The Washington times., 1937-06-07
THE VOICE OF
Broadway
BY Louis SObOl-
Fragments!

fragments!
Some weeks ago, we reported
that the famous Hastings-on.the-
Hudson estate of the late Flo
Ziegfeld had been sold by Billie
Burke's agent, Max Reibesen, toAa
Wall Streeter for a handsome Zig
ure. The accurate statement
should have been that the New
Yorker gave a $4,000 down pay
ment-and then met with reverses
on the market, and decided not
to complete the deal. Now the
dream home of Ziegfeld and Billie
Burke is to 60 to one of two phllan-
thropic organizations - either a
Spanish syndicate which plans to
use it as a home for child refugees
or a Jewish syndicate which
would use it for an orphanage.
Interesting is part of a long wire
from Billie Burke: Let us turn
Berkeley Crest into home for the
children or the aged. would work
my fingers to the bone for it. I
suppose it's a wild dream Of mine,
but stranger things come true.
We could then just cross out the
letter C and it would be Berkeley
Rest and perpetuate the love l
have had for this place for the last
- years. I don't know how can
carry the burden of that property
much longer, but somehow feel
the dear old place will carry on
as it was meant to give love and
Joy and health to people who will
love it in turn"
Dear Louis SObOl writes Rob
ert HarrOn): l learn in your
Wednesday column of last week
that have been dead for several
years. Imagine my surprise!
Please don't let Steve flanagan
know. It's a fact that lot of
my friends who read your Wed
nesday column, but didn't read
Tuesdays reference to the old
Bobby HarrOn of the movies,
have been calling up here to
find out what happened to me.
Bobby (nO relatiOn) died in New
York on the night before Demp-
sey fought MiSke in Michigan
City, Ind, in 1920. I handled
both stories on a Boston news
paper desk, which is how 1 hap
pen to hook them up in my
mind.
Novelist-Poet Maxwell Boden.
helm, who used to inspire Page l
colorful stories not so many
years ago, is still very much a
part of the Village. Currently,
you may find him displaying his
poems for sale on the South
Fence of Washington Square. In
fact, he celebrated his birthday
this week by raising the price Of
his lyrics from 81 to 50 each.
Wednesday night was some
thing of a sentimental event on
Broadway. 1t marked the come
back of Jackie Osterman. Co.
featured with the beautiful Marion
Martin, at Mario's Mirador, Os.
terrnan's initial appearance on the
floor was greeted with such an
ovation as is accorded only a nom
inee at a Democratic convention.
There has never been anything
like it in recent years. For fully
10 minutes the applause and the
shouts and the cheers thundered
through the room until Broad
ways Bad Boy wept openly. The
comedian, who is only "a, was at
the height of his career when the
Jack Bennies and the Burns and
Aliens and the Rudy Vallees and
the Fred Aliens were wondering
whether they hadn't better save a
few pennies for the inevitable
rainy day. No one had a sharper
wit or was quicker on the trigger
retort-So much so that experts
like Eddie Cantor and George
Jessel never attempted to top him.
The new Osterman df he be-
haves) is still the rapid-fire quip-
pist-he still delivers his ballads
with the same emotional fire.
Osterman's comeback is some
thing for feature writers to play
around with on their typewriterS.
Significant that George Alb.
bots successes have been from col.
Elaborated efforts. Thus he and
Phil Dunning wrote Broadway"
He directed the Ben Hecht.
Charles Macarthur twentieth
Century" collaborated with Phil
Dunning on Lilly Turner" di.
rected the Bella and Samuel Spe.
wack boy Meets Girl" the John
Monks, Jr.-Fred Finklehoffe BRO.
ther Rat" and most recently the
John Murray-Allen Boretz Room
Service" Nor must the collabora.
ton with John Cecil Holm on a
little turkey named Three Men
on Horse" be ignored. Once
Abbott decided to 60 it alone, Sc
he turned out something called
Sweet River" 1t laid an egg.
Several universities are plan.
ming to install a new course
planned for those who aspire to
be movie directors. Which will
probably by a laff to Ernst Lub-
itsch, who got his training as
a comedian in Vienna. .Tay
Garrett, who was a commercial
and Army aviator Richard