Variety (Jan 1929)

42 VARIETY BURLESQUE-SPORTS Wednesday, January 30, 1929 Wfldcat Burlesque in Sticks Go Bust; Vanishing Mgrs. and Huhgy Actors Wildcat burlesque is not clicking In the sticks. Two. recent strand- Ings about itrove they don't, want ,tl\o unaffiliated shows.. . "Broadway Scandals" folded in Hornell, N. T., owing the troupe two .weieks' salary, and leaving the 29 players, principals and chorus to get out as best they could. The show had been booked into the Casino, Hornell, on precentage. It Is reported as having grossed under $300 on six performances, In on: a. 60-50 split the house grabbed halt and Hugo Solomon the other half, the 'latter vamping without even a goodbye to the mob who gambled with him on cakes or less. : At last reports some got out of Hornell with others still there. . Another similiar bust was the 'stock at the Central, Rochelle Park, N. J. It folded after the cast re- fused to be further kidded on pos- sible salary, collection. They had received' but- a. percentage of their salaries for the three weeks the, stock policy was In.. Al, Payne op- erated the stock and went Into the Central on a percentage, iflrst riioney guarantee which seldom bettered the house tjike Of first $500,. Which included rental, stage hands, mu- slciaiis and house attaches salaries. ::. Some of the troupers attempted to attach scenery and other effects for salary due,, but was bea,ten to the plaster by the Acme Studios, New" York, which had loaned scenery on rental! SPORTY WIDOWS ''Beeftnist" Tires Again Billy (Beef trust) Watson, who came out of retirement several Weeks ago to head his "CMclcen Trust" for a Mutual tour dropped out last week with another comic substituting. Watson hopped Into the show four weeks ago for purpose of play- ing the high spot stands on a per- oentage an*angement, In addition to usual Mutual guarantees^ He blew when the show took to the rest of no percentage, straight rental fig ure Mutual stands. Bill was' called as a witness iii' the.' recent trial of Anne Nichols -vs. Universal in the damage action over U's alleged pilfering of "Abie's frlsh Roe" for U's "Cohens, and Kellys" picture, Asked if his •*Krousemeyer'3 Alley" was not along similar lines to "Able," Bill ■wasn't certain, but said he had made nearly a million in burlesque "When the Beef trust operator was a^ke I to name! the exact sum he had cleaned. Bill replied: "I'm a showman and, It's nearly a million." Can*t Kid Cops Cleveland, Jan. 29 In spite of the management's ef forts to keep the fact .quiet, the Empress and its burlesque shows are being censored every week by local police. One of the leading items oh the tibop Sheet issued by them is this order: "Burlesque comedians must not . impersonate' nor ridicule policemen on the stage." This ukase came out after a local minister bawled the cops out in the dallies for not cleaning up the speakeasies. ^ MOEE EOCHESTEE STOCK Rochester, N. T., Jan. 29. Gayety theatre, dark two months after hectic season of stock bur- lesque, reopened Monday with con- tinuous stock burlesque and fllms, split week. Tom Phillips in charge. First, Joe Brown . skedaddled, » leaving chorus girls flat. Then O. A. Morgan, Syracuse truck driver, took over the house and at the end of a- week, was arrested and sent ..away for passing rubber checks. ■ (MUTUAL) What would bo .'a passable; bur- lesque under standard.s of another day is here a notable enfei-tainmerit. Corriparison Avith the IVlut.ual aver- ; age nialces it stand' out. Show has a comedian who has sometlving lH^e real humor and gets results' ocoa;^ sionally. strictly pri his own and without much to help him in ma- terial. He is Billy Fields; :one of. the few holdoV(,>rs from the Colum- bia wheel..' ._ Show hais tluee principal women who are easy to look at and work with girigcr. They don't grind from start to finish in; the usual mechan- ical way and they do bccasipnally wear some clothes.. Not .ahya.ys, but the occasional' use of sornething more than a ribbon and a girdle is a relief. . It mdy be worth noting that the only applause of the ehtii'e evening that had any spontaneous quality a,b6ut it came 'for a straight, song and dance humber by Miss Arnold, who wore enough clothes to walk down Broadway during the bit. "Miss Arnold" is all the; program gi'ves, burlesque having gotten to the state where they economize .on printer's ink, Thiis girl earned the return. She won the good 'will of the mob through the performance, giving all she had all the time and revealing lierself as a. first-class trouper in what is now a shabby game. Miss Lang 'Was another who put an abundance of effort, into hei: work and she prospei-e'd with the crow'd' likewise, that Colunibia mob being by now accustomed to listless, haphazard stage lahor. ' Matter of fact this trio—Miss Jeanette is the other—took the palm aWay from tile' runway .group. This week is the first time : visiting principal wonien have actually conie up to breathe on the Columbia stage. The runway outfit got the usual return of formal applause,; but it becomes obvious week by week that the boys are going cold on that strip-and- tease. Both the girls and the house deem to realize it can be pushed too far. Now the audience has to demand the climax -with great insistence or it Is deleted. It was abridged sev- eral times at this performance, par- ticularly a:s ha;ndled by Virginia Jones, newcomer from a Chicago stock. She is a capital worker .and looker, perhaps 'the beat since Isa- belle Van, but this audience let her slide on the finale of a strip. Of the other principals, Mr. Syd- ney, straight, did good service. A smooth feeder in bits, manly look- ing youngster and owner of a voice that falls agreeably on the ear.. Sec- ond comic is one LefC, doing Hebe and. making a mesa of it. No sense of emphasis and no knack for han- dling gags. Just a mechanical rou- tine worker. Mr. Monfred. was the fourth, man, another straight and good feeder. The production—it belongs to John J. Jermon-ris as shabby, or maybe a little shabbier, than the run of Wheel units, but Fields sometimes makes you forget the dingy surroundings. He has a cafe drunk bit that has genuine fun aiid a few of his bits were excellent. As many were dull prin.cipally because they wore stretched out too long and didn't build to a finishing punch. The four men make up a quartet endurable In harmony, tlianks mostly to the agreeable 'v-dice- of Sydney's. The last named and Miss Lang did a fair singing specialty, even if they did go a long way back for their numbers, such as the wop humber "Lackawan." Number of blackouts have little punch, but cleaner than the familiar bits in burlesque. The last is an exception, with Fields luring one of the.girls.to a bed room fol- one of those dressing and undressing things, ending with a dive into bed, Whole show looks as though it may be under wraps on the spice, and that goes likewise for the run- way bits this week. Girls are. all doing Charleston routines out over the seats, and the wiggle stuff seems to be out. Maybe there's, a reason. Anyhow, they are going easier this week. Push. Cooper's Sale and Buy Jimmle Cooper, the producer of the black and whites on the burlesque wheels for some years, now has "Zeppelin," the legit play at the National, New York. It has a rtxlld chance of landing.. The piece was first called "One Mile Up." To produce "Zeppelin." Cooper is said to' have sold a one-third interest in "CoUr,- age,". current Broadway hit that probably will live out the refit of the season in its pres- ent sjtand. :VCourage" ; is re-; puted-: not to be making less than $5,000 weekly; liou Cantor produced"Cour- age," with Cooper^ buying his one-third from Cantor. Cooper is reported to have secured a good figure for the "Courage'* piece, purchased by a New York theatrical agent, who sold parts of the third tP others. . Bashful Beaut Winners CHRISTNER GIVES GOB Balk at Strip-Runway BUSY NITE AT GARDEN Stock burlesque was restored this I week to the Liberty, Brooklyn. "Belles of Brownsville" inaugu rated- the change. The regular ruhWay grinders are augmented by local candidates for placements in the regular ensemble with the. ad- dltionals picked from 'winners in a voting contest held by the Browns- 1 vlUe News. ■ Some of the successful candidates I balked , pn the semi-strip costuming outfltis, claiming the display would be okay in some spots but not this one. The neighbor's children might crowd in for a look at the gams and I other synimetricals of the voluntary runwayers, which made it an out for the bashful winners. Sharkey Gets Decision^ but New Heavy Is Real Battler-- Bad Semi-Final Mutual May "BlackKst" Waltzing Choristers Mutual wheel is checking up on chorister dropouts from wheel shows/. It may establish a "black- list" for choristers feigning illness and enforced retirement but located later in stocks or elsewhere. The dropput percentage .recently has awakened Mutual efflcials to the -idea that nipst vamping eJc- cusea are phoney and the gals are working the "home defender" racket aloiig same fa-shlon aa had been prevalent for several seasons on the former Columbia wheel. From inside reports, chorister re- placements are tougher to make than those of principals. They gen- erally cripple a show for weeks un-; til new candidates for the vacant jobs can be rehearsed. Burlesque R<rates St. Petersburg Dogs Due To Start Romping Jan. 31 St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan. 29. After being closed for a year, dog- racing will again get under waj' here Jan. 31 when the St. Peters- burg .Kennel Club opens its track. Four hundred dogs have been as- sembled.' Pari-niutuel machines, closed a year ago by the governor,; will. be the only form of betting. Opening of the track is a, distinct victory I for the hotel men on the west coast I with St. Petersburg the second to-wn in the state'.to defy the law which the hotel claims is not legal. It is expected that riiinisters and others not In favor of the races will try to prevent the opening Stock as Last Resort stock burlesque goes in again at the Myrtle, Brooklyn, Feb. 4, with company installed by Abe Barkas. I. House previously tried tab stock burlesque, but dropped it for va;ud': film several weeks ago. Now they are passing up vaudfilm through being. unable to stand all around opposish of Fox's, Ridgewpod, and I Keith's Madison. . TAB IN FLORIDA > St. Petersburg:, Fla., Jan. 29. Jimmy Evanston's musical tab leaves the Rich, Chanibersburg, West Va., toT a lengthy engage ment at the Plaza here. Evanyton replaces the Plaza Players here six weeks. Harry Jones, who h.is the Plaza under lease, has booked the com pany for a run to extend until May L. Company will liavc 32 people. LAHR'S NEW CONTRACT Bert Lahr whp clicked in "Hold Everything" signed for another two ^'ears - with =-AuPohs--=and=-^ who produced, the show. Getting a grand now. Next year it will bo $1,500 a week and after that $1,750. Stock Bur. in N. O. Chicago, Jan. 29. Palace in Now Orloans, leased by Harry Rogers of Chicago, will try stock burlesque In another efEort to find profit. Musical comedy slock flopped. Week* of Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 Bare FacU-Qayety, Mllwa.uke«: 4,. Efnr- pres3. Chicago. _ . „ , » Beat Show In Town-Estate, Sprln«neia, 4. Grand, Hartford. ... Bohemlana—Plaza, Worcester; 4, Statt, Sprlnsneld. „ '. „. - . Bowery Burleaquer*-Cryatal, St. Joe; 4, Gayety, Milwaukee. ^ ■ . Burleflque Review—Orpheum, Patewoa; «, Hudson. Union City. / Chicken Trust—Gayety, Boston; 4, Plasa, Worcester. . _ , Dainty. Dolls-JMaJestlO, Albany; 4, Ctflo- nlal, Utlca. . ' , ,„ . Dimpled I>arllngB—aayety, liOutsTllle; 4. Mutual, Indianapolis. . ^ ■ ; Dixon's Big Review—Temple, Syracuse: 4-9 Genev.a; 7-0, SchenecUdy.^ .. Flapper Follies—Trocadero, Tlilladclplila; 4, Gayety, Baltimore. , . . French Models—Gayety, Montreal; 4, 'Ho'vard, Bocton. . ' Frivolities—U O.; 4, Trocadero, Philadel- phia. Ginger Glr!s-II. ft S. AnffUo, N. T. C; 4, L. O. Girls from Happyland—(Columbia, Cleve- land; 4, li. O. „ , Girls from the Follle*—Lyceum, Colum- bus; 4, Lyric, Dayton. Glrla In Blue—Gaiety, Scranton; 4, Gaiety, WUkes-Barre. Girls of the IT. 9. A,—Cadillac, Detroit; 4. Empire, Toledo. ' . . ' ^ Hello Paree—Colonial, Utlca; 4, Gayety. Montreal. ' High Flycr»-L, O.; 4, Grand, Akron. Hindu Bellea-Galety. Wllkes-Barre; 4-8. Lyric. Allentown. 7-©, Palace, Trenton. Jazztlme Revue-<}ayety, Baltlniore; 4, Strand. Washington. KuddUng JCutles-Empress, Chlcaifo; .4, Caarilacr' Detroit.^; — -~ Laflln' Thru—Lyric, Bridgeport; 4, H. ft ■S. Apollo.- N. T. C. . . ■ ' Merry Whirl—Emplr^ Newark; 4, Star, .Erooklyln. Mischief Makers—GarrlCk, flt. Louis; 4, Gayety. Kansas City. Moonlight Maids—Star, Brooklyn; 4, Or- pheum. Paterson. . Moulin Rouge Glrls-Gayety,. Buffalo; 4, Temple, 'Syracuse.. .;. Naughty Nlftles-Oayety, Brooklyn; 4, ■Gnlety, Scranton. • Nlte Club Glrla—Gayety, Kansas City; 4, Crystal, St. Joe. Nlte Lite In Paris—Empire, Providence: 4,' Gayety, Boston. Parisian Flo/ppcra—Empress, Cincinnati; 4, Gayoty, Louisville. . Puss Puss—Grand, Hartford: 4, L. O. Radium Queens—Hudson, Union City; 4^ Irving PI., N. T. C. Record Breakers—Mutual,■: Indianapolis; 4, Garrick, St. Louis, •Red Hots—Irving PL, N. Y. C; 4, Em- pire, Providence. Itjund the "iowh—Grand, Akron; 4, Gay- ety, Buffalo. Social Maids—Empire, Toledo; 4, Colum- [ bla, Cleveland. SpeeJ Girls—L. O.; 4, Lyric. Bridgeport, Sporty Wldo-we—Columbia, N, Y. <!.; 4, Gayety, Brooklyn; Step Along—Lyric, Dayton; 4, Empre«», Clnolnnall. —SteTr'=-Llvcly^ Glrl3-'28*80,~LyTlc,^Allen-= town; .31-2, Palace, Trenton; 4, Empire, NowHPk. Siep On It—Howard, Boston; 4, Columbia, N. Y. C. Stolen Bwcct.i—Academy, PlttErt>urgli; 4, ■ Lyceum, Colunibua. Sugor Dablca—28-30. Geneva; Sl-Fob. 2, Soheniectady; 4, Majestic, Albany. Wine, Woman and Song—Strand, Wash- ington; 4, <Acailomy, IMttsburgh. Burlesque Changes .Tohnny Goodman replaced OeOrge ^?olton in "Nite Llfo in Paris," Mutual wheel show, leist week. BUY THISTIEDOWN TRACK Cleveland, Jan. 29 ' Thistledown race track, in the hands pf receivers fpr four montlia, has been sold to H. F. Neighbors and H. X,. Allshouse by a private deal, instead of a public auction as originally scheduled. No price nam- ed but it is Icnown tnat fees for attorneys and receivers reached $41,000. It is believed the buyers! are agents for sporting interests who plan to place the track oh a work- ing basis. It has been closed since' 1925. DIVERSEY GOES DARK Chicago, Jan. 29. With Jones, L-inlck & Schaefer pulling out of the Diversey, house definitely goes dark this week. Several prospective negotiators for the house but no deals were made. AMERICANS ABROAD Paris, Jan. 16 In Paris: Carol Robinson (plan ist)7^TiawTenceTBom Mary McCormlc, Martin Beck, Thos R. Zbarra, writer; Sydney C. Ana diell, Roy A. Mack, Edwin Schnei der (pianist), Ffed N. Merlinger, Louis GrUenberg, A. L, Erlanger . Opal Oakley Retires Opal Oakley closed with "The Bohemians" last week, Dolly Lewis replacing. Miss Oakley has temporarily re- tired from show business at bequest |pf her newly acquired husband, non professional. FoK Trims Chaplin on Court Los Angeles, Jan. 29. Fox studios defeated tiie. Chaplin studios at basketball last week by score of 46 to 28. By JACK PULASKI Before another capacity crowd at the Garden, last Friday, they in- . troduced K. O. Christner, of Akron, . . O., to the New York fans and he made gciod by going 10 rounds with Jack Sharkey, who copped a point, decision. . The raspberry • sounded after the award, which seemed about right,'though tlierc were many . who disagreed and wanted a draw. Perhaps a percentage of that mob were pii the short end of tiie fiye-to.- one betting. ' . No disputing that Sharkey had a bu^y evening. At tinies he wa;s worried, but he certainly is a better . boxer and appareintly a harder hit- ter than Christner. . Fans had in mind the $100,000 purse Jack is to . get for meeting Young Strlbling In Miariii next month and booed, think- . ing the judges favored the gpb. About Christner. He is 34 and getting bald. Worked in a rubber factory and played nights in the • beer spots and speaks. ; Got in many an argument in the joints and alwaiys knocked . but his man. So they put him in the ring about a year and a half ago. Suddenly he sprang into the limelight by knock- • ing Knute Hansen cold, arid the Scandinavian is no pushover. The feat earned him a fight here arid they picked the toughest bird they could .find in Sharlcey. Had Christ- ner started lighting 10 years ago.he riiight have been a champion now. People from his part of the land didn't figure Chris could do much boxing, just a tough riian. He sur- prised the customers, also the coclc- sure Sharkey. He started mussing up the talkative one right off, slariiming hirri to the map at close quarters. Crowd got excited,: but the ririgside figured it was just a matter of time when Jackie would stiffen the invader. Christner's Edge But the first half of the scrap was certainly in favor of. the Swede. In the fifth round he had the customers on the seat edge with a furious at- tack. Somehow the many shots at. Shai-key's jaw did not do much damage. Perhaps the blows landed too high. . Once pr twice, however, Sharkey's knees sagged. That an- noyed the Bostonian and he began to wade in. The sixth round saw the turn. Jack connected with'both hands. An uppercut landed flush on Christner's chin. Chris rushed - into a clinch and his corner. After the ijiell iiis liandlers let him sniff . the anionia. Balance of the fight was nearly as exciting. Christner had be.eri slowed up, 3'et he came out of the final three minutes quite fresh. He has a way of feinting with both hands and when the right shoots- out it goes like, a dart. That is why Sharkey coyldn't duck 'em.. Both men . were in the pink at .193 pounds. Many socks to the body really earned the edge for Jack. He probably figured Chris' age. Chris did squawk plenty and the referee kept-jawing at Sharkey. All referees seem to. pick on that egg. Christner ftias color and is in for real coin. Semi-final was ' terrible;. Jack Gross, the only living southpaw heavy, was rnatclied against Bm- mett Bocco, 182 pound Italian. .Gross is a Boo Boo Hoff product arid his shbwing was riot the McCoy. Pact is the crowd yelled to throw 'em out. Gross shoiild have won by a mile,, but he just did manage to get the decision. A lazy guy. . First lO-rounder had a frail welter In Billy Murphy,; of Lowell, against Canada Lee, clever colored boy. Murph is. a left-hander and showed considerable skill in picking his spots. ■ He dazed Lee several times, but the brown skin was too strong for Murphy, who tired badly at the close. Gave the match to MUrphy. as. the crowd booed. M'l g hter^.: as^Gan gster. Los Angeles, Jan. 29, Bob Roper, former prizefighter, has been cast for a gangster part in Universal's production of "Broadway." MARYLAND'S BETTING Supporting Edward Everett Horr ton in "The Eligible Mr. Bangs," produced by S. B. Brennocks for Kducvational, are Johnny Arthur, Florence Eldridge and Mabel For- rest. Short talker directed by Hugh Faulcon. Baltimore, Jan. 29. Wag6rs at the four major Mary- land tracks amounted to $C4,680,165 I last year, according to the annual, report of the State Racing Com- mission. This la despite the rainy season at Havre de Grace which I resulted in a deficit at that track, PImlioo leads the list, pari-niu- tucl.s at tha.t track receiving 17.- 8.'>2,r.03 during the. 27 day so.'^.'^io^n. nowi(» Wixs second with over $1"',- I OOO.OOO.