Variety (Jul 1928)

VARIETY'S LONDON OPyiCE 8 St. Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square FOR EI G N CABLE ADDRESS, VARIETY, LONDON 7870-2096-3199 Regent Wednesday, July 4, 1928 Swaffer as It Looks By Hannen Swaffer ; L/ojidon, June 22, ■ .1 witiH ftll the stvecvs in "Vanety'' about my use of_^my -word "I" could Btop. ,1 desire It to be known that 1 really mcan:''I."° "I" is the shortest word in the langudpe. It moans" me—that'is« it }s exactly what it looks Ukie, ari indepGhderit thing that stands up straight and wants-no explana- tion.- ■ ■' • ■ ■■ ■ • The Wec(kness of the "We" The editorial "w^^' either means some silly old.fool with moth-eaten, whisker^ pasting oh something he has cut from another' paper, an anOnynipuis nonentity not allowed to disclose hiniself, or else.lt is the proprietor who, just hecause he has bought some shares in. a paper some- body; else made, hires some hack to. do his spelling, for him. There, iis no "by arrangement with" with nie, or "by kind permission of." ' I leaVe that for theatrical programs. 1 shoiild be "in spite.of," just the sartie as Barrie, when seeing on one of hi.s posters, "and So-and-So" at;the end, said: • :"Shouldh't'lt be 'but SO-and-So:?'.'- : ' • Call Me I and Betty Martin When I Say "I" I mean that I" thiiik t aiid have ,the pour^ge to say isp. I do hot mean '\the present Avi-iter,''"because, although I am a. writer, 1 never accept a present. -J am never 'elusive; anonymous, ashamed, or hid'den,' but a guy who 'standis up' and. lets 'anybody throw anything he lik6s and be damrifcd" to him. People who do hot.use the.word "I" are afraid of themselves. As they have no opinions; they shelter their lack of them behind fake bashfulness, They dp'riot'sign:their names because they have nothing to ;say:.atid thoy. haVe nothirtg to say bticiu.'ie they have hPthing to think. Vyho Is Neal O'H^ra? > jiow, please stop; all these questions in "Variety" as to who I am. ; T see - there is some liew fool asking- this we^k, someo.ne called Neal O'Hara. ' ■ ■ i . ^. _ If' Neal O'Hai-a, !\vhom..you say works for, the New - York "Evening World," asks iCarl. Kitchen, of the- same firnr,;-who I ajn, Karl will t^ll; him straight away. If he ask-s*" Jack O'Hara Cosgrave,-who used to run the: -'Sunday World/' he will tell him, hecause, so far back, asi 1912, the "Sunday : World" gave me the jCi-ont^page of its Metropplitan •supplement, and merely put across the wiiole page; ' ; ' ' ' \' ' .'"Mr. SwaTfef- of London. • ; ■ = ^ ^" His Epigrams." ■ . ■ ' • ! • ■ I thought that had fixed it in Park Row forever, but, apparently, Neal O'Hara has not been in Park Row very/long. • iPeTlmps, he.,=d6es not-rOT member. Doc Perry's; as I do.. I have got' sousedrini thiece several times,. Jn my unregeherat'e.'.days. " ; , • : i ' ■ : .1 wonder if he ever kniew Old Itlari Pulitzer,- or lice. White,, or Spurgeon, who went to Philadelphia;.br-rrcoUld write a: column about my memr»rles of the "World" building. I Try and Earn, Some Salary I do not want to write any mo're about myself because it is top ea;sy. Cosides, I aUVays ,feei I am not earning :"Varieity's" salary when I am not, saying' how. marvelous son^e aictor is, or l^ow, sweet JaKe- Shubert. has grown since he 'topk to Science. Perhaps it will please somebody, if I say that Gertrude Lawrence has become, mo're beautiful than ev<?r, that Beatrice Llllie'S husband is to be'm'ade a duke, and that John Barry- nioi e's Hamiet ought to be made intp a, town. ^ It will please Nellie Revell to know 'that I have a beautiful. TVew, cat called Peter, whom we first thought wa6 a girl, until we found h.im hang- ing round a stag6 door one night; . . • ; ■ . " ■ i -. Who Wants.Any Pjuffs Written.? , Perhaps-it. will please ''Variety" to' know that I am thinking of writing another ad for Sophie 'Tucker. Perhap$ it-will annoy "Variety*'; to know that articles by ; me. appeai-ed iii; seven London papers this week, and that foui' other papers published cartocftns of me,-while an a;dvertisfemeht of one of my articles appeared in the ,last issues of 112 different pub- lications;". y- . . t .■ ■'. ' 1 just mention this fact, not'only to make ail my enemies angrier than, ever, but also because I am a vain, swollenheaded guy -who gloats In his . bombast, Vho' b'allyhoos ainiost Hke Charlie Cochran, and who tries to steal Morris G'est's druni. • " ' [ . ■ ^ I wonder if. the United States; realizes that both the Prince of Wales and I went to Ascot this week) dnd that the. King and I sat o'n the same side of the course. When I realize that "Variety" will, pay me for Writirlg-this, It makes me roar with laughter. . . , I Cut My Hair This Week I wonder if Indianapolis knows that a boy whistled "Get your, hair cut" to me last Wednesday^ when i had only just come out of a barber's shop. If he had seen rhc before I wenfih, he would have sung' "Mother Bids Me Bind My Hair." A cissy chorus boy stared at me, this morning, outside St; Piaul'S Cathedral, and, such is my faime, that an actor came up to me at Ascot, yesterday, and asked me for a tip! , He little knew that I am the worst judge of horses in -the world. There is no point' to this storyi because the hp'rse finished next to last. No, if you want people to talk about you, you have got to have a nerve. ' i . ' . '. • ' ."Look On .This Picture—and On That" "T. P.'s -Weekiy" hired Joseph Simpson, R. B. A. to do a sketch of nie, last week, but, unfortunately, Joe hadn't seen me for several years, and he drew me frPm his memory of. my drinking' days. We sent it back: that Is, I did". Joe thftli: c&m^ new saint- like formi which he duly immortalized. The tWo dra^fings, ^Ide by side, in tiie same frame, will shortly/hang In my study as: a proof of what writing for "Variety" c3.n! do to* a refot'nied boPze-'flght^i:'. This reminds me that poor Dennig Eadie died the same week that all the a,dvertiseniehts-of a famous qiijack medicine acftlalmed Jils testi- mony to the efficacy of that highly-boomed remedy. I Write to Plesise Oihkosh :V All this goe.s to show that nothing has happened In the theatres this .Week-r-except me. . ' .' T have written tliis article just'to' please the small towns of Oshkosh, Kalamazoo and Syracuse, Where the Shuberts once grew roses round the door. . Critics Really Kill a Play The, critics have been exposed again, this time by Leon M. Lion, who,. four days after. "The Man They Buried" -was produced at the Ambassadors, anno'unced the withdrawal of the play because, "Owing to the violent opposition of .some of the critics, the public has been frightened away." Altho'ugU I thought the play a fine piece of work, it was about cancer, and, ill these days of theatrical depression, "The Mdn 'Th'ey Buriied" la not: the sort of title that would attract. I stood outside the Ambas- sadoi's last night. No one •vyas going into It, and no one was going ^n"1i^6yt=^tlTrotr^ht;rc=they--we^e==playihg^^^ Russell Janhey's Show May Fail I fear for ."Marjolaine." I sat in the Gaiety stalls on the first night, and there seemed a gldom round the house. It was rather pitiful to see Oscar Asche trying to put over very poor lines, and, in spite of the fine singing of Ethel Cook, sister of Dame Clara Butt, who •was In a box, and Lilian Davies, it seemed old-fashioned, which, of course, it was supposed to be. I liked it, but'I doubt if London will, "We are putting some more humor in," said, Russell Janney, the next day. i3ut even then GEORGIE WOOD . The easiest way of keeping In touch -with my American friends is through the medium of 'IVARIETY'! —and the cheapest. My love to you aJI. . My address is 17, Tring Ave- nue, Ealing, London, Eng. I must tell you Sophie' Tucker (of course, with Ted Shapiro) is more popvla<r. and a bigger success than ever in London. Yours,- "WEE" GEORGIE. 3 London Openings London, July 3. ''Spread^ Eagle," radica:i anti-cap- italist play ^bne'olrlginaliy iii New York by Jed Harris,, opened at the Nfi'vy theatre .and was •well received, due to the strong dramatic situa- tions. Fritz. Williams .came over from America to play the financier, Olive Blakeh^y as the consumptlye widow and Ben Weldon as/.he Mex- ican general got. high praise. Play may have a mpderp-te run if surviving the dog, .days, "Plunder/' opening at the Aldwyeh. is ratl^er ' old fashloiied but looks set for a gopd run. It was pro- duced years ago In New York. If clicking it will be the sixth success- ful farce comedy at the Aldwych. ;At. the Lyric last night "My Lady's Mill" seemed destined for speedy oblivion. Adapted from a novel by Eden Phllpptts, it is a strenuous effort to dujplicate the style^and deductively the siiccess^of "The Farmer's Wife" and "Yellow Sands." Belief la that lightning doesn't strike three times In the same city. THOMAS AT COVENT GAEDEN Liohdoh, July 3. John Charles . Thomas, American tenor, has been engaged as prin- cipal tenor for the . coming seaison at 'CPvent Garden. Newport Dancers Going to Riviera Paris,, July 3. The danseuse Peggy, formerly of Cortez and Peggy, with her new partner, Sedano, is listed for the inauguration of the Palais de la Mediteranee, the hew casino ,at Nice, being .built by Frank J. Gould. Iti is eixpected t6 open by New Year's.' London, July 3. Peggy, formerly of Cortez and Peggy, -and Sedano,. late of Brown and Sedano, are dancing at t^e Mayfair Hotel under a four weeks' engagement. . .. SAILINGS July 16 <Ne^w 'Jfprk. to.. London) Mr. a:nd Mrs. liick Henderson (Ber^ engaria)w -■' '' July 9 (New York to London) Six English Tivbli Girls, including Daisy Sheldon (A^quitanla). ^ Jijly 5 (New York to London) Amac (Belgenland). July 5 (San Francisco to Sydney) Torino (Sierra,), July 4 (New York to London) Mr. and Mrs. Ed Davldow (Leviathan), June 30 (London to New York) Jake Shubert (Aquitanla). June 30 (New York to London) Victor Morley (Maureitania). June 30 (New York to Paris) Margalo (iillmore, Mrs. Frank Giil- =fff<3r5=-(-M£curetanla)T June 29 (New York to London) Marlpn Harriss and children, J. Rossel Robinson, Rush Hughes (Olympic). June 29 (New York to Paris) Mrs. Edgar Leslie (He de France). , June 28 (London to New York) Amelia Enirhart, Wilmer Stutz, Lou (;..n!fin, A. J. Clark© (President Roosevelt), Newport, July 2. Hearty support, through ■advance booking, has been accorded thp sec- ond .season of plays at the Newport Casino. Last yeajP, by way of ex-, periment, the long-neglected theatre •was reopened for a season of six weeks of repertoire. . Tills suntimer, starting July 10, eight weeks have been scheduled, •with' a change of bin each Tuesda,y. Players heed have ho fears about their salaries belhig paid, nor of any cutq. beJn& suggested, a^ the head of the operating company Iq William. H.. Viandef bllt, and the board of di- rectors ..includes' other multi-mll- llonalrfes: Oliver Gould Jennings, Arthur Curtlss jameig, James Ste-w- art ■ Cushman and the estate of MoSes Taylor, former pi-iesldent,, W,ho died recently, leaving $30,000,000. Last summer the c£ist was fre- quently entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Taylor at one of the finest', prpp- ertlea in Newport.. This sieason they will,: be feted bJr yoiing, Mr. Vander- bllt, who Inherited Oakland Farm from his father, the late Alfred Q. Vanderbilt, lost ori'the "Lusltanla." Oliver ; Gould JehnihgS' is of a fanally of nillHonalres,. and his sis- tefs, Mrs. Hugh. D. Auchlnclosis and'' Mrs. Walter B,- JTames, have New- port pi"operties. Arthur C«i(|^lss Jamea: has enbrniotis wealth, ia rhan- slori in New Vork; pailace at New- port/ fthd one of the finest yachts afioat. - James Stewart Cushman's Newport; estate joins- that of Mr. Jahaes. .He Is head of the Alierton House systeni of -New; York and Chicago, As these directors have Wives who a,re noted hostesses, the players w^Ill be taken up and made much of. . , Ina. Claire's Care«r . Ina Claire, who-Is to appear In her' former sucpess, "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney," and also in "The Swan," was : originally named Fagan; and halls from Washington, D. C. Edu- cated In a convent, she wais a head- liner In vaudeville, as far back as 1907, .her kid imitations then mia^ihg a hit. Pour years later she was with Richard (iarle in "Jumping Jupiter," along •with Jeanne Eagels. Later she was featured In "The Quaker Girl," and then made a Lon- don sensation In "The Girl From Utah" and "The Belle of Bond Street." She was ; In ."The Follies" of 1915 and 1916, and her imitation of Franceis Starr as "Marie-Odeille" led to. her being featured by David Belasco In "Polly With a Past" and starred by him In "The Gold- Dlggers." .Grace George Grace George, who revl^ves' her former vehicles, "She Had to Know" and "Captain Brassbpund's Conver- sion," Is said -to have been born Daugherty, and, like Miss Claire, is convent-bred. A native New Yorker, she was one of the school- girls In "The New Boy," with James f . Powers In 1894. At the Manhat- tan theatre, then Jointly managed by William A. Brady and Florenz Ziegfeld, she app^eared In French farces, "The Turtle" and "Mile. FIfl," starring there In 1900 In "Her Majesty," In 1907 she playe^ "Di- .vorcons". In Ne'W.York and In Lon- don.'- Mia.rrylhg Mr. Brady, she is stepmother of . Alice Brady and mother of William A. Brady, Jr. Rollo Peters . Rollo Peters, who Is to act in "Peter Ibbetsbn," Is sufficiently charming and cultured to meet the social stahdards set by the omnl-^ priesent LllUan Ba,rrett, executi've secretory and seeming. Pooh-Bih of the Casino company. Born In Paris, son of . Charles Rollo Peters, the California artist, and grandson of Charles Rollo Petiers, the San Fran- Cisco, theatre-builder, he attended art schools In England, France and Germany., (valuing recognition as a portrait painter and scenic artist, he designed sets and. costumes for the Washington Square Players, and flrst^ acted In 1918, In "Salome," at the Comedy theatre. In 1923 he beca.me leading man with . Jane Cowl, and was with her In "Romeo and-JuHet5i-and-=^T-ellefis-^vand-Me- llsande." Recently he was In the ail-star revival of "Diplomacy." Helen Ware Helen Ware returns to Newport for a second season, having made a most favorable impression last sum- mer. . She stars In "The Torch- Bearers.'* Hailing from San Fran- cisco Miss Ware was , born Remer. Educated In New York, she bfecome a governess. In 1899 she "walked on" In "The Little Minis, ter," with Maude Adams. In i9oi she understudied Blanche Bates In "Under Tiyo Flags." Six yoar.s later Miss ^are was leading lady with Arnold paly in repertoire. Since' then she has given many, fine per4 formances on Broadway, . ' Her husband, Frederick Burt, ex-^ cellent actor and, director, stages,: the Casino productions, Livingston Piatt being teclinJcal director, Selena Royale is a daughter/pf Edwin Milton Royle, former actor, and Selena Fetter, former aotreas, Air. Rpyie has written many plays, inPludlhg "The Squaw-Man," France Bendtsen (whose name ia generally misspelled) v acted for years with Robert B. Mantell and E. H. Sothern In classic repertoire. He •v^'•as in Lillian Barrett's play for Mrs. Fiske some seasons ago, "Thei pice of the Gods." . Philip , Tonge, Maria . Ourspens- . kaya (another spelling name), Rose Hobart, Alfred Heather. Walter Kingsford and Gharleis Cfoker-KIng are also of the company. . « Basil Rathbone Basil Rathbone is to appear In "The' Admirable Crlchton" and "The - Grand. Duchess y and the Waiter." Born.ln Johannesburg, South Africa, he was for a time •with an insurance, company, and first acted In England In, 1911,. a year later coming to America with Sir Frank Benson's- company In classic repertoire. Dyr- . ing the war he . was a lieutenant. In 1922 he returned to New York, Opposite Doris Keane. . In "The, Czarina." After divorced by Ethel Forman, he married Oulda Bergere, '■ who had: divorced .George Fitzmau- rlce, the movie director. Miss Ber- gere once ran > casting agency and later •wrote scenarios. Violet. Kenible Cooper Violet Kemble Cooper, who plays opposite Mr. Rathbone, comes to the Newport Casino ,not only with a reputation as a talented actres.% but with a family tree more Impressive than that of many fashionable mil- lionairesses. A Bister of Lillian, Greta and. Anthony Kemble Cooper, all of the th'eatrOi she lis a daughter of the late; Frank' Kemble Cooper, • granddaughter of Thomas Clifford . Cooper, who married Agnes Kemble, great-granddaughter of Henry Stephen. Kemble,. great-great- granddaughter of Stpphen Kemble, and a great-greai-great-grand- daiughter. of Roger Kemble, all of "wrhom were actors. Roger Kemble was born In 1721, when these United States were. British colonies! One of Miss Cooper's ancestresses was Sarah Slddons, perhaps the most famous actress In the annals of the theatre. Violet Is a niece of H. Cooper Cliffe,. the actor who Is known In thl« country. 'I' I'i. >'f 10-Week Season A season of ten weeks has been arranged at. the Casino for 20 mem- bers of the Boston, Symphony Or- chestra, . starting July 2. Shifter Howard, who owns a Newport cot- tage,' was Instrumental In bringing the musicians. After working on a comic opera, "Yankee Doodle," for almost a generation^ Mr. Howard finally had the piece tried out. It got as far as Providence and Bos- ton, Hansford Wilson was in it. Amac's Foreign Dates '.. Amac, the illusionist, sails from New York July 5 to open at the Alhambra^ London, July 16, Following the British dates, Amac is due at the Scala theatre, Berlin- .•I 1 ■A : i (,•• - I Hudgins in Berlin London, July ,3 Johnny Hudgins and Sam Wedd- ing's band are filling an Indefinite engagement at the Ufa Palace, Berlin. Hudgins, has been appearing at the Kit Cat Club in London. Cecil's Third Return London, July 3.. On her third return to the Troca- dero restaurant, Cecil Cunningham scored exceptionally well. She opened last night (Monday). t. HENRY CARSON AGCY. International Variety, Picture PlnjeW and Tlieatriclil RcprcMentntlvcH 78, Avenue des Champs Elysees PARIS Cabl'es: Booking, rnrlu Phone: Elysee 09-19 "Good actft alwaj-N needed"