The Old Man is a western fanatic. I've been that way for as long as I can remember.
Every Saturday, without fail, you could find me and others of the Park Street Battalion at the Liberty Theater. There would always be a couple of westerns, some cartoons, a Three Stooges short, and another chapter in whatever serial was running. I remember admission was 15 cents and popcorn was a dime. 50 cents would put a kid in junk food Shangra-La for the better part of the day. There was a valuable side benefit too. Nothing would make you feel more grown-up than being let out in front of the movie and going in on your own. No pesky adults allowed.
The program ran continuously so you just went in, took a seat, and watched. You'd stay until you got to the point in the rotation where you had come in. That's when you knew it was time to leave. Most of the time we walked home in a group. On rainy days, Mom or Dad would figure I'd be gone about 3 hours and they'd be there waiting. On the good days, we would gather at one house or the other and play out the movies we'd just seen. There were a slew of those "oaters". Randolph Scott, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were joined from time to time by Rocky Lane, Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid), Cisco and Pancho, Hopalong Cassidy, Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, Johnny Mack Brown, and the side kicks.....Smiley Burnette, Gabby Hays, and Fuzzy St.John.
There were a couple of guys who were known for their skill with a bull whip. Whip Wilson was one, but the true "whipper" was Lash LaRue. Lash was dead-solid penguin cool. Dressed in black he could work wonders with that bull whip. Lash had that little "devil may care" coolness in the way he wore his hat cocked over on the side of his head. You just looked at him and knew everything was going to be OK and that Lash would be taking no crap off anybody that day.
One week a real buzz went through the Battalion. Lash LaRue and his sidekick, Fuzzy St.John were going to make an in person appearance at the Liberty. There would be a Lash LaRue double feature with Lash and Fuzzy putting on an exhibition on stage between the movies. It was like waiting for Christmas. Days seemed to take weeks to pass. When the big day arrived, I was up even earlier than Christmas morning. I pestered the soul out of my folks until they finally relented and took a carload over town. We got to the theater well before they opened for business....no doubt hoping to spot Lash going in the backstage door. No such luck.
When we finally were admitted, I determined that for the best vantage point, I would go up into the balcony. When I started for the stairs, the theater manager came over to me and told me I could not go up there. "Why?" I asked. I'll never forget his answer or the way it made me feel. "That's for the colored people", he said. I can still, after all these years, remember feeling a little sick to my stomach and thinking, "That's stupid, we're all just here to see Lash LaRue". It took society a bit longer to catch up with me, but catch up it did and we are all far better for it.
We cheered, we whooped and hollered, we yelled, "Watch out, Lash" when someone was about to ambush him, and we laughed at Fuzzy's antics. The film ended and the big moment arrived. The house lights came up and the curtains opened and out walked Lash and Fuzzy. It was like seeing Elvis. Kids were bonkers.....cheering and clapping. Lash finally quieted us down and began to give us some "don't try this at home" pointers. He asked us to always tell the truth, to brush after every meal, and to love God and country. Then he performed his whip wizardry. Poor Fuzzy. Lash whipped his hat off his head, whipped the gun out of his holster and made him "dance" to avoid whip marks on his feet. But the big finish was when he had Fuzzy put a lit cigarette in his mouth and stand sideways. Lash then whipped that fire off the end of the smoke. We all gasped. I recall thinking, "Practicing for this stunt is probably why Fuzzy has no teeth".
What a day in Bedford. At least 100 "Lash LaRues" came charging out of the theater, honor bound to find a bull whip of some sort. Suffice to say play time was really interesting for a few days. The Band-aid business boomed.
I've heard tell that Lash in his later years, had interest in some property around Bedford, but I can't confirm that. Other than appearances at Conventions, etc, his last big "hurrah" was to instruct Harrison Ford in the art of "bull whippery" in preparation for his role as Indiana Jones.
Lash died in 1996 at age 79. But as long as there remains a "kid" from that day in the Liberty theater, he's as alive as you and I.
The program ran continuously so you just went in, took a seat, and watched. You'd stay until you got to the point in the rotation where you had come in. That's when you knew it was time to leave. Most of the time we walked home in a group. On rainy days, Mom or Dad would figure I'd be gone about 3 hours and they'd be there waiting. On the good days, we would gather at one house or the other and play out the movies we'd just seen. There were a slew of those "oaters". Randolph Scott, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were joined from time to time by Rocky Lane, Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid), Cisco and Pancho, Hopalong Cassidy, Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, Johnny Mack Brown, and the side kicks.....Smiley Burnette, Gabby Hays, and Fuzzy St.John.
There were a couple of guys who were known for their skill with a bull whip. Whip Wilson was one, but the true "whipper" was Lash LaRue. Lash was dead-solid penguin cool. Dressed in black he could work wonders with that bull whip. Lash had that little "devil may care" coolness in the way he wore his hat cocked over on the side of his head. You just looked at him and knew everything was going to be OK and that Lash would be taking no crap off anybody that day.
One week a real buzz went through the Battalion. Lash LaRue and his sidekick, Fuzzy St.John were going to make an in person appearance at the Liberty. There would be a Lash LaRue double feature with Lash and Fuzzy putting on an exhibition on stage between the movies. It was like waiting for Christmas. Days seemed to take weeks to pass. When the big day arrived, I was up even earlier than Christmas morning. I pestered the soul out of my folks until they finally relented and took a carload over town. We got to the theater well before they opened for business....no doubt hoping to spot Lash going in the backstage door. No such luck.
When we finally were admitted, I determined that for the best vantage point, I would go up into the balcony. When I started for the stairs, the theater manager came over to me and told me I could not go up there. "Why?" I asked. I'll never forget his answer or the way it made me feel. "That's for the colored people", he said. I can still, after all these years, remember feeling a little sick to my stomach and thinking, "That's stupid, we're all just here to see Lash LaRue". It took society a bit longer to catch up with me, but catch up it did and we are all far better for it.
We cheered, we whooped and hollered, we yelled, "Watch out, Lash" when someone was about to ambush him, and we laughed at Fuzzy's antics. The film ended and the big moment arrived. The house lights came up and the curtains opened and out walked Lash and Fuzzy. It was like seeing Elvis. Kids were bonkers.....cheering and clapping. Lash finally quieted us down and began to give us some "don't try this at home" pointers. He asked us to always tell the truth, to brush after every meal, and to love God and country. Then he performed his whip wizardry. Poor Fuzzy. Lash whipped his hat off his head, whipped the gun out of his holster and made him "dance" to avoid whip marks on his feet. But the big finish was when he had Fuzzy put a lit cigarette in his mouth and stand sideways. Lash then whipped that fire off the end of the smoke. We all gasped. I recall thinking, "Practicing for this stunt is probably why Fuzzy has no teeth".
What a day in Bedford. At least 100 "Lash LaRues" came charging out of the theater, honor bound to find a bull whip of some sort. Suffice to say play time was really interesting for a few days. The Band-aid business boomed.
I've heard tell that Lash in his later years, had interest in some property around Bedford, but I can't confirm that. Other than appearances at Conventions, etc, his last big "hurrah" was to instruct Harrison Ford in the art of "bull whippery" in preparation for his role as Indiana Jones.
Lash died in 1996 at age 79. But as long as there remains a "kid" from that day in the Liberty theater, he's as alive as you and I.
6 comments:
I was in love with Lash La Rue for years. He was my favorite of the cowboys and was replaced by Zorro in my heart when Disney put Zorro on TV.
Loved the description of the theaters...ours had an organ and a guy played the organ before the show started.
Jack, here's a link to a YouTube snippet of Lash La Rue
Lash La Rue
I will make sure my little Indiana Jones bullwhip snapping son reads this one... great post and I could just "see" the theater!
Love it!
Great post Dad! That is such an awesome story! There are NOT enough Western movies made this day and time! Love ya!
This post is a reminder that everything new and technical isn't always for the better. I'd love to go to a theater !
I think both Jackson and Terminator have a good number of Jack genes in their genetic makeup. lol. Jules needs to post pics or videa of both of them with their Indiana Jones whips and hats in action. lol
Great post Jack, I really enjoyed it.
Jack, you've been tapped. You're an Honest Scrapper.
Was that picture taken in your front yard with the corner of Baltimore and Park behind you??
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