Variety (Mar 1929)

Wednesday, March 27, 1929 TIMES SQUARE VARIETY 47 Stories by Jack Conway in Variety of September Just Careful Since local raids on spedlts, wholesale prices on good liquor have Jumped from $10 to $20 a case. A tour of some of the most respectable Times Square survivors reveals that the re- tail increase on Individual drinks -will not be raised until the overhead reaches $60 over prevailing prices. Extra precautions since' the Jones law are being taken by practically all owners. Habit- ues of locked Joints have swarmed by the hundreds to those places formerly passed, by. Rules now call for a patron In good startdlng per- sonally vouching for new cus- tom, rs. From 1920, onward, Jack Conway wrote a series of stories appearing i» Variety. Mostly the stories dealt with baseball and prize fights, 'i-verfl and pugs. This series will be reprinted weekly. Each story fames original head. Story below appeared - " • • ' - • ■ ' B4, 1920. _____ t ■ CON'S nELDER MAKES HIS HOT MEAT SURE If stage Career Fails,, There's Millinery Akron, Sept. 20. . T>ear Chick:— Now that the season Is wlndln ■Bi all my wolves are Hgurin how they are goin to hit in the Hot Meat league over'the winter and It's a (crSftin to hear some of their jlflllB.. Cuth- } liert, my star , fly tahiler. Is . gpln to do an act In vaude- Tille with the guy i grabbed from the Bloomer girls :; and tiiey are ' : busy right ' BOW rehearsln I It . . [ •The Other u jpiy'a name is [. jit;y Md he i'taii to be' ;a chorus man . csrryln a shovel in one of the ' fibiibert shows. He claims that he only got 18.fish a week for his bit in'those days, but that the graft baft become so soft now since the tMch was ruled off that he and iCiJthbert ought to clean up plenty of Jack this winter. 1 asked him how lie lived on 18 and he said that he made hats for the girls in the troupe and also designed costumes «h the side which helped out the .bank roll. Cuthbert is also there with the needle.iand thread so between them fbei^are a pretty versatile pair and if;.ue' act does a nose dive these f birds will proiiably change the rou- l/UBfi .and open, up a millinery shop I- or.take a shot at some other nian- T nai;labor that will keep JnUe AVoldf {'. from' the dtKir. j; The' Miner Is behavln himself '. thete days'.and Is dreamln about i' huntin all winter. That's about all I; he' does; In the winter he hunts i aiid eats and In the summer their I alnt no huntin. I told him to try i and' hbnt a new arm for next sea- KsoTi'-'and also advised him to try I'and prowl on some grave yard for a fresh souper. He hasn't won a game since those broads left. He t^nd Algy don't speak and I ; guess the Miner thinks the world has gone cukoo with two female ' Impersonators playln on the same ball club with him. However he'll have something to tell the hay shakers arotind the old stove in the Tillage grocery this winter and he will probably vote the Republican f ticket because the Demorcats in ' Tennessee ratified suffrage. At any rate he has put his lamp hat in camphor and swears he will never follow a mule or wield a pick again for he is IVioculated with the •oft life of the ball gamer. When they first tried to get him away Irom the anthracite district they liad to rope Ijjid tie him to get a pair of shoes on his feet and he thought a guy who wore a collar *nd. tie was daity. Now he's a reg- Jlap dude. The other day I caught him tearin up some photos he had took when he first got a suit of »eady made clothes. He had a two- Ballon egg on that looked as though It was full of rabbits, pigeons and » million other things and the suit -Tesembled Joe Jackson's workih outfit, _ I guess the best we can hope for » to close the first half in this •Ight club league, but better luck »ext season. Tour old partner In crime. Con. Out About $1,000 ^«'«c"ve Roger Mcchan, 'West 47th street station. Is hunting Mwnsliops and receivers' Joints for * hracelet, watch and brooch, vaJ- «ed at more than $1,000, lost by J^earl D'Orell, actress, of Brooklyn. «eehan expressed little hope of re- JEOverir^ the pro perty. 11, -Sf ^"^^""wm' rehearilni'^f .^^'■'a'lBer warehouse when she nired a cab. After alighting from "ift^taxl she recalled she left her handbag containing the Jewels In '«« ^ ^'^"'t t^lte the cab's "umuer, aJthough remembering the n^akc Miss D'Orell has offered a •wable reward. 5 TRAINED FLEAS ESCAPE Pet Monl<ey Also Saved In 42nd Street Fire Reporters and actors wept when they learned that "Jocko," a young monkey In McGurk's restaurant on the fifth floor of the Murray Apai't- ments, 228 West 42nd street, which was menaced by a serious fire Sun- day afternoon, was missing. "Jpc- ko," a playful companion 6f many of the bojs oft the "Big Stem," dis- appeared during the fire that did damage at least $100,000. Monkey is- the property of Miss Jean 'West, formerly of the "Dagger and Rose." McGurk cared for "Jocko" while she rehearsed. When the fire began In an overhanging celling on the top floor from an un- determined origin all fled,- leaving "Jocko" behind. ''" McGurk and others, Including Miss West, made the street by stairway. Walter Brown, colored elevator boy, made at least six trips In tiie lift taking down roomer.i, mostly show people. Miss West pleaded with firemen and cops to save "Jocko." Joe Poster, a tenant, returned to the building by a rear fire escape and found "Jocko" secreted in a box in McGurk's. Reporters and actors ceased weeping. Burning building is sandwiched in between the Sam Harris and the Liberty theatres. For a time it was feared that perhaps the blaze might spread to these structures. On the ground fiqor are many stores, including Huber's Museum. Half a dozen freaks fled during the course of the fire.- "Susie, the elephant skinned girl," "Sealo," the Seal Boy. The half-man and half- woman and the trained fleas all got out safely. Billy Flynn, in charge of the trained fleas, placed them in a grip and carried them to safety. Fleas are owned by Prof. Hecker. Waiter Absolved Freed on the chnrgp of impairing the morals of a minor, Albert Mann, 39, a waiter, was discharged by Magistrate McAndrews in West Side Court. He was arrested with Mary Dallas, 13, schoolgirl. Miss Dallas disappeared from her home almost two months ago. An alarm had been sent out for her by the police. When she left home, Miss Dallas took some money be- longing to an uncle and had been living near West 100th street. Patrolman Dan Sheehy, West 100th Street station, saw Mann and the Dallas girl about to enter the Keystone picture theatre on Broad- way. Sheehy questioned the girl and she admitted her Identity. Mann stated he had never met the girl, .before. His story was borne out by an Investigation. 'Vincent PIsarra, superintendent of the Children's Society, took charge of Miss Dallas. She will have a hearing in the Children's Court. Reform Scout Grabbed On Bribery''Charges Xcwburgh, N. T., March 20. Louis Nlsco, former Investigator for the New Tork State Civic Ivoague and known to..many ehow- meh, under detention here,, is charge,d with attempt to shake down a local restaurant proprietor for $400 to "fix" a warrant Nisco had been engaged by law enforce- ment ofllclals of Orange County to make a t>rlvate inquiry Into vice and bootlegging and had been at work for a time, when Sheriff John D. McCoach and District Attorney nimer Lemon got a tip that Nlsco had agreed to "fix" a warrant for Albert Maresco, Newburgh restaurateur. Police laid In wait for Nisco and say they collared him as ^he money changed hands, the bills being marked. Chatter in Chi Yvonne Sauniers Freed Yvonn e Sauniers, 21, show girl, received ?i suapended-'sentence—by- tho Justices of Spe^al Sessions after pleadhig guilty to shoplifting. Girl was arrested March 21 after taking a coat worth $79 from a rack in Gimbels' store and attempting to leave without paying for it. It being her first offense the JostIce.<i were lenient with her. Inaccurate Biographies VIRGINIA DALE Hello, Miss Dale. And how are you this bright and sloppy morn ing? Tick, tick. We're from Variety. Tou know— '^'■a^Iety. Tho hell you don't. VARIETY! V, like In horse. Veah. No, we don't want no passes. The Shuberts are throwing them at us so fast we're tising them for book marks. Sure, we got a book. "The Life and' Squawks of Jack Pulaski," by Larry Boyd. Pulaski? He's the kind of Variety reporter that shows you his muscles five minutes after you're Introduced. You'd love him. If you go for broccoli and spinach. He writes under name of It>ee. fiat's taken from a nickname—Ibee Nuts. AVhat we wanted to ask you, though,' was for a few facts on yourself. Nothing personal—this rag goes to film exhibitors. About where you were born, and why you did what you did. If you don't feel like telling, we can make It up without even straining a vitamin. We'll say you came from fine southern parents, and sold your first short story to Red Book while sCIll in the Academy for Lacka- daisical Girls. Then came the cot- ton slump and you rushed to Chi- cago rather than see the old home- stead sold to Fox. While walking around the Loop you happened to pick up a copy of the Chicago Journal and saw a dl'ama review in it signed by Vir- ginia Dale. ' Realizing that you were none other than Miss Dale, you rushed over to the Journal and demanded how come. Then you found t they had dlscov^ed some notes you made on the back of a i>eanut bag while resting your dogs in a downtown nickelodeon. Inasmuch as they thought the notes were a review of "Abie's Irish Rose," there was no use tell- ing them the truth—that you were simply Jotting down your reactions to Welsh rarebit. Then came the war, and you were stlU on the Journal. The war ended after sev- eral years, but It didn't make any difference to you. That's the way lUe is. Miss Dale. We eat, sleep, love and flght. We love to eat and we fight to sleep. Or- we flght to eat and l.«ve to sleep. Or we love to fight and eat crackers In bed. "Then we can't sleep. On the Square Policy Slips fanned by Cops. Grand Central station's suitcase hiKgevs have' loiit; been con.«i.«itent buyers ..of policy slips, »«| Slip runner.K riitcd the "red caps" as their best source. Cops recently swooped down on the Negro bogg.ige totcrs and raided all those engaged in the distribution of the .slips. That Invasion by the cops cut plenty expensive for the slip runners. One runner alone nmdo something like $2,000 daily collections which paid him about $40 commish on the placements. It is common talk among Harlem Negroes that Caspar Holsteln, the acknowledged King of policy men, lias done on an average of $5,000 a day biz on the slips. Building at 241 West 42d, which has been Juggled around by specu- lators for years, and Is now owned by the Uris Realty Corporation, Is shortly to be raised and a hotel built on the site. Formerly plans had been made to erect a theatre. Rubber in Florida With nil the talk about Edison and his activities toward developing crude rubber in this country, it is recalled that the Miller Brothers (101 Ranch) bought thousand of acres in Florida abut four years ago. It is now believed that the Millers had and have the same thought In mind for this territory, rubber. What Chaliapin Thought Dailies reported the disturbance at a Chaliapin concert In Brussels when a Socialist Minister of the country refused to stand up as the King of the Belgians arrived and the national anthem was played. To qulet^the tumult, Chaliapin was hurried onto the stage. With bis re- tirement the outbreak restarted with the big audience voicing Its opinion of the Minister who had remained in his box. Thfs continued for 30 minutes.. Chaliapin, unaware, of the cause, and remaining back stage to listen,' said to his managers:' "This Is the most splendid reception I have ever received." Ted Lewis' Solo, Race During the Friars stay In Miami one of the laugh incidents was a snp^ posed swlnimlng contest between Ted Lewis ahd Harry Rosenthal, both then conducting at. local night clubs. Race 'was announced at the Roman pools, both posing for the start. Lewis plunged In not knowing that Rosenthal can|t swim. With that long hair covering his eyes, Ted wasn't wise he was going tt alone untU' half the length of the pool. Fast Trains Change Twentieth Century and the Broadway Limited will operate on 'idayllght saving time this summer, an Innovation for these trains. Announcement came follow- ing a poll of passengers. Time of departure simply moves ahead one hour. Daylight saving starts >n New York night of Aprl,l 27, Chase Musicians No longer do picture house mu- sicians make the 43d street side of the Paramount theatre a daily lounging place. Manager B. T. Leader made a personal appeal to the local union heads, who In turn requested the men not to continue the street loafing. Complaints were made by the public to the Par theatre direct. Chicago Comedy Club will give a clown night to Jack Osterman April 8. It will take place In the club roofns. Previous arrangement to hold the affair in the Terrace Gardens has been called off. These radio fan doctors. One of them, applying 'his stethoscope to the chest of a half-croaked patient, fliply observed: "Guy Lombardo coming in fine." Much'anticipated~Jal..AIai-c0]xt£SL be'tween Benny Meroff ahd Fred Waring wound up with 'Waring' the victor. Pretty close, with both boys showing good form. Meroff still thinks he was framed. Pleasure. Inn has. become one qf this town's chief spots of Interest for those who don't .care what. Right In the black belt; IS minutes in the place would make Jack Pu- laski talk with a lisp. ■ James H. Pleasure Is prop, and mgr. Now m. c.'ing for B. & K. at the Oriental, Jack Osterman was ap- proached by a representative of the competing Marks Bros, to see if he would consider a contract. "Certalply," Osterman said. "See if you can arrange with Balaban & Kat? to me double." Sometimes it's funny what differ- ent things a guy can do and still stay In his regular profession. For Instance: Charlie " Blake Is a press agent. All the boys knew him when he was hurling adjectives for the Shuberts.. He's still a press agent, but now for his dad. Blake, Sr., is one of the biggest toTAbstone makers In the cemetery racket. On second thought, this doesn't seem so funny. Speaking of showmanship, one rich old gent ha«i an economical yet effectual manner of exploitinpr himself as he enters his favorite rendezvous. Before entering he changes a sawhuck Into quarters and as he checks his ooat and hat, throws the coins to the celling for all the checkroom girls, waiters and other menials to scramble. Even the head waiter has been observed •slyly picklnff up two-bit pieces, of cour.ie with dipnity. Theatre Flirt Held Ralph Carman, 27, a railroad guard, pleaded guilty In West Side Court to annoying Alice Fallatlk, of College Point, in the Paramount theatre. . Girl said she had Just taEen hef" seat when Carman brushed against her and a few minxites later, she said, hie grasped her. Sho sum- moned an usher. Carman was roninnrted to West Sid© Jail to await a probation of- ficer's^ report ^s to. hl.i oh.t.ract^r,. Absent-Miiided Chump Forgets Who Took Hfan with long criminal records,, ao- cordlng to .police. Magistrate Far- rell in West Side' C.otirt freed men* charged .with swindling * painter out of $1|966 in a phoney card game. -iThe defendants were also charged wlth possesslng alleged drugs. White capsules, together with bypodenliic needles, were found In a closet; in the 'rooln in -whlob^ the men were arrested. - T^ey were discharge,d Ojn. this complaint - alsff. I The' men .gave."their neimee .as Joseph Qiiiri,. 34, 62;0 West 'llllb street; J^ea,,Roberts, 48v',120 72ndi streiat, ,and William^ ,']l!iraiterat. 33. of 620 West 112th street. George Mench, 61 Wlllet street, Ja the paii^ter wtiq, wajj.. "Xetk&a." He^, had been invited,' he sold, to tKe'' Colonial Hotelk- 81st. street, a^ ,Cp;<... lumbus avenue, Jioy. 28 . 1928. • He played a ediort ahd'lost,'! He thought' marked cards w^.re used, but he'.' could not identify the defendants Films Not Indecent A charge of exhibiting indecent motion picture fllmsviwaa dlsmisBed'- against Samuel Brown, ZB, adver- tising agent of 729 Seventh' ave- nue, and Allen Specter,' 83, clerii, aiter trial in Special SesslOnd.' Two inen were ^arrested by. ot- tifera o,t .the Thi^d , Division who claimed they had .hired two films alter viewing them in Brown's of- fice on December 16. Justices de> elded the'evidence against the de- fendants was InsutBclent and ao- quitted them. Gats Cost Actors $25 James Love, 34, claiming to be ah actor, was fined $26 by the Jus- tices of Special Sessions for un- lawfully possessing a revolver. He was arrested Feb. 10' in hia home by Policeman Andrew Sternweiss of the West 12Sth street station. Offi- cer found the gun, which was un- loaded in a dresser drawer. Love said a friend had given him the revolver while they were on the road. John Reid, 40, another 'actor was also fined $26 by the Justices for the same, offense. A gun was found in his room by officers on Feb. 28. He told the Judges he bad picked up tlie weapon in the street anc^ did not know how to dispose of It' without getting Into trouble. Chic Endor'at Lido ■ dhicTniaof''fctTifBff-ttrth^einlr'- Lldo, New York, Friday night after 10 weeks at the Club Lido, Miami Beach. , ■ Beatrice Llllie, English comme-:' dltinno, now at the Lido leaves td go on tour with This Year of' Grace." ■