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OBITUARY
GERRY KENNEDY

7 May 1943 - 28 May 2016
CATHS President 1996 and 1999 - 2016

The death of our President Gerry Kennedy has been felt in different In 1999, Gerry was elected for the second time to the position of
ways by many people. President, a position which he held from then, right up to his death.
In all that time, no one had even nominated to stand against him. I
For those who were unable to attend meetings, and never had the believe that in itself was a tribute to Gerry, and an acknowledgement
pleasure of personal contact, you would be aware of the work he put by members of the work and dedication he put into the Society.
into CATHS, his name on numerous articles in both CinemaRecord
and Kino magazines, and his willingness to assist with information. Those who attended meetings will remember his quirky way of
conducting meetings, frequently getting the agenda out of whack,
For those who were regular meeting and tour participants, his cheeky which he sometimes referred to as "The Order of Service". At the
humour and off handed comments during meetings or over a glass of start of a meeting, he would often look up at the members in
red wine after the event will be remembered. attendance, do a rough count and make the comment "Not too many
here today - you'll have to do better next time, I don't get out of bed
For those fortunate enough to call him a friend, for less than 50".
he will be sorely missed. Gerry was one in a
million, always there to provide advice and to As secretary of CATHS I worked alongside
offer help with a project or to put you on the right Gerry, and was well aware of the time and effort
track with research. he put into the Society. In many ways, the
success of CATHS is down to Gerry’s efforts.
Gerry was born in Melbourne in 1943. In 1949, As President, he personally welcomed all
Gerry’s family moved to Traralgon (160 km east newcomers to meetings, and was always on hand
of Melbourne), where his father opened a to answer questions about cinemas and theatres
hardware business. – his knowledge was amazing.

In later years, he attended a boarding school in Gerry's passion was the CATHS Archive. The
Melbourne, where he became mates with Peter establishment of the archive was down solely to
O’Reilly. In the football-mad city of Melbourne, Gerry. I'm told it was on a road trip to Adelaide,
on Saturday afternoons, the boarders were back in the 1990s, that he and Peter O'Reilly
allowed to go to the football. Gerry and Peter discussed the need for a magazine and an archive
would get the train along with the others, but head for CATHS. Peter started the magazine and
off to the movies in the city instead. There started Gerry established the archive.
Gerry’s appreciation of cinemas and theatres.
From a modest beginning, today our archive holds in excess of 10,000
I first met Gerry back in 1997, at the very first meeting of CATHS photos, books and other memorabilia, as well as a very large computer
that I attended . Like most newcomers to a group, my wife Barb and database of Australian cinemas. I believe CATHS can now claim that
I didn't know a soul. As soon as the meeting was over, this unknown archive as the largest collection of historical cinema material in
guy came up to us, said some were going for lunch and would we Australia – and it’s all down to Gerry's passion for recording cinema
come along. That was the first time we met Gerry. history.
Over what I later found to be pretty much the norm, we enjoyed a In recognition of the passion and work that Gerry put into our archive
couple of glasses of red wine with a pizza as we talked about our over many years, the CATHS archive has been renamed
interests that day. THE GERRY KENNEDY MEMORIAL ARCHIVE.
Over the years, our friendship became much closer, enjoying several Gerry’s passion for cinema research was not only that. A recent search
trips away, some as part of group tours, others as personal trips, of our database shows that he wrote, or jointly authored, over 70
always with my wife Barb tagging along, often under protest, but articles on cinema history. As well, there are several more yet to be
always enjoying Gerry's company and his often strange sense of published. His passion was so strong, that even though he was in
humour. decline at the time, he spent a weekend in Warrnambool researching
for yet another article, this one on the Capitol Theatre.
Barb became used to him telling her she talked too much or that she
was being harsh, or that the back seat of the car was the one they made It has been an honour and a privilege to have had Gerry as a friend.
for women. Often Gerry would say things to her which I knew I A mate who was always there, with whom we could talk to about
couldn't get away with - but that was his way, and she loved it! personal and family problems, one who was a frequent visitor to our
home, was a frequent travelling companion and one who we always
Whenever we were about to cross a road, he would often say to her, enjoyed being with. He has left so many of us with many treasured
“now you go first Barb, and see if it's safe, them Mike and I will memories and experiences to look back on.
follow.”
Gerry was predeceased by his son Mick. He is survived by his wife
Gerry’s quirky sense of humour was at its best when travelling, he Val, son Pete and daughter in-law Janine and grandchildren Lachlan,
would often see something which he would turn into a bit if fun. One Blake, Ayva and Callum .
of his favourites was the notice boards outside of churches. He would
often find another meaning for the message, such as, “It looks like Mike Trickett
those churches are going into the banking business.” He had spotted
a notice board with the wording "Jesus Saves"! Adapted from the Eulogies presented at Gerry’s funeral.

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