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Warner Bros. president is son of former manager of Strand
By Mark J. Price
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Oct 06, 2008
It isn't every day that This Place, This Time gets a message from Hollywood.
Akron native Millard L. Ochs, president of Warner Bros. International Cinemas in Burbank, Calif., sent an e-mail to say that he thoroughly enjoyed the Sept. 1 article about the Strand Theater.
His father, Millard Ochs, managed the downtown Akron movie house from 1941 to 1963. His grandfather, Lee A. Ochs, was a theater operator in Manhattan in the 1920s and 1930s.
''Your story brought many memories to mind regarding my years as a young boy seeing films, after school studying in the projection room, or sitting up in the balcony all by myself watching Saturday afternoon features,'' he wrote.
When he got a little older, he was allowed to go behind the Strand's screen onstage and explore the engine room where the air washers were located.
''The photo of the marquee stating 'Warner Bros. Presents' was also a friendly reminder of the years my family have worked for Warner Brothers, my dad as the manager of the Strand for over 20 years and now myself with WB for the last 15 years,'' Ochs wrote.
The business has changed, he said, but the event is the same.
''Going to the movies is an American pastime that should never be forgotten,'' he said. ''In the troubled economic times that we all face today, going to the movies to forget about our problems is still the cheapest form of entertainment.''
Ochs thanked the Beacon Journal for the Strand article and the memories it stirred.
''She was a glorious building in her day,'' he said.
•
SCREEN TIME — Akron resident Helen Yocum, 86, never expected to be a movie star. However, she found herself in front of a camera recently when a documentary maker visited her home to interview her.
Yocum's mother, Lillian Sweetser (1885-1974), was a pioneer screenwriter who penned a dozen or so photoplays for movie studios from 1910 to 1915.
A 2007 Beacon Journal article about Yocum's scrapbook of her mother's mementos caught the attention of director David Lindblom of Santa Fe, N.M. Since 2004, Lindblom has been working on a documentary, No Star for Romaine, about filmmaker Romaine Fielding (1868-1927).
Fielding, a Kentucky native, made more than 130 films, including several in the Southwest, but only a few are known to exist today. Sweetser wrote the scenario for Romaine's 1915 movie A Desert Honeymoon.
Lindblom interviewed Yocum as she looked through pages of rare photos and studio papers. As the camera rolled, Yocum gave a poignant reading to the scenario that her mother wrote.
''It felt like Helen's mother was speaking through her at that moment and it was exciting,'' Lindblom said. ''It will be great in the documentary.
''Helen seemed to know how to perform the scenario, or maybe it was just great writing. Fielding obviously responded to the writing, too, because he made it into a movie.''
Yocum said she had never been on camera before, but she enjoyed the experience.
''They seemed to be most interested in that letter that I kept reading over and over,'' she said.
How would Sweetser react to her daughter being interviewed?
''She'd think, 'Oh, my goodness. What is she doing?' '' Yocum said with a laugh.
Lindblom was impressed with Yocum's photos — many of which he had never seen before.
''Everything that Helen presented to me will be part of the documentary,'' he said.
Lindblom hopes to release the film by 2013, the centennial anniversary of Fielding's movie peak, and continues to raise funds and conduct interviews. ''There are other people like Helen around the country that I would love to interview,'' he said.
Those with artifacts or information about Fielding can call Lindblom at 505-455-7388.
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
It isn't every day that This Place, This Time gets a message from Hollywood.
Get the full article here.
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