Variety (May 1927)

VABXBTT FLOODS AND THE MATl ALMOST SOLIDir FOR SOFFERERS Contributions and Donations of Theatres* Services by Showmen and Show Peo- ple —XseaerallyL tlrgan- immd to Allmate Flood Swlferiiif. ' : K-A PASSES IT UP ILVJL WMkh't Pemiit BufTsle, May 8. * At th« •nding tti« N. V. A. w«tk her« 8«turdayf the La- fay«tt« thaatrs wirad tha Kaith-Albaa Cirauit haadquar- fmm in Naw York, suflflaating that ona-half of tha amount it had collaetad for the N. V. A. driva during tha waak, ba for- warded to tha RadI OfetS Ibr the Flood Suffarara. No auch parmiaalen has baan granted. Loew'a 8tata hara held a midnight performance Satur- day for tha Flood Fund» with thaatra, pravram and anary- thing donated jrella* RWlpiB ware $3,980. Tha lACayatta la an inde- pendent Tauda and picture the- atre, unattached to any circuit and independently booking. In its wirea to the head of the K-A eirenit tha^ thaatra Ma- UoneA tha food will to be gained by a division of the N. V. A. collection and the srlonr it miflitj^ «a tte lis- ter of* tha ahav ^oiiaMli in flhawdoei la worth af satarlliiMaaBt la aid af tha thouaaadf irhaae homes hava haaa swapt away by the turbulent watera of the Mlssiaa- Ippi. About 100,000 people engaged la theatrical work will give their aervloaa fraa la carryiaf aut the Innumerable benefltfl proposed with- in the . next two waeka. This Qum- her win laahida ataga handa. ticket aellera, uahera. MalciaAa^ moving picture machine operators, house managers and owners, in ad- dition to performers. Approximately 16,000 theatres now operating In the United States, with the exception of a few hun- dred, have answered the call of tha Mississippi flood aafEarsra with of- fers of help in some concrete form. The conspicuous absentee ia the Xelth-Albea straight vaudeville alTMilt which, as far as can ba as- certained, has made no deflnite plans to aid. The same kind of Indilfer- •nt gesture la reported from Chi- cago. As an Irikling of what the the- atrical world will contribute, two l>sneflt performanoea held Sunday night netted $2S,000. WIU Rogers and John McCormack at the Zleg- feld did 117,000. "LeMalre's Af- fairs^ at the Majestic brought 15.000. In New York there Is to ha a special performance at the Para- mount May 7 and probably another at the Rialto. As sooa as Nl«k Schenck. Just back at his desk, »ets matters shaped right, several *^w houses in New York will ^ive beneflt performaneae. - The Capitol is proposed among those. Irwin S, Chanin has offered the Red Croas the use of all five Chanin theatres la Naw Tork, Majestic. Royal% Masqu% Biltmore and Mansfield for fund shows. liocal musicians, under leadership of Nanette Ouilfod, Metropolitan Opera soprano, and Max Roaaa, are to hold a special seance at the Mecca Audi- torium next Sunday night Special performancea of "Yours Truly." "Tha VUfm tha Things ag^MMt.ihmday ftf||rt. .:,c'''V' Cooparatiaa! Through t'-» cooperation of the Will H. Hays organization the American Red Cross has been able to r%moh every motion picture pro«- ducer, distributer and exhibitor of any consequence. Distributors of- fer films free of any rental charge, to ashibtora In any part of the country who wial| .ttt f^sps haBSHt performances. In addition, thoaa producers who have theatre organlsationa have ordered these houses to set dates for special beneflt performances. Sam Kats, for Publiz. issued a tele- gram to approximately 600 house managers on the chain, authoriz- ing each and every individual to hold mldnlifht tMiSflta Saturday. May 7, the date chosen at Wash- ington for concentrated action. About too Lioew Rouses will fet inta liSKi iuNiinMl O^ aama data, it la hoped, althaaiill arrangements may be hpld up, making It neces- sary to change to May 14. Unl- vataal haar aant «n 8. Ot» il. sail ta its theatres. First National, West Coast and the Stanley Company have called their house managers t^ dtiga binaiRt*- Monday, Leon Rosenblatt, presi- dent of the New Jersey Theatre Owners, effected an arrangement wtwtat y m ttisatraa wOI> hal» a special benefit performance Satur- day, May 14. This incTtides 250 houses in the district of Oreater Naw" Taf«, affUdttad ifM ^lMal Theatre QwiMra Climihap: aC • €sis?: Loew's N.YJL Collections Switched to Flood Fund Atlanto, May t. Loew'a vaudeville houaee in the South laat week, taking up oontributiona for tiia N. V. A. eharity drlv% turned the oel- lactiona ever to the Flood Fund, through looal Red Craaa ohaptera. Thia waa apparantly done without reference or eonaulta- tion with the N. V. A. or ita director, hut the action met the hearty approbation af aivie officiala In each instance. It la also reported that a number Of acta laying off be- tween Loew Jumps In a south- ern city wired the circuit's New York office for permis- sion to give a Flood Fund beneflt. It was Immediately granted with the beneflt Ing a considerable sum. Forty exchangee In St, IjOuIs. Mo.. Little Rock. Ark., and Memphis, Tenn^ found ordinary oonduot of National Appeal T. Richards, Tloa-presMent of tha flaanger Amuaemant Company, has arranged for special benefit performances at advanced prices In the tS Saenger houses throughout the south. R. F. Woodhull, presi- dent of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, has sent an urgaat appeal ta Jdi m em bers of tha organisation with emphasis on the necessity of speed. The Motion Picture Theatre Owners Chamber M^-OsMlbraa haVa alao appealed to members. Don C. Douglas, Dallas, has wired the Hays office to the effect that a Jaiitt oomniittea of yronlnant ax- hlbitors and distributors have al- ready arranged benefit perform- ances, booking 14S towns with suit- able programs. Fitspatrlek A Mc- Elroy of Chicago, are arranging benefit performances at advanced prlcea in the leading th^tre In aaSh city operated hy this flim in the middle west. The first flood benefit announced in New York among the colored players 1M lOiat 'tiy^ Lalhystte theatre April 27 whSA a midi|l|^t show was given. SundtyJ9isration It has been arranged that those theatres not operating Sunday will conduct a special benefit perform* aMfa on that day. Houses aperat- ing on Sunday, hut not every day In the week, will arrange a benefit show on any day they do not regu- larly operata. Thaatraa operating seven days a week can give special midnight , shows or arritnge matinees. All Mwsraala carry trailers of touching scenes of the disaster while an appeal was made over the air. Monday night ail an- nouncement was broadcast across the country to the effect that radio stations would set out to raise a fund of $1,000,000 for the flood sufferers. At the behest of Secre- tary Hoover each station will re- quest contributions to Red Cross funds from 10 cents to $1, to be sent care 'of the district station. Estimates of total damages in the nooded area run from $260,000,000 to $600,000,000 With the exact amount of the losses suffered by theatrical people undetermined. THE TILLER DANCING SCHCX)L5 Albany. May t. The Smallej Theatre Circuit, op- erating a chain of IT theatres, do- nated half of yesterday's groaa re- ceipts from all tlia hMsss la ths flood fund. Oscar Jf. Perria, naaaw of the Capitol, obtained special permission from the city admlnistratora to put on the show next Sunday night. Tha fsdaral AUtharltka acraad to cut tha dug up $100 for the last seat In the top balcony. About 10,000 was raised. Bddle Cantor offieiaiad aa OMtater of ceremonies. Innumerable stage and screen stars worked on the bllL Duncan Sisters, the last act to go on at t ^^oloek iMday morn- ing, were .hOid:iii:ai» : »ig|ii i far 45 minutes. During the evening Tom Mix spent most of his time In |he lobby auctioning off photographs, his own hat, necktie, handkerchiefs and other wearing apparel. When he had takan off as mueh as he dared he got jewelry from lha W0lfiiK~1n tha crowd to sell. Other BeneTits I^uls C'ohen. of the West Coast Realty Department. jumt>ed back to the old carnival days for a time and kept on selling "the last 10 seaU" for an iatannlnahle length of tiate. At the same time he put Richard Dix, Eddie Peaboily and Betty Bronson to work ballylioolng. Other benefits hi Waal Coaat houses were held In the Colorado. Pasadena, $700; California. San Diego. $1,500; Cabrlllo, San Pedro, $900. Behaflto were alia ata«ad In all houses of the northern chain. Including San Jose, Oakland; San Francisco. Bakersfield, and Fresno, where from fl,000 ta N.OOO ware ralfiod In each case. Motion pictures are contributing td tfce general fund for sufferers In addition. Dodflaa Fairhaaks. Mary Plckford and Joseph M. Schenck head this list wiOi |l,tOO Chicago, May t. bi tka iaas at a«a a( tha sMst unselflsh and entfraslastie efforts on the part of shew bnslneos In Chicago to da Ita bit and more towarda tha iasMdlftta relief af the flood aufferers In the Mississippi valley, public offlciala, elvie lead- era and heads of oharitj arganisa- been considered one of IIm aMMit im- portant and eaally obtainable sources of help la the campaign to turned a deaf ear and took w0-'9$n in the combined ende Instead the vaudeville intereats earned overnight the 01 wlQ of im- portant Chftaaaaaa haaaaaa af Ita attitude towards the united driven Vaudeville in Chicago aeemed too buay with Ita own campaign to vaMa flMds ffsr Ihi M. T. A. siwirity. Because of this oampalgn, repre- sentatives of the vaudeville or- ganisation putting e« ita drive with tlfft^olicitora^S^hTSSH^^ tlms' benefltt* JUdinliMMl widespread. Another Vaude Blaek Eye Milwaukee. May t. Sponsored by the Wisconsin News, a flood i-ellaf dance waa held ay Saii^ WlkliiMi mdaf -Monday night. JUooia thaatrea contrtbuted acta. Wichita, Kans.. May t. Members of the theatrical profes- sion have raised $2,600 of WIchita'a $6,000 Red Croas flood relief quota. L. M. Millar and Stanley N. <;hamber8, aaa a sb s^a af tha Consol- idated Amusement Company, pro- moted a beneflt at the Orpheum which netted $2,000. Radio sUtlon ■CTWa h s n s m aatvrday jM»ttad I4H and the MuaiehUMir MT " sultad in |M0« PROTEST SUNDAY FOR FLOOD BENI a black eye 'among big business men of the city, social leaders and public omclala. It hurt vaudeville in Important qoarlM, ' A completely oppoalte attitude was taken by picture and legit peo- ple. No sooner had benefits been p r o p s d s d thaa asify iMlar, atfliide of those in vaude who were work- ing for their own fund, jumped at the chance to do his or her little hit to relieve tha aulMnt hi ^a devastated area. The vaudeville fund could easily have waited, as more than one civic leader eomnianti4 Villi* tha flood victims funA.JMiiMh>4MtllHt<i^^ and death. N. V. A.'s request for a pit or- chestra to play gratis at the bene- flt show Sunday matinee at the Auditorium was flatly refused by the Chleaga Federation ef Mu- slclana. Reason for the torn-down waa the unlon'a belief that the flood suf- ferers' fund la the more worthy. Band<4 are being contributed by the bushel to aid tha fload fnd. CImmm OF AMERICA, Im. 226 West 72d 5trMl N£W YORK ■b^mm atis-s MARY READ Loe Angelee. May ti - Colleen Moore paid |l,00f for the first seat at tha ha n sf H held at the Metropolitan midnight Satur- day In aid of the Mlsaisalppl flood fund. The areat draw a tnmaway crowd. Thomas Melghan paid $tOt for standing roons and Sasa Behrendt Pittsburgh, May t. Desirous of doing their bit to al levlate suffering among the Missis- sippi Valley flood sufferers, several Pittsburgh theatres have made orerturea for Sunday shows, at which tiaia funds win ha raised. f ui 'wtM^imii^ ma«l»'iilK''.s^ 'to. Ih#y'gutus of the olMtsltii/li!^^ Issuance of parmlta for Sunday beneflt performances for the flood victims has been put squarely up to DirsMar of Public Safety James M. Clark by the Sabbath Associa- tion of the Pittsburgh Area, an or- ganization of churchmen whose ef- Mrii ta halt a Sunday sjrmphony concert recently proved futile. Several requests have come to Di- rector Clark for permission to hold Sunday benefits. Theodora P. Davis, representing Universal, operator of the Cameo thoatre, called upon Di- rector Clark and asked for a _per- mit to hold % benefit show in the theatre Sunday (May^), He stated that It was his plan to sol! tickets for the show on the day of the per- formanca^ and that the entire pro- ceeds would ha turned orar to the fund. The second request was made by George Jaife, owner of the Academy, who wanta to hold a beneflt the same day. HIa plan Is to charge no admission but to take up a collection during the per- formanea. Director Clark said he will confer with tha city law de- parim e nt uu ili# BUiii a r liafor i am - ing. WILL MAHONEY The INDIANAPOLIS "STAR" said: "It would be dlfllcult to keep from laughing at Mahoney, even if ona should tr>'—and why tryT He haa the same funny trick of falling half way or more serosa the ataca before he flnally hits the floor. The longer he keeps his feet in this stunt the more divertias H 'ha* comes. The Keith nfanscalnent un- derscores Mahoney's name on tha program with the line **Why ha serious?" We go further and ask. "How can anyone be serioua with Mahoney luat haak of tha fsal« Direction RALPH G. FARNUM (Idw. S. Kallar Ofllee) 3D E'WAY BUY r«ondon. May lb ▲ thfad Uhiary deal for way* Witt aarry this aamady- thr^twh tha antira sammsr. p ur e h assd IHjm Hidb? Skow Lands YiSSdon, May t. Seymour Hloks, la 'Hr, Whafi HIa Kansv" la apparently hi lit s anooaaaful run. The second nlght^tha show got $1,400. and on Its flrst matinee the total was |«2ft, ezoallent la this Tex McLeod Likea London — London, May t. Tex McLsod has postponed his Orpheum route aa ha' pratora to play London. INDEX Foreign 2-t Pictures 4-26 PlOthrs Rsvlawa ..SO-St-M-SI Piotura P r oai n tatlona..., if Film House Rsiriowa.... r 27 Vaudeville ••• • •. • .|S-85 New Acta .*•#«••#••••••• 28 Burlesque 28 Burlesque lioutea 28 Bills .N-S7 Times Square N Editorinls ••••^ 41 Literati « 18 Women's Page 40 Legitimate 42-49 Legitimate Reviews ....47-49 Music .60-52 Night Clubs 62 Outdoors 52-55 Sports ................... 28 Obituary 56 Correspondence 67-63 Letter List 63 Innlde Vaudevilla .....«•. 41 Inside Pictures r 41 Inside Legit 41 Gftharat Bills if J '^TUHIS< 'PRODUCTIONS' PICTURES GOWNS INDiyiMIALS 'ilCHNEIDKR — —ANDKMON aao wae sr. ne.w vqrk .ju-ii^.aii«i^ii^^^MaiaaeRM«ssyi^hlh^M^