The Clyde Theatre

The Clyde Theatre was built in 1937-the height of the Depression-by Norman and Hazel Clyde. Although a lot more humble than the grand movie palaces being built in the big cities, the new theater was greeted warmly by folks on South Whidbey. The first movie to show at The Clyde when it opened September 16, 1937, was You Can't Have Everything, starring Don Ameche. The discovery when screening the first reel of that film for The Clyde's 50th anniversary party that the last line on the reel was "Just call me Blake," provoked more than a few discussions about karma. The community-minded Norm and Hazel ran The Clyde Theatre, as well as Clyde Motors and the Clyde Garage, for decades. Vandalism and other bad behavior caused Norm, then Town Sheriff too, to close the theater for a while in the 1960s. It was being leased and run on a very limited schedule by a local banker when Blake Willeford bought the theater from the Clydes in February of 1972.