Comments from dmccrea

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dmccrea
dmccrea commented about World Theatre on Dec 19, 2010 at 3:01 am

William, I did train at Pacific’s Picwood Theatre and my name is Dean. Do I know you?

dmccrea
dmccrea commented about World Theatre on Jun 2, 2010 at 1:43 am

I managed the World in 1980-1981. I read some of the comments above from people that worked with me. I remember the martial arts movies, the great people that I worked with and all of the craziness that came along with the World. I remember oversleeping one day, waking and realizing that the theatre should have been opened an hour earlier. I rushed down to find that one of the employees had kicked in a window that allowed them all to enter, set things up and opened on time. I was surprised.

I remember being called into the auditorium one evening to break up a fight. I discovered that a man had been very carefully cutting off huge lengths of hair from the head of the lady sitting in front of him. He had done this largely unnoticed. However, the lady did eventually notice as did her boyfriend and that began the fight.

I had moved from Portland, Oregon to manage the World Theatre (long story). I was quite unfamiliar with LA ways. On my very first day as manager I stayed late and gave both bathrooms a couple of coats of fresh, white paint to cover wall-to-wall graffiti. When we opened the next day my Asst. Manager, looking terribly grief stricken, asked me if I knew what I had done? Of course I did not. But he explained that by painting over all the gang graffiti I had essentially claimed that I had retaken the theatre from some gang. He told me that before the shift was out gang graffiti would reappear and he begged me not to remove it. It did reappear and I left it as it was.

I loved working at the World. I had an amazing crew that taught me a lot. I loved the steady parade of characters that came through each day. I loved being on Hollywood Blvd, day and night. I just now ordered some pictures of the World Theatre (circa early 80’s) from a link posted above. I will frame them and hang them above my desk.