Variety (November 1925)

low- Wednesday, Novem>er 4, 1925 VAUDEVILLE VARIETY LAUGHTER By J. C NUGENT ■ Any breath may be your next. Xiao It may be your last. I get a queer clutch like that every time I pause to dtctat* on* of »heat talks. . . "This may be my last one." I say. Involuntarily. -I hope 80." says you. •Oh, very well," murmurs the clairvoyant, I, sensing yotl. • . Pot 1 beR to bn-athe the hope that whichever article of mine, and 'irtilchever breath of mine, subsequently proves to be the last. It will promote, propel, promulgate or enunciate a laugh. r..nughter Is the uncharted sea. the untabulated gooA. the free-for-all hlfslng of disappointed and disillusioned humanity. Bach human tra-^edy yields to It. Earth's manifold horrors are con- founded by It. It is the nepenthe of the Gods to the fools that mortals ),, In their mad struggle for the things that matter not a continental dnmn. At thirty, with the callow wisdom of thirty, I said: "Life has two things worth while: youth and love. And you are wouno; as long as you can love." At fifty I edit It and say: • "Life has one thing worth while: laughter. And you are young and gST) love as long as you can lauqh.** Work and Laugh It is not necessary to love a woman or a child. Just to love some- ^\ng —the sunshine and the sky. Just to have sense enough to know thnt work Is the only medicine without a come-back. And. if you notice, old men work more Joyfully than young men. Many managers work harder than any of their artors. Why? BePM^r they laugh while they work. ■ • oy ret a lot of Joy out of ci.shlng-ln on the wealth of experience snJ humanity that life has given them. Also, they exploit laugh-getters for the good of the public. I often wonder if they know how few laughs th" laugh-getters themselves get out of life. The laugh-getter is always reparded as a merry person himself, but he Isn't necessarily. He is merely a scientific fellow who has discovered that by making others laugh he may get enough money to enable him to do the things he wants to do—and those are things usually far re- Bi, vod from the humorous. .nyhow. he discovers, if he Is a successful laugh-getter, that man Is the only created organic being who has the power to laugh. The only living thing with kidneys in it that makes a funny noise when anything tlrkle\lt. A hofse does not laugh, the "horse laugh" to the contrary notwltb- Standlngr. Two Kinds of Laughter Of course, a horse cannot always see who's driving. He discovers ftlso that there are two kinds of lau?:htcr—voluntary and Involuntary. '' >luntary laughter, such as sneering, sardonic and sarcastic, coupled With a wise look and silence, holds the Job of many a dlgnifled official who. If he opened his mouth to speak articulately, would be out of work. It is Involuntary laughter that earns more money than the salary of an. prime minister of any old nation. . •ientiflcally, the combination of "kicks" which cause a human to to' gh Is beyond us. Of course, when suspense, surpri.se and'"rellef co- ordinate In the human nut, the lungs explode, the mouth blows open, •nd a quantity of the loose noise called laughter falls Into the human lap. -If the laughter Is bowlegged. It falls on the floor, but that Is a detail. This undignified demonstration seems to give acute delight to the human flsh, so much so that they dress vp and go to theatres and pay money and sit down to wait for some other even less human flsh to comp out and make them do It. Those Who Laugh There are several theories about it. One claims that only silly people laugh easily and that the wise and grave laugh seldom. But my ex- perience Is that unless savages are wiser and graver than civilized men. the reverse is the dope. For. assuredly. New York laughs more easily than Sklnksville; Paris, the top of culture, laughs and cries more easily than New York; farmers laugh less than townspeople, and Indians •n'l agents do not laugh at all. T'-\t the laugh-getter gives out all his laughs and has mostly gloom lef' for himself. l.'oklng it all over, he finds that there are as many degrees of laughter as of tears. He finds that the laughter caused by hitting someone In the "map" with a custard pie stirs no such intellectual delight as the laughter caused by keen wit which has to do with deeper forces, such as the laugh you get, for Instance, when you meet a legitimate pro- dijf er and pretend to mistake him for a business man. He finds that the whole gamut of laughs is dampened somewhat by the realhatlon that at the end of each career, whether its pathway be through tears or laughter, a guy with a shovel stands to tuck In both lau "hter and laugh-getter—and its hard to get the laugh on HIM. Thomas Q. Seabrooke used to play "The Isle of Champagne." In It he was a fake king. He came on from the wrong side of the stage. The court was awaiting his entrance on the other side. He sneaked In on them and said: "Here I am! Over here!" He got It on them. So the trouper who lives to make them laugh so that. Incidentally, he can live himself, can only cheat the Death Angel by dying, as some of them do. between breafhs. in some dark hotel room, alone. He can get himself quite a laugh, as he arrives at the other shore, by yelling from the left to the expectant St. Peter, as Peter looks off right for him: "Hey! Here I am! The train's In! What the hell are yoU rubbering off out there for? Give me a room'n'a bath!" BAGGAGE CANCELLED 2-ACT IN CLEVELAND Trado Twins Dropped from Palace Bill as Example— Trunks After Mat. The Keith-Albee Circuit cancelled the week's, booking of the Tnido Twins when the act arrived at the Pallace. Cleveland, without bag gage. The brothers had been laying off for three days prior to the Cleveland booking. The baggage arrived be- fore the night show, but the man- agement notlzed the act It had been cancelled. VAUDE HOUSES MUST PAY ila U» \J» j\» It Music Men Issue Ulti- matum for Copyright Scores Used with Film* VAUDE. PLAGIARISM SUIT Billy House and Harry Rogers Qusried By Margaret Eckhart Chicago, Nov. 2. Billy House, actor, and Harry Rogers, agent, were arrested last Week and compelled to post bond on a charge of pirating from a copyright owned by Margaret Eck- han. The plaintiff alleges that the •ct, "Just for Tonight," is a plag- iarism on her "Jerry's Honeymoon." It Is expected Miss Eckhart will liave some difflculty when the case comes for trial as the Idea, which ■he claims Is original with herself, *nd Is that of having to gel mar- ried before a certain time in order to Inherit a fortune, Is tho basic Idea of a long succession of skits and moving pictures. Conley Remains TnVauiia Harry Conley. reported as signed ^Ith Earl Carroll's "Vanities." has decided to remain In vaudeville. According to report, Conley and .Carroll couldn't agree upon salary. Palace and Albee Drop "Our Gang" Comedies The Palace. New York, and Albee. Brooklyn, have dropped the "Our Gang Comedies" from their vaude- ville programs. The deletion Is said to be temporary and due to the length of the programs when the two reelers were added to the regu- lar eight or nine vaudeville acts the houses play lu addition to the other short picture subjects. The neighborhood houses continue with the "Our Gangs" and other Hal Roach comedies. The Hippodrome. New YorK. the other big time stand to book the Pathe comedies, continues to play them. Fitzgerald Booking Jutta Valay CSfrectlng a misprint In a recont advertisement of Variety. It is Harry J. FlUgerald who Is representing Jutta Valey and Co. In "Sky-High," at tba Palaoa, Now York, last week. HAL JEROME of Hal OlorU JEROME and GRAY in "HOGS HOO" SEATTLE ST AH": "Hal Jerome In his exceptionally humorous act with Gloria Gray . . . Jerome Is no less than an artist . . . you begin to pay attention to the music o> his violin or the piano and then cumes a Joke . . . that never failing 'crack' that sends them into GALES OF LAIGIITEU. This HEADLINE ACT is so exceptional that It OVERSHADOWS THE OTHERS." MINSTRELSTS COME-BACK Ind. Houses Smitten with Idea—Grosses Boom Minstrelsy, la abbreviated form. is enjoying a revived vogue In the independently booked small-time vaude houses. oBookers are scram- bling for any available offering of this type since several, recently routed over the Independent time, chalked up new high grosses. The combinations touring on In- dependent time are offering the old fashioned regulation minstrel first part and specialties In the olio and afterpiece. The shows are booked in for full week stands despite most of the bouses working a split week routine. The troupes do different shows on each end. Prefacing the minstrels Is a street parade. This generally la enlarged by the Induction of local youngsters who don cork and line up la the march In exchange for passes to the show. Most of the outflu carry a Jazz band which comes In handy In the parade and also for lobby danc- ing preceding and following the per- formances. Aside from the number already on Independent time, several have also been spotted on the Kelth-Albee family time. $25,000 TO POSTPONE Florence Mills Flni.shed Week at Hip to Big Ev>"->^e for Cabaret The Keith- ..cult followed up Its canccilut.on of Val and Ernie Stanton for doubling from the Riverside to Club Clro by no- Tifylng Florence Mills she could not double from the Hippodrome to Salvln's Plantation last Friday night, with the result the openinp of Plantation was postponed until Monday. The Mills booking at the Hippo- drome, originally scheduled for two weeks, terminated suddenly as a result of the sudden decision of the big time to discountenance the doubling of artists into clubs. The postponement of the opening of the Salvln club Is said to have cost 125,000. due to the advance reservations, newspaper advertising, etc Sam Salvin and Lew Leslie were notified of the K-A stand. In the bookings to date where acts have doubled from clubs Into K-A houses, such as the Yvette Rugel and Harry Rlchman act doubling Into the Palace, New York, the "exclusive services" clause In the K-A contracts have been stricken out. Nothing has been reported as to the future policy of the K-A office regarding booking acts playing In cabarets Into vaudeville theatres. There Is a distinction claimed to be made from cabaret to theatre through scratching out the "ezeln- sive service" clause In the K-A con- tract The cabaret act remains a cabaret act and returns to the ca- baret after the vaudeville engage- ment, meanwhile playing In both. SURRENDfRS PROSPECT Jaok Linder Turns House Over to IMarkus After Dispute Bookings of the Prospect. New York, switched from the Jack Lin- der Agency to Fally Markua when Linder. despite a contract calling for 30 days notice either way. waived the required notice and re- linquished the house. A decision of the management to cut to two acts of English vaudeville as a combination with Yiddish vaudeville Is also said to have prompted the handing back of bookings by Linder. the latter figuring the policy change a sub- terfuge to annoy him. The original clash between Linder and the Irouse arose when the theatre attempted to cancel an act which Linder had booked on a play or pay contract. Linder explained the act could not be taken out and. when the house insisted, took his grievances to the V. M. P. A. which ruled the act would either have to be played or paid. Linder paid the act and held the claim against the house for the amount. EDDINGER RESUMES VAUDE Wallace Eddlnger, who recently closed with the short-lived "Tale of the Wolf," re-enters vaudeville next week In Washington. He will again begin a route with his old sketch. "Things Might Be Worse." The vaudeville theatres la the United States, and that takes la hose affiliated with the Vaudeville Managers' Protective Association, must pay license fees to the Amer- ican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers after Jan. 1. The music men have Issued an ulti- matum to that effect as regards the use of copyrighted music. The music taxes are not for the us© of music through the vaudeville performances, that comes under the heading of dramatic presentation, but when used for feature film ac- companiment. With practically 81 per cent of the vaudeville houses in the country playing feaure pic- tures, the use of the music Is an important part of the performance. The income will not be much, be- tween 130.000 and $40,000 annually, according to estimates, as there are only about 82S vaudeville theatres, and most of them are closed down each year over the summer. There are 16,000 film theatres operatlnc the year around. The V. M. P. A. takea la tk« Kelth-Albee, Orphcum. Loew, Pan- teges. Fox, Poll and other large circuits. Heretofore they have bad free use of all music without any license payments. The proposition Is not being op- posed by the vaudeville tnteresta. The only bTtch U the question oC ratee. Houses like the Palace, New York, use little music In film ao- companlment. the score for a news reel being negligible and not oeunte4. Independent Producers Who Don't Pay Salaricb ^Numerous complaints have been reaching casting agencies against vaudeville producers who have been engaging people out of these offices and continually stalling them on their salaries. The most recent Instance was one where an agent had booked three principals with a flash act and by way of accommodation secured choristers for the producer. The latter vere merely sent over with no commission expected, since this agent does not make a business of placing choristers only as a con- venience and never asks a commis- sion. Thfl act played around Independ- ent time for four weeks. It finally "blew up" last week when the cast refused to go further unless they got their money and with most of the cai-t claiming that In the four weeks out the amounts received would not have totaled a full week's salary. The caster Is not only out his commissions from the principals, but has had the unpaid choristers haunting his office in hopes that the debtor may show up there since they know of no other place where they might locate him. Some attempted legal redress, but found the only avenue which would give them relief would be a civil suit, and even then the figure they'd have a slim -chance of col- lecting even If successful In being awarded a Judgment. COLORED COAST TROUPE ■TUgtlme" Billy Tucker and his show. "Darktown Follies." now fill- ing an engagement at the Hippo- drome, Los Angeles, has arranged to put his troupe into a cabaret In that city for two weeks. Tucker carries an array of prin- cipals, a^TiTTnoceTaZX^bimdTtnd «- chorus of eight girls. Among the company are Christine Anderson, Dolores Tucker. Ivie Andc.rann, Clo- Ukl« Woodson and Lawrence Ford., SELFBOOKED BILLS ROP Ind. House Mgrs. Give Up Ghost—Bookers Win Self-booked bills arrangementa, which several bookers experimented with this season, whereby house managers were permitted «to book their own shows out of the bookers' offices, has proven a "bust," Most of the managers became weary of the Idea after a few weeks' try and have turned back the bookings to the usual routine. The solf-booked bills were adopt- ed for the double purpose of glvlnc the managers an idea of the work entailed in assembling shows and also to reveal they were not such good showmen as they believed themselves to be. The return to the normal pro- cedure has also minimized the num- ber of weekly "squawks." > "Gyp Rackets" StiU Undermining Ind. Vaude A "gyp" racket, which may not be entirely new but has recently at- tracted attention through flagrant pr.#'jilse. Is that of some independent bookers who discourage direct book- ings bat turn over "walk Ins" to favored agents. The latter, of course, kick back a split oa com- mission. The favored agent angle In the Independent field has been a thora in the side of legitimate act repre- .sontatlvcs who claim the only time they can place an act with thla class of booker Is when their favored ones cannot bridge a "flop." The illegitimate angles which ara running rampart In some of the In- dependent offices are largely re- jiponalhle^ for thejack of develop- ment In the Independent vautfovUla field which has practically been at a stand.Htill for the past decade and la less staple now than It was thaiL