Closing Chord

Closing Chord: Stan Zimmerman

Theatre organ friends, again it has fallen on me to relay the news that we have lost another valued member of our community. Stanley “Stan” Zimmerman passed away today after a period of rapid decline. Stan was born in Moline IL in farm country. He became interested in the organ and its music at an...Read more

Ken Crome Passes Away

Master pipe organ craftsman Ken Crome passed away on May 1, 2020. It would be difficult to find a corner of the theatre organ world that Ken didn't touch, from the original installation in the Jasper Sanfilippo home, to the recent acclaimed installation of the original Fox Studio Wurlitzer in the...Read more

Helena Simonton Passes Away

Helena Simonton

Helena Simonton, the widow of the late Richard Simonton (d. 1979), passed away peacefully July 31 in California after a brief decline in health. October 31 would have been her 99th birthday. She and her husband, who was one of the founders of ATOS in the early 1950's, created an extraordinary home...Read more

Closing Chord - John Ferguson

The finest teacher of theatre organ style playing, with a list of students who rose to the highest level of concert playing, has died. John Ferguson passed away in Indianapolis Monday morning at the age of 79. He died peacefully in his sleep following some health issues. Born in Shreveport, LA in 1935, his piano studies morphed into organ studies, and he made a name for himself playing Hammond with piano at lounges and restaurants, including the famous Stan Musial's restaurant in St. Louis.Read more

Closing Chord: Doris Stovall

Doris Edwards Stovall (1934-2014) As a General Manager of a major theatre, she might have been the best friend ATOS and a great theatre organ ever had. Doris Edwards Stovall, former general manager of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, IN, passed away in Snellville, GA on February 1, 2014. She was 79. A Georgia native, she never lost that famous Southern charm. She was graduated from Toccoa High School in 1951, and the Harrison Draughon School of Commerce in 1953.Read more

Closing Chord: Jeff Barker

(from Garden State Theatre Organ Society page at http://www.gstos.org/Jeff_Barker.htm ) We are sad to report that local theatre organist Jeff Barker passed away suddenly on December 31, 2013.Read more

Closing Chord: Robert F. Mertz

Despite his quiet and genteel nature coupled with the fact that he was a relative “late-comer” to the world of the theatre organ, Lafayette, IN native Robert F. (Bob) Mertz, who passed away November 24, 2013, had a major impact in the theatre organ world in a short period of time. He was 89 years old.Read more