Behind the scenes were people like Corinne. She's now the Box Office Manager,
but was the head usherette when "This is Cinerama" opened at the Seattle Paramount
on Pine Street. Frankie and Gene overlook the technical crew. Bill Sisom, a treasured
friend, is the uncompromising stage manager. Among other things, he maintains
our unique screen composed of 1200 one inch wide perforated strips some 35 feet high!
If you were backstage, you'd see they look something like tickertape thrown from a
3rd story window on Wall Street. Their bizarre texture, however, was what captured
Cinerama's vibrancy on screen and deflected the light back at perfect angles into the
audience's view.
 

                              
Corinne Strello                          Jack Hamacher                                My Dreamgirl, Tina
Box Office Manager                        Manager                                            Cashier

Christi here will issue you your reserved seat ticket. You'll be pampered by the comfort of the
first rocking chair accommodation ever in a theater. You just try to slip down and duck the
objects hurled toward you from Cinerama's gigantic curved screen!

                      
Christine Thompson, cashier                                            Reserved Seat Tickets
 

Here's a view our impressive 827-seat auditorium, featuring the deeply curved screen-some 32 feet high
and a bewildering 96 feet wide!  Like our sister Martin theater in New Orleans, our auditorium features
surround draperies in a shocking "military red" and unheard of wall to wall carpeting.


 

I don't know it now, but soon I'll be the assistant manager and this will be my office...

                  
   My office                                                     A promoted man                                                      Jack Hamacher & staff party 

                             
   Usherettes Mona, Faith and others                             At Mt. Baker                                                  Staff poses for Picture
     cram into my '66 Mustang for a                              
     trip to Mt. Baker.

Rumor has it our next show is gonna be a Western. I hear it's really, really GREAT!
 

The Making of HTWWW                  by Dave Hanson.  Amazing!

As a lark to see where HTWWW was filmed, three of us took our one week's vacation
and made our own "Cinerama Holiday."
                          

 
 Locations for HTWWW

Some should be said about how nice Mr. Martin was.  Roy Martin had the Martin Steamship Line based
in Atlanta, Georgia.  He had a couple of modest theaters in his business portfolio and was approached about
movie houses that would show only Cinerama.  Mr. Martin became caught up in the glitz of Hollywood and
the movie industry. 

Mr. Martin built four Cinerama Theaters: Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis and Seattle.  The Seattle house happened because Mrs. Martin's sister lived in Seattle. When she was visiting in Georgia and saw the Martin Cinerama, she
commented that she wished Seattle had such a venue.

Continue in Website to 70 mm Cinerama at the Martin

Other Pages
Cinerama Reference Center
Cinerama's Arrival in Seattle
Site created by John Sherman Mills, former doorman and assistant manager of the Martin in Seattle.

email: telesisjournals@aol.com