HISMICHTINESS, TheCrown Prince of North Tonawanda Dick Loderhose and 11 The Crown Prince" as it was when he purchased it. THE STORY OF A FAMOUS ORGAN NOW LAUNCHED ON A SECOND GREAT CAREER By Ben Hall The house on Radnor Street, in definitive theatre organ of all time. the Paramount Theatre and its towering Long Island's Jamaica Estates, is not The Loder hose Wurlitzer-now building at New York's Times Square, the largest in the block. But it has a boasting 37 ranks and still growing--is he included in his scheme the finest distinction that sets it apart from its composed of the original Paramount pipe organ money could buy. Naturally, neighba:s and, indeed, from any other building studio Wurlitzer of 21 ranks it would be a Wurlitzer. But he wisely house in the world. Fa: behind it, in a plus s.ome additions with r, personali­ did not leave its design up to the ar­ huge concrete block studio building ty all their own. The a:gan is fiery, tisans in Na:th Tonawanda entirely; (where Jane Loderhose's rose garden almost overpoweringly bdlliant, and instead, he summoned a young organist used to be) lives the biggest pcivately­ (if it is fair to compare Victa: records from Chicago, the brightest star in the owned Wurlitzer in captivity. of 30 years ago with today's United Balaban & Katz constellation, to plan Dick Loderhose, its proud keeper, Artists pcoducts) sounds very little the instrument, and to supervise its refers to the high-pressure Behemoth like it did in its earlier days. The rea­ voicing and installation. Jesse Craw­ in more respectful terms- 11 The Crown sons for this we'll touch on later, Mean­ ford and the original c 1Crawford Spec­ Prince of North Tonawanda," he calls while a bit of background oe the iJistru­ ial" were an immediate sensation when it, with a deferential bow towards the me ~ foe those not already familiar the Paramount opened in November, Queen Mother of all the Wurlitzers, the with it. 1926. Every week the marquee pro­ great instrument still enthroned in New When Adolph Zuka: decided to claimed 11 Jesse Crawfcrd at the ·Or­ Ya:k's Paramount Theatre and con­ build a monument to the Famous Play­ gan," and newspaper advertisements sidered by COGNOSCENTI to be the ers-Lasky Corporation in the form of carried special boxes reading 11 Come Fall, 1960 5 and hear Tesse Crawf cxd and the 'Mystery Voice' of the Wurlitzer" er (later) simply "The Crawfcrds at THAT organ." Crawford had already become an established Victor recording star. His records, since the "Pre-Orthophonic" days, had been made in the Wurlitzer showrooms in Chicago on one of the several small instruments set up there for demonstration. After Zukor stole him away from the Chicago Theatre to the Paramount, Crawf crd at first con­ tinued to go back to Chicago to record. But this soon proved impractical, and V ictcx arranged for Crawford to record on a modest instrument in Wurlitzer Hall on New Yexk's 42nd Street, only a few blocks from the Paramount. But Crawfexd felt (and rightly) that he needed an exgan with more range and resources fer his re~ordings. No doubt tests were made in the Paramount Theatre, and it was decided that Vic­ tex's microphones (this was in 1927) could not do justice to the far-away acoustics of the huge theatre and the idea was abandoned. (What wouldn't you give today to hear some of those "rejects"?) And so it was decided that Wur­ litzer would build a special organ, ideal fer recording and broadcasting, and install it in a studio on the 8th floor of the Paramount building. After all, Wurlitzer's stake in Crawford's Victor recordings was a large one - every record bore the legend: "Played On the Wurlitzer Organ" (a device • • N.Y. Daily News Photo copied by Kimball on Lew White's Interior of solo chamber of "Crown Prince". Brunswicks with less success.) So Pictured are Dick Loderhose and Ronald Bishop. Wurlitzer agreed to build the "dream organ" for Crawfcrd exactly as he specified. those ancient microphones couldn't "Nocturne" was heard around mid­ By this time a second console cope with anything but a pure sound night er later, depending on where you had been installed in the pit in the coming in a straight line from one di­ were tuned in, and at least one younger Paramount Theatre (plus two more rection. listener (whose parents thought he was spinet-like portable consoles on the The first recording made on the sound asleep) used to sneak a Philco stage) to permit Jesse and his beauti­ new crgan was the memorable "You're ''Cathedra1 Gothic" midget radio un­ ful wife, Helen, to perform duets be­ The Cream In My Coffee" coupled wirh der the covers and suffocate slowly to fore dazzled Paramount audiences. "Me And The Man In The Moon" on the strains of the Paramount Studi o Consequently, the new studio organ Victex 21844. The year was 1928, and Wurlitzer every night. had two consoles, also, as it was to Crawford (with an occasional assist be used not only for broadcasting and from Mrs. Crawford) continued to re­ Many other artists have been i­ reccrding but £ex rehearsal by the Craw­ cord on it until after the mid-thirties. dentified with this famous organ. Don fords. Both coosoles were on movable Of course, Helen Crawf cxd made two Baker, during his highly successful platforms; the second console had no recordi.t,igs on her own: the sensitive reign at the Paramount Theatre, made stop tabs, only pistons, and was a and rollicking accompaniments to Bing (in addition to a series of hymns for slave to the main. Crosby's singing of "Can't We Talk Brunswick) two 78-RPM. albums for One of the many unique features of It Over" and "I Found ~ ou" on the Columbia . which, in LP form, still the studio organ was its percussion Brunswick label--a tantalizing sample sound marvelous. George Wright made a chamber -a low-ceilinged section run­ of her artistry in her own right. less-fortunate album on it "accompany­ ning the width of the studio and ex­ Crawford's Victcr records never ing" (as it turned out) Cozy Cole and tending about six feet out in front of identified the organ; it was always his drums on a New Year's Eve some (and below) the shutters to the two or­ simply a "Wurlitzer." But there is one years back; Gecxge's wonderful King gan chambers. The percussion chamber exganist who almost s~ le-handedly recordings, made during the same had its own expression shutters in the put the Paramount studio Wurlitzer on period on the 36 ranker in the theatre top of the chamber that could be oper­ the map in the minds of millions of downstairs more than redeem this in­ ated independently from the rest of the people all over the country. Ann Leaf, discretion, however. Lew White and organ. A large Wurlitzer concert grand with her CBS network broadcasts, Fred Feibel both recorded a number of piano on the studio floor, playable from "Nocturne," and "Ann Leaf At The hymns, Christmas carols and light pro­ either console, completed the set-up. OrJ?an," alwavs came on with her theme gram material, plus the usual standards A duplicate 20-Hp Spencer Motex and song, "In Time," and faded under from the field of wedding music on the blower was installed as a standby. while the announcer said, 1 'The next studio Wurlitzer during the late thir­ T.he studio was heavily draped and program originates in the Para - ties, and Ann Leaf made a series of was about as dead acoustically as a mount Theatre building in New York, transcriptions fer even more somber padded cell. This was back in the days where Ann Leaf, at the console of the use, £ex Summit Sound Systems. Dick when "reverberation'' was a dirty word; Wurlitzer, is waiting to greet you." Leibert also made albums of a some- 6 theatre organ what restrained nature on it. No one black and white vinyl tile floor, all not from the Roxy but from the Strand will ever know how many "Ave Macias" highly sound-reflective. To alter the Theatre in Brooklyn, is the upright and "Oh, Promise Me's," performed acoustics, curtains may be drawn in piano which stands along the wall to on this organ, have been heard in fun­ front of the shutters. As many as 150 the percussion chamber. Audiences at eral par !ors and wedding chapels all have attended recitals in the studio, recitals in the studio always gape over America - or why. and on summer afternoons the crowd when the piano starts to "play itself., -, Maybe it was a case of too many spills out on the lawn, hearing the or­ Mounted above the piano is a set of "Traumereis" •••whatever the reason, gan through large double doors. Hope-Jones tuned saucer bells bought the 1940's found the Paramount studio In the studio area is enough musi­ from Lorin Whitney-rare but juice­ crgan in almost total eclipse. It sat cal merchandise to startle even the consuming trappings. there in solitary confinement, gathering most sophisticated visitor. First, there The electronic equipment in the dust for almost ten years. Meanwhile, is the original 4-manual Wurlitzer con­ studio,is pretty rare (and juice-consum­ the theatre had changed hands-the sole, refurnished complet~ly in glisten­ ing) too.