Waukegan Movie Theaters and Actors and Movies

During Waukegan's history, there have been a total of 43 movie theaters at 23 locations in the city.  Sadly, today there is not a single Waukegan theater showing first-run films, the nearest place to see one of those is nearby Gurnee.

Three famous ones were the Elite Theater, originally a vaudeville stage, the Academy and the Genessee which was built in 1927 and still stands.

One famous Waukegan person in the movie business was Jack Benny who appeared in the movie "Man About Town" which had its world premier in Waukegan in 1939 at the Genessee Theater.

Dorothy LaMour, George Chandler and Ray Bradbury also were from Waukegan.

"The Navy Way" movie was filmed a lot at Great Lakes Naval base near Waukegan in North Chicago, and had its world premier at the Genessee.

--Cooter

George Kirke Spoor and the Early Waukegan Film Industry-- Part 1

GEORGE KIRKE SPOOR

Born Dec. 18, 1871   Died Nov. 24, 1854

Early film pioneer.  Founded Essanay Studios in Chicago with Gilbert M. "Bronco Billy" Anderson in 1907.  Essanay lasted until 1917 and made 2,000 films of which, 215 survive to this day.

He also played a part in the career of Charlie Chaplin and some of the filming was done in Waukegan.

Spoor and Anderson also were instrumental in discovering other early movie stars like Wallace F. Beery, Francis X. Bushman and Gloria Swanson.In 1894, while Spoor was the manager of the Phoenix Opera House in Waukegan, he teamed up with inventor Edward Amet to build and exhibit the "Magniscope," the first practical 35 mm movie  projector ever designed and used for large audience display.

--Cooter

Edward Amet in the IMDb

The International Movie Database has this to say about Edward Amer:

KNOWN FOR:

Freedom of Cuba  (1898)

Bombardment of Mantanzas (1898)

Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius"  (1898)

**************************

He was the first American filmmaker to use miniatures.

Invented the first practical 35-millimeter motion picture projector.

And you never heard of him before?  Neither had I.

--CootHuh?

Waukegan (Illinois) in Early Film Industry-- Part 4: What Else?

So, Edward Amet gets firsts for:

**  First use of props

**  First newsreel

**  First "Fake" newsreel

Edward Amet ceased producing his magniscope in 1900 after the release of the polyscope by the Selig Polyscope Company.  He sold his  share of their company to George Spoor.Afterwards, Amet went on to try to find a cure for cancer.

He also  returned to his film career in 1911 when he designed the Auto-Moto-Photo, a combination phonograph and film projector.    The phonograph recorder was hooked up directly to the  camera, allowing the first synchronized  sound.  However, the contraption evidently id not accomplish its objective as it never made an impact.

Amet died on August 16, 1948, in Redondo Beach, California.

--Cooter

Waukegan in the Early Movie Industry-- Part 3: "Fake News" Back Then?

Edward Ahmet also filmed the William McKinley presidential inauguration and he wanted to film some of the Spanish-American War but could not get permission so he created his own Spanish-American War using model ships in his backyard in Waukegan.  (The first special effects?)

In these days of "Fake News," you might say Amet had the first one.

The Bess Dunn Museum, which is the Lake County History Museum, has one of the model ships, which were quite realistic-looking and even had puffs of smoke in the movie.

The magniscope was a success and was sold to several high profile theaters, however, Amet concentrated on inventing and never got a patent for his invention.  Thomas Edison even went so far as to sue Amet but when Amer didn't contest it, Edison dropped the suit.

Amet went on to shoot more films with George Kirke Spoor and made a series of war films, shooting footage from staged military camps and using miniatures in the bathtub for staged naval battles.

--Cooter

Waukegan In the Early Movie Industry-- Part 2: Of Phonographs and Early Films

This is from the November 16, 2019, presentation for the Fox Lake/Grant Township Historical Society at the museum on Washington Street in Ingleside, Illinois.

This is taken from my notes and Wikipedia.  When they turned off the lights in the hall, boy was it ever dark, plus, I was holding the notepad (no desk) plus my handwriting is not the best in the world.  So there were more than a few things I couldn't read.

Two men, Edward H. Amet and George Kirke Spoor had a lot to do with the movie industry in Waukegan.

Edward Hill Amet (Nov.10, 1860 to August 16, 1948), an electric engineer and inventor, was born in Philadelphia, and worked for a time with Thomas Edison.  In 1891, he developed the first spring motor for phonographs and his Echophone was the first cylinder phonograph to have a distinct tone arm.

In 1894, he was living in Waukegan, Illinois, where he teamed up with George Kirke Spoor, a theater manager, and they financed and developed a new projector they called a magniscope.  Their first film was of two young women boxing each other for ten minutes, calling it "Young Ladies in a Boxing Exhibition."

--CootBoxer

Waukegan and the Motion Picture Industry-- Part 1: Edison, Dickson and the Beginning of the Motion Picture Industry

The Fox Lake / Grant Township Historical Society then had our presentation, which today was on Waukegan and its role in the early motion picture industry.    Our presenter was Ty Rohrer of the Waukegan History Museum.

Had things worked out differently, who knows, maybe Lake County and Waukegan might have become "Hollywood" instead of out in California.

When people think of Waukegan and movies, they think of Jack Benny and the Famous Genesee Theater.  But, there is a whole lot more to the story.

Thomas Edison is given credit for the invention of the movie camera, but it was actually William Kennedy Dickson, in Edison's employ, who was the major force in its development.  He invented the kinetoscope.  Part of the reason for this was to see if all four of a horses' hooves came off the ground at the same time while in a gallop.

The kinetoscope was essentially a peep machine in which one person at a time could view it. But, that made it hard to make money with just at a time viewing it. It had to become larger.

--Cooter

Fox Lake/Grant Township Historical Society Meeting Nov. 16, 2019: The "Haunted?" Puppets

We elected four people to the Board of Directors.  Treasury reports receiving $120 from the sale of three Grant Township High School yearbooks.  We sell year extras for $40 apiece.  Buy a part of your history.

Local Stanton School will be bringing fifth graders over this upcoming week to tour the museum and will work in five-person groups at the end of the tour to answer questions.  Winning group gets ice cream.

There will also be a presentation at Leisure Village this week.

The Shadow Hunters who are a group of ghost hunters from Lake Villa, Illinois, will be coming to take a "look" around the museum.  They have previously been here twice.  They were especially interested in taking another go at the "puppets."  Those puppets are three that used to be at the popular Fox Lake tavern called Eagle Point Park, but more commonly known as the Puppet Bar.

I used to deejay there a lot during the 1980s and knew those puppets well.

Sadly, those puppets are no longer in the museum. They were loaned by the owners and now in California.

The Fox Lake mayor was there and said the historical association was getting a plaque for the great work we're doing pushing the history and heritage of Fox Lake.

Too Bad.  --Cooter

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 4: One Vietnam War Veteran's Experience

Bob Misevich, the Vietnam War medic. saw some of the worst of the war. and his memories of e war are vivid.  Being a part of Honor Flight Chicago this past July touched him deeply.  (See Honor Flight Chicago--Part 2 from November 13, 2019.)

 Nothing more than being greeted by five hundred people greeting them on their return from D.C. and there were even children in the crowd and many waving U.S. flags.  On their arrival, they were also greeted by representatives of the armed forces and National Guard and veterans.  Former Senator Bob Dole  is often in Washington, D.C. to greet vets when his health is alright.

All this "changed my life.  It changed the whole process of how you thought about the war," he says.

Going to the Vietnam Wall Memorial also meant a lot to him.  He carried a list of six names from his squad over there.  He didn't know what had happened to them.  Sadly, he found three of their names on the wall.

That wall is indeed a sombering experience, as are the traveling Vietnam Walls.

He is also impressed with the program and its volunteers and encourages all veterans to take part.  "Upon arrival at Midway they immediately put us in wheelchairs and we had a mentor every step of the way.

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 3: How It Started

Co-founder of the Honor Flight Chicago hub is Mary Pettinatto, who took her step-father to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. shortly after it opened and encountered  one of te very first Honor Flights.

She was so moved that when she returned to Chicago, she co-founded the Chicago hub with the help of three other women in 2007.   The first flight took off in 2008 and now they have gone to D.C. 95 times.

With the aging of the orld War II veterans, they opened the flight to Korean War veterans in 2016 and this year to Vietnam War veterans.

"For our Vietnam  veterans, who returned home to open animosity and hostility, the day has proven to be one of healing and closure -- a true 'Welcome Home' that is 50 years overdue," says Doug Meffley, co-director of Honor Flight Chicago.

--Cooter

The National Honor Flight Origin

The whole Honor Flight idea originated with Earl Morris, a physician assistant with the Veterans Administration in Springfield, Ohio,  and Jeff Miller from Henderson, North Carolina, the son of a World War II veteran.  They did this in 2004, soon after the World War II Memorial was opened in Washington, D.C..

The first Honor Flight took place in May 2005 and took off from Springfield, Ohio, and flew World War II veterans to the memorial that was built in their honor.

The idea soon spread and hubs were added.  Honor Flight Chicago has become one of the largest hubs.

--Cooter

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 2: So Far, 8,730 Chicago Area War Heroes Honored

"Since our founding in 2008 we have honored 8,730 Chicago Area war heroes," said Doug Meffley, co-director of Honor Flight Chicago.

Bob Misevich, an Army combat medic in the Vietnam War, grew up in Chicago in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.  He volunteered to serve in Vietnam at age 21.  he is now retired after working for Sears for 40 years and lives in Naperville.

"After 52 years, (the experience of serving in that war) never left me," he says.

When he first arrived in country, he remembers getting off a helicopter and seeing some body bags loaded on the same helicopter.  he later found out that one of the body bags contained the body of the medic he was replacing

Misevich participated in an Honor Flight this past July.

Honor Flight Chicago Opens Up to Vietnam Veterans-- Part 1

From the Nov. 8, 2019, Chicago Tribune "Next generation of warriors."

"They may not have felt like warriors in the years Vietnam veterans fought a thankless fought a world away.  But thanks to organizations such as Honor Flight Chicago, that has changed.

"Honor Flight Chicago, a not-for-profit, has for the past 11 years flown World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C., free-of-charge to visit the national war memorials built in their honor.  In 2019, the organization  began including Vietnam-era veterans in this Day of Honor."

A well-deserved honor.  I just can't believe how so many were treated when they came home during and after the war.  It kind of reminds me of the way Confederate veterans are being treated these days.

Chicago's Veterans Day Ceremony To Be Held in Soldier Field Today

Mayor Lightfoot will be at Chicago's Veterans Day ceremony at Chicago's monument to our veterans, Soldier Field by the lakefront, weather permitting as we are having snow and blustery winds.

***********************

About Chicago's Soldier Field

From Wikipedia.

On Chicago's Near South Side.  Capacity for football 61,500, the third smallest in the NFL.  Home field of the Chicago Bears, who moved there in 1971  from Wrigley Field.    It is now the second-oldest stadium in the NFL since the Los Angeles Rams moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which was built a year before Soldier Field.

Designed in 1919 and opened in 1924.  Originally called Municipal Grant Park Stadium.  The name was changed to Soldier Field on November 11, 1925, as a memorial to U.S. soldiers who had died in combat.

Its formal dedication as Soldier Field was held on November 27, 1926, for the 29th playing of the annual Army-Navy game.

A Well-Deserved Honor for Out Veterans.

Happy 244th USMC!!!

Today marks the 244th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.  I am sure it will be celebrated all over the world, wherever they're stationed, also all retired Marines.

Once a Marine, always a Marine.

The United States Marine Corps traces its origins to the Continental Marines of the American Revolution.  They were formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on 10 November 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines.

That date is regarded and celebrated as the date of the Marine Corps' birthday.

I can remember that MASH episode of the Marines celebrating their birthday during the Korean War and Norm getting the pool ball stuck in his mouth.

Happy Birthday, Jarheads!!  --CootRine

Top Chicago Bear Announcers-- Part 2: Former Bears Fencik, Hampton and Butkus

10.  HUB ARKUSH  (1988-2002)

His exit marked the end of trying to use there announcers.  Sometimes had a hard time being heard over the other two.

9.  GARY FENCIK  (1990-1993)

If three announcers are too much, then four are way too many.  He became the fourth when Butkus returned.

8.  BRAD PALMER  (1977-1984)

Brought a reporter's eye to the booth.   Dubbed "The Professor."

7.  DAN HAMPTON  (1995-1996)

Pretty good at predicting opponent plays.  One of those '85 Bears.

6.  DICK BUTKUS   (1985-1987)  (1992-1994)

One of The Greatest Bears.  But, too much of a fan.

--Cooter

Top Chicago Bears Radio Announcers-- Part 1: Kupcinet, Bender and Hart

From the Nov. 3, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Phil Rosenthal.

I don't know about you, but given a choice between listening to TV and radio commentators, I'll take radio anytime.  TV commentators are more general and non-fan than their counterparts.  Ideal football watching to me involves watching the game on TV, but listening to the radio announcers.  Sadly, TV stations have figured that out and delay what their feeds so that the play and words about it don't go in sync.

And, my all-time favorite Bears announcer was the voice of those great Bears teams of the 1980s, but is now with the Packers.  But, we live on the Wisconsin-Illinois border and get him doing the Packer games  Wonder who he is and where Phil will rank him?

Anyway, Phil Rosenthal takes his shot at listing the 13 Bears announcers who have done Bear play-by-play in the last 66 years and even took a stab at ranking them.

#13  IRV KUPCINET  (1953-1976)

  Long-time Chicago Sun-Times columnist and one-time NFL qb and referee.    "Dat's right, Jack."

#12  GARY BENDER   (1999-2000)

Two forgettable seasons of play-by-play and for sad Bears teams with combined records of 11-21.

#11  JIM HART  (1985-1989)

Long-time Cardinals qb, but overshadowed by Dick Butkus and Wayne Larrivee.

Top Ten Next.  --CootBall

These Five Weapons Made WW I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 2: Triplanes, U-boats and Monster Guns

FOKKER TRIPLANE

Baron von Richtofen flew it and Snoopy battled it, but the Fokker Dr 1 Triplane had the maneuverability and rapid climb rate, it terrorized the skies over the Western Front in 1917 and 1918.

TYPE 93 U-BOAT

They weren't fast, especially under water and had limited endurance and couldn't stay underwater for too long.  But armed with 88 or 101 millimeter deck guns and six torpedo tubes with 16 reloads.

The 24 Type 93s sank 411,000 tons of Allied shipping.

BIG BERTHA AND THE PARIS GUN

BIG BERTHA was a giant German howitzer  with 16.5inch caliber and could hurl a nearly one ton shell eight miles.  In 1914, it leveled Belgian forts and almost allowed German armies to capture Paris.

The PARIS GUN made history by hurling shells into the stratosphere.  It could hurl a 200-pound shell 81 miles which allowed Germans to bombard Paris.  But, it was expensive and fragile (the barrel had to be replaced after firing 20 shots).

But, being able to bombard targets that far away gave it notoriety.

--Cooter

These Five Weapons Made World War I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 1: Machine Guns and Tanks

From the November 4, 2019, National Interest by Michael Peck.

"Today we take for granted that warfare is mechanized, electronicized, a form of human activity where humans are the least important component

"But it didn't seem that way in 1914.  Europeans sleep walked into war dreaming of cavalry charges and massed infantry charges with fixed bayonets.

"They awoke to confront the machine gun and  the U-boat, the tank and the airplane."

There were many new weapons in WW I that turned it into a bloodbath of epic proportions.  here are five of them:

MAXIM MG 08 MACHINE GUN

German.  Very heavy, but could fire 500 rounds a minute, and cut through Allied attacks like a scythe.

MARK V TANK

British.  The machine gun's nemesis.  Could survive machine gun fire, knock down barbed wire.  Half-inch armor deflected bullets and 57-millileter cannon or .303 -caliber machine guns knock out machine gun nests.

--Cooter

Virginia Commemorating 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 3

Though little noted at the time, the arrival of the enslaved Africans in England's first successful colony in the New World is now considered a pivotal moment in American history.

Englishman John Rolfe documented the landing of the first slave ship, the White Lion, at what was then called Point Comfort (where Fortress Monroe is located).  He wrote that the colonists traded supplies and provisions for the slaves.

From the White Lion, and a second ship, the English colonists took more than 30 Africans to properties along the James River, including Jamestown.

By that time, more than 500,000 enslaved Africans had already crossed the Atlantic to European colonies, but the Africans in Virginia are widely considered the first in English-controlled North America.

They came 12 years after the founding of Jamestown, England's first permanent colony, and weeks after the first English-style legislature was (the House of Burgesses) was convened there.

Virginia Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 2: "What Became a Nation"

Virginia's two senators and governor will make remarks at a Saturday ceremony.  And, a family that traces its bloodlines to those first Africans will hold a reflection at its cemetery on Friday.

"This moment means everything to folks like myself who are African American and to folks on the continent as well, " said Mary Elliott, curator of American Slavery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

"But it should mean something to everybody, regardless of race,"  she added,"because it is a moment that define a nation -- what became a nation."

Virginia Commemorating 400th Anniversary of Arrival of African Slaves-- Part 1

From the August 23, 2019, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph Herald by Bill Finley A.P.

Officials will mark the pivotal moment in American history when enslaved Africans arrived by holding a 'Healing Day.'

Norfolk, Va.  --  Four hundred years after American slavery and democratic self-rule came to what became the state of Virginia, ceremonies will mark the arrival of enslaved Africans and seek healing from the legacy of bondage that still haunts the nation.

Yet, the weekend ceremonies will take place against the backdrop of white supremacism across the country, racist tweets by President Trump and a lingering scandal surrounding Virginia;s governor and a blackface photo.

The commemoration will include Sunday's "Healing Day" on the Chesapeake Bay where two ships traded men and women from what is today Angola for food and supplies from English colonists in August 1619.

A bell will ring for four minutes, while churches across the country are expected to join in.

A Very Unfortunate Event in History.

Returning Soldier Starts a Shoe Repair Business

From the March 6, 2019, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

"Joe Cohn, a returned soldier lad, who was in the service for seven months at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, (my grandfather's base) has recently been mustered out, and has started a shoe repair shop in the little building next to the Nehring Electrical Works on East Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.

"Cohn was a cobbler by trade when he entered the service, and was in business in Earlville, and when mustered out, thought DeKalb looked good to him and is getting his share of the business at this time."

--Cooter

McCabe Tavern Robbed in 1944

From the March 6, 2019, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1944, 75 Years Ago.

"Sometime during the early morning hours, a burglary was staged at McCabe Tavern, 157 East Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, and about $90 was taken.

"As far as could be determined after a close check had been made, no liquor or any other  valuables were secured by the thieves.  Apparently, the burglars were only interested in cash and were not looking for anything else as nothing in the tavern gad been disturbed except the cash registers."

We Used To Hang Out A Lot Next Door to McCabe's At A Place Called Andy's.  --CootBeer

A Short History of Hearses-- Part 2: Riding Out in Style

The most enduring hearse company has been the S & S Coach Company of Lima, Ohio, which was founded in 1876 to make horse-drawn hearse carriages.  Initially named Sayers & Scovill, they still make about 500 hearses a year in Lima with a staff of 75.

They buy cars from dealers, split them, "decontent" them, allowing only the portions they require,  stretch the lengths, weld them back together and install casket floors.  The rear doors (through which the casket is slid) is made from scratch.

Because they've added so much weight (hearses can weigh up to 7,000 pounds) they also have to have stronger brakes.

A standard hearse  sells for at least $110,000

Back in the 1970s, there were 20 hearse makers,but now the number is down to five.

Something I didn't know.  One of Neil Young's earliest bands toured in a 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse nicknamed "Mort";  his 1976 song "Long May You Run", written with Stephen Stills, was a tribute to that car.

Then, Of Course, The" Ghostbusters" Hearse.  Who You Gonna Call?  --Cooter