given a stock try-out last week by the Lyceum Players, took the worst panning any legit offering has re- ceived since "Bringing Up Father" touched here. John L. Glennan succeeds AI Root as manager of the Gayety, local Co- lumbia house. Mary Ellis, prima donna tn the original "Rose Marie" cast, was granted an interlocutory decree of divorce from Edwin H. Knoff, man- ager of the ^yceum Players, stock, at the Lyceum. Yoo Can Be in Style widi Last Year's Pars For atylae tor tall hava beaa faraaaated and wa have raaeived many af tha vary lat- aa* madals. War a v«rr reaaonabla coat, 70a aaa kava 7««r praaent fnra rBmaoeied br ex- pert Blaaiaaflald eraftiinMB. UKINO IN YODR rVKS NOW The beaatj sad valve of roar fura will b« laiored If ihmj are not properljr ■(•rad daring thla period af hlsb tanparatsra sad daoipnesa. Blumenfield'8 Fur Shop 204 State-Laka Bidg.. Chieage PhaM DBARBORN IXU WORK CALLBD FOR Oar NdtrMM*—AaiMa* >a Sknr MailsMt SEE TOM BROWN 0O» MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 'BvarjrthlBS for tha Band and Orcbaatra** 17 W. Lake St., State-Lake Bwiidins* CHICAQO SCENERY DW HCBNBBT, TBIOCR CimTAlM R. WESTCOTT KiNQ STUDIOS ni5 W. Taa Bvaa St., CkkMt* AMBER PIE TEA SHOP At tha Borthwcst aaraer af Saparfer aai Mlahlcaa Baalarard. Chlaago Wa aerva tha most appatUInc, dall- eioua and vcnarons luncneoiia far par- tiealar baslaaaa paraons rOR •• CBNTS. Alao azeallant dinncra In qoalat sad bomallka sarroundlnsa TOH ll.*t. CHICKBN DINNBR BUNDATIi ll.tS. Rain failed to scare the Rochester Theatrical Managers' Association at its annual outing at Point Pleasant last week. Jack Farren, manager of the Victoria, headed the party. E. M. Fay, Fay's Theatre, was Judged the handsomest man on the grounds and Harry Abbott, Jr., manager Co- rinthian, Mutual, the homllest. The association includes managers from the Lyceum, Eastman, Victoria, Regent, Piccadilly, Strand, Corin- thian, Gayety, Fay's and Empire. A new game, invented by Bertram E. Wilson, manager of Sea Breeze Park, Is being played at Sea Breeze Natatorium. "The game is known as the "golden key contest." At 9:30 the eight life guards at the pool dive In and drop the golden keys In the water. One of the eight FREE DRINKS Aaythlnc In claaaaa Free. Aa aaaay as roa wish ta erdcr.. No eonvrrt eharsa except Batardaja. Too will aot ha !•• iiaeated to eatertaln. BERT KELLY'S STABLES 431 Rush St., Behind Wrigiey BIdg. CHICAGO hternational Booking Office, Inc. , Ninth Floor Woods Theatre BIdg., Chicago GEO. H. WEBSTER Booking Manager Phone Central 1497-8-9 Open All Night LINDYS Food With Personality Chicago'* Most Beautiful Restaurant—Good Food at Popular Prices—A Rendezvous for Theatrical and Civic Celebrities 75 West Randolph Street oppo«l(r (larrtrk Theatra , . , ,AAVK B. UORWITH, mmrngm CHICAGO