Photo by Ellen Ferrera
David, Robin Keown Black, Susan Keown Van Praag and Mike Keown recall the years of Little Theatre actors staying in their home and display some of their mother’s collection of memorabilia as a longtime seamstress for the theatre.

•January 31, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

In the summer of 1967 Lee Norton made the decision to close the Grand Theater for the summer in order to concentrate on his drive-in. He had heard that a young man (Guy Little, Jr.) was looking for a venue for summer musicals so Lee rented out the Grand.

This one decision ultimately paved the way for a considerable economic ripple in Sullivan as Jibby’s restaurant flourished, the Ace Hardware prospered, hairdressers and manicurists tended to the movie stars, David Mobley found a career as the Little Theatre’s photographer and sometime chauffeur, and Little persuaded friends such as Art and Mamie Palmer to take in his actors as boarders. Those who prospered had extra funds to spend at other places in Sullivan thus creating a trickle-down economic flow throughout the community.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.