Variety (May 1930)

70 VARIETY L E G I T I M AT E Wednesday, May 14, 1930 Literati Winchell on the Air Walter Winchell starts as a reg:- ular Monday nig-ht ether deliverer for Saks over WABC this week. Contract goes for 13 Mondays; His talk Is alone the lines of the Win- chell daily column in "The Mir- ror," full of Broadway and snap. He has a "guest" profession,al at each spieling time. Unusual, also, Monday 'Winchell mentioned "The Mirror" twice or more. For "The Mirror" to get the same mention on the direct radio payment would cost it around $4,000 each Monday, so Winchell is a bargain, aside from his column and syndication. With the latter Walter is now in about 50 key city dailies, taking in the Hearst lot. The entire bunch includijig the Hearst sheets is pay- ing a good price for the stuff to King Features. Winchell's piece is 50% of the gross, now amounting to around $300 a week for him. That is entirely aside from his "Mirror" and other income. Kid's doing all right. Author's Film % Too High There's a big studio on the Coast which can't make up its mind whether to convert a certain story into a picture or not. Reason is that the author's royalties, are so high. Deal with the writer was consummated in New York. Agreement is on a basis of gross business. It calls for 5% of the first $100,000, 7%% of the next $100,- 000, and 10 and 12 % % of the two suc- ceeding hundred thousands and 15% thereafter. Besides this the pi pers in the matter name a $7,500 ad- vance to the author split between submlttance and acceptance. Little or no chance of the film company sending the contracted yarn into work fter thinking it over, although the script Is reported ready for shoot- ing. Hence, the studio will likely pay off on the $7,500 and call it closed. Same lot is understood to have previously and practically had the same deal with a team of authors. In this case, too, it bought off the plot planners rather than go through on so high a percentage arrange- ment. Quirk Returns "Smart Set" James R. Quirk has given back "Smart Set" to William Randolph Hearst. Contained in "Smart Set" Is "McClure's Magazine," which Quirk also got from Hearst, and which he combined Vvith the other when neither failed to draw, Hearst originally got "Smart Set" from. H. L. Mencken ^nd George Jean Nathan when those two estab- li.shed "The American Mercury" for Alfred H. Knopf. Hearst only got the mag's title and tacked on it a true story policy. "Smart Set" flopped, and Hearst made a deal with Quirk at the time the latter thought- of making his "Photoplay" PAUL WHITEMAN Booking Exclusively Through His Oivn Office 1560 Broadway New York Citv JAMES F. GILLESPIE Personal RepresentaiiOe the nucleus of a string of mags. Quirk later got "McClure's" from Hearst, also. Quirk operated the combined mag for Hearst, but the steady growth of his own fan monthly, "Photo- play," commenced to demand all of his time. Chaplin Makes Levy Write Bert Levy, the former vaudeville and newspaper cartoonist, has com- pleted a book tentatively titled. "20 Years 'Around the World With An Entertainer," It will appear early in the fall preceded by publication as a serial In a magazine. Charlie Chaplin, the screen come- dian, is the figure behind the work in having urged Levy to place his anecdotes and reminiscences on paper, Chaplin has also written the preface to the book which has taken Levy about two years to complete. Much of that time was .spent bj' the author with Chaplin in the latter's bungalow on the United Artists lot. Chaplin has been working' about the same length of time on his next picture, the inference being that many a "shooting" day was spent mulling over the past with the writer. Magazine publishers have , re- quested Levy to tone down some of the stories for their use. These chapters, however, will run intact in book form. Jerome Beatty's Series Jerome Beatty, since he turned his tlrhe to short story yriting and doing special writeups of interest- ing personalities for the mags, has so • many ordeiva that he can't find time to fill *em. He is now doing a series of spe- cials for the "American" maga- zine. He did one on Dexter W. Fel- lows, general p. a. for the Ringllng- B. & B. circus, and is turning out anothei" on the principal clowns with that outfit. Book of "Co-Stars'* A brand-new book entitled "Co- Stars, Cecil Spooner and Oscar Wilde," authored by Will W. Wha- len, has been sent to book review- ers and newspapers in New York with the general public release of the novel some time this month. It develops that Mr. Whalen Is Father W. W. Whalen, rector of the old Jesuit Mission at Orrtanna. Adams county. Pa. And the pub- lisher Is the White Squaw Press of Orrtanna, which Is understood to be directed by Father Whalen. There is no apparent connection between the Spooner and Wilde "co-starring" other than It was used as a catchy book title. Father Whalen was once on the stage and one of the plays In which he appeared was "Dark Corners of New York." The "Cecil Spooner" Indicated in the title Is the actress who for years toured the country with her sister, Edna May, In stock rep. No Suit, Says Swanson H. N. Swanson of "College Hu- mor" states misapprehension Is about over a report he attempted to restrain similarly named publica- tions from using their names. Still, Mr. Swan.son add.s, it's not a bad idea. "Cinema" Split Difference of opinion reported be- tween the editor and business man- ager of "Cinema," the fan mag for the "intelligent moviegoer," over the conduct of the publication,- with one or the other to go. Neither has as yet given way and the publisher prefers to let them fight it out be- tween themselves. ■ Goldberg's Vacation Rube Goldberg is finding his days and nights completely taken up on the Coast. Besides whipping his story into shape to be "shot" as a picture by Fox, the Rub^ has to keep ahead on his cartoons for his syndi- cated strips. Which means that after dinner the right handed golfer, who natur. ally smacks *em from the wrong- side. Is getting out the board and Ink after i)ropping his £ et all over his bungalow on the Fox lot duiingf the day while waiting for the sun to take a peek. Littell as Columnist Robert Littell has taken William Bolitho's i)lace as a thrice-weekly columnist on the "World." Littell ia regularly the paper's drama critic. In his columns he h s dealt almoft entirely with the economic side of the theatre. Sidney Skolsky's "Tintypes" Befoi'e Sidney Skolsky became the regular and fast Increasiner popular paragrapher on the New York "Dally News" he ran a series of "Tintypes" of more or less well known Broadwayites once v/eekly in the New York "Sun." As the young Mr. Skolsky did that series it was most readable and became a weekly feature of "The Sun." That is probably why the "Sun's" collection, under the title of "Times Square Tintypes" is dedicated to Keats Speed, "The Sun's" managing editor. The book has a preface by Gilbert Gabriel and is published by Ives Washburn at $2.50. Caricatures of all subjects in the book are by Gard. Gabriel was dramatic critic on "The Sun" when Sid did his stuff there. Gabe says the tintypes were a success in the paper before they became a series. That is likely so, since Skolsky -wrote with an ad- miring freedom: He mixed up tho rough with the gilt, eased off the OiTice 226 West 47th Street Studio 448-450 West 39th Street Telephone for both: Lackawanna 4725 GERTRUDE LAWRENCE "CHARLOT'S REVUE" Two Ildif-ious "OH KAY" (Aarons & Frecdlcy) "TREASURE GIRL" {Aarons & Freed Icy) "BATTLE OF PARIS" (Talking Picture — Famous Players) "CANDLE-LIGHT" {Gilbert Miller) "INTERNATIONAL REVUE" {Len< Leslie) "AU RE VOIR, BUT NOT GOOD-BYE" Because of previous contractual arrangements which necessitate my taking a vacation now—the first I have had since I made my American debut in Andre Chariot's Revue—I am forced- to leave the cast of Lew Leslie's "International Revue." And, in leaving, I want to thank Lew Leslie, a great man and a splendid producer; Harry Richman, Jack Pearl, Harry Jans, Harold Whalen and and all the other members of the company for their kindness to me. It has been a pleasure to work side by side with them and in transforming "The International Revue'* from an apparent failure into a brilliant Broadway success. I want to express my especial gratitude to the authors, Nat N. Dorfman, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, all of whom have been real friends. I want to extend a special hand of welcome to Miss Frances Williams, who joins the cast upon my departure. In parting, may I wish them all Godspeed and the further wish that "The International Revue" will run on and on. Looking forward to seeing you all again in January, Sincerely,