Variety (Apr 1928)

34 VARIETY V A U D E V I L L E Wedhe^dayi A^rti 18, W28 BAGGAGE TRUCK STOLEN ! Hijackers Aftep Booie—Abandoned Truck When Discovering Error AH of the Itageag'e of a complete Pautages , road . show'• was Htolpii, pi'iesumablj'-- .by hljackora, from a garage in Hamilton, Ontario. The loaded truGk w$i8 waiting to mak» the haul to. St. Catharines, Ontario. When-the theft occurred. It wfis some hours before the truck \vftrf. recbverod, the hijackers.abandoning it when finding they had riot.sMli^n liquor, ■ Acts that temporarily faced the loss of their entire wardrobes, and belongings included Paul Rahn and Co., Andy Potter Trio, Houlton and Whiting, Mary Zoller and Co,, arid Eddie White's Gayeties., Loew Dropped One Agent The anticipated Loew booking office follow up list of Inactive agents included but one name, Eddie Resnick, who haii boon de- nied the booking privileges. Follbwii\g' the dropping of half a dozen agents some months ago, most of tlic boys dealing with Loew liave started hustling with the re- sult that some who were skidding have retrieved their staiiding. DRIVE DROPS PALACE 40 PCT. Chicago, April .17. The X. V. A. charity drive cost the vaude theatre buslnesis dear. Most niiiiked cut in patnvu.'i.Liv-w.i.-- at the two-a-day Palace, where the gross dropped 40 per cent, oii iho week. Immigration Board Finally Releases Dancer Detroit, April 17. aiiahka Egnatoff, until recently of Olga Mlshka Co. (vaude), has been cleared by the local imniigrntion. board and released. Hla non-pro brothi&r, Alexander IgtnagQWskl, alien, is serving a 30-day sentence. The brothers were arrested by U: S; qfllccrs about five weeks ago . when Igniagowskl, accompanied by Miahlia, attempted' to enter Detroit through alleged false impersona- tion. Mlshka was playing, the Capi- tol, Windsor, when visited by Igma- gowskl, who .recentl.v arrived in Canada from Russia. It wa.s charged Igmagowski described him- self as a member of. the dance act and presented a passport issued to Harry Gordon, local realtor, who was in the party. Egnatoff . was first held as an ac- complice but released on bond as a wllnesjs with Gordon after spendingf several days, in jail. He has been In this country over 10 years but has not become naturalized. Th6 act continued without him upon his arrest, placing Mlshka out of work. Immigration board Is reported to have considered that sufficient punishment, On top of his stay in the pen. Igmagowski will be fined ?50 when completing his jail sentence and de- ported. BORROWS ALIMONY MONEY Jan Rubini Must P»y Wife $85 Weekly From Community Fund Flash Act Disbands "The Whirl of Broadway,", with 19, people, produced by Fi-ank Gould, Has disbanded. Gould's act isn't the only one of the "flash" itind that has been forced to quit lately through unsatisfac- tory booking conditions in vaude. • Los Angeles, April IT. Some of the entanglernenta in the domestic difficulties o£ Jan Rubini, violinist, were straightened out.in Superior Judge Fletcher Bowron's court; Mrs. Diane Rubini summoned her husband on back alimony pro- ceedings, pending that of a divorce action in. June. Mrs. Rubini had been awarded temporary allmoiiy of $85 a week for the support of their two minor children, also the posses- sion of a new car. She charged she had received no money from Rubini for several weeks. Rublni's attorney, Phillip Cohen, told the court his client had been out of work during that time andi stlll ls. The judge modified the original, order arid instructed RUblni to pay his wife the |85 weekly out of tUelr community interests until he starts working again. Then he is to pay the amount out of his earnings. By this . arrangement any money Ru-* blni takes from:the community fund will be charged to him in the final accounting. At a previous hearing Rubini was allowed to draw $1,800 from the community fund to buy himself a car, after Mr.s. Rubini won the rights, to the car they both had. NED HASTINGS' VENTURE Cincinnati, April 17, Ned Hiastlngs, for 21 years with B. F. Keith as a, ho'use manager, is going into business with Rudolph Block. They will establish a local pub- licity and booking agency. Geo. Guy^p 74r Leads Minstrel Parade I ■ • ■.. . . ... ' Seven or eight niiinstrel .troupes are the only survivors froni the Old. days when blackface outfits traveled the country In hiimbers and (jome splendor.. ■Those •still going include John. R> Vanarames, Lasses WhiteJ' James Coburri, Lincoln's Minstrels, Guy Bros., and Al G; Fields (latter closed -for seaso'n), Roscoe and Hookwalds, real negro minstrels, are also out. The Guys are completing their 54th season. George Guy, now; 74, leads, the street paradOr rain or shine, while brother Charlie at 70 is still active. TwO other brothers, Eddie and Arthur, have retired, ' The niiinstrels hit the wayside villages for one night engagements at $1 top, although occasioiially a stop for two days is made; Dlffir culty Is experienced filling Saturday nights, as practically alii theatres and halls, no matter how small the town or house, have. movies on hath night. Vaude Last Half in 8th Ave. Smallie, Arena Vaude goes in at the Arena, 8th avenue, and 40th street. New York, the last half of the week, with the house playing four acts booked by Jaok Llnder. The Arena is the first of the smaller picture houses along 8th avenue to ■ iembra:ce vaude. to offset opposition of the numerous pother straight picture houses in the vicinity, y It is operated by the Consolidated Amusement Co. The vaude policy will obtain for last halves only. Wainwright-Capes Producing Lee- Walnwright and Edith Mae Capes have formed a vaude pro- ducing partnership. Both fortoerly produced as Individuals, with Miss Capes also authoring several of her own acts. I iL, THAT TELL A STORY! i ^ V A U D E ^ ^ ^ ^ ONE.ACT P'^^''^^„^VTt. MAN" Supported by MARY . , HARRV WEBER Direction of HAW" FKOM rOS ANOKLBS "EXAMINER DESMOND SCORES IN NEW PLAYLET Wy Gr«>5ory Ciosi* WlUinm Desmond Is "The .RlRht Man- at l^antaffes this week. No OHO lUsputOB hlH claim to the title, as his sketch Is a welcome .chnnfc from till aburtdnnce. of. danclnB on the curi-ont llno-up. The hcohp is a theatrical 'uriuluoor's olUoe with a play hooked for ac>ut, ten iliiys .hence —iind no leading mun. , ' , , Thai's where l")eBmonA-makes hi!* cnirnnco. You nilfht think it wouUl be «n easy conducj.st, but there arc coniplJcatlonH, otherwise known aa suMiicnoe. Desmond plays a' dual, rolo. one a clodderliiR- oUl- man and tlio other his^iave and . InKratlatlng scU. IKO.Al lOS ANGIOI.KS "Ur.U.M.l)" Desmond in New Sketch at Pantages At rai\ta(;e.s this weok Bill Des- mond .surprised even his nio.st ardent admirers bv his fciiUy^ Hi\(?' chnrac- TefTioin i?nr^lli"""-th0=^brl 111 n^K "The lilglU Man." IIo does it inatf- niflcently. In addltldn, pood lines,; Rood support, and good all-round en- tertainment enhance this amtizjiipr "spcakle" performance of Iho i)oi>u- lar '■lillK" ruO.H LO.S ANtiKIiKS "NKWS- Bill Desmond In Clever Play At Pantages Admirers of . BUI Desmond will have an opportunity this weok, to see tlie ex-movie star In one of the niu.si Intriirulner playlets orfcred recorUly on the stage. Desmond depicts an aged man pleading with a theatrical pro- ducer to hire hia son. It Is neatly done and has a bang-up flnl»h. FKOM THE "jniJaOOBAPH'' AUSTRALIA, EUROPE AND AMERICA VAUDEVILLE BOOKINGS OFFERED FOR HIS FINE PLAYLET Witli, the success of wniiam Desmond's playlet, "The Right Man," which is heading thl.s week's Pantagos bill, the doubt has arisen whether the internationally known stage and screen star will face the -camera, within the next two .or three years at least. Several circu-its are after the bookings for the fifteen-minute sketch Which Desmond iire-sentg- with Miiry Maclvor (Mrs. William Desmond) and Harry Shutan. lie ■ has his . choice , of Pantages time, Orphoum and Kcith-Albce dates, or AuMtrallan hookjiigs; There is a possibility that Desmond- may; Jirraiige his plans to Include all the offers, It Is learned that a ,London engagement may be arranged also. "The night Man".'Is by Charles 5?mlth, and was written- eapeclally for the' star. ^ It Is .soniethlnp new in the way of vaudeville vehicles for screen lumlnarloH, and. in this novelty lies a great deal of the appeal which It holds for the audience. Instead of the pl/iylet Doing an offering to merely present the screen star to the public, as Is often the case,- "The Right Man" Is a dramatic sketch that hides Desmond's Identity until the very last, He plays an old inan, and until tlve final curtain, when he takes oft lils .w'ig and malco-up, , the audlonco does not suspect that the, old and, withei-ed character ho plays is AVIlllum De.smond. The applause Which greets his, llnal 'aotlon Is a true.tribute to his masterful work. Harry ."^huiau, ; who has appeared In a number of Los Angeles produc- tions, Inclu'ling- AVill Morrlsscy's "lixposurcs" at the Hollywood MuMc Uok and "RelHt -tiij" at the Vine Street theatre, is seen i.n an important role in the sketch. Shul;in does sometliing that Is a radical departure froiri ariy- llilng he h.i.M doni- before locally, and he is most convincing as the theatri- cal manager wlmsc favor Desmond Is trying to win, " VBOM M)8 ANOfcXKS "TIMJRS" NOVErACTPRisiNli^ESMOND ^ ICs a "v.trii.'ty show" in truth, this new program which opened a week's ongagononi yesterday at th(> Pantages, a show with the proverbial some- thing for everyone, and ..a little bit more for any dance lovers who happen ' to.be hunili"ri'd among those present, Keprcsentiiig the spoken drama oh the bill is none other than "WlUiam Desmond, who recallpd to many those days of the old Burbank, whore he won many frl(>nds as'leading man. Desmond ai>j>eari'd in a novel and cleverly staged one-act play, in which, strange as It may-.seem, he portrayed himself, A novel twist makes it impo.sslblo to reveal the plot, so It mu.st suHlce to state that the actor did a splendid bit, as.sisted by two clever actors. FROM rOS ANGET.FS "BECOltD" DESMOND HIT AT PANTAGES rANTAGE.S — IVilllnm Desmond and Company; Dotsoii, RnloflT and KIton; 'Wineliill nnd Brts- 'coc; Radio Fancies; Universal cln.tMlc revival, "Tlic Hunch- back of Notro Dame,'* with l.on Chancy and lill-stnr ca»t;. Hov/H. and Fables. PRESS CRITICS AND PUBLIC UNANIMOUS A SMASHING HIT! f 'i I -V : : , Recollections of: the days when 'William Desmond was playing behind the footlights of th(! old Burbank theatre as a inatlhoe Idol are brought to Pantages this woclt. with a start- ling . delineation of how a veteran actor acts—William UcHmord star- ring In "Tlie Right Man." Desmond received a tremendous ovation at the hands of an early eve- ning audience last night. "The Right Man" Is a delightfully realistic playlet, with several clever turns to the plot—a story of the the- atre game In which a manager finds hUnself without a leading inan for an Important produi'ilon several days off. How -Desmond wins Ihe place against a bitter hatred sounds Uko an old'theme, Desmond puts.it over, "SUlinoi're'a==by^ah'-=-able - compan-yr .^r^= FROM I.09 ANGKI.ES "KXPRKSS" Desmond Back On Stage, But He's Disguised "Williani Desmond's recent combi- nation of, grease paint and footlights evidently wasn't enough, for- he's back on the stage this week at Pan- tages. "The Right Man" Is the name of the ]>laylct In which he and a com- pany of two appear. It offers him an opportunity for a bit of character work such as he seldom attempts, the role of his own father. It is of just about the right consistency for vaudeville, ending with a neat sur- prise. Foreclosure Suit for Lesser's Capitol, Bayside The Capitol, BaysMe, Li. i., passed into receivership last week when the BoVery Siavlhgs Bank, Nevir Tork, foreclosed a f227,000 mbrt- ga.e:e on house, and; had Thomaa DeGraffen appointied receiver. ' The Capitol had been under lease to Irving jbesser, 'brptlier 6£ Joe Lesser, "and operated with a vaud- film policy, playlngr five acts on a split week booked by Jack liinden Capitol was a local promotion with many of the tcvviispeople; in- vesting; The theatre was in .the red practically since beginninET operation "two years ago. Orph's Ups and Downs . Des Moines, Ia„ April 17. Policy of the Orpheumi instituted recently to allow for only one show nightly from Monday to Friday, brought such a decrease in receiipts that the house has gone back to three shows dally. Reduced admission from 60 40 cents for any seat on week nights, with 60 cents holding for week-lend nights. Matinees continue at ' 25 cents; COLORED TAB ON K-A TIME ■ . , I Drake and 'Walker's all-colored mu.sical tabloid, "Chocolate Girl," is playing the Keith-Albee bp'okinga in New England. The team, also the j»rpprietors of the show, have two other tiibs in their rep, with H, Drake the pro- ducer. Direct booking is entered for the colored show by the K-A offices. Bud Hale's Night Job Bud Hale, formerly of Budd Brothers, comedy acrobats, has been appointed night watchman at Ar- eola Amusement Park, Hackensack. CHINESE BLUES SINGER SECOND CONSECU'nVE YEAR M'lTH FAMCHOX AND MABCO Tlianks to Harry Wallin CORRINNE MARSH In Specialty Dances Featured with "Rudio Fancies" Now rinyhiff I'ahtageB Circuit NOW PLAYING PUIIMX THEATRES MASSE AND DIETRICH Direction ARTHUR SEELIG of LYONS anil LYONS CHARLES BEAUCHAMP TENOR lltli Consecutive Week at Tublix Million Dollar Theatre, fxta Angeles