THE decision by Okehampton Town Council?s to look to convert the market hall into a cinema has attracted controversy but if the scheme were to go ahead, it would not be the first time films have been shown in the hall. There are echoes of the remarkable story of Billy Ezard, a real Wild West cowboy who opened a cinema in the market hall with authority by the then Okehampton Borough Council back in the pioneering days of moving pictures in 1911. The proviso was that Billy could not use it on a Saturday, as the hall had to be available for the popular butchers? market. Billy Ezard was born in Bury in 1883, but by the age of ten was working in a factory as a ?half-timer?. At eleven, he became a cabinet maker but wanderlust saw him run away to join a circus. Still aged only eleven, he emigrated on his own to America. Using his initiative he went to a labour bureau and got a job in Manitoba, looking after a shanty and cooking for the men. Promotion was swift and by the age of 12, he was a ploughman with four horses working from the break of day through to sunset and all for sixty dollars a year, little enough even in those days. He succeeded at a number of other jobs, before obtaining work as a cowboy. It was in this capacity that William Cody ? the legendary Buffalo Bill ? offered him a job at his Long Rest Ranch in Wyoming. He was so good that Buffalo Bill selected the young man for his Wild West Circus, where he was one of the rough-riders. When the show came to England, Billy returned to his homeland but decided to leave the circus party, and instead concentrate on appearing in pantomime, music hall and concerts, where his cowboy skills were much in demand. Billy?s one dream, however, was the new medium of motion pictures and he was determined to open a picture palace. He chanced upon Okehampton and liked the area so much, he decided the town would be the ideal place for this venture. In 1911, still aged only 28, he achieved his dream and opened the Electric Picture Palace at the market hall. There were two-hour performances every weekday with a change of programmes each Monday and Thursday. The bills advertised ?A show of pictures equal to anything in London? ? a boast that initially ensured success. A bigger attraction than the movies perhaps was the chance to see a real-life American cowboy in full dress. Every Tuesday and Friday night, Billy would appear in full attire, complete with his Colt revolver. However, despite the popularity of Billy Ezard and the interest in the exciting new world of cinema, the determined speculator could not make it a success and the Electric Picture Palace was quickly consigned to history.