# Lighting manufacturer history



## TheatreSM88 (Nov 20, 2006)

This might sound really stupid but I honestly don't know the answer. What is the difference between a Lee Colortran and a Leko. At the first theatre I worked at we had Leko's and now the theatre I am at we have Lee Colortrans. I am assuming that they are the same thing but just a different brand but I could be completly wrong. For the most part they look the same to me.

Thanks 
Alana


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## Footer (Nov 20, 2006)

Leko is a pretty generic term. A leko is also known as an ERS (elipsoidal reflector spotlight) or simply and elipsoidal, or a profile, or a "spotlight". The leko your probably are refering to is made by strand and has "leko" branding into it near the lamp housing. The Lee Colortran fixutre is also a Leko. An ERS is defined as any instrument that has optics that can made a hard edged light and has shutters to control the light. Usually they use either a double plano convex lens or a single lens with a parabolic reflector. Im going to make a stab at this, but are you at U of I?


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## TheatreSM88 (Nov 20, 2006)

I am at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Thanks for the reply. I was refering to the fixture with Leko written on the side of it.


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## SHARYNF (Nov 20, 2006)

The name Leko is a contraction of the original manufacturer's names (Joseph Levy and Edward F. Kook - founders of Century Lighting). Leko's were originally patented in 1933, and recently werel manufactured by Strand Lighting (which now owns Century Lighting). So if it is printed on the side, it is a Strand/Century. 
Lee Colortran is part of the same group as NSI (all part of ) Leviton.

Sharyn


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## zac850 (Nov 20, 2006)

A Leko us to ERS as Kleenex is to Tissue. It is a brand name that everyone recognizes to mean an entire line of lights.

the official leko is, as has been said, made my Strand. However, Leko is the nickname of any ERS light.

Wikipedia page on the ERS


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## Footer (Nov 20, 2006)

You will find many different names like this in theatre, such as calling all moving lights Vari-Lites or calling all slings/baskets spansets.


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## Van (Nov 20, 2006)

Footer4321 said:


> You will find many different names like this in theatre, such as calling all moving lights Vari-Lites or calling all slings/baskets spansets.


 
Crescent wrench, sawzall, sabre saw, skill saw, "what's in a name, Ms VanDyke ?", "everything Darling Everything"

Ok Ya got me on that one I ALWAYS thought that the lekolite was a Kleig-moniker, I've been wrong, I have sinned.


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## ship (Nov 21, 2006)

Van said:


> Crescent wrench, sawzall, sabre saw, skill saw, "what's in a name, Ms VanDyke ?", "everything Darling Everything"
> Ok Ya got me on that one I ALWAYS thought that the lekolite was a Kleig-moniker, I've been wrong, I have sinned.




Yep, you did sin on that one. I don't like the concept that Strand still retains the logo "Lekolight" as printed on some late 1990's Strand Ellipsoidals in storage - that's offensive as if Strand did away with Century only in buying them out for the name as an end result. Didn't know of the second name in Klieg-Moniker please provide some history, but a "Leko" aint a "Klieg Light." "Klieg Light" is often found as a term in civilian type books, TV or movies normally referring to something like a Fresnel. Frome Tom Clancy to West Wing that's a term used that has another brand of probably very specific type of fixture but without defination other than some form of movie light not really used by way of brand these days. Got some 2K Century "Lekolights" in storage at work, has Lekolight printed on the body - interesting that they have Major brand reflectors in them - Major being another brand of Leko. Also have some 2K Kliegl ellipsoidals in storage at work - they were actally used about five years ago as opposed to my own Century Lekos that were used four years ago.

The story and developments of Major, Century, Colortran, Strand, Kliegl and many others are just not sufficiently detailed in theater history. Think I know something of how Altman started (a train wreck as the story goes), where does L&E, Times Squre, much less even Chicago brand or Bantam get in there amongst others? This also goes for the history of Mole Richardson verses say Lowell, Arri, Kino-Flo and others in brand. How many people know exactally how the Berkie Colortran part of Colortran fits in by way of one might see a Berkie... And I curse the cyc's, but what is the even more recent history of Berkley by way of brand that bought them out before Lee/Colortran that than became NSI/Colortran thus Leviton/NSI/Colortran? "Sixty Years of Lightwork or was it 60 years in the trenches?" while a great book goes into it all some but is more about the light boards. Way too little about what is that legendary fixture the Pratt or was it Pratt Whitney #23 much less the Ovalite that is still in use as a fixture type I have never experimentated with. Who did what first and all about is for our industry completely lost to history as the older generations go away without passing on the knowledge. Keep trying to convince my own mentor in the theater and industry to write it all down, we should all if we know of such types that have been there forever, get them to write it down and perhaps publish it.

Had a meeting with one of my lamp suppliers today, he noted that he has been reading some on-line advice I have been giving over the years and thinks that even I should write a book... yep it's in the plans but would take years for me to get any free time to do so at this point. Just techniques for doing tech stuff and or something like a user's guide to lamps, but again, way too busy at work to help other than on-line to specific questions. I'm not old on the other hand, much less I need more history of tech studies. How did the Fresnel lens developed for light houses become the Fresnel we all use today? What tech person developed such a fixture? I remember having once read something, but no longer do and that's a shame. Heck, I don't even remember any longer if it was train wrecked Kliegl or some other brand of fixtures bought out and re-stamped that started the Altman brand name.

Crescent Wrench or "C-Wrench" these days more often. Wonder if Linesmens Pliers or Dikes (Diagional Side Cutting Pliers) have a start somewhere? Edison Plug that's fairly easy in term but starts somewhere, as with Edison screw base - be it Euro or American - now how is it that both the Euro E-27 based Medium Screw can also and more properly be called Edison screw base as opposed to the American E-26 Medium Screw?

Used to be in the 1980's if you were asking for a cordless drill, you were asking for a "Makita." (Than the 14.4v DeWalts came out and the market went wild from there in size and type. 14.4v is still the most useful size of drill for all intensive purposes in balancing weight with battery life and power.) Them Makita's 9.6v HD models without variable speed and with constantly slipping clutches were the king of the market back than. Had a military magazine pouch to store them. Finish up one battery, go to the next. It was a special technique to make that off/on trigger variable speed I still remember. Used to store it in the shop's freezer in between drills or uses so it would cool down. Finally melted it down one day with a 3.1/2" hole saw in going thru a 4.1/2" timber. This after melting down many other types and same brand or different models of early 1990's cordless drills that were not quite so good as the trusty 9.6v Makita HD. Now it's screw gun or cordless drill even if it's not. A cordless screw driver is not a cordless drill just as a cordless drill is not a screw gun.


Most of us that got into the industry in the 1990's know the history of ETC as a brand by way of having read articles in "Lighting Dimensions" or what was it "stage craft" before it became "TCI?" Such things were published in the trade magazines than and are more or less forgotton by now - what there was a day before ETC as a company existed - and what's on black and white TV means that those people also only dressed in black and white. While in college I remember going to the school's library in searching out articles from or about McCandless, much less articles of the Mirror by Craig. The next generation no doubt is even short of the ETC history, much less the story about Robert Altman in corrdiation with Thorn (now GE/Thorn or now GE/Thorn/Nelson/PRG) won the widget of the year for the HX-600 lamp now the FLK lamp. Great article that went into depth about the development of a very specific and important lamp. Any similar articles about the R&D that went into the EHD lamp which replaced say the EGE which replaced the say DNS by way of Leko Lamp development. Must have been at least some early 1970's article about the development by say someone from Kliegl that helped in theory GE develop the halogen radial Leko halgoen replacement/upgrade lamp. This much less another article about the new Axial line of Lekos that were based around a medium bi-pin (G-9.5) and EHD lamp to be more efficient than the radial Lekos. What company came out with the first Axial Lekos and helped develop the EHD/EHG line of lamp? What brand of lamp did they work with? Was there ever a Radial Leko that had a smaller hole cut into it's reflector as a upgrade in design to house the new halogen upgrade lamps?

Lots of history, how developed the BTL lamp and what brand of Fresnel was the one that worked probably with GE in getting a now standard to the industry halogen lamp inside our Fresnels?

Just some musing on my part that should raise questions and research projects for term papers.

For those of the Euro persuasion, we know that Bentham was there and did a lot even if by way of fixtures it's more or less a mention in his autobiography, how about the rest by way of Euro fixture design? Got Reich and Vogul amongst other legendary brands, much less from his book, lots of other companies and early engineering by way of lamps and fixtures. The Thorn name even still exists. Remember in the autobiography some about how that brand started out, not enough. It will be interesting to see what PRG does with Nelson lamps - the exclusive Thorn distributer in the US given GE doesn't really have the contract with PRG as it's Thorn marketer, but than again, perhaps PRG could do something with Thorn as a brand in making it viable again. The Thorn CYX/HX2400 lamp for example.
HX-2400/CYX; GE/Thorn; CL, Quartz; 2.4Kw/115v; G 38; 3,200̊K; 400hours. 
Other than the Osram HPR 575/115 lamp, you couldn't do a worse job of marketing such a unique lamp than Nelson has done with it. Urr, that 3,200̊K at 115v instead of 120v peeks my interest - we now have a 2K Fresnel that has about the color temperature of a S-4 Leko fixture. But than the questions Thorn/Ge that don't exist officially won't answer, and Nelson lamps has not, what's it's luminous output, is it really 2,400 Watts, assuming even if not published that it is a LCL of 5", what type of filament and size of lamp globe does it have? More important than the rest is what it's Luminous output is. How can one sell a more powerful CYX lamp without advertising what it's perspective major advantage would be over that of the normal 2,000 Watt CYX lamp? Really poor marketing on Thorn/Nelson's part. Expect that this potentially very powerful locational Fresnel lamp will go away without GE adopting it into their line given a lack of sales. This lamp will eventually like the FEL/R (internal reflector FEL lamp at about 15% to 20% more efficient than a standard FEL say follow spot or Leko lamp, just go away such as Osram let slip away.) GE/Thorn now GE/Thorn with Nelson/PRG will probably let this modern technology lamp development just slip away. Such is curious amongst other stuff for me.


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## SteveB (Nov 21, 2006)

Jesus Ship, you sure do have busy fingers to be typing all that !.
Having started my professional career in 1974, and still being young enough to have most of my memory cells intact, I'll add a few lines.
- Altman got it's start when Charlie Altman left Capitol Lighting in NYC to start his own business. Early 60's ?, late 50?, maybe Randy Altman or Tony Sklarew at Altman knows for sure. 
- Berkey was a film lab company that wanted to break into the photo lighting kit market, developing lots of open faced units around those new fangled quartz halogen lamps. We used to use these kits in high school in the early 70's. Berkey and Colortran merged at some point - maybe Joe Tawil at Great American knows the details, he used to work for them, with BC first developing 2 scene preset consoles and SCR dimmer packs, then branching in to the install market with Altman eqpt. as the theatrical line. Then developing their own brand of gear.
- As to lamps, my take was the 2 biggies - Sylvania and G.E developed the med. 2 pin TP22 series lamps for other non-theatrical devices, with the lamps and sockets being picked up for use by the big 3 theatrical manufacturers - Kliegl, Strand and Altman. I believe that Kliegl was the first to use this lamp type, developing the 1300 series to use the FEL 1Kw type lamp in a non-axial fixture. Strand developed the 1kw rated 2000 series as a follow on/evolutionary upgrade to the 1500 series/incandescent units (note that I'm talking ellipsoidals here). Altman then followed suit with an axial version of the 360 series - though it was never 1kw rated. Colortran then came out with their 1kw axial series, Kliegl went to an axial 1550 series, (late 70's at this point), etc.... until the Source 4 changed everything.
My memories of the way the business worked at the time, was there was very little revolutionary work on fixtures being done by the theatrical manufacturers at this stage in the industry (late 60's thru the early 80") due to very little cash being available to design and build new stuff. Every big company at the time HAD to offer a quality memory console, which were very expensive to develop, without a a huge market, so few actually got sold, thus they were a huge risk, though with better payoff if sold as a part of a big system. The profit came from the cheap-to-manufacture stuff, like fixtures. Thus there was little inclination to try to revolutionize the fixture end of the market. 
There were a lot of Euro companies - CCT, ADB, and others, who developed very nice gear, with things like zoom optics, rotational gates, removable/replaceable shutter assemblies, etc... but all this stuff was HUGHLEY expensive in the US market, thus never sold. 
More rambling: At some point in the early 80's, there was a British Company - for some reason I think Tim Burnham was involved, that developed a spanking new ellipsoidal that was plastic !, used a 4" or so zoom lens, had a lo-vo lamp with a build in dimmer, was addressable - pre DMX at this point !. Almost like an ADB Warp. This fixture pre-dated the S4 and had it had enough financial backing, and if they could have solved the heat problems, it would have revolutionized the ellipsoidal market - it was way ahead of it's time. I'll do more research to find the name of the fixture and company.

My fingers are tired.

SB


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## Schniapereli (Nov 21, 2006)

You guys should really help with the stagecraft project on Wikipedia. They are currently trying to expand the whole thing to include lights, sound, props, costumes, carpentry, and everything alse that has anything remotely to do with Theatre. It would really help people who are trying to find out more about technical history, and it would be really great to have it all in one place. I just can't imagine how much easier it could have been when I 1st started picking apart Google for information, and only getting corny jokes...

It's somewhat being coordinated, but nothing has happened for a while. If you guys or anyone else has time to contribute, you could just create an account, and just start adding. We really need some people who know what they are talking about. That would be totally awesome.


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## ship (Nov 21, 2006)

Your fingers are weak but fascinating read. Thus your own book of course - I mean this.

Or if nothing else your own history of stage lighting more lenghty and fingers hurting later to post.

It's really a shame on theater lighing history. Here I sit with "Art of Stage Ligiting" and other expert books before me that I study to the best I can, but heck I was only born in 68' and just plane at some point don't know - but need to know.

That's the intent beyond some fingers hurting which was written and added to over like an hour of writing some than going back and adding to.

Interesting the Altman history and believiable, than from my instruction I did specifically hear that they bought a train wreck of scalvage gear. Possibly and probable accurate especially given the smilarness to the early lights. Wonder as with history given yours and this where it all fits in. Still, stuff above for me and all to study and learn further from by way of passing on the lineage.

Sorry for your fingers, but you just continued a few generations. Write more when well. Also others add to this a study of all possible - not just me of another generation than Steve B. but those of the generations two or more even behind me no doubt are curious.

"Project on Wikipedia", that's a cool thing in explaned concept. Must get back to reading my stagecrafts at some point. At the moment, while I get them, they don't open. I have Martin stories/lor up the wazoo at the moment that are still developing, much less lots of other lor about even say the "blue pinch". Still I thank the Steve B's for what they help me with in learning - that's the point of give and take.


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## lightbyfire (Nov 24, 2006)

On the topic of history resources, Richard Cadena just came out with a book on Automated Lighting, which has a fabulous section on it's history, including a bit on the first patent for a remote control spotlight in 1906. The history is absolutely fascinating. He really put a lot of effort into research, throughout the book, which I highly recommend. It is by far the most comprehensive book on automated lighting I have been able to find.


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## Naimad (Jun 6, 2007)

I thought this thread was so interesting that I registered. Obviously, it's an older discussion, but having worked for both Strand and Kliegl Bros., I would just like to contribute a few thoughts. A brand name can be a powerful tool for a manufacturer, the Leko, Mantrix, CD80 and LightPalette brands were powerful Strand assets. Command Performance, K96, Entertainer, Performers (I, II, III & IV) and Klieglight served Kliegl Bros. well. While we industry types thoroughly enjoy stage and studio production and just love lighting, we are in business to make some widget that you will use and come back for again and again. So it made a lot of sense for Strand to absolutely covet the Century Lighting tradename: LEKO. In fact, I think it's a shame that Strand dropped LEKO for the SL brand. Notice how they have recently turned back to the LightPalette brand with their Palette Preset, Classic Palette, SubPalette, LightPalette, an LightPalette VL products. Yes, LEKO did become the generic term for an ellipsoidal spotlight, but when I went over to the "dark side" as my Strand friends liked to consider Kliegl back then, I found a lot of talented people there and a lot of fans around the country and abroad who loved Kliegl and did not ever use the term LEKO, ever! Kliegl's ellipsoidals were called Klieglights (reference Kliegl's 1550 Series brochure). But you are right when you say it was a much broader name, meaning a powerful spotlight. That includes, and stems from, Kliegl's contribution to the Hollywood industry with very well-made fresnel spotlights. Klieglights are also the reason that Hollywood stars took to wearing sunglasses. I smile when I hear it used on radio and TV. By the way, Berkey was a Burbank photographic equipment company that bought Colortran. Berkey/Colortran was its name when I got into the industry. And somehow, I think Colortran will emerge from Leviton ownership to reclaim it's real name. Some of the old guard people are still involved.


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## Footer (Jun 6, 2007)

Naimad said:


> I thought this thread was so interesting that I registered. Obviously, it's an older discussion, but having worked for both Strand and Kliegl Bros., I would just like to contribute a few thoughts. A brand name can be a powerful tool for a manufacturer, the Leko, Mantrix, CD80 and LightPalette brands were powerful Strand assets. Command Performance, K96, Entertainer, Performers (I, II, III & IV) and Klieglight served Kliegl Bros. well. While we industry types thoroughly enjoy stage and studio production and just love lighting, we are in business to make some widget that you will use and come back for again and again. So it made a lot of sense for Strand to absolutely covet the Century Lighting tradename: LEKO. In fact, I think it's a shame that Strand dropped LEKO for the SL brand. Notice how they have recently turned back to the LightPalette brand with their Palette Preset, Classic Palette, SubPalette, LightPalette, an LightPalette VL products. Yes, LEKO did become the generic term for an ellipsoidal spotlight, but when I went over to the "dark side" as my Strand friends liked to consider Kliegl back then, I found a lot of talented people there and a lot of fans around the country and abroad who loved Kliegl and did not ever use the term LEKO, ever! Kliegl's ellipsoidals were called Klieglights (reference Kliegl's 1550 Series brochure). But you are right when you say it was a much broader name, meaning a powerful spotlight. That includes, and stems from, Kliegl's contribution to the Hollywood industry with very well-made fresnel spotlights. Klieglights are also the reason that Hollywood stars took to wearing sunglasses. I smile when I hear it used on radio and TV. By the way, Berkey was a Burbank photographic equipment company that bought Colortran. Berkey/Colortran was its name when I got into the industry. And somehow, I think Colortran will emerge from Leviton ownership to reclaim it's real name. Some of the old guard people are still involved.



Ya, the brand name thing has always cracked me up. Now the newer people call all ellipsoidals source fours....


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## gafftapegreenia (Jun 6, 2007)

For me, a Leko is anything pre-Source4, while a source 4 is just that. 

I love the history of technical theatre, especially the fixtures and instruments. I've spent many hours on klieglbros.com and altman's website looking at their old products. I find it rather fasincating to see "how it was done." 

I do smile at the "kliegllight" references in daily life. Even High School Musical has a line that the Drama teacher says that goes something like " who can resist the timeless alure on the kliegllight". I had to correct her pronounciation from "klee-gl-Light" to "KLEG Light". 

I think the original "kliegl light" was infact an open box flood with a carbon arc, essentially a pre-incandescent olivette. It later became their term for their ERS. 

Mole-Richardson claims the title of having the first fresnel. I tend to trust them on that one. However, Kliegl had Fresnels not too long after that, but the earliest ones I've seen reference to were SQUARE. I would love to find a surviving example of that. 

It's all so interesting.


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## SteveB (Jun 7, 2007)

Naimad said:


> Command Performance, K96, Entertainer, Performers (I, II, III & IV) and Klieglight served Kliegl Bros. well. .




Great stuff, Kliegl. Too bad they went under.

There was a terrific interveiw in a trade journal recently (Light & Sound America ?), where Sonny Sonnenfeld interviews Joel Rubin.

For those of you who don't know, Dr. Joel Rubin wrote a terrrific book back in the 50's with another big name LD - Lee Watson called Theatrical Lighting Practice. One of the very first books (in the US) written about the subject of Stage Lighting. Dr. Rubin went on to become a major salesmen (the top salesperson ?) at Kliegl, during the generation when they turned out some great gear. 

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.artec-usa.com/04_personnel/press/joel_rubin_life_in_theatre.html

Steve B.


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## ship (Jun 7, 2007)

Naimad said:


> I thought this thread was so interesting that I registered.



Welcome Naimad to the forum, hopefully your, Steve B and other ringer's or grand old man of the theater stus advice as it were in holding the highest reguard in status not age will help convey the concepts and history to another generation. Me, I'm still a kid as it were at 39 and interested in wood butchery much of my early career. Very outclassed in living the history of other than the 90's.

Might be possible for DVS Dave to give all of you interested in doing lamp history, fixture history etc, special blog space in writing your books. This way you could post your thoughts, in theory get some imput amongst others while in the thought process for how to forment or historize it, and get them books on the history moving. If I'm credited with my own "User's guide to lamps" in need - even if for the most part a self taught barbarian that all be it gets to chat with the engineers from the various manufacturers, you guys also need to work on that some day book. Nuff said hopefully - passing on the knowledge to the future generation both by website and more in general by way of a reference book with your experiences, tricks of the trade and history you lived and know. Hint if possible, don't make them like Bentham or Reid's autobiographies, too much a format and too little a useful nowledge passed on. On the other hand Marco van Beek and James Hull Miller are not much enjoyable either in their latest books. This by way of what was presented in how to do or what's done = for me at least.

Lighting history project... all of us should work on such a thing in telling what we learn and learning more to present it.


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## Naimad (Jun 8, 2007)

I wouldn't want to argue with Mole-Richardson on their claim to have invented the Fresnel Spotlight, they did get an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science citation for the Solar Spot in 1938. However, Kliegl Bros. developed and sold theatrical fresnel spotlights long before this. Kliegl Bros. was "invited" out to Hollywood by some motion picture types to make lighting for film production based on the product they were making for stage. I think the Solar Spot was an enhanced stage fresnel spotlight for motion picture applications (most likely, handles, knobs, ears, stand mounting, improved focusing and barndoors with a sharp cut). Kliegl was (always) reluctant to modify their existing product, this no doubt created an opening for an entreprenureal spirit like Peter Mole.


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## SteveB (Jun 8, 2007)

Naimad said:


> I wouldn't want to argue with Mole-Richardson on their claim to have invented the Fresnel Spotlight, they did get an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science citation for the Solar Spot in 1938. However, Kliegl Bros. developed and sold theatrical fresnel spotlights long before this. Kliegl Bros. was "invited" out to Hollywood by some motion picture types to make lighting for film production based on the product they were making for stage. I think the Solar Spot was an enhanced stage fresnel spotlight for motion picture applications (most likely, handles, knobs, ears, stand mounting, improved focusing and barndoors with a sharp cut). Kliegl was (always) reluctant to modify their existing product, this no doubt created an opening for an entreprenureal spirit like Peter Mole.



I would also hazard a guess that as the "Fresnel" lens had been "invented" by Messrs. Fresnel in the early 1800's, there was no way to patent the Fresnel Spotlight, which was a variation on a theme. Thus MR could move in on Kliegl's spotlight with it's own copy. Speculation though.

SB


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## ship (Jun 13, 2007)

Ron Hebbard off line chimed into the Mole Richardson history amongst other things that are interesting to pass on.
Hi again Bri';

If I recall correctly, Mole Richardson began by manufacturing crop dusting equipment and, as an offshoot, manufactured their original small, hand-held, fog machines for use in greenhouses and such. Somewhere along the way, someone began using their little foggers for stage and film effects and, from there, they got into making custom widgies for the film world; things like their Mole-fans, softlights and those honking huge 2Kw lekos the size of small torpedoes.

Here's another thought for you.
You wrote: 
"What company came out with the first Axial Lekos and helped develop the EHD/EHG line of lamp? What brand of lamp did they work with? Was there ever a Radial Leko that had a smaller hole cut into it's reflector as a upgrade in design to house the new halogen upgrade lamps?"

A Canadian company named Electro-Controls, who were eventually purchased by Strand, introduced a fixture named the Parellipsphere.
The original Parellipsphere was one of the earliest zoom fixtures. It was also one of the first axial ellipsoidals and one of the first to utilize a glass reflector. It was developed around the GE EGJ and had a very small diameter hole, only large enough for the EGJ's long, thin, tubular quartz envelope to pass through it's glass reflector. In my area quite a few of the older theatres still have a few of the original Parellipspheres in operation. Overtime, GE changed their EGJ's to have taller, longer, porcelain bases with shorter quartz envelopes atop them. These current GE EGJs cannot be used with the old Parellipspheres as the taller porcelain base collides with the glass reflector's small diameter hole. To my knowledge, only the USHIO EGJs, EGGs, etcetera can be accommodated by the venerable old Parellipspheres. The original Parellipspheres were zooms but, later on, they also offered a range of fixed focus models as well. As to whose ellipsoidals were the first to use the EHD/EHG's, I've no knowledge.

Toodleoo!
Ron


Hi Bri';

Sorry! I misspoke.
It was the Sylvania EGJ that the ElectroControls Parellipsphere was originally built around NOT the GE.

If this works, here are two photos of ElectroControls Parellipspheres that I found on line on someone's sale site.
pic 1 - pic 2 

Toodleoo!
Ron


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## ship (Jun 13, 2007)

Another friend of mine Clyde who is a legend in Chicago theater, chimed in recently with also filling in some history:

Major and Hub Electric were major suppliers of switchboards and fixtures until the 70's as I recall. I still have a major catalogue and maybe one from Hub too. Major did all the city boards including the Park District, Goodman Theatre *after George - I have most of that board too), Buckingham fountain and McCormick place. Between the two companies they did ALL the 20's presentation houses. I had friends who worked at both companies. Go into any old presentation house, blow the dust off the old Hub or Major board and It will still work. That's when stuff was built to last.


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