I applied for a job at the Odeon just before it opened as a twin cinema in spring 1969 and got a job in the Advance Booking Office for Cinema 1, the downstairs auditorium, which was going to show long runs of big blockbuster films, like the Majestic in City Square had previously – The Sound of Music was the last big one there I think. Most people in Leeds had never heard of a twin cinema before and it was quite exciting working there & geting it ready for opening night. The first night was a big gala opening party night with stars! The company paid for us all to get our hair done at a hairdressers across the road in the Headrow. The staff were all agog because we had heard that Omar Sharif was going to be there. In the end it was Telly Savalas and Ingrid Pitt who came – this was before Telly (and his lollipops) became a household name as Kojak – quite impressive now but we were disappointed at the time because Omar didn’t show! The downstairs cinema – Cinema 2 – showed McKenna’s Gold as the first film I think, which also starred Omar Sharif.
I can’t remember many of the staff except Hazel and Joan, who I worked with in the ABO and a guy called Peter Kenyon who was the assistant manager. I loved working there but as 19 year olds do I moved on the next year I think to work in the Bali Hai nightclub at teh Merrion Centre Mecca – anyone remember it? Fake palm trees and carpeted walls?
Forgot to say, Funny Girl was the first film when the twin cinema opened and ran for months as far as I remember.
I applied for a job at the Odeon just before it opened as a twin cinema in spring 1969 and got a job in the Advance Booking Office for Cinema 1, the downstairs auditorium, which was going to show long runs of big blockbuster films, like the Majestic in City Square had previously – The Sound of Music was the last big one there I think. Most people in Leeds had never heard of a twin cinema before and it was quite exciting working there & geting it ready for opening night. The first night was a big gala opening party night with stars! The company paid for us all to get our hair done at a hairdressers across the road in the Headrow. The staff were all agog because we had heard that Omar Sharif was going to be there. In the end it was Telly Savalas and Ingrid Pitt who came – this was before Telly (and his lollipops) became a household name as Kojak – quite impressive now but we were disappointed at the time because Omar didn’t show! The downstairs cinema – Cinema 2 – showed McKenna’s Gold as the first film I think, which also starred Omar Sharif.
I can’t remember many of the staff except Hazel and Joan, who I worked with in the ABO and a guy called Peter Kenyon who was the assistant manager. I loved working there but as 19 year olds do I moved on the next year I think to work in the Bali Hai nightclub at teh Merrion Centre Mecca – anyone remember it? Fake palm trees and carpeted walls?