Las Palmas Theatre

In 1972 I arrived in Hollywood seeking fame fortune etc. I soon found myself homeless and without a job. My first job was at the Las Palmas Theater which at the time catered to an exclusive gay theater. It was anything but a normal job. I was a projectionist which required walking thru the isles to reach the projection room which was behind the main screen. We carried large flashlights to fight off the gopers who would reach out to grab anything walking by. At $2.00 an hour I first decided it was a cinch since all I did was change the reels every 90 minutes and in the meantime there was an old upright piano for me to work on my songwriting skills. The second week I was startled by 2 Hollywood vice officers threatening to kick the door down before I could open it up. They had all of us in the office before taking us to jail. They then explained to me that since they had never seen me before they would let me go but if I was there the next raid I would begin an unending legal mess. While this was going on, someone came into the office with a 2nd print to start a new movie. Since they had no warrant on that print they would come back the next week for a 2nd raid. The manager being arrested assured me the “company” would bail me out anytime I was arrested. The cops informed me that once in the circle, the so called mafia or whatever, would own me, taking me to new cities under assumed names. I had just been indoctrinated into the gay porno underground. I took the advice and ended up at CBS Television as a script typist etc etc…

Long ago, a reliable source told me that throughout the 70’s & 80’s actor James MacArthur (son of Helen Hayes) owned the Las Palmas Theatre property. Ahead of its time, there were once plans to rename this property the James MacArthur Theatre. Of course, that never came about.

when films were shown here it was from a projection booth on the stage and was rear projection

This is a reply to Ken Mac’s 08/12/07 post (Better late than never) -
http://tinyurl.com/3a5ytm
The reason the Las Plamas required the exact amount of admission was because during the mid ‘70s this was an automated cinema with no attendant.
I visited the Las Palmas Cinemat in the summer of '74. The marquee advertised 'TWO ALL MALE HITS’. No titles were listed on the marquee, but postercases had white plastic lettering on black velvet that announced the films playing as “Screentest”, and “Country Chicken Goes to Town”.
A roomy, but bare lobby was decorated in red flock on gold foil wallpaper. Each side wall had fluted sconces holding large white globe lighting fixtures. Red swirl carpeting covered a raked floor. In the far right corner was a turnstile where a flashing red arrow pointed to a slot in which a crisp five dollar bill had to be inserted in order to activate a metal revolving door geared to admit one person at a time.
Popcorn, coffee, and candy vending machines stood against the far end of a long standee. These machines provided the only light source for this dim area.
The auditorium was Victorian styled with sidewalls lined in gilt framed, red velvet sound baffle boards. Within each crimson sqaure were three cluster globe light fixtures, but they were not lit. What appeared to be a vaulted ceiling was painted black. A gently slanted orchestra floor lead down to a nice sized stage apron topped by a scallop valence, backed by plush drapery. For one reason or other other all back row chairs had been removed, which was a hazard in such a dark theatre!
There was another automated theatre in Tulsa called Trix Cinemat that was very similar to the Las Palmas Theatre.

Here is a March 1973 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/oj9cv4

Here is part of an LA Times article dated 5/10/47:

Reopening Thursday night as a picture theater in a blaze of glory and lights, with any number of film celebrities present, and with handsome new decorations and freshly upholstered seats, Las Palmas is showing “Nais”, adapted from Emile Zola’s “Nais Macoulin”, French-made film with English subtitles.

Stars present at the premier included Claudette Colbert, Charles Boyer, Denise Billincord, J. Carrol Naish, Marla Montez, Robert Stack and others.

Well the Pacific Theatre does have a full stage, but the bad wall has an angle to it. But on a good note, there is a parking lot behind the theatre. All they would have to do is extend the back wall of the stage house into the parking lot. The Wiltern Theatre did that in their remodel afew years back.

This building appears in the movie “The Hidden” (1987) as the Harem Room where Claudia Christian works as a stripper. There are a number of shots up and down the street showing Miceli’s Italian restaurant next door. I’ve wondered if the Harem Room was a real business, or if they mocked up the exterior. But from what I’ve read here, and from the adult book stores visible across the street, I’d guess it might have been real.

This theater is where the first production of “Lend An Ear” started, which launched the career of Carol Channing. The show moved to NYC but continued in Hollywood with a lot of future movie stars. Gene Nelson, Gower Champion were some of the names associated with that production.

Here is a photo taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/27blpl

Here is another LA Times ad from February 1972. Now they’re taking coupons. I wonder if they gave out green stamps as well:
http://tinyurl.com/3cnov4

The theatre most likely has not had a working projection booth decades.