Boxoffice-August.28.1948

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? Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Johnson Set Record
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ITALY, TEX.—A record of service in the
Industry, perhaps not duplicated anywhere
in the United States, is held by J. B. Johnson,
who has been projectionist at the Elk Theatre
here for 38 years. His attractive wife
has sold tickets at the theatre for 21 years.
Johnson said his job started in 1910 when
the house was called the Pastime, then owned
and operated by J. C. Couch. Equipment was
not high-intensity to be sure, but it was
Thomas A. Edison's best with the famous
carbide lamp of that day. Johnson well remembers
that Couch was a good friend of
Ned E. Depinet when the latter started selling
Universal films on Commerce street in
Dallas for the late Oscar S. Oldknow. He
recalls his first boss later made a trip to New
York with the then promising young film
man who today is vice-president of RKO.
TO P. G. ROCKETT IN 1920
P. G. Rockett bought the Pastime in 1920
and changed its name to the Elk. This ownership
continued for 18 years, the last part
of which was under management of Ernest
Rockett, a son. Johnson was still there, although
he had long since switched to Powers
machines with "hayburners" and later the
incandescent lamp. Rockett sold the theatre
to S. R. Green and L. P. Price in 1938. Sidney
Hale, a German war refugee, bought it
soon after World War II ended. Ted Waggoner
bought the house in 1947 and Bud
Waldron acquired it early this year. He sold
to present owner, W. W. Spurlock, in July.
After having worked for seven owners of
the theatre in 38 years, Johnson is still there
running the machines, and he is justly proud
of his record of usefulness. He has had no
substitutes and no vacations in that long
period. He was sick four nights but the manager
came to the rescue then. Only once did
the theatre have to refund admissions, and it
was not a fault of the operator but because
of a storm.
IN FIRST WORLD WAR
Johnson went overseas in 1917 to help win
the first world war. He was an infantryman.
Because he knew about pictures, they let
him
set up a Delco unit in an old ambulance and
give a show whenever a print was available.
He went back to Italy. Tex., after the war and
took up in the both where he left off. He
rose to the top in American Legion affairs,
wore medals and an overseas cap to
state conventions and on parade days in
Dallas. He was finance officer several years,
and now is post historian.
The only other time Johnson was away
from the Elk Theatre was when C. R. "Uncle
Mack" Henry opened the Texas Theatre in
Dallas 15 years ago. He operated machines
there for a very brief time and then went
back to Italy to stay. Seasoned equipment
men in Dallas say they do not know of any
instance when Johnson had trouble with his
projectors or his sound. His booth has been
kept in tip-top condition all the time and he
ordered very few parts because he took care
of them, they said.
Miss Louise Hearn, a local girl, was selling
tickets at the Elk in 1927. Three years later
she and the projectionist were married. Mrs.
Johnson boasts of a fine service record, too,
been continuously on the job for 21
years except when taking care of an infant
J. B. Johnson and wife. The photo was
taken during a recent visit on Dallas
Filmrow. Mrs. Johnson closed her eyes
when the flash bulb exploded.
daughter and son, LaRue and J. B. jr., now
handsome high school juniors.
Although many in the industry fill more
lofty niches than the Johnsons, none have
done their jobs better or are happier. The
family of four is good looking, and wears nice
clothes and smiles. They have a good car
and take the theatre owner to Dallas often.
Loveliest Mother Given
Check on Chicago Stage
Culminating a three-week campaign on a
"Loveliest Mother" contest in behalf of "I
Remember Mama," the first-prize winner was
awarded a check for $500 on the stage of the
RKO Palace in Chicago. Irene Rich, herself
a lovely mother, made the award, which
marked the occasion of the picture's opening.
The contest, under the direction of Lou
Mayer, publicist for RKO Theatres in that
city, was staged with the cooperation of the
Chicago Daily News, with over 6,000 Lovely
Mothers entered. The newspaper ran front
page ad women's page breaks daily, with
profuse layouts of the contestants' photos as
the contest progressed.
Notable radio assistance was obtained
through the cooperation of station WIND,
which broadcast eight one-minute annoimcements
daily for two weeks before opening.
Forest Fires Feared
DALLAS—Forest fires sweeping east Texas
during the prevalent dry weather that might
make a new drouth record, so far have rot
hurt boxoffice revenues, but unless some of
the blazes are curbed this is feared. Last year
when the big pine trees burned around Conroe,
north of Houston, Jefferson Amusement
Co. theatres turned in some mighty bad red
ink reports.
Veteran Actor in 'City'
Warn rs has borrowed Harry Seymour,
veteran film and stage actor, from 20th-Fox
for the "Somewhere in the City" cast.
HOUSTON — R. Z. Gla.ss. owner of the
Stude and State theatres, has added another
operation to the list with the purchase of
in the closed Plaza from L. C.
li.ixley and a long lease on the building. Baxley
built the house ten years ago and profitably
operated it until recently. He said
nearby drive-ins and other new theatres had
encircled him until he could no longer make
money. Glass will operate the Plaza under
the same name.
Disk Jockey Aids Contest
For 'Ram' in Bridgeport
Harry Rose, manager of the Majestic in
Bridgeport. Conn., tied up with WNAB for a
radio contest on its di.sk jockey program to
promote "The Sign of the Ram." The contest
ran for a week in advance, and listeners
were asked to .send in their name, address,
birthday and favorite song. It was sort of an
experiment to determine whether persons of
the same birthday or astrological sign have
the same musical preferences. Several of
these were selected for discussion on the program.
All the letters were placed in a container
from which five names were drawn
daily, each of whom received a pair of guest
tickets.
Missing Letter Contest
Helps 'Woman' in Lobby
In advance of "Letter From an Unknown
Woman," Arnold Gates, manager of the Stillman
in Cleveland, used a front lobby contest
called Take a Letter, devised from the
picture title. A 40x60 announced that there
are 12 different letters in the title, not counting
duplications, one of which had been designated
as the Unknown Letter. Those selecting
the correct letter, if among the first 50,
were offered a pass. This simple device
proved surprisingly popular, attracting several
hundred entries over a two-day period.
A total of 26 correct guessers received passes.
Pat O'Brien in Chicago
To Debut 'Father Dunne'
The personal appearance of Pat O'Brien at
the RKO Grand Theatre in Chicago on
opening night of "Fighting Father Dunne"
was arranged by publicist Lou Mayer. The
star made the trip from Hollj-wood by invitation
of the Catholic Youth Organization
benefit show which coincided with the film's
opening. A capacity crowd was on hand and
the event received full radio and newspaper
coverage.
Animated Lobby Display
Sells Fight Pictures
Wesley Allen jr.. manager of the Ritz in
Brewton. Ala., used the revenge angle to exploit
the recent showing of the return bout
between heavyweight champion Joe Louis and
Joe Walcott. Allen got his operator Tom
Paggott and doorman James Thompson to
assist in the construction of a display board
which featured large figures of the two fighters
hooked up to a mechanism which kept
the bodies swaying as if in actual motion.
:
28, 1948
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