in 1907, william morris, a respected vaudeville performer in america, was sent to london by the czar of the american legitimate theatre, abe erlanger, who had formed "the advanced vaudeville". it was created to act as direct competition for the newly established vaudeville hegemony, which was operating in the eastern half of the usa. whilst in london, morris saw a performance of elen's at the hackney empire and signed him to take part in the new company. elen was offered $1,500 to work in the us. he accepted the offer and appeared on the same bill as harry lauder and will evans at the new york theatre where he performed his repertoire of cockney songs to the delight of american audiences. "the new york times" described his act as being "...strange, raucous, quavering voice with its queer breaks into the treble, the shambling gait and the sudden jerky gestures of a coster, with all the little mannerisms that serve to make him what he is".