Herman Leon Harold
Capitol Theatre, Melbourne (Flickr) Palais Theatre, Melbourne (Flickr)
Luna Park, Sydney (Pinterest)
1. Introduction and Acknowledgements
Brothers Herman, Leon and Harold Phillips were leading showmen in the Australian entertainment industry from the Edwardian era through to the 1950s.
Starting in Sydney, their diverse interests which included cinemas, funfairs and dance halls eventually extended nationwide. However, they quickly shifted their headquarters to Melbourne and specifically to the bayside suburb of St Kilda where they owned Luna Park, the Palais Pictures (today the Palais Theatre) and the Palais de Danse ballroom. They were also part of a syndicate that developed the Capitol Theatre and office building (known as "Capitol House") in the Melbourne CBD (downtown area). Later, they opened other attractions at Glenelg beach in Adelaide and Milson's Point on Sydney Harbour. As music promoters, they imported a number of popular recording artists from the United States. But I will be mainly focusing on their three most enduring ventures; all of which are still going in Melbourne.
Luna Park (1912) was the first Coney Island-style pleasure ground in Australia and its Scenic Railway rollercoaster is now, according to the Los Angeles Times, the oldest, continually operating ride of its type (i.e. brakeman controlled) in the world https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-jul-18-la-trb-oldest-roller-coasters-07201118-story.html The unique and spectacular "ceiling of lights" at the Capitol (1924) is also internationally renowned and the Swanston Street landmark introduced the age of "picture palaces" to Australia while the Palais Theatre (1927), with a seating capacity of nearly 3,000 is our largest suburban cinema
The Phillips had a slightly unusual attitude to the spotlight. On the one hand, they were highly effective publicists when it came to the promotion of their attractions, news of which was regularly published in major daily papers and they were close to the rich and famous; some of whom you will meet within the following pages. Leon, for instance, learned the tricks of the stage and screen from a dynamic former sideshow hustler, vaudeville roustabout and master of illusion who went on to become one of the most powerful studio chiefs in Hollywood. However, despite their own talents for creating thrills and excitement to enthrall the public, something separated the Phillips from their more ego-driven contemporaries - namely their preference for maintaining a comparatively low profile. It seems that the microphone-grabbing/ selfie routine never floated their River Caves boat. Instead, they usually allowed others to meet the press and face the cameras.
The reason for doing this piece was to organize and present the information that I have gathered, so far, about the Phillips' career as it played out on both sides of the Pacific and a primary aim of my research was to investigate their formative years around the US/Canadian border. This avenue was pursued via North American newspaper archives and other sources. The amount of space that has been devoted to each of their attractions was determined by the quantity of material that had been randomly compiled by the time I started to write. Having an equal amount of information on everything was never a condition of undertaking this project. As a result, however, some parts are more expansive than others. In a few cases, the only entries in my files (that date back as far as the 1980s) are short, handwritten notes about people, places and events for which no source details were recorded ( probably because I had no plans to publish any of this until recently). Also, it needs to be pointed out that writing non-fiction history is similar to restoring old cars in as much as the process can, occasionally, involve an element of guess work in situations where we don't know, for sure, exactly "how things were" back in the day. I have, however, indicated where such speculation was necessary and, in several instances, I have utilized techniques of creative non-fiction to paint some word pictures, provide a touch of color and give a sense of the era in regard to the way in which certain things may have looked, sounded and/or been described. But, for the most part, I referred to original press reports and official documents.
The history of Luna Park Sydney has been thoroughly covered in two different books as well as a documentary. However, I have summarized the key points in regard to the establishment of those enterprises.
Many of the items on this website were written for magazines so they had to conform to a standard journalistic style and structure. This one is different. It was done as a personal blog post (although a short version has appeared in the quarterly journal Cinema Record). With that being the case, the approach was more informal. For example, we will wander down a couple of starry sidetracks and even cut loose with occasional bits of levity. But rest assured that these "mad moments" will be carefully supervised by a trained nurse to reduce the risk of personal injury
Rather than include a lot of separate quotes, I have provided links that will give you the opportunity to read complete, original interviews and articles that were about (or written by) the Phillips and/or their colleagues. Also, bear in mind that archival documents and photographs are being digitized and uploaded by others on a regular basis, so it is possible that further information has now become available.
In the end, this is simply a general overview of the subject and a few memories. It is not, by any means, a comprehensive biography.
For Australian readers who are not familiar with the "Pacific Northwest" of the United States, a map had been included in Part 2 on which I have marked the locations that I mention. For American and Canadian readers, a quick rundown of Australian geography may be useful.
Australia is a big country. Also known by other names such as the "Great Southern Land", it is situated in a region of the Pacific called "Oceania" and it covers a land mass which is approximately the same size as the continental US. However, like Canada, most of Australia is uninhabitable so we have a small population (currently around 27 million). The majority of Canadians live within a thin ribbon of settlement that stretches across the length of the American border. Most Australians live close to, or right on, our eastern coastline. The Phillips business pursuits over here were predominantly undertaken in three adjoining states - namely, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Sydney is the capitol of "NSW", Melbourne the capitol of "VIC" and Adelaide the capitol of "SA" (abbreviations used on vehicle license plates). As mentioned earlier, their work as showmen became increasingly centred around St Kilda in Melbourne; a suburb which is equivalent to Santa Monica in Los Angeles.
I need to thank some people who have given me invaluable assistance.
In Melbourne, Helen Bird (nee Kemter) supplied a rare, private photo of Leon and Harold Phillips. As Leon's goddaughter and the granddaughter of George Kemter who was a partner in the firm of Peck & Kemter; consulting architects on the construction of Capitol House, Helen gave me a special "behind the scenes" look at the Phillips time in Australia as did veteran broadcaster and entertainer Peter Smith OAM. Peter, who got his break into showbusiness at the Palais Theatre in the 1950s, kindly agreed to share his recollections of the men who built the St Kilda landmark during an interview that we did (featured as the second part of this post.... and, by the way, radio's "Penthouse Pete" of the '60s still has a voice that would make a wolverine purrrrr....). In America and Canada, Megan Duvall, Historic Preservation Officer at the City of Spokane, Washington and staff at the Vancouver Historical Society provided some fascinating archival images.
This work is divided into ten parts as follows: (1) Introduction and acknowledgements (2) Early Years in North America and Australia (3) Luna Park, Melbourne 1912 (4) Going it Alone (5) Palais De Danse Ballroom 1913 & 1919 (6) "New" Luna Park 1923 (7) Capitol Theatre, Melbourne 1924 (8) "New" Palais Pictures 1927 (9) Luna Park Adelaide 1930 & Sydney 1935 (10) Final Years and Legacy
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If any substantial part of this work is uploaded, verbatim, to Wikipedia the relevant text will be deleted from that site.
But now, without further ado, let's step into the Time Tunnel and travel back to America of the 1900s and the birth of the movies as we begin our story
Australia
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