by Greg Martin

John Levy has a passion for all things moving pictures , is to say Fred and Ginger could dance , Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson could act , and John Wayne could ride a horse .

John , “ Mr Movies ”, to a host of silver screen fans who sat spellbound watching movies at the Richmond Regent Twin Cinema – has retired after adding a bit of spark to the lives of theatregoers for 33 years .

The 84-year-old hoisted across the curtain for the final time on January 19 ,

“ Mr Movies ”, John Levy ’ s love of the Silver Screen endeared him to generations of moviegoers to the Richmond Regent Twin Cinema during his 33-year tenure at the popular venue . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .

handing over his beloved business to new owners , Michael and Duncan , who will take a backseat to the Regent ’ s operations , leaving the everyday running to manager , Brendan Newman .

Normally with my interviews for these finest articles , I began with enquiring about the subject ’ s formative years , but I was chafing at the bit to ask about John ’ s all-time favourite movies . He didn ’ t hesitate ! “ It is the Universal Picture 1944 production of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves , starring one of my favourite Hollywood pairings – Jon Hall and Maria Montez ,” John said .

“ Hall and Maria appeared together in several swashbuckling movies including Sabu , Arabian Nights and Sudan .

“ They were heart-throbs of the era – both good looking , excellent actors and they really sparked on screen .

“ I ’ ve always loved those adventure movies , but Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves stands above them all .

“ Others which readily come to mind are Gone with the Wind and well , just anything with the wonderful Audrey Hepburn in the cast .”

John and his cherished late wife , Joanna , who passed on March 28 , 2008 , after a decade long battle with cancer , bought the Richmond Regent in September 1989 , taking over from TV personality , Mike Walsh .

Walsh had owned the theatre since 1976 when he bought it from another Michael Walsh who built and owned the

Regent since August 9 , 1935 .

The inaugural movie showed at the theatre that first day of operation was a musical comedy , My Heart is Calling , and all 930 seats were occupied by excited theatregoers .

John and Joanna were keen to turn the Regent into a twin-theatre .

“ Mike ( Walsh ) had wanted to add another theatre to the place but was unable to find a suitable design to do the conversion ,” John explained .

“ But in 1992 we were able to come up with one which split the place into two theatres , with seating for 261 patrons downstairs and 287 upstairs ,” John said .

John says he “ drove Joanna crazy ” as she was forced to tag along in the months leading up to buying the Regent as he traversed all over Sydney looking at independently owned theatres with an eye to purchase .

“ Finally – much to Joanna ’ s delight , we read a ‘ movie theatre for sale ’ advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald and that set us on the path to buying the Regent ,” John said .

The couple were living at East Ryde at the time and John drove up every day to his dream job but in 1997 the Levys bought a home in Kurrajong .

John was introduced to movie projectors and cameras when , as a 14-year-old , his father presented him with a 9.5mm silent projector and movie camera .

“ I used it to film the family at picnics and on special occasions and then I would

sit everyone down to watch what I had produced ,” John said .

Around the same time , another catalyst for love of film was one of his Coogee friends , Keith Berkman , who owned a whoopy-doo Bell and Howell 16mm projector .

“ Keith would regularly hire movies from a film exchange and host a group of friends to movie sessions at his home ,” John said .

“ Joanna and I did the same many years later when we were living at East Ryde and decided to add a second storey to our home after the birth of our third child , Alison .

“ We only had a three-bedroom place , so with Andrew and Meg having their own rooms we had to either move somewhere to a bigger house or go up .

“ As well as including the bedroom for Alison , we also installed a projection room and a small area to be used for 26 people to attend monthly evenings at the movies .

“ We would round up chairs from all over the house and place them in our little theatre and family and friends would enjoy a couple of drinks , a movie and then supper – it was loads of fun for all of us !”

After buying the Regent , despite his skills in the projection room – John ’ s expertise grew over the years with bigger and better projectors and cameras . When he bought the Regent , John hired projectionists and became the face at front of the house .

“ I manned the ticket box and Joanna was behind the snack bar – both of us