Variety (Apr 1928)

Wednesday* April 18, 1928 VAUDEVILLE VARIETY 31 New Style Flash Act Held With $1,000 Top The- first pf a aeries of three and four people "office" acts have been jifoduced by' MacUlih Megley for K'A-'.O. This Is In line with the new., production, .policy, that calls for . •'flash" acts under $1,000. Most will 'averaere $700, but can as high as 1900. T a d T1 e m a n's "Tunesrrilths/v vaude band for the past several seasons, has been disbanded. Tie^ man, his chief comic. Pinkie Dies, and a girl have been teamed as a three-act. Another three-act is "Laughing Lady," which Includes Joe Dono- :hue; brother of Jack; Peggy O'Neal, tind 'Sir John Dunn, titled English ' dancer. Book v.Tltten by John Mur- ray, with music and lyrics by Cliff Hess, ■ •'■'As an example of the hew type of "office" flash Is the present Doc Baiter act, .consisting of himself and two' iglrls. Peaches and' Poppy, and Celling for 1750, A'year or so ago Baker was oot' with a chorus and the act salary -^VaLs $1;500. HAL DANCER EXTRAORDINARY Featured by FANCIION and MAKCO PerBonuI Direction ARTllUlt BI'IZZI THAT XTRIC TENOR CHARLES : <11ie Colored McCormock of VMudcvlllc) Now riaylni; on the West ConM With Thanks to Alexander Tantai^es One Faiichen and Marco's Good "Idtaa" BABE MORRIS Tap Dancer Supreme Tabs in Summer The Gus Sun Circuit Is angling hard with its eastern . bouses to sell the tab policy idea for summer, • In some of the hard to sell doubtful spots the Sun Agency is propositioning to put. the tabs in on a percentage/ If the summer tab. idea goes over It will hold 30 houses on Sun's books, which otherwlsei would put up the shutters from June to September. Agents Must Sue Acts for Commission In -two months the Arnold Johnson orchestra allegedly grobsed $10,000 In earnings from vaudeville and the Park' Central Hotel. New York, Lyops & Lyons, the ngenta, booking them, is. suing Johnson for 10 per cent, .thereof for managerial servr icQS; r.(?ndered or $1,000.. The John- son orch.estra is also in the "Green- wich ,-.Village Follies,'; . placed by Lyons, ■■ Kendler ^ Goldstein; are acting for the plaintiff. The, same attorneys represent Al Grossman in a 5 per cent, commis- slan claim against the. Wagner Brothers, (Harry and Hyiiiian) and their. Big Side Show,-which..played for K-A at $1,750 a^week top, gross- ing approximately $30,000 jso far since last fall. Through Cjrossman's efforts ,Sol "Turek caiigHt .the act In its Lyric, Hoboken, opening, and se- cured for the Wagner.s a K--A route. .Grossman holds a managerial con- tract for five per cent of the' gross. The Wagners were examined be- fore . trial to determine ho,w much they earned from K-A,. Nell Kelly at Roxy San Francisco, April 17. After five years with Fanchon arid ivldrco on the coast, Nell Kelly Is being sent east atid will open at thfe Roxy, New York, iii about four! weeks. ■ ; ' "The comedienne has just renewed a contract with the cojilst producers for throe years, with an' option of iliree .'more. TANK ACT IN FRONT OF DET. STAGE BAND Detroit, April 17. Hollywood theatre (neighborhood), owned and operated by the Cohen Bro.s., and K-A booked, will shortly oxporimeTit with a policy silghUy deviatlnff frorn the present o'no. House is now stage band and play.s talent suitable for prosentatioijs booked by Keith western. Experi- rnent vvill "Involve more conventional vaude material, such as aorobatic and novelty acts. Odiva and seals are booked early in June. This is probably the fir.st instance of a tank spotted in fro"iit of a stage band. Another experi- ment will be with the- Aurora Trio, bike act.-. Ben Cohen states the trial will be for hfs own information. . He bas notified the booking officer to cut down on blues singers, soiibrets and sister teams. V. M. P. A VNew M;C. The arinUal dinner of the. Vaude- ville Managers' Protective Associa-. tlon will be held next iMonday night, April 53, in the Hotel Plaza and there rtia.y 6e a neW toastmaster. Hefetoforfe Beri^^. Moss has al- ways presided, fiow that p. S; has sold out 'all his K-A-O theatrical holdings it' is conjecturable whether he will her master of cerenrionles next Monday. •. KAHL-GORDON IN DETROIT Detroit, April 17. Sam Kahl dropped in for a day or two last week, accompanied by. Max Gordon. Kahl failed to reveal a reason for the vlblt and seemed just snooping around: Everything very mysterious, with Kahj ancl Gordon kept In the background. Kahl found all Detroit salaries already cut. • H^irriet.Hoctor'8 Full Routine HaiTiet Hoctor, who has been do- ing but a partial routine with "Tho Three Musketeers", for the. past sev- eral weeks because of a knee Injury, this w^Gck put, in her entire routine for the first time, . - NEED MALE QUARTETS Male quartets arc? again in demami -for vauaevilk*. Aseuta reprpsoiUing various circuits have spols for the luirmony ' singing four-sonu'S bur can't find many around. . According to the ..-vgcMit's. check up thercare U-.s^ than 20- such acts on all vaudo circuits , oombined. Inde Houses Solicited By K-A-O Fam. Dept. ■ The K-A-0 Family DoDartmoiU is launching the strongt^st drive in ypar..s to wean outside owned houses away from current inde- pendent-bookers. In ."Several sucooasfur take-overs, K-A.-0' has been competing by booking in standard act.-^ trying now material at a price, aiid with the houses figured a-s getting a break,: Independent bookers clai(i> the .'!anie hou.<3es. woi?ld not. tak-e break-, ins from them at a premium, but are doing it for K-A-O. . After the bi-^ajc-iri list Is exhatisted K-A-O will have to step some to boolc in bills at •the curriE*nt scailo averaging: from $350 to-$500 weekly for:-a-10/ act 'show, five acts on bplit . w«ek and With at least a five-people fliash compulfiory in the listing on each end. ■' JUDGMENTS Lypic Operating Co.„ trie., and Jacob Oppenh«imer; Longacre Nat. Bank of N. Y.; $17,619. Samej-same; $17,23S. $aine; saine R oosts, $28. Irving Theatres Corp, and Irving M. Lesser; Nat. Theatre Sup 06.; $2,134. Irving M. Lesser; Bway Subway Adv. Go.; $222. Pierre Jenesco arid Yvonne Ac- cent; Acme Booking Offices, Inc.; costs, $88. Lester Lee; E. Fransden; $8,019. Arthur B, Reeve; Amick & 'SpIcer; $038. ■ : Same; sanhe; same.- Welcome Amus. Corp., et al.; B. Freeman; $1,341.^ Sam'l Rusking.^olding; Triangle Scenic Sfudlo, Inc.; $1,527. ' . Frank' Fay; 'Margaret 'SuMIV'ari; $170.: ■ Music Wavers as Orchestra Sans Instrument Profossor Loon Theremin, the maker and inventor of etlicr music is noiiii,' into vaudovillo, . It Will bo his i;ta.q:o debut. . So far in Amoi-ica. he ha.s made but two public appbaraiices, giving demonstrations n:t the Metropolitan opera ir.puKo and the l.Maza Hotel. Profi^ssor Thoromin iiiii.nds an act with a number of men to whom he has taught his peculiar, art, In this way he will offer the peculiar spec- tacle of an entire orchestra pro- ducing tholr music by waving their handii in the air, Therelm. ls under tlie show man- agement of Boris Bakchy and Sal Shipper. , - Barthelmess-Gibbs Film Los Angeles, April 17. Richard Barthelmess upon his re- turn from a four-Week vacation in Honolulu, will start work on "Out 'of the Roads," by Sir Phillip Gibbs. Al Santell will direct. S«nf»aU9niU Ball-lUkim Dancers CAR AN AS and BARKER Itendllnlnr (or TantaKea 2(1 CbuMoatlve Tear NOW ArPKARING IN AMEBIOAt ?DANER? THE SENSATION OV.TBANOEt DRAKE AND WALKER'^ 35 People-ALL COLORED REVUE-35 People THE BIGGEST BOX OmCE AnRACTION ON THE ROAD TODAY BREAKING HOUSE RECORDS EVERYWHERE FEATURING DRAKE^S CYCLONIC 11-PIECE JAZZ BAND OCTOROON BEAUTY CHORUS 15 SPEED DEMONS THOSE TWO FUNNY, VOLCANIC COMEDIANS-AND HOW! DRAKE, Feature Comedian, with ^*String Bean'^ Pri<*, the Ecc^ HENRY DRAKE (Himself) DRAKE'S CYCLONIC JAZZ BAND (Himself) DRAKE & WALKER'S ALL COLORED REVUE Brpke house records at the Empire Theatre, Lawrence, Mass., in spite of it beingr Holy Week. Sold out each night at the Strand Theatrei, Uphams Corner, Boston, Mass., week of April 9 Week of April 16—Quincy Theatre, Quincy, Mass. Week of April 23—Waldorf Theatre, Waltham, Mass. Week of May 7, 8, 9—Colonial Theatre, Newport, R. L May 10, 11, 12—Empire Theatre, Fall River, Mass. SHOW BOOKED EXCLUSIVELY BY KEITH-ALBEE VAUDEVILLE EXCHANGE For Terms, Write, Wire or Phone HAR^ INGALLS, Manager Production Dept., Hancock 1600, 162 Tremont Street, Boston