Variety (May 1929)

86 VARIETY L E G I T 1 MATE Wednesday, May 1, 1929 Play on Coast Opens with Equi^ Members After Equity Wanung Lo9 Angeles, Apr'^ 30. "Illegitimate," written b> Hunter Keasey, also known as Keyes, opened after a four-day postpone- ment at the Eean April 24. Instruc- tions hail been given by. Charles illller, ISr^alty deputy, that members of Eqult^y were not,permitted to ap- pear, as Keasey hod been suspended In New York because of failure to beep an aerreement to pay - claims filed against him, supposedly settled last Octobr. William Oakley, Frank Kelton and George Belden, all Equity mem- bers, appeared in the cast, despite that Rollo Dlx and Byron Hawkins, cast, pulled out upon Ekiulty In- structions. Belden had only re- cently joined Equity and had bought a tSQO interest in the play, signing bla contract before he became a member. It Is understood he Is to withdraw at the end of two weeks. Charges, it is said, will be preferred against the other two men. The play Is running on a very light salary list, featuring Wanda Hawley, with business also light. Wall SL Dongh Belund Coast LegH Venture George Holland, press agent and newspaperman, plans entering the Coast theatrical field with Dick La- Marr of the Max Hart office. Pro- posed new firm will be bankrolled by Robert I/ee Harrison, said to be a wealthy Wall Streeter. Liatter has taken offices on 42nd street, but ^ Holland and LaMarr expect to es- tabllsh headquarters in Los Angeles. General idea is the presentation out there of Broadway successes. Western showmen have specialized tn that field since New York pro ' ducers for the most part eliminated these stands from tours. Holland was press agent for Sam Harris and last season- acted similarly tor Ar- thur HammerstelE Lately he has been with Eddie Dowling's office, LaMarr is said to have played with the Boston Red Sox until injuries forced him oft the diamond. "Interlude" Rerouted to Eliminate Split Weeks Los Angeles, April 30. The New York Theatre Guild, due to the contract of Judith Anderson, star of "Strange Interlude," had to cancel a number of split-week dates In Texas and Arizona. Star's agree- ment specifies that she play only week stands. Miss Anderson re- placed Pauline Lord in the cast here. She claimed that her work was too strenuous to permit playing anything less than a week's staridj as she could not rest aboard trains. The company was to have played' El Paso, Texas; Tucson and Phoe- niz, Arizona, and several other dpot? before going to San Francisco. Miss Anderson iftnally agreed to play Saiita Barbara and .San Diego toi three days each. This brought about the rerouting of the show, which closed at the BUtmore last weel^ and takes it to Santa Barbara'and- San Diego this week. With two more' weeks of open tlmie, it wai decided to book It iiito the Holly- wood Music Box for that periods starting May 6. A0 a result, O. D. Woodward, who is operating the house, - has cancelled "Dracula," which was to have followed "The High Road." Latter continues for a third week^ "Strange Interlude" will play a $4 top at the Muislc Box, which selits around 1,000, and is on a straight 76 per cent, of the gross. It has just completed eight weeks at the BUt- more, with the final two weeks ]^or. Cast Changes Gladys Baxter, prima donna, has left "Music in May" and has been replaced by Charlotte Woodruff, Miss Baxter will have an operation on her nose and will then go to Eng, land. Olive Jarbeau, "Floretta." Charlotte Woodruff succeeds Gladys Baxter, "Music in May." Joan Blaine replaces Marie Adels, 'Mystery Square." John Dunn succeeds Percy War, am, "The Camel Through the Needle's Eye." Mr. Waram entered the cast at the Itist moment, follow Ing the death of Albert Brunlng. John Cumberland is now with -"My Girl Friday. Alice Weaver has been replaced by Marlon Lee. Miss Weaver withdrew to fill a picture engagement. Dolores Ray, having completed her first picture at Excellent Stu dios, "Talk of Hollywood," joined "Spring Is Here" Monday. Florence Maaon replaces Mary Forbes in "The Hottentot." at the Majestic, L. A. in Engagements Tom Morgan, "Black Crook." McCarthy Sisters, "A Night Venice." Mildred Mitchell, "South o( Slam Marlon Lee, "My Girl Friday." Evelyn Herbert (re-engagement for next season), "New Moon." Albert Carroll, Dorothy Sands, Paula Trueman, Marc Lobell, Junius Matthews, James Gagney, George Geller, John Rynne, Blaine Corder, Mae Noble, Kathleen KIdd, Edla Frankau, "Grand St Follies." Three l^ws Out A great success and two flops coMstltute -Broadway's current clos- ing list; 'Show • Boat," presented by Flo Zlegfeld at -the Zlegteldi,. leaves, for Boston at the end of the 71st con- secutive weeic It played to remark- able grosses, getting T?eU'over $52,- 000 for many weeks and higher during, holiday tlmea- Only during sumnier did,the pace materially fail during the first season. Pace re- cently around 133,000. Claimed to have. stayed longer and played to bigger business than any show the producer ever had. DANA HAYES CLOSED Theatre Owners Shut Down on Pas- adena Stock Account Unpaid flent Los Angeles, April 30. Dana Hayes' dramatic stock closed suddenly at the Raymond, Pasadena, when sherlll. stepped in on behalf of Fox West Coast The- atres because of unpaid rent. Hayes, who had bought out the Charles King company but a few weeks before, previously notified the theatre company of bis inability to pay rent at the time and asked for an additional week, figuring the business would prove profitable, This the theatre people were not Inclined to granti Hayes owes his actors one week's salary, plus an additional week, to be demanded in lieu of notice. Indebtedness will run around )2,000, in addition to rent due Fox, CHABGES A6AINSI SCHOOL Chicago, April 30. Charging that Charles and Flor, ence Hlnton, who conduct a dancing school on tiie north side, accepted tuition fees from them with prom Ises that they would be placed in big legit musicals, three girl stu dents last week caused the pair to appear before Judge Hayes Tuesday and the case was continued to May 7. 'The three' girls contend that their reason for entering the Hlh ton school was mainly to get bene fit of the piomlse of work. ONE WEEK FOB "MABBT" "Marry the Man," starring Vivian Martin, lasted one week at the Ful ton. New York. Equity paid off the company with the bond posted by Clyde Elliott, Show originally called "The Com panlonate Marriage" and produced In Chicago last season. HEW BUBBAITE CAST Los Angeles, April 30. Entire new cast opening Burbank theatre (stock) May B. Lineup in- cludes Charles Fritcher, Harry Le- Van, Jimmy Francis, Bobby Lebh- —grd;"CUrl9'MaBtni','~June^Rhoads"and- Jane Hazleton. Frank Johnson, now subbing ^for Dalton. and Webb, and managing both Burbank and Follies, will be retained as publicity manager fov Burbank. "Annie" Cloaing . Los Angeles, April 30. After five turbulent weeks at the Mayan 'XJttle Orchid Annie" doses four days ahead of time on May 6. CIONIGEB TBIES AGAIN Los Angeles, April 30. William Cloniger, actor-producer, has taken lease of the Playhouse, Glendale. He will open with dm matlc stock, weekly change policy May 14. Cloniger recently had a. dlsas trous and short season of stock at the Windsor Square on Wllahlre boulevard. ——-Reviving -"Lincoln".-.,—^, "Abraham Lincoln" is to be re vlved by William Harris, Jr. The play by John Drinkwater, English playwright, attracted attention sey era! years ago. Drlnkwater's presence ' here for the showing of his "Bird In Hand stimulated the Idea of reviving the show. Frank McGlynn, who played the original lead, will return to the role. De Luxe Recruit Flo Zlegfeld strolled Into danolng studio the other day and observed a girl who dis- played extraordinary ability on her toes. He asked her to do a few extra turns for him. and Invited her to dance in "Show Girl," his next produc- tion.. The girl s^ld she'd have to ask her father tor permission. Inquiring of the danclAg itias- ter Zleggy learned she Is Louise Peck, whose, father is the ' DiuTti-miillonalre Wall 'street broker. Louise recently returned from a crulsiB around' the world, visiting Russia, Egypt and . other . far away picices. SHOW BOAT Opened Dec. 27, 1027. Late Alan Dale (American) wrote: "-'Shew .Boat' Is going to have a wonderful sail, no storms« no adverse, winds, nothing to pre- vent it from making pert, good- ness knows-when. I don't." . Variety (Abel) said: "A le- viathan of a show, meaty and gripping, tops anything ever done i»efere by ZiegYelcl." Sest Furnishes Bond To Restffe the Hip The bustle of preparation to ready the Hippodrome . for the Frelbiirg Passion Play," came to a sudden but temporary halt last Thursday morning. Morris Gest . had been callied upon- to furnish a bond i>y Keith's guaranteeing turning back the Hip in the same condition he found, it. . When the bond had not been pro- vided at the promised time the lights were turned off and carpen- ters, mural artists and .painters werie forced to quit. Though the bond was deposited in the afternoon, the men did; not return to work until Friday. The ^all 'panels have been dec- Orated with religious pictures, as Is the proscenium top. The arch has been' mode. to represent stone construction, also the foyer and entire- lobby. The churchly at- mosphere is carrked out to the en- trance doors, which are painted to look like leaded glass windows with religious characters. Outside the signs read: "Morris Gest's Hippodrome." He has rented the house for 10 weeks. i)esplte a wealth of publicity the advance sale was away under ex- pectations. Gest crashed the dallies by releasing correspondence in which both prominent Jews and (jentiles protested the showing of the "Pas- sion Play" on the .grounds that it might arouse new race prejudice. Starting Monday night the "Pas- sion Play" was given before a bene- fit audience, the same applying to Tuesday «nd both Wednesday perr formances. Conflict," independently present- ed, closed at the Vanderbilt Satur- day after seven weeks. Opened at the Fulton where attempted fixing of book was not successfuL Zukor*8 Neighbors New City, near Haverstraw, is on Its way as a theatrical colony Sam Katz being the latest purchaser of a four acre plot. He plans the con- struction of a summer home there. The Adolph Zukor estate is the show spot of the section while among the residents connected with the stage are Rollo Peters, Ben Hecht, Katherlne Cornell, Guthrie McCllntIc, Charles Ellis, Herman Rosse, Norma MlUay, Henry Var- num Poor, Guilbert Rose, Hume Derr and Harold Hayman. CONFLICT Opened March 6. Littell (Post) said: "Amusing, but uneven." Notices moderately favorable. Variety (Ibee) wrote: "Sin- cere, intelligent try just misses." "Marry the Man," independently presented, stopped at the Fulton last Saturday. Played but one week. Fanned all around. MARRY THE MAN Opened April 23. "One of the mildest, flattest plays of the season," said Littell (Post), expressing the majority senti- ment. BiU Oviatt's Son KiHed William H. Oviatt, Jr., and two companions were killed April 2S near Los Angeles when a ntonc plane, which 22-year-old Oviatt was piloting, crashed in an oat field Ray M. Scott, young picture seen arlst and Mack A. Flyker, picture actor, were the other victims. Young Oviatt has'been .fiylng for several years, ' although said to have been unlicensed as a pilot. His father Williom H. Oviatt is well known on Broadway, having been general manager for Comstock Gest and secretary of the former Producing Managers' Aasoclntlon. The elder Oviatt retired to Fal mouth, Mass., about two years ego Before leaving Broadway ho fre quently flew to Falmouth from New York. The fatal plane was a recent gltt from the father to the son and it was the first time young .Oviatt hud taken it aloft Reports said plane was brought out of a tall spin when about 100 ■feet—from- the-'grourid- but~ crashed regardless. As the engine had start cd again the wreck burst into flames and the fliers were burned to death Boles for "Rio Rita"? John Boles is scheduled to go with. Radio Pictures this week as the juvenile lead In "Rio RIU. Bole's has a similar role In "Desert Song." MACY'S COOLING PLANT (Continued from page 1) partment store to Install a system of this sort and the gross sales of the Macy store this summer will be watched with Interest by depart ment store owners and operators throughout the country. The con- tract for the department store in- stallation Is believed to be the larg- est ever obtained by the engineering firm which has heretofore special Ized- in making theatres mechanic ally comfortable during the warm months. The installation is expected to be completed about the middle of next month. The Macy store stands on a plot 200 by. 1,260 feet. Two floors are to be cooled by the blowers, and each department of the store occupies an area equal to the ground space of the average-sized motion picture house. It is expected that about 20 distinct departments will benefit by the fact that shoppers will be made comfortable while making their pur- chases during the warm weather. The average cost of installing cooling plant in a theatre during the course of coi^structlon Is around $50,000, while an expenditure of an additional $10,000 is necessary for houses built before cooling plants proved their value at the box office. The added amount is necessary for the installation of ducts in ^ old houses. In new houses just one set of ducts suffices, these carrying hot air in the winter and cool air dur Ing the summer. Engineers speciulizing in cooling systems are now said to have this branch of their profession down to an exact science, with considerable research work going on. The con troller which regulates the blowers is so constructed that It Is raised to a certain notch when 600 people are In the theatre and then notched up at intervals until the seating ca paclty of the house is reached. The body heat generated by the patrons jilay3 an. lmpj>rtant part I n the cal culdtlons of the - engineers, who are now able to maintain a steady tern perature of 70 degrees in the house, no matter v/hat the humidity read Ing is outdoors. Theatre owners, .who are sold on cooling plants, recently tried to buy in on one of the leading cooling plant manufacturing firms in the east, have found all the stock closely held. Umimres Send Pearl Back to the Shnberts Jack Pearl will continue as fea«.' tiired comedian, with "Pleasura Bound," Shubert revue, by a decl.^ sion of a committee of three under the rules of the American Board ot Arbitration.. The 'arbiters, Eddie Cantor for Pearl, William P. Phil- ■ lips for Shuberts and William C. Dickerman, chairman, arrived at a decision after four hours of discus- sion, which was featured by tem> peramental outb.ursts by Pearl and J. Shubert and Eddie Cantor's - attempt to relieve the tenseness with ad lib comedy. . . The ruling was that the Shuberts had not breached their contract with the. comedian by co-featuring him with Phil Baker,, Aileen Stan- ley and Shaw and Liae; that ho h^d the top line . billing: and was the male lead in the revenue as pro* vided in bis Shubert contract Pearl, William Kline, counsel for the Shuberts stated, has been with that firm since 1922,' his . last contract dated August, 1926, guaranteeing him 26 weeks at $1,100. His pres- ' ent salary in""Pleasure Bound" is $1,660 with the Shuberts exercising an option oii hie services for the next two years at $1,760 weekly; Paul Turner^ Equity's, counsel, for Pearl stated that during the show's out-of-town try, his client' was on the stage for -ah hour and 40 minutes, while presently he is doing but° 48 minutes of Dutch comedy. Ira Hards and John Hayden, tes- tifying for Pearl, stated that Pearl's early spotting in the show and the material furnished him was not of the sort usually given a principal male comedian. Klein, however, brought out that neither of the wit- neases could qimlify as experts re- garding the staging and directing of musical revues. Among the cracks- supplied by Cantor during the hearing in order to clear up some points that were beyond the chairman's comprehen- ion were: 'An actor can go .on the stage with his mother and if she Is a big- ger hit than he is he will stab her In the back." "You can't go by the notices in the dally papers; one of the critics might have a stomach ache and think you're lousy." This was in answer to Pearl's testimony that the critics had panned the material given him. When the Shuberts' counsel brought out that Eddie Cantor when with that firm some years ago appeared in one of their revues for only five minutes and was satisfied, whereas Pearl was squawking be- cause his time on stage had been cut considerably since the show opened. Cantor said. "Of course, you can't be a hit in the dressing room, but Tm a better business man than Pearl." Pearl's claim to Illness, Klein stated, was superinduced by a flat- tering offer to make talking plo- tures if he could get rid of his con- tract with the Shuberts. Although it was not brought out at the hearing. Paramount is under- stood to have made overtures for Pearl's services. Future Plays "Show Girl,"^lo Zlegfeld's next may have a new title. Show is slated to go into rehearsal In six or eight weeks. "Poor Fish," by Leon Cunning- ham, for late spring. Hyman Adler. "The Silver Swan," operetta, tried out of town by Herman Gahtvoort and taken off for revision will b^ sent out again by that producer in the fall. Gantvoort, himself. Is work- ing on the book supplied by William S. Brady and Alonzb Price from the original Viennese operetta by Maurice Jacquet. "Love Bound" (Lew Cantor), will open at the Majestic, Brooklyn, N. Y., May 13, then Atlantic City. Cast: Helen MacKeller, Walter Pe- tri, Carlo DeAngclo, Ruth Corpen- nlng, Helen Eby Rock, Josephine Deffrey, Elvla Curd. Victor Morley director. Fritz Blockl, drama critic on the Chicago Evening American, has sold his play, "Our Loving Daughters" ■to—the--Morldon^ eorp.^-Show---goe8- into rehearsal. next week and will open May 20 on the road. New York opening is ischeduled for June 10°. SHOWS CLOSING "Rio Rita" closes next Saturday In Newark. Bert Wheeler, Robt Woolsey; Ethelind Terry and Harold Murray go into talking pictures.