|
|
|
A
Man With A Passion Ted Sheahon first began in the theatre business in 1937 as an usher for the Watson Theatre in Salina, Kansas. After being promoted to doorman at the Watson, Sheahon was then offered a position in Wichita in 1941 by Ralph Bartlett, the city manager for Fox Theatres. Coming to Wichita for an interview that lasted 2 days, he was offered a position under unusual circumstances. His official title was Assistant Manager to Harry Sexton, yet his actual duties would be as Manager. Harry Sexton's health had been failing, yet Fox company officials did not want to dismiss him because he had been a good employee. Consequently, Sheahon was brought in to manage the Orpheum because he was inexperienced and would be able to work with Sexton. It was intended as temporary, with his next position to be in the Kansas City office, but he was promoted to Manager when Sexton passed away and stayed until 1943. At that point, he was called away for service in the Army Air Corps, serving in 1944 and 1945. When he returned home in 1946, he went to work at the Palace Theatre, remaining with them until about 1950. It is unclear what Ted Sheahon did in the ensuing years, but by the early 1980s, he was the head of the Ted Sheahon Company which did construction and remodeling work. In 1984, he became a member of the Historical Committee of the organization working to restore the Orpheum Theatre. During the following decade, Sheahon would become heavily involved with the Orpheum restoration, both personally and through his company. He served as the point person for many restoration projects, and was instrumental in the procurement of seats for the theatre. Although he started writing a history of the Orpheum Theatre with many details from his own experiences, he passed away in 1994 before he could finish it. A collection of memorabilia and records from the 1940s, as well as restoration business files were donated to the Orpheum. The idea for the Orpheum Theater and office building was first conceived in 1921 when a group of Wichita businessmen formed the Orpheum Building Company. This group was headed by Richard M. Gray, President, and the other members of the group included J. O. Adams, O. S. Shirk, Walter Innes, H. V. Wheeler, Arch Butts, A. L. Derby, Dan Callahan, W. A. Vincent and George M. Brown. As the estimated cost of the project was $700,000, each man invested $20,000. By the time the theatre opened on Labor Day, September 4, 1922, the actual cost had risen to $750,000. Vaughn Construction Company of Omaha Nebraska was the general contractor, but almost all of the sub-contractors and supplies of material were from Wichita. The theater was leased to Karl Hobityelle the owner of Central States Amusement Company on a 25-year lease. He owned a chain of vaudeville houses valued at about $6,000,000. The Orpheum was a member of the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit that included cities such as New York, Winnipeg, Chicago, Kansas City, Wichita, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The theater and office building was designed by John Eberson. He was born in Austria and trained in Vienna and Dresden. He was the creator of the atmospheric theater. He designed over 100 atmospheric theaters, including 4 in London and the Rex in Paris. The Orpheum in Wichita was the first of the atmospheric theaters with the Majestic in Houston the second. The Majestic has been beautifully restored. Eberson's plan was to bring the outdoor into the theater. It was meant to give the feeling of being in a Spanish Courtyard or garden. There were twinkling starts on the ceiling and a colored effects machine that was able to give the impression of clouds floating over head. There were vines and stuffed birds along the railing in front of the grill work that hid the organ pipes. |
|
Movie House History - Classic
Theaters Of Kansas © 2007 |
