Clancy Dunigan: Projectionist and Bluesman
- Posted By : Lynn
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If you come to The Clyde on Mondays you’ve probably noticed the superior pre-show play list on that night. Clancy Dunigan has worked as a projectionist at The Clyde for ten years, but he’s been the host of the Thursday night blues show Clancy’s Bar & Grill on KSER for twice as long. He arrives at the theater every week with a case full of his own great blues recordings to share with our patrons.
A Texas boy who played football for Baylor, Clancy and his family moved to Whidbey in 1989, after 17 years in a faith community in Berkeley. He’s maintained many of the interests nurtured there—church, anti-war activism, and community service. He turned in his student deferment in 1970 after hearing Cesar Chavez speak about the Vietnam War. “We were long-time friends with Fathers Dan and Phillip Berrigan,” he says, “and were joyfully infected for life with their views of faith and non-violence. I’ve been part of the Bayview Saturday vigil against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since they began more than ten years ago.”
Clancy has his own video production and duplication service, based in the home he and his wife Marcia built on ten wooded acres just down the hill from us. Even though he makes his living with video, Clancy has a nostalgic love for 35mm film, “I miss the romantic whirl of the rewind reels,” he says.
What does Clancy like best about working at The Clyde? “I enjoy seeing the parade of the Clyde faithful each evening,” he says. “My sense is that the Clyde is a Langley institution…a place people gather, leave their day outside the door, visit for a while, and then are entertained. It is a safe place where you can put your day in neutral and just lose yourself in the story in front of you. I also like the popcorn.”
He goes on, “The concession stand…that’s where the real action is. The little kids are fun, the adults somewhat predictable, but I love it when the line goes out the door, the lobby is packed, and a good time is about to be had by all. What a job!”
Photo by Sharen Heath
