The house organist at the Loew's Jersey was a man by the name of Ted Meyn, pictured here. A talented musician, Meyn was also a gifted showman who reputedly could make an audience of 3,000 people just settling in to their seats first fall completely silent, then start singing happily along in just a few minutes.

Here we see Meyn posing on the roof of the Theatre with “the Chester Hale Girls” -- the Loew's Jersey's own chorus line and dance troupe.

The Loew's organist became a Jersey City celebrity, leading parades and acting as master of ceremonies at innumerable local events. His organ performances were even broadcast live from the Theatre over a local radio station. Old timers still say that when you went to the Loew's Jersey you looked forward to Meyn’s sing-alongs as much as to the feature.

He continued to play at the Loew's until 1946, long after most other Palaces had discontinued using their organs. This was certainly a testament to his local popularity and the importance his organ shows had taken on in attracting audiences. But Meyn’s longevity was also due in part to the fact that he was, simply put, a bargain to the Loew's company. As explained to us by his granddaughter, Meyn was given a stark choice during the Depression: take a 50% cut in pay, or lose his job. He took the pay cut. Still later in the Depression, Loew's management made Meyn take another pay halving, meaning that he wound up working for just a quarter of what he once made. But nevertheless, Meyn kept on giving his popular performances. And even more, Meyn set up a darkroom in the Theatre's basement to make his own “sing along” slides -- projections on the Theatre's movie screen of the lyrics to songs for audience members to sing along during his organ concerts.

But even after the Loew's management finally decided to end Meyn’s concerts, his local fans had not had enough of him. Meyn continued for a few more years to give performances in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in Journal Square hotel using an electronic organ.

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