A weekly trade newspaper focusing on theater and film, Variety has been a bible of the entertainment industry since the turn of the century. Founded in 1905 by Sime Silverman, a former vaudeville critic for a New York newspaper, Variety's origins can be traced to a dispute between Silverman and a former editor, who asked the critic to soften a scathing review. Silverman promptly quit, and set about launching Variety, whose distinctive, trademark "V" was designed by his wife on a nightclub tablecloth.

From its earliest days, Variety became embroiled in a feud with the powerful Keith-Albee theater chain over what the paper considered its stranglehold over vaudeville entertainment in the United States. The newspaper supported protests by a group of actors called the White Rats of America, a fledgling performers' union modeled after the Water Rats, a similar organization in London. Keith-Albee replied by forbidding its actors...