Filling In The Sounds of Silence: Bob Mitchell

ob Mitchell, a resident theater performer for the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood, CA, celebrated his 90th birthday last October in grand style. Actor Bill Pullman presented a special tribute to the Hollywood veteran and famed silent movie organist, who became a professional at age 12. For the historical event, Mitchell performed the piano score of the 1925 Buster Keaton classic Seven Chances on a Clavinova CLP955 digital piano during a special screening at the Downtown Palace Theatre in Los Angeles.

Silent movie theater performer Bob Mitchell

"The Clavinova is remarkable," notes Mitchell, "because it has the touch that's just as sensitive as any piano, and a tone that sounds like a concert grand. It makes an incredible theatre organ, which is what I use it for most. The Clavinova is very versatile."

During his career, Mitchell has played the organ to the films of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and other silent screen legends; formed the Bob Mitchell Boys Choir, all the rage of the 1930s and '40s; and enjoyed success with more than 100 films that included legendary film stars Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

"The Clavinova is remarkable!" -Bob Mitchell

"The Clavinova Bob plays is shaped like a baby grand and looks beautiful," says Silent Movie Theatre proprietor Charlie Lustman. "Many of the sounds are utilized regularly in our silent shows." Reopened by Lustman in 1999, the cinema has been a favorite hangout for silent movie aficionados, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Pullman and Billy Zane.

The showplace was originally opened by John and Dorothy Hampton in 1942; the couple moved from Oklahoma to Hollywood specifically to build and open a silent movie theater. After it abruptly shut down in 1997, Lustman purchased and restored it, and ever since, the classic silent films have been reborn with a new life—and a new sound.

Mitchell and the Yamaha Clavinova recently embarked on the Silent Theatre's National Tour to promote silent movie classics across the nation. Beginning last December at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Mitchell played the Clavinova during the All-Star Comedy Silent Show, a collection of short comic works from silent screen legends—Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chase and the Little Rascals. The traveling program continued with a show at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, CA, January 25 and 26, and Loews Uptown Cinema in Seattle, WA from February 27 through March 1. Mitchell will continue the tour with a
performance at The Virginia Theatre in Urbana/Champaign, IL as part of the 5th Annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert.