Donald Canestrari, Memphis:  "My father loved the movies and vaudeville and would take my mother and my two older brothers and me  to the Orpheum to see a vaudeville show and movie.  He would park our 1936 Plymouth or our 1930 Ford Model A Coupe on Beale Street and we would walk up to the Orpheum passing Tony's Fruit Stand on the northeast corner of Beale and Main.  In those days, there would be an hour long vaudeville act followed by a new movie.  We always liked to sit in one of the loges off the mezzanine on the south side of the theater.  A Memphis orchestra under the direction of Nate Evans would rise up out of the floor in the orchestra pit and play for the performers.  One of the trumpet players (sometimes on clarinet) was Hilburn Graves, known as Pappy Graves. He was my first clarinet teacher when I took lessons at the old O.K. Houck Piano Company on S. Main near Union Ave.  During the WWII years, an organist, Milton Slosser. would rise up out of the floor and play the mighty Wurlitzer Organ and we would sing the words to his songs that would be flashed on the screen.  Lots of entertainment."   

Donald Canestrari, Memphis:  "One of the favorite shows to come to the Orpheum was Blackstone the Magician.  He would perform there for a week to packed houses.  He would always hypnotize a girl and saw her in half with a big buzz saw.  I can still hear her screaming as the saw made a loud terrible sound as it cut in two a piece of 2x4 lumber beside her.  Another performer that my dad liked was Dave Avalon, a Russian orchestra leader who brought his show there often" 
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Gene Gill, Pasadena CA:  "Everyone enjoyed going to the Malco for first run movies in the 50's.  When the movie ended, the giant Wurlitzer organ would rise out of the orchestra pit and Milton Slosser would entertain the audience for about 20 minutes.  When the "bouncing ball" came on screen, we all sang along".  I also remember seeing Marilyn Monroe at the Malco (1953), in town to promote the opening of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". The city even renamed Monroe St. "Marilyn Monroe St" for the day.

Bob Mann, Albuquerque NM:  "I moved to Memphis from a small town in Arkansas in 1944, and was dazzled by the "big city".  Soon after I arrived, I went to the Malco and was awed by the grandeur of the theater, especially when I saw that gorgeous white organ rising out of the orchestra pit.  I will never forget Milton Slosser playing my favorite song of the day, 'Besame Mucho".

Eddie Cooper, Memphis:  "When I was a teenager, I worked one summer as an usher at the Malco, whose owners also owned the Princess.  The Malco had a huge popcorn machine, and the Princess had an ice machine that made more than it needed.  So one of the daily jobs of a couple of ushers was to transport popcorn to the Princess and ice to the Malco".

Julie Best Erwin -10/2011:  "...My grandfather, Chalmers Cullins was involved in the theater business since the early 1900s.  He began selling popcorn at the Orpheum and went on to work there.   Later, my grandfather owned the Idlewild with his brother Edward Cullins and I believe Nate Evans was also involved.  He also owned the W. C. Handy and The Sovoy theaters.  These two were for the Black Community and featured live music as well as movies". 

Gail Collins - 10/2011:  "...Chalmers Cullins was my grandfather and I have some interesting cassette tapes on which my grandfather is talking about the old days at the Orpheum. I remember dancing on the stage when I was about 5, when my grandfather was closing up the theater at midnight. I recall watching Blackstone perform from backstage and later eating a midnight dinner with him and my grandparents at Burkles Bakery. We had the roast beef and homemade rolls, mashed potatoes and vegetables. It seemed strange eating at midnight. Blackstone had the most piercing blue eyes I ever encountered".