To Greg_Faris: Yep. I worked at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington and we came to Williamstown to “renovate” the projection booth in the early ‘80’s. The Vitaphone system was amazing - I learned on that equipment!
Belatedly replying to tawsin (above). Those were rats tapping you on the shoulder. When I was there in the early ‘80’s I brought my cats in for rat control. My cats would routinely run down the rows and knock over popcorn buckets, and our wonderfully forgiving customers would just buy more…
I served my IATSE apprenticeship at the Paris Cinema in the early ‘80’s. I think the film was Grease, and I think it ran for nearly a year. Kill me now! The manager, Dick Budziak, was famous for wearing the “full Cleveland” (white shoes and white belt) but was always good to me and the other staff. The main projectionist (and I wish I could remember his name) was very tolerant of my 20 year old mistakes.
I was projectionist here in the early ‘80’s. I can testify that Al Schwartz ran this place perfectly. Picture and sound, concession, everything. Amazing. Perhaps Al is still around?
In the early ‘80’s I was District Manager for Western Mass Theatres, and this was one of mine. (I was manager at the Calvin in Northampton at the time.) I redesigned the newspaper ads to look like a ransom note, because the theatre was so edgy. Still, it was a great place and I have many fond memories…
I was the manager of the Calvin in the early ‘80’s. It was great! Dollar house, double features:(“Deliverance” & “Porky’s”: “Squeal like a pig” read the marquee.) We did the best we could with renovations, but there was no money… Great memories…
The Lenox Town Hall Cinema, “A Theater Near You”, was renovated in 1980 with fixed cinema seats and both 35mm and 16mm projectors purchased from the closed Toad Hall Cinema at the Music Inn. Sound and picture were admittedly awful, but we tried very hard. Largest grossing film was the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Management (in various combinations) previously operated both Toad Hall and the Holliston Art Theater in Lenox, with support from Pleasant Street in Northampton, the Pittsfield Drive In (!), and various art cinemas in Cambridge and indeed throughout the northeast (we had quite a network then).
To Greg_Faris: Yep. I worked at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington and we came to Williamstown to “renovate” the projection booth in the early ‘80’s. The Vitaphone system was amazing - I learned on that equipment!
Belatedly replying to tawsin (above). Those were rats tapping you on the shoulder. When I was there in the early ‘80’s I brought my cats in for rat control. My cats would routinely run down the rows and knock over popcorn buckets, and our wonderfully forgiving customers would just buy more…
I served my IATSE apprenticeship at the Paris Cinema in the early ‘80’s. I think the film was Grease, and I think it ran for nearly a year. Kill me now! The manager, Dick Budziak, was famous for wearing the “full Cleveland” (white shoes and white belt) but was always good to me and the other staff. The main projectionist (and I wish I could remember his name) was very tolerant of my 20 year old mistakes.
I was projectionist here in the early ‘80’s. I can testify that Al Schwartz ran this place perfectly. Picture and sound, concession, everything. Amazing. Perhaps Al is still around?
In the early ‘80’s I was District Manager for Western Mass Theatres, and this was one of mine. (I was manager at the Calvin in Northampton at the time.) I redesigned the newspaper ads to look like a ransom note, because the theatre was so edgy. Still, it was a great place and I have many fond memories…
I was the manager of the Calvin in the early ‘80’s. It was great! Dollar house, double features:(“Deliverance” & “Porky’s”: “Squeal like a pig” read the marquee.) We did the best we could with renovations, but there was no money… Great memories…
The Lenox Town Hall Cinema, “A Theater Near You”, was renovated in 1980 with fixed cinema seats and both 35mm and 16mm projectors purchased from the closed Toad Hall Cinema at the Music Inn. Sound and picture were admittedly awful, but we tried very hard. Largest grossing film was the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Management (in various combinations) previously operated both Toad Hall and the Holliston Art Theater in Lenox, with support from Pleasant Street in Northampton, the Pittsfield Drive In (!), and various art cinemas in Cambridge and indeed throughout the northeast (we had quite a network then).