GUEST COMMENTARY ENTARY
• If a vote were taken, Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers likely would score landslide wins for memorable musical compositions, many of which live on.
One hit song — featured in the 1946 Broadway hit, “Annie Get Your Gun” — was unforgettable. Remember Ethel Merman belting out, “There’s No Business Like Show Business?” After 1,147 performances, the play hit the silver screen with the incomparable Betty Hutton playing Annie. Thanks to Berlin and Rodgers, our world became a happier place. Americans left movie theaters with joy in their hearts and lips a’whistling.
• We pre-12-year-olds in the mid-1940s paid nine cents for Saturday “double-features” that included two movies, “to-be-continued” serials, a cartoon and a news reel. Parents dropped children off for five-hour stints, effectively taking advantage of “child-sitting” at a cost of less than two cents per hour.
My hometown, Brownwood, Texas, had eight downtown theaters when Camp Bowie personnel outnumbered local citizenry. Included were the Bowie, Lyric, Gem, Queen, Ritz, Texas, Plaza and Granada theaters.
With throngs of soldiers, these single- screen houses often were filled to capacity, emptied only when features ended. (The Lyric is now a magnificent venue for live theater, and the Queen houses “Intermission,” one of the most memorable bookshops ever).
• At age 15, I began part-time employment at the Sunset Drive-In Theater for $2.25 nightly. I popped corn, sold tickets, changed marquee titles and, yes, opened car trunks shielding teens who thought they’d avoid paying at Brown County’s first of three drive-in theaters, which opened around 1950.
Today, movie theaters face stiff competition from TV, the Internet and other entertainment attractions. Movie owners are always on the lookout for other theater uses, offering reduced admission prices weekly for senior adults, as well as another day/night special for all ages.
Home movie buffs can purchase “carry out” bags of popcorn that are almost as big as they are.
• At my favorite theater, Burleson’s Premiere Cinema, “smiling service” is a hallmark of both management and employees. Their greetings — usually, “Enjoy the show” comments — are predictable for each of the year’s 365 days ... even when they don’t feel like it.
As examples, co-managers Colleen Mink and Chris Chamblee, longtime Premiere employees, both recently had toothaches, yet they “soldiered on.” Chris, now 36, is a medical miracle. Born with his skull covering where a soft spot typically allows for brain growth (a condition called craniosynostosis), Chris underwent surgery at age 7 weeks to create space for brain expansion. (A few years earlier, his mother had birthed another son who died within hours of a heart disorder.)
Colleen, age 50-something, also is a theater “lifer” who refuses to let diabetes slow her down. In fact, she plans to author a children’s book when time permits.
The theater has been staffed heavily by high schoolers since its opening in 2008. Two greatly admired local high school graduates are Phillip Marbut (Joshua H.S., 2019) and Kailey Tesdahl, who sustained critical injuries while en route to Burleson Centennial H.S. graduation exercises eight years ago.
Phillp’s mom developed toxemia during pregnancy, forcing his delivery at 26 weeks, weighing less than 25 ounces, “about the weight of a loaf of bread,” she remembers. With cerebral palsy since birth, he works part-time, directing patrons to their seats in the 14-screen theater.
Kailey is likewise miraculous. With numerous life-threatening injuries sustained in that auto accident, she was comatose for two weeks, now serving mostly in concessions.
Clearly, this foursome — and other Premiere associates — have a “show-must-go-on” determination.
• Premiere Cinema President Gary Moore also has dealt with many challenges. A native of Forsan, Texas, Moore’s first theater was in nearby Big Spring. Then, it was on to Abilene and, 32 years later, the launch of Premiere Cinema Corporation.
It now includes 245 screens in 22 theaters throughout Texas, as well as others in Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and New Mexico. Premiere has a strong relationship with Angel Studios, known for its faith-based movies.
We applaud Moore’s efforts and Angel Studio’s commitment to Christ-centered films.
Don Dr. Newbury, a speaker in the Metroplex, may be reached at 817-447-3872; email: [email protected]. Column audio version at www.speakerdoc.com.
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