The magnificent sound of the WURLITZERORGAN now comesto you with Total Tone® The Wurlitzer 4030R The Wurlitzer 4502 More than 50 styles and finishes ... for amateur or professional, for home or church, for schoolor club~ The Wurlitzer 4300 Deluxe Now, many Wurlitzer Organsare available with the theatl'icalsound of Spectra-Tone®and Reverb, the fascinating effects of the Slide, the scintillating The Wurlitzer 4700 sounds of Ssh-Boom.® WuRLffzER The Wurlitzer 4500 means Music to millions® pianos • organs • electronic pianos The Wurlitzer 4075 DeKalb, Illinois 60115 •·:, -;tll.t•-~~~ :: THE COVER PHOTO The installation of the 3/10 Wurlitzer from the Ohio Theatre in Lima, in Downers Grove North High School required nearly 5,000 man hours of work by the Chicago Area Chapter. The instru­ ment was donated to the school by the Glen Journal of the American Theatre Organ Society Alden Corporation. Story begins on page 5. Volume 12, Number 6 In This Issue December, 1970 FEATURES ATOS National Membership is $8.00 per cal ­ 5 A Theatre Organ Comes to Downers Grove endar year, which includes a subscription to THEATRE ORGAN, the official publication of 8 Final Curtain - New Haven Paramount ....... Ben M. Hall the American Theatre Organ Society. Single 9 Building for the Future John Muri copies : $1 .25. Make check or money order 9 New Sound Technique payable to ATOS, and ma il to P. 0 . Box 90, New Haven, Connecticut 06501 . 11 ConnValChap Scholarship Winners 11 Wurlitzer List Nears Completion ALL MATERIAL FOR PUBLICATION EXCEPT ADVERTISING SHOULD BE 12 Randy at the Organ . ...... ........... .... ... ....... ... .... ...... ................ ... ............. .. ... Elmer Fubb SENT TO ATOS PUBLICATIONS 16 Dennis James Thrills 3800 P. 0 . BOX 2329, LIVONIA, MICHIGAN 48150 22 Where the 8artons Were - Part 5 ADVERTISING ADDRESS: Dick Schrum, Box 24 Home Organ Festival Glitters Hal Steiner 7422, Bitter Lake Station , Seattle, Wash. 98133. 25 Eddie Dunstedter Recovering 31 Lee Erwin Plays Soundless Concert Dr. Walter J. Beaupre ATOS National Officers Stillman Rice, President Lee Erwin, Vice President DEPARTMENTS Mary Bowles, Secretary-Treasurer Eleanor Weaver, Executive Secretary 10 Nuggets from the Golden Days 26 Letters to the Editor 14 Hollywood Cavalcade 28 Vox Pops ATOS National Board of Directors 14 Closing Chord 32 Chapter News Gaylord Carter Mary Bowles W. "Tiny" James Lee Erwin 17 For The Records 39 Classified Ads Allen W. Rossiter Ben M. Hall 20 Snippets from England Richard Simonton Allen Miller Albert T. Mason , Past President ATOS Honorary Members PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE 1959-Jesse Crawford HALL OF FAME 1960-Farny Wurlitzer Jesse Crawford 1961-Mel Doner Eddie Dunstedter To the many Chapters of ATOS , who send their news letters to National 1962- Leonard MacClain Reg inc Id Foo rt Headquarters , please accept my thanks. 1963-Eddie Dunstedter Leonard MacClain 1964-Reginald Foort Don Miller To the Chapters, who feel they are not being recognized in Chapter News in 1965-Dan Barton Henry Murtagh 1966-W . "Tiny " James Ray Shelley "Theatre Organ ", I suggest the following: 1967-Erwin A. Young, Jr . Arsene Siegal 1968- Richard C. Simonton Firmin Swinnen Please write items for Chapter News separate and send to the Editorial Staff. 1969-Judd Walton 1970-Lee Erwin 1970-Bill Lamb Do not expect the Editorial Staff to compile this information from Chapter News letters . Space in the President's Message is limited , so a letter to all Chapter EDITORIAL STAFF Chairmen and .Secretaries will be forthcoming in the near future. Editor - George Thompson Associate Editors - Ray Brubacher Dues for 1971 are now payable. Chapter members , please pay your dues Lloyd Klos Peg Nielsen through your Chapter Secretary. Non-chapter members , please pay direct to Editor-Emeritus - W. " Stu" Green National Headquarters. Publisher - Al Mason Art Director - Don Lockwood Nation al Headquarters would appreciate receiving the names of all Officers Advertising Manager - Dick Schrum elected for 1971, as soon as your election is over. Circulation Manager - Vi Thompson Plan for 1971 Convention ( Sweet Sixteenth) m Seattle, next July. Dick THEATRE ORGAN (title registered U. S. Patent Schrum is Convention Chairman. Watch "Theatre Organ" for further information. Office) is published bi-monthly by the American Theatre Organ Society, Inc., a non-profit organiza ­ tion, Stillman H. Rice, President. All r:ghts reserved. A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year , from all the ATOS Entire contents copyrighted 1970 by ATOS, Inc., Officers, Board Members , and Staff. Office of publication is P.O. Box 2329, Livonia, Michigan 48150 . Printed by Detroit Master-Craft, Livonia, Michigan 48150 . POSTMASTER: Second Class postage paid at Livonia, Michigan. IF UNDELIVERABLE, send form 3579 to ATOS Circulation Department, Box 1314, Salinas, California 93901 . ATOS Stillman H. Rice, President ARCBIVESI L]BBARY 3 theatre organ By Bill Peterson, Number 23 in a series NORSHORE THEATRE- CHICAGO Another classical example of Rapp and Rapp's architectural genius. This house seating approximately 3000 is now gone. The Norshore had a gorgeous lobby in the French style with gracefully curved stairways to the mezzanine , magnificent chandeliers, plus lots of gilt platework. The auditorium, although decorated differently, did have much the same feel as Loews Kings in New York with its shallow balcony. The organ was a four manual 20 rank Wurlitzer. december 1970 4 CATOE MOVES A WURLITZER A Theatre Organ Comes To Downers Grove VERY Sunday, at four o'clock in built in 1958 had, for some unknown the afternoon, radio station reason, what appeared to be small EWDGC-FM, in Downers Grove, Illi­ organ chambers on either side of the nois, presents a half hour program of stage. There were some restrictions in theatre organ music. Not too unusual , the chambers (ladders, air ducts, etc.) were it not for the fact that the sta­ but after conference with school prin­ tion is operated by students of Downers cipal Herbert Adams it was agreed that Grove North High School, and the in­ alterations could be made. strument heard on the Sunday broad­ Once the ground work was laid, Bill casts, hosted by CATOE's Tom Yanni­ Benedict, CATOE chairman, signed an Interior of the Ohio Theatre. Organ grills are tell, is their very own Wurlitzer, Opus agreement with the high school, and in at the extreme lop right. 1775. April of 1969 the Glen Alden Corpora­ tion confirmed donation of the organ to til Saturday noon when the theatre re­ During the summer of 1968 the opened. By this time the toll of more much publicized disposal, by the Glen the Downers Grove school. Tom and Bill ran up corporation-sized phone bills than thirty hours without sleep made Alden Corporation of theatre organs for some very tired people. Imagine owned by the RKO-Stanley Warner arranging for CA TOE work crews to go to Lima to dismantle and transport the looks of people on the street outside chain, to tax exempt civic auditoriums, seeing what appeared to be fifteen coal community centers and high school au­ the instrument back to Downers Grove for storage in the school. miners in a zombie-like trance emerging ditoriums, sounded especially interest­ from the theatre. Fortunately the motel ing to CATOE board member Tom Before the organ was dismantled a was two blocks away and everyone had Yannitell. special trip was made to tune and a good day's sleep before work resumed Walter Froehlich, representing the record the Wurlitzer in its original set­ Saturday at midnight. Glen Alden Corporation in the disposal ting. Harold (Barney) King, Terry Kle­ ven, Tom and Bill were on hand as was First to arrive from Chicago was Val of the RKO instruments, gave Yannitell Escobar who took the Erie-Lackawana the information he needed regarding Jeff Zych, CATOE's cinematographer, who has filmed the entire project from train into Lima. (This train has since acquisition of organs available in the been discontinued and another era of vicinity of Chicago. Tom brought the the beginning to the first public concert. It is hoped that the film will soon be transportation is gone.) Ken Rosen­ matter to the attention of his fellow boom, a plumbing and heating con­ board members and was encouraged to available to ATOS chapters and pos­ sible television viewing in the future. tractor, drove from Chatsworth (100 pursue the idea further. He asked Bill miles south of Chicago) with his spe­ Barry, a former chairman of the club, cial equipment for lowering the heavy to look at a 3/10 Wurlitzer installed in items from the chambers. Barney King, the Ohio Theatre in Lima, in Novem­ Joe and Mark Spurr drove trucks with ber of 1927. trailers for the long haul back to Il­ It didn't take much to convince Bill linois. that while this was not the world's Paul and Linda Swiderski and Chuck largest Wurlitzer, it was a real gem. and Betty Peterson were on hand for It was almost entirely playable at the pipe packing and wiring disassembly. time of inspection and, for some rea­ Frank Pokorny, Jack Smith and Val son, nearly in tune. Tom and Bill won Escobar were busy in the basement dis­ the full support of the CA TOE board mantling the blower and windlines of directors, and all that remained was while Sam Holte and Augie Edlemann to find a home for the instrument. worked on electrical power disconnec­ Tom visited a number of high school tions. Sam and Tom worked on the auditoriums in the western suburbs of cable-pulling after Bill Barry wrapped Chicago while locations in the city were the switchstack switches for protection. being inspected, including the studios Joe Janecek, Bob Randerson, Bill Rie­ of WTTW-TV where the silent movie ger and Jim Shallenburger assisted in series "The Toy That Grew Up" orig­ multiple chores.