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TEDA
‘great dealership’ in the sky, and there were new faces everywhere. But the old comradery between dealer and manufacturer still existed : the speakers were just as windy, the cocktails just as strong, and the new equipment lines, better. The ITSDA and TESMA always met
SPECIALISTS IN PROJECTION AND SOUND EQUIPMENT
•
MASSACHUSETTS THEATRE EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC.
20 Piedmont St., Boston 16, Mass.
Distributors of Century Projectors and Transistor Sound Systems in New England from Maine to Con¬ necticut.
with the big exhibitor groups— it was a tradi¬ tional thing, a big joyeous get-together. Fre¬ quently, there was the admission that it was difficult, with so much going on, to accomplish
SYMBOLS OF QUALITY!
PACIFIC THEATRE EQUIPMENT CORP. 142 Leavenworth Street San Francisco, California Phone 771-2950
what everyone had set out to do at the meet¬ ings.
Business Declines
Ray Colvin was elected paid secretary, an office that he was to hold until his death in 1959. He made it a point to go to all the con¬
ventions and his public relations left little to be desired. Much took place during his tenure of office: the star system was abandoned by Hollywood; 3D came in in a splash of depth and retired just as quickly; Cinemascope, Wide Screen and Cinerama changed prosceniums across the breath and the width of the land; stereophonic sound was the latest marvel. Supply dealers and manufacturers made money, then audience dropped away, houses closed dozen upon dozen. In 1952, the word ‘independent’ was dropped from the organiza¬ tional name, and the term ‘equipment’ added. Theatre Equipment Dealers Association came into being; a seal or logo was designed, and it became as famous as the name of the associa¬ tion itself.
When Colvin died in May, 1959, J. Eldon Peek, of the Oklahoma Theatre Supply Co., was elected president. Peek worked frantically to pull the organization together in the face of almost insurmountable odds; money was tight. Only a handful of disgruntled dealers showed up in New Orleans for the 1959 Conference: E. H. Geissler, Wilkin Theatre Supply, At¬ lanta; L. Phil Wicker, Standard Theatre Sup¬
ply, Greensboro; the Homstein brothers, New York and Miami; Lou Wutke, Pembrex Thea¬ tre Supply, Los Angeles; Lloyd Pearson, Gen¬ eral Sound Ltd., Toronto, A1 Boudouvis, Theatre Equipment Co., Toledo and a few others. No one had money for a vacation, let alone a trek to a conference where their prob¬ lems were too well known. It looked like the end of TEDA. Then, a kind of anger took hold of these men around the long table. It was de¬ cided to meet in Chicago the following spring.
About twenty dealers showed up in the windy city in February, 1960. Business was still bad, but a glimmer of hope showed on the horizon. The next year, in Chicago, spunky G. H. “Um” Geissler was president and served until 1963. The dealer turnout in these years under the inspired leadership of “Um” showed considerable improvement.
More Cooperation
A turning point was reached in Cleveland in 1963. The backbone of TEDA and TESMA were there, and a serious revamping of ideas took place. It was decided that year, to break
WIL-KIN THEATRE SUPPLY, INC.
Everything for the theatre except film including exclusive distribution in the Southeast for the now famous HeywoodWakefield Rocking Chair.
Atlanta, Ga.
Charlotte, N.C.
August 17, 1966
PHYSICAL THEATRE • EXTRA PROFITS DEPARTMENT of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR
PE-23