The Exhibitor (1949)

NT-6 THE EXHIBITOR TRAVELLING AROUND WITH LEW HERB (Lew Herb, travelling representative of THE EXHIBITOR, continues with the report of his trip through the south. Ed. ) As we made our way through Mis¬ sissippi, further travels brought us to Clarksdale, which has a large colored population. The first theatre we visited was the Har¬ lan, all-colored thea¬ tre, operated by Fitz Parris, a former police officer, who got into the business about a year ago. Here, too, we learned that the extra profits depart¬ ment is really a major factor in the operation LEW HERB of the house, and depends lo a great extent on the sale of the various confections and food¬ stuffs for its very existence. Our next visit waste another of the three colored theatres, the Roxy, owned and operated by A. N. Rossi, located in the heart of the downtown colored section of the city. Rossi has been in business on this same street for the past 18 years, formerly operating a cafe and store before turning to exhibition about five years ago. He recently purchased several store buildings adjoining the theatre, and is planning on building a modern 750-seat theatre, with space for several new stores on both sides. Another colored house, the Savoy, is operated by the Lebovitz brothers, out of Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenn. In the downtown sector, we dropped in at the deluxe white house, the Tyson, owned and operated by R. W. Tyson and T. E. “Potts” Williams. We chatted with both these gentlemen, and learned that Tyson is a veteran in the business, dating back to 1915, when he got his start in Valdosta, Ga. Since that time he has been in and out of the business in several different situations. The Tyson, a new -house, having been built in 1946, is under the direct supervision of Williams, a brother-in-law of Tyson, who has been in the business since 1944. The theatre, itself, is a very impressive house, with a large outer lobby. A portion of the lobby was originally intended to house a complete soda-fountain and concession department, but lack of materials prevented the installation. A smaller more compact unit was due to be installed in this section. The theathe is completely equipped with the latest Carrier air-conditioning system. Two other white houses, the Delta and Paramount, are both under Paramount-Richards direction, operated out of the New Orleans territory. Continuing our journey, we drove to Cleveland, Miss., where Mrs. W. T. Ellis operates three white theatres, and Billy Rivers operates the BookerT, a colored house. Having chatted with Rivers recently in Memphis, we called at the offices of Mrs. Ellis, and learned that she and her husband have been in the business for the past 20 years. In addition to super¬ vising the operation of the three houses, Mrs. Ellis has also been operating an antique shop in the community, but finds that her time is too limited to be able to give it the attention it deserves, and was considering disposing of her interests in the shop. While in Cleveland, we also dropped in at the offices of Dr. R. W. John¬ son, prominent local dentist, who operates the Shelby, Shelby, Miss. He has had this theatre for the past few years, and operates it by remote control from Cleveland, where he maintains an office within his dental establishment, one of the most elaborate in the state. Continuing south, we stopped briefly in Shaw, Miss., for a visit with C. H. Collier, and found him in the midst of remodeling his Globe. After a brief visit, we continued on to Leland, Miss., where J. C. Noble operates two houses, but he was out of town, so we journeyed west to Greenville, Miss., where we found four colored theatres, plus several white houses. The white houses are Paramount-Richards operated, while three of the colored houses are under the Azars, Spero and Isaac. They are only operating two of these, however, at t h e moment, the Harlan and Lincoln. In the business for the past 10 years, they all take an active interest in the operation of the houses, with Spero handling one and Isaac the other. Mrs. Spero Azar also gives much of her time to the operation, devoting her interests to the booking end. REIDSVILLE (Continued from preceding page) which operates three houses here, formally opened its new drive-in, the Midway, on April 12. With a capa¬ city of 350 cars, the Midway is located midway between Reidsville and Leaksville, N.C. , at the junction of High-ways 87 and 65. It has in-car speakers with individual volume con¬ trol, artificial moonlight, and elec¬ tric bottle warmers for baby’s milk. ROCKY MOUNT Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Arrington sold John F. Elzey, proprietor. Delta Theatre Supply, New Orleans, was photographed recently in his office. the Cameo, which they operated for the past 35 years, to Consolidated Theatres, Charlotte. WINSTON SALEM The Winston, held its formal open¬ ing on April 13. Built by the Twin City Theatre Corporation, it has a seating capacity of 1,000, and is of fireproof construction. Twin City Theatre Corporation is jointly owned by North Carolina Theatres, Inc. , of which H. P. Kincey, Charlotte, is general manager, and the Sams in¬ terests^ Winston-Salem. The latter interests include J. Bonner Sams, Judge Leroy Sams and A. P, i Sams, the latter of Statesville. J.D. Deal, who has managed a number x)f theatres for the company, is resident manager under the supervision of U.K. Rice, city manager. Deal was manager of the Forsyth before receiving his new assignment, and has been with theatres in High Point, N. C. , Burlington, N.C. , and Danville, Va. The theatre is located on West Fourth Street, and has been under construction for the past year. Erie G. Stilwell, Hender¬ sonville, N. C. , who specializes in theatre designing, was the architect, and furnishings were by Wil-Kin Thea¬ tre Supply Company, Atlanta. South Carolina KERSHAW C. P. Truedale is new drive-in owner. WARE SHOALS The YMCA has installed complete booth equipment from the Southeastern Equipment Company. The Pitt, New Orleans, was opened recently by T.A. Pittman, who is also building another theatre in Lake Charles, La. Opening of the latter will make the sixth theatre for the veteran exhibitor in this area in tlrree years. May 4, 1949