Back in the pre-sound days of cinema, one's enjoyment of a film was due in large part to the skill of the theater organist.

Gaylord Carter, an organist from 1920s L.A. recalls:

"What the organ did was punctuate, underscore, bridge, follow the action musically in order to add a dimension to the picture that wouldn't be there otherwise. Believe me, without the organ accompaniment in silents most of the picture would have been as dull as succotash."

Apparently the best organists were red hot commodities as evidenced by Carter's account:

"My hero was Jesse Crawford, probably the most famous theater organist who ever lived. He played  all the great theaters in Los Angeles and Chicago and finally went to the Paramount in NewYork, where he earned twenty-five hundred a week, more than most movie stars- then and now*."


Just so you know, $2,500 in the 20s is worth roughly $27,000 now. Hey, I don't know about you but I'd be happy with 25 hundred, let alone 27 thousand. Now that's rakin it in!

Info obtained from Hollywood: Legend and Reality c. 1986