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;<br />
Ri-Knox to T. Grance;<br />
McCalmont Retires<br />
PITTSBURGH— Theodore Grance, Everett,<br />
theatre, restaurant and hotel owner and<br />
Pa.,<br />
president of Outdoor Theatres, Inc., operating<br />
drive-in theatres at Irwin and New Castle,<br />
assumed management of the Rialto in Mount<br />
Oliver this week, having purchased the majority<br />
of the stock in the Ri-Knox Amusement<br />
Corp. May 15. With the transfer, Robert<br />
V. McCalmont, veteran exhibitor, retires<br />
from the business here.<br />
Grance purchased 1,100 shares of stock,<br />
leaving only 73 shares outstanding. His purchase<br />
was from the A. A. Weiland family,<br />
James H. Taylor, W. P. Linn, Gerald Born<br />
and McCalmont. Taylor was secretary-treasurer<br />
of the old company. Linn is publisher of<br />
the Hill Top Record and Born is a real estate<br />
broker. McCalmont was president of the<br />
former operating organization. Weiland is a<br />
pioneer exhibitor, now operating at Coraopolis.<br />
Price of the purchase was $100,000.<br />
McCalnxont, after more than 30 years in<br />
exhibition, says that he expects to retire to<br />
Florida, where he will .seek to purchase an<br />
orange grove.<br />
Gala Program Is Lined Up<br />
For Murphy Anniversary<br />
WILMINGTON, OHIO—A gala program is<br />
in the making for celebration of the 30th<br />
anniversary of the Chakeres Murphy Theatre<br />
here during the week .starting July 18. Joe<br />
Murphy, manager, said a different picture<br />
will be shown each day of the anniversary<br />
week. Efforts are being made to obtain bookings<br />
of some pictures of yesteryear to give the<br />
theatregoers some flashbacks in motion pictiu'es.<br />
There will be gifts to patrons throughout<br />
the week, and a large birthday cake wiU<br />
decorate the lobby. Also, in honor of the anniversary,<br />
the Wilmington News-Journal will<br />
issue a special edition.<br />
Bernie Serlin Is Named<br />
WB Central Field Man<br />
NEW YORK—Bernie Serlin has been named<br />
field man in the Warner Bros, central district<br />
by Mort Blumenstock. vice-president in<br />
charge of advertising and publicity. Serlin<br />
will make his headquarters in Cincinnati and<br />
will also cover the Indianapolis, Cleveland<br />
and Pittsburgh branch areas. Serlin, whowas<br />
a practicing lawyer before joining the<br />
army, joined Warner Bros, exploitation department<br />
last year.<br />
Wendell P. Miller Dies<br />
DETROIT—Wendell P. Miller, former manager<br />
of the National Theatre here, died April<br />
30 at Veterans hospital. New York, it has<br />
been learned here. He was a very active<br />
member of the Russell Johnson Theatrical<br />
post of the Legion in Detroit. Miller was<br />
gassed during World War I. He is survived<br />
by his wife and child who reside in New York.<br />
New Equipment Installed<br />
ONAWAY. MICH.—New projectors and a<br />
new screen have been installed at the State<br />
Theatre, according to owner D. H. DeRosia.<br />
New rest rooms will be built in the near future,<br />
he said.<br />
Robert Russell, Ashtabula Manager,<br />
Celebrates 25 Years With Shea's<br />
ASHTABULA. OHIO—Robert Russell, who<br />
started work ;it the Palace here imder Paul<br />
Mueller washing walls<br />
in the theatre's spring<br />
housecleaning program,<br />
is celebrating his<br />
J •^mmfjmf"^<br />
1 .<br />
I<br />
25th anniversary with<br />
Shea Theatres this<br />
month. Since 1942 he<br />
has been Shea city<br />
manager supervising<br />
the three houses in<br />
operation and the con-<br />
struction of a fourth.<br />
mUr t Russell, who had<br />
married the previous<br />
Robert Russell August, applied for a<br />
job under Manager Mueller in the spring of<br />
1923. When nothing happened for several<br />
weeks he was about ready to give up when<br />
Mueller phoned him to start work the next<br />
day. Spring cleaning was under way and<br />
young Ru.ssell was a.ssigned to washing walls<br />
at $18 a week.<br />
"It probably was the toughest six weeks<br />
spent in my life," Russell recalls, "but I managed<br />
to stick it out. I presimie the main reason<br />
was that I was a married man and<br />
need the money."<br />
At the end of the six weeks Russell was<br />
promoted to outside advertising man and<br />
given a rattletrap car to post one, three, six<br />
and 24-sheets, window cards, etc., during the<br />
day. At night he was head usher, marquee<br />
and display man.<br />
"I never will forget Bernie Head," Russell<br />
says. "He was the advance man on the first<br />
round of 'The Big Parade.' He taught me<br />
more about slobbering paste and mouthing<br />
tacks in one day than I ever expected to<br />
know. Bernie had a cheek on each side of<br />
his mouth that would hold a pound of tacks<br />
and room for a chew of tobacco in between.<br />
"Not too long a time lapsed until Mueller<br />
was transferred out of Ashtabula, and replaced<br />
by the late Bernie Kearney. Bernie,<br />
a friend of evei-yone and with years back of<br />
him with the Shea company, was also a<br />
brother to Dick Kearney. Things went well<br />
with Bernie and myself for five full years,<br />
as Bernie had" a lot of patience and gave me<br />
splendid training, as he was a very exact and<br />
business-like man in every respect. One could<br />
set a watch daily by Bernie's actions—breakfast<br />
every morning at 9:30; daily shave at the<br />
nearby barbershop promptly at 11. It was my<br />
job to have the mail there at 10 in the niorning<br />
and 1 in the afternoon, and that didn't<br />
mean 10:05 or 1:05. Those were happy years.<br />
as along with pictures we used vaudeville<br />
the last three days of the week.<br />
'Bernie was transferred to Amsterdam,<br />
N. Y., leaving me in charge of Ashtabula,<br />
under the supervision of Ward Johnson.<br />
Ward, at that time, was interested in both<br />
Conneaut and Geneva, and Shea turned over<br />
to him the added duties of watching over<br />
me. Business carried on in this manner tmtil<br />
Ward's death in about 1934. at which time<br />
George Shewell came into the pictiu'e, as a<br />
traveling or district manager, and I believe<br />
out of the Shea Theatre, in Fremont. At<br />
that time. Shea felt that I was not capable<br />
of carrying on Ashtabula on my own without<br />
Ward's supervision, and as George was on the<br />
road much of the time, I was transferred to<br />
Geneva to a smaller operation^ running only<br />
four days at that time.<br />
"I spent eight happy years in Geneva and<br />
saw the theatre during the first two years<br />
go from four days a week to full time. During<br />
my stay, E. C. Grainger came in as general<br />
manager, through Shea's death. Grainger<br />
requested me to come back to Ashtabula in<br />
1942,"<br />
If<br />
Worth<br />
A Thought<br />
you are thinking of<br />
building or remodeling<br />
think of<br />
COVI and ASQUINI<br />
317 Outlook Street<br />
Pittsburgh 27, Pa.<br />
Phone Carrick 6511<br />
ATTENTION, DRIVE-IN THEATRES!<br />
You can step up attendance on your Monday or other dull nights by<br />
WAHOO<br />
playing<br />
America's Favorite Screen Gome<br />
Write for Complete Details<br />
HOLLYWOOD AMUSEMENT CO., 831 S. WABASH AVE., CHICAGO 5, ILL.<br />
BOXOFFICE : : May<br />
29, 1948<br />
75