Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Oldest projectionist

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Posted by Jeff Joseph (Member # 511) on 05-09-2007, 10:21 PM:

Does anybody know of any projectionists that are still around from silent movie days? Not that impossible.... someone in their mid 90s could have been running film in the 1920s.

I'd like to get a couple of silent movie projectionists on tape talking about the profession in those days.

Thanks,

Jeff

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-09-2007, 10:43 PM:

Oh, not any more. I knew several; the last one died in 1982. Would be interesting to know if you locate anyone. Good luck.

Posted by Bernie Anderson Jr (Member # 410) on 05-10-2007, 09:54 AM:

I knew of one guy, Oscar, that was running reel to reel out at the Roxy in Shamokin, PA. But that was at least 10 years ago and he was quite old then. The theatre is still there and running. Not sure what happened to Oscar. I also knew a guy who was a projectionist for WCBS in NY from the end of WWII to 1980. Unfortunatly, he died. But he told me of a story of the pilot or 2nd episode of I Love Lucy that he ran. The take up on the projector broke and instead of switching to 16mm, he turned the take up by hand to keep the show running. Don't know how true it is, but a neat story anyways.

Posted by Jeff Joseph (Member # 511) on 05-10-2007, 10:09 AM:

It just seems to me that this is a dying profession and that we should get some of these guys on tape... but maybe it's too late.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 05-10-2007, 10:23 AM:

I suggest looking up Leo (aka "Skippy") Snar...I recall an interview with him where he talked about showing a Chaplin picture in the Silent era. He was in the DC Metro area.

Steve

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 05-10-2007, 11:04 AM:

There was a documentary back around 2003 that was filming and recording projectionist interviews. I don't know if it ever got finished. There two treads over in Film Handler's forum about it. ("Projectionist documentary need suggestions!" & "Fundraiser for Projectionist Documentary!")

The documentary was entitled "Behind the Glass"

The site

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 05-10-2007, 07:44 PM:

Last one in this area was Abner Long. He passed about 5 years ago at 95. He worked a night or 2 a week till he quit when he was 92. He always came to work in a white shirt and tie.

Posted by Tony L. Hernandez (Member # 3524) on 05-11-2007, 01:36 AM:

I don't know of any projectionists of that era...all the ones I know of went back to the early '50s. A lady friend I refer to as my adoptive Grandma, Ola Stanger, who owned and operated movie theater and drive-ins with her husband from 1946 until her death in June of 2005 at age 83. She used to run 16mm sex education films for the soldiers back in WWII, starting shortly after the war broke out, and was also a projectionist at her various theaters for her entire career. But as I stated above, she has passed away and was the oldest projectionist I ever knew. I do know a couple ex-Cinerama projectionists....

This may be off topic but a lady who lives in a neighboring town to me, Eaton, Colorado named Texie Barber, now age 94 is still alive and well (as of a couple months ago, at least) and used to play piano for silent movies at The Eaton Theater (picture may be viewed at Cinematour) for many, many years as a teenager until they switched to sound. She blames her current blindness on always sitting in a dark theater and squinting to read the music. If you wanted to talk to her, I could help you get in touch. But as I said, she is 94 and anyone who wanted to do this with her or any other individual associated with the silent film era must hurry.....

Posted by Jeff Joseph (Member # 511) on 05-11-2007, 01:42 AM:

"Behind the Glass" looks terrific; I hope they get to finish it.

Jeff

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 05-11-2007, 09:28 AM:

If you are doing this as something other than a hobby, your best bet is to try to get IATSE to give you access to it's retirement records. Who knows, it may even be a project IATSE would be interested in getting behind financially.

I remember when I was on the board of 224 in DC back in the early 80's I went through the locals minutes, which went back to the early 1900's. Amazing and fascinating stuff which IATSE should be preserving and archiving.

Another source, again if you are going to make this your life's work rather than a hobby, would be through the League of Historic American Theatres and The Theatre Historical Society of America.

Sounds like a good project. good luck

Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 05-12-2007, 04:53 PM:

You know I was just thinking about this a few days ago, and it kinda goes with the topic . . .

When I maintenance our company equipment at two different theaters, I'll bring my six-year-old step-son with me if I'm there before business hours. He holds my tools and asks questions about how things work. If he keeps his interests up, maybe I'll show him how to thread when he gets older.

Now, figuering this - and if digital cinema hits big over the next ten years - he could possibly be the last person to have worked in an all-film multiplex in this part of the country by the time he reaches retirement age himself (in the year 2067). and if he lives until his 95th birthday, he could possibly be the last person in the world to say he'd worked a pre-digital image multiplex theater.

Just my own ramblings I suppose . . . good luck with your project.

Posted by Peter Mork (Member # 1336) on 06-24-2007, 11:53 PM:

The Boston Globe had a piece on a theater in Shelburne Falls, Vt., Memorial Hall, where the 80-year-old projectionist named Bernie Butler has been working since he was 17 (it was 1944 then), and the 1918 projectors of unspecified type are still used. Interview him!

(Article ran 6/24/07.)

Posted by Michael Moore (Member # 3867) on 06-25-2007, 05:38 PM:

I was looking in our archives today and found that the projectionist be for I was 87 when he retired and the only reason he did so was because the theater closed down in 1982.

He started in 1932, and worked till the doors closed. When he arrived the theater was running on Motiographs, in 1945 they bought new Super simplexs. Up until last night I used the very same simplex projectors and SH-1000 sound heads he did. Last night was the last movie to be projected on them (Black Book), I am now installing the Century and rebuilt SH-1000 this month.