Paramount Pep-O-Grams (1927)

P E P-O-G RAMS Page Three FILM GLIMPSES OF A MARVELOUS EVENING Sublime night of nights! An evening of excitement, entertainment, and the adding of a new chapter to the ever colorful history of the Paramount Pep Club. In short, the Annual Inaugural Dinner and Dance of the Club, whereat our respects would be paid to both the outgoing and incoming administrations of the Paramount Pep Club, and whereat we would realize a yearlong dream of dining in company with our organization’s highest executive officers and of having them address us in terms and sentiments of unfailing interest. And so it came to pass that a gath Pep Club, as nearly one hundred perce sible, gathered in the Grand Ball* Room the evening of Thursday, October 13th the seventh year of the Paramount Pep The gavel of Toastmaster Melville A. Shauer rapped — and the Pepsters knew that more history was about to be written. In calling upon RetiringPresident Joseph P. McLoughlin he voiced the tribute that was in the heart of every Pepster present. J. P. McL had headed a very wise and progressive administration, the Toastmaster said, and the Club has been powerfully consolidated as a result. The Retiring-President’s address rang with sincerity. His thanks to all who had so truly and splendidly co-operated with him came pleasantly to the ears of every Club member who had enjoyed serving under his administration. And when the Toastmaster presented him with a suitably inscribed gold watch on behalf of the Club, the applause was both spontaneous and sincere. George M. Spidell was then introduced to make a brief address concerning the recognition of supreme merit, and to then perform the very happy ceremony of installing Ralph A. Kohn as Honorary VicePresident of the Paramount-Pep Club. The Portrait Came a moment of tenseness; the climax of the evening. Past-President P. H. Stilson was on his feet, ready to perform one of the most memorable acts in all the history of the Paramount Pep Club. And as he spoke, the hearts of all those Pepsters present glowed with the thought that at last there was being expressed, in the words being spoken and in the knowledge of what ering of the members of the Paramount nt representative as was humanly posof the Hotel Astor, New York City, on last to signalize the commencement of Club. was to follow, the great feeling of affection and admiration for the Leader of their Organization which they had always felt, but had never been able to fully demonstrate. The words of Mr. Stilson flowed on to their grand climax — and then the curtains were swung aside to bring the entire audience (save only one man, Mr. Zukor) sweeping to their feet to pay glorious tribute to the inspired genius who has placed our organization in the industry’s lead. The text of the speech of presentation is given elsewhere in this issue; and at an appropriate time Mr. Lasky made reply. It was a noble and splendid reply — a tribute to Adolph Zukor the man and the leader — and those who heard it will never forget it, for it was just that kind of a reply. And then Mel Shauer did just precisely what everyone, in their heart of hearts, hoped he would do — he addressed Mr. Zukor and told him that those present could never think of calling the evening complete without hearing their President speak. Mr. Zukor Speaks So the President, his soft and sincere voice reaching all corners of the room with the aid of amplifiers, demonstrated with the selection of his words and the tributes he paid others, the greatness of Modesty. His thanks to the Paramount Pep Club for their tribute to him were unforgettable, for he has the uncanny gift for putting sentiments into such words that they will live while memory endures. It was fitting that the conclusion of Mr. Zukor’s reply should see the introduction of Giuseppe Trotta, the man who had paint (Continued on Page 4)