Harold Lloyd Oliver (1928 - 2006)

Born 9 Dec 1928 in Union City, Obion County, Tennessee

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor Rose (Cramb) Oliver — married 20 Jan 1958 in Garfield Heights Methodist Church, Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Died 7 Feb 2006 at age 77 in Plymouth Court Nursing Home, Plymouth Township, Wayne County, Michigan

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Charles Oliver [send private message]

Biography

Harold Lloyd Oliver, son of Herman Maxwell Oliver and Lillie May Holly, was born 9 December 1928^[1] in Union City, Obion County, Tennessee; died 7 February 2006^[2] at Plymouth Court Nursing Home, Plymouth Township, Wayne County, Michigan. He married, 20 January 1958^[3] at Garfield Heights Methodist Church, Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Eleanor Rose Cramb, daughter of Roscoe Leonard Cramb and Inez Kuhn.^[4]

Obituary

Heart failure silences 'Voice of the Penn'

BY TONY BRUSCATO
STAFF WRITER

For decades, when patrons called the Penn Theatre for movie times, the deep, drawn-out voice at the other end began with, "This is a recording for the Penn Theatre."

That distinctive articulation belonged to Lloyd Oliver of Plymouth, who began his career at the Penn as a part-time projectionist in 1958, before eventually operating the theater for several owners until retiring in 2001.

The voice of the Penn was silenced Tuesday when Oliver succumbed to congestive heart failure at the age of 77.

"He liked that people recognized him by his voice," William Oliver said of his father. "He loved movies, and he liked the people who came to the Penn."

Despite several ownership changes, the one constant was Oliver.

"We inherited Lloyd with the theater," said former owner John Mazzei with a chuckle. "I remember when he was in the hospital and we put a different voice on the recording, we got a ton of phone calls asking, 'Where is Lloyd?' And, he was the best popcorn maker. It was an old-fashioned kettle, and he knew when it was ready and how much oil to put in. And, he used real butter."

Bonnie and Earl Smith of Plymouth owned the Penn from 1982-99, eventually turning over day to day operations to Lloyd Oliver.

"We trusted Lloyd with everything and anything," said Bonnie Smith. "He loved that theater with all his heart."

Ellen Elliott, the executive director of Friends of the Penn, the preservationist group raising money to refurbish the 64-year-old theater, remembers as a young girl calling the Penn for show times. "People imitated his very distinctive voice," remembered Elliott. "Mr. Oliver's passing gives us a renewed sense of purpose to getting the theater re-opened in honor of him."

Oliver was iII for several years, suffering from Parkinson's disease, and on Friday had emergency surgery to repair three ruptured discs in his neck. Oliver's body will be donated to researchers at the University of Michigan, which conducts extensive research on Parkinson's.

"He didn't want a funeral," said William Oliver. "He always said people should just remember the good times about somebody."^[5]

External Links

• Lloyd Oliver on Findagrave

Sources

• Charles Oliver, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Charles and others.

1. ↑ Harold Lloyd Oliver: Tennessee birth certificate, #47769, line 7; filed 2 January 1929.
2. ↑ Harold Lloyd Oliver: Michigan death certificate, #2693575, line 4, filed 9 February 2006; William L. Oliver, informant.
3. ↑ Harold Oliver & Eleanor Cramb: marriage certificate.
4. ↑ Entered by Charles Oliver, Jan 1, 2012
5. ↑ The Plymouth Observer & Eccentric, Plymouth, Michigan, Thursday, 9 February 2006, page 1.