Variety (December 1925)

VARIETY VAUDEVILLE Wedn«8da7» Dtctnbex 23. 1825 I NIGHT LIFE OF THE WORLD (The 18th installment of Night Lif* in th* principal cities of the world.) HONG KONG ind MANILA By MARK HANNA Sydney, Rio de Janeiro and Hon Kens have b«en termed the thr. most natural and beautiful barbo: la the world. The writer has or.;. Tialtcd tlie latter but concurs with popular opinion regarding Its scenic And natural advantages. Situated en the snuJI island o( Victoria, Just off the mainland of Couth China, Honi; Kons is not as tommonly supposed a tributary pos- session of China, but is a Crown Colony of Great Eritaln. It has •vcrj thing. Well paved and lighted streets, modem hostelrles, beaches, corI:ln3 motor roads and a perma- nent and iloatins foreign population second only to Shanghai In the Orient. It seem.s then a ylty that all these endowments go for naught as re- garUs any stepplii' out procllvliies the inhabitants might have. WUh- BUt a doubt the most ultra conserva- tive rerldontlal British Bett'.cment •vor glimpsed. A midnight closing law puts the quietus on any ten- dency to make a night of it The horn tooters fn the various night «s:ablishments ring down the as- bestos prompt by a "God Save the King" rendition at the appoin.od tiour. We all Ale out wi.h a terrible yen to keep on goin', but Quo Vadis? Yes, there's Lyndhurst terrace, a street of most odoriferous stnelki w'unt the "painted gals" always bave "entfir. sap" on the door sill. The majority are Yanks and look as tiiough they aaight have pulled Stroke oar for Washington. For Want of something better to do Ui» gullible enter and mop up a lotta grape at 20 Mcx. a copy ($10 tn our currency) and leave vowing sever to do it again. Then there's the aut6 ride to Rc- puldo Bay. What a marvelous trip: Up hiil and down, througii enchant- ing vales, past acres of blooms, to «ur Uestinaiion. Rut what is here? (Continued on page 6> Rural Change in Living Vovles and the autonuibUe have done much to rid the bucolic populntion of the "hicU" appellation, sartorlally at least. The hinterlanders now go In for fancy clothing throuRh the screen's education, and the flivver makes possible trans- portation to the neighboring big towns for some shopping. The ma!l order houses are off on their clothing sales. As for the local small town merchants, they And themselves sMgbted because of the motor-shopping trip to the big town for tb« new styles. OAKLAND WINS OVER RICHMAN IN CONTEST "Eyening WorldV Radio Fav. Contest Ended— Ballots Thrown Out MARION AN9 RANDAU AT HALLIGAN'S CABARET Venetian Gardens, Palm Ceach, Slart Season—Social Affair, Show People There TEXAS HOUSES PAYWoMDRE Bert Levey's Bookings- Unu%al in Vaudeville PaJni Beach, Dec. 2i. A social Jam, holding the best the Deach has to o.icr for the Blue Rook, also iho sand selling nouveau riche and prominent show people, attend- ed th« opening Saturday night of the Venetian Gardens, managed by Rill Halligan. of the Friars. Marion and Randall were the star attraction and easily met with th^ approval of the crowd for their sea- son's engagement at this resort. Ihc dancerti. along with th« Harry Rosent: al Ore: esura. who accora- p«uii«d them, also playing for the dance music, w nt over big. It's the first classy entertainment in a night club here this season. Among those present were Klch- ; d LUkrihelniess, noticeably with- out as usual escorting the heiress. MilL.cnt Rogers-8alm, also Rudolph Cameron, the erstwhile spouse of Anita Stewart and also the lead in. the late lamented "Jackson" play of the iitallings-Anderson combination, with Mr. Cameron now briskly sell- ing sand for a local realty firm. Harry Relchcnbach, th3 Mlzeners' pr Bs rcpresen'atlTe, is entertaining Cameron at the new Reichenbach home on S<aspray avenue. Robert T. Kane, the picture pro- d ucr afnilated with First National, is dally expected here but whether with a picture company or solo has not been advance agented. ChlL-ago, Dec. 22. Two towns on the Eert I..i'vey T.; n:; routo. Ft. Worth and Crown- wood, are paylnK all acU 10 por cent above the rcgul.-ir salary. It Is a precedent. Other circuits have had certain 'o"" ">« 'uture Lewis, Baker and Van and Schenck in Cabarets Ted Lew ; iraves the Parody club this week to open at the Hotel Ad dison, Detroit, for a fortnight wl«h an Orphpum tour to follow. At the rarod. a new show opens Dec. 27, incl'.id.'.:pr Harry P.ose, Alice Law- lor and Loretta MrDermott and Ed- die Co;;. H.irry Stoddard's orches- tra will ^f • dance f-ature. Phil B.i"- r is being negotiated for Van and Schenck thf^atros that would occasionally str<>tch salary but theatres regular- ly paying 10 per cent more have been unknown heretofore. The only cut on the Texas route re?ontry organL:t'd by Rcrt Levey himself is Hou;«ton, a week stand. Mclntyre and Heath Are Ready for Picture Houses Miliityre and Heath, the veteran mlnHtrcIs and the second oldest team in the show business, have flnl"lipd a tour of big time vaude- ville In the eapt. Before engaging elsewhere, the two frimous coinetlians will look over the picture house fleld and may accept engagements In the film theatre,q *I10CKETT GIRLS" IN BIO FILM Lou Angelt'it. Dec. 22. One of the big scenes from "The Chariot ortthe Qods," which How- ard Ilawk.s Is making for Fox. will show the Eight Rockett Girls frmn the "All for You" company dolns several spectncular danc«s. Heading the aggregation Is Ad.i Co.Tman, formerly of the Coffman FTinlly, bicycle act known in vaude- Tlllo, . • - -. . come into the Jim Kedmond cafe enrly in February. Mrs. Tinney "Single" Mrs. Fran'it Tinney (ICdna Daven- port) will attempt a single turn with a pianist. The Stoddard band-Mrs. Tinney comblr.atlon did not click with the mnnagers. P. 0. SMITH ADAPTING Los An;j-!e3, Uc 22. Paul Gerard Smith has been added to the Joseph M. Schenck. scenario forces and is now with Buster Kcaton. making the adapta- tj,,., f . "-ottiiig Butler," the next Borcen comic for Keaton. The screen rights were purchased about nine months ago and when Keaton was in New York but tlio deal w.i temporarily cancelled, th > t>l(tur(' w.iR limited to showing everywhere except In 1. o-and. Thin matter li.is been straightened out. The New Tor!p*TEvenlng Worid's" radio popularity contest concluded last week with the announcement of the winner Saturday found Will Oa'Uand, the loader, winner of the 1:^,500 Packard sedan, with a total of 400.832 votes. He would have e ceeded the half million mark had some 5.000 ballots received too late a:so been included. Oakland Is a WHN regular feature from the Chateau Shanley restaurant on Broadway and »7th street, where the contra-tenor broadcasts several times weekly on behalf of his cafe H.'irry Itichman, also WHN, was a bad second with 127,284 votes. As the "World" explained: "The total vote he (Richman) polled would have been materially greater had not several thousand baltots sent to the 'Evening World' in one package, been found counterfeit. . . . These., spurious votes were discovered h» time to prevent their addition to Klchman's published standing." With the -World" publicly an- nouncing this, it ■upi>orts Variety's prerioos report on Klchman's ballots without mentioning Klchman's name. It was reported that Ricb- man bad * catting and clipping machine working orertlma cutting tmllots but reports of a printing Rtachine to manufacture phoneys were not given hee<l. It was as- sumed that Richman bought these phoneys from outsiders under the impression they were genuine votes and so must have been an innocent party. Richman. however, hod stat- ed that he is holding back thousands of votes for the float two days, in order to give Oakland a false sense of safety. Oakland was strongly supported by the police. He Is an Irish con- tra-tenor, so popular in yesteryears, and a veteran minstrel. Radio has agairrt revived his great popularity. Why Bernie Quit Ben Bemle was rated third with 77,70» votes, gave it up seriously upon learning of the "buying votes." One competitor admitted to Hernle that he spent $8,000 to buy up loads of "World's" for the coupons and also to buy flocks of votes from outsiders who collected the coupons on their own and wholesaled them to the contesAnts. Bernie Is a reg- ular WEAF feature 'playing from the "claEs" station of New York, since WHN is comparatively sec- ond-rate. Flo Rli'hardson totaled 6C,945 bal- lots. Tho "Evening World" explained that in the number of individual letters received containing one, two or three votes. Oakland, Happlnes.s Uoys, Ben Bernie and Roemer's Homers Gdng rated as placed, in popularity. Richman and Mis.s Richardson otherwise depended on their Individual efforts to collect ballots for the "popularity" contest. The "World" had a staff of 19 girls to count the ballots. Rich- man's phoneys were discovered when the edges caught and the blank back with no printing was di.scioscd. The different texture of the paper was another giveaway, the "Kvcnlng World" controlling Its own paper mills and using an individual paper stock. Nil for ITagoB" Apathy towards accepting a lift from a police patrol offered In good faUh prompted eight performers to hike two miles in preference to being propelled by the green lump boggy. It all happened In Bast Ruther- ford, N. J., Saturday, where the acta under chaperonage of Sidney Rhelngold had been billed to appear at an enter- tainment given by the local flremen. They made tho Jump by bus but rode too far and Into the wilderness section. Futile efforts to locate a cab prompted Rhelngold to enlist assistance of a policeman who was phoning for the wagon when Rid called him off, claim- ing the troupe would rather walk. The group included Lu- cille Dubois, Bernard and Marsh. Emmett O'Toole, Tag- gort and Sugarman. The cop was nonplussed at the refusal of the lift. IF YOU GET H! ITANHOVENSAYS HE^OFFK.C. FOR LIFE Wire* "Ace," Journalistic Friend, When Hearing Former Wife Married Odette Myrtil is booked at the Sunday concert at the Winter Garden and Central, two Shubert houses, next Sunday. It is re- ported the Keith-Albee offlce has notified her she cannot play the dates. Miss Myrtil holds a Shabert con- tract for a long term of years and la playing in vaudeville by permis- sion «t the Sbuberta. BELLE BAKER'S SHOW Ilelli" r.akcr's HlMrring velui-.'e under the Zle^feld banner goes into rehi'iiraal In Kebiu.iry. IrvlnK (■"aesar has written the book aiid lyrics with a Vincent Yournans or Rudolph Ki-inil score to bo decidi-'l ou this week. Houdini Trying Sunday Opening at National Houdini will try for a Sunday opening at the National, New York, next Sunday evening, Dec. 27. He expects to give his usual perforna- aace. now at the 44 th Street. Houdini wlM vacate the latter house Satvrday, after a atoy vt two weeks. Houdini believes that aa t»e has appeared with his escapes and trick* on Sunday nights In vaude- ville theatres around New York, there Is no reason why he can not appear alone for a Sabbath concert. Fellowing the week at the National, Houdini moves to the Bronx opera house for another week, opening Jan. It at the Rivcria, uptown New York, and playing Teller's. Brooklya, the week of Jan. 18. Kansas City, Dec. 21 When Frank Van Hovcn beard " that his former wife, Jean Middler J ton, had been saarried here to a 1 wealthy broker of Los Angeles, he wired Ace, dramatic critic of the "Journal" for conflrnTation as fol- . lows: "Just road J. was marrit il in K. C 4 This I hope is not true, but if it < brought reading matter to the world < it broke the heart of Kansas City's > » little clown. Wire yea r,r no as a j P'jI at once, for I am still a clown g and will laugh through it all. I 1 eried all day today while making j them laugh." To the wire confirming the report. Van Hovcn replied: *T*'or your wire I thank you, but the news It contains h.is bent my heart every place a l>rnd can get' into It. I played years and years ago on the circus lots in Kansas City ■ and played the Orpheum for • old ''j Pop Lehman. I had J.'s name In electric lights for the flrst time in her history under mine at the Main street. "I love Kansas City, but tell them all they will never again see the boy who used to make them laugh if I have to lose the long* st route. I will never play again in the city where another man has been given the little sweetness I was told only a few days ago was coming back to me. o 1 "Ace. eld pal, I will be on the stage again In 20 minutes mokiag them laugh. That's the way it go^ik T only hope she will be as happy aa this little comedian is «ad." The message was sent from Troy, N. Y. BERT HANION CEBEHONIAL When the Billy Rose $5 cover night club opens on 5th avenue, Cecil Cunningham will split with Bert Hanlon on the wise cracks. BRAT'S BIO GAME HUNT Chicago, Dec. 22, Charles E. Bray has cabled ChriHtmas greetings from Nairobi, South Africa, where he and Mrs. Bray have Joined Mr. and Mrs. Mar- tin Johnson. The latter couple have been taking moving pictures in the jungle country for years. The Brays will Join the Martins for a two months' big game hunt. Since leaving Chicago the former s^ciieral manager of the W. V. M. A. haw circled half the globe via Hawaii, China, India, Slnm and Java, CANCELED ON SUNDAY AT HIP; ACTS SALARY NOT RECEIVED Harry Carroll Opened with New Club Saturday Night—Played Hip Six Days—^Anatole Club Lost Chance to Secure Odette Myrtil Threats ef legal proceedings and I Keith's Informed Mis.s MyrtIT the holding up of the salary of the that her contract would bo consid- Harry Carroll Revue by the Hip- podrome, New York, did not pre- vent Harry Carroll from opening at the new Twin Oaks Club, Broad- way and 46th street. Saturday night. Sunday the Keith people substi- tuted Al Herman, "the bad boy of the Orpheum circuit," and the In- spiration of a recent letter from the head of the Keith circuit to all house managers, In Carroll's place on the Hip bill. By Monday night CarroH had made no effort to collect his salary from the Hippodrome, acting upon advice of counsel, according to re- port. Carroll's act was playing the Hippodrome at a reported cut sal- sry of $1,500. The Twin Oaks hooking calls for Sl.SOO weekly for the Carroll art for four weeks. ITp until five minutes before Car- rol wnlked cut on the floor of the Twin Oaks Club Hippodrome offl- rlalR were confident Carroll would .lefer his opening fit the club untP STiTid.nv nlpht or Monday. Monday, following the Carroll Inelflent. the Keith ofHce sent for Odette Mvrtll to question her nhout a reported opening at the Pnfo Anntole. scheduled for tonltht fTneo'^av). Mi«>s Mvrt'e Is hooked for elfrht weeks bv the Keith circuit •■nd plays the Hippodrome. New Torfr, nexf weelt. 1 ered breached If she opened at tho club. She agreed to the ruling after offering the chib manage- ment a counter proposition In the form of an eight-week contract which she was prepared to play re- gardless of the attitude of the vaudeville circuit. The elub man- agement did not accept the counter offer which left the way clear for the artl-st to continue her vaude- virio tour. Carroll's contract with the Twin Oaks Club was entered Into prior to the Hippodrome booking, which would have left him or)en to a damage action by the club which, had advertised his appearance Sat- \ urday night, extensively. Legal experts are of the opinion that Carroll can collect all but one seventh of his Hlppodrctne .salary and that any opposition to the col- lection through the courts will have a non-salutary effeet on the Sunday vaudeville situation, which Is now the subject of coniUdcrable agitation due to the desire of thef \ legitimate producers and ninnaperf/ to be allowed to give Siiih!.tV per- formances. It seem.s n .luesti^n wh'ther a cancellation prr'i'ouncea upon Sunday In legal. There seems no deH,! the Uv knew Carroll had enga::.'1 '", '^^ night club, but did n<.l '••'"^ wotild open with If.