Variety (April 1926)

16 VARIETY EDITORIAL Wednesday, April 7, IIM niETY •tOM 114 WMt Nav Tort City ■UBaC&lPTION: An»a«J 91 rorai«n. BiOCl* C»pl«B Vol. 1-XXXU No. I rrATBMENT OT THS OWNERSHIP. MANAQKMBNT. CIMCULATION. BTC.. RUQDIREO BT TUB ACT. OF CON- GRESS, or AUGUirr 2«. i»i2. or Van««y. »«MlakMl w«^ly At N«w T*rti. N. y. for April 1. MM. •tat* «f N«« ToriL Cooaty of Now York. Boforo MO, a Notary Public In and for llM Stata oiMl CooDty aforooald. paraosalli apiWtrod Harold briciu, who. havinc bevn duly aworn. aoeordlav to law. dopooao and aajra that ka la tiia bualnaaa manacer of Variety, and that the followlas la, to the beat ol hia knowledi(« aad hellof. a true aLatcaiciit of tha ownerahJp. managemeot. etc., of tha aloraaald pubUcation lor tha dale ahowD In the above caption, required tha Act of Aucust 24. 1012, embodied la flection 442 Poatal Lawa and Regulatlona^ printed OD the rercraa aC tbia lonn. to wU: . That tbo name* and addrooaea «< the puoiiatoer, editor. OMBaclac editor, and busiaaaa nanafek. are: Publlabar^Vkiiety. lac.. IM Weot dtth street. New York cUy. Bdltor-4ilme UlvorMa. IM Weat Mtk otroet. New York «ity. Maoas*as Editor—>None. BuaineoB Ifanacor—Harold Brlcka, IM W. 40tk atraac New York city. t. TiMi tka owaara are: Variety, Im.. IM W»«t 4fth sireeC. Now York city. tUno Blhronnaa. IM Weot «6tb otroet. New York elty. fldBoy tilvarmaa. IM Weot dttb atreet. Now York city. t. That tho kaown boodholdora^ aort* gaceoa and other oocarlty holdera owning •r boidlaa 1 per oent. or more of total amount of bonja, roortgagea or ether oe- curltlea, are: None. 4 Thai tho two paragrapho ooKt abovo. giving tho nanoo of the ownera. atockhold- era and aaeurlty holdera. if any. contain Bot OBiir tho llat or.oteckboldara and accur- Ity hoidaro aa ibojr appear upon tbo hooka of the company, biu alao. la caaca wnore the atockholder or aecurlty holder appeara npoB tbo books of tho company ao tmatoo or In aav other Maciary roiatloa. tho aaaa af tbo poraoB or oorporatloa for whoa oocb truaioe lo aetlas. Is give*, also that tbo aaid two paragraphs ooatala stataaMBts oaAradag aBlaat'o full kaowledgo aad b»> UoC as ta tho dnramsianees and oondltloao andor which stookholdera aad aacarlty hold- era WBo not appear apon the books of tbo company as trasteos bold stock aad oeeuritios la a capacity other thaa that off a bona fldo owner: and this afllant has ao reaaon to bellooa that any other peraoa. aaaociattoa o» corporation baa any Interest, direct or Indirect, la the said atock, bonda or other aecurltloo thaa aa so oUtod by him. A. That the avorago number of copies of ooch laiua of thla publication aold ar diatrtbuted, through the malla or other wlae. to paid subacrlbers during the sla montha prcredtng tha date ahowa above la (Thla information la requlrod from dally pnblleatlona only ) Harold El Icha. Uuslnwa Manager, ■warn lo and anbaorlbed before ma thla Mth day af March. ISealJ Elisabeth A. Rellly. Noury Pub:la. (My ffH^nn «pU«a Manb M. IMT.) 15 YEARS AGO ^From. -FoHelu and _ "CWpptr'V Bird Millman, now recognized as the queen of wire walkers, was do- ing her act over the Orpheum Cir- cuit surrounded by a company of other wire walking: turns. . . . Geo. V. Hobtart was writing a new show for Lillian Russell, its title being "The FiAt NMghters." . . . The Brown Brothers, five at the time, were playinir at the Folies Bergere, Paris. The Shuborts. having opened their Winter Garden In New York, an- nounced that they were considering a string of Winter Gardens to play revues all over the country. In 192< they opened tlie Casino de Paris atop the Century Roof and a few days later announced that they Would have similar theatres all over the country. Digging 'cm up? YAODEVIUJANS AS Fim MAKERS? From Inslda accounts, reports, obaerratloM and deductions the straight vaudeville magnates appear to havs reached the conclusion that sooner or later they must go into the plcturs producing business. Only Are years late as usual. Ones apon a time tn other days market took another road. While "You can't get acrons the river on -Don't kid me." said the driver, or there's a bridge if there's a river." was the river but no bridge. And •^They're rot going to fool me; I'll they didn't build a brldgo. a lazy farmer boy told to drhrs to on his way, a man. walking, said: this road; there's no bridge there.'* similar words, "where there's a road 8o be drove on. 8ur«-enouffh t!:era the boy stopped his horses, saying: wait untU they build a bridge"'but And there is now no brldgs for the vaudeville people to drive over to the pictures. Wanting to be always of service and particularly to the vaudeville magnates who have been so nice to us, we will proffer this unsolicited information about picture making as it exists today, and the chances novices have at It. To the man outside who understands pictures, the picture pasture for invasion in such ways as the vaudeville people would have to do it looks Just as easy as It would be to climb up the sheer sides of the Palisades in an antomoblle. From what we hear the magnates of the twice dally enclosure have figured It out or have had it figured out that if they secure the best directors and the best stars with the best actors In the picture world, what else is there to It? Those and that make the best pictures, don't they? RIGHT OFF THE DESK By NELUE REVELL The 4SUg« Women's War Relief Is making an enviable record for ir self. It is one of the few relief bodies formed during the war that i still functioning. It ha« however, a good reason for continuing to liv an sven better reason than It had for being organized. During the It sent professional entertainments to camp.<), ships and soldier's hosDitajT and its efforts were stimulated by the fact that those who helped »!! fighters could feel that th-y shared a little In the glory. But> tha hunting th e war -waa tom.d4MVA-44»nff «co so that th6i* isn't much personal aggrandizement to be gained by entertalninl soldiers and sailors. Just the same there are 2.500 men still in h^piteJ and their need for diversion is.grcater even that it was during the war These men are lonesome, in pain, almost forgotten by the country they fought for, but not forgotten for an Instant by the Stage Women^ War RelieC. It continues to furnish full vaudeville bills for these wounded Tstsrans and wUl so long as there is one that need« their efforts. Next Sunday night the organisation will hold its yearly "night," this time at the Cafe de Paris. Speaking for myself, it's the one thing I don't want to miss this year. If only to see Minnie Dupree. through whose untiring efforts kind-hearted people became interested in Doro- thea Antel and accomplished her removal to the nice new apartment (« 72d street. Has any one caught any of the bankers putting their money Into pic- ture productions? Where do the bankers Invest their moftey? In theatres. All pf the best directors, all of the best stars and all of the best actors besfdes the best stories, the best adapters and the best photographers can not make the best pictures, unless— That unless is someone else—some person behind It all. some one genius, he should be called, a natural picture maker—and how many are there? One, two or three good pictures may be turned out; a freak hit now and then uncovered, but the steady grind of good pictures, even average, calls for someone nobody can locate. He must be developed. That is why the picture business today stands out like a rock that only broken bank accounts will bounce back from. And on top of this that solid array of picture Interests, so solid In sight and out of sight that It appalls those who hear of anyone trying to buck It, excepting those who really are outside of this concrete fold and have already established themselves through their brands or some individual stars. This is not in behalf of the picture people. They don't care. The more and the bii^ger the invaders the sconer they will draw taut their reins. For the flop of the b|g fellows will discourage the smaller ones. But there Is another angle to it. Money! What pictures spend to develop.and hold expert execatlves and what vaudeville spends for the same object. 8ueh a genius as referred to above. What do you presume his yearly salary is, the one wc have In mind, and among the best. |260,000 a year. And he could have $500,000 a ye4r by askins for it. And he's worth every dollar of It. Did anyone In vaudeville ever receive anything like that in salary? Why, the smartest man in straight vaudeville today Is drawing a salary of $6,000 A year, for 62 weeks of the hardest kind of labor. Yet that man is a millionaire and he made It for himself. His agreement was that he should share upon all additional Income brought to a certain straight vaudeville booking office and circuit. 8o certain was he that it could be done, he named $6,000 a year as his set ralary. And he built up the circuit that is usually credited to others by those who dbhl know. Members of the profession who have for years been writing to thf Hotel Somerset for those ducky little southern suites have a shock com- ing. The low and modest buildings oh 46th street which' now form my back yard are going to the limbo of the brownstone soon to be replaced by a 15-8tory office and theatre building. It means too that I'm going to lose sight of such things as the Variety office. Jack Mills tune shop, Lyceum theatre. Times bnildlng. the AnheuHer-Busch sign, all the Loew signs—and about 6S per cent of blue sky. Cheer up, I am told, that's progress. Yes, but what price progress? The great open spaces of New York are what the writer thought she longed for—an apartment on the top floor of one of those sky-nudglsf three-room-and-bath buildings. The idea was that you get away from the noise and the dirt and the eternal crowds up there. But a recent excursion to the heights of an 18-story building dispelled the lllusioa tl^t the i>eaks are f jr us. ^^ce up there we missed the very things we had been so anxious ts get away from. Seen so close the sky seemed too lonely for ordinary humans. We will have to leave it to Colonel Mitchell. I wanted to get babk to where I could look out and sec near at hand the roof tops that had been my neighbors for the last two years. Even the old, familiar chimney pots seemed better than the tramp cloud that wandered by that summit of the mason's art. The great open spaces are too open for me. And too lonesome. When I received a letter from Johnny Connery. the actor, sometlms ago wanting to know if I weren't the same little girl who used to be his brother's sweetheart when we ,were children out in Riv^rton, III., I had an Idea he really did remember me. However—let me explain—as I re- call, his brother Jimmy was one of the big boys then and much too old for me. And it was Johnny himself, if my memory ptill serves me rightly, for whom I showed my love by making him a target for paper wads In the school room. But now I have had another note from him and I am beginning to doubt that he does mean me. Thle Is his letter: "The writer was the original Yellow Kid," says Mr. Connery, •*wlth a face full of freckles and always a stubbed toe. But I was sentimental. I had many loves no one ever knew about. Chief among them was Nellie Mac. With the possible exception of my sister, Hattfe, I knew that Nellie was the most beautiful girl in the world. To this day." he continues, "I have a mental picture of her—a little above medium height, wavy brown hair, blue eyes lighting up for everybody but me and a glorious peachy complexion." Take the chief hooker In straight vaudeville and say that be Is getting $17,600 a year. His value In pictures with the same responsibility would be from $50,000 to $75,000 a year. And actors wouldn't make him presents. Or in pictures whore an executive on a salary of $100,000 a year re- ceived a bonus of $100,000 on New Year's. Them's flggers. boyn, to people who think only of the last half at $62.60 or want to cut a $700 act $25 a week. Sarah Bernhardt was preparing to produce Maeterlinck's "Sister Beatrice" in America beforo sailing back to France. She planned to produce "Everywoman" when she got back to Paris. •*Madam Sherry," after piling up records all over the country, flopped at the Forrest. Philadelphia. David Warfleld bought a Corot painting called "Spring" for $1,500 In Chicago. . . . Cecilia Loftus added the Impretsion of a six months' old baby to her repertoire. . . . Elsie Janis was playing the Willinms houses around New York and getting $3,000 weekly. The big news of 1911's Blaster week was that E. F. Rush sent his late partner, L. Lawrence Weber, an Easter card. Jack Lalt was managing the American, Chicago, and stumped across a new one. On Saturday night nobody called for ths salary Money slone would be sufDclent to make Ineffective vaudevlllians attempting to make their own pictures with drawing power at thie date and time. Five years ago. there was a chanca. But it was missed. Now, no chnnce at all. There are not enough good people outside of the ^egular picture organizations to do it. Anyone who is outside has been left outside. There are no split week nor cut salary methods in the operation of the big picture business. Not only vaudevlllians but all others who Intend Investing money in picture making by Independents had better thoroughly Invostigato before turning over their money. /j/^^ 8tr«ioht vaudeville may need its own pictures as It Is blocked for picture service from nearly all of the recognised services. But they will either have to buy their service at the prices asked or take what they can get on the outside. Pictures have shot so swiftly ahead that at present a good picture without a "namo" doosn t *'xclte the exhibitors. They want to know the cast beforo they will buy, whether It's a publicized title, play or story made into a picture. Straight vaDdcville has a problem ahead of it Jimmy DLrnnte says 'Any probk-m can be solved." iSond fur Jimmy. due the Jewell's Manikins act. Mr. Lait mailed the check to Mrs. Jewell at her next stand, deducting nothing for postage. Alice Lloyd, playing the Orpheum time, got balled up in her date book and jumped from Kansas City to Milwaukee instead of to Indian- apolis, where she was billed. Upon arriving in Milwaukee and discover- ing her mistake, she redoubled her tracks and arrived In Indianapolis la time for the Tuesday matinee. 50 YEARS AGO (From "Clipper") Instead of using the phrase "added attraction." the variety houses of 1876 referred to the addi- tional act as the •*lncrca.sed attrac- tion." "Julius Caesar" was ending its record breaking run of 100 perfor- mances at Booth's, and George Rig- nold la a revival of "Henry V" was It's just like getting flowers after you are dead to have some man- tell you thla 40 years later. And kt would be even more of a thrill if it were true. As a matter of fact I am not above medium heigth yet and"! cnTi*t recall eve ry havln y-sfamnk. Aiid my hair has tw»en-blonda all my life. And wavy hair! Ha-ha! Wouldn't that make my hair dresser laugh. My locks have always been Just about as ctfrly as a cow's tall. My eyes were never blue. Perhaps he is thinking of my brother Ed, who has cerulean orbs, If somebody hasn't blackened them (and I don't think anybody could). As for tho peachy complexion, I'll admit thdt—but some peaches are green. No, Johnny, I am not ashamed of Rlvcrton but that beautiful little girl couldn't have been myself though I would like to think I had ever been as charming as you describe. Here's hoping you find her and If you do Just remember that the eagerest thing I say Is "Bless you. my children!" And also that story about Davenport. la. Disappointment came my way when I went to see the dress rehearsal of the circus last week with Mr. and Mra Irvin S. Cobb. No. the circus didn't disappoint me; it was the new home they've built for It. Per- haps, clinging to the memory of the well-beloved old Madison S^juare Garden, the new one found me hard to please. But my first thought when I went In was that the Garden wasn't Intimate any more, mapnlfl- cient but fold. To a layman It probably wouldn't matter at all, but an old trouper likes to sec the ''bunch in the connection" as he enters and there just isn't any connection at the new place. And then I missed the parade of the audience around the arena during which one saw or was seen by all the old friends in the seats or joxes. Under the new system one gets to his seat by paths almost as secret as a bootlegger's calling list. I'm sorry, Mr. Rlckard, I just didn't like your new house. But glT» mc time. I may get use to it. Ancestral acres often descend from father to son, and family jewelf are often passed from generation to another. But the Harrigar.a ar« the only family that use th:?atres dressing rooms as heirlooms. Anyone who has seen the "Great God Brown" at the Onrrick theatre must have thoim^ht there was a famllinr rinp to the name of Captain William Harripaii who plays "Hrown." They were right. He Is the son of Ned Harridan of the famous and well-loved team of Harrigan and Hart, idols of a pa.st generation of theatregoers. The .strange thinp: about it Is that Ilarrlpan and Hart built the Gar-. rIck theatre—it first bore their name—where tho son is now playing snd he occupies the very dresj-ing room in which his father used to adorn hmself. It wouldn't even be very surprlsinp if the sen .should hear a fatherly whisper there of "Go to it, son. ' carded to replace the outgoing Shakespearean attraction. A. J. Forepxuph, the Hon tamer and originator of the Adum Fore- paugh circus, took up a challetige Is.<«ued by Telsl M. Donald, which Donald i.ssued saying that he was the chan\p lion tamer of them all. Fo«epaugh Said that if Donald would deposit $360 with Frank Queen, tiien editor of "Clipper." h» would go to conclusions with hlffl and prove that Adam Forcpaugh, not Telfli Donald, was the kingpin lion tamer. One of the first of the balloon ascensionIst!*, Charles II. Griml*yj was filling engagements rU-ht ana leit and had a Broadway olTice w take rare of his bookings.