By Kelly Eve

Published at 11:46, Monday, 11 August 2008

THE funeral of Reg McCallam – Workington’s ‘Mr Cinema’ – will take place tomorrow.

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Mr McCallam had worked as a projectionist at all four of the town’s picture houses from 1946 to 1963.

He died at his Moorclose home last Monday. He was 78.

A service will take place at St Mary’s Church at Westfield at 12.30pm before burial at Salterbeck Cemetery.

Mr McCallam leaves behind an impressive collection of entertainment memorabilia. He takes with him a host of memories from the golden age of theatre and cinema.

The only child of a coal mining family, Mr McCallam had spent his early years in Brigham, near Cockermouth.

His father Joseph sang and his mother Agnes was an accomplished pianist, giving him a love of music that would remain with him all his life.

His early career was as a cinema projectionist at the Ritz Theatre in Murray Road, Workington, and at the town’s old Hippodrome.

He got his first cinema job in 1945 as reel hand at The Ritz. He worked from 9.30am to noon and then from 5pm to 10pm, six days a week for a wage of 35s (£1.75).

The job included shovelling coke in the Ritz’s boiler room, maintaining seats and ashtrays, changing the catalogue board and changing the metal letters on the canopy.

He was projectionist at the Hippodrome for many years, which also included holiday cover at Whitehaven’s Gaiety cinema, where he continued to work for a year after the Hippodrome burnt down in February 1955.

When cinema gave way to television, and cinemas were turned into bingo halls, Mr McCallam retrained as a crane driver, working for High Duty Alloys.

Mr McCallam was also a friend to the stars. When singer Matt Munro’s family were putting together his biography, it was Mr McCallam they turned to for a photograph.

He was also invited to London by lyricist Don Black, whose credits include the themes for many James Bond films, Born Free, and To Sir With Love.

Mr McCallam was also in regular contact with his favourite singer American vocalist Michael Feinstein.

Mr McCallam, who never married, is survived by eight cousins.

KEve@cngroup.co.uk

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk