Variety (Sep 1928)

38 VARIETY VAUDEVILLE ViTednesday, September 12, 1928 News From the Dailies This department contiains rewritten theatrical news items as pub- lished during the week in the daily papers of Nevy York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London. Variety takes no credit for these news items; each has been rewritten from a daily paper. NEW YORK If anybody missed the fact that "Front I'age" had some raw lan- guage, steps were taken to stop that. Complaint was made to Dis- trict Attorney Banton and the fact duly recorded in the newspapers. The D. A.'s oflfice examined the performance and then decided noth- ing would be done about the com- plaints, which also was formally noted in the public prints. to direct three pictures, discharged hint and finished the films him-self. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coburn will revive ' The Yellow Jacket" In No- vember. J. Harry Menrimo, who wrote the fantasy, will stage the revival. Benrimo also will produce "The Red Cord," a Chinese play with mu.slc, adapted from Thomas Grant Springer's novel. Lyle Womaclc filed suit for di- vorce in Balboa, Canal Zone, against Ruth Elder, charging cruelty. Un- derstood suit will not be contested. Decree may be obtained by Decem- ber, effective by June. Actors Theatre, Inactive for two years, will function again, having taken the Comedy theatre. Equity Is not interested in the venture. Ethel Barrymore will act as ad- visory director on five plays to be offered, one by Zoe Akins, one by Rachel Crothers, a piece from the Hungarian, another from Germany, a drama by R. Dana Skinner and a comedy by David Carb. Production starts In three weeks. Peter McCleane, night v/atchman at Werba's, Brooklyn, was black- jacked by thugs during his nightly rounds, but managed to crawl to a window and call for help before they cracked the safe. McCleane was formerly an actor. He is now 70. Harry Thaw must appear for ex- amination in the suit of Charles E. Davenport, picture director, for $50,- 000 for alleged breach of contract. Davenport charges Thaw hired him ANN GARRISON and Co. Id «'XHK CIRCUS" Introducing My Original Dance Creation "StamplnR It Down" THIS WKKK (SEITE. 9) Hennepin, SUnneapdIlH, Minn. Palac«>-Orplieuin, St. Paul, Minn. SEIT. 16 TO 19, INC. Orpheum, Sioux City, Iowa SEIT. 20 TO 28, INC. Tourlnir Kelth-Orphenm Circait Direction JOHN SCHVI,TZ Jed F; Shaw, general manager for Winthrop Ames, and Mark Nathan have entered into partnership to produce.^ First Venture will bo 'These Few Ashes" by Leonard Ide. LOS ANGELES Ona Brown, divorced wife of Clarence Brown, director, and Har- vey Barnes> Jr., Pittsburgh, will be married in Janiiary. Mrs. Brown's final divorce decree, from the direc- tor was grantied last Marcji. Sally Eilers, Wampas Baby Star, anriouncQd the breaking of her engagement to Matty Kemp, screen actor. Both are under contract to Mack Sennfett. Genevieve Nicldln was granted a divorce from Allan B. Nicklin, film cameraman. She charged deser- tion. Application for dismissal of di- vorce suit by Mrs, Hiester Stiles against Vernon Stiles, former opera singer, illed in Los Angeles court. Reconciliation : between Stiles and his wife reported. , Ruth Page, danc .r of the Ravinla opera company, has been selected a.: one of the, girls who will dance at the coronation of the Emperor of Japan. " Maude Leone, actress, first wife of Willard Mack, filed suit in Los An- geles superior court asking $11,350 damages from the Los Angeles Railway.: It's the result of injuries alleged to have been received in an accident Feb. 7. . Theodore Ray, 24, will face trial Sept. 16 on charges growing out of the alleged blinding of Jane Buck- master, filni extra, from liquor which police say. Ray admits he furnished. Physicians at the Gen- eral Hospital declare the ■ girl's sight Is permanently impaired. Ray, w:hen arraigned, pleaded not guilty and SLsked for a jury trial. Peter W. Sims, vaude actor, found guilty of failing to support his wife and seven children and sentenced to one year; Sentence suspended on condition that he immediately take care of his family. Joan Crawford, M-G-M player, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., admit they are engaged to be married. Mildred Bromley, .vaude actr-ess, using the name of Ann Howe, for- bidden to use. latter. name In Cali- fornia. Action brought against her by Elizabeth Page, radio entertainer, who claimed prior rights - to name Ann Howe. Gladys Riith Morgan granted di vorce.from Byron Morgan, scenarist. In. Los Angeles, Sept. 8. Cruelty, grounds. As latest move in 'ivill contest over estate of late Earl A. Fraser, beach resort amusement man, Mrs. Ethel Prentiss, sister , of Fraser, filed pe- tition in . probate court at Los An geles, asking.reduction of allowance to Fr'aser's wldovir, who is contest ing the will. Mrs. Prentiss attacked character of widow, alleging that latter had brought about hor mar- riage to Fraser through fraud. CHICAGO "Rio Rita" opens at the Illinois Oct. 14j following "Whispering Wriends." Shubertis will transfer the "Green wich V. F." from the Gratid to tho Majestic Sept. 16. American Opera In Grand Oct. 1 for four weeks Plans are tentative. If "A Night in K on Cap The'brand new set of ui^hers and the doormen who have re- placed ihose fired from the Palace theatre are attired in new light blue uniforms with a single letter K instead of .K-A on the cap. People are wondering whecli- er the K stands for Kennedy or Keith. Spain" continues at the Majestic "Silent House" may move from the Garrick to Princess, to make room for "The Red Robe" at Garrick. Helen Ackennan, chorus girl with the "Greenwich Village Foliles," here is suing Slayton L. Smythe, broker, for $900. She charges that Smythe's dog-started a fight with her chow and that In the excitement her legs were bitten by the attack- ing canine. Leo Geammarino, formerly trainer of Rodolph Valentlno*s thorough- bred horses, iarrived in Chicago this week, riding a horse and leading a pa:ck mule. He is making his way from coast to coast. Riverview, Chicago amusement park, will close.for the season Sept. 16. Frances Lewinthal, formerly dra- matic coach at the ■ University of California, will organize a children's theatre here for the Jewish People's Institute; SAN FRANCISCO Suit for $100,000 damages was filed against Clara Bow and James Hall, playing the leads in Par's "The Fleet's In,*' by Harry I. Stafford, at- torney for the Pavilion Ice Rink Co., owners of Roseland dance hall here, alleging that the screen actors' vehicle is a libel upon the reputa- tion and fair name of the Roseland. Certain dance hall scenes in "The Fleet's In" are laid in a "Roseland" dance hall in San Francisco, and the owners of the resort of that name claim that while the conduct of Miss Bow while in the "dance hall" (on the screen) was hot objectionable, a bunch of Hollywood extras are pic- tured in a disgraceful fight scene, all of which. It is charged, tends to discredit the enviable reputation of the dance pavilion. Stafford, in addition to filing the suit for dam- ag,es, announced he would take steps to have the picture barred. "The Fleet's In" continued to make high attendance records at the Granada here. Margaret B. Lee filed suit for di- vorce against Frank M, Lee, picture projectionist, alleging cruelty. She charges her husband forces her to accompany him to the booth of his theatre «yery night and makes her spend four houi's there while he is projecting pictures on the screen. Curran D. Swlnt, dramatic editor of the San Francisco News, made his debut as a picture actor when he played the role of a police ser geant in "The Bachelor Club," now being filmed at the Graf studios, San Mateo. Clergymen who first were in sym pathy with the proposal to ban box- ing contests in California, are now out to kill the repeal of the law being sought by the Hearst news papers and some Southern Cali- fprhra" reformers. Rev." Leslie" C: Kelly, pastor of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, has come out openly In favor of a continuance of legalized boxing in the state. Inside Stuff^VaudeviDe Indepondont houses which have found their vaudfilm policies not .so attractive have been trying to land inu.sical tabs strong enough to stay indofinitel.v. One indie owner spent $500 going around and looking at establl.shed tabs. Where he sought prospective booking.s he was .toUl the companies were entirely satisfied to stay where they were. Gome of the moneymakers now on the chosen spots have a local fol- lowing built up by speeches made by the company favorites. One actor- manager invitee audiences to call him Red when they meet him on the street. In. the smaller towns this intimacy has helped box offices."" A recent story about two gaggcrs who gagged each other into an argument outside the: Friars and gagged them.selvcfi info renewed friend- ship, concerned Ben Bernie and Harry Rose—not Billy Rose. Billy lias been at the Metro.-Goldwyn studios on the. coast for the pa.st two months. When he heard about the yarn he telegraphed that only by means of television could he have been involved in the word fest. It nearly came out that It was a couple of other fellows, Billy admitting he is a rotten boxer, anyhow. Theatres Proposed Councr.svlllfi, Ind.—:$70.000. Owner, Audltorlmn Company, CoMncriiville. Archi- tect, C. ^E. .Werklng & Son, 307 American Trust bulIUinij. Delevan, Wls.^—Also stores and olflces. $90,000. Ownor, witlihold. Architect. United Studlo.s, 14 West Lake street, ChicuBO. Policy not plven. Xlbensburg:, Pa.—rOwner, R. Allison, Alhambra tlicalrc, Cresson, Pa. Architect not selected. PoUO',- pictures.. Joplln. ! Mo.—Electric, $20,000. Ow.nct; Grubel Bros.. Inf., C-IC Main .street. Kansas City. Ka,n. Architect, Truman .ij. Martinle, 420 North .Wall street, Joplln. Policy,- pictures. Monntoutli, lU.—Also stores and ai>artnients, $7C>,000. Owner; Coinmuniiy Theatre, care Chamber of Commerce. Architect, l-'. J. Kloln, 301 Main street, Peoria, III. Policy not given. New York City, N. Y.—•$1,250,000. Owntr, V. Youinans, C7 West 44th street. Silo not selected. Policy, legitimate. Architect not -■irlccted. Ocean City, N. J.—Also hotel and pier, $4,000,000. Owner, Ocean City Million Dollar Pier ComlJany, care K. B. Loveland, Title and Trust Building, Ocean City. Architect, G. ICeister, 66 West 4Cth street. New Yorlc City. Policy not given. Bavennn,: Olilo.—Plans completed for new thentre.s by the llavenna Theatre Co., Inc.. to .cost $160,000, Expected to be completed' by Jan. 1. 1,000-scat capacity. No policy' announced. UTERATI (Continued from page 31) novelist iand playwright, is to edit it under the new plan. English Liberty The weekly which Gilbert Frankau, English novelist; Is to sponsor in London, is to be called Britannia. It is reported more than $2,000,000 Is behind the venture, a great deal of it Frankau's own money. Be- sid.es authoring many best sellers, Frankau also has much money through his family. It is Frankau's ambition to make the publication another Liberty; hence its title of Britannia. And still another columnist on New York. He la Bill Lipman of the New York World, and he will call his column "Gotham Daze." It Is to be syndicated by his newspa- per. What makes Llpman's column more unusual is that he was born In New York City, Francis Albertanti, of the Madi- son Square Garden press depart- ment, has Joined the New York American staff. Russel J. Birdwell, who has suc- ceeded Leonard Hall as dramatic critic of the New York Telegram, was the press agent for "Old Glory," the New York Mirror plane in which Phil Payne lost his life at sea. More" recently Birdwell has been conducting a Hollywood chatter column for NEA Service, Scrlpps- Howard feature syndicate. Paramount has already secured an option on the picture rights to S. S. Van Dine's latest mystery thriller, "The Bishop Murder Case." Story starts serially next month In Hearst's Anierlcan. Magazine. Drama and cinema are combined on the Boston "Herald" in the per- son of William E. Greenough, for- mer night city editor of the sanie paper. Greenough combines the jobs for- merly held by Anne Ford and Mr.s. Davenport, respectively. Macfadden Publlcation.s doesn't like the way Cabaret Stories, a new monthly, uses a B. L. MoFadden publication on Its cover. ,B. L. Mc- Fadd.en, Inc., is being sued for an injunction accordingly. John O'Hara has resigned .from the editorial staff of the New York Herald Tribune to become dramatic critic of the news weekly, Time. Boston has a new publication called The Bostonian. It Is a monthly. ATTENTION! We believe lhat tlie Auburn car is used more by the Theatrical Profession than any other make in the United States. We already have a long list of Standard Acts and Orchestra Lead- ers who are using Auburns, but to make our records complete, would appreciate it if all acts who now own Auburns would, write us and let us know their ex- perience with these cars in their business. Rov Fai;lkne«, Vice-President, AUBURN AUTOMOBILE . . . COMPANY, Auburn, Ind. HUGO MORRIS & FEIL MURRAY Announce that Because of Their Instantaneous Hit BEN BERNI and his WERE HELD OM AT THE PALACE, NEW YORK, WEEK OF SEPT. 10 HERMAN and JEFF BERNIE, Personal Reps., 745 7th Ave., New York City