Life, 1924-05-01 · page 10 of 40
Life — May 1, 1924 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a theatrical satire titled "Strike! Strike! Strike! And None Out!" by Eddie Cantor. The cartoon depicts a theatrical manager (left) and a reporter (right) discussing casting problems, with a baseball being used as visual metaphor for show business negotiations. The satire mocks the disconnect between theatrical managers and actors during labor disputes. The manager dismisses actors' demands for higher pay and better working conditions while claiming managers handle all the real work—hiring actors, playwrights, scene painters, and musicians. He argues actors receive all the money despite managers doing the labor. The baseball imagery suggests the "game" of theater management, where strikes and negotiations mirror sports terminology. The piece critiques management's self-serving arguments about their indispensability versus actors' actual value.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Strike! Strike! Strike! And None Out! A Talky Comedy Drama Dealing with a Subject that Will Be Four Years Old in June By Eddie Cantor CHARACTERS A Manacer (Name to be supplied later) A Turateicat Renoeter Hudson Fulton A TeLerione In Person Scene THEATRICAL manager's office. but not elabor It is neatly On the walls are two or thr rrpensive paintings, worth about $200,000 in all; one is a pic his , an electric-light star wv acting has cost him $487,000 to date furnished. In the corner is a mahogany desk on which rests a telephone with a platinum mouthpiece Manager is d Morning Gesundheit Mawnacek: I tell you, my dear fellow, it's impossible to get along under present conditions. The demands of the tors, stage hands, musicians and what not are so high that we can't keep on producing. The overhead—that's what they call it, isn't it?—is getting terrific. Have a cigar. (Manager hands reporter a Corona-Corona-Corona, hich re Hotel.) ter pockets, to smoke later at the Algonquin (Phone rings. MANAGER Manager picks up receiver.) not the Rolls-Royce What! the gardener him the raise Bring the Minerva around s he's leaving? Well, give Yes, anything he asks for (Manager hangs -up receiver.) Manacer (to reporter) : Imagine union! Isn't that ridiculous? do that for? We the best of it ctors joining a labor What did they want to ways got along fine. They always got I tell you, it’s impossible for a manager to make a living these days. Why— (Phone rings; Man picks up receiver.) four more cases, Yes, the stuff was great. Send me All right, I'll pay the difference (Manager hangs up re ry MAanacer (to reporter): Here's the situation in a nut shell. We managers do all the work. We hire the actors. the playwrights, the scene painters, the musicians and everybody else, and when the play is a success the actors get all the money. Why should we continue to do it Last year, for instance, I had two successes running in New York all summer. We gave actors work all through June, July, August and September, and I was so worn out that I had to go to Europe for a rest. (Phone rings; Manager picks up receiver.) MANacer: ad fifty! De silly. We can get a hundred actors to play the ré fifty. Why, the part will MAKE him! (Manager hangs up receiver.) MANnacer (to reporter) He wants three hundred Can you beat it? Three hun- dred and fifty dollars for playing a sure-fire comedy part My press agent, and he’s the best in the business, only gets three-fifty and he’s had my picture in seven papers so far this week. - (Reporter rises to go.) Manacer: I'm sorry you have to go so soon. Will you mention the fact that we managers can’t get along at this rate? And don't forget to send me a copy of the inter- view. Send it to the Royal Casino at Palm Beach. Revorter: If you don't: mal business, why do you stay in it 4 Manacex: Don't ask so many damn-fool questions. (Reporter exits, looking at the band on the cigar. rings for secretary, gives him al no! keep appointment at Producing Managers’ m is being held in a telephone booth.) Curtain y money out of this Manager d exits to ing, which Mathematics ATHEMATICS will never be a perfect tool in the service of man until it can add the personal touch to its content, It m: in its present state, assist a man to figure the value of nine pounds of sugar at ten cents a pound, or why the short cut through the corner lot is pre- ferable to walking around its sides. Sut when you tell a man that but one person in 500,000 is hurt by railway trains daily in the United States he feels a relief in the thought that such a mishap is little likely to occur to HIM. When, however, he is struck by the 5:49 he feels no interest in the 499,999 persons who do not make the trip with him in the ambulance. Until both of his reactions to the ratio of 1 to 500,000 are reconciled, mathematics will not be a complete science. M. J. Josaphare, comicbooks.com