The Washington times., 1935-11-18
Bill HoyIe's
Back Stage
Gossip

When IS m e tt m e." starring
Frank Tinney, opened at the Ma
tional Theater here in 1918, j.
Harold Murray, the young roman
tic lead, sang for the first time
on the musical comedy stage.
Eight years later, in December,
1925, he opened in "Rio Rita" at
the Colonial, in Boston, and in
May, 1929, closed with the same
show at Schubert's, Newark, for
the longest musical comedy run
on record.
This well-known baritone play
ing the Fox this week, was at one
time the star paper salesman for
a Boston Company.
That's BOb's Wife
And Bob Hope, featured actor
of this bill, first bowed to Wash
ington audiences eight years ago
at the Earle. In the act of Hope
and Byrne" they teamed with the
Siamese Twins, on the same bill,
doing a joint act with one of
the bits being a dance routine in
combination with the twins. The
four also doubled at the Club
Chanticleer.
Bob led the California Cole
gianS in the stages Roberts" I"
and had saxophonist in his band
by the name Of Fred MacMurray,
who proves to be the co-star with
Carole Lombard in the screen por-
ton Of the same bill.
Dolores Rea, the songstreSS with
Bob, is the Mrs.
Radio Made Him
AL Norman, headlining the
Earle'S stage, was a radio repair
man and received his first break
when he entered Charleston
contest while working on loud
speaker backstage at the Hippo
drome Theater, in New York. He
made his first appearance here in
dance act with Eddie Rio, now
we'll known in vaudeville.
The three-year-old youngSter
who watches him from the wings
is son Jerry, and has learned to
hoof his dads routine.
X X \
The Five ElginS, opening the
Fox bill, are the only act in vaude'
vile to do the hat changing rou-
tine. The indian clubs are specially
made and called the Sheldon"
model by the manufacturer,
named from their designer, Rose
Sheldon, a member of the troup.
Tom Breen, another member,
was formerly a single dancing act,
and is the brother of Nellie Breen
of the team of ALLEN and Breen."
Ethel Shepphard, ,tapster in the
Shepphard- Carlton revue, follow
ing this act, is the niece of Irving
kaufman, Lazy Dan" of radio
fame, and Friday received an
offer for the General circuit in
England.
Bobby Holman, featured in the
same revue, is the only dancer to
do a Fred AStaire around a silk
topper set on the stage.
MS olTbuUay
And Joaquin Garay, at the
Earle, came to Walt RoeSner,
director of the Fox Theater in
San Francisco, for an addition
eight years ago. RoeSner liked his
voice and so did Frisco, so he
stayed there for record two-year
run. His first trip East brought
him to the Roxy, in the big city,
where he played continuous 10
weeks, claimed to be the longest
engagement played by a singer at
this house. He came into Wash
ington, Friday, on his twenty
fourth birthday, to play his first
booking here.
Marjorie Clay, the acrobatic
dancer who steps from the line
of David Bines dancers on this
bill, learned acrobatic hoofing at
the age of eight from her dad,
a physical education teacher in
Toronto, Canada.
Belgian AcrObats
Prosper and Maret, control aero
bats here, are from Antwerp,
Belgium, and we're at one time
half of "The Four Readings"
troop vaudeville oldsters will re-
member. They are the originators
of the slow motion balancing, and
played their first D. c. date II
years ago at Keith'S.
On this bill II years ago at
the Fifteenth Street playhouse
was a xylophonist named Libonati,
who plays the Earle this week with
his son and daughter. and Incl
dentally has not played the same
bill with Prosper and Maret"
since that date at Keith's. Libonati
is the first xylophonist to play
ragtime jazz, and also to use four
mallets simultaneously.