'Pamy}l 'Wurlitzer 1883 • 1912 Orbil ill '"e eclronic1ynt-he1izer P,UJ ~ -~ohJre01pinel orqon equo1... ~e nevve;Iwoy lo mo <.emu1ic fromWur irzec Now with the Orbit III electronic synthesizer from slowly, just as the theatre organist did by opening and Wurlitzer you can create new synthesized sounds in­ closing the chamber louvers. stantly ... in performance. And with the built-in Orbit III synthesizer, this This new Wurlitzer instrument is also a theatre organ, instrument can play exciting combinations of synthe­ with a sectionalized vibrato/tremolo, toy counter, in­ sized, new sounds, along with traditional organ music. A dependent tibias on each keyboard and the penetrating built-in cassette player/recorder lets you play along with kinura voice that all combine to recreate the sounds of pre-recorded tapes for even more dimensions in sound. the twenty-ton Mighty Wurlitzers of silent screen days. But you've got to play the Orbit III to believe it. And it's a cathedral/classical organ, too, with its own in­ Stop in at your Wurlitzer dealer and see the Wurlitzer dividually voiced diapason, reed, string and flute voices. 4037 and 4373. Play the eerie, switched-on sounds New linear accent controls permit you to increase or of synthesized music. Ask for your free Orbit III decrease the volume of selected sections suddenly, or demonstration record. Or write: Dept. TO - 672 WURLiizER ® The Wurlitzer Company, DeKalb, Illinois 60115 . hn.4'the \T8fl cover- photo .. Farny R. Wurlitzer, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the Wurlitzer Company, who died May 6, 1972. See story on page 5. (Photo courtesy of the Wurlitzer Company) Journol of the American Theatre Organ Society Volume 14, No. 3 • June 1972 ATOS Notional Membersnip is $8.00 per cal­ in this issue ... endar year, which includes a subscription to THEATRE ORGAN, the official publication of the American Theatre Organ Society. Single FEATURES copies: $1 .25. Make check or money order payable to ATOS, and moil to P. 0. Box 306, North Haven, Connecticut 06473. 5 Famy Wurlitzer ALL MATERIAL FOR PUBLICATION 6 To The Ladies . ....... John Muri EXCEPT ADVERTISING SHOULD BE 7 Salute to Sooner State and Mid-America SENT TO ATOS PUBLICATIONS P. 0 . BOX 2329, LIVONIA, MICHIGAN 48150 11 Things Are "Looking Up" at the Centre .. Stu Green 14 The Eddie Horton Story . Lloyd E. Klos ADVERTISING ADDRESS: ATOS Advertising 18 Bill Uhler and His Marr and Colton ... Lloyd E. Klos 2231 North Burling Street 24 Thirteen Organists Featured at Convention Chicago, Illinois 60614 33 Dennis James Scores Again ATOS National Officers 34 Where's Wolfe and Ward . Carroll F. Harris Stillman Rice, President 37 Wurlitzer List Lee Erwin, Vice President Mory Bowles, Secretory-Treasurer Mildred Rice, Executive Secretory Barbaro Hubbard, Membership Secretary DEPARTMENTS ATOS National Board of Directors 4 Acre of Seats 23 Book Review 35 Closing Chord Mory Bowles Gaylord Corter Lee Erwin Allen W . Rossiter 10 Dinny's Colyum 26 Nuggets from the Golden Days 37 Hollywood Cavalcade Allen Miller Richard Simonton 16 Snippets from England 28 Vox Pops 38 Chapter Notes Ron Willfong Judd Walton 21 For the Records 35 Letters to the Editor 47 Classified Ads Albert T. Mason, Post President ATOS Honorary Members 1959-Jesse Crawford 1966-W. "Tiny" James 1960-Farny Wurlitzer 1967-Erwin A. Young, Jr. 1961-Mel Doner 1968-Richard C. Simonton 1962-Leonard MacClain 1969-Judd Walton 1963-Eddie Dunstedter 1970-Bill Lamb pr-esident~s messaae ... 1964-Reginald Foort 1971-George and Vi Thompson 1965-Dan Barton ------ HALL OF FAME ------ National Headquarters has had many re­ DON BAKER F. DONALD MILLER quests for information about ATOS and the JESSE CRAWFORD C. SHARPE MINOR number of new members joining our society MRS . JESSE CRAWFORD HENRY B. MURTAGH EDDIE DUNSTEDTER RAY SHELLEY indicates the growing enthusiasm for the the­ LEE ERWIN ARSENE SIEGAL FRED FEIBEL MILTON SLOSSER atre pipe organ and continued growth of ATOS. REGINALD FOORT FIRMIN SWINNEN This statement is backed up by reporting our ARTHUR GUTOW SIDNEY TORCH SIGMUND KRUMGOLD OLIVER WALLACE membership of over 4175 members as of May LEONARD MacCLAIN LEW WHITE 1st. With the possibility of a Postal increase and rises in printing costs along with the general EDITORIAL STAFF increase in costs of everything, ATOS will need Editor-George Thompson more money. In the immediate future we Associate Editors - Ray Brubacher Lloyd E. Klos should provide adequate funds for official Peg Nielsen travel and extra help needed in our Circulation Editor-Emeritus - W. "Stu" Green and Editorial staff and other working com­ Publisher-Al Mason Art Director-Don Lockwood mittees. Advertising Manager-Len Clarke The big event of our Theatre Organ year is our 17th Annual Convention next Circulation Manager-Vi Thompson month hosted by the Potomac Valley Chapter. Convention Chairman, Woody Wise, THEATRE ORGAN (title registered U. S. Patent and his committee have a fun packed Convention scheduled for us. With the in­ Office) is published bi-monthly by the American crease in membership, the attendance should out number past Conventions. Theatre Organ Society, Inc., a non-profit organ­ ization, Stillman H. Rice, President. All rights SEE YOU IN WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 10-14! reserved. Entire contents copyrighted 1970 by ATOS, Inc., Office of publication is P. 0. Box VOTE FOR DIRECTORS BY JUNE 26 ! 2329, Livonia, Michigan 48150. POSTMASTER: Second Class postage paid at ATOS ~A F Livonia, Michigan. IF UNDELIVERABLE, send J(. form 3579 to ATOS Circulation Department, Box .ABCHiVES/ LIBRAR~ '!~ 1314, Salinas, California 93901. Stillman H. Rice, President THEATRE ORGAN JUNE, 1972 3 By Bill Peterson,Number 26 in a series. (Photo Taken by B. Andrew Corsini) THEDENVER THEATRE -DENVER This house seating approximately2000 was designedby C.W.and George L. Rapp of Chicago.Although only about two thirds the size of the Seattle Paramount,this theatre has many features similarto the Seattle house,including a largemirror on eachsidewall in the balcony,central dome, and almost identical proscenium arch. The Denverhas a 3/15 Wurlitzer260 Specialorgan. 4 JUNE, 1972 THEATRE ORGAN FARNYR.WURLITZER 1883-1972 Farny Wurlitzer passed away May 6, 1972. Mr. Wurlitzer was born on December 7, 1883 and was the youngest son of Rudolph Wurlitzer. At that time the Farny Wurlitzer headquarters were in Cincin­ nati, Ohio. In 1908 the large factory in North Tonawanda, N.Y. was built. This complex was destined to become world famous as the producer of the mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. Famy Wurlitzer was placed in charge of the North Tonawanda plant. Upon hearing a Robert Hope-Jones organ in Buffalo and learning of the financial difficulties of the Hope-Jones Company, Famy arranged to purchase the assets and thereby brought Jones into the Wur­ litzer Company. Young Mr. Wurlitzer's foresight and the unique pipe organ developed by Hope-Jones were com­ bined to give the world the most famous name in all the years of pipe organ history. Famy Wurlitzer was in charge of the North Tonawanda plant throughout the years of pipe organ construction. His devotion to the king of instruments brought about his keen interest in the affairs of ATOS. He was a Charter "Tiny" James, Grant Whitcomb, Mr. Member and our National Board voted Wurlitzer, and Marvin Korinke at the ATOE him Honorary Member for the year Melody Fair in 1964. 1960. In recent years, due to failing heal th, Mr. Wurlitzer had been under the care of Helen Taravella, who also nursed The late Ben Hall greets Mr. Wurlitzer. Grace Wurlitzer, Farny's wife, until . her passing several years ago. Helen Taravella served the Famy Wurlitzer URLITZER family for over 12 years. Famy usually spent two or three Mr. Wurlitzer with Reginald ELCOMES (Bill Lamb Photo) months of each year at La Jolla, California. This year was no exception. .T.O.E. In the latter part of April, he was Mr. Wurlitzer with some of the original visited by ATOS members Dick Simon­ personnel who worked on the Mighty Wur­ E .MBERS ton and Judd Walton, who discussed l itzers. the theatre organ with him, as they had on many previous occasions. Shortly thereafter, Nurse Taravella recognizing Mr. Wurlitzer's rapid de­ cline, arranged for his earlier than usual return to Buffalo, New York. His passing came quietly during the early morning of May sixth. He has left us with the legacy of a sound that will never be surpassed, the mighty Wur­ litzer pipe organ. □ JUNE, 1972 by John Muri As one reads the articles in theatre one doesn't need it if one can read organ publications one is impressed music. with the fact that men dominate the When she was asked to play the field almost entirely, even though the­ Circle Wurlitzer in 1921, she took a atre-organ work in the silent-picture crash course in organ and was an days was done to a great extent by instant success. In 1924 she was a women. A glance at the list of players relief organist at the Circle, a job that in Lloyd Klos' column in the February, gave her time to play in a dinner­ 1972 issue of THEATRE ORGAN music women's ensemble at the Clay­ will give some idea. A number of pool Hotel, where she had the chance managers were prejudiced against wom­ to meet Victor Herbert and John en organists as soloists because they Philip Sousa, the latter of whom she didn't think the girls looked good or considered "a doll." Later she became dignified while kicking away at pedals; solo organist at the theatre, with Walter but if memory serves me right, there Flandorf, Bomer Kramer, and Herb DESSA BYRD in 1940.