MEREDITH: Carl Peterson replaced Dean Griffin as chief of Pacific. When I used to go to the Picwood 2 men were operators there. Frank Mc Bryde,deceased,and Dean Griffin. Dean retired in the 1980’s and I have no idea where Peterson came from. Then along came his son who I did not know. When I left Local 150 in 1991 I was at the Galleria. I relieved the 2 operators. Al Whitney just turned 100 this year and retired from there at 78. The other operator was a woman named Lucinda Beery. Her brother Dennis was also a 150 man. Lucinda lived with Carl Peterson according to several local officers. She eventually married someone else. She was about 40, divorced, and had a serious disease pertainingg to tumors. Her brother died some years later. I do not know how. Lucinda was one of the first women operators in the local. She was very likeable.
MERYL: Thank you! I will just share some things with you. My dad and I lost my mom mentally in the 1940’s due to something in her brain. She could not function normally. My Dad was Horace Heidt’s PR man back then and traveled with the band on roadshows. This is why I was raised by grandparents in Cheviot Hills. My Dad died on his birthday July 15 which bothered me even more! I felt like first Mom, now Dad. Now you can see why I went into sociology and psychology. I am a Scorpio born on Halloween and my Grandad was a Pisces and Dad was a Cancer…all water signs and highly emotional. It’s not good to lose the physical prescence of your Mom. Period!!
Lisa: I lived at the southern end of the golf course and you drove down/up Patricia to get there. I went to private school in the valley prior to Hamilton. The kids I met at Hami went to Overland Ave, Palms Jr. High and Hami. Hami was the worst experience I had however many adults now tell me they hated their high school too. I presume you graduated Notre Dame about 1980. Many of us in Cheviot Hills dated N.D. girls. Did N.D. ever change their policy to co-ed for high school. I know 1-8 was co-ed but high school was girls only. N.D. here in Sherman Oaks is co-ed. Westlake which was girls only joined all-male Harvard and became co-ed. The true era of private schools is considered 1940-1965. Vietnam completely caused the closing of every military school there was. Harvard became non-military up until uniting with Westlake.
LISA: Like all members I read all messages for the old Picwood. Did you by chance go to HAMI or UNI high? I guess you are a local. Smith’s Sporting Goods across the street and Rancho Records and Biff’s restaurant were all places I frequented.
William and Meryl: After leaving the FOX VENICE I met a girl thru I believe what was called the ROLLER DROME where you skated. It was in Mar Vista. That woman has remained friends with me for 40 years and now resides in Las Vegas. 3 months ago she asked me to shoot the still-existing FOX VENICE and send her a snapshot which I did. I will put it on my WEBSHOTS album.
WILLIAM: I also liked the Fox Criterion and went there as well as worked their booth however I have forgotten the El Miro. Was it close to the Criterion just a few doors away. I never went or worked there.
William: I have a rare photo for you that I do not believe any site has. When I was in my teens everyone went to P.O.P. in Venice and if they had a badmobile as cars were called back then we went to the famous PIKE. The Pike was a giant pier-amusement center for 90 years in Long beach. I am not sure where you grew up. I have a distance shot of the STRAND there. I will put it in my next message for people to see on my Webshots theatre collection of special theatres in my opinion.
WILLIAM: When I failed the test in 1968 by 1 question and the union sent me to work it was at the VISTA which was 16mm and no license required. Lou Honeycutt and I were starting our careers then. Lou still is with LAEMMLE and works out here in Encino. I call him once a year. Last time we talked I asked him about John Barren who LAEMMLE let go after many decades. Lou said John had some very bad health issues. He was my manager at the Plaza in the early 80’s.
WILLIAM: In July after 6 months on kcsn-km 88.5 I asked for 1 month off which was only 4 Mondays. All of a sudden the first week I got a call from San Jose. My Dad worked at Country KEEN for 10 years as the Public Affairs Director. He had a growth removed 1 year prior on his stomach and didn’t share with us that it was terminal. I just almost now started to have tears!! Sorry! He collapsed while I was on Vacation and died 29 days later from MALIGNANT MELANOMA. I was so stunned from everything I never returned to KCSN but sent a letter of resignation. I also had trouble working for 150 due to Depression. 2 other local 150 men went to DON MARTIN…MIKE SCHLEIGER and JON BAREHAM. As a kid growing up in the 1950’s I wanted to be a Projectionist and a DJ. My degree I got at age 50 from CSUN was in Social Work specializing in Gerontology. My galpal of 15 years also went there and has an MSW and works for a adult day heahthcare center. We live together near Valley College. Her son is 22 and is with us.
WILLIAM: In 1977 while working days at the FINE ARTS I went to DON MARTIN RADIO SCHOOL in Hollywood for 1 year. I got out June of 1978. I left LA for 1 year and worked in Salinas. Obviously small stations pay no money and it takes years to reach big markets. I was already 35. Radio guys start careers at 19 and 20!! I returned to LA and had kept dues up to date and returned to projection. However, a strange thing happened. KBCA the jazz station for LA had a dj named Bob Summers. He also did a 4 hour weekly gig on kcsn. I called one nite to say Hey Bob I listen to you on kbca. He liked my voice, attitude, interest in jazz and blues which are my lifelong hobby along with old radio shows and the next thing I knew I replaced him on kcsn and had a show called Straight Ahead on Monday nites from 6-10pm. Then tragedy struck my family.
Meryl: My God! You just mentioned something I had not thought about for 40 years! The Fox Venice had not 1 but 2 CRYING ROOMS if I remember right. I had a crush on a girl who worked the boxoffice and 1 time we went in there and necked. Necking was a biggie back then unlike today. We opened A HARD DAY’S NIGHT…. one of the few if any other theatres in town that did that because who were the Beatles??? Those nutty girls showed up in the parking lot at 2am with sleeping bags!! We started it on a Friday not the usual Wednesday. I swear it was total insanity. We sold out tickets, ice cream, candy and the screaming was so bad that Phil Catherall got headaches and walked down the street to the liquor store and hung out.
When I grew up in the 1950’s in Rancho Park the 2 most famous theatres were the Picwood and Olympic drive in. Back then they were called passion pits. The last time I went there was 1965 with my girlfriend to see VIVA LAS VEGAS. I will attach a site to see some theatres I posted under Webshots including the Olympic Drive In.
William: Here is a little history. After W.W.2 Vic Tanny opened a gym chain. There were many in L.A. Eventually he retired and sold each one separately. Frank Rubin and a partner bought the one on Lankershim and Magnolia. He called it No. Hollywood Health Club. Eventually Frank and the partner sold it to a man named Frank Van Der Nagel around 1980. I started there in 1987 and saw Bernie there regularly. We spoke briefly every visit but really shied away from Local 150 talk because something bad was always happening with management. I left in 2000 due to a disabling back condition. Bernie is the only Rubin I have seen since I left 150 in 1991.
William: You mean Milt Rubin. Sheldon works at the DGA. Bernie who is the oldest is retired and their Dad was Benny. Frank and his son own a carwash in Las Vegas. Milt has been at the Writer’s Guild forever. He and I used to trade off at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills in 1974. It was the L.B. Mayer Theatre. When Bob Perlmutter died last year the DGA did not replace him. When I was asst. mgr. at the FOX VENICE Sheldon came there sometimes to work. That was in 1994-1995. Back in the late 70’s Frank had seen the preview of automation with a Tower. Platters were right behind. He presented the idea of becoming part of the Studio Teamster’s Local but the membership voted it down because the Teamster’s wanted initiation fees from each member amounting to 750.00 Frank was hard to understand but sharp as a tack. I liked him alot.
WILLIAM: Only a perfectionist like you would mention a small error like this. I was there in 1972 specifically to learn 70mm. I was also there in 1974 again. In 1975 I worked full time at the Dome. The only other 70mm work I did was at the Picwood. The booth chief was Hugh Smith who was Local 150 president. Since I always had a bad back I was taught a trick to lift the heavy reels because I could not lift them from the floor to the upper magazines. I put a 3 foot stool next to each projector. I lifted from the floor to the stool took a breath and then lifted from the stool to the magazine. As to the precise film you may be right.
MERYL: I worked at the Fox Venice 620 Lincoln Bl. under Phil Catherall who eventually was transferred to the FOX PALOS VERDES. I was there in 1964-1965.
MERYL: I am 6o and left the Local in 1991 when 2 things happened. First, I inherited some coins and went to college all the way thru securing a BA in Psych and Social Work. Earlier in my 30’s I had a Vocational Degree in radio/tv. When I think back I wonder how a guy who loves to talk about life as much as I do stayed so long. Perhaps the booths enlarging due to multi-screens made loneliness easier. Nites, weekends and holidays were the first 10 years. Not good socially!! My ladyfriend of the past once said: It was the right thing at the time. GETTING A JOB in the 60’s 70’s and early 80’s was much easier than post 1985. Technology changed all! I started out in life being a FOX WEST COAST ASST.MGR/MGR. TRAINEE in 1964. The operator made 200 a week. The mgr. made 120 plus candy and I made 65.00. This is why I asked the operator to help represent me. Right now I am too tired to go on. I live in North Hollywood near Valley College. I will add a few interior shots of booth equipment on my webshots site so please check it out. Talk to you manana!
MEREDITH: Carl Peterson replaced Dean Griffin as chief of Pacific. When I used to go to the Picwood 2 men were operators there. Frank Mc Bryde,deceased,and Dean Griffin. Dean retired in the 1980’s and I have no idea where Peterson came from. Then along came his son who I did not know. When I left Local 150 in 1991 I was at the Galleria. I relieved the 2 operators. Al Whitney just turned 100 this year and retired from there at 78. The other operator was a woman named Lucinda Beery. Her brother Dennis was also a 150 man. Lucinda lived with Carl Peterson according to several local officers. She eventually married someone else. She was about 40, divorced, and had a serious disease pertainingg to tumors. Her brother died some years later. I do not know how. Lucinda was one of the first women operators in the local. She was very likeable.
MERYL: Thank you! I will just share some things with you. My dad and I lost my mom mentally in the 1940’s due to something in her brain. She could not function normally. My Dad was Horace Heidt’s PR man back then and traveled with the band on roadshows. This is why I was raised by grandparents in Cheviot Hills. My Dad died on his birthday July 15 which bothered me even more! I felt like first Mom, now Dad. Now you can see why I went into sociology and psychology. I am a Scorpio born on Halloween and my Grandad was a Pisces and Dad was a Cancer…all water signs and highly emotional. It’s not good to lose the physical prescence of your Mom. Period!!
Lisa: I lived at the southern end of the golf course and you drove down/up Patricia to get there. I went to private school in the valley prior to Hamilton. The kids I met at Hami went to Overland Ave, Palms Jr. High and Hami. Hami was the worst experience I had however many adults now tell me they hated their high school too. I presume you graduated Notre Dame about 1980. Many of us in Cheviot Hills dated N.D. girls. Did N.D. ever change their policy to co-ed for high school. I know 1-8 was co-ed but high school was girls only. N.D. here in Sherman Oaks is co-ed. Westlake which was girls only joined all-male Harvard and became co-ed. The true era of private schools is considered 1940-1965. Vietnam completely caused the closing of every military school there was. Harvard became non-military up until uniting with Westlake.
LISA: Like all members I read all messages for the old Picwood. Did you by chance go to HAMI or UNI high? I guess you are a local. Smith’s Sporting Goods across the street and Rancho Records and Biff’s restaurant were all places I frequented.
FOX VENICE SWAP – SUMMER 2005
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William and Meryl: After leaving the FOX VENICE I met a girl thru I believe what was called the ROLLER DROME where you skated. It was in Mar Vista. That woman has remained friends with me for 40 years and now resides in Las Vegas. 3 months ago she asked me to shoot the still-existing FOX VENICE and send her a snapshot which I did. I will put it on my WEBSHOTS album.
WILLIAM: I also liked the Fox Criterion and went there as well as worked their booth however I have forgotten the El Miro. Was it close to the Criterion just a few doors away. I never went or worked there.
WILLIAM: This is a genuine b&w Kodak shot from 1959. I had just turned 16. I went to Hami from 58-61.
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William: I have a rare photo for you that I do not believe any site has. When I was in my teens everyone went to P.O.P. in Venice and if they had a badmobile as cars were called back then we went to the famous PIKE. The Pike was a giant pier-amusement center for 90 years in Long beach. I am not sure where you grew up. I have a distance shot of the STRAND there. I will put it in my next message for people to see on my Webshots theatre collection of special theatres in my opinion.
WILLIAM: When I failed the test in 1968 by 1 question and the union sent me to work it was at the VISTA which was 16mm and no license required. Lou Honeycutt and I were starting our careers then. Lou still is with LAEMMLE and works out here in Encino. I call him once a year. Last time we talked I asked him about John Barren who LAEMMLE let go after many decades. Lou said John had some very bad health issues. He was my manager at the Plaza in the early 80’s.
WILLIAM: In July after 6 months on kcsn-km 88.5 I asked for 1 month off which was only 4 Mondays. All of a sudden the first week I got a call from San Jose. My Dad worked at Country KEEN for 10 years as the Public Affairs Director. He had a growth removed 1 year prior on his stomach and didn’t share with us that it was terminal. I just almost now started to have tears!! Sorry! He collapsed while I was on Vacation and died 29 days later from MALIGNANT MELANOMA. I was so stunned from everything I never returned to KCSN but sent a letter of resignation. I also had trouble working for 150 due to Depression. 2 other local 150 men went to DON MARTIN…MIKE SCHLEIGER and JON BAREHAM. As a kid growing up in the 1950’s I wanted to be a Projectionist and a DJ. My degree I got at age 50 from CSUN was in Social Work specializing in Gerontology. My galpal of 15 years also went there and has an MSW and works for a adult day heahthcare center. We live together near Valley College. Her son is 22 and is with us.
WILLIAM: In 1977 while working days at the FINE ARTS I went to DON MARTIN RADIO SCHOOL in Hollywood for 1 year. I got out June of 1978. I left LA for 1 year and worked in Salinas. Obviously small stations pay no money and it takes years to reach big markets. I was already 35. Radio guys start careers at 19 and 20!! I returned to LA and had kept dues up to date and returned to projection. However, a strange thing happened. KBCA the jazz station for LA had a dj named Bob Summers. He also did a 4 hour weekly gig on kcsn. I called one nite to say Hey Bob I listen to you on kbca. He liked my voice, attitude, interest in jazz and blues which are my lifelong hobby along with old radio shows and the next thing I knew I replaced him on kcsn and had a show called Straight Ahead on Monday nites from 6-10pm. Then tragedy struck my family.
Meryl: My God! You just mentioned something I had not thought about for 40 years! The Fox Venice had not 1 but 2 CRYING ROOMS if I remember right. I had a crush on a girl who worked the boxoffice and 1 time we went in there and necked. Necking was a biggie back then unlike today. We opened A HARD DAY’S NIGHT…. one of the few if any other theatres in town that did that because who were the Beatles??? Those nutty girls showed up in the parking lot at 2am with sleeping bags!! We started it on a Friday not the usual Wednesday. I swear it was total insanity. We sold out tickets, ice cream, candy and the screaming was so bad that Phil Catherall got headaches and walked down the street to the liquor store and hung out.
A piece of unknown history to many is that next to the first drive-in set up in New Jersey the Olympic is the second drive-in built.
http://community.webshots.com/user/arpichat
When I grew up in the 1950’s in Rancho Park the 2 most famous theatres were the Picwood and Olympic drive in. Back then they were called passion pits. The last time I went there was 1965 with my girlfriend to see VIVA LAS VEGAS. I will attach a site to see some theatres I posted under Webshots including the Olympic Drive In.
William: Here is a little history. After W.W.2 Vic Tanny opened a gym chain. There were many in L.A. Eventually he retired and sold each one separately. Frank Rubin and a partner bought the one on Lankershim and Magnolia. He called it No. Hollywood Health Club. Eventually Frank and the partner sold it to a man named Frank Van Der Nagel around 1980. I started there in 1987 and saw Bernie there regularly. We spoke briefly every visit but really shied away from Local 150 talk because something bad was always happening with management. I left in 2000 due to a disabling back condition. Bernie is the only Rubin I have seen since I left 150 in 1991.
William: I wrote 1994-1995 and I meant 1964 and 1965.
William: You mean Milt Rubin. Sheldon works at the DGA. Bernie who is the oldest is retired and their Dad was Benny. Frank and his son own a carwash in Las Vegas. Milt has been at the Writer’s Guild forever. He and I used to trade off at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills in 1974. It was the L.B. Mayer Theatre. When Bob Perlmutter died last year the DGA did not replace him. When I was asst. mgr. at the FOX VENICE Sheldon came there sometimes to work. That was in 1994-1995. Back in the late 70’s Frank had seen the preview of automation with a Tower. Platters were right behind. He presented the idea of becoming part of the Studio Teamster’s Local but the membership voted it down because the Teamster’s wanted initiation fees from each member amounting to 750.00 Frank was hard to understand but sharp as a tack. I liked him alot.
I presume this was the fine theatre at Beverly and Wilshire which had a dome shaped roof.
A GOOD SHOT……
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THE SEE IT NOW WILL SEND YOU THERE NOT THE MEMBERS ONE
MEMBERS: PLEASE ENJOY MY NEWLY ADDED ALBUM OF THEATRES INCLUDING THE GILMORE D.I.
http://community.webshots.com/user/arpichatI
WILLIAM: Only a perfectionist like you would mention a small error like this. I was there in 1972 specifically to learn 70mm. I was also there in 1974 again. In 1975 I worked full time at the Dome. The only other 70mm work I did was at the Picwood. The booth chief was Hugh Smith who was Local 150 president. Since I always had a bad back I was taught a trick to lift the heavy reels because I could not lift them from the floor to the upper magazines. I put a 3 foot stool next to each projector. I lifted from the floor to the stool took a breath and then lifted from the stool to the magazine. As to the precise film you may be right.
MERYL: I worked at the Fox Venice 620 Lincoln Bl. under Phil Catherall who eventually was transferred to the FOX PALOS VERDES. I was there in 1964-1965.
MERYL: I am 6o and left the Local in 1991 when 2 things happened. First, I inherited some coins and went to college all the way thru securing a BA in Psych and Social Work. Earlier in my 30’s I had a Vocational Degree in radio/tv. When I think back I wonder how a guy who loves to talk about life as much as I do stayed so long. Perhaps the booths enlarging due to multi-screens made loneliness easier. Nites, weekends and holidays were the first 10 years. Not good socially!! My ladyfriend of the past once said: It was the right thing at the time. GETTING A JOB in the 60’s 70’s and early 80’s was much easier than post 1985. Technology changed all! I started out in life being a FOX WEST COAST ASST.MGR/MGR. TRAINEE in 1964. The operator made 200 a week. The mgr. made 120 plus candy and I made 65.00. This is why I asked the operator to help represent me. Right now I am too tired to go on. I live in North Hollywood near Valley College. I will add a few interior shots of booth equipment on my webshots site so please check it out. Talk to you manana!