By Alan Cleaver

Last updated 11:08, Thursday, 14 August 2008

OSCAR-WINNING lyricist Don Black is among those paying tribute this week to West Cumbria’s ‘Mr Cinema’, Reg McCallam.

FAR LEFT: Reg McCallam and, right, Reg backstage with singer Matt Monro

Reg had worked as a projectionist at all four of Workington’s picture houses from 1946 to 1963 which also included holiday cover at Whitehaven’s Gaiety cinema – and for a year after the Hippodrome burnt down in February 1955.

He died at his Moorclose home, Workington, last week. He was 78.

Reg was well known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the cinema, movies, theatre and musicals. He had also become firm friends with many in the entertainment industry. One of those was Don Black.

Don, whose credits include Born Free, To Sir With Love and many of the Bond film themes, told The Whitehaven News: “Reg’s death came as a shock to me because we only spoke a couple of weeks back and he sounded as robust as ever. He was a lovely man who seemed to have a music library for a brain.

“He used to send me records that he knew I would want to hear and we had so many conversations about great songwriters. He loved the business and it showed in his endless enthusiasm for quality singers or vintage movies.

“There was a boyish wonder about Reg. I shall miss him terribly.”

Reg was also a close friend of American entertainer Michael Feinstein and had recently been helping the family of singer Matt Monro with material for a forthcoming biography. Reg had taken a number of pictures of the singer.

Tributes were also paid this week by Harry King, presenter on Radio Cumbria. He said: “Reg was a great founatin of information. Anything we wanted to know about the entertainment scene in Cumbria, Reg was the man we rang. I will miss him very much.”

Reg, who is survived by eight cousins, was buried on Tuesday at Salterbeck cemetery after a funeral service at St Mary’s, Westfield.

You can pay your tribute to Reg online at www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/advertising/family_notices.