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ByIACK AMMON

FIFTY ‘YEARS ON
THEATRE: ROW by Ivan
Ackery, 253 pages, Hancock
House Publishers. Led., 10
Orwell -Street, North
Vancouver, B.C. V733K1

Fifty Years on Theatre Row
is a 253-page romp written
by:eighty-year-old West Van
resident Ivan Ackery who
managed Fdmous Players
theatres in Western Canada,
and garnered during those

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years $60,000 in promotional
awards. It is a story of more
than memoirs: ‘intimately
linked to vaudeville; silent
movies and the talkies.

It is the story of the
evolution of movies from a
man known, throughout the
continent .as ‘Mr.
Showbusiness,” and “Atomic
Ack”, whose hype of film
was familiar to theatre
managers throughout North
America.

The book deals with much
more thazi life in theatre row

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‘Margaret

in Vancouver. Ackery was a

soldier at 154%, in the thick’

of battle at 17, the friend of
people such as Gary Cooper,
Louis Armstrong, Susan
Hayward, and who lent his
private bathroom to Princess
for make-up
repairs. .
Ackery’s warm and easy
style tells of his days as a.
‘singing usher”, the era of
the elegant vaudeville and
movie theatres, and his
genius for promoting the
stars and their films. In this

he has received his industry’s |
‘highest. awards

for his

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reniarkable promotions and
publicity. stunts. .

The {work ‘is ‘ebullient as
Ackery.sings paens of praise
for the wonderful theatre
people who helped him, not
excluding the public.

He ‘inaugurated midnight
shows at the Strand Theatre
‘during the depression years,
keeping the theatres which
he subsequently managed,
full and-~ places of real en-
tertainment. He tells. of
talent contests and nights
with the stars. Out-
promoting

every other

manager in the: world was
Ackery’s” forte’ and he
constantly outdid himself,
particularly during the
depression when all theatres
fought for an audience.

The book moves in an
easy absorbing style from
anecdote to ~history to
opinion in the wink of an eye.

Turkeys were a challenge
to him, and in most instances
he packed his theatre even
with films which drew zilch
in many others. .

The days of Fanchon and
Marco, the years when Jack _

Benny, before he- became
famous, first met Mary
_Livingstone at a Marx
Brothers party at their home
in Vancouver; the War
Years and ‘bond drives with
Hollywood stars, premieres
which involved civic and
govenrmental co-operation;
all brighten its pages.
Ackery’s friendship with
many of the great names of
the film business provide an
interesting insight into their
character, and personality

‘on and off stage. The book
‘CONTINUED ON PAGE AIS

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