The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-22
Back Stage News and Gossip
Gathered BY Bill HoyIe

vile Time playing 3 1lLlaA Week az
the Chase Theater, Fifteenth and
the Avenue, prior to moving into
the new B. F. Keith house around
the corner on Fifteenth Street.
On April Is, the lights were
changed to Poll just one day after
news had been flashed that the
Titantic had gone down and the
new Poll stock opened with mo
body'S Widow" at that time run
ming on Broadway with Blanche
Bates as its star. The headliners
booked for this termination Of
vaudeville policy were Grace
Freeman and q Washington IA
vorite of those days, Mabel Tall
aferro.
On this same bill Henry Dunn,
then q youngSter Of IL doing his
first month Of vaudeville and his
first appearance here, stood in q
side box, blinked into the unusual
glare of the spotlight, and did a
vocal to introduce Grace Freeman.
-Four years later he won a scholar.
ship to the New England Conserv-
atory of Music, in Boston. This
was at the same time that Roland
Hayes, now well known concert
Soloist, left the home hamlet Of
Curreyville, Ca, and studied at
this conservatory at night while
he worked during daylight, run
ming the building elevator to pay
for the musical education that
was later to bring his brilliant
career.
Allan Cross, the other half r.
the song duo Of "CroSS and Dunn"
headlining the Earle, started his
career in 1920 when Blossom
Seeley hired him in Chicago to do
solo work with her big-time vau-
deville act. His second week found
him here at Keith'S introducing
the song hit MARY Of Mine" For
IL years Allan and Henry worked
clubs and stage both Singly and
teamed, and in their entire stage
experience never played on the
same bill until they started their
present song team two years ago
at the Worlds Fair in Chicago.
Thursday night they take a
sleeper into New York and Friday,
at 8, go to the Vitaphone Studios,
Brooklyn, to make the first
Warner reel featurette, a new
type of deluxe attraction shortly
to go on the film market.
Elena Kazanova. leading her
'TZiganes" - translated adds up
to "full-blooded gypsy rovers"-
came to the Fox stage Friday for
her first vaudeville appearance in
this country. She arrived from
Europe in October with five mem.
bers of her original European
band and Immediately selected
others and rehearsed until she
opened at the French Casino in
New York, two weeks ago.
Her first professional appear
ance, however, was six years ago
when she tucked the $4,000 Go
friller fiddle under chin and as a
CHS feature went on the air over
WABC New York. Before this time
she had no experience whatsoever
} here or in her homeland of Ru
mania.
After several months she re
turned overseas on vacation and
while abroad the Isle De France
met a friend of the director Of
the theater Les Ambassadors, ir
Paris. She was introduced anc
} with no band experience was
booked into this firStrate house
leading a stage band. The two
week engagement proved her tai
ent, and next came the summer
season at the Casino in Monte
Carlo, a spot treasured by the
leading orchestras in Europe.
She speaks English, French
German, Italian, Spanish and Rus
sian.
Donald Novis, now a feature Of
Jumbo" won the Atwater Kent
radio contest in 1928 and taking
the $4,000 prize left his home or
the coast to do better in the lar
gest city Strangely, when he
found funds low and no job he
received a long-distance call from
a Hollywood producer and went
back in what might be termed his
own backyard. to work in films
The next year Charles Garlic
: now a Fox stage feature won