See it in color... then hear it in color! Wurlitzer950TA You are invited to write for a pin-up picture of the most beautiful electronic organ we have ever built . then visit a dealer to hear the most beautiful sounds Wurlitzer has ever created! It's our new Professional Model 950TA ... a Total Tone organ in Theatre Styling ... shown in Antique White with Gold, also available in Sable Cherry. Conveniently placed controls for the myriad of available sounds make the or- ,.._.,_11\:rl::~....,~~=~==­ ganist at home from the start. Five gen- eral pistons, third-keyboard Orbit Synthesizer and couplers for the keyboards and pedals further enhance the play ability. Pistons deliver impressive sounding pre­ set registrations: theatre organ with violin solo, strings with flute, orchestra with reed solo, full organ with trumpet, cathedral organ with chimes. Tibias sing a full range of pitches (16' to l') with no doubling back, all playable through a built-in custom Leslie Speaker System. For other thrilling preset combinations, there is the exclusive Spotlight Soldr.1 Section. New Chromatic Riff™plays two-way chromatic scales at any speed from any note, an impressive effect. WuRLiTzER® Percussion offers 15 rhythms combin­ The Music People able in endless ways plus instrumental percussion voices, and arpeggiation Send coupon for free color picture and complete stop list that follows chord and key changes r-------------------------1 automatically. I To: Wurlitzer, Dept. TO-129, DeKalb, Illinois 60115 I Please send my free color picture and details on 950TA Touch Response offers a new kind of I musical punctuation. Symphonic Pres­ I Name ........................................... ence multiplies solo voices into choirs! I Address ......................................... Get the picture today ... I City ............................................. and dream a little! I I State ....................... Zip ................ I D Send name of nearest dealer. L-------------------------J ATOS National Membership is $15.00 per cal­ endar year , which includes a subscription to THEATRE ORGAN , the official publication of the American Theatre Organ Society . Single copies $2.50. Make check or money order pay ­ (ISSN 0040-5531) JOURNAL OF THE able to ATOS , and mail to P.O. Box 45, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 . AMERICAN THEATRE ORGAN Editorial Address THEATRE ORGAN SOCIETY P.O . B ox 1314 Salinas, California 93902 VOLUME 21, NUMBER 6 Phone : (40 8 ) 663 -3238 Advertising Address ATOS Advertising DEC. 1979/JAN. 1980 2231 North Burling Street Chicago , Illinois 60614 Membership Office P.O . Box 45 Falls Church , Virginia 22046 feature§ ... Phone : (703) 573 -41 38 ATOS Corporate Office 5 Inside Hector Olivera (Conclusion) .............. Stu Green ATOS 6900 Santa Monica Boulevard 10 Dr. Landon Presents His Hybrid .. Lloyd E. Klos Los Angeles , California 90038 12 Make Way for Tomorrow ..... ... John Muri Office of the President Thomas 0 . (Tommy) Landrum 13 Oklahoma City's Kilgen .................... Paul Haggard 4815 Leonard Parkway Richmond , Virginia 23226 Phone : (804) 353 -8376 14 The Best of Both Worlds ............. William G. Schneider National Headquarters 16 Lowell Ayars, the Singing Organist ....... .. ... Lloyd E. Klos ATOS P.O . Box 1 002 30 Vox Popper Crowned King at Music Festival Middleburg , Virginia 22117 Ph one: (703) 364 -2423 31 Betty Mason - A Decade of Service National Officers Thomas 0 . (Tommy) Landrum , Pr esident Lois Segur , Vice President Erwin Young, Treasurer technical ... Wyn M cDonne ll D avis , Secretary 26 The Acoustical Consultant ............. R. J. Weisenberger National Board of Directors Paul (Mac) Abernethy , Jr . 29 Questions and Answers . ............... Lance Johnson John Ledwon William Rieger Judd Walton W. " Tiny" James department§ ... Betty Mason Richard Schrum Nuggets from the Golden Days George F. Thompson 4 President's Message 28 Ray F . Snitil , Past President 32 Vox Pops Curator 11 Konsole Kapers Paul Abernethy 37 Letters to the Editors P.O. Box 2480 20 Dinny's Colyum Burlington , N .C . 27215 21 Music Review 38 Closing Chords EDITORIAL STAFF Editor - George Thompson 39 Chapter Notes Associate Editors - Lloyd E. Klos , 22 For the Records Peg Nielsen Classified Ads Editor - Emeritus - W . " Stu " Green 25 Book Review 56 Photographer - B ill Lamb Publisher - Betty M ason Editorial Assistant - Don Lockwood Advertising Manager - Len Clarke Circulation Manager - Vi Thompson Cover- Vhoto THEATRE ORGAN (title registered U.S. Patent Office) is pub lished bi-monthly by the Am erican This Kilgen organ was originally installed in the Theatre Organ Society , Inc .. a nonprofit organi ­ zation. Thomas 0 . (Tommy) Landrum . Presi­ studios of radio station WKY in Oklahoma City. dent . All rights reserved . Entire contents copy Now in that city's civic center, it is the home righted Am erican Th eatre Organ Society , Inc .. 1979. Offi ce of publication is P.O. Box organ for the Oklahoma Chapter. See page 13 . 2329. Livonia . Michigan 48151. POSTMASTER : Second Class postage paid at Cover Photo by Floyd Duffy Livonia, Michigan . IF UNDELIVERABLE , send form 3579 to ATOS Circulation Department . Official City Photographer Box 1314, Salina s. California 93902 . DEC. 1979/J AN. I 980 THEATRE ORGAN 3 Richard Simonton Thanks to the many members Feb. 1955 - Oct. 1958 who have responded to our '' Are Judd Walton You Going To London" notice in Oct. 1958 - July 1961 the October issue. Many questions Tiny James regarding cost, length of conven­ July 1961 - July 1964 tion, travel plans, etc., have been Carl Norvell asked but the final answer to most July 1964 - July 1966 of these depends on the support Richard Schrum that is indicated by the letters from July 1966 - July 1968 ATOS members. Al Mason We plan to have most of the July 1968 - July 1970 answers in time for publication in Stillman Rice the February /March 1980 issue July 1 970 - July 1972 of THEATRE ORGAN. Hopefully Erwin A. Young July 1972 - July 1974 this will provide the information that many of you have re­ quested from National Headquarters in your reply. Please Paul M. Abernethy July 1974 - July 1976 keep those cards and letters coming. Our London Chapter has some of the most dedicated mem­ Ray F. Snitil July 1976 - July 1978 bers in our entire organization and we know from past experi­ ence that they will put all stops down to give us a great show. Preston M . Fleet July 1978 - Nov. 1978 Sine~/~ 170~0l2Al2.,,­ Tommy Landrum M~MU~l2~ President 1959 - Jesse Crawford 1960 - Famy Wurlitzer 1961 - Mel Doner 1962 - Leonard MacClain 1963 - Eddie Dunstedter 1964 - Reginald Foort 19fii - Dan Barton 1966 - W. "Tiny" James 1967 - Erwin A. Young from the officers of the 1968 - Richard C. Simonton 1969 - Judd Walton American Theatre Organ Society 1970 - Bill Lamb and the staff of 1971 - George and Vi Thompson 19n - Stu Green Theatre Organ ~Iagazine 1973 - Al and Betty Mason 1974 - Lloyd E. Klos 1975 - Joe Patten 1976 - Floyd and Doris Mumm 19n - Les and Edith Rawle 1978 - Len Clarke 1979 - J.B. Nethercutt 4 THEATRE ORGAN DEC. 1979/JAN. 1980 by Stu Green )\ Photos courtesy of Walt Molt Management Conclusion Hector at the Tivoli Wurli in Frederick , Maryland , his first publi c con cert on a theatre organ . In the first installment we learned the club's better-planned conclaves. usually with somewhat prominent of Hector's early hfe as a classical But despite the ill-chosen head­ pedal parts, a feature which was music prodigy in his native Argen­ quarters hotel, there were few com­ destined to become an Olivera trade­ tina, also of the pover(v which sur­ plaints about the scheduled events. mark. He was his own MC and lis­ rounded the Olivera fami~v. He came One involved a bus trip to nearby teners could not tell whether he was to the USA, hoping for better oppor­ Frederick, Maryland, where the re­ doing a Desi Arnaz accent on pur­ tunities in New York. He became conditioned 2/ 8 Wurlitzer in the pose or was faking it for effect. No choir director in a Baptist church Tivoli Theatre beckoned. The sched­ matter. Hector left an indelible im­ and met his future w1fe, Lucy. But, uled artist was Ray Brubacher. Un­ pression. It was the start of his career despite the man_, church jobs. pay known to the arriving convention­ as a performer on the theatre organ, was still low. We left him just as he eers, the organ had experienced a a calling which now parallels his was about to discover something blower disaster just before conven­ classical concerts, and has become as that would change his lffe - the tion time. To get the organ in shape remunerative. theatre organ. in time for the scheduled concert. In his association with Walt Molt. Brubacher had indulged in around Hector's fortunes changed drastic­ When Hector had been in the USA the clock repair work. He met the ally. Finally, he was being paid in a shoti time he heard about the deadline in good time but the all terms commensurate with the theatre organ, an instrument dedi­ night sessions had left him ex­ quality of his music. He started to cated to popular entertainment, but hausted. In his opinion he was in no study theatre organ stylings by lis­ where he came from organs were shape to play a concert. But Ray had tening to records made by major intended for church use, or for the discovered a rather gaunt young man popular pipe organists. He fell in performance of music written by who held much promise. After play­ love, especially, with the stylings of great classical composers. As a vehi­ ing one selection to get the concert the late Buddy Cole, one of the few cle on which to perform such earthy moving. Ray introduced his stand-in, organists he tends to imitate, consci ­ ditties as "Alley Cat," somehow the a totally unknown quantity to most ously or otherwise.