Wish upon a star-'lite'

One month ago, Bob Groves, the owner and operator of the Starlite Drive-in Theater, was surveying the ruins of his life’s work. Flames had engulfed the theater’s 60-year-old un-insurable screen—as well as 80 percent of Groves’ belongings—the afternoon before. Groves, who was in Cary when the fire occurred, remembers receiving an urgent call to come back to Durham. Shortly afterward, he fell into shock. “I can’t recall anything that happened in the three days after the fire,” he said.

The day after the Starlite burned down, Carla Strawser, a one-time Starlite employee, organized a small meeting with the drive-in staff, some close friends of Groves and a few of the theater’s regulars. They decided to raise money to buy a new screen, and so, among the rubble and despair, the Save our Starlite Foundation was born.

The SOS Foundation, a 10-person organization, is currently putting together a benefit concert, a vintage and new car show and other activities. The foundation hopes to raise $35,000—the cost to buy a new insured screen—thereby bringing the Starlite back into business.

Almost every night, Groves and the members of the SOS Foundation sit around a small plastic table lit by a tiki torch. They discuss the Starlite’s past and future, debate times and dates for events, argue over the appeal of their fliers and discuss the filming of a documentary about the Starlite. Everyone involved with the SOS Foundation has his own task to accomplish. “We’re like the X-Men,” one of the men joked. “Everyone has their own skill.”

Although members of the foundation hope to be able to purchase a new screen by Halloween, Groves has still lost a big part of his life. Movie memorabilia such as posters and irreplaceable 35 mm films, as well as all of his childhood artifacts, were in the supply closet when it burned. “Every time I go though the rubble, I find something else,” Groves said, putting his head in his hands. “I still haven’t realized everything I’ve lost.” With an amused smile, he added, “Well, I suppose the good news is that when I move, I won’t have to do any packing.”

The Starlite employees consider working with Groves an honor. An amiable, older man who is rarely seen without a smile, he refers to his employees as his “adopted daughters.” Groves, who has been managing theaters since he was 13 years old, has been known to spray employees with water guns and play other pranks during film screenings—but he is serious about his work. “I’ll play a film for one car,” Groves said as he lit a cigar with the flame of the tiki torch. “Even if it means [taking] money out of my own pocket.”

Although Groves will never regain the items he lost in the fire, his hopes, as well as those of the SOS Foundation and the many contributors to the cause, may help them recover as much as he can.