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80 years ago, on January 9th,
1919, the then International President Issued a Charter to 13 Stagehands
and Projectionists to form the new Glens Falls / Saratoga Mixed Local #524.
Other I.A.T.S.E. Union Members soon transferred in to the new Local, like
Ralph Guy, who had belonged to the Bill Posters' Local for several years,
traveling a few weeks ahead of new shows and putting up Playbills in the
towns they were booked into. Ralph spent most of his career on the
road, requested by such stars as Jackie Gleason. |
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When the Local started out,
most of the work was for Stagehands, in Variety Houses like the Cosgrove
Opera House (rebuilt after a fire into the Rialto in 1918), and
the Empire and Strand Theatres. The Park Theatre (1911 to 1937)
was the first theatre in the state built especially to show movies.
Our Union theatres existed in almost every town, like Glens Falls, Hudson
Falls, Fort Edward, Saratoga, Lake George, Bolton Landing, and more.
In the early 1930's the work had become fairly evenly split between Stage
and Projection, shifting to mostly Projectionists in the 1940's and '50's,
as more theatres put in movie screens, and Drive-In Theatres became popular.
There always remained a certain
amount of stage work, but the balance didn't flip-flop again until the
last few decades, with multiplex theatres and the advent of Adirondack
Scenic and then the Civic Center. When movie houses reigned, Phil
Brilling had his own effective way of collecting Dues from over-due Members:
he knew when payday came at every theatre (pay was cash, in pay envelopes
then), and he'd simply show up at the door at the end of the show with
his hand out, waiting. |
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