•••••••••••••• • • THE • • LIFE • • AND • • TIMES • • OF • • ~aylnrh • I • • • Qlartrr • • • •••••••••••••• • by Lloyd E. Klos Editor's N ote: In October 1966, an in ­ a flute pipe; some drums and little bells, terview, conducted by ATOE 'r D on Wa l­ and there was a roll mechanism. I played lace, uias aired on th e "Pipes on Parade" we'd put some music to it. We'd get a program of Los A ngeles radio station, the feature picture, then the rolls would KPF K, and f eatured prominent organist, come on and play the comedy and the cue sheet which would give some idea Gaylord Carter. ATOE mem ber, Jim serial. of the type of music. Of course, you Rayton taped th e program as it came "I remember the first solo I played on knew if you'd get a Spanish picture, over th e air, and sent a copy to Th eatre you'd play Spanish music, or an Oriental Organ f eature writer, Lloyd E. Klos , the thing. They said, 'Carter, you should who considered th e show so interestingly play a solo.' So, I got out one of the picture, that kind of thing . There were informat ive that he believed it should overtures ( I believe it was the Light always some little cue sheets which came be shared by th e ATOE m embership, Cavalry Overtur e), and played this in a along with the print which told the mu­ and transcribed th e program fr om th e sician what t0 do. tape, th en transposed it into this feature . little spotlight on this funny-looking lit­ Incidentally, Klos has known Gaylord tle piano keyboard . The manager of the "The cue sheet would give a few bars Carter since 1945, ·when both served in theater finally sprang for a 4-rank Robert of suggested music so that you'd get the th e Al eutians. Thi s will be discussed Morron organ . For playing the piano, I idea of what was involved. Ir would say, mo re full y later. had been getting $16 a week for seven probably, 'screening', which meant when "I was playing organ when I was going days, and when the organ was installed, the picture hit the screen. Then it would to high school in Wichita, Kan .," Career he raised my salary to $25 a week, which call for a fanfare. Then it said, 'Opening began . "My dad had a conservatory of seemed to me to be a perfectly mon­ titles,' and during this maybe one of the music, and was organist and choral di­ strous amount of money in 1923! themes was used . Then it would say, rector in the Episcopal Church there, so "This was when I played such things 'Scene: Boy and girl in boat,' and it I grew in an atmosphere of considerable as chase music. The same people were would indicate a Barcarolle type of music around the house. I finally sneaked chasing in the movie who are chasing in music. Then, 'Boat tips over- agitation into the organ loft one day, started fid­ the late-late-late TV show today. Either music,' and they'd indicate maybe Agi­ dling around a little bit , and pretty soon the good guys were after the bad guys, tato No. 3, by a composer by the name I was invited to play for Sunday School. or the other way around . But, the music of Cimino, who seems to have written Even in those days, when I was 14, I is the same, and it's the kind of thing hundreds of agitatos. Then it would say, used to stare playing what I considered you still hear. 'Children frolicking in the park,' and pretty wild popular music, and one time "When I started at UCLA (I was in you'd have some happy music, and they'd the rector came in and said, 'Look - the Class of 1928), I got a job in the Se­ give you from four t0 six bars. So, a you 've got t0 stop playing that high­ ville Theater in Inglewood , playing there page in a cue sheet is just a whole series falutin' music in here in this church. Ir's nights and going to college in the day­ of suggested types of music with a few not right!' time. This was a nice little theater where bars indicated and the running time of "In 1922, I came to Los Angeles, and the management was interested in good the scene, say 50 seconds, 2½ minutes while finishing high school, got a job in music for the pictures. They had an Estey or 3 ½ minutes. I'd go over these things the little Sunshine Theater down on organ of about six ranks of pipes, and and make some little marks, and then South Park at 54th Street. Ir had what we'd play a different picture, I recall, about the second time I'd play the pic­ they called a Y-0 , or a WurliTzer or­ every two days. ture, I'd know pretty well where I was chestra . This was a piano keyboard with "In those days, we'd have cue sheets; going .· two little sets of pipes, a string pipe and we wouldn 't see the picture first before (Continu ed on Page 36) 5 theatre organ I bombarde LETTERS,contd. CLOSING CHORD played for vaudeville shows at the Palo­ (Continued from Page 4) mar Theatre until 1944 when he took Best of luck in the future. John E. Mitchell, 65, known through­ over the orchestra at the Showbox Yours sincerely out the Pittsburgh area by the phrase Theatre. JOHN B. POTTER "Johnny Mitchell at the organ!" died on Reed was president of Local 76, AFM, b August 22, shortly after a cancer oper­ from 1944 to 1954, and served several 3 Page Street ation, in a Pittsburgh hospital. Mitchell's terms on its board of directors. He was Madison, N. J. 07940 career started in 1918 when he started president of the Northwest Conference September 9, 1967 playing for silent movies at 16 in the of Musicians from 1946 to 1952, and My Dear Miss Lake, Loew's Lyceum Theatre in Picsburgh. was its secretary- treasurer from 19 5 3 un­ I'd like to say that it was a terrible In 1921 he moved on to the Victor til 1962. shame that you, one of the greatest or­ Theatre in McKeesport, then joined the He is survived by his wife and two ganists of our time, could not give one Clark chain which operated the Regent sons, Eugene A. Reed of Seattle, and of your very distinguished ( for one rea­ and Liberty Theatres in East Liberty, Cape. Charles C. Reed of New York. son or another) performances at the re­ Penna. Leo Palucki of Erie recalls hear­ cent Detroit ATOE convention. You ing Mitchell at the Warner House when were the hit (POW) of the banquet at it f irsc opened. He opened at the Enright DELAWARE VALLEY Portland last year, and I know several in Pittsburgh in 1929, but by then (Continued from Page 4) people who were very disappointed to "talkies" had doomed silent movies so the organ installation technicians indi­ hear that you got left home in Squalor he changed to broadcasting with a daily cated that something was amiss. A call Hollow. "Footlights and Stardust" program from I have conferred with a pipe organ to the factory at Hagerstown, Maryland, owning friend of mine concerning the confirmed that there had indeed been a possibility of an addition to your 3/ 9 mixup; chis was the "Met" organ missent T. 0. which I designed for you last March. to the Sedgewick Theatre. The "Met" He agrees that the perfect addition to Moller was practically a twin of the 4-43 make it a 3/ 10 should be a VOX IN­ organ in the Fox, Atlanta, Georgia, the HUMAN A. This can be used in solo "Big Mo." Some fast reshipping resulted work with the Tibia Martha rank with and finally ·the 19-ranker arrived at the accompaniment, of course, on the VDB's! Sedgewick. I hope this meets with your satisfaction. In the spring of 1928 the theatre Hope you give another concert soon. opened with the largest theatre organ in Sincerely yours the Germantown area. This was opus ERIC ZELIFF 5230. Among the professional organists the Enright. In recent years he did club chat were to play chis Moller was Leon­ P.S.: When do I gee my record? work and teaching. A friend, Vincent b b b ard MacClain-demonscrator, designer Volpe, says, "Mitchell was a demanding and soloist. Dear Sirs: teacher, but his students loved him. And Being a theatre pipe organ buff, as Once again, 39 years later, was organ­ he was always ready to go along with us ise MacClain to present a lifetime of well as a fellow ATOE member, I am ( ATOEers) to play the Leona Theatre curious to know how many of our mem­ tunes flowing from his fingers, and Kimball over in Homestead. We in the chose Moller pipes responded. bership was fortunate enough to catch Pittsburgh district are going to miss the color TV show, titled "Across the Leonard MacClain-che master of the him. " He was planning a record release console-the teacher and the friend. Seven Seas" (Face and Place), which fea­ to be played on the Leona organ, accord­ tured in the opening segment an all too ing to Jay E. Smith. brief series of shots of Leon Berry's two­ Mitchell played at the Pittsburgh THE LIFE AND TIMES OF manual Wurlitzer pipe organ in his Civic Arena right up to the day of his home at Norridge, Ill.