My name is Dale Evans and I worked for Roy Tharrington as a relief projectionist at The Studio and San Carlos theaters in 1957 and was made the full time projectionist at the Prince Drive in 1957-58. I not only was the projectionist at the drive in but also the maintenance man. I repaired many a speaker torn off by people who drove off forgetting that they still had the speaker in the window.
Roy Tharrington was a pioneer in the Arizona movie business. He and his wife Thomasene moved to Arizona in 1941 and drove from town to town showing movies after setting up folding chairs and a screen. They worked hard and ended up in Coolidge where Roy, with Thomasene’s help managed the Studio, The San Carlos, The Prince Drive In, and the Isis in Florence
I know this because I married Thomasene’s baby sister, Wanda and became part of their family.
The Studio was our best house and the San Carlos was number 2. I know that the San Carlos was was number 2 because it never got the big first run movies ran all of the B movies and I had to burn the shortie arc rods from sent over from the Studio.
Working for the drive in made for a long day, noon to past midnight. The rule was that if you bought your ticket by 10PM you got to see both features, it was a drive in, always a double feature, and it seemed like that happened almost every night.
Many a night I showed a full show to just one or 2 cars parked on the back rows at 1 in the morning. To this day I doubt if any of them could tell you what that last movie was about. :–)
I was just 21 then, fresh out of the Navy with a wife and 1 daughter and a son who was born October 12, 1957 at the Florence Hospital. That was 58 years ago and the hospital, the theaters, Roy, Thomasine, and Wanda who was my wife for 42 of those years are now gone.
I am adding this to the history because at 78 I had better get it done while I an still around.
My name is Dale Evans and I worked for Roy Tharrington as a relief projectionist at The Studio and San Carlos theaters in 1957 and was made the full time projectionist at the Prince Drive in 1957-58. I not only was the projectionist at the drive in but also the maintenance man. I repaired many a speaker torn off by people who drove off forgetting that they still had the speaker in the window.
Roy Tharrington was a pioneer in the Arizona movie business. He and his wife Thomasene moved to Arizona in 1941 and drove from town to town showing movies after setting up folding chairs and a screen. They worked hard and ended up in Coolidge where Roy, with Thomasene’s help managed the Studio, The San Carlos, The Prince Drive In, and the Isis in Florence
I know this because I married Thomasene’s baby sister, Wanda and became part of their family.
The Studio was our best house and the San Carlos was number 2. I know that the San Carlos was was number 2 because it never got the big first run movies ran all of the B movies and I had to burn the shortie arc rods from sent over from the Studio.
Working for the drive in made for a long day, noon to past midnight. The rule was that if you bought your ticket by 10PM you got to see both features, it was a drive in, always a double feature, and it seemed like that happened almost every night.
Many a night I showed a full show to just one or 2 cars parked on the back rows at 1 in the morning. To this day I doubt if any of them could tell you what that last movie was about. :–)
I was just 21 then, fresh out of the Navy with a wife and 1 daughter and a son who was born October 12, 1957 at the Florence Hospital. That was 58 years ago and the hospital, the theaters, Roy, Thomasine, and Wanda who was my wife for 42 of those years are now gone.
I am adding this to the history because at 78 I had better get it done while I an still around.