THEATRE ORGAN BOMBARDE, the Official Pub 3 Editorial - Al Mason Lication of the American Threatre Organ Enthu 4 an Acre of Seats Siasts
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TheatreOrgan Bombarde JOURNAL of the AMERICAN THEATRE ORGAN ENTHUSIASTS Volume 11 Number 4 August 1969 1969 CHICAGO CONVENTION COVERAGE Wurlitzer Theatre Organ The modern Theatre Console Organ that combines the grandeur of yesterday with the electronic wizardry of today. Command performance! Wurlitzer combines the classic Horseshoe Design of the immortal Mighty Wurlitzer with the exclusive Total Tone electronic circuitry of today. Knowledge and craftsmanship from the Mighty Wurlitzer Era have produced authentic console dimensions in this magnificent new theatre organ. It stands apart, in an instru Partial list of features ment of its size, from all imitative theatre organ • Dual system of tone generation • Authentic Mighty Wurlitzer Horseshoe Design designs. To achieve its big, rich and electrifying • Authentic voicing of theatrical Tibia and tone, Wurlitzer harmonically "photographed" Kinura originating on the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ voices of the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ to • Four families of organ tone serve as a standard. The resultant voices are au • Two 61-note keyboards • 25 -note pedal keyboard with two 16' and thentic individually, and when combined they two 8' pedal voices augmented by Sustain blend into a rich ensemble of magnificent dimen • Multi-Matic Percussion ® with Ssh-Boom ®, Sustain, Repeat, Attack, Pizzicato, and sion. Then, to crown the accomplishment, we Bongo Percussion incorporated the famous Wurlitzer Multi-Matic • Silicon transistors for minimum maintenance Percussion ® section with exclusive Ssh-Boom ® • Reverb , Slide , Chimes, and Solo controls • Electronic Vibrato (4 settings) that requires no special playing techniques, • Exclusive 2 speed Spectra -Tone ® Sound Pizzi ca to Touch that was found only on larger pipe in Motion • Two-channel solid state amplifiers , 70 watts organs, Chimes and Slide Control ... and dozens total distributed output of other features that no other organ can offer. • 8 speakers (two rotating) • Theatre furniture styling in walnut or See ... hear ... play this magnificent organ today. antique white and gold URLI ZER means Music to millions ® pianos • organs • electronic pianos • band instruments • DeKalb, Illinois 60115 THE COVER PHOTOS TheatreOrgan Top row: (1) WGN Studio, (2) Chicago Sta dium, (3) Indiana Theatre. Bottom row: (4) Hoosier Theatre, (5) Mont Clare Theatre, (6) Mundelein. Bombarde - Convention coverage starts on page 19. - Vol. XI No. 4 Photos 1, 3, 6 by Bill Lamb. August, 1969 Photos 2, 4, 5 by Tom Yannitell. A.T.O.E. National Membership is $7.00 per cal endar year, which includes a subscription to In This Issue THEATRE ORGAN BOMBARDE, the official pub 3 Editorial - Al Mason lication of the American Threatre Organ Enthu 4 An Acre of Seats siasts. Single copies : $1.25. Make check or 5 Theatre Organ on Campus money order payable to A.T.O.E., and mail to 6 The Rose Diamond Story P. 0 . Box 2329, Livonia, Michigan 48150. 8 Syracuse Keith's Finds a New Home OVERSEAS Membership: $8.00. 11 Utica-Rome Organ Activity 12 Music of the Silents ALL MATERIAL FOR PUBLICATION 14 Nuggets from the Golden Days EXCEPT ADVERTISING SHOULD BE 15 Pipe Dreams, Chicago, USA (Conclusion) SENT TO A.T.O.E. PUBLICATIONS 19 Eleventh Annual Meeting and Convention P. 0. BOX 2329, LIVONIA, MICHIGAN 48150 29 Resume of National Board of Directors Meeting ADVERTISING ADDRESS: Dewey Cagle, 3291 29 Resume of General Membership Meeting Guido Street, Oakland, California 94602. 31 Accidents Will Happen 32 New Music for Theatre Organ * * * 32 Chapter Sponsors Gordon Krist Record A.T.O.E. National Officers 34 Repairing and Rewinding Wurlitzer Magnets (Conclusion) Albert T. Mason, President 35 Eddie Dunstedter a Sensation in Los Angeles Allen W. Rossiter, Vice President 36 Hollywood Cavalcade Dorothy Whitcomb, Secretary-Treasurer 36 For the Records Betty Mason, Executive Secretary 38 Ray Brubacher at the Virginia 40 Vox Pops A.T.O.E. National Board of Directors 42 Chapter News Lee Erwin 46 Letter to the Editor Ben M. Hall 47 Lee Erwin Plays for AGO Fred Kruse 47 Classified Ads Dorothy Whitcomb Gaylord Carter W. "Tiny" James Allen W. Rossiter EDITORIAL Richard Simonton Richard H. Schrum, Past President Friends; table ruling from the IRS. The Shaskin A.T.O.E. Honorary Members CATOE has delivered again. More organ has already been donated to them 1959 - Jesse Crawford organs, more artists, more organization. and word was just received that the 1960 - Famy Wurlitzer RKO-Stanley Warner people have a 1961 - Mel Doner The smoothest convention yet is a tri bute to the ability of CATOE to pro warded them the Style H Wurlitzer 1962 - Leonard MacClain from the State Theatre in Waterbury. 1963 - Eddie Dunstedter duce interesting shows. Let us hope I think this offers exciting prospects for 1964 - Reginald Foort this will inspire more chapters to make 1965 - Dan Barton theatre organ available to the general the future of our King of Instruments. 1966-W. "Tiny" James public. With the growth of our organization 1967 - Erwin A. Young, Jr. Thanks, CA TOE, for another chapter to 33 chapters and five more in the 1968 - Richard C. Simonton in our Theatre Organ memory book. throes of birth, our current membership 1969 - Judd Walton We are now the American Theatre is near 3,750 and will reach 4,000, I EDITORIAL STAFF Organ Society. With the S silent, we can. hope, by the close of the year. This Editor - George Thompson still be called A TO(s) and we should be soon will create an audience to listen Associate Editors - Ray Brubacher more enthusiastic than ever. to more performing artists and the or Lloyd Klos gans we restore will have a happier Peg Nielsen The change in our name and in our Editor-Emeritus - W. "Stu" Green By-laws reflects the desire of more life entertaining people instead of Publications Director - Don Lockwood chapters to investigate incorporating spiders and mice. Advertising Manager - Dewey Cagle under a broader section of the Internal We have come a long way with the Circulation Manager - Vi Thompson Revenue Code. The National office will name our founders chose. It is like THEATRE ORGAN BOMBARDE (title registered cooperate in every way possible if re losing a child to change the name but U. S. Patent Office) is published bi-monthly by quested. I anticipate our new title will help us the American Theatre Organ Enthusiasts, Inc., Connecticut Valley is the first chap to use the opportunities our previous a non-profit organization, Albert T. Mason, President. All rights reserved. Entire contents ter to receive an educational and chari- work has created. copyrighted 1969 by A.T.O.E., Inc., Office of publication is P.O . Box 2329, Livonia, Michigan 48150. Printed by Detroit Master-Craft, Livonia, Michigan 48150. POSTMASTER: Second Ctass postage paid at Livonia, Michigan. IF UNDELIVERABLE, send form 3579 to A.T.O.E. Circulation Department, Al Mason, President Box 1314, Salinas, California 93901. 3 theatre organ bombarde By Bill Peterson- Number 16 in a series CARTHAY CIRCLE THEATRE- LOS ANGELES This lovely Spanish Colonial designed house opened on May 18, 1926, and became world famous due to the many premieres that have been held there. The theatre was designed by Dwight Gibbs with a seating capacity of 1510. The organ, now removed, was a 3/ 11 Wurlitzer. The beautiful paintings on the organ screens depict early California history. The exterior of the building is dominated by a huge mission style tower. - Photo Courtesy - The Helgeson Collection august 1969 4 When I arrived at Bloomington, Indi Earharty, a fellow student and experi ana in September last year, I barely Theatre Organ enced pipe organ technician. Alan im expected to be able to have anything mediately began organizing the work to do with theatre organs. I had enrolled needed to prepare the Estey for use. in the School of Music of Indiana on Campus Days became weeks of work for our University to begin studying classical crew of three. We gave tools to inter organ. After unpacking and spending a by Dennis James ested students who wandered into the few hours on the beautiful I.U. campus organ chamber in Studio 5, thereby I instinctively headed into town to initiating them to the mystical art of check the four local theatres, hoping organ building. to find an organ. To my dismay, all The organ soon developed a schizo four organs had been removed or de phrenic personality of its own evident stroyed years ago. by the fact that three ciphers cropped A few weeks later I happened to up for every one we fixed and dead meet William Bussell, a member of notes kept appearing and disappearing ATOE Central Indiana Chapter. He in the manuals. A new tremulant was was tracing the whereabouts of Bloom needed, the ancient rectifier was un ington's only surviving theatre organ . reliable and the traps ceased to func We "found" the instrument in Studio 5 tion. By Thanksgiving Day the entire of the I.U. Radio and Television Build project looked hopeless. ing located on campus. New York's organ savant, Ben Hall, stated in a At this point I decided to plan a letter that the instrument had been in concert for Sunday, December 17. Un stalled in the Princess Theatre on daunted by our numerous setbacks we January 15, 1923. The original was an set to work so that within two weeks Estey, opus 2672, with two-manuals the organ could be played. Alan built and six ranks: Tibia 8', Flute-Bourdon a tremulant employing the principle of 16', Open Diapason 8', Violin 8', Vox the Wicks balanced pedal valve. It was Humana 8' and Tuba 8'. a strange device but it had the capacity to shake the huge volume of low When the organ was being installed Alan Earhart, Dennis James, and William Bussell.