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The Southern Israelite
zA meric as Foremost Showman
years aijo there came
city of A r cw York three
•ns of a poor tailor of
<c. They chose the theatre
sphere of activity, the
nipetitive of all profes-
Today the Shuberts con-
theatrical world of
,i. This sketch describes
in behind the trust—Lee
—Thf. Editor.
Xlir.'iham L. Erlanger died re-
. re disappeared from the field
competitor of America’s forc
es man—also a Jew. The great-
n the theatrical world today
; the “Shuberts"; hut behind
,ric family name there is one
. personality who is the driv-
m. who does more to create
n the stage and to make and
p tk "'■tars" than any other man in
That man is Lee Shubert.
i the three brothers who started
witiess thirty years ago only two
i. for Sam died in an automobile
t m 1905. The two who com-
"Shuberts” are J. J. and Lee,
inn the former is abroad so much and
<le\i>ti■' himself to so many other ac-
isitie' that the burden of the huge
theatrie.d machine rests on Lee.
' only fifty, and a bachelor. But
rather tired-looking, often wor
th! more often moody. If ever
' the time from his daily round
rwh activities to survey his past
t he rather proud of that long
he climbed. The son of a poor
tailor, he has risen to a pin-
• hence he influences the destiny
wands of people directly and
Is O
s of thousands indirectly.
■ tit money, without influence, he
brothers came to New York
I hey were interested in the
and dared to enter a field which
‘ that time under the complete
'<ion of what was known as
rust.” Erlanger was the incar-
"f that trust, which had a
hold on the largest theaters in
from coast to coast. A pro-
'ihl not hope to make a go of
he was under the protection
i rust.” Actors could not get
tents unless they secured the
!1 of the "Trust.” Managers
"t make bookings unless they
consent of the “Trust.”
he Shuberts broke that trust.
In t have too much money, but
: a great deal of ingenuity,
re clever enough to sign Sarah
ht to a contract. When she
ppear in California the “Trust”
*° give the Shuberts a theater
they could show’ their attrac-
't that didn’t discourage Lee
brothers; they hired a circus
ot a h the money in the world
'hstand this astute showman-
that. in 1907. Klaw & Er-
lecided to combine with the
hoys. But that association
r only two years. There was
enterprise, imagination, and
T;.
An Intimate Sketch of Lee Shubert
By ROBERT STONE
Lee took control of the business of
the brothers, put all his time into it
and all his resourcefulness. With the
result that the Shuberts now control
about 200 theater houses from one end
of America to the other. Seventeen
hundred actors depend on Lee for their
weekly salary. In New York alone,
w’here there are only about seventy
theaters, the Shuberts control thirty-
five. In fact, if a show is a success
on Broadway it is most likely to he
housed in a Shubert theater or financed
with Shubert money.
Three decades have gone bv and in
that time Lee has combined within
himself all the duties of the theatrical
business. He has bought plays; he has
rehearsed plays; he has built theaters:
he has sold theaters. When he was a
lad in Syracuse lie was a program boy
—which about completes the circuit.
There have been times when his ag
gressive spirit has brought him into
conflict with other managers and pro
ducers. Ofttimes he has involved him
self in violent disputes with the press.
He is dominated by his pride and is a
slave of his sensitiveness. The slightest
jest can hurt him. At other times he
will ignore the most vicious insult.
He is pre-eminently the man of moods,
wedded to his stage business, undiverted
by other attractions.
That he should have immersed him
self completely in the theater is not
strange. In the first place, he is not
married and has no family obligations.
His avocations and hobbies arc few’.
He does not even have the vice of
smoking. Once he bought a yacht, but
he used it so rarely that he had it
sold. Those who hang around the Shu
bert Theater Building in New York
can often see him leaving the estab
lishment about 2 o’clock in the morn
ing. At 11 o’clock he is hack at his
desk—in normal routine, interviewing
managers, hiring actors, firing direc
tors. negotiating with real estate men.
It’s hard to get to see Lee Shubert.
Once you get the interview he is brief,
snappy, alert. Actors who talk too long
about their accomplishments or pro-
Council Women Endorse
George Washington Celebration
New York City.—The Board of Man
agers of the National Council of Jew
ish Women voted its endorsement of
the plans of the George Washington
Bicentennial Commission for celebrat
ing the two hundredth anniversary of
the birth of George Washington in
1932.
President Hoover is Chairman of the
Commission, and Representative Sol
Bloom of New York and Lieutenant -
Colonel U. S. Grant III, arc the
Associate Directors. Congress has al
ready authorized the collection and
publication of Washington's essential
writings and letters in a Memorial Edi
tion of twenty-five volumes. In ex
plaining the aims of this celebration,
the George Washington Commission
has announced that “This nation-wide
celebration should not be based upon
material manifestations of patriotic
fervor .... that the event be more
in the nature of a revival of appre
ciation of the example and ideals of
George Washington.”
It has also been announced that the
National Council of Jewish Women will
participate in the General Interracial
Conference of Church Women to be
held at Oberlin, Ohio, on 1 June 20th to
22nd, under the auspices of the Com
mission on Race Relations of the Fed
eral Council of the Churches of Christ
in America.
Carol Greets American
Jewry Through Seven Arts
*ntr
in that merger.
New York, N. Y.—In reply to a
cable from the Seven Arts Feature
Syndicate asking King Carol II of Ru
mania for a message concerning the
status of Rumanian Jewry, the follow
ing cable was addressed to the Syndi
cate by C. Demitrescu, private secre
tary to the King:
“His Majesty the King wishes me to
state that he strongly condemns all and
any anti-Semitic propaganda. It is alien
to the spirit of tolerance and freedom
characteristic of the Rumanian people.
His Majesty wishes to assure Ameri
can Jewry that the Jewish population
of Rumania, together with the other
minorities of his country, can depend
upon the full safeguarding of their civic
and religious rights, as there is no place
in Rumania for discrimination and re
ligious prejudice. His Majesty the King
also wishes me to state that Jews in
other countries should not give cre
dence to rumors emanating from un
reliable sources w’ith regard to the in
ternal situation in Rumania. His Maj
esty’s Government is giving its personal
attention to the status of minorities in
Rumania.”
ducers who rave too much about the
play they have under consideration arc
often startled to find that Lee has
walked out on them. He hasn’t the
nerve to tell them to leave. He does
the next best thing—he leaves himself.
And despite the fact that he can’t
stand boring conversation it is even
harder for him to endure solitude. It’s
a well-known idiosyncrasy of his to
take somebody along with him wher
ever he goes. It makes no difference
whether it’s to go to a dining place or
to leave town, he gets hold of one of
his assistants to accompany him.
How concentrated he is on the the
atrical business is indicated by the fact
that he is the only producer in Amer
ica who sees every one of his first-
night productions. He even goes to see
many of the first nights of other plays.
Which seems to prove that Lee is a
glutton for punishment.
As I said before, there arc few plays
on Broadway which can receive a hear
ing unless it’s through a Shubert house.
But there was a time when Lee could
not even buy a seat to a show in some
theaters. They tell a story about Shu
bert in Atlantic City in 1909, when Lee
attended a production at the Apollo
Theater, which was being sponsored
by Flo Ziegfeld. During the first act
a theater assistant walked up to Shu
bert, caught his attention, and said:
“Mr. Ziegfeld wishes you to leave the
house, sir.” But today one of Ziegfeld’s
most prosperous productions is occupy
ing a Lee Shubert theater.
There is a tradition in the theater
world that Lee Shubert is a hard man.
Actors, particularly, who have seen
their star ambitions go glimmering,
speak bitterly of his granite heart. But
the explanations for that are many.
Lee Shubert is like a miser with his
theater business. He is so wrapped up
in it, has so few diversions that he
has a point of view utterly different
from that even of the man whose pro
fession is that of the theater. The show
world is Lee’s business and romance
combined.
Many people have complained that
Shubert is tjie one who has inundated
the American theater with “girl" shows.
But Shubert has also given America
some of its finest productions. In fact,
Shubert himself admits that 70 per cent
of his productions are “flops.” Not
every “flop” is synonymous with a
great play, of course, but many of them
fail because they have a much higher
standard than that demanded by the
average theatergoer.
The thirtieth anniversary of Lee
Shubert’s entrance into the theatrical
world sees him the master of the show
business, having amassed much wealth
and having sponsored many artistic
successes. But it is the human per
sonality behind the show business that
is far more fascinating than his suc
cess. A lonely figure, who has fought
his way to success in the most pre
carious business in the world.
(Copyright, 1930, by SAF Syndicate)
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