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26/11/2007: "THE TRAVELING UNDERWATER FILM SHOW"
It seems incredible today the distances I used to drive without much planning. For example this picture was at Mount Gambier, South Australia. A week before I was in Cairns, North Queensland and a week before that in Darwin, Northern Territory.
I'd driven to Mt Gambier especially to join a USA underwater photo team which included my pen friend Hillary Hauser from California who was writing the text.
Hillary's former husband was Dick Anderson who had MC'd our underwater film expo show in Los Angeles' Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
The trip to South Australia proved a mini sea change. Here I met Barry Holmes (pictured) who was a trusted distributor of the outback classic documentary Northern Safari owned by Keith F Adams of Perth.
It turned out Northern Safari was booked for a return season of shows in New South Wales and there was an opening for another person to join the team.
I was invited in after a meeting with Keith F Adams (The General), Barry Holmes, Tom Stokes and Ray Grimsey.
Men who had been with the traveling show, independently and showing it all over the world for more than ten years.
Barry had worked in South Africa showing Northern Safari. In Australia he was allocated Victoria.
Tom Stokes had several years touring England with the film.
Ray Grimsey had been allocated Canada, Queensland and New South Wales as his territories.
Keith Adams kept Western Australia for himself plus USA.
Often the team would gather for a joint effort in a new territory such as was the case with New Zealand and with Tasmanian shows.
Amongst the theatre industry people the film was legendary. Pre Crocodile Dundee it was the highest grossing Australian film - ever.
I can't find it listed in movie history books. Why? A mystery.
Maybe as a 16mm film it didn't qualify as "professional".
Keith made great profits as he and his team always handled the cash themselves.
Film distributing companies were not very honest in the days when the film first appeared.
Footnote: Here's a Following the Footsteps example.
My father had been a traveling picture showman on the New South Wales south coast before getting a steady job as projectionist with the Kings Theatre, Bega.
Later he bought a small cafe nearby, then a series of small hotels. I didn't mind following his film show footsteps.
Life in the Sydney pubs was a bit tougher.
