Variety (Dec 1929)

48 VARIETY B U R L E S QU E \Vednesday, December 18, 192g News From the Daili Thia department contains pewritten theatrical news items pub* llshod during the week in tho daily papers of New York, OhicagOi San Francisco, Los Angeles and London. Variety takes no credit for these neWs items; each has been rewritten from a daily paper. while worklne; on a picture at the PN studios, left an egtate bt $lt),- OOOi to his widow, who resides In Nashville, Tenn, Superior J!udge Archl^ld, granted Mrs. Nell Guard, wife of Kit Guard, pictures, a divorce, when she testi- fied the actor leCi her, sayingr ho wanted a vacation from family life. LONDON Latest city crash is Henry S. Home, financier, who has gone bankrupt. Edgar Wallace Is fllUhg the papers with inside .stuff on the American police, arid Edgar Wal- lace. William Pollock, "Daily Mall" theatre writer, has had a play taken by Robert Loraine. Hugh Walpole, novelist, has writ- ten "The Young Huntress" for pro- duction by Daniel Mayer. A municipal theatres bill is go- ing through Parliament. It allows local authorities to raise money by rates for local communal theatres. Oscar Slater, recently released from prison and acquitted of. a mur- der charge for which he lias served 19 years, says he's to marry a. rich Negress. Mrs. Margaret Chamberlayne, prominent society woman, was wrongfully arrested on a. charge of fraud. Case caused a stir aiicl Scot- lan.d Yard may click for a Home Oflice Inquiry. "Man Who Missed It," by Harold Owen, was presented at . the Am- bassadors this week, exactly. 16 years after the first performance of "Mr. Wu," of which Oyren was part author, also at the same the- atre. Meeting of -the Shakespeare Mem- . ^ orlal National Theatre Committee * - held at the House of Commons. Much talk, little action. George Lansbury, Liabor Minister of Works, Is putting through a scheme to Contineintallzd Hyde Park.' Mixed bathing. Open air con- certs, outdoor cafes, promenades, cabarets and all. latest theatres planned for the West End are'two oh the site of Norfolk House, with the present Duke of Norfolk on the .board- of controlling company. Four theatres are now being built hear the Picca- dilly sector; five planned; and five have been opened since the war. Lord John Sanger, the circus man, left $160,000. Echo of the disastrous tour of •'Open Your Eyes'' was heard in the courts when Bernard M. Weiner was up for obtaining $14,000 by al- leged false pretenses. W. P. Varin, treasurer of Sonora, ^ays the $3,698 bill on which the suit is based: has been paid by his company. He adds that Sonora is in sound financial condition. Mrs. Anno Youmans, forhler show girl and wife of Vlnceht Y'oumahs, once . more in.'court seeking $500 weekly temporary alimony and counsel, fees during tenure of her suit for separation. Youmans have been shooting suits back and forth since 1927. She dropped her last separate maintenance suit on pay- ihent of |1,650 back aliinony. Saying long skirts make a wom- an more feminine and assist her in getting what she wants from a man, Grertrude .Lawrence .defended the sweeping styles at a meeting of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs. She. Was opposed by. Rita Weiman, author, who said short skirts are "honest." Jay Adler,. actor, failed to prove chargeis that he had been attacked without provocation by two em- ployees of the Plymouth hotel. Em- ployees said they Interfered when he was ciioklng Eleanor Graham , in the hotel lobby. Miss Graham said Ad- ler hadn't been bothering her, but Magistrate Albert Vitale dldn:t be lieve her. Alexander Carr, who filed a vol untary petition - in bankruptcy, is faced with a government moVe to appropriate his salary from "Men- del, Inc.," play, for its claim of $10,- 000 unpaid income tax during 1922. Manuscript of a song, with a note saying the. composer, Al .Faro, was unable to succeed, were found on a Jereey ferry. Harbor police f'Utllely searched for a body. Rbbert A. Carter was lodged In Tombs on complaint of Fiction House, Inc., which. alleg:ed Carter sold the company aviation fiction stolen from magazines. Turned down by the censor, Frank Vesper's "People Like Us" Will have 10 days at the Arts. - Starting Dec. 10 with Marie Ney and Milton Rosmer billed. Clayton and Waller have bought Q. B. Stern's book, "Deb.onair." Prank Vosper adapting, Cedrlc Hardwicke, leading man In "The Apple Cart," will .star In "Shadows of Strife" for the Sun- day-nigh ters. . English girl, Ruth French, Is Pay- Iowa's chief support this tour. NEW YORK Jeanne Laval, opera singer. Is suing Royal F. Dadnum, concert singer, for separate maintenance aYid custody of their 11-year-old son. She claims he 1$ making at least $13,000 a year, but won't lend support to the family. Dadnum says he is . supporting his nlother and doesn't clear much above ex- pisnsesi Following divorce . of Constance Bennett from Phil Plant in Paris, locals were gossiping Plant with Geo'rgette Cohan, daughter of George M. Arabelle Merrlfield, former Get hiah opera singer, haq appealed to Supreme Court to force hfer former husband, George E. Merrlfield, mer chant, to pay $98,970 back alimony. She claims her husband made her sign a release for $1,500 when she was facing starvation. Norma Karpf, chorus girl, has been awarded $15 weekly alimony ipending trial of her separation, suit against Sidney Karpf, salesman. Says her husband Was too poor to furnish a home. Following Pathe studio fire, R-K- O announced it is Installing a 100,- 000-gallon . sprinkling system in the Melrose ave. studio. . Mickey Seiden, night club hostess, lield In $10,000 ball as a material witness 111 the killing of Frankie MarloW last summer. Students of N. Y. U. picked Esther Ralston, of pictures, as best typify ing th6 American blonde co-ed.. Admitting theft of a purse con- taining $12, William Peters, song writer, who says he wrote the Dem- ocratic campaign dong, "All for Al and Al for All," was held in Fifth avenue court, Brooklyn, on $500 ball. He said he has been unable to earn a living, and that his wife, Shirley Peters, former actress, has been WOrkipg in a laundry. Al Smith said he has received an invitation from William Pox to go to the. coast and write and super vise production of a scenario based on hts own life. Smith said he's seriously considering It, althbugh he has a great ppker face. . Fred F. Plmch, Inc., announced it has purchased the Hippodrome site, ppf- on Sixth avenue, and will construct an 83-story building where the the- atre now stands. Purchase price estimated at $7,600,000. Numerous reports of Hippodrome sales have been printed, with this apparently the final.. Charge by William; Fox that he ' Ws^iifdOZJ€d"ijy f alsr i«6presremttti^^^^ to give up a 150,000 insurance last January and subscribe to a new policy for $260,000 was made In an- swer to suit'filed against him by Albert D. Samuel, Insurance broker, on a note fot $4,728. Appointment of an equity receiver ^ for the Sonora Products of America, Inc., controlling the Sonora Phono- graph Co. and other concerns, was asked In a suit filed by Arrow, Hart !>" 'and Hegeman Electric Corp. of Hart- ford in Federal Courjt Monday (16). LOS ANGELES VIvlenne Sengler, 21, San Fran- cisco musician, filed a $100,000 breach of proriilse suit against Mau rice Costello, pictures. In Superior Court. Miss Sengler charges that Costello promlised to marry her a year ago and later welched. He Is her third cousin. The police commission approved a six months' leave of absence for Officers R. J. Nowka and C.E.Ward, crack shots of the police depart ment< They intend to do a sharp- shooting act in vaude> Peggy- Franklin,- pictures, was ar- rested oh a drunk driving charge when her car ran Into another. She pleaded not guilty and trial was set for Dec. 18. The car. she was driv ing is owned by Mrs. Helen Gibson, ex-wife of Hoot Gibson, pictures. A campaign has been started to raise $250,000 for the reconstruction of the Pilgrimage Play theatre, de stroyed by fire last October. Sheppaird Camp, pictures, killed Ralph H. Pasley and his wife, Hazel Pasley, filed a $302,000 dam- age suit against Principal Theatres, and Prirtdpal PI<itures, of which Sol Lesser is the head. . According to the complaint, a prop gorilla em- ployed by the defendants embraced Mrs. Pasley on a downtown street, and since that time she has been mentally unbalanced. Marjorle Berger, convicted of fal- sifying tax returns for Dorothy Mackaill, was given until Jan. 13 to file her appeal by Federal Judge Hennlng. Miss Berger was sched- uled to start, a 30-mohth sentence at Alderson, W. Va., Dec. 16. Sen- tence will be held up until appeal is decided. Superior Judge Westover granted Carmen deRue a divorce from her husband, Harold Bjorgo; Eagle Rock grocer, after she testified he beat her and otherwise humiliated her before guests. Mrs; Blossom Link, circus per- former, wias granted a divorce by Superior JUdge Purkitt after she testified that her husband, Billy Lihk, refused to work. Superior Court Judge Allan of Santa Aria granted Mrs. Adele R, Post a divorce from Guy Bates Po&t, stage, On the grourids of desertlori. Mrs. Post receives $1,000 cash and $300 month alimony. They were married In Canada in 1916 and sep- arated in 1926. Charles Mitchell, pictures, used a prop gun to commit suicide in a Hollywood hotel. He left a note requesting that the gun be returned to the Paramount studio, where he had borrowed It. ' Roy HkrloW, son of Fred Harlow, cafe man, has lost his third wife. He filed suit for the annulment of his marriage to Hilda Matilda Deesy Welgand, former Hungarian picture actress. Complaint states she failed to disclose she had a hus- band living at the time of their marriage In 1928. Superior Court Judge Westover granted Delta I. Ouldstt-and, former dancer, divorce froth Henhan A. Guldstrand after she testified that Guldstcand had humiliated her by being rude to her guests. CHICAGO Moe E. HUlson, printing magnate, has been named defendant In a $^60,000 brealch of promlsiei suit by Mrs. Mona Roth, former cabaret singer. According to the plaintiff's attorney, Hlllson had been support- ing Mrs. Roth for 12 years at a rate of $100 a week, and had promised to divorce .his wife, marrying Mrs, Roth. The payriients recently stopped, the lawyer stdd. Hlllson denied the charges and claimed that he did not even know Mrs. Roth. 3 Spokane Stocks Spokane, Deo. 17, John Singer and Harry Stone, of New York, have, opened the Hippo- drome with a glirl revue, The com- pany of 31 Is.in weekly revues, sup- plemented by a short subject pic- ture program. Ten-piece orches- tra; . Stone is m. c, with Singer han- dling the front of the house. Billle Reams, Lee Jaron, Joe Dempsey, Rose Smith, 6illy Nixon, Jack Berth and Dorothy Raymond are the prin- cipals. The Majestic has a girl shpw, the third house here with short mu- sicals. Fifteen people are with Ted Howland In the. show, Walr lace A. Brooks is operating the Ma- jestic. ♦ ■ Jean Bedini Out as Mutual Wheel Blxet Jean Bedini is no longer a show doctor for MutuaL Bedini and the Mutual came to a parting of the ways last week. Bedini, f orriier Columbia producer, was selected by Mutual at the open- ing of the season as ,flxer-up of circuit shows It is ynderstopd there was such a wide variance x>f opinion between Mutual producers and Bedini that the former paid little heed to What Bedini ordered out and ordered in. To keep peace in the family Mutual and Bedini decided to call it quits. Fire last week destroyed the Rainbo Fronton, former night club spot arid for the past couple of years the Jal alal spot of the own. Harry Molr, Jr., son of the Mor- rison Hotel owner, has been grant- ed a divorce from Martha Grief Molr, former nite club entertainer, nn grounds of desertion. Po;»r more roadhcuses were lald- cd last iveek: bid Kentucky Tavern, Andy's, Amber Light, and Lahgel s Place. BURLESQUE CHANGES '•Frivolities" (Mutual), Stan Stan- ley, Marjorle Gebhardt, Irma Ray- stone, oht; Edward Soper, Evelyn Johnson, Annabelle Collins, Frivol- ity. Four (male quartet). In. "Laffin* . Thru" (Mutual), Roy Sears, Peaches, Leona. Reed, out; Anna Foley, Arthur Gllson, Tered- Ina, In. "Broadway Scandals" (Mutual), Jean CoUette, out. "Bare Facts" (Mutual), George Miller, out; Ruth Peeler, Jimmy Rooney, in. Margie Penettl w;eht In as house soub and twister at the Gayety, Brooklyn, this week (Dec. 16). She Will be flanked, by a house chorus of 12 to work the runway num- bers In conjunction with Mutual ^hows. _ _ . _ J, Hehfy" SirerF"swi tched^f rbm "stock at Rialto, Chicago, to stock at Na- tional, Detroit, this week. Snltz Moore has supplanted Georpre Broadhurst as featured comic with stock at Empress, Kan- sas City. . Charlie Henderson In iand Bob Robinson out at- the Star and Gar- ter, Chicago. "'Boots" Rush closed with stock at National Winter Garden, New York, and hopped into "Lid Lifters" (Mutual) this week. Harry Cornell also closed with the Mlnsky stock. LID LIFTERS (MUTUAL) A little above the average show this season, but so little it's not very close to the good- burlesque class. "Lid Lifters," and most of its predecessors In New York indi- cate the judges who are to award the announced prizes at the end of the season (If .that Herk idea still holds good) can make their selecting a cinch Job. Picking the few un- questionably good ones should be easy. In' the' Mutuals reviewed at the Columbia, New York, the coochlng present in the not so conspicuous dates is missing. But the klck-babk is that if they'haven't the wiggle at the Columbia, what-else have they? A full 'week of nothing for the Co- lumbia. . f'Lid Lifters'" chorus Is sprightly In general and exceptional In a cou- ple of spots. The women are not bad. on looks Al Ferris and . George Lewis roll up a'few laughs, while Harry Kelly, straight, la actually the star: of the troupe.' Ferris and Mldgie Gibbons, are the names In l>ig type. ' ' m Tamed down-to almost straight woman., classification. Miss Gibbons possesses that., which could make her a torrid burles.quer elsewhere, and probably does. Except for the occasional rough stuff by the two comics, show seemed to ha-^e the lid on. Dutch and Hebe dialects of Per- rls and Lewis are near enough to clash at times, and only the oppos- ing make-up overcomes the confiic- tion, Kelly did most to Establish any Individuality with his fine feed- ing. Gay Johnstohe. No. ^ stripper, and Fay Murray do as best they can in the running with Miss Gibbons. Neither had them excited here. Patsy Murray and Helen Spairks, two girls in the line, stepped out for an acrobatic specialty in "one." Miss Patsy of the show's Murrays, again dropped from line to again go acrobatic In a harem scene closing the first part. Miss Murray's solo bending replaced the usual grind number, a departure for a burlesque show. More straighting, hesides Kelly's, comes from Will Kraemer, doubling in song, and Joe Kllch, ithe juve; Kilcfa must take some kidding over the proximity of Klloh to the show business' legendary hoofer's moni- ker. He's a nice looking youth and juves it Well. His specialty can be overlooked since it's forgotten shortly after completion. What "Lid Lifters" lacks most is a presentable set of scenery. With all of its superior resources. It is Inferior to many lesser shows In trappings. One flat piece, In center stage, had a two-foot horizontal rip. Any attempt to patch It, if made, didn't help. Bige. Stock at Ft. Wayne For^ Wayne, Dec^ 17. St5cK"^^lSunegqup"Vupi^^^^^ lual shows at the Majestic this week. Stock llne-up includes Lew Led- erer, George Teeters, Ray Beverley Russell La Vallee, Jack Sexton, Ethel Bernard, Mollie Manners and Edna Cable. Burlesque Vice Dramatic Stock burlesque supplants dra- matic stock at the Fulton, Brook lyn, N. Y., next week. FOR SHOWS With business generally reported off, the Mutual Circuit, in an effort ' to offset the slump, has given the O. Ki to a. bit of econohiy that be. comes effective week Dec. 23. au shdWs will reduce their weekly budget $100 without lopping off any' oi; the principals. House ihahagera have been' la* strticted to reduce the weekly guat« ' antee figure just $100 when ti^ weekly settlement Is made with the traveling Mutual company. Mutual sho^ managers have beei^ given in.strUctions to, put more.pep Into their . performances and, pay " stricter attention to-the compapilea.. Some of the shows are doing, bet- tier than others, yet the late returna!' Indicate that some drastic action ))». taken by tlie home office to malce . things better for the producing managers' who ' have been yelling murder of > late as ,to ,b. o^ rel^uirnSi; - y City Stock Shakeup The City burlesque stock, N...T.^ is set for an almost complete sweep of the prihclpals who.opened there,. Nov. 30. . Next Saturday Dan Dody, stage director; Lander Bros.. Irene Leary,. Constance and Cappo, TeiQplQ, Trio, ^nd; Ina Haywood go out with repl^ccQients comprising Sherman^: and Nelson, Paul Ryan, Eddie Lor- . raye, with Billy Sharp as the new number producer. There will be no change in the runway leaders or personnel. A. difference in the style^ of burlesque, shows is also expected to make a dlff in the b. o. returns. A. notice on the bulletin board at- the City theatre was posted Men-'■ day, night. for the new burlesquor • stock.. . It -will continue Indef onv- Week-to->week basis by the prpduc* ers, Mansbach &. Frpellch. Girls Will Be Soubs w| Chicago, Dec. 17,' Burlesque' girls continue the run- on matrimonial unshackling! Vi^, glniia Sheridan, soubrette at th^V Academy (stock), was grainted a dl* yorce from. John P. Sherfdan,(nq&r, pro) ih'Superior (j'ourt. / .. Irving'iEisenman was her .attor». ney. They were married In January* 1923, and Sheridan deserted two years, later. No Sugar fot "Babes'* Chorus girls with the Al Singer- burlesque show, "Sugar Babies,", which closed In Toledo, where It' played Its last Mutual date at the| Empire^ Were around iJew Tprk; last week declaring they had not been paid salaries. The! Mutual ofllces Were reported ' as calling a conference with Singer to straighten up the salary. Myrtle Stock Folds i stock burlesque folded at the Myrtle, Brooklyn, last week". House' resumes former vaudfilm policy. The stock flop is the third un-' successful try at burlesque for this house. - '•DON'T-ftUIT" ENVOY ; Emmett Callahan, assistant to I. H. Herk, head of Mutual, left last' week for a three weeks inspection tour of Mutual houses and attrac- tions in the West. Part of Callahan's touring mis* sion is to bolster up morale of sev- eral houses ready to drop Mutual shows. OMAHA STOCK ENDS Omaha, Dec. 17. Stock burlesque folds at th« Moon this week after three weekfl^ of bad husiness. . V7--House«-formerly -played-- Mutm= shows, but ditched latter for stocK with Clammage & Rothstein; operat- ing. May go musical stock as suc- ceedng policy. AMERICAN ON GRIND Stock at the American Music. Hall, New York, has adopted grind ■ policy thW week (Dec. 16). House had been operating wun tWo.-a-day during week and grina for Sundays,