MARCH 2019
WWW.REPORTERNEWSPAPERS.NET
Sandy Springs
FROM POTTERY TO SCARVES, LOCAL ARTISTS FEATURED IN AMERICAN CRAFT SHOW PAGE 26
Dunwoody Brookhaven Buckhead
SECTION TWO
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A TV comedy pioneer joins a movie theater’s new era BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net
Bill Tush became one of Atlanta’s beloved cult personalities in the 1970s with a late-night newscast that became the prototype for such shows as “The Daily Show” and launched the careers of such comedy stars as Jan Hooks. Tush (the name rhymes with “rush”) now is a manager at Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, where he helped usher in a complete transformation of the former Lefont art house theater. Luxury, heated recliners have replaced beaten up and stained traditional movie seating. A
full bar with a wide selection of craft beer and menu items including chicken fingers have replaced a lonely hot dog warmer. The popcorn, candy and sodas remain, although with a wider variety. Working at a movie theater is a natural choice for employment in his “twilight years,” he says. His love of movies dates back to his childhood when he would charge neighborhood kids to watch 8mm films in the backyard of his Pittsburgh home, even serving up popcorn. “I think I watched too much ‘Little Rascals.’ They were always trying to start a business,” he says. The changes made by Brandt Gully, who
purchased the theater from George Lefont, are perhaps life-changing for people who want to go out for a movie experience but retain the comfort sitting in their living rooms, Tush says. “You can’t just show a movie anymore,” he said.
Bill Tush, who garnered cult figure status on Ted Turner’s fledgling local TV station in the 1970s, is now a manager at Springs Cinema & Taphouse. PHOTO BY DYANA BAGBY
Cult figure status
Before there was an art house theater, though, there was WTCG Channel 17, a local station purchased by Ted Turner. Tush got a job in the 1970s at the new station, where he became a jack-of-all-trades and Turner’s “yes man” and loyal “pal.” Turner filled his new station’s airwaves in the mid-1970s with Atlanta Braves ball-
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games and old sitcoms like “Gilligan’s Island” and Bugs Bunny cartoons. During the weekends on Channel 17, Tush’s love for movies was put to use as the host for film broadcasts ranging from Academy Award-winners like “Giant” star-
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