Variety (Oct 1927)

Wednesday, October 19, 1927 VARIETY 17 THE PRESIDENT OF LOEWS, INC. NICHOLAS M. SCHENCK A Sketch By TERRY TURNER i<i write something of Nicholas M. Schenck, successor to the late Marcus Locw, as president of Loew's, Inc., one must actually cor- ner him betwixt and between con- ferences. Having accomplished this feat, one must then devote consid- erable time In convincing him that there is a single soul in the world sufficiently Interested in his life to take a:- much time reading it as would require telling it. and even then the process becomes a difficult one. And in the end, the scant bio- graphical facts obtained prove of little importance because It has been the personality of the man combined with a magnetic smile, forever in the foreground to bridge differences and squabbles, as the chief attribute to his phenomenal success. Orators have succeeded because of their rare eloquence; bulwarks of the financial world have succeeded because of their uncanny knowledge of the money market, and many and varied have beep the talents of a thousand successful men; but few have succeeded almost directly through a magnetic personality, which has drawn the confidence and trust of thousands to him. To more Illustrate paragraph 0..0, the writer recalls an incident which occurred some 15 years ago, when an enterprising theatre manager sought to glean some facts from Mr. Schenck for a newspaper yarn, during one of his visits to a Cana- dian theatre property. The answer prefaced by an ever-engaging smile was quite to the point. "My boy. you are young and I like you and for that reason I do not want you to forget what I now tell you. You are operating a theatre and selling amusement to the public. 'What you sell from your stage to the pub- lic is the all important story for every newspaper. Aside from that, Mr. Locw is the head of this organi- zation and stories should be of him, and not of me. Now remember this, if you put my name in the news- papers you automatically discharge yourself." And to more aptly illustrate par- agraph two, the writer also recalls an Incident occurring some years back when labor squabbles threat- ened to delay the opening of Loew's State theatre In Cleveland. The completion of the gigantic structure was truly a back-breaking task for everyone. The various local execu- tives headed by Mr. Schenck had been or. the lob almost continuously day and night, grabbing a sandwich and a cup of coffee whenever a fleet moment was to be had. The me- chanics had begun to feel the strain and so had many of the lesser ex- ecutives. Personality Fagged brains and muscles • like are at times subject U ir- ritable thoughts and moments. As recalled, the clash came with the plasterers. The worker assumed he was be- ing driven and the executive as- sumed the attitude that the worker was laying down on the Job. Then the strike. Everything stopped dead and a messenger ran for Mr. Schenck. He came, not on a run or breathless, but slowly and bear- ing the most radiant smile imagin- able. Spokesmen of both factions, who had berated each other bitterly a moment before, lowered their tones and the smiling face before them forced a smile from their tired countenances. And then came the demonstration of the winning personality. With less than five hours to go until opening time, he agreed with both sides. officially declared work off for a half hour, took both factions to a neighboring restaurant for a bite and a much needed rest, trotted them back to the theatre smiling at each other and Locu s Stale The- «tre, Cleveland, was ready to open on ■ •hodnle time. And now an lllusiratior. of para- graph three to show that Nicholas M. S. bench haa thrived and pro- ■NMed in tile main through a mag- netic personality. With very little school edecation he began testing his earning power as a newsboy. PlK-onsctou* of the fact that he was at proving his Ity he once said: "I suppose you will want to write all that bunk about me starting as a newsboy. That is true enough, but don't say I fought on the street corners with kids for the best spot because I never did. In fact, I never fought with any kids. They were all my friends, so If you must write about It, don't say that I fought with everyone." And so the qualtly of drawing people to him evidenced itself quite early in life and assuredly w'thout the knowledge of its possessor. By that Illustration, however, let me not lead the reader to believe that Schenck Is a "namby pamby" type of executive. Quite to the con- trary, he can and is quite impres- sive and most exacting in his argu- ments, but never delivered In an an- tagonistic spirit or In a dictatorial manner. I can even better Illustrate this with an occurrence of 10 years past when an employee sought the writer out for some advice. He had been offered a position to manage a chain of theatres In Cuba. The salary stipulated was far in excess of what he was earning with the Locw Enterprises and having been so long with the latter organization he was In a quandary as to Just what course to pursue. A Smile That Counts "What would you do about It?" he asked me. "I need the mojjry, but I don't like the thought orleavlng the firm and going to Cuba." "Why don't you put the matter up to Mr. Schenck?" was my reply. "No. no, not that," he replied hastily. "He'll smile at me and make me ashamed for having thought of It twice." And he was serious, so serious In fact that he did not put the matter up to Mr. Schenck. nor did he take the new Job, and he Is still a valued em- ployee of Loew's, Inc. It has been the writer's pleasure to stand by on various occasions and see Nicholas M. Schenck, as Marcus Locw's first lieutenant, rub shoulders with men and women In every walk and profession of life. The Inevitable smile prefaced even a sad message or instruction with him and stood its ground In the face of remarks that carelessly spent by the speaker, would have drawn Are from another individual. Like his predecessor, Nicholas M. Schenck Is a great listener and weighs both sides of any discussion before attempting to render a de- cision. He Is quick to commend and slow to condemn. Throughout the world of the theatre he Is af- fectionately known as "Nick." Of- fice boys and stenographers who share his engaging personality equally with business associates as the regular order of things refer to him aiTcctionalv and yet quite re- spectfully as Mr. "Nick" Schenck. A Glutton for Work His hoi,by Is plain unadulterated work. Risking the chance of seem- ing vulgar, he Is and has been a "glutton for work." Throughout his 20 years association with the Loew activities he has not only been con- j tent but insisted on remaining in the background of all events and advents of this gigantic amusement enterprise. The business -of being president is new to him but the attending spotlight is not only distasteful but decidedly irritating. When, in the course of business routine, it was announced that he had been elected to succeed Marcus Ixiew. It wns also dlscoVf red that there were no photographs, nor had there ever been any of Nicholas M. Schenck, to fill the requests for them from hundreds of newspapers throughout the country. It was also discovered that there w< re no biographies of the man who for the past two years, due to Mr. Locw's illness, had directed the destiny of every !.«•«■ t'i' - ire througtinnt the word and the activities of the M'tro- I Ooldw yn - Mayor Pictures Corpofn- .lion at Culver City. And this discovery In the midst | of s business, the very livelihood I of which depend* on the attendant publicity ai.u advertising It gains for its notables. Photographers and interveners were than grinted the privilege of gathering material and the session ol 1 do not believe that in any other line of business there was as much love for one man or where so many small busi- ness men could call ihe real big guy by his first name, clasp his hand and fed deep In his heart that he held the hand of a real friend. That's Marcus Loew—I know my pal. He never laid awake nights trying to get the best of his competitors. He has done more in con- structive efforts in our business than any other man. That he gained wealth in ills endeavor is to his credit, but he gathered thousands of friends at the samo time. He only shot one way — straight. A A ROX J. joyxs. Reforming an Usher illlnc. . No ing, which by the way consumes hours, Mr. Schenck called the writer to his side with the remark. "Say, this business of being president takes a lot of time from your work. How long will this keep up and how often must it really be done?" His questions were quite sincere and undoubtedly with the thought that It would take too much time from the necessary and vital work of tho organization. So engrossed has he been with his work over a period of 20 years that he has com- pletely overlooked his phenomenal rise in the theatre world and the Importance with which It Is viewed in the Industry. Facts About Nick And now to present the scant biographical facts In Mr. Schenck's life in chronological fashion. Not more than 22 years ago he was a drug clerk, but tiring soon of this and with support of his brothers he acquired the control and opera- tion of Puradise Park at Fort George. This venture was quite successful and Joe and Nick then secured the Lyric theatre In Ho- boken. N. J. It was at this time that they first theatre to expand his little group of holdings. In the deal that fol- lowed, Nicholas M. Schenck became the general manager of the Loew CUcuit and Joseph M. Schenck be- came the vaudeville booking man- ager of the circuit. In this con- nection It is interesting to note that there was no stipulated salary at the start, with Nicholas Schenck being put at a $50 a week salary at a later date. It Is from such a start that he has risen to the presi- dency of Loew's. Inc. In later year, Joseph M. Schenck turned his attention to motion pic- tures exclusively, so conclusively he married one of the Industry's best known stars. Norma Talmadge And with perhaps a few little un- important Items of Interest to bi- ographers solely forgotten because of their relative unimportance to the man himself, we close our lit- tle word picture of Nicholas M. .Schenck, whose "Personality Plus" has been the driving power of his phenomenal success, with the pray- er that he won't remember his ad- vice given on a Canadian theatre property relative to newspaper stories about himself, because we happen to have been that man. CHEAPER TO BUY it his Greeley Square the- York, Marcus Loew pi- loted a companion about until reaching the balcony. Standing in tlic rear ami overlooking the upper portion of the theatre, toward the side, an usher approached. "Want a good seat for 25c, fel- low "" he addressed Mr. Loew. "Where'.'" he was asked. "Kight down front in a logc seat," answered the young man. ''Getting much out of this?" asked Mr. Loew, "Oh. It's all right." said the usher, "but that guy on the centre aisle Is cleaning up." "Conic downstairs with me and see the manager.'' said the owner. "Kb. you going to make a holler?'' excitedly asked the youth. They walked down the stairs and found the manager in his office. As Mr. Locw started to tell the story, the youth broke in, saying to the manager: "Vou ain't going to take that guy's word against mine, are you?" "Don't you know who this Is." said the house manager. "He's Marcus Ix>ew." And the manager started after the coin getter. "Don't." said Mr. Loew, "leave this boy with me a few minutes." When alone the boy wns ques- tioned as to why be thought It bet- ter to steal. Air. Loew reasoned with him. The youth replied it was the custom. Every usher in the theatre was doing the same thing and he saw no wrong. Anyway, he added, he had a mother and his usher salary was not sufficient. Following quito a "conference." Mr. Loew told the boy to remain where he was, to be honest and he would keep track of him. That boy is now of the Loew cir- cuit staff and very well thought of. SAW PICTURES ONLY It was almost a boast with Mar- cus Loew that he had never sat through an entire Loew vaudeville bill In any of his theatres. Freely admitting it. Mr. Loew would add. in fear someone might believe ho was not interested In his business: "Hut there Is never a picture shown in a Loew theatre that I do net first see.'' It was not so much because Mar- cus was Indifferent to vaudeville, hut It was his foresight or vision that the moving picture would be- come the raging vogue of the pop- ular-price American stage. He never deviated from this belief. It must have been a gratification to Marcus that he lived to seo his early prediction come true. In bis apartment there was a projection machine;' In his istate on Long Island was a cellar atrc. In both, wherever he be, Mr. Loew looked at the pic- tures as they were made, his own pre-releases. In the estate's cellar the audi- ence would be composed of his family, employees nnd help, over 100. It was there that Mr. Loew became convinced that "The Big Parade" was a $2 picture, through the enjoyment with which the house crew accepted It requests that it be again. the- MIND FOR DETAIL Marcus Loew was so thoroughly saturated with his and the show business that It seemed the minut- est detail did not escape him. The paralyzing limit to those at the table was reached, however, one day over a luncheon. Those present knew Marcus' intimate knowledge of pictures and his the- atres, but they did not know of tho close touch he kept in general with all of his affairs. One of the men about the table said: ".Marcus, you know in this grow- ing stage stuff, a circuit like yours should have a source of supply, a subsidiary vaudeville circuit from which >ou could import this talent that the film houses are starting with." "That's not a bad scheme," said Marrus. "Who, for Instance, have you In mind?" "An agent named Fally Mark us," was the answer. "He's among the best of the Independents, thor- oughly reliable, and although he doesn't know he's being mentioned, think Jake Lubln could handle him." "Yes." answered Marcus, "Fally Is all right, but how ran we do business with him? He's booking the opposition against two or three of our Marcus Loew's branch office was thf. Hunting Koom of the Astor, the tablecloth calculating place of T ,roadwa\-. Here he usually ate nis lunch. It was in that Hunting Room that his friends wishing fivi.ru would approach him. His lunch hour mlttht extend from 1 to It or 4. Always a crowd around his table: always someone whispering in his ear. And always his head nodding yes. "I could have bought this hotel ami torn It down with what It has | cost roc." Bald Marcus one after- noon at the table, "and th. n 1 would , have saved money." No one ex AS A MIXER Marcus Loew was a familiar fig- ure around Ihe legitimate theatres, and his gift of making friends ex- tended Into that field, too. Most of the Broadway house treasurers knew him. It wag ins custom to walk over to the box olliee during intermissions and chat with the boys while he smoked. Expressions of deep fouling from the treasurers were heard. AT BOARD MEETINGS Marcus Loew was chairman of the board of directors of Loew's, Inc. On the board were men of natlonul repute as financiers and captains of commerce. To Marcus the board meetings were nice times to meet his friends from outside of the show business, ft was often said how amused' the big men from downtown were at Marcus' Idea of running a board meeting. To them the board of di- rectors Is everything In an Institu- tion; to Marcus tho board didn't mean a tiling while the implicit faith Qf his companions in him, knowing Marcus as well as they did, was tlie sesame for the ap- proval of Marcus' statements. Presiding at the board meetings, Marcus would say: ' We have done this" or "we have done that," nnd as far as Marcus was concerned, that settled It. He never thought of the hoard's approval. If he ever thought at all the hoard was anything more than something that seemed to cor AS AN OBSERVER nponcu Merry FLAGS AT HALF MAST The several theatres of the Brandt Brothers (William and Harry) In Brooklyn, N. Y., were draped with flags at half mast for Marcus Loew, The Brandt theatres remained that way until after the services at Glen Cove. The Embassy theatre on Broad- way, a small house playing M-'i-M pictures to a $2 scale, wns wished on Marcus Loew. He had taken it over to favor a couple of friends who thought they were doing Mar- cus a favor in securing It for him. Resolving to make it a $2 re- served seat house, an experiment in those days and not so long ago, Marcus became intensely Interested In the prospect. The with Mae Murray in Widow" and a hit. Afternoon and night for weeks could be seen Marcus Loew, Just outside or Just Inside the lobby, ol,serving. He wanted to see the class and type of people W'ho pa- tronized the reserved seat picture liou.se and would pay $2 to do it. When convinced there was a field for the Embassy, he lessened 1 i his strict attention. It was pot long after that he had leased the Astor tbontre, of much larger ca- pacity and Just across the street, on a long leans at an annual net rental of JlJ-i.OOn a year, also for a reserved "eat $2 picture trade. At the Alhambra, New fork, v here an all-colored poll, y is in vogue, a new Centura has hon tabllshed In 'he form of a dancing I X< llflfll—IllT. UlL training of tier- rorrners who are given work in the Alhnmhro shows. I e he! 1 York, Bi I irr - wfl i i ih i tibl. One nftorftoon a couple of friends approached, "Mere they coin*-." said Marcus. "Trouble" Bar tall: and a nod. The} l< ft "That didn't take long to cost me |4«Mft did it?" Mid Mar. us. "Ni. e fellows, though, I made a , - d-'il With Ibem to saw il,. in money I Clsrs Smith da: and now I've got to pull them out. n anag -ment of ) I'm the only or** itdo-i.. . a chance I show which is beaded foi to lose." the T. O. B. A. hot. . Equity Ball will Hotel Astor. New • v ■ mug, Nov. 12. lit lie mid'..'. taken 6vi r r own Colo NOT A SPORT In nil of his f.7 years Marcus Loew had hut twhe visited a race track. The larg.st wager he ever placed on a horse was $10. The month r,f August. last, he spent with Mr aid Mrs. Nick Schenck at S u it M .reus men- Honed that he Ii 1 1 "' "tie of the loost i 'ant i;i les of ills life I hero It >,v.is in «:..r.-ii»ga that his sec- ond i «.II to a ' ■•'•< track occurred, .it•! It was then that he bet $10 on a . tin'•!.-!• Liking TO per rent of ill Nick's be(« thjtt dny, providing >ir. Hcheflck did not bet aver $10" i n any one race. .'.:■ Loew w is an Inveterate card Player, hut for mild Stakes und of l ite vears pliving only pinoihl* or bridge). Tiio latter, mostly.