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come out here. He replied, but declined
my invitation.
Many people were let in free,
especially well-known sportsmen - the
likes of Lou Richards, Dick Reynolds,
Jack Dyer, Frank Sedgman and Lew
Hoad - and policemen on the beat.
Some of the girls married policemen
after meeting them while on duty.
A number of stage and TV
personalities started their careers at the
Capitol. Val Jellay was before my time,
but Toni Lamond and Corinne Kirby
worked with me. Toni was a lot of
laughs. She left to go into the Pajama
Game - and as they say in show
business, ‘the rest is history’.
My trajectory was more modest. I
worked at the Embassy Malvern for a
short time after I was married, when Noel
Ferrier was the manager. No ongoing
stage career for me, but I did relish my
spot as the pirate-girl on the stage of the
best theatre in the country. ★
In his painting New York Moment (1940), Edward Hopper captures the divide between
enthralled audience and tired usherette. She’s seen the film a dozen times and just
Loraine worked at the Capitol from
wants the show to end so she can go home.
1948-1952.

FASHIONS IN THE FOYER

Above: Staff at the opening of the Capitol 1924. The materials and colours of the
uniforms may have been sumptuous, but to our eyes the effect is quaint.
Right: In 1941 the Capitol is a Hoyts theatre. These smart outfits may be a hold-over
from the late Paramount years. Val Jellay, later a vaudeville performer, is on the left.
This image courtesy Val Jellay.

16 2007 CINEMARECORD