Variety (July 1929)

Wednesday, July 24, 1929 PIC T UR E S VARIETY ^ lloliyyfoqd, July i?3, .-. ' It took a bunch of. choristers to pop the <iuesti6h& which have been In the mln!3s of everjp Equity mem- ber In Ifellywood/but which , have not been brdached at any .of the A., Bi A. mass: meetings ta date. CrackHnff <juerl^s '.vcame ..in rapid fire succession fronri the floor of the first meeting of the Chorus Equity Association held at: the Writers' Club July 18. : V V -': Youthful r members^^ .6 Chbruis Equity* not ..perturbed by dignity i>r forrnallty, we're .Jiivited . taraisk questions and they did. ' , . >' , Giilmore. a!nd Turner smile^ '.at' Bome of the questions, but did not hestitate in ansWerihg ' them inV sd iar as it wasi p thehi to Meetinp "was- al!30 marited by the ;ifirst,pUblIc statement ,by nn Equity- offlcial, Paul Turner, Equity ; cpun-^ sell, that Equity wp\ild not. ,:and epuid not call- .put the contract, playeris. TuVriei^ hlso intimated he .^xpiected some definite action to- Wfii'd .settlement of the biittle with- in, four da ys^-. ■. . Meeting was |itt6ncied by about 250 of. the Ghor!ua Equity, a little tnpre thaif^hiS.lf"^its local member^ ship., QuestiPnnaireirig bcean from .the start,- George . . Cunnin}?ham, ftmergchcy . chail'inrtn /of Chorus Equity here, served. in that. tia-, •pacity.' J- : On Diihce. Directors ■ . . . Giilmore, who, after explaining :Ke Is --presfdent of Chorus Plquity as well aJ? the A.' E. Ai,. launched: into a .i)ri6'f hlstdry^. of GhPi-.us Equity. He then read, a list of questions Bubmitted • ..by Cunninghaiti :and; ij^nswered th.em. lh tut-ri, . , He explained: what . was meant by s,Uspfensi6n,' what' It^' i and what honorable- withdrawai.' ciards Were. In respprise to ih^ question as to: what. Equity proposed .to do, about dance directprs and assistarit directors who are members of ' ^Iquity, but who are Under cbntract to st.udibs and working contrary to Equity's interests . at the pi'e^eht time, he said that the resolutipri of the council had not been, intended to; affect any Equity members ex- cept those who did vv;ork Pf an in-, dividual character as actors, llow- ^ver, If it~ were proveri that direc- tor members, of Equity under con- (Cohtinued on page; 42) , Beery-Marshall Team Noah Beery and Tuily , Marshall will be a- team in the Warner Re- ■vue.- . . Los Angol.03, J';ly 23,,: ■ 'Number of delc^ys reported i'rcm studios ih the Equity matter.. Equity rhernbers accepting, jobs and then failirig -to rcpprt Tat last '"^.'>'^te. hay©; caused; delays, while casting directprs dig lip substitutos> PATIIE'S 'TARTY" STARTS Dorptiay Carroll of "Sketch Book" and the Williams Sisters: engaged by Pathe through. Lbu-: Irwin for •roles in- "A^ Cbrtaih, Pdrty:>'. -. i. Talker will, be produced by Ilarry P,elmar in the. eastern'studio bc-gin^ ning today (July 24). PRINTER SUES MARKS' . • •. Chicago, July 23.; Chicago Show Printing Co. 'lias .flled suit for $C,000 against: Marks BEOS^-iinjtlie-tlieatrO^Xrc • Claim printing bill for- that amount; is more than a year bid. h; marks leaves publix Harry; Marks resigned from Pub- lix Saturday. He had been general theatre man.nprer, and. more latterly assist- ant to Sam Katz.. , ADVANCES ARE LOANS , ,• V Los Angeles, July 23. - /Moneys.: being expended by Equity from its -Relief' Fund are ; in the; forni of loans. Members are required . to sign :/'Pn; derhand" notes. In Equity's favor. ; ■ .;, ■ Chester. Conklln, chairmain pf Ways and means conimit- tee, explains that the loan sys- tem, was devised largely as a boon to. pride of members iask- ' :ihg . for: flriahcial isuccor. , ': No Parallel for Equity' int of , That Judge McGoinb ,.has:. m.ade the Equity complaint; involving Warners • -arid Tuljy, Marshall ' and the preliminary motion to .show, cause why. the actor . should hot be erijpined from serving; under, any but an Equity contract, roturnabie in. the Los Angeles court oh .July 2P, indicates to; Wdrnei-ites in Jsiew York that the suit will ^be tried in .California. This, 'uhless tho broth- ers later rhake appllcatipn for a change bf venue, of the major trial tP..New. .York/ '' ■■■ ; ■ . Tliat there Is no parallel with the present. Equity move on the rec- ord of a court in America- was the belief ..expressed - by H-. S.. Barefoot, actihg.; chief; for Warner e£lst(?rn cpunsel,. in the^' absence of Abel Carey-..TliomasV. .'- ; . ; While - refraining from making a direct statement until he^ has seen tiie . papers,. Mr.: Barefoot indicated that the chief point of contention will be the alleged unconstitution- ality of. Equity's stand; One Warner executivef, said ah Im- mediate appeal to the U. S. Su- preme Court,will be taken if by any chance Equity should be successful. In his estimatiph the court step is just a gesture for,, bigger, publicity and an attempt to revive the Holly- wood caimpiaign which -would sfag- pate .'vvith'oiit • newspaper space, he declared, ' The Equity clause prohibiting a plaiyer,' once a member, from re- signiihg, except with the consent bf organizatiPh's council, and the dic- tation as to how a man will .obtain a means of- livelihood, are, in the opinion of- this veteran and partly shared by Warner lawyers here, a restraint of personal freedom' not CQuntenahced by; the cpristitutiori, Relief :^ Comniittee Payinsr put $600-$7iDb v Daily on Six-Day Week Claim Donations Abipye Thait-^ to Eioycott.; iPjctutes of . Non-Eqiiity Stiidios EXPLAINS AGREE M E N T Non-Union Ship Crew For Film's Cruising Boat Lbs Ahgelos, July: 23. Seamen's/. Union • entered ' the Equity matter; when Columbia., which ciiartered an old windjammer, for ■■'"JIurricap.o,". , found temporary diflleuity in securing a. crew, at San Pedro. • Union sailors . .stated they had been advised by Equity that their sighing, for the picture cruise would hurt the actors' cause. ,, They de- clined^ to accept the job. This, was on i^riday, . Saturday morning the ship put to sea with a npn-uhipn crew, TTnit will be on the water, two Weeks. Hollyvvood, July 23. That Equity is speindihg; approxr ihfiately' $4,500 a week/iricludiog-re- lief loans,, in the conduct of its.carh- paign, launching of a niove by the .Central Labor Council of Los An- geles'iisking for a nation-wide union boycott. of pictures madie by pro- ducers vyhbm Equity ' considers Unr fair, iiiicreiase in walkouts of Chorus Equity members to 222, ex- pansion of: Equity's campaijgn or- ganizatipn to eight headquarters in Hollywood, with approximately 2,000 rpembers working :in one way or another,, and announcement by the producers that V 72 more p|a/crs. have signed. studio Contracts, .un- checked as to- number of. Equity members inyoived/V Were the chief events during the last seven' .days of the battle. Proposed Equity suit against radio sjkation KMTR ,Syas not filed durihg the: week. Tom.br- row the fijght will be seven. weeks old. ' ■ ■ .'•. ■ ■■ ^. F:or campaign purposes al6ne, ir- respective of relief demands,. Equity is spending'about $600 a -week, tiie monthly expense account totalling approximately $2,^00. .This, does not include the- operating expenses of Equity's miairi olllce in . Molly wood, which has been . increased \, b\it slightly by the current fight and therefore should not be considered in the campaign costs. Equity, Jiowever, has seven other headquarters in Hollywood, all but one of which are rented. Rental of these offlces, plus the rental of the Hollywood American Legion sta- dium (about $50 a meeting), where the organization's mass gatherings are being held; brings the total rental cost per month close to $900.' In these ofllces Equity has .17 spe- cially installed business telcphories at $5 per month. ; Radio broadcasts to -date have cost approximately $375. With 40 automobiles on call, arid busy most of the time; • gasoline: bill is esti- mated at between $400 and $500 , a month. Add to this the- cPst of is- suing a few thousand copies bf a four-page tabloid at least once a. week, prihting and.iianging dif one sheets all over tlie city, printing of window cards for business houses, auto stickers, and. other miscel- laneous . ite.nis. and the. expense runs between $2,400 and $2,500 a rhonth. All Of. the labor,: except that-b^^ the. regular executive jstaff^ is Vol- untary and unpaid for. At present some 2t000 menibcrs are busy • sell-., ing' ticketsor ijallyhbolng; tlie Equity carnival to be held at" the Cascade , boach ciui), Santa: - Mon-^ ica, Aug. 3, Expenses of the eampaign itself are all paid; by the executive ofnce, none qt this money . cothing from the relief fund being raised by the emergency ways and means com- mittee, of which Chester Conklln is the head. Ilka Chase-s Contract . . Ijps An.i,'olos, July .23. Ilka. Chusp, one r>f Kquity'jo sU.s- pendod members and daughter of Edna ' Woolman , Chase, editress, of Vogue, has acTciitcd a term :oontra'ytj with Fox as a feature .phiycr. Between 40(30 and $700- is.iiasued in. relief loans daily, aocordinf? tb Conklin. witii tbe relief ofOco opct^ six days a weoit. This brings a to- tal outl.iy of $3,000 to $4,200 weekly. Oonklin statos that the. relief fund inr-bme exceeds the amount paid out by around $300 daily and that up to the pre.sont time the average (Continued on page 42) Equity's Service ;,Holly>ybod, July 23. ;• /fcquity -will hold ifS flrat vCt ligious seryice. at the FlrSt Unitarian . Church :; iSunday morning, July 28, ', In additipn to the regular .servicelFrahk Giilmore, George , Fawcett and either Map Mur^ ray;or Emma Dunn will speak. Equity Appeals for on Hollywood, : J.uly . 23. . ;: Equity used . tiirep . mpre radio hburs for general, broadcast during this week, in addition to continuing its brief hpurly announcement over KGFG. Statlbn KTlVf, in the: EIlcs Temple, Los Angeles, ■ was-i'used July lG-17; . .KELW> Burbank, July l». ■ . :: ^ 'V' .-..'^ •;; ..In all three . broadciats, • Equity- actors spf^ad the gospel of■ the A. E. A. With speeches interspersed witli ■ riiusical numbers,.'inonblogs; and. gag acts, all built entirely around the present ;fight. with the producers. Helen Ware, chairman of • the vradio dlyisipn pf Equity,-; ..served a.s mistres^ .of . ceremonies for-each, broadcast iipur:.; ; Nance O'Neill, Alfred Hickman, Claud© Gillihigivater' and Creighton Hale . were . the July , 16 speakers.: Miss O'Neill and Hickhian: appeared. together, presenting a- sketch, -with fo;rrner as Miss Equity and Hick- . man; as. Mr.: Public. Miss ;0'N.eiii put oyer the Equity plea of studio abuses., and cpiiciuded by splipiting donatiphi frpni Mr; and Mrs, Pub- lic, first general; appeal, for funds made ,by Equity. . Gilijhgwater discussed public's ;attitude. toward actor, deprecating propaganda leading fans to think all screen actors .were overpaid and spent their time riding aroupd in Rolls-Royces, declarinpr to. every actor that rides a Rolls, 150 can'.t raise the price, of a Fprd... . : Hale also said tiiat the unfair- ness of all Los Angeles dailies ex- cept the Record had forced Equity to resort to radio broadcasts. 'Said producers still refuged to arbitrate after six weeks but that tiiey Would be forced to do, .so.-soon, declaring they can't make many pictures with handful Pi: actprS available. Louis. Wplheim and Sarah Pad- den -vvcre tiie chief speakers on the V7th. : Wolheim ■ commented adr versely on ijlayers 'Vt'hp' Have; per- mitted anti-Equity statements to be .'pubilshed in nevvspapers ' over their names and said public is finial Judge, . - Last Equity . brbadoa.st to date, l8th, oyer KELlV had speeches by Geprge Fawoett and James Kirk- wppd . and- three Americian Indian players, . Princess Naola," BrihceSs Minnehaha and Black Ha wit. . ; Fawcett Said main obstacle to recognition •of: Equity' by producers is- feeling of producer that Equity, would - ipterflere with. liis business,. Declared Equity would not interfere and that actors a.sk6d only the right to have Equity^ represent them iti business dealings with producers. Indians spoke brieny, simply stat- ing that principles of Equity Were .same as ancient tribal practices and therefore worthy of their sup- port. ,. ^ . • Los Angeles, July' :23. ■ ' .Equity h(iy tcriip'irarily aijandrmed' radio;.';broadc.'i,«^tinj,' with .co.'^t .said to Ui' the ohiof rca.s.'»n. A \vi\ .s pjiy- ing fiboUt $'375 for six hpiii-s over the three Kmair stulions,'•and for hourly ahnpunfcnient over IsTJKJ. L.ittcr item will Ije r/intiiiiifd .un- til cxphvition of -nifTitil's (■.(.ntnirt. Equity ha,s al.-o droiM'-d I'lan for .Equity is mairitaihing. four or flve pfflces in.'Los Angeles and Holly-., Avood jas the. result; of .Its flght. for a, new standard cbntracti' cpvering pictures.-; • • ■ '.■;,. ■ \- One pfflce is a: secret headquarters occupied by Frank pijlmore and Wis inimediate staiff, -G illmore iieing forced to find private; oillces be- cause of the. welter of details now delegated to committees. The; other• pfllCes iDire occupied ..by numerous eommittees. and clerks. ' . :• An .estimate that 300.. members; are working for, Equity on the .Coast was said tP be. corislderably under the actual number, which ap- proxima;tes,'i,500.: . The epst to; Equity for its plctiire invasion is believed , to^ be. vapidly, mounting', it is claimed: In New York, hoCvvcyiEir,; that but one-half of .the $10,000 ■recently. voted, by the Equity Council has been called i:pr .from the GoaSti .While;the cbm- mlttees are allowed expense ac- counts and also to. some of the 'Workers, it Is stated; tliat many are voiuhteers working wit6out com- pensation; ; . ■ ■Inference.iS that -Equity's reserve fund, believed .a;r,bund.;$25<)",600, has not ybf beep dented..; It is claimed the dondflpns p tjie. Coast fromi "members employed there are , cpm- ing in pohtinuously. The: reputed total donations are supijosed . to .b^ comparatively .sniali/ however. Cost Expected According' to Equity; pfflcials;- the fight' is costing money a.nd was ex- pected to, but there appears to be no apprehepsioh. that; the organiza- tion will bc' flnanciaily embarrassed "The amount of money; thus iar- .e^- pendcd lias not been estimated a;nd reports to New - York fronn tlie Coast indicate little In. that direc- tion.-. V'- ' ' ,...' ; . .. Members who ;have refused, eii-, gagemehts are being taken care of, it is asserted. "To -What extent on the Coast is not known. ' The; New York offices have taken care of re- quests for Jfinarieial aid by mem- bers in the east who hav^ refused picture jobs because of Equity. The actors hrtvp- asked for aid in thie New York offle, and it is claimed all. such requests have been granted. There is a limit of financial aid to Equity members, prdinarily, but in cases where members have re- fused engagements because pf Equity and are In want the amount is raised.. What the^ maximum is, I']qulty pincials will hot say. .. LoS Angeles; July 23. Donald Crisp,, actor and director,' has accepted a part In "Return of ►Sherlock. Hoimes" and .has left for Pa.fa'mo4nt'V-:tdng. Lsland studio^ Crisp has been active In ISquity meetings. on the Coast. At. the Beverly Wllshire rally he was an ent_hu.siasti.c talker fpr .Equity. : Alec Francis' Role ;t.os Angeles, July 23. . . Unable to cast Rudolph Schild- kraut. for the father rple in '!MiSr sJssippi. Gambler," because of his jCquity afniiation, .Univer.sal signed Alec B. Francis for the ' part. Joseph Schildkraut Is being ..starred in picture and would liked -to-=lra^e==hitd=-hi8=fath*J'i«='pl;ty=^t;he- i)art; ■ ' ■ .'I strr-f't. parade as ballyhoo for the" .Santa Monica carniyjil <lue Aug. 3 alihotiglr- prrmlt was granted by polif.'O. fiam . Ilardy, cnrnivul dl- rf'otpr, states about i'l.ooo have bcf-n Kr'-ssft] .o.ri tlcUf-t .'••ale and pagus in program at $t)0 per.