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Author
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Topic: R.I.P. Gary Stanley
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Tony L. Hernandez
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 158
From: Windsor, CO, USA
Registered: Dec 2005
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posted 09-27-2013 10:15 PM
My god, this is terrible news. I received it in an email last night from a fellow union projectionist and I must say it hit me like a ton of bricks and has left me greatly disturbed even into today.
Gary was one of a kind; they broke the mold after they made him. He had a sense of humor like none other I've ever encountered and an all around lively nature. I have know him since I was 17 and started hiring him to work in my theaters . We did clash heads a few times but always parted ways as friends although these clashes should have been expected as in many ways, Gary and I were wired much the same and both stubborn perfectionists. We spent many a long day and night under floors, behind screens and in attics upgrading and repairing archaic and/or poorly designed systems.
One memory regarding his in-your-face, unique and very east coast humor and personality that stands out in my mind will follow this sentence.
It was the first time he had ever met my (new at the time) husband. Jack (husband) was very shy as he was just starting to meet my friends and colleagues and learning the ropes of show business. We had just trekked down from a visit with my in-laws in Glenwood Springs to Colorado Springs where I was to help Gary install a full (albeit temporary) 35mm booth and run a screening of some Charlie Chaplin films at the Pikes Peak Symphony Orchestra Hall.
I introduced him to Jack but Jack still seemed somewhat shy and reserved for the next couple hours. I ended up going outside for a cigarette after we started the first show and upon returning to the projection booth, I found them paling around and teasing each other to the point of hysterical laughter that Gary had clearly started with his odd humor-they were in a sound booth in the first balcony and I could hear then all the way downstairs!
I also fondly remember how his usual small talk to heterosexual married male colleagues was "how's the little wifey" but mine was custom tailored to go "how's the little husband-y".
Our second to last (and perhaps most epic adventure together) was at the Boulder Theater on Valentine's Day, 2012. Myself and John Templeton hired Gary to tune things up for the Boulder International Film Festival as the booth had not been used in several months. Long story short we found that one of the projectors had severely distorted sound and we were all there for the next 19 hours trying to figure it out. Sam Chavez, I'm sure you remember all three of us calling you that day in a panic looking for advice. Finally, we had to give up and were dreading the task of temporarily installing old, poorly stores platters I had access to that would hopefully get us through. The next day (hours before the festival was to begin ) he arrived again out of the blue saying that it had suddenly come to him what the issue was and had us back in business within 45 minutes!
Our final project had a much darker note to it. In July of 2012, I hired him to install an automatic 16mm projection system (a film tree, to be exact) for a museum exhibit that was to open the next week and anticipated guests from around the world. I had all the parts, construction/install instructions and blue prints ready for him but when he arrived, I noticed he was not himself. He was in a very grim mood and moved around very slowly ( for those of you who knew gary, this was quite unusual as he was always flitting around). He worked all day, solemn and silent and while he got 80% of the project done, he was due back the next day to fine tune some things and troubleshoot the automation that was not working properly. That next day, he never showed up and when I was finally got a hold of him the next day, he said that he could no longer help with that project with no elaboration. Luckily, I was able to get an engineering student from the college to fix the automation and I did the rest myself-just barely in time for the opening. Needless to say, I was quite angry with him for this but in hindsight, I am most thankful I kept my angry comments to myself. He never even provided the museum or myself with a bill despite numerous requests from myself and the museum management. I never heard from or saw him again and shortly after, I began to receive dozens of phone calls from theaters around the state and surrounding states saying that he would not return calls or emails and were asking if I had contact with him. I never was able to get a hold of him despite repeated tries to relay these messages so I began referring these people to Jimmy Seay.
I was reluctant to include this last story and still have mixed feelings about including it but I am choosing to go with it as I feel that in hindsight, it was a serious and very sad sign of Gary's deteriorating health. If anyone feels it's inappropriate, please let me know and I'll clip it out at once.
Gary clearly had his demons, as we all do, many of which I shared with him and suffer through myself. One of the biggest, I believe, was the rapid disappearance of film-both the love of his life and his livelihood. I too share that depressing demon and ironically, I made the statement about two years ago that the disappearance of film would claim the lives of a few of us in this business; I just never dreamed it would hit so close to home!
Having my own demons and knowing the pain they cause, it tears me up to imagine the intense mental and physical ( as emotional problems often manifest themselves) pain he must have felt those final hours leading up to his decision.
Even at his best, I can recall the random moment here and there where he would suddenly (and out of the blue) become very grim and solemn for a moment or two-most likely a sign of his pain.
I'd like to request that we all keep in touch with Helen as I am personally worried about her. I know she has had her own health problems over the years and I believe Gary was her provider. I am not sure what her financial situation is or her family/friends support system situation is but I think we owe it to him to make sure she remains OK- I think I speak for us all when I say that we would want the same for our significant others if something should happen to us.
Finally, I'd like to propose that we all drop by this thread and leave our memories of Gary and his work; I think it would mean the world to him.
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