Oral History Program Malcolm W. Ellis Floyd Hebdon 19 April 1971 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Malcolm W. Ellis Interviewed by Floyd Hebdon April 19 1971 Copyright © 2012 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in Special Collections. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Ellis, Malcolm, an oral history by Floyd Hebdon, 19 April 1971, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Malcom W. Ellis. The interview was conducted on April 19, 1971, by Floyd E. Hebdon, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ellis discusses his experience with the Salt Lake Theater. FH: This interview was with Malcolm W. Ellis, 964 1st Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Ellis, having worked in the Salt Lake Theater for many years, he has talked to many small groups about the Salt Lake Theater. In conducting this interview I submitted the following questions to Mr. Ellis beforehand. What was your job in the Salt Lake Theater? Where was the Salt Lake Theater located? Who were some of the actors and actresses you remember seeing? What were some of the plays that you remember seeing? Why was the Salt Lake Theater torn down? Instead of asking these questions on the tape, I thought it would be best to allow Mr. Ellis to just go ahead and talk. ME: It’s a great pleasure for me to talk about the old Salt Lake Theater as it was very near and dear to our family. My father Daniel A. Ellis was the head doorman in the upper gallery, also known as the third circle. He was up there for over 28 years. His father James E. Ellis was doorman many years before my father started working there. The old Salt Lake Theater was built shortly after the pioneers entered the valley and the date; was built in 1861, one of the most famous show places in the West. For a good many years my father was up there and I have had the pleasure more than once of walking down with him and going through the theater, seeing the different people at different times. Some of the finest shows were in there. They used to come into the old Salt Lake Theater in horse and wagon and the wagons carried the scenery up the theater where they had one big entrance and they'd unload the scenery, put it on the 1 stage and with the aid of several men they would take it up into what they called the flies. If they needed any different kind of scenery whatsoever, which they didn't have, they would notify them ahead of time whereby they would paint the scenery up in the flies and let it stay up there and dry. "One of the most famous shows that ever came to the Salt Lake Theater was what we called "The Birth of the Nation." That was one show that was shown on a motion picture. One of the first sound pictures, not talking, played here at $1.10 in the third circle. It made about 50 performances. Sound effects were produced as follows; lightning, by rubbing two files with electric wires attached together, thunder, by beating a big drum, rain, a big cloth was stretched so that by revolving an arrangement something like a barrel with about half of the staves out, the cloth was rubbed which produced a rain like sound. The firing of guns and cannons was by the use of small guns; rifle fire cannon, beating of big drums. You remember the box stalls, loges, and balconies. You know the balconies were in the shape of a horseshoe and don't forget that no matter where you sat you could hear a whisper from the stage. For convenience of the thirsty patrons of the theater, a bell was connected between the theater and the saloon opposite. This bell rang in a saloon about 5 minutes of time for the curtain to go up. Oh, by the way, one of the curtains, painted on it a scene in Venice which was the worlds masterpiece. It was a picture of a sailing vessel and was titled "The Return of the Victorious Fleet." No matter how often you saw it, he or she, would see something different and interesting in it. The other curtain I mentioned, scene in Venice, was hung only a short while. One Salt Lake newspaper said it looked like dires diverse clothing hung out to dry. The scenery consisted of set pieces which were propped up, also drops that were singly lowered and raised like a curtain. I was 2 connected with the dear old Salt Lake Theater for about (that's my father speaking now) 28 years. The biggest part of the time on the gallery door.' My grandfather Ellis James E. Ellis was a gallery doorman for a long time. The theater itself was constructed of brick and they condemned it because it was a fire hazard. In my time I have had the opportunity of going below the main floor, up and into beyond the attic. I have watched pictures from the attic or shows from the attic through what we termed as a ventilation system. It was a large round circular floral piece which had the air vents and you could see from there down on to the stage. The basement was constructed and all of the pillars that held up the main floor were on wooden pieces of wood which had been cut from the forest and had been brought down there and they were buried in sand. There was no possible chance for any worms or any foreign substance to get down in there and deteriorate the upright pillars. The sand itself was like walking out in the desert, soft on your feet. Every year they would go down there and whitewash the upright pillars. In the flies there were many ropes which would raise and lower the different scenery. I have witnessed a show from the flies. One show I did witness was one of the greatest magicians of his time; Of course in your time maybe you have heard of him, Houdini, He was one of the world’s greatest magicians. All the help in the theater tried to detect, tried to find out how he did his tricks. His tricks were something that the only ones that knew anything about it was those that were working with him. It was a mystery of how he could perform so fast with his hands and yet nobody ever found out how he did it. As to this pertaining to cutting a woman in half, I've seen him do that night after night with the same woman. It was one of the most wonderful sights you ever saw in your life. Perhaps the most historical rooms in the theater were the green room. On the north wall 3 of this room was an extra-large mirror. Many of the greatest stars in history stood before that mirror and put their last makeup touches on, to adjust their costumes, or to rehearse their parts. It was in this room that the cradle of Maude Adams stood. Perhaps Maude Adams doesn't mean anything to you, but she was the world’s best known actress of her day. One of the drop curtains I can remember was called "The Forest of Arden," from the play "As You like It." That curtain rose many times; grand operas, tragedies, dramas, comedies, musical comedians, minstrels, and extra extravaganzas. Two other curtains that I recall are one which had a scene in Venice painted and it was hung only for a short time. Scenery consisted of set pieces which were propped up and also dropped which was one scenery lowered and raised like a curtain. In the racing scene of Ben Hur, the horses were fastened in such a way that they could not get off the treadmill. There were four horses to each chariot. Each horse had separate treadmill which was on large casters. These could be moved forward and back by man power. A revolving scene placed on two perpendicular rollers moved in the opposite direction to which the horses were running. For the ice in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" they used a block of wood painted white which were fastened on rockers. In one production of this play where Little Eliza escapes across the ice, they had a scene showing one room adjoining another when the door to the second room was opened; it showed a tree in full bloom. After Little Eva ascended to heaven she came back and tried to sell pictures of herself to the audience. She only weighed about 240 pounds. Needless to say, this production was only listed two nights but they have had other producers put on this scene which has been more than successful. In fact, the theater was noted for having the finest shows in the nation play here. Among these were such shows as "The Student Prince," 4 "The Birth of a Nation," "The Bird of Paradise," "Madam Butterfly," and "Peter Pan." Such players as Al Jolson, Chauncey Alcott, and many others. During this play of "Peter Pan," they had one of the most wonderful ways of having her fly from the back of the stage to approximately half way out into the theater itself. They had her hanging by a rope or cable which was almost undetectable. You could see her start flying and away she would go. The people would scream and figure that she was going to fall down. In the early days butter and other produce was accepted for admittance fee to the theater. Later in years gone by the more or less had to turn to cash. Now I don't know whether any of you people have been in the Tabernacle Temple Square and noticed the construction of it, the pictures on the outside, but it would pay you to know and then you would understand how the Salt Lake Theater was also constructed in a like unto manner. Here in front of me I have some of the wooden pegs which was taken from the Salt Lake Theater given to me by the people that worked down there and watched the destruction of it. It took over two years to tear down the theater because there was so many people wanted the momentums mementos . In later years they had during the construction, the final construction of it, they did have some iron nails. Some of the iron nails were cast by factory. Some of the iron nails were constructed by hands. And you've heard of the time of Cox's Army Conner's? coming over and they, in fact, Cox's Army Conner's? helped to construct part of the Salt Lake Theater. After the construction of the theater they had one main entrance which was a winding stairway going up and it was winding, winding clear up to the third circle, A few years later, they found that it was too dangerous and they abandoned that. And, on State Street, right close to the stage door, they constructed what we termed as an iron stairway which 5 would allow approximately six people abreast to walk up or down, whichever way they was going. Now then another thing which a lot of people do not realize that they did not have drinking water in the theater. The drinking water was supplied every night by fresh cool drinking water out of an iron pail, which was my father's Daniel A. Ellis job and after a few years it was taken upon me when I went down to assist him. We would fill up that iron pail and when people would want a drink, everybody went out there and used the same dipper to drink out of and every time somebody would get out there, they would turn it around so they wouldn't get their mouth where somebody else had been drinking water from. It was also my job sometimes when I was down there to sell what we called at that time a cushion seat. These cushion seats sold at approximately $ .25 a night. You could sit on it as long as you wanted, as long as the theater was there. Now also in the third circle was a large balcony. From that balcony the people used to go down and sit on the front seat where the balcony was and lots of people would carve their names. As a matter of fact, I have had in my possession part of that third circle, with the different initials carved in it so that people could see just exactly what they have. The admission to the third circle was $1.10, $1.00, $.75, $.50 and the cheapest at any time as far as I ever remember was $.25. And another thing that we had up there was what we called a door check. If we had a three act play some gentleman or anybody would like to go out and walk around for a few minutes, we had what we called a pass-out check. We would give him one of these and coming back in they would hand it back to us. If they didn't have one they would have to pretty good argument with the doorkeeper to tell him what they had seen in the theater so that he would know that they had been out.“ One of the largest audiences they ever had was "The Birth of a Nation." 6 What's so new about a premiere? Time was when they had one in every city around the country. "The Birth of a Nation" big time motion picture production was this day introduced to the local public with fanfare. In these good old silent days special music on the steps of the Salt Lake Theater stopped the people in their tracks and called attention to what was going on inside. Even further back the theater managers knew how to publicize their wares. Take the case of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin. When they came to town in 1863 to play Igmore the Barbarian, billboard dodgers were circulated all over the city to herald the event. At that time westerners were at low tide. Good old melodrama held the boards. A western in these days was a daily street scene in most any part of the West. It got so bad that the management requested patrons to check their firearms with the treasurer. The advertisement of the day made this reservation in special notice in its circulars as follows: No persons, policeman exempt, (they are the only ones that could carry firearms or other weapons) will hereafter be admitted in the theater. Strangers, having no other place to deposit their arms, can leave them with the treasurer at the box office who will check for and return them to the owners at the close of the performance. The box office will open for the sale of tickets on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from ten to four. Cash, also merchandise, grain, and home manufactures receiving as cash price for payment for tickets.” Salt Lake Theater was located on 1st South and State Street on the northwest corner which is now occupied by the Telephone Company. After the theater was torn down, for a short time on that corner they had what we called, at that time, the Airplane Service Station where anybody could go in and get their service and get their car filled up with gas and oil. After that was there for a good many years, the Telephone Company decided that the 7 best thing to do was to destroy and get rid of it and put up their new building. Now they had two box seats, one on each side of the stage. One was never used excepting for the President of the Church. The other was reserved for the governor of the State of Utah. The other two were open to anybody that wanted to pay the price to sit in the box seats. Another thing that I do remember I have met them all, a lot of them noted players, actors, actresses, and different ones. The original Mutt and Jeff played there in the Salt Lake Theater. Also Chauncey Alcott, one of the world's greatest singers, Will Rogers; we all know Will Rogers how he lost his fate in an airplane accident. He played there, A1 Jolson, you hear his songs played right today. A matter of fact I feel proud to know that I can say that I have shaken hands will A1 Jolson, Will Rogers, Mutt and Jeff, and a lot of other of the well-known actors and actresses of that day and age, Do we stop to realize how well it is, the difference in our actors and actresses in this day and age and compared with how they worked and how they went through their different motions? Some character actors in the theater I've seen them in a three act play take five or six different parts during the performance. 8