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Before WWI, Grampa Mike worked on the IH farm machinery assembly line in Chicago. Later, he opened a candy store in Chatham, ON, where he met the lovely Rosamund Moore. "Grandma Rosie" blessed him with three sons. Resembling Edward G. Robinson, Mike followed the path of fellow countrymen Spyros Skouras and Alexander Pantages into vaudeville cinema, building several theatres, including Sarnia's original Imperial—half the size of Toronto's Pantages (now the Canon Theatre). The 800-seat Imperial was destroyed by a triple tornado in 1953. My Great Uncle Jack Logan managed the Capital Vaudeville Theatre in London, ON—the hometown of Jack Warner, Ned Sparks, Gene Lockhart, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Lombardo Brothers. That movie palace was later demolished by the wrecking ball. However, the Sarnia Imperial endured, transforming into a Blue Water area community auditorium at the former Famous Players/Paramount Capital, near the library, museum, and our 19th-century gabled brick house on Queen Street, where I attended Devine Street Public School. The school integrated Native children from Kettle Point, Ipperwash, Walpole Island, and other First Nations. Nearby was Sarnia's Collegiate Institute, where I studied alongside novelist Marian Engel and veteran news anchor Tony Parsons. I always felt destined for the stage after my high school idol, Soupy Sales—star of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World"—drove 60 miles from WXYZ Detroit to emcee a talent show. In 1954, he was the hippest, funniest man alive, making us laugh with a zany style reminiscent of Jerry Lewis or Jim Carrey (both of whom I've worked with on films). Soupy was also a hip blues and jazz enthusiast, hosting a wild Monday-to-Friday midnight show, "Soupy's On," featuring stars like Dizzy Gillespie, Al Hibbler, and T-Bone Walker, interspersed with his hilarious comedy sketches such as "Gaylord the Mississippi Gambler on the SS Kielbasa," starring Flash Gordon and the Polka Chips.
