It is almost a year since Trevor entertained us with his memories of the people he has interviewed at the Empire Palace theatre in Sheffield and today was , in a way, a continuation of his talk. He told us about two larger than life characters who were poles apart and yet were good friends. They were Johny Spitzer, the manager of the Empire Palace theatre, a non practising jew from London and Canon Dennis McKay, an Irish Anglican priest at the Sheffield cathedral.
Johny SPitzer came from London in 1944 to work as assistant manager of the Empire and took over the job as manager when his boss died of a heart attack. He was a man of great personality, who commanded attention from everyone in his presence. He loved his food often consuming 4 eggs for breakfast and not surprisingly weighed 24 stones. He filled the Empire with famous stars and yet lived alone in a single room in the Grand Hotel. His life was abruptly cut short when he died of a heart attack at the age of 44.
Canon Dennis Mckay lived at flat 7a St. James Row, adjacent to the cathedral. He loved food and alcohol and was often seen in the company of Johny Spitzer. Very often on a Sunday morning, after service, he could be found with his servers, drinking sherry at his regular table at the Steak House above Fitzalan Square. He died in 1998, sat in a chair in his house at Crooks with a full glass of milk at his side.
Trevor ended his talk to rapturous applause and we look forward to yet another entertaining morning with him.