What a surprise to see something about the Palladium. I worked there from 19662 until I joined the Navy in 1967, as the second projectionist under Ronnie Gregson who was the Chief Projectionist/Assistant Manager.It was a fabulous place to work and I have never forgotten it. It was a very happy time of my life and the staff were great. The projectors were the top of the range at the time – 70/35 mm CineMechanica Projectomatics from Milan. They ran at dual speeds of 24 frames per second and 30 frames per second, for the odd film still around at that speed (Oklahoma being one of them), and had both optical sound and 6 track magnetic stereo sound all powered by the reliable Westrex Sound system. We used to specialise in “Roadshow” film seasons – My Fair Lady (26 weeks), Lawrence of Arabia (26 weeks)and, of course, The Sound of Music (46 weeks)for example. I saw that about 11 times each week!! The manager was Mr. Spencer, a lovely man and my good friend Harry Hunt was the doorman – he could tell some stories!! So to sum up it was a great place to be and there are lots of wonderful memories that I still have. What a shame that all the cinemas that Blackpool used to have are no longer around. Great times! John Senese
What a surprise to see something about the Palladium. I worked there from 19662 until I joined the Navy in 1967, as the second projectionist under Ronnie Gregson who was the Chief Projectionist/Assistant Manager.It was a fabulous place to work and I have never forgotten it. It was a very happy time of my life and the staff were great. The projectors were the top of the range at the time – 70/35 mm CineMechanica Projectomatics from Milan. They ran at dual speeds of 24 frames per second and 30 frames per second, for the odd film still around at that speed (Oklahoma being one of them), and had both optical sound and 6 track magnetic stereo sound all powered by the reliable Westrex Sound system. We used to specialise in “Roadshow” film seasons – My Fair Lady (26 weeks), Lawrence of Arabia (26 weeks)and, of course, The Sound of Music (46 weeks)for example. I saw that about 11 times each week!! The manager was Mr. Spencer, a lovely man and my good friend Harry Hunt was the doorman – he could tell some stories!! So to sum up it was a great place to be and there are lots of wonderful memories that I still have. What a shame that all the cinemas that Blackpool used to have are no longer around. Great times! John Senese