Master Of The Mighty Wurlitzer

The piece below was published on Jan, 27, 2000, by Richmond.com. When the news broke that Eddie Weaver had died, I was asked to do the necessary research and write a remembrance of a sort. Then hit send in two-and-a-half hours, or so. In those days I was still nimble enough to do what it took. 

Note: The Weaver art to the right I borrowed today from the Internet.  

"Eddie Weaver at the mighty Wurlitzer" was a trademark phrase that was once a well-known part of Richmond's show business milieu. And for good reason; Weaver played the Wurlitzer pipe organ to the delight of Richmond audiences for over 50 years.

On January 27, [2000] Eddie Weaver died. He was 92. My memory of Eddie Weaver blurs his three main gigs in Richmond - the Loew's Theater, the Miller and Rhoads Tea Room, and the Byrd Theater - into one persona.

"Eddie Weaver at the mighty Wurlitzer" was a trademark phrase that was once a well-known part of Richmond's show business milieu. And for good reason; Weaver played the Wurlitzer pipe organ to the delight of Richmond audiences for over 50 years.

However, the picture I saw of him when I got the news of his death was of him rising up out of the stage at the Byrd, arms flying as he demonstrated his enthusiastic mastery of the huge pipe organ. The audience would hear the organ before they saw it. Then it would slowly ascend into view, all the while with Weaver playing furiously at the keyboard. 

As an impatient teenager in the '60s, I must admit I sometimes viewed his performances as corny. But I never ceased to be amazed at his mastery of the instrument he played. By pushing buttons and levers, he could make it sound like a harp, a piano, drums, you name it. The Wurlitzer was much more than a keyboard: It was a throwback to the days of silent movies, when they were an essential element of movie palaces, such as the Byrd and the Loew's. 

From my view, looking at Eddie Weaver's back, it looked to me like he was flying a spaceship as much as playing music. Not only did it seem to have hundreds of gadgets to push or pull, but there was a 15-horsepower engine pumping air into three rooms full of pipes and literally miles of wiring.

In those days, a trip to the Byrd was more than just a matter of catching a flick. There was the time the show started and the feature time. The show included short subjects such as cartoons, travelogues, one- or two-reel comedies, and Eddie Weaver. Thus, the show time might be 7 p.m. and the feature time would be 7:50 p.m. So, sandwiched between trailers for upcoming features and a cartoon, Eddie Weaver would play two or three familiar tunes and then be lowered back beneath the stage.

Weaver's first performance in Richmond was in 1937 at the Loew's. His last was in the same theater, now called the Carpenter Center For The Performing Arts, in 1992. His peppy performances in movie theaters and for white-gloved ladies at luncheons entertained generations of Richmonders.

Now Eddie Weaver, a native of Allentown, Pa., is gone. His passing will no doubt cause the many thousands of us who grew up in Richmond to pause to remember the magic of going to the movies in a time when people dressed up for the occasion.

We will remember following the bouncing ball on the screen and singing along with Eddie Weaver at the mighty Wurlitzer.

Weaver's family will receive visitors at the Parham Chapel Woody Funeral Home, 1771 Parham Rd., Saturday Jan. 29 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. His graveside service will be private.

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 -- Illustration from Soundcloud