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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) h