My source was the 10 o'clock news; you've probably heard it too: Stan Kann, local theater organ wizard, prolific vacuum cleaner collector and beloved local character, passed yesterday due to complications from heart surgery. Hearing Stan play was No. 63 on our 101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do list in May, and Rob Levy interviewed Stan and fellow organist Ernie Hays for our July A-List issue. Unfortunately, that piece is not online or available for linking (though I totally recommend this piece from Vacuum Cleaner Collector News as well as this tribute from the St. Louis Theatre Organ Society). However, I do have Rob's full interview, which was too long to run in the magazine; I'm pasting it below, because I can't think of a more appropriate time to run it in its entirety. (By the by, you should also check out Mike Steinberg's wonderful documentary on Stan, The Happiest Man in the World.)
The last time I saw Stan was during the opening weekend of Hancock at the Chase Park Plaza. Rotten movie, but seeing Stan play organ before the film redeemed the experience for me. I'm glad I got to see him play one more time. He'll be missed. —Stefene Russell
How did you first become interested in playing the organ?
Listening to organists on KMOX Radio. I originally studied piano. There was a service on Kingshighway and Washington Avenue and I used to go in and watch the organist play. The pastor suggested that I take lessons. It’s really hard to find a teacher to teach you. Where are you going to practice? Most churches wouldn’t let you use their organ. But I found a teacher who had a place for me to learn. I got to play for a couple of hours a week to practice on it. It was the Second Baptist Church on Grand Avenue. I also learned from going across the street, to Temple Israel. I learned to play pretty quickly.
You've become an integral part of going to the Fox. How did you get the job?
I started playing the organ at the Fox in 1950 until I left in 1975. I got into the Fox and they let me help restore their organ. When it got repaired I got a job for five weeks playing between pictures to see what the public thought of it. Those five weeks became twenty-two years, four times a day, seven days a week.
You and Ernie Hays have each accompanied silent films. Which film is your favorite?
I love Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney.
Do you change your approach when you perform for different audiences in a theater, at a wedding or in a front of a large concert audience?
Oh, yes. You have to play what is for the film. The music has to fit what the film is doing. If you can’t remember what you are doing you have to write it down. There’s a certain amount of improvisation.
You are known for collecting vintage vacuum cleaners. Do you have any other hobbies or collections?
(Laughs) I have a whole lot of them. I also like classic cars. I have a 1946 Lincoln Continental. At one time I had three Pierce Arrows, probably one of the top of the line American-made cars, outside of the Packard. The Pierce Arrow went out of business in 1938. That was the last year because they were high priced cars and people were buying inexpensive cars because of the Depression. The dollar was way down and the Pierce Arrow was way up. So I had three lovely Pierce Arrows and I am sorry that I sold them
Ernie Hays and you have each performed on record. Did you like making records?
Well, I didn’t make that many. The first one I did myself, Kann and Kann in St. Louis. Then this company came into town to record me for Meet Me at the Fox. It was much better sounding. I made one, Pipes of Power, at the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville, Illinois. I also made a few small ones with the Hammond organ, which I don’t count.
Do you miss performing with a band?
No. I never did play with a band. You really couldn’t do it with the organ. The two sounds don’t really mesh together. The organ gives you a lot of sound that you already have with a band.
Is the professional live organ player a vanishing form of Americana? Is this something you are concerned about?
No, there are younger organists coming along who are picking up and moving forward with both classical and theatrical styles.
How did you develop your style of playing?
From George Wright, who was the organist at the Paramount Theater in New York. He was the first one live I ever heard play a theater organ. I went to New York to hear him play. He pushed me a lot.
You were on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” 77 times. Describe your relationship with Mr. Carson.
Cordial. I entertained him at my home in 1965 and 1967. I first got on the show through Phyllis Diller. I couldn’t imagine me on network television. She arranged it. They called me and said I was recommended on her say so. They didn’t even see me. They went ahead and booked me. Then Mike Douglas heard about me. He called. After Mike Douglas came Merv Griffin. Then Dinah Shore had her own show. When I think about it I was a very fortunate St. Louisan. I don’t think that happened to anyone else. Interestingly, on the Carson show I never played the organ.
Pianists are notoriously finicky in selecting their instruments. Are organists are selective?
More so.
After all these years behind the keyboards you must have some terrific stories and memories. Which ones are your favorites?
Those times in the '50s back at the Fox were great. I think I am the luckiest man in the world to get to out my teeth on the Fox organ here in St. Louis. The biggest thrill is playing a silent movie. I remember playing Ben Hur and the audience kept applauding and applauding. I just stood there and they just carried on. I have many funny stories and memories from when the Fox was just a movie house. One time I blew out all the lights on Grand Avenue. There was a startup motor on the organ and I turned it on and the thing blew out. We thought we had just blown out the Fox lights, but it turns out we blew out every light on Grand Avenue. It hit the substation under the street and all the lights on Grand went out. I didn’t know it was my fault. When Union Electric came by we found out we had to have a new starter built for the organ. After that whenever I went across the street to the dime store they would say 'Hey Stan, let us know when you’re going to turn the organ on again so we can get our candles out.’ That was 1958 or 1959.
