Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

Cinema Manager Talk at Groby

I gave my "Adventures of the Bearded Cinema Manager" talk recently at Groby, a village a few miles from Leicester.

I did this for the Groby Village Society, who meet at Groby Village Hall, a former school.

This particular talk is probably the most requested, although some of the talks on Leicester history run it close.

I speak about my early career when coming into the entertainment business. I eventually becdame a very experienced and very well respected cinema manager, but of course there was a time when I was just the lad!

I joined the Rank Organisation as Trainee Manager at the Odeon Gants Hill (Ilford) ten days short of my 21st birthday, and had to learn all the staff jobs in my first few weeks.

The hours were very long and very anti-social, and the work was very demanding, but of course it also involved a lot of fun and quite a bit of glamour.

In 1966, not only did England win the World Cup, I was appointed Manager of the Odeon Whalebone Lane (Dagenham). At that time, I was the youngest cinema manager in the country, at 23.

If your group would like me to give this talk, I will be very pleased to make arrangements with you. Just get in touch, either by email, colin @crosbyheritage.co.uk or by phone 0116 2611576.