Jan. 25, 2006
 
KEITH ALBEE: The ‘Ole Girl’ Waits for Next Chapter
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Huntington, WV (HNN) --- Venturing inside the lobby of the Keith Albee Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 24, 2006, for an old fan was like attending the burial following the last movie showing on Sunday evening.
 
The carpet by the steps was filled with projectors, speakers, round white spindles (on which the movies would sit), as well as other tools. The candy counter was bare. Except for the small light used by the two workers, the back of the theatre was dark.
 
One of the employees assigned to remove the equipment remembered seeing a protester earlier Tuesday standing under the marquee. The man wore a hard hat and carried a handwritten sign that asked, “Why?”
 
Sunday night just prior to the “final show” HNN was granted an interview with Junior Ross. Now retired, he worked for the Greater Huntington Theatre Corporation for 50 years. As well as a projectionist, he managed the East Outdoor Theatre, served as a general manager, managed the Keith, and continues as a member of the stage hands local that handles ‘live’ productions at the Keith and other venues, like the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. As the senior surviving employee for GHTC, Ross was given the honor of starting the last show --- “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” --- Sunday night in the main auditorium.
 
HNN: How do you feel tonight?
 
Junior Ross: It’s a very sad night; all of my life went with this place. The theatre will still remain, but Greater Huntington Theatres will not have any control over it. I have worked for them so many years; it would be really hard to work for anyone else. It feels like part of me is going. HNN: Since you are a member of the Local 369 IATSE, will the MAS still use the union’s services at the Keith?
 
Junior Ross: We will continue doing the stage shows with the Marshall Artists Series and any thing else that they have live stage shows. I would hope that Marshall will turn it into something like the Paramount Arts Center. This place will be beautiful if it ever gets back to one big auditorium like it was originally. I have mixed emotions, hoping that it will do better than it has and hoping that nothing bad happens to it. It’s a very sad day for Derek as well as all the Hyman family. Derek did not want to give it up. His grandfather built this place. I’m sure it was very tough for him. It’s tough for me so for him its got to be double tough. I just wish it all the best. The union will still operate the stage; we have a contract for another four years; we have good relations with Penny and everybody at the MAS.
 
HNN: Do you have any stand out memories?
 
Junior Ross: The Keith was just always a beautiful ole’ girl, as the late Bill Harrah (a former projectionist at the Camelot and Keith and former manager of the Keith) used to say. He would also tell her, “Good night, ole’ girl,” and I found myself doing that a couple of times too.
 
If the Marshall Artists Series does not make it into a performing arts center, then the community will lose a lot of history that’s in this building. There’s more history here than about any building in town. We have a couple of older theatres, like the Camelot, which is a few years older, but it does not have the history of the Keith. The artwork in this building can never be replaced even with the modern day things we have now. You can’t replace it. I don’t know what it would cost.
 
My fondest memories of this place are when we did “Rain Man” and gave Dustin Hoffman red carpet treatment. The ole’ girl shined. That’s just one of the many things. And, a lot of the people I have worked with.
 
HNN: GHTC always tried to respect the original motif of the theatre
 
Junior Ross: Did you see the new curtain we got up? It really is nice. This building has always been kept as intact as it can. If something was fixable and it was an original piece, it was fixed back because we did not want to put anything that been not a part of the Keith Albee. Most of what you are seeing in this building is [what was here] in 1926 to 1928 when it was built. Even the mini’s [left and right auditoriums] were put in so they could be taken out. It will be just like it was. The seating will be changed a little. We have the original chairs so far, but I do not know what their plans are on that. It’s hard, Tony; it’s really hard [closing tonight]. I’ve retired, I’m down to two days a week, but one of the things that inspired me to keep on working was the Keith Albee because it was a part of me. I don’t know what the road holds now.
 
HNN: Are you going to be working on the disassembling of the projection equipment?
 
Junior Ross: To what extent I don’t know, but we are going to start first thing Monday morning taking out the projection equipment. It’s going to be very sad. Just like the Camelot, we started pulling [the equipment] out, and it was real sad that it was going away. You, yourself, have been around these theatres, long enough to know, they’re going to be missed.
 
Grant you, Pullman Square is nice and taking nothing away from Pullman Square, it’s not the Keith Albee. There are certain aspects that can never have the feel of the Keith Albee. Granted, the seating is a little more comfortable. [But] We had the best sound that we could get for the [main] auditorium. When it is one auditorium again, I suspect it will be 2,500 seats which is the biggest venue [of its kind] for this area.
 
Nothing is going to take its place. The art work … when we had that fire, I was just so glad there was only smoke damage in the main. Everything’s been cleaned. All that scaffolding to the ceiling, I don’t know whether you seen it or not, you will never see that again, Tony. Its amazing how they did that. That’s a once in a lifetime deal also. (For interior pics past and present , you can click on: http://www.ourshowtimes.com/keithalbee/pages/photos-current.htm and for close up of the artifacts taken after the fire, click http://www.ourshowtimes.com/temp2.html )
 
HNN: You met a lot of friends here, too?
 
Junior Ross: I met a lot of good people in this business. And, there’s another thing that the Tri-State needs to know is that there have been a lot of people that worked here and raised their families. I do know we have done a lot for the Marshall students who have worked their way through college. I have seen a lot of good people come through the doors and leave. I just hope the Keith Albee and I survive this [closing]. We survived the changing from one screen to three screens, then four screens; we survived that. I was a little leery of that but I understand why it was done. I just hope when it gets back to one the public will support it.
 
This has got to be one of the most fabulous places around. We went to Columbus, Ohio, and saw a sister to this one. You got the feeling you were in the Keith Albee because it had some of the same lights, lobby and designs…
 
Following the interview, Junior, Greg Pauley, vice president of GHTC, and I took the long last walk up the stairs through the balcony to the projection booth. In fact, Junior and I both referred to the “walk” as similar to the “last mile” prior to an execution.
 
Once in the projection booth, Pauley showed some of the older equipment that remained from the 20s, including a rest room with a port hole, so the projectionist could see the projectors while he was attending to nature.
 
A few minutes later, Ross pressed the button, the lights dimmed, the curtain opened, and the the last movie to show at the Keith Albee was on the screen. And, as Ross locked the booth, we all headed down to grab a seat to be part of this excruciatingly emotional event that marked the end of an era in Huntington.