Life, 1905-04-20 · page 16 of 28
Life — April 20, 1905 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This article satirizes the brutal business practices of **Klaw & Erlanger**, theatrical producers who controlled most American theaters around 1900. The piece documents testimony from producer **David Belasco** in a Supreme Court case exposing their monopolistic methods. The core issue: Erlanger demanded 50% of profits from Belasco's productions (far exceeding the standard 5% booking fee) to distribute his plays through their theater chain. When Belasco resisted, Erlanger threatened to blacklist him entirely—"I'll crush you out of business." The accompanying cartoon (by D. Jim Hall) depicts this coercive dynamic: a well-dressed figure in a top hat aggressively grabs another man by the throat, labeled "THAT DOESN'T GO ANY MORE"—presumably Belasco's defiant response. The satire denounces Erlanger as tyrannical ("the most abhorred man in the country") and exposes how monopolistic control of venues enabled theatrical extortion, crushing artistic independence.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE: MINS Another Peep Behind the Scenes. 7 did not ¢ - e the of the Th al Trust w stated that five per cent. of the g receipts of eve! theatre in the United States is exacted from managers for boc .N theatres outside of ew York. nat mere bagatelle is a first charge c ul receipts of companies where profits are uncertain, Messrs. Klaw & Erlanger can do better than a mere paltry five per cent. of the gross receipts in the ¢ ductions which have proved to be successful in New York and which are bound to make large and sure profits outside ofthe city. Fifty per cent. of the profits is considerably better than five per cent. of the gross. There has been some resting litigation going on in the Supreme Court of New York lately, and some of the testimony is enlightening as to the men and methods that control dra ic art in America. It appears that Mr. Belasco wished to arrange a tour through the country for David Warfield in * The He went to Erlanger, he said,and told him he wa a route, but did not think much of Warfield, except as a Dutch comedian, ¢ was willing to stake his reputation on Warfield, and offered to give Erlanger $320 or $400, the usual rates for the season, and a small percent, Re inued : “Oh, to hell with percentages, 1 Erlanger. “Ul tell you what, Bel ou let me in thisand I'll make the managers swallow this fellow anyhow.” “10's not fair for you to hold me up by the throat,” I replied, “after all I've done for you and the syndicate, Don't push me to the wall, Tt looks like blackmail.” “Don't you dare to say blackmail to me," he said, “If you want t to let me in on this right Belasco said he offered twenty per cent., but Erlanger was more than disgusted and retorted * Lwant half the profits, and if you don’t give me that I'll crush you out of business. I'll kick you out of this theatrical business, and hereafter you won't get another thing. If I don’t get half I'll crush Belasco said he took a week to think it over and then told Erlanger he could see no escape from the proposition. He said Klaw & Erlanger controlled practically all first-class thea- tres in the United States in 1900, and they wanted to crush him by re{using to book his plays except under certain conditions, Q. Do you detest Klaw & Erlanger? A, I detest their methods, Q. Why? A. I think Mr, Erlanger is the most abhorred man in the country. He stated that Erlanger told him he must have fifty percent, of the profits of his productions, otherwise*he would be crushed. Erlanger said to him: * Lwilldrive you out of the business, crush you! Lama mogul, I am akin Belasco replied to him : I know that, but I wanta route. I don’t care so much for money as for an artistic success.” ‘Twould have struck him," Belasco continued, if I was not at his mercy in the matter of booking. I wanted business for my star.” Under these circumstances he agreed to give Erlanger fifty percent. of the profits, and then Erlanger smilingly said to him * You have been doing business with Charles Frohman, You have had enough of Frohman, He has robbed you right and left and treated you like a dog. Keep this agreement between us secret ot the fellows across the street will raise———with us.” The fellows across the street '' were the miserable little five per centers in the Theatrical Trust who didn't quite grasp the fifty per cent. possibilities under a secret bargain. “The Auctioneer ’’ was not the only success Mr. Belasco was forced to book on the fifty per cent. basis. He testified that he was obliged to give up the same proportion of the profits of * Zaza," which proportion amounted to more than one hundred thousand dollars. . . . Pp SANT reading, my masters. Very pleasant ing for those foolish and deluded persons who cherish y idea that dramatic art has a future in this country. And what an alluring prospect this picture of the obs thrown in the way of artistic effort holds out to anyone THAT DOESN'T GO ANY MORE. IF YOU MAVE A LEANING TOWARDS SHADY FRENCH PLAYS, TELL YOUR FRIENDS THE REAL REASON YoU GO% YOU COULD ONLY BAMBOOZLE A BUNCH OF OLD JAYS BY SAYING, “IT HELPS MY FRENCH SO!" comicbooks.com