Victor Jory Bell

Victor Jory Bell. . , The Victor Jory Bell was given to the Pasadena Playhouse in the mid 1930's by actor Victor Jory, who had begun his extensive career of stage, film, radio, and TV under the tutelage of Gilmor Brown some 15 years earlier. The bell was installed in the patio with a hand lettered plaque indicating it was to be rung before curtain up and at intermission's end "to remind the tardy theatregoers that the play was about to begin." , The bell rang out until the theatre closed in 1969, at which time a group of trustees purchased it along with other vital memorabilia. , With the reopening of the Pasadena Playhouse in 1986 many items were returned to the newly restored building. The bell, however, was missing. , In 1996, spurred by Victor Jory's children, a new effort to locate the bell found it safely stored in the basement of the Pasadena Historical Museum. , Cooperative efforts of the museum, the Pasadena Playhouse, and the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni and Associates have brought the Victor Jory Bell home. Once again it takes on the job of bringing patrons inside the theatre on time.