Mighty Wurlitzer to return in gala Ogden celebration

OGDEN — Back when movies were silent and theaters were huge, the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ was all the rage. With a skilled virtuoso at the console, the organ provided epic-size sound effects, created a dramatic range of emotions, and enhanced and enlivened the movie experience in untold ways.

Sound came in, and the organ went out — sometimes dismantled and sold for junk. The lucky ones were relegated to the back room of a pizza parlor or someone's home.

When that happened, says Blaine Gale, organ player extraordinaire and resident organist at the Salt Lake's Organ Loft, "theaters lost their voices. And when you exclude the voice, you exclude the heart."

Which is one reason a theater organ is high on the wish list when elegant old theaters are restored to their original glory. "A theater organ is a living, breathing part of the theater," said Ed Zollman, president of Zollman Pipe Organ Services, based in Wichita, Kan. He is currently helping wishes come true at the Peery Egyptian Theatre in Ogden.

Zollman has been installing a 3 manual/23 rank Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ in the theater, a process that has taken about seven months. The finished organ will be shown off at a gala celebration on Wednesday and will feature renowned organists Jelani Eddington and Patti Simon in concert, as well as a screening of a classic silent Laurel and Hardy comedy, accompanied by the organ.

It's a fitting way to celebrate the theater's 80th anniversary, said Luckey Heath, president of Peery's Egyptian Theatre Foundation, which was instrumental in bringing an organ back to the storied theater.

The Peery was built in 1924, quite literally rising out of the ashes of the Arlington Hotel, which burned to the ground the year before. The inspiration came from the Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, which was built amid the furor of finding King Tut's tomb, said Val Summerill, a driving force in restoring the theater.

The original Ogden theater closed in 1984. By then, the furnace was out; there was no running water. "It took 12 years," Summerill said, "and we had several near misses with the wrecking ball, but we were able to save it."

The Peery reopened in 1997, restored to its original Egyptian flavor and color — but without its original organ. However, the Peery's need is now being filled, thanks to an organ donated by Michael Ohman. This Mighty Wurlitzer came from the Fox Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills, by way of the Great American Wind Machine pizza parlor.