Sally Carpenter is a definite Renaissance woman.
She’s worked as an actress, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail
chaplain, and tour guide/page for Paramount Pictures and is currently employed
at a community newspaper. Learn more about Sally and her books at her
website/blog.
Making beautiful music with theatre organs
You’re seated in a red
velvet-covered chair, waiting for the movie to start. A hole opens in the stage
floor and from the basement rises a platform holding an organ and the seated
organist who begins to play. Forget the movie—I could listen to the music all
day.
An organ in an old art deco
theater in Los Angeles plays an important role in my new cozy mystery, The Quirky Quiz Show Caper. We see the
organ on the very first page. If only my book came with an audio track, you
could hear it as well.
Theatre organs were
developed in the early 20th century to provide music for silent films. Like
church organs, these instruments had pipes but differed in several ways,
particularly the horseshoe-shaped console providing the organist easy access to
a larger number of stops. Theatre organs were also equipped with a multitude of
“special effects”—whistles, cymbals, chimes, gongs, woodblock, etc.—to provide
realistic sounds for the films. These organs were often ornate with gold leaf
or velvet trim or even rhinestones.
As synchronized audio tracks
became common in movies, the organs were still used for live music between
films. But by the 1930s, these instruments fell out of favor, possibly due to
the cost of maintenance and the organist’s salary. Many theatre organs were
sold, dismantled or moved to other venues such as skating rinks, sports arenas,
museums and private homes.
Only about 40 theatre organs
in America are still in their original installation site. Many of these have
had extensive refurbishing, due to deterioration, wear and water/smoke damage
over the years. Some of these old instruments have been retrofitted with new
digital/electronic devices to improve and expand the sound quality and variety.
Two theater organs that I’ve
seen/heard are in the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, and the Embassy Theatre
in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Both theaters had weekend classic film matinees with live
music before and after the show. I remember the organ in the Embassy rising to
the stage as the organist began playing, which I thought was pretty cool.
The largest pipe organ west
of the Mississippi is in the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, Calif., just
north of Los Angeles. I visited the museum on a group tour. J.B. Nethercutt
founded Merle Norman cosmetics and used his fortune to collect antique cars and
other trinkets. He built the museum to house his treasures for the public to
view.
The building is drab on the
outside, but inside contains a stupendous exhibit of restored classic cars in a
glamorous setting. The fourth floor houses the Music Room, with a variety of
old-time music boxes, some six feet tall, and the Wurlitzer organ. The largest
pipe in the organ is 40 feet long! The pipes are visible behind a glass wall.
The Wurlitzer had been
fitted with a computer system that could play back a recorded piece of music.
During my tour, the organist touched a button and the instrument played a short
concert he had performed earlier.
While at the museum, I
purchased a CD of Christmas music played on the Wurlitzer. It’s one of my
favorite holiday albums.
Have you seen/heard an
authentic theatre organ? If so, where and when?
Former teen idol Sandy Fairfax is a guest panelist
on a TV game show—and the first category is murder! When his kid brother,
Warren, is framed for killing a college student, Sandy makes it his duty to
track down the thug before the police move in. After all, Sandy did play a
detective once on a hit TV show. Sandy will get right on the case—right after
he visits his kids; fights with his ex; woos his hoped-to-be girlfriend,
Cinnamon; and convinces his parents he should be the special entertainment at a
black tie gala designed to raise funds for his father’s faltering orchestra.
All this while he and his biggest fan attempt to “Raise The Stakes” on a rigged
quiz show where––wonder of wonders––the murder victim had recently been a
contestant. Sandy’s ready to pull out some of his long blond hair as the game
points and the suspects pile up.
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6 comments:
I'm impressed and admire your career path, Sally. Lots of background experience to draw on for creating characters. Thanks so much for the post, and enjoy your weekend.
Hi Angela, thanks for dropping by. Yes, I've put my various experience to work in my books. Have yourself a great holiday weekend too!
Hi Lois, thanks for hosting me again. Love the photo you found! Is this organ still in a theater and if so, where?
There's a working Wurlitzer here in Richmond at the Byrd Theater which was built in 1928 (which is itself absolutely stunning) and the organ is original but has had quite a bit of repair with full restoration ongoing. It's played every Saturday night before the double feature. You can hear a sample here---
http://byrdtheatre.com/history/mighty-wurlitzer-organ/
Proctor's Theater in Schenectady NY has an organ and they give concerts periodically.
http://www.proctors.org/content/organ-concerts
Thanks for the comments. Happy to hear about all the wonderful organs still in operation!
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