I was a projectionist at the Carolina Theatre for 3+ years in the 1960’s, including the World Premiere of “Joy in the Morning” complete with klieg lights and movie stars! Carrington Smith was the manager then, a stogie pipe smoking man with rigid rules for decorum in those days. Their projection booth was pretty state of the art for those times, huge auditorium (~1200 seats). I got the job at age 15 when one of their career projectionists fell ill and never returned to work. Projection booth was complete with it’s own toilet and a leather recliner.
I also worked at the Varsity as my first job, age 13, as marquee boy - changing the marquee every night at around 9:30pm. Back then movies were often only one day runs, first runs might be 3-5 day runs but Chapel Hill never got first runs until the movie had been running in larger cities for weeks. The marquee room was next to the projection booth off the men’s bathroom and I would hang out there with the projectionist before changes - he taught me how to make changeovers (we used only 18" reels) splice film, etc. He got arrested for breaking into Jeff’s Confectionary and the manager, Andy Gutierrez asked me if I knew how to operate the equipment - I said yes and got the job at age 14 (things were much different in those days) - operating carbon arc lamps and serious amperages. It was good money as the projectionist got paid about the same as the manager did and I often made more money in a week than my mom did, working as a full time editor for the CH News. I had basic knowledge as I had worked as the AV guy at Philips Junior High.
Joined the Coast Guard in 1967 and was stationed in DC, where I worked for the projectionist union as a relief projectionist in just about every theatre in DC and Northern VA.
Sad to see the Carolina go - it was owned by Paramount back then and was a much nicer theatre than the Varsity, which was independently owned by a company in Charlotte.
I was a projectionist at the Carolina Theatre for 3+ years in the 1960’s, including the World Premiere of “Joy in the Morning” complete with klieg lights and movie stars! Carrington Smith was the manager then, a stogie pipe smoking man with rigid rules for decorum in those days. Their projection booth was pretty state of the art for those times, huge auditorium (~1200 seats). I got the job at age 15 when one of their career projectionists fell ill and never returned to work. Projection booth was complete with it’s own toilet and a leather recliner.
I also worked at the Varsity as my first job, age 13, as marquee boy - changing the marquee every night at around 9:30pm. Back then movies were often only one day runs, first runs might be 3-5 day runs but Chapel Hill never got first runs until the movie had been running in larger cities for weeks. The marquee room was next to the projection booth off the men’s bathroom and I would hang out there with the projectionist before changes - he taught me how to make changeovers (we used only 18" reels) splice film, etc. He got arrested for breaking into Jeff’s Confectionary and the manager, Andy Gutierrez asked me if I knew how to operate the equipment - I said yes and got the job at age 14 (things were much different in those days) - operating carbon arc lamps and serious amperages. It was good money as the projectionist got paid about the same as the manager did and I often made more money in a week than my mom did, working as a full time editor for the CH News. I had basic knowledge as I had worked as the AV guy at Philips Junior High.
Joined the Coast Guard in 1967 and was stationed in DC, where I worked for the projectionist union as a relief projectionist in just about every theatre in DC and Northern VA.
Sad to see the Carolina go - it was owned by Paramount back then and was a much nicer theatre than the Varsity, which was independently owned by a company in Charlotte.