Famous News (Spring 1990)

Victoria. In 1974 he was made city manager. Pat Joyce, of the Vancouver office, was quoted in Victoria’s Monday Magazine.. She said McRae was "very, very well-liked,” but a private man whose interests were devoted to the cinema. "The theatre was his home more than anything.” The Monday Magazine article also mentioned some McRae family history: apparently the McRae’s were a long-established dairy-farming family who owned considerable land in the Victoria area and have a street named in their honor (McRae Avenue). Jack McRae will be missed by the community, as well as by his fellow employees. FAMOUS PEOPLE Ii Before we introduce the new, succinct Famous People section, there are a couple of announcements to make. First, an apology is in order for London Mews manager George Coulter and newly-appointed manager of the Capitol in London, Jacquelyn Smith: in the last issue of Famous News, we mistakenly promoted Jacquelyn to manager of the London Mews. Sorry! Also, left out of the Winter edition was the appointment of project manager Patrick Dooley. Patrick is working on the restoration and renovation of the Capitol theatre in Kingston, among other projects. Patrick Tamas of the Montreal office sends us news of the births of two new future theatre employees: Armand Zwibel, manager of cinema Versailles, and his wife Linda Dagenais had a boy on 27 March, and cinema Du Parc cashier Tamara Berry and her husband are also the proud parents of a baby boy. Finally, Mary Spizziri of the Sheraton Centre Cinemas in Toronto reached a real milestone. On March 15 she celebrated 36 years of continuous service with Famous Players. Mary began at the Parkdale theatre in 1954. Congratulations to all! The West The following promotions/transfers have taken place: Paul Keelan was made manager of University Cinemas; Roxanne Taylor-King was made manager of Palliser Square; manager Natalie MacKay to Londonderry; Robert Price was made manager of Dunbar; manager, Wulf Reinhardt to Garneau; manager Philip Ramsden to Market Mall; manager Jim Sears to Chinook; manager Mark Smaal to Capitol 6, Victoria; manager John Weyland to Sunridge ; David Wolfe was made manager of Polo Park ; manager Rhonda Young to Paramount, Edmonton. Central The following hires /changes / promotions took place in the central region: manager Ernie Delves to the Bayview; manager Nelson Lee to Markville; Raymond Lee was hired as accounts payable clerk in Film Settlement; Andrew Morgan was made manager of Pickering Town Centre; Ala Gammah Narayanasamy was hired as cash disbursement clerk in Accounting; manager Juan Nogueiras to the Cumberland; Chona Paez was hired as file clerk in Accounts Payable; Rodolfo Sia was hired as fixed assets clerk in Accounting; Gordon Tang was hired as truck driver for General Sound; and Pushap Verma was hired in the Concessions warehouse as helper. The East Brian Aldrich will manage the Brittania Drive-In for the summer; manager Peter VanDuynhoven transferred to Place de Ville; manager Alan Patrick transferred to the Airport Drive-In. Famous News is published by the Public Relations Department of Famous Players Inc., a Paramount Communications company. Here We Grow Again Famous Players added another jewel to the crown when the Bankers Hall five-plex opened in Calgary in March. The theatre (boxoffice pictured below) is located in the new Bankers Hall shopping and office complex in downtown Calgary. A very successful promotional opening was held one night prior to the public opening: approximately 800 radio and newspaper contest winners, and local media, filled the five theatres (each showing a different feature) and munched on complimentary soft drinks and popcorn. The new theatre features a spacious lobby, neon signage, high-back seats, Dolby SR sound and giant screens, particularly in the 367-seat Paradise theatre. The screen in the Paradise is more than giant; it’s mammoth! Despite the hectic, last-minute push to get the theatre opened on time, manager Brenda Bugg and her staff are to be congratulated for a terrific job. The magnificent box office of the new Bankers Hall Cinemas.