The Exhibitor (1966)

Continued from page PE-1 TEDA: Past, Present, Future. The supply dealer leapt aboard the roller coaster. This Theatre Wired For Sound, be¬ came the cry — and the marquee — that flashed over the country. Now, it was true that West¬ ern Electric’s ERPI and RCA’s Photophone, leased and installed the new sound apparatus which did not go through the dealerships. But theatres needed new lamp houses, rewind equipment and new perforated screens, and of course, the old Powers “A” model projectors could not be converted to sound. Once in the booth, the dealer could easily remark, “How about coming down to my showroom and look¬ ing at some new equipment?” The supply dealer has been in the booth ever since. So the dealer, although still the ‘forgotten man’ prospered and reaped the gold cast out indirectly by Hollywood when the studios got together and formed the suicide pact against the Warner Brothers who had the disc-and-film patents through Vitaphone. The majors backed Fox/Case’s Aeolight, sound-on-the-edge-offilm process, Movietone. Equipment! Every¬ one had to have equipment, and many theatres had both devices. With millions coming in at the boxoffice, exhibitors who had never thought about drapery or carpeting or padded seats, came to the supply dealer. Beauty? Comfort? Well, they were important too, of course, but the new accouterments did wonderful things, acoustically, to the tinny, recorded voices that poured out of the small baffles. There had sprung up so many dealerships during this hectic period, that an organization sought to buy out as many independent dealers as possible so that branches could be started in many cities throughout the country. Buying power in those days — as now — was the allover important trend. With the buying power of some twenty odd stores, and the ability to run a large business successfully, National Theatre Supply Company planned to become TEDA vice president, George Hornstein, welcomes Jack Servies, president. National Theatre Supply Co., to membership. Robert Tankersley (Western Service & Supply), is long-time Secretary-Treasurer of TEDA. the leading dealership in the USA. Reorganization The independent dealers did not fear com¬ petition, because in many ways, it helped them keep on their toes, discard old, out-of-date ideas and come up with something new. Be¬ sides, many members of N.T.S. were old friends. But the independents could not hope to garner the buying power of the larger organi¬ zation on items such as carbons. Again Joe Hornstein came to the rank and file dealers. His MPSDAA had deteriorated over the years with the lush business brought in by sound con¬ version, so he suggested a new, stronger kind of organization. Joe Robbin, who manufac¬ tured the Imperial Generators was a founder of the new group, along with Ben Shearer, a powerful dealer on the West Coast; Van Heusan, a dealer from Des Moines and others, with Joe Robbin, the paid secretary. These men met one blustery day after the stockmarket crash, primarily to better the buying power of the dealer and to establish closer contact with the manufacturer. Transportation and communications were much better now and businessmen thought nothing of taking long trips; even train and bus service was excellent and there was even talk of frequent and regu¬ lar air transport flights. These same men, along with a few others, met once again before the formation of the In¬ dependent Theatre Supply Dealers (ITSDA) met with Theatre Equipment and Supply Manufacturers (TESMA). Twenty odd deal¬ ers showed up the first year in 1930 and the press reports and word of mouth was tremend¬ ous. The following year when the Conference was held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, May 26th to 28th, over sixty five dealers and manu¬ facturers showed up, armed with news of tech¬ nical advances in the industry and ways to combat the depression which was reaching alarming proportions. That year Vivian Har¬ well, the organization’s only woman dealer joined ITSDA — and to this day, she is still the only woman member! Industry Expands Movie-going was now a firmly entrenched habit with Americans. Escapism was available for all for a 5 10 <j; or 25 $ ticket. Poverty was everywhere. No one thought of scoffing at anyone who had anything to do with theatrics. While still the ‘forgotten man,’ the supply dealer, for the first time, had status on the home front. The Thirties were “Gone With The Wind,” then America was plunged into war — as escap¬ ism via the movies again — erased the frenzy of aircraft factories and battlefields. Dealers came out of retirement to send their sons off to war. Equipment lines and supplies were unobtain¬ able and it became fashionable to overhaul and make do. The dealer waited patiently while he repaired old projectors, rebuilt lamp houses and created new parts. He knew that when the war was over, new equipment would be foremost in every customers thoughts. The ITSDA did not meet during the war, but in 1946 in Toledo, the old friends met again. Some, its true, had gone on to that PE-22 PHYSICAL THEATRE • EXTRA PROFITS DEPARTMENT of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR August 17, 1966