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Page 6 WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY November 1996 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT Fifty Years of Show Business, with Dal Richards Reported by: Anne Vernon Dal Richards, The Dance Band King, was our September meeting speaker. Bom in Vancouver and brought up in Marpole, where his father owned the highly successful Marpole Machine Shop, Dal spent most of his musical career in Vancouver. He spoke to a large and enthusiastic audience who came to listen to his reminiscences of over 50 years in show business. When introducing our speaker, Jim McCarthy touched briefly on a few of Dal’s awards over the years. These included the Vancouver Civic Award of Merit, the Variety Club Heart Award and -the highest honour of all - the Order of Canada. Dal (his full name is Dallas) began with a tape of his famous signature tune - The Hour of Parting - which immediately brought the past back to us all. Diis music was the introduction to his famous CBC Saturday Night, Cross Canada Show from “the Roof’, which for years lured people from frigid parts of Canada to Vancouver with its kindlier climate. On May 4th, 1995, while returning to Vancouver from Ottawa after receiving the Order of Clanada, Dal went back in memory over the years, musing on how he had come to be there. Of course his music played a large part in his recognition, but how had it all started, so long, long ago? Well, it began with a horrible accident. When stiU a very young lad something went wrong with the slingshot Dal had been playing with and he lost his right eye. This meant that he had to be kept home in a dark room for several months and, naturally, his school work suffered. When he did eventually sit exams he failed. The wise old family doctor told his parents Dal needed something to occupy his mind and give him back self-confidence. The Kitsilano Boys Band was being formed and Dal was interviewed. He must have made the right responses because he was accepted and learned to play the clarinet. Dal says this turned his life around and from then on his path lay in the entertainment world. Mart Kenny was Dal’s idol and the thought was - he has a band, so shall 1. As saxophonists were hard to find then Dal learned to play one himself and has never stopped! His first job was at the old White Rose Ballroom. The band also played on the English Bay Pier, the Vfinter Garden and at the F^lomar. The engagements were usually for a week or two - they were getting lots of jobs and losing lots of jobs which was the norm for those times. It was good experience and Dal was making a name for himself. The next important happening in the musician’s life was when he and the band played for Ivan Ackerey, that well-known Vancouver impresario. Ivan was running the Orpheum as a cinema, the days of vaudeville being over. A big band on Friday nights encouraged more customers and Dal and his band filled the Orpheum week after week. They were being paid the princely sum of $6.00 for each Friday’s “gig” and Dal thought that a raise was in order. He approached Ackerey with this request but, after a long list of heavy expenses which Ackerey had to pay, was told “I can’t afford it, but I’ll tell you what - you can call me Ivan”. The time at the Orpheum paid in other ways though. “Ivan” suggested that the band needed a girl singer and proposed Dal try out a very young girl he knew and see what happened. Although only 13 years old the girl was put into the programme. She had a great voice ^d stcqrped the show. Dal drew up a contract for her immediately. I expect you have already guessed that her name was Juliette. So began a long and happy career and they are lifelong friends, still getting together for occasional “gigs”. While Dal was playing the Palomar, Mart Keimy, who had been playing the Panorama Roof for some time, suggested that there was a chance Dal and his band could fill in at “the Roof’ for a few weeks until Mart’s replacement band arrived from the East. They played, the eastern band never arrived and so began 25 years playing on “the Roof’ - a musical world record for an engagement! (As you probably know, “the Roof’ closed its doors recently and Dal and his band were asked back to play for the last night. Bookings were so heavy that this became several “last” nights and many old friends came back to dance for one last time.) But that is jumping ahead. In the 50’s the big bands faded and solo singers became the rage. The 60’s brought Elvis and ended the big band era and Dal’s long engagement at “the Roof’. It was a tough time. Dal studied Hotel Management at BCIT and put in a hard two years. He was older than the lecturers but they decided he was going to graduate successfully and helped him with his work. (He was still playing “gigs” around Vancouver.) After that he worked in hotel management for a little while but thought that sales would be better for him. Eventually he found an empty ballroom and put on some dances. They were so popular that he decided to go back to playing full time. So began a different life and Dal and the band had to look for new engagements. They played at all kinds of venues - private parties, baU games, community parades, etc. It brought at least one very funny gig to mind. They were playing at a ball game and Dal decided they would have a sing-along as part of the programme. Everything was fixed. The words were put onto cards which a projectionist would slide into slots in the scoreboard screen at half-time. It was a great idea but fate took a hand. The kids, who thought they had first choice of any vantage point, were mad that the projectionist had this terrifically high ladder viewpoint. They shook and shook it and the poor man got hopelessly tangled up. The sing-along had begun but the projectionist had not!! First of all he was one stanza behind, then ten, then cards went in upside down and the audience gave up trying to sing. The final song “/ had a little drink about an hour ago and it went right to my head' had the whole stadium rolling in the aisles! Now Dal is still playing - after over 50 years in the business. He also spends a lot of time playing on cruises and enjoys that very much. With some friends he is going over the old CBC “Roof’ broadcast tapes with a view to producing five episodes of one hour each for playing on CBC again. There is also a project for making a CD, so life is still fiill of work and enjoyment. All through his talk it was obvious that Dal has a motto. It is pertinent to us all - ADVERSITY OVERCOME LEADS TO A FULL UFE.