Variety (Nov 1928)

Wednesday, November 14, 1928 V A U D E VI LL E VARIETY SI Wow Acts Are Now Slapstick; Smartness Is Out of Vaude- Belly Laughs Biggest Louder and funnier the slogan in present day vaude. ficlipse of big time and tlie new; era of mammoth yaudfllm houses have reversed the ftttltude and ambitions of most of the actors. In the days when the reward for excellence was a: route on the two- a-day, yaude actors cherished the ideal of the nifty routine, an act done in an unctuous, smooth and silken ma:nner. This wa;s known and Identifieia as the big time touch! - Today the' liifty act is passing. A few standards still use the.quiet- eSt methods, but most of the actbrs are frankly but for belly laughs; via, siapsticU route, . Dozens of acts now open with one member coming-out, and for no rea- son at all starting to slap, kick, beat, or otherwise mistreat the other. This is surefir9, particularly In houses where the foreign clement Is predoniinaTit. ..Lifters Another development of the last few years is tiie; fra,nknes6 with which acts lift material,' Many acts openly admit the source of their material, in former seasons, lifting was a serious charge. It generally called for aflidavlts, indignation and letters to Variety. An actor who recently obtained a long route!; fi-orh Keith's came into New York to "show" on-three dif- ferent occasions. Twice he flopped. Twice the office reported: "Not favorabiy imin-essel."-> On the third try the actor gave up his nifty ideas oic delivery, style and dress. He used the same gags, the same routine, but instead of striving for smart- ness he shouted his lines, injected : •^sight" stuff by the shovel load, send used everything but a custard . ttie. Act is. now in lights. ' I Acrobats ' , ''^•Acrobats have been a chief benefi- ciary of the new order. Scores of guys who opened or closed the bill regularly are new getting spots with: knockabout acrobatics. Wip- ing lip the floor, tripping iand; fall- irig, getting tangled in each other's legs, all. the hokum that formerly ca,lied for ia woods drop or a center door fancy is now the next to clos- ing feature'in "one." Acoustics Of big houses, cheap ad- missions and the gradual disappear- ance of smart vaudeville audiences have contributed to change the Standards of what is a wow act. No 10-Wk. Gu^antee; Hassell Quits Vaude George Hassell walked put on his proposed vaude debut under 'the Albert Le>vis direction when the Lewis, office was not in a position to guarantee the musical comedy ccniic a minimum of 10 weeks. vHassell.had been rehearsing with- out a contraet, with his skit pen- cilled in. for last halL of last week at the . Coiisieum," New: T<irk, and the Palace for follow up..;. Hassell has gone into the musical version of .''High Co.'it p£ Loving,'' with Lew Fields producer-star: ^SSL Keith's President Appears REPEAT FOR PATHE mu \ u J Puzzling Matter to Heads, Aerialist Climbs New Para mount's Flag Pole—Oceans of Publicity For Selection From Vaude RODNEYS WITH U Family: to Do 1S Talking Shorts Next Year Pat Rooney, -s^'ilh liis family. Marion, and Pat, Jr., have a long term contract from Universal. The Rooneys leave for the coast New Year's. . Jan. 15 they. are scheduled to 'commence work in the first of 12 talking shorts, scheduled for 1929, The story ma:teriar will be piat r terhed along lines used by Sidney Drew in his short subjects of' Sev- eral years ago. Edgar Allan Wolff is slated to write them. Cosci^ Advertising His Wife Is Out . Phil Coscia, formerly of Coscia and Vetdi, vaudeville, and latterly partnered ■with hi.^ wife, Betty, have split matrimonially and profcssion- ■ ally. ^An ad in the New York Times Monday morning was to the effect that Betty Coscia had left his bed and bOa;rd, and disclaiming respon- sibility for any debts contracted by her, wag the first public tip-off. Coscia's address is 132 West 47th "ilreef ' ' ' " Allen's Divorce Gases Due for Trial Next Wk. The Edgar - Aliens' divorce and counter-suit go to bat next Monday, liaving been . adjourned a week. Peaches Browning is named by- Mrs; Allen (formerly Kathevine Hurray, vaudeville), and Allen couriters with a couple of unknown men in New York. The former Fox booker is now 1 managing Miss Browning's vaude- ville frolic. Julius Ivcndler, back at his . desk after five months' absence through illness, will personally defend Allen. The wife Is asking for no alimony, having an Income of her own. Allen Intends to contest the suit bitterly, it is said. Mrs. Allen returned to New York last week, after a long trip abroad. Mabel Withee Married In Oct. to Larry Puck About six weeks ago, Larry Puck and Mabel Witliee were married. No announcement has been issued, with the reason for the secrecy not disr'-:..id- : [OB Wlthce is a musical comedy acLre»s with an elaborate home at Bayside, L. I. Her husband is a vaude agent, at present with Jack Curtis. He Is a brother of Harry and Eva Puck. Bee Starr, the circus and Vaude - vilie aerialist, cllrhbed the high flag- pole above the new paramount, the- atre in Brooklyn, opening Nov. 24. Cameramen. frOm Paramount news- reel and the Brooklyn and Ne*r York dailies were there. They got plenty of shots, with a'crowd around the square.- ' . As Bee climbed down and reached tlie street, a Pathe cameraman ru.shed. up to say he was late, and would she do It again. .Bee. -without giving the matter a second'.s thought.! climbed up the. flagpole once again, to the a;mazenrient of every newspaper man on the spot. It was a daring stunt, engineered by Bon Serkievitch, handlitig the pub- iicity for the new house. The dailies all ran pictures of Bee on her pole perch, and the-scene,also went out in the.news ..reels,;' Bee in the ring or'-bn tho istage does a perch rope turn, with many twistings wlien at the top, alway-^ climbing the rope hand oyer hand as she did o'n. the pole. Over in Brooklyn ' they insist tha,t - Bee call agaiii n^xt summer and be crowned queen Of tiie MaypolOi' . Alex the Great and Wife in Divorce ./ / Los Angeles, Nov. 13 Claude A. Conlln;.; magician, known pi'ofessionally as "Alexander the Great," filed a cross complaint to a divorce suit Instituted by his wife, Lillian Marrion Conliii. Mrs. Coniiri charges mental and ^physi- cal cruelties. Conlin counter charges vhat she attacked him with a pair of sissors. ' Community property is valued.by Coiilin at $230,800. He claims his wife, by fa,lsifylng some busiiu s<« deal, c aused him to be arrested by the government and thiat this ar- rest est him in the neighborhood of $7r>.v00. ' He aigo charges that she attempted to ruin his sooi.-xl nd- professiona, reputation. Joyce White Jammed By Newspaper Men Beat the "Plaster TERRY ARRESTED FOE $30 New Britain; Conn., Nov. 13. Charles Gryzuc of thie Palace en- dorsed, a $30 check for Robert Teri\v when the latter waa playing the Ijouse. A few days after Terry left the check came back. "The actor was arrested last weol; in Buffalo. N. Y. Lester Lyons.. busiiiosii manager ot Zit's Weelcly, Vuxvks and manages' acts- on the side. Lyons is termed a lobbygow for C. l\ Zittel. the paper's publisber, and the under- standing is that Lyons acts on Zlt- .ci'l's behalf In the. relations with acts and actors. ■ Lyons sued Joyve White (.vaudo) 1)11. a. $916 note and was given the il>^i>ision by Jiulpe \Vilson in the 5th District MviTiicip.il CiAU-t Monday, although- Miss Wluie had eUarac- lorized the note as spurious and di-^nied its execution. The contractWith Lyons, whereby he would manage her, wan made last April 24.. Lyons, alleKcd he ad- vaneed Miss .White $315 in cash. !Iiid several otiier sums for proper- ties, shoes, furnishings, etc., with the proviso -it would be deducted i"rom her act's inboriie at Lyons' discretion. . In addition.' the .usual manageria;! terms existed, Lyons to act for Miss White as her manager for 10 years.. ■ The- actress testified that brlgl- liiiUy shewas asked to bind herself f4)r 25 years, but She told Lyons or ZIt.tei, or both, that ,she might be infirm 10 years hence, much less 26. Some of the checks for her Incl- diMital expenses, said Miss White, w.ere signed by , Zittel. Zittel or Lyons got h<jr some break-in>. book- ings at thieHalsey, Brpoklyh, N. Y., two more in Brooklyn Kpx stands, and.another In Keiih'.s, Jersey City. Zittel looked the act oyer, evidenc- ing great in'terest in Miss White's act and her welfare; Didn't Prodyce Seemingly, Miss White chilled Zittel, and with it the latter und Lyon.5's business interest waned. The suit to recover the money fol- lowed. Mi.ss White's understand- ing..seemed, to he that Lyons was acting for Zittel. At the trial last week. r,.yons said he would produce Zittel in court within-an hour to prove the validity of the note in quesiion. Soon there- after, his counsel said that ho must qualify this, as Zittel could not be j eached all day. Judge Wilson then marked the f a«e closed and. reserved decision. Cruelty as Divorce Reason in Chi Varied by Rukber Check at Take-Off New Orleans, Nov. 13. ' Kramer and Boyle, playing Loew's State last week, were just ahead of the writ oi attachment issued; against them by Max Hart to satisfy a $1,600 judgment. It's, for com- mission. The act had just been paid off by the theatre when the prOce.ss server Arrived with Hart's, "plaster.';. COHEN-HOGAN-KEITH'S Andy Cohen and Shanty Hogan, John McGra-w's Jewish-Irish ball players, have been booked by Keith's after playing several weeks Pii the Loew time. Keith opening. ^wilL.,b6=.at=JerD.ctbj:a'^.Mih_.Str^^^ Nov, 18. . The acting members of the Giants «U'--doing a comedy rtct written by Bugs Baef and produced by Jimmy 0*NeiI. . ' F. & M, Taking Names Los Angeles, Nov.; 13. Sally O'Neil has been signed by 1 Fanchon and Marco , to head a unit over the West Coast Theatres elr- cuit, .. She will open at Loew's State here Nov. 23' and;, then play 14 weeks^ Fanchon. and Mafco also have. Roy D'Arcy to .function tliis week a.^ m. c. at the Egyptian in Hollywood. Should he hit, he will be given a unit for the 14-week tour. This firm of producers i,s also ne- [gotiatlng with Charlotte Greenwood to open at Loew's State Nov, 30. HELEN FORD'S SONGS Helen Ford will play vjtiule pend- ing her next musical a.-^slgnment from Lew Fields and Lyle Andrews, Miss Ford will do a song cy';le, carrying^a^planist,..^--^^ -- - ■ -^ -^^^ Chicago, Nov. 13. How could you keep loving a; guy who gave the minister a rubber eheck for thfe wedding? That's one of the squawks ad- va.nced by Elinor Trejet, chorine, in her suit for divorce against Jean Trejet,. musician. Latesr, she say.s. when the check bounced back, she mentioned It to' Jean and he tore into her' with several Waljops. Elinor has askcKl Phil .R. Payia to secure a divorce on grounds of cruelty. The Trejetn were mar-; ried iii January and llve4 togethCl- one -week. Mrs. Anna. Barnett, who worked in two-reelcrs for quite a whil" under name of .Anna Ross, ind lat''i- went into interior decorating, se^ cured a divorce' through Attorney Ben i'^hrlich from CllCt Barnett for cruelty. Mrs. Biimett testified thfl-t after tlicy had separated she went back to the hotel to get her clOthf" and found Cliff, slightly :plast/-red. ilo .dragged out^ two guns, fthe claimii, and made her sit, In tho room for 18 hour.s while he contin- ued drinking at Intervals. Finall.v she says, he passed out and giiv - her opportunity to blow, which si,.- -did? Fleeson and Grace Hayes NeviUp FhH'SDu and Crrace Hayes have a new net for Keith'a, with material by Fleeson. Dana-Flynn Skit; ■ Viola Dajaa will ' ent<ir Vaiide shortly together with-.'hei- hiiV>ljand. Lefty Flynn, both film .stai.i. A skit is being written f'jr tlwiu by Edith M'-i'ser and Tom .\I<-l\',:i,'l.-• authors of Miss Dana's las-. v.uiJ'- turn. Iliilie Sherlock Jarkl, choru,s «:r. under a beautiful nom de plum- (>'■ nii plia-'^.V -.XiO Pwoy, haM sWrte'J i' again.st Anthony Jarklv-wlth ciu'irg-- of cru"lty.' Her petition, as filed b;. Irving Eisenman, declares that o; • IOa.-.t('r Sunday of 1926 .Tony cer.-- I br.itfd by throwing the f in...-. iiiugar bowl at her and brea^ri'n; * cheekbone. Later he again became iiilariou.'j, she charges, and punched her about the arms and body for no apparent reafjon. Tlie Jarkls sepa- rated August, 19:i7, aftei- three years of matrimony. Mae Serley, prima, has filed suit thrpygh Ben Ehrlich against Harry SerieyV'no'w'in pi'^r^^^^ fharg^of cruelty. Elizabeth' Yount, currently en- ...iged in waving them at the Star and Garter burlesque citadel, has filed suit against Jacob Yount, non- pro, claiming de;9ertipn. Marriage lasted two ypar.H, ending- in 1924, Itcpresented by Attorney Henry Mit- t,'ang. . <* Lasted One Month .John Schwartz, head of the The- iitri's Finance Corp. and an Official (;C radio station WIIT, i.s being sued fop separate maliitr-nimce by Mrs. Mildred Brittain • Seiiwaftz. The couple were m.'trrifd in Aug- a.nd lived together a month. Mrs.. .•<f;liwart7; claims lier hu.sband in- vcigipd her Into Hlgning away her (lov.er and alimoTiy rights before i.hf fifeparation. giving her $1,000 for il.ie .signature. .^h<» wunt.s this igreoment set a-^id*', find estimates "arly. .' Jam"3 Murphy. Klvcrview Pari: .j-,fjf'S-;iion jpperator. Was brotigiil r:!.:*!- Dorn'^'.sthf; Relations. court hy .M;-i .Murphy on coiTiIil;iirits of non- : -uj)r>ort and bally.hooing around thr 1 ho.is.» Muri)hy wn-.. lUfL-M-il t.> I -fi' of thin:,'.s ari'l 'a'.-'" -li'- '»^''V i -i k for her.-<"l:". lieports say tha; the scleiMloiv of the presidfut t\n'. I\:idio^.Ki>itl.v-(.>r- plieuih'has growu io .be a pu7.-/,ling problem for liavid .^arnoff. ohair- ■ tiian .of. the R:K-0 bo.-ird, who will '. name the clioioe. The puzzle is to name someone from the show field with ■ •ill ' oif tlu> (lualitications tlie. . otllce calls for. That is in line with Sai-nofffi declaration that Keith's: pi-esident should come from., within, the business, rather than oi" tlie. Radio (R- A, C.) oi-ganization or R. A. O. Photophbne; the two other concerns Sarnoff also directs. All stories about any of the E. F. AVhee faction being nam.ed as president-have-p.'issed out. None l-s loh.?er mentioned, even remotely. ^Iaurice Goodman, Keith's cOurisel,- was mostly favored in those ru- mors, (lulvtod by ("looilman- when he stated he preferred to continue as general counsel. About the only • other one of the fornier. Albec-Or- plieum ci-uwd in Iveilh'a likely to . hold over, is B. B: Ivahanne, at- torned for Orplieuni. Murdock and Casey Sarnoff niay be coinpelled to go outside the: show busin<?ss for a presidential head. 'There Is but one . outstanding fig^ure . Iii present day vaiidc'vllie who could.fit in the com- plete picture of Kelth'a presid€\ht, Tlftit is J./J. MurdocU and, after nearly 20 years with It. he. utterly refuses to remain actively with Keith's. Murdock's position is that anyone of the former Iv-A-O cohtlngcht In oi^erative charge must find re- sistance froln the other faction. Whether Murdock would maintain his present attitude if the Keith Office Is cleaned up, as expected un- der R-K-O aiiid Sarnoff, Is unknown: If Murdock were to go in a.«J Keith's pres., I*at Casey would go with him, most likely, aind if Mur- dock leaves, Casey will leave. Casey Is looked upon as the most Important element to the reorgan- ization of the Keith booking fbrcep. No one understands the bobking of- fice as well as he. The cohsumm.'vlldn of the RadiO- Keith-Orpheum take'.ovef of Keith's l and FBp occurred'Late last week, when over 51 per eent; of Keith- Albee-Orpheum and . FBQ st^pck was placed with the bankers in exchange' for R-K-O stock. With this it la expected that (he final organi'^atlbn of R-K-O will be completed within two weeks or . by Nov. 15, Nov. 15 Is the date set In the .'prellmlnai-y contract foir 4he conversion. From the outlook the R-K-O or- ganization, with president named, will permanently retain John Ford as general manager of Keith's, with full piower, and J, I. Schnitzer in the same' capacity for FBO with similar authority. Both are hold- overs. Ford went with Keith's when Jos. R. Kennedy and J. J, Murdock took charge five months ago; while Schnitzer has been with FBO fot- some time, FBO is the picture pro- ducer, controlled by Kennedy ami placed In the merger pool with Keith's for R-K-O, It Is rumorecf that the policy of R-KdQ„with. the former. I>:elth-Al- bee-OrQheum corporation and iii contracts will be to ignore it, if recognition for any puri)o.se should be requested. R-K-O is. a distinct and separiate corporation. HANNEFORD'S COMEDIES Los Angeles, Nov. 13. Poodles Hanneford wHl make nine two-reel comedies for Woia Brothers. The first will enter pro- duction Dec. 3. lianneford made several comedy series for Educa- tional some years ago. moo BROAOWAir, NEW YORK > or WilHam MorrU CALL BOARD , Contractft. Closed IRENE FRANKLIN CWarner Bro<?) n m > .EC ■9 3) IS, "■ r * nil uin.nc lU.JXi »