In addition to being St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th was St. Pat Halloran’s Day. Or make that “Night.”
More than 200 turned out to celebrate Halloran’s 80th birthday that evening at the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education.
Halloran retired as The Orpheum president and CEO on December 31st, 2015.
The Centre was decorated with an Irish theme, which included artificial shamrocks, plastic green derbies, and gold foil-wrapped chocolate candy coins. Some tables featured tall glass votive candles bearing a likeness of Halloran, looking very saintly.
The buffet included turkey sandwiches and meatballs, which was OK for the Catholic contingent because Bishop David Talley declared a dispensation for St. Patrick’s Day because it fell on a Friday. That meant Catholics could eat meat.
Following cocktails and dinner, guests converged to the auditorium for a video of Halloran’s life and career. This was followed by entertainment from Stax Music Academy performers.
Halloran’s birthday, actually, was on Tuesday, March 7th, but his wife, Anne, said that wasn’t a good night to have a party. “Anne said, ‘None of your friends will come on a Tuesday night ‘cause they don’t drink on Tuesday,” Pat says.
She suggested they hold the party on a weekend. “St. Patrick’s Day just seemed like a perfect date.”
When Anne asked him what he wanted to do for his 80th birthday, Pat says he told her, “First of all, I don’t want a surprise party.
“I just don’t like those. They usually backfire on you. My 50th birthday party was a surprise. And I was dating four or five different women. Nothing serious. Just dating around. The people coordinating the surprise party invited all five of them. And so I’m dodging them all night.”
For his 75th party, Pat and Anne held a private party. “With just our good friends in our condo complex. That was nice. Small.”
This year, when Anne asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, Pat said, “I don’t think I’m going to get another 80 in. So, I think what I want to do is I want to thank all the people who have helped me since I have been in Memphis.”
“I’ve had a phenomenal life here. Ran for city council after I lived here four years. Won that city-wide without a runoff. Ran for mayor. Got my butt kicked. But that was a good thing because it opened the door for the Orpheum.
“Before that I was assistant dean of men at University of Miami, Florida from ’65 to ’69. I came to Memphis to run my college fraternity. It was bankrupt. Having trouble. I had that job for 11 years.”
Pat managed the financing and housing for the fraternity — Pi Kappa Alpha — for 11 years, which was during the time he was involved in politics.
Then, he says, “Lucia Gilliland and her executive committee from the Orpheum Foundation called me. She said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you about something.’
“I told them I didn’t see me being in a theater for the rest of my life. I just lost the mayor’s race. I said, ‘I’ll try to raise the money you need to save the Orpheum.’”
By “save” he meant “Make sure it’s on solid ground.”
Pat said he’d work for the Orpheum for two years, but he discovered his two-year term kept coming up. And he didn’t leave.
But, he says, “I loved every minute of it. I told Anne I wanted to thank all the people who helped me in the city council race and those that helped me in the mayor’s race. And those tens of thousands of people at the Orpheum.”
That included people who were “sponsoring things, buying tickets, or just supporting the Orpheum. Get as many of them together as I can. And I want to say, ‘Thank you.’ And then I want to walk off the stage.”
Guests moved to the auditorium after Pat’s birthday party had been going for an hour or so. “They had a little video showing pictures from when I was born with my butt sticking up. And then all the way through my political career and then the Orpheum.”
There was another group of people Pat wanted to thank. After he retired, he started the “Positively Memphis” organization. “Our mission was to raise money to feed hungry children in our community. We raised over $400,000 during our initial campaign. Now we’re in our second phase. It’s just starting now. We also have periodic luncheons where we feature speakers that represent the most positive developments in our city. Crosstown Concourse conversion, the Tom Lee Park project, and so many others like that. I wanted to thank those people who donated the $400,000. And many of them were in the audience.”
Pat says he then took the stage and told the audience, “I just want you to know why you’re here. You all helped me and I want to thank you. And you made my life fabulous.”
Asked if life was good right now, Pat says, “It’s great. Anne and I are both retired. We’re sitting here collecting our social security checks and cutting out grocery coupons. And we’re loving life. We’re having a good time.”
