Hippodrome Theatre

AlanClark on October 5, 2017 at 2:03 pm

Davethehistorian, you’re right Virgil was the last show at the Hippodrome, I was a member of the Virgil show along with my now wife Jackie who was one of the dancers in the show, the week at Wolverhampton was the first week Jackie and I had started going out, we’d only met a few weeks before that when we joined the show, we got married when the show closed at the end of 1956, we were lucky that we decided to load the show out that Saturday night instead of the Sunday morning, we had the fire curtain down whilst we were packing, the fire must have been burning in the Auditorium and we didn’t know anything of it until it was gutted the next morning, we could have lost the whole show and that would have been the end of Virgil’s world tour as it was we stayed friends and in touch with Virgil until his death in 1987 and Julie in 1999.

Mike_Blakemore on February 25, 2014 at 8:01 am

The Last Owners of the theatre was “The F. J. Butterworth Circuit”

@ Davethehistorian I remember my Nan went as part of a works outing. And she was known for turning up at the last performances of Theatre and Cinemas before they burned down. She missed the Last show of the Odeon Walsall by a Fluke I had a bad cold,. I cut out a picture in the Express and Star to put on the Schools news board at the time. Will have to do some more research on the Theatre

Mike_Blakemore on August 30, 2011 at 9:51 am

Hmmm I remember the day after The Theatre had burned down. My Gran and Aunt had gone to that last show.. “Hilder Baker” was the star act..