Gordon V. A. Brinckle

Gordon Brinckle, a long-time resident of Middletown, DE, who was the subject of the 2003 docu-mentary entitled "The Projectionist" died on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at his home. He was 92.

Brinckle was born in Phila-delphia, PA where his early fascination with movie palaces and the projection of films propelled him to spend his entire life working in and around movie theaters. In 1942, he was drafted into the US Army during World War II. In 1943, he married his loving wife Dorothy (Dot), with whom he shared 64 years of marriage. They had one daughter, Sandy, who was the apple of her parent's eye. While enlisted, Brinckle fulfilled one of his lifetime dreams, which was to work as a projectionist. He projected training films for US troops in Fort Eustis (Virginia), Fort Stewart (Georgia) and Fort Gordon (Texas) before being sent to India and China. While stationed overseas, Brinckle constructed and ran the outdoor Fox Theatre on top of a mountain in Kunming, China. It was at The Fox that he screened Hollywood movies for US troops until 1945. In 1946, Brinckle moved with his wife Dorothy to Middletown, DE where he worked at the Everett Theatre for 33 years. His roles at The Everett ranged from manager to projectionist, and he took obvious pride in being the person behind the scenes that brought enjoyment to eager audiences. Throughout his life, Brinckle held onto the dream of owning his very own movie palace, not unlike those that he visited as a boy. This led him to construct a small-scale movie palace in his parent's Philadelphia basement in 1933. This early theater was eventually dismantled, however, he proceeded to construct a second theater in his Delaware home. This theater and his life story were featured in The Projectionist documentary.

Brinckle was preceded in death by his parents, Marion G. and Helen Brinckle; his loving wife of 64 years, Dorothy R. Brinckle and his daughter, Sandra Louise Brinckle. He is survived by a grandson, Thomas M. Bowser and wife Angela, 2 great-grandchildren and dear friends, Sam and Peg Bowser and Kendall Messick.

Funeral services will be 1 pm, on Friday, December 21, at the Daniels & Hutchison Funeral Home LLC, 212 N. Broad Street, Middletown, DE where a visitation will be held from 11 am - 1 pm. Interment with military honors will follow at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Bear, DE.