Ink: Behind The Balcony, The Show Can Be Unnerving

AS theater projectionists, Teddy Greaves and Marty Knopf have seen their fair share of drama — and not always on the big screen.

In September 1988, Mr. Greaves was running Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master at the Loews Paradise Quad Theater in the Bronx, when an unexpected horror scene flashed before his eyes. Looking through the small window of his dimly lighted booth that night, Mr. Greaves watched as police officers approached a man in the balcony who was wanted on a murder charge.

The man, when told that he was under arrest, jumped from his seat, gun in hand, and fired toward three officers. That shot missed, but one officer returned fire, striking the man in the head. He died at a nearby hospital.

There was blood splattered everywhere and people screaming, Mr. Greaves, 75, who now works at the Paris Theater on West 58th Street off Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, recalled as he stood over a giant reel of film spinning on a huge plate during the playing of La Vie en Rose. I was never so scared at the movies in all my life.

Mr. Knopf, 59, who also works mostly at the Paris these days, still gets chills recalling the time he was nearly eaten alive at a theater in Times Square by an audience watching a bad print of Night of the Living Dead.

There was a George Romero fan club in the house, said Mr. Knopf, referring to the director of the horror movie. When the film started breaking up, they began chanting: Eat the projectionist! Eat the projectionist!

Mr. Greaves, a widower who lives in the Bronx, has worked in dozens of theaters in the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan for about 37 years. Mr. Knopf, a bachelor and Manhattan resident, has been at it for about 23 years. They agreed that the trick of their trade is to never become a part of the show they are showing.

If someone is talking about the projectionist during a movie, thats usually not a good thing, Mr. Greaves said. We had a guy here one night who didnt like the movie, so he turns around and throws a rock at our window. Now if you dont like the quality of the film, thats one thing. But if you dont like the film itself, dont blame us.

The two men, who have seen actors like Kirk Douglas, Al Pacino and Christopher Reeve in the audience, have watched thousands of movies, many more than once. Mr. Greaves said he has seen Star Wars 112 times.

Mr. Greaves includes Casablanca and Shane among his favorites, and said that he could never get as excited about any movie as a Bronx audience once did during Bruce Lees Enter the Dragon.

People got up and started kung fu fighting, he said. It was quite a show.

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