Variety (January 1926)

Wedoesday^nuar y fl. 1926 PALACE « ii«»«« was Kood. but far under Sty M""d^y "'«"\ '"•■ '^ •"" nelU on comedy and thin on names ^^^^'■..i^'l'nSrwcre ronfl»od to Cor- . T^lnS B rry. and Will Muhoney. Ki Ruth Chutterton's sl^etch (Now , Ym^i contributing some robust par- nH entertainment punch of the ^h w Ronee Robert and Jay Velle. "vit^two porseous plrls. clicked off rinaipy hit in a beautiful produc- flon turn replete with tiilent. Mpec- ttde and per.sonalltkH. The re.t of the bill was Just vaudeville and nffen not biff league vau.'.evUle, at fhit Miihoney's clowning and hoof- ing'drew the main noise with his UKunl material. The Robert Velie combination ran th ough H series of refreahlngly art- ful and dainty seta and scenes, with Velle singing melodiously and dann- Jne O. K. Miss Robert was splendid on her toes, as always. Rut one of the two "wlths." a youngster with an Indescribable shade of red hair • and profile and figure also not «lm- ■'ple to set to words without music, '■truly captivated the house. r. She Is either Phyllis ^earce or Violet Bache—probably Phyllis, for -the other was of a Latin type more likely to adopt liachc as a monicker. Zlegfeld Is paging her and may not know It. She has everything. There Isn't a handsomer kid In any Broad- way show, chorus or principal, and ' not a front or back kick that can Improve on hers anywhere. The dark plrl Is also sugar to the eye and also dances divinely. Miss Roberts, of course, is sure and gifted and highly trained, and held up her own, for she is a seasoned pwformer. Whereas her girls are young. Marguerite Namara, late of the various opera outfits, was not In her beat voice. She looked gorgeous, but she was husky and obviously had a cold, so much so tint she pur- posely shied off some of the clin»atlc top-note.'^, which she trills so stir- ri;igly when she is "rltcht." She catne through on her personality . and poised perfection of tcchnnue and vocal quality that could not be misjudged, even through her tem- porarily misty delivery. Radiant In a cream-colored and silvered lace over pink, with a rope of diamonds ^nd diamond pendant e-T-drops. dull gold slipners and a peacock f.an, she flashed forth on (Mirht. She sang a "Travl.ata" selec- tion, then "1-lomember," then the • Brta from "Boheme," a "Romeo and Juliet" solo, with a gentle balkxd for an encore, closlnsr to cordial and he-irty appreciation. , Corbett, moved up to No. 4 in a r(':Tran^r. niont of the bill due to Ma- , h'onev objecting to the trey-spot, dij-'closed the best and fastest act he has had In twenty years with the exception of his work with Billy Van. Bobby Barry gave him tireless and punchy comedy support. There Is some comedy boxing, very Inter- estlniT and strong em)uph to make the finish, a feature Corbett hnd eliminated most of the time for nvny years. A drop suddenly an- pcarins; out of a blackout, with twinkling stars to Indlcnte what hla uiv orcut did to Parry, was a wow and a novoUy. Gent Jim had to »I>"cch it off. Th.^ bill started at 8:35, half an hour later than It often rlnps up on the opener, the overture going in at SMS and the Tories followincr. That Rave Zoe Delphine and Co., wire w.iMUiirr and dancing trio a break out of v.-iudevllle heaven. Two girls. pnl-ably sisters, and a man. running a routine of trick steps on the ti!,'lit wire, did a fast eight minutes to a h"f rluscr by Zoe. Ifenry Repral. with a man and tioinan assistant, quite dearly Enp- llt^h, started with a ballyhoo and ■Wont into a cycle of hurlesque noro- hntlcs with two legit tricks to close. a feet to hands atid feet to feet standing somersault with the a?"sist- ant suspended from a trapeze. Some of the Incidental comedy was pretty feeble. ■'"ranees Arms, replacing Mnzle Clirton and Blllle de Rox. worked third. Fi;ince8 Is an ambitious and villin^ girl, but perhaps not 100 per' cont Palace single caliber. She has a niannerl.<jm In selling any and all types of songs that Is .suggestive of IlavvaM'n treatment. A number of hrr (lUiios seem Individual, and one viiih a dicp theme. Intended to get the auilience in on It. was a bear. but didn't connect, despite some piinted assistance. Some of her character hits were poweiyul. She worlsed 20 minutes and wouW have done better In 10. /~ix iU)'Uets. that many healthy girls of Central European appear- ance and style, pyramided on two iion-.«fn(ionary ladders, played bells a la Rlsl<<y, then ran a fleet and ^";<rled sncee.s.^Ion of nimble tricks, rnf.-.it of them not new, but sevi ral unusual for the enemy sex. A rat- tlm;^ elf,Her and a l.-Kical headliner for inteimedlate time. A survey of the ahove layout will revnnl it, ns docs seeing tlie bill play, undergrade In standard Palace qual- ity. Miss Namara was booked to t"! tlip void left by (".race Moore's 'lefctlon from the layout, and Miss Anns hatted for Clifton and Rex, so th- trogram was about in status quo f'lr 'ittracflons and entertainers, riorrfore. It would seem th.it the tension of Palace booking has re- i'""u'" '^'^"■a were a*. leaj<t four acts i 111 the set that wouldn't have started .Mi.i..A^. .,tiMt-,'m,^'Lf^i<t.»iiV}'fiv^:.-' VAUDEVILLE REVIEWS VARIETY la anything at Locw'h American. Miss Cliatterton, in a class skit, one of those sfop-gayuj for n $3 3:» star out of work, which usually fliv, came a^ a felicitous surprl.se and saved the woelv'a goods from a sad disaster. Kvery tsliow worth $2.L'0 at the window must have one or more 8en;;ati(ms beyond the tried- and-true vaudeville regulars. With Miss Namura suffering her laryngal Charley-horse, the Monday evening dlvertisseini-iit didn't live up to the name and fame of the fast-disap- pearing two-a-day'a castle of tip- most eminence. Lait. HIPPODROME The bill at the Ui|ipi>dn>me this week savors a bit of the days of the monster extravaganzati in the days of Thompson and Dundy iuid later under Charles I'illingham. One of the reasons was the presence of Charlotte In her skating specialty, but the real reason and the flrst-slght punch which vaudeville has suc- ceeded In digging up to tit the huge stage U "The j:>isappearing Diving (Jlrls" (New Acts). The girls use a 28-foot tank for the disappearances. Assisted by the Hippodrome Ballet In an opening drill which made a line of 28 girls, the act closed the show and added a sight punch which places this week's show with the best that have played the hou.se this season. The tiriit half held nix acts, four of the dumb classification. The two articulate ones were Krnest R. Ball in a Canieo Muslcale (New Acts), spotted fourth, and Will Mahoney, fifth, subbing for Jamea Barton. Barton was off the bill, refusing to open on account of billing. Ma- honey doubled over from the Palace. He mopped up, but ducked his "Mammy" encore, contenting with a couple of bends and a fast getaway. Ball took one of the hits of the bill following Mme. Ella Bradna in "The Circus Beautiful," a delightful sight act. Trained pigeons and Miss Bradna's high school work backed by the Hlppiidrome Ballet In fetch- ing satin knickers and white wigs. A chariot pageant made for a flashy finish to the turn. Bob and Lucy Gillette opened with their comedy acrobatic and Juggling turn, giving the bill a fast start. They did 12 minutes, closing with a rlsley table Juggle by the woman. The- dance of the comedian got re- sults, also the props. Th© No. 2 turn was another rlsley group, the Four Jansleys. The fliers are diminutive lightweights In uni- forms. The two understanders are in evening dress. The act is as fast as a diving airplane. The passing is Intricate and sure Are, and feat- ures double revolutions to foot to foot and a merry-go-round bar stunt for a flnlsh. They liked them im- mensely here. Charlotte closed the first half without holding up the walk-outs. The former queen of the Ice showed nothing beyond her usual grace. Her routine held nothing new or in- tricate. She may have been handi- capped by the prop Ice wiiich Is laid down at the Hippodrome for a turn of this kind. The Hippodrome Girls ngnln dressed the stage In thla turn, and It needed them. After intermission and "Plables" the Brlanta gave the second half a big-league start with their comedy acrobatic turn, "The Dream of the Moving Man." The corkscrew col- la pso of the boneless member was good for a yell every time pulled. Incidentally this pair are probably responsible for the epidemic of cork- screw falls which has suddenly hit vaudeville. All of the choosers are not the hoys who pilfer the gags. If not original with the Briants, the fall has been Identified with them In big-time vaudeville circles. Allen White's Collegians followed and kevt up the good work. The act fitted Into the Hippodrome scheme nicely and was given a great start by Alan Foster's gals doing a ! collegiate ballet proceeding, topped off by some nifty Individual Charles- tons by the line. The girls were In Harold Lloyd outfits for the occa- sion. The Collegians followed. They got across with everytirlng, but the highlight was the "Animals Fair." Hal Skelly followed in "The Chump," and proved that dimension means nothing. Skelly clowned, hoofed and kidded his way to un- usual returns, assisted by Eunice Sauvain and Peggy Hope, the latter one of the cutest kids seen wander- ing outside.of a Broadway musical , this season. In the "growing" double dance Miss Hope and Skelly must have hoofed a doubleheadcr by the time they grew and shrunk across the Hippodrome .stage. The ap- plause following the finale of the full-stage version puHed them down Into "one" for an encore. In which , Miss Hope hopped a Ch.arleston like, I never mind me, followed by a double Egvptlun travesty. Business healthy downstairs, but off oil the shelves. Con. an "All Girl Revue" of six (New Acts) closed the show without start- ing much. Waiters and Walters with their doul>ie ventrlloquial turn were next to closing, plea.sing in the u.sual Wiiy, while anotlier who went tlirough to good reiurns was Joseph (iril'lin, an IrLsh tenor, with pianist lending a lot of class at the piano. Mr. Grif- fin is .a singer who can get to tlie poi> time audiences at lea.st, and did fo well here lie had to linislt with "Mandalay." Milton Berle had a good sjiot No. 4, and probably thinks he has a nov- elty In talking out an excuse to swiftly black uj) on the stage to give an Imitation of Eddie Cantor, an- nounc€Kl. Previously, however, Mr. Berle seemed to be giving all of the time almost a Cantor Imitation tm- announced. Thla boy has some talk material that l.<i his own, whether bought or thought by him that be- S|>eaks a po.ssible future if tie will slick along the same linos, throw away, the Cantor imitation, which Is too common, get away from ,all of Cantor's gesture and Intonations, going along on his own. and to much batter results, probably. It might develop more If Herle wants to change during the turn to come out in blackface and find an excuse to wash up; also If carrying a. plant for the card request to work it out better, and If not a plant, to obtain one. There might be good cross-fire there by the girl becoming indignant at the trick played upon her. Not a bad single for an early spot In the bigger houses, and will grow better it he can sidestep that assurance which has ruined so many youngsters. Fink's Idules opened, going Into laughs with the rough riding. A good opener for this house and a desirable comedy animal turn for picture houses. Ordinary bill as It ran, with Fink's Mules of more value If at the finish. Sime. 5TH AVE. A much better iittondan'^-e Monday night than couhl have been expected for th.'il evening, wHh T7nivei;ial's "His People" for the picture. It was so well liked, from the applau.se at the finish. It might have ha<l con- siderable to do with the draw. In the vaudeville were six acts, none outstanding other than the new turn of Imliof, Corenn© & Co. ("The Slap"—New Acts*, althougli STATE A big house In Monday night and seated parly. The vaudeville sec- tion was of flve-act length running about an hour and ten minutes. Il.sually there is a six-act bill but "A Kiss for Cinderella," the feature film, consumes 100 mlnute.s, hence the reduction of the vaudeville por- tion. The show looked big timey taken act for act. Ruby Norton and Clarence Senna next to closing easily annexed the evening's honors. In fact rarely does a turn score more strongly In thla house. Miss Norton Is singing "Indian Lqvc Call" from "Rose-Marie," with an introductory lyric stating permis- sion from Arthur Hammersteln. Senna has built up hla part of the routine talking brightly during a costume change bit this real spe- cialty was the origin of popular melodies and It won plenty. Miss Norton scored strongly with an Irving Berlin finale—and earlier In the evening in announcing a Berlin number by radio, the announcer stated the composer had been mar- ried to the fair Ellin Mackay. just as Variety forecasted months ago. The plaudits were hearty and Miss Norton came forth with two encores. The show was shy of comedy though Jay Dillon and Betty Parker provoked giggles with the skits In their miniature chorusless revue. Upstairs there was a distinct echo during the dialog but response from that section of the house Indicated the reception was satisfactory. The Dillon and Parker turn Im- pressed OS a classy act for the suite. Another class act was that of the musical Fleming Sisters—piano and violin. There were originally three girls In the act, but the cello- Ist was not present Monday night. The violinist Is a peachy blond, graceful and exceptionally skillful. Her sister Is no mean pianist though she did not show to equal adv.antage. WUlla and Holmes comedfr aci^- bats and athletes opened very well. Some of the work is rough and they certainly liked that, also re- warding th© real sttiff. Miller Brothers' Elephants (New Acts) closed. The animals playfully walked out of Loew's Victoria last week and tried to break into a police station, thereby breaking into the dallies. Ibee, tracts. Their forte U low comedy —very low. ('a.si)er and MoiTlssey rj^n click In ;iny company with their darky comedy characterizations. The mi.ted team sells Us stuff liku a lire bargain sale. t^he could get more out of her "Loncaomeat (ial in Town" ballad, however, through switching from first to third person. As It Is, sho does tho "I" thing too much and, besides, the cheeiful coinedieiuie does not look panicu- larly wanton us the lyric would have It. 1)'A more and Co. with the knock- about acrobatics have a snatch of comedy oi>enlng with wop dialect stulf. Not good, not bad, but con- sidering the ensuing hoke dance stuff and the hand-to-hand lifts, permissible. Following a rather long interval (Ihe.Ho protrai'ted intermissions look too much like an "edge" for the orangeade concessionaire), ('barley i.'nlvert (New Acts) resumes. Those concessionaires, bye tho byo, don't care If they disturb tho auditors with their attempts at cleaning up while the show is on. liockctt and Page are tho same neat personable d.ancers. They have a femnlu piano aecompanist. Will and Mary Itogors, polite sidewalk con versationalists, f.ired well but on too late. The uaual female vs. male stuff WHS dragged in. Furst closed. Abel. AMERICAN ROOF Quite a big time flavor to the American's show the first half and If this Is to be the trend on the heretofore described "small time," the Loew circuit need fear no com- petition «rom any of its so-called big time eontemporjirles. Franklyn D'Amore and Co. were a big time standard; ivou Page and Peggy lx)okctt have b«>en around in the best of the Keith houses. Jules I'lirst with his equilibrlstic feat.<j closing the show Iios graced the better shows in Klmflar po.iltl'>n tie- fore. And "coming Thiir.''day" are Mcl,:ni;jhlln and Evans, a big time Comedy favorite, .and Willa Holt W.akelield, another famiii.ir. The show played smart accord- ingly. Jf)hn Let'lair, tho vet<'ran Juggler, still can manipulate a few He opened. Manning and Hall, an Amazon and a comparatively small male partner, twlced and got the mo.st out of tho physical con- BROADWAY Tho.se tle.slroiis of a long nIiow will get their wish here this w«>ok. With two acta of the seven at hand <!on- sumlng an hour of the running time the commuter contingent had belter set tiielr watches. . Aa usual, a routine show. A few clickers, but no real smash. The usual Broadway diet, with a feature picture thrown In. This time It was Tom Melghan In "Irish Luck." The t;elfa were evidently In a minority. No reflection on the feature, but rather the long-winded show. FJmma Raymond opened with her slack-wire stuff, assisted by two young men wh(» evidently qualify as tlie two out of 10 escaping that malady which the tooth paste manti- facturers caj)ltali7.e .as n selling ar- .gument for their product. Tho boys contributed teeth grips for both ends of the wire while Emma went through her usual routine and get- ting her usual good results because of novelty of presentation. Ryan and Ryan, mixed team, followed on with a routine of nifty stepping fea- turing tap stuff and winding up with hocflng on skis that was new to this reviewer and seemingly to the audi- ence, since they ate it up. Frank Sinclair and Co. came next (New Aeta). Lillian Morton, singing comedi- enne, qualified as the real wake 'em up baby of the evening with a reper- toire of specials which when ex- hausted sent Lll Into several pub- lished numbers to meet the demand. Her physical api)earance and meth- od of salesmanship are a cross be- tween the late M.-ibel Hamilton (Clark and Hamilton) and Ruth Roye. Although not particularly forte ns a dl.alectitlan through a seeming jienchant for broadness, she fills the bill and makes up In other ways. All of her five numbers were good, with the one about the Chev- rcdet sheik with uncontrollable hands the wow of th© lot. Miss Morton has appearance, pep and n selling knack that will send her .ilong nicely. Dave Apollon and Co., the ladter comprising a stringed sextet of male Manllians and three other dancers clicked as usual with his Russe revue. Dave's dancing and inan- iloUn manipulation Were at the usual best with the two girl nssls- lan's also giving good .account of themselves In tho footwork contri- butions of ihe net. Kramer and Boyle, who have dis- solved and reunited almost as man> times as Patti announced farewells.^ held down next to shut assignment* creditably with their hokum, clown- ing and Kotigs. Boyle's ballad. "I'al of My Cradle D.iys," legitimately stopped the show, with Kramer coming back to clown through an encore chorus. A few old ones .at tho finish, such as "Rosie OGrady," were received with equal warmth and sent the boys aw.ay to the best hand of the evening. Th© Ernesto Family, comprl.slng three men and three girls. In a rou- tine of bareback riding closed. KEITH'S BOSTON TJoston, Jan. B. This Mellle Dunham act which goes Into the Hippodrome next wc.'k will be a riot if it plays in "New York the way it was Hlaged Monday night hero. This Is the third week the white haired old" (harnplon fiddler from Maine has headlined the local house. Clipping btireaus < laim that this lovable old <haracter, who fidilles Indifferently but vigorously, and who leaped t fame overnight when Henry Ford sent for him, has rolled up a big- ger front page m).aee string m a given period than any act wbicli e\er played New Englajid. Th« Monday ev(-ning p^rformanie of Mellie'K third week was i :i.iiaeiiy I and the wow came in the old"" s'oi- l.wive. couples' contest fur prize cups for dancing tho aohottlsrhe, old-fash- ioned waltx, the polka and the qu.adrille. . These old couples were given hal^ the stage and the other half of the barn set was given to four juvenile teams fi-om the Brag- glofti-Denishawn School of Danc- ing. It was a real riot. Joe Smith and Charles Dale with the Avon Comedy Four would nor- mally have been the headlineri- but they ran a poor aeciuid to the aged .Main<^ fiddler. The op(>nlng act of Frank Wilson on a Idcyde and tho cloning act of Weir's batiy elephants seoit'd ne.>ct best. If Wilson will drop the first halt of his routine and work only that portion of bis act where ho does every known cycle sttint with- out tho use of his hands, he can stand billing in at least third posi- tion. Lois Bennett with Gtiorge B. MelCay at the piano made the gnide to a big hand In second spot, thanks to an elYoetlve closing number. Mile. Rhea and Santoro, with Alex Cross and Joseph Mach, Jr., went Well In a novel combination of acro- batic dancings and musical novel- ties. ONell and Plunkett In blackface with old material did fairly well and Price and Newton, spotted after the Dunham act, had hard going with good material because of the let-down after the fiddlers contest. Hhbey. EVttYN NESBfT (Continued from page 1) .N'esblt had left there, coming to t'hicago to obtain drugs. While It was claimed In the past that Evelyn had been cured of the drug habit, her actions have not warranted that belief. As far as known of recent years Miss Nesblt has had no heart en- tanglements and her son, Russell Thaw, has been almost her constant companion. Evelyn Nesblt had been drinking heavily for weeks before her suicidal deed, which took place In her b.ath- room at an early hour after she had returned home Intoxicated after daybreak. On New Year's Ev© she was car- ried out of a "loop" cafe uncon- ■ ?lous. She had also gone back to taking drugs, an old falling which several times before had her on the verge of death and for which she took a number of cures. She attempted suicide In New York foiir years ago when dispos- sessed from her apartment after her tea shop falhjre. Her landlord, the Trebuhs Realty Company (owned by the Shuberts) had her put Into the streets. She staggered to th© Hudson River and attempted to Jump off a dock, but was dragged back. At that time she was dead broke. A newspaperman friend lent her $100 and arranged a unique deal with her, buying the only authentic story of her life for $1,000, with tho proviso that It was not to be pub- lished until after her death. It Is still In the archives of the Hearst syndicates. Sh*©p-gland Cur© With that money she went to At- lantic City and there underwent a sheep-gland cure which worked like magic. She recovered and was soon prosperous .and strong, and appar- <'ntly cured forever. She lertun^d on the horrors of the drug habit and was actlv© In reform work •against It. About six months ago, about the time she left Atlantic City, where she had grown compar.atively wealthy and owned a fine home, re- ports began to trickle through that she was "on the stuff" again; a'so that sh© was drinking hard. Tho once famous beauty had never been able to withstand alcohol, which had an even unhappler effect on her sys- tem than narcotics. It was to a glass of wine that sh© attributed her "downfall" In th© historical testimony at th© trial of Harry Thaw. "On th© Loos©" Of late, especially since her re- cent engagement at a fUif^ago cafe, where sho did fairly well, closed, she had bnen "on the loose," telling friends in her sober interludes that she was "stepping out" between Jobs, since sho intended shortly to return with her ann, Uus.'jell, now 17, to Allanllc City, and thence to Mi- ami to take a winter asslgnmt*it ua hostess of a fasliiorialde cafe. She was with a Variety man early last .'^aturd.ny morning, woefully In- l().\ieated. at whl< h time slie fold him 111.I she was going "on tiie v.agon" in :\ day or two, but l'>r the luomeiil .slie w.it ' iilttlng it up like a wulor