If any of you have gone to see a silent movie with a live organ accompaniment in Chicago in the last couple of decades, chances are it was Jay Warren playing the organ. I can’t tell you how many screenings that I have been to, which always amazed me. Most of the time, I would completely forget that someone was down there playing the music, just thinking it was in the actual soundtrack. That’s how good Warren was. But unfortunately, it was in the news that Warren had passed away last Sunday at the age of 74.

Warren’s real name was Dennis Wolkowicz but used the stage name because it was easier for people to say than his real name! He was the founder of the Silent Film Society of Chicago and first performed at what used to be the Gateway Theater, located on Lawrence, which he managed for almost two decades. He’s played all over the Midwest, and especially in the Chicagoland theaters, from the Portage to the Music Box. His talent will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.