The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THEATRE VETERAN IN OSHAWA... ... STARS OF ANOTHER ERA "Pop" has rubbed elbows ; with some of the great show | business stars -- Al Jolson, | Eddie Cantor, Jack Dempsey, | Mickey Rooney, Buster Keaton, | But, Leon E. 'Pop' Osier has | mever forgotten his Oshawa | friends, And his friends haven't | forgotten him. The Oshawa Kinsmen Club) will honer '*Pop" as he is af- | fectionately known, at a testi- | monial dinner Monday. "Our honored guest is a char- | ter member and past president | eof the club; a worthy person | and a theatrical personality for more than 50 years," the club on its invitation cards records. | Mr. Osier, an Oshawa resi- | dent for 46 years, is best known for his work in theatres. He re- | tired last fall after managing | the Regent for 22 years and the Biltmore for 23 years. Although he nervously antici- pates the testimonial dinner, he said "if you're serious about what you are doing and want to succeed, you have to have those before-the-show jitters", "Pop" is a veteran of show business, His first job im the. business was as assistant treas- urer for the Savoy Theatre in» Hamilton, He left the job be- | cause he said he didn't like bur- | lesque, but he later returned to the business and managed a | drama stock company in New- | the Savoy and ark, N.J, Then he returned to Pantages the- | atres in Hamilton, i his nick name, In 1920, a turning point for the theatrical personality, Mr, Osier, who had not yet received was sent "to | straighten up the management" | at the Regent theatre in Osh- awa. He was scheduled to stay 1 | 10 days but he is still here -- | MICKEY ROONEY .» + Here As Child 2:2 oe sapammamaia ; as one of | happily -- today. During his career he has ac- cumulated life-long friendships | and has stored up many mem- ories of theatre and its sonalities. "Al Jolson", whom he signed up for work in Hamilton, 'was very quick-tempered but a love: ly fellow," he said, j He remembers Eddie Cantor many 'low come- dians', a skit and comic man, who later became immortal in the hearts of millions of people. He also played Jack Dempsey per- ; in his home town, "Jack at the time had a ring act. Those who |dared to get in the ring with him got $50," said Mr. Osier, "It's heart rendéring to see | what has happened to some of ithe old, great stars," he said "Just the other day I saw Ron- ald Coleman doing a commer- cial on TV." Pop Osier has something to say about movies, too. "If Lean leave a movie house feeling as though I was swept | right into the action, I liked the | show very much," He said people are willing to pay a price to see a good movie | but "you buy blindly at the box ae fs JACK DEMPSEY | » «+» Had Ring Act | office, often only on the hear- | say of your friends'. He prefers histories and dramas, He says he sees movies | getting longer and less numer- anti ent Everybody Calls Him 'Pop LEON (POP) OSIER e+. To Be Guest of Honor ous. "If the Yonger movies weren't. good, people wouldn't come to see them,"' Pop said, TALENT LOST Mr. Osier claims we are jos- ing manpower to industry. "Not enough people with tal- ent are getting a chance to de- | yelop their talent," he said, 'I an art centre... live art like the Little Theatre." sodden | Pop recalls his early days in Oshawa with fond memories, | As a businessman, he remem- bers the gimmicks he used to promote downtown business and the movie house, | One such. promotion during | the depression got him in | trouble with the police, To give incentive to business; a coupon | was given to those who bought | $25 worth of merchandise from ett cee EL ASPRRDPAA MATT ESRD Ueda Hi ON THE TOWN | The lovely Jean Doswell will; The Belles play three instru-| be held over another big week | ja the Starlight Room at the | Genosha Hotel. Miss Doswell, | accompanied by the talents of | pianist Dennis Bartlet, sings | many of the old favorites as/ well as the more popular sings. | | Five luscious blondes, bearing | tidings of rock 'n roll music, will be headlining Harry's Hide- | away, next week downstairs at | the Genosha, Les Guerrieres | (The Warriors), direct Montreal, will be playing the) best in French and English | rock 'n roll music, The girls | from | Ce ments each from saxophone to | organ, They have just returned | from an extensive tour of the | United States, hitting entertain. | ment capitals like Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. The Starr) Belles have a new and exciting | rhythm with very sounds, They are a group to be missed, up-beat | not The Gold Rush Lounge in the | ral Hotel is featuring one | of\Caridda's fastest rising fe- | male groups, all next week. The} beautiful and talented "Star- | play bass guitar, lead guitar, | fires", "a real terrific group" | drums, tamborine and organ. There will be no "Go-Go'" girls | appearing with Les Guerrieres | but the girls' own beauty and talent make up for them, | ! The Eddy Wood Trio will be | appearing at the Cadillac Hotel | all next week, The trio play in- | struments like the Cordavox, | bass guitar and drums. For fine entertainment it's the Eddy | Wood Trio down at the Cadillac | Hotel. Be sure to watch for the | "Go-Go" girl, j The Stage Door Lounge, Whit- | by, will be featuring direct | from California, 'The Starr | Belles", Talent and beauty | galore are the highlights of| these three gorgeous treats. | as they were billed in Toronto, play a variety of instruments from vibrabox to banjo and will rock Oshawa for six full nights. The three '"'Starfires" are a must, Monday nights at the Spruce Villa, Whitby, provide very in- teresting entertainment. Be- sides Charlie Ekstein and his "King Herbert and His Round- TS amateur night every Monday beginning at 11.00 p.m, of local talent delight the cus- tomers, Another delight of the Spruce Villa next week will be the bounteous "Dee-Dee" turn- ing in from the 'Wheeled City', Detroit. Dee-Dee is an exotic dancer who also MODERN GRILL (Known at QUEENIE'S) WHY WAIT FOR Serve Our Deliciows Fried Chicken Anytime 2 Pes. Chicken Gelden Brown Chips . we 345 RITSON RD. S, DIXIE ' . Snacks || °*" Dinners || °*"' Buckets | 3 Pes. Chicken 12 Pes. Chicken, Chips Chips, | Cele Slaw | _125 725-3887 A PARTY . 4 Enough for 4-6 peeple Great for Famities 3.75 | OSHAWA, ONT, the Spruce Villa holds an | Hours | sings when not writhing to the delight of the customers, Featured in the Blue Horse Lounge at the Lancaster Hotel all next week will be television personality Marg Hames, Marg is the star on CBC's "Country Hoedown" and will appear with Sheila Guthrie and' Gunga Din; The very talented trio play var- ious types of instruments in- cluding banjo, saxophone, clar- |inet and drums, Marg and her trio will delight the audience by | Singing and playing both coun- | try and western and rock "n roll music. | moted his movies Seoturdey, May 26, 1966 ZA THE OSHAWA TIMES, retailers in Oshawa. The cow pons were cast into a ballot box and drawing took place eack morning. & was an offence | against the lowery act, It worked for three days but on the fourth | was asked to come down to the police sta- | tion, We had to promise the person who complained that we | would be good boys in the fu- ture before we were let off," | said Pop, In Oshawa, Pop. Osier pro with pro- logues (skits from the movie) using local talent. For Charlie Chaplin's 'Gold- rush' he created a blizzard et- fect with a spotlight, The ob- stacle was that the actors had to fake a storm because the ef- fect did not extend to the stage, "It was great fun for the actors and very memorable," Mr, Osier said, Pop remembers children in many of the acts who were call- ed "trailer-trunk kids" because they grew up with show busi- ness, Mickey Rooney was one of these youngsters, Mickey's father, Joe Yule, 'was a short, stubby comedian who did Irish comic stuff', Mr. Osier remembers show '*biz" folk very much as "peo- ple with a heart', One time a little girl was injured in a the- atre in Hamilton. The day following the accident, a man and wife team insisted their salary be given for her care, The stagehands collected funds on their own for her, 'That's the way they were," Pop says, And how did he come by the nickname 'Pop"? "T guess it's just like Popsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin," he says, "It just grew over the years." A General Motors' executive, Neil Hezzelwood, when an usher in Mr. Osier's theatre many years ago tagged him with it, "Now for many, many years everybody has called me Pop," the veteran of Oshawa show business said, -- RACE TO THE DEATH | KELOWNA, B.C. (CP) -- De- jetruction derbies are a new | eon in the South Okanagan district. Youths acquire old cars in running order and batter | them into each other until only one is left, Prizes range te $1,000. {MES GED! gue Ne The Smart Treveller makes hie reservations for * AIR- LINES * STEAMSHIPS * TOURS * HOTELS -- by calling: 723-9441 MEADOWS TRAVEL SERVICE 25 KING ST. E. 1 | | | PLASTIC MODELS FLYING MODELS ELECTRIC TRAINS RACING CARS POLLARD'S HOBBIES OSMAWA'S HOBBY SUPPLY CENTRE 92 Shmeee M8. NM. 723-9912 ROSSLYNN BEAUTY SALON FEATURING Creative & Practicel HAIRSTYLING Fer Appointmant 723-3925 6@ ROSSLAND W.