pyeske
commented about
Cinema 4on
Apr 29, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Yes, thanks Denny- perhaps you can come join our Facebook community?
Those shots are a year or two after my tenure. I remember how big a deal it was when we increased ticket prices from $1.50 to $1.75. Sure, paying customers complained, but the managers hated calculating on the fly multiples of $1.75 most of all! I can still see myself sweeping that front lobby or changing those letters on the marquee…
pyeske
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 26, 2009 at 5:23 pm
We’ve got a facebook page South Hills Theater fans!
pyeske
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 26, 2009 at 4:55 pm
angel4sam: Thanks for replying! I figured this thread had dwindled to nothing and that my musings were primarily for my own benefit. It’s nice to know at least a few folks are still reading about the SHT. Perhaps there IS a community of SHT-lovers that needs a place to share. Sounds like a facebook page, no? Hmmm…
pyeske
commented about
Cinema 4on
Mar 23, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I too worked at the SHT, from 1979-1981. The comments above from John the Projectionist’s son and the concession girl really brought back some amazing memories for me. As an usher, I was responsible for managing the crowd- and quite often on weekends this beauty of a theater was quite full. It was always a big deal when we opened up the balcony. The majority of time I had to shoo young amorous couples OUT of the balcony…an interesting job to say the least. A few of my fave memories:
“Indian Theater” on Sunday afternoons. For a Dormont boy, this was eye-opening…my first exposure to such a foreign culture. The Bollywood movies were hilarious, and Mr. X the organizer (can see him plain as day, name is gone) would set up a table of Indian food to sell. You know how hard it is to sweep chickpeas with a broom?
The marquee. Movies would start on Friday’s, so Thursday night meant changing the letters on the marquee. We had a long pole with finger-like grips to hoist each letter onto the sign. It was tricky, and sometimes the letters fell to their death on the sidewalk of W. Liberty Avenue. Our supply of letters was dwindling in the early 80’s, so either new ones were (finally) bought or dollar signs had to be used for S’s.
Popcorn. The supply of popcorn arrived already popped in big yellow bags that the ushers had to store behind the concession stand. John the projectionist taught me the trick of filling a bucket with popcorn, applying a massive dollop of “butter” (whatever it was, it tasted great), setting a second bucket on top and then shaking like hell to disperse the butter. It worked great!
Alien. The movie was still popular when we got it and weekend crowds were large. Bored one Saturday night, a few of the ushers decided to use the letter changing pole described above to scare the bejeezus out of an unsuspecting female patron in the last row. It was a well-timed thrust above her head just as the film monster appeared for the first time that elicited a huge scream. Oh my, how we laughed and laughed…
I could go on and on. Mr. Baker was odd, to say the least, but he gave me my first job and it taught me a lot about how to deal with people. Would be great to have a “Friends of the SHT” reunion some day. Wish it could be in the lobby, frozen in time from 1980, but alas…time marches on. Any other former employees around to share?
Denny:
Please consider sharing your photos (and memories) with the South Hills Theater community at Facebook!
Phil
View link
Yes, thanks Denny- perhaps you can come join our Facebook community?
Those shots are a year or two after my tenure. I remember how big a deal it was when we increased ticket prices from $1.50 to $1.75. Sure, paying customers complained, but the managers hated calculating on the fly multiples of $1.75 most of all! I can still see myself sweeping that front lobby or changing those letters on the marquee…
We’ve got a facebook page South Hills Theater fans!
View link
Feel free to visit and contribute.
angel4sam: Thanks for replying! I figured this thread had dwindled to nothing and that my musings were primarily for my own benefit. It’s nice to know at least a few folks are still reading about the SHT. Perhaps there IS a community of SHT-lovers that needs a place to share. Sounds like a facebook page, no? Hmmm…
I too worked at the SHT, from 1979-1981. The comments above from John the Projectionist’s son and the concession girl really brought back some amazing memories for me. As an usher, I was responsible for managing the crowd- and quite often on weekends this beauty of a theater was quite full. It was always a big deal when we opened up the balcony. The majority of time I had to shoo young amorous couples OUT of the balcony…an interesting job to say the least. A few of my fave memories:
“Indian Theater” on Sunday afternoons. For a Dormont boy, this was eye-opening…my first exposure to such a foreign culture. The Bollywood movies were hilarious, and Mr. X the organizer (can see him plain as day, name is gone) would set up a table of Indian food to sell. You know how hard it is to sweep chickpeas with a broom?
The marquee. Movies would start on Friday’s, so Thursday night meant changing the letters on the marquee. We had a long pole with finger-like grips to hoist each letter onto the sign. It was tricky, and sometimes the letters fell to their death on the sidewalk of W. Liberty Avenue. Our supply of letters was dwindling in the early 80’s, so either new ones were (finally) bought or dollar signs had to be used for S’s.
Popcorn. The supply of popcorn arrived already popped in big yellow bags that the ushers had to store behind the concession stand. John the projectionist taught me the trick of filling a bucket with popcorn, applying a massive dollop of “butter” (whatever it was, it tasted great), setting a second bucket on top and then shaking like hell to disperse the butter. It worked great!
Alien. The movie was still popular when we got it and weekend crowds were large. Bored one Saturday night, a few of the ushers decided to use the letter changing pole described above to scare the bejeezus out of an unsuspecting female patron in the last row. It was a well-timed thrust above her head just as the film monster appeared for the first time that elicited a huge scream. Oh my, how we laughed and laughed…
I could go on and on. Mr. Baker was odd, to say the least, but he gave me my first job and it taught me a lot about how to deal with people. Would be great to have a “Friends of the SHT” reunion some day. Wish it could be in the lobby, frozen in time from 1980, but alas…time marches on. Any other former employees around to share?