Dick Schrum `Was A Genius At The Organ' For Decades

Whether playing the mighty Wurlitzer for a silent film at the Paramount Theatre or just noodlin' on a humble Hammond at the Dog House restaurant, Dick Schrum for 34 years serenaded Seattle.

Classics to jazz, rag to rock, the round-faced, smiling Tacoman used it all, coming up with his own combinations of chords and progressions.

"He was a genius at the organ," said Northwest pianist Winona (Davis). "You can't get the knowledge he had from books.

"I was always in awe of the music in the man's head. He could get effects I've never heard anyone else use. The tunes just fell off of him."

She said Mr. Schrum, who died last Thursday (May 5) at age 60 after a battle with cancer, often asked her to play keyboard duets with him. She said they had the most fun playing the last nights the Dog House was open. It was standing room only, and they played every request called out.

Organist Dick Dickerson said Mr. Schrum played trumpet in high school and at Washington State University, and had a dance band.

But Mr. Schrum's earliest Seattle dates were at the Roosevelt District's Scarlet Tree restaurant, where he was a nightly fixture in the early 1960s.

"He was a good entertainer," Dickerson said. "He played at the Plaid Piper on Capitol Hill and then bought the place.

"Somewhere in there he became fascinated with the theater pipe organ. He liked the massiveness of it. For awhile he was president of the American Theatre Organ Society."

Dickerson said he envied Mr. Schrum's energy as well as his talent. He said Mr. Schrum often held down two or three musical engagements at a time.

He also noted Mr. Schrum's dinner-hour work at The Wharf, Pizza & Pipes, the Elks Club (which he once managed) and the Swedish Club.

Marilyn Schrum of Seattle, to whom Mr. Schrum was married from 1960 to 1984, shared ownership of the Plaid Piper with him.

"Dick would go to work managing the restaurant at lunch," she recalled. "We'd have dinner together, then he'd go back and play in the evenings."

She said that often after the Saturday session ended at 2 a.m., they'd pack up their daughters, hitch up their 8-meter boat, launch it at Shilshole or Gig Harbor, and spend the night on board.

They'd awaken late to have a lazy breakfast on the boat, then just cruise around for the day.

"He really was a family man, especially when the kids were young," she said. "When I went back to teaching, Dick would take Virginia down to the Katherine Wise TV cooking show and let her watch him play. That was 1964, 1965."

His ex-wife also noted Mr. Schrum's memory for music. As a child, he would sit and listen to his brother, who took piano lessons, practice for hours. After his brother was through, Mr. Schrum would play the song note-perfect by ear.

"I used to tease him," she said, " `You could remember any piece of music, but I can send you to the store with a list and you forget something!' "

Survivors include Mr. Schrum's daughters, Virginia Kennedy and Deanna Schrum of Seattle, and his brother, Bill Schrum of Bellevue.

A memorial service is planned for 1 p.m. tomorrow at Seattle Elks Lodge No. 92, 301 Queen Anne Ave. N.

Remembrances may be sent to the American Cancer Society, 2120 First Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109.