The Washington herald., 1916-10-19

Your Old Pal. Ar' Reeves head of
the Beauty Show at the Gayety this
week. gave some entertaining remi-
niscences of the early days OF his career
in an interview last night, and then,
speaking as one Of the founders and
principal stockholders in the Columbia
Amusement Company, told from his own
knowledge OF the reforms brought about
by that organization in starting a clean
burlesque circuit and OF the success re-
sulting from its policy.
AL Reeves mother lived here when she
married his father, then captain on the
New York police force. At the age OF
II Al went to New York to live and
his father put him on at concert halls to
sing and dance as Master Albert"
Then he went to Coney Island to hll en-
gagements. These were the days when
Sam Bernard, Weber and Fields, and
many others now famous were, as Reeves
put 1t, hanging around" Coney Island.
Reeves first engagement was with
Andy and Anna Hughes. then the Hop
kins Transatlantic show; later with
Tony Pastor and then with the famous
Primrose Minstrels, when he was end
man with Lew Dockstader. His next en-
gagement was with Gus Hills World OF
Novelty show, which he left to flll
two weeks engagement in California.
This engagement continued twenty-seven
weeks and he remained on the Coast a
year.
Reeves then had his first experience
with a show of his own-a vaudeville show
with Lew DoCkstader as the feature.
Later he went into burlesque, in which
he has remained twenty-three years
Dissatisfied with the kind OF shows be-
ing put on by the circuit for which he
worked. Reeves and a number Of others
eight years ago started the Columbia
Amusement Company. This circuit Is
now the best paying one In the country.
In the last seven years 1t has earned
81 100000. 1t owns four houses that cost
$1,000, 900 apiece, and a number Of others
costing as much as $4,000
The circuit started with the principle
of staging none but clean shows and
has succeeded in getting the sort OF
male patronage they wanted. In every
city but this, a large attendance of
women patronize the shows, but not in
Washington.
It's hard to understand why our shows
don't draw women at the Gayety as in
other cities,' said Mr.. Reeves. why,
over in Baltimore. only 40 miles away. we
have never less than two hundred women
and sometimes more than six hundred at
all Of the twelve performances And we
give them the show identically as played
here. In Pittsburgh, where we play
next week, there will be a large percen-
tage Of women IN the audience. We feel
that the men in Washington are about
the best class Of men we play to any
where, a01 It is one Of the drawbacks to
the srlocves OF the Columbia Amusement
Company's hackers that the women of
this city do not patronize its shows which
are as clean and usually more handsome
ly staged than the musical comedy shows.
1T is true that before the days Of the
Columbia Amusement Company there
were shows put on at this house of the
''smutty' type, but there have been no
shows Of that kind in years
There are perhaps a dozen ladies in the
house right now (this was at last nights
performance). Why shouldn't there be
a dozen more, or a hundred more? 1
believe that If they would come here once
they would enjoy what they saw and
come back"