A message from the Chairman of Thwaites Empire Theatre.
It is with great sadness that I learned yesterday of the death of Anthony Valentine.
Anthony was born just a stone’s throw from the Theatre and was very proud of the connection that he had with us of being a patron of the local theatre. I first rang and asked Anthony or Tony as he liked to be called, sometime in 2003, if he would consider the position of Patron for our theatre. He thought about it for a couple of days and then accepted.
He made some visits to us and the most memorable visit he made, in my opinion, was when he came up to us and took part in the opening ceremony of the Balcony in 2005.
He was such a perfectionist and he took me under his wing and coached me into making a speech that was timed right, had the right pauses and the right speed of speech.
He followed me with his own speech and I then realised what the word professional meant. We kept in touch and he once brought the stars of Coronation Street to the Theatre to perform a variety show. The show was sold out within 2 hours of the tickets going public.
To find out more about the outstanding career of Anthony look on our website. He was a real star.
It was a privilege for Linda and I to have been friends with Anthony and to have known him and his lovely wife Suzy. I will of course be writing to Suzy and giving her our sympathies.
Michael Berry
Chairman.