Fox Redondo Theatre
300 Diamond Street,
Redondo Beach,
CA
90277
300 Diamond Street,
Redondo Beach,
CA
90277
17 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 134 comments
Thanks, ken mc! I hope Marl Protasel will visit this site someday. That DRACULA HAS RISEN…/FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED double feature was my first time seeing a horror movie in a theater. DRACULA HAS RISEN… was rated G for some reason, so my Dad took me to see it on a weekend afternoon. We only saw about eight minutes before I got too scared and we had to leave the theater. I’ve seen the scene that scared me since, and Dracula’s being seductive in it and this barmaid he’s about to bite is much aroused, but to me as a kid she seemed to be smiling from fright. Absolutely one of my top Fox Theater memories. Later I tried the double feature again, with my sister and a friend of hers, and when Dracula died at the end we were all teary-eyed with horror and compassion. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED seemed kind of dull at the time, but I think it’s the better movie now.
Here are some items from the LA Times archive. The news articles are dated 1929, 1959 and 1979, respectively:
http://tinyurl.com/2m4aya
http://tinyurl.com/33ysdy
http://tinyurl.com/32k8vh
http://tinyurl.com/3cb7ks
http://tinyurl.com/33lucc
http://tinyurl.com/2nd85u
Here is a repost of the 1970 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2xewej
I deleted some recent entries on photobucket by mistake. Later on I will have to go back and reenter those. Give me a few days.
Thanks, ken mc! 1970 is my favorite Fox Redondo year. But when I go to the page, I get a message that says “Page not found.” Any idea what’s wrong?
Here is a 1970 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/255p4o
I have some of my earliest memories at the FOX Redondo. My mother used to take us there, and I remember that I saw Walt Disney’s “Blackbeard The Pirate” there, aslo “Swiss Family Robinson”.
As a young teen, I can remember, also getting snuck into the back door, by either my brother, or a friend, so we could save the 75 cents for popcorn.
It was a very sad day for Redondo Beach when the FOX closed it’s doors permanently.
I’ll never forget that beautiful “Mermaid” mosaic that was over the front doors. Also, I recall there was a drive to save the mosaic, and last I heard it had been kept somewhere in storage, to be restored in some new location. Does anybody know what ever happened to it?
By the way, O.C.,
I remember the great 60’s & 70’s television personality, Tom Frandsen. Any relation of your’s? Also, back in the early 70’s I went to a church on Grant Ave. where Tom’s son also attended.
Thanks a lot Big Mike
THANK YOU BRUCIE B.. My name is Joe Hall I saw my very first movie at the old Fox Redondo, I don’t recall the title but I think it was a Disney movie about some young boys who somehow became bears, it was NOT animated. It could have been as early as 1960. My brother Jim is 11 yrs. older and he may well have known you. He went there often and worked at the pier for Big Gordie McRae way back in the day. My father James M. Hall was a prominent attorney who was sadly responsible for the urban renewal project.
Bruce you did what I always dreamed of doing, I knew that theater held many mysteries and you saw them all. I recall vividly that HUGE grate in the ceiling and to a kid we thought it weighed tons and we were always wondering when it would fall. The mice problem I remember well, oh btw the other smell from the ocean you mentioned was due to all the red tides the South Bay used to have back when the Monitor was still shipwrecked off of PV near the light house. Thanks to all who provided the great pics. I would have loved to have seen the old Vaudeville dressing rooms. I think Dive N' Surf also used to be located next to the theater before the Meistrells’s moved to their present location. I also recall loving the balcony where we would sit a drop Milk Duds on the kids below. I also recall a William Castle movie called the Haunted House with Vincent Price and they hooked up a skeleton on a wired to “float” down above the seats. My brother recalled once that another Castle movie called “The Tingler” showed there and the seats were wired to shock the audience another Castle innovation to help scare the audience. There was a movie made with John Goodman about him as a film promoter who took the cheap films in his trunk and sold them to theaters for a cut. The theater in the movie reminded me of the old Fox but w/out the grandeur. I too remember the old Strand theater that got chopped into 3 small theaters with the one in the back around the corner showing adult films before it closed. It also looked like it used trampolines for screens and they were NOT friendly there. During those days I always went to the movies. The UA Torrance, Rolling Hills theater, Palos Verdes theaters, Hermosa’s Bijou, occasionally San Pedro’s grand palace The Grand.
Bruce what was that huge grate in the ceiling for anyway? What kept it from falling? Great times past.
Thanks, ken mc! http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/0015693.jpg is the best picture I’ve seen so far of those two guys on the wall.
Here is an expanded version of the photo at the top of the page, along with a few other LAPL photos which weren’t posted previously:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015690.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015694.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015693.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015689.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015688.jpg
I really just joined to share a comment with you all about the Fox Redondo. My Great Uncle’s mother, “owned” that theater. Or possibly more correct (though I’d have to write the family for sure), she financially backed the building of it? And hence my parents viewed her as the owner. Her last name was Fitzgerald, her first name escapes me, maybe Barbara. I was just wondering if any of the long time managers at the theater might recognize this information. Because of her tie with the theater, our family was invited every 4th of July to go up to the roof and watch the fireworks. This was in the early 60s, and I must’ve only been 10 or so.
I remember seeing many a James Bond movies there, Endless Summer, Tora, Tora, Tora, Haley Mills films and many more. There was a time when it only cost 50 cents to get in, and we called it “The 50-center”, then it went up to 75 cents, and it took forever to get used to saying that. Then, it got torn down some years later. Such a loss, and part of my personal family history gone.
And before that it was known as the Surf.
The Strand Theater closed on Sept. 30, 1987, at the time it was known as the Marina 3.
It’s listed under the Strand Theater.
/theaters/2262/
I am searching for the strand theather that was on the coner of catalina and torrance blvd. When did it close?
I remember one time going to the Fox with a boy-friend and having my first kiss. Does anyone have any pictures of the skating rink. I would like to know also when it closed. It had to be in the 60’s as I remember having to go to the rink on Rosecrans, I belive it was in Gardena. M.E.
Ole, such nice memories of a good man and one of a kind person.
Yes, Denny, old Ed Blahay was quite a character and a good fellow, indeed. As the manager of the Fox Redondo during the last two years of its existence, I had a close association with Ed and recall him fondly. Good-humored and never easily ruffled, Ed’s signature form and habit was his cheap glasses and seemingly fixed-in-his-mouth ever present cigarette with an inch of ashes ever ready to drop… and dropping on Ed or anything under him at the time. It is my conviction to this day that Ed worked at the Redondo, not because he couldn’t get a better gig elsewhere, (his senority and status in the union certainly permitted him to ‘bump’ himself into a newer house with far more up-to-date equipment than the Fox Redondo), but because he liked that old theatre…and me, and the fact that here he was sincerely ‘needed’. And god knows, those old 30s projectors at the Redondo needed the caring and expert hands of an old pro like Ed.
Not that Ed ever made demands on me, but I made sure he was provided with a little extra in bonuses by finding him ‘maintenance
projects’ and such. This required considerable creativity on my part, since in those days our payroll budgets were strictly, even ruthlessly controlled from home office. Whenever my district manager called me on the ‘overtime’ pay for Ed, I explained that, well… everything in that projectionist booth was from the silent era (close, but not quite) and how lucky we were to have a super projectionist like Ed to keep the show going…and the profits coming in. (The Fox Redondo, believe it or not, was for most of the time I was there the most profitable theatre in District 4). But, of course, I continued in an oily tone of voice, if Mann Theatres would rather get us some newer or more modern equipment…well, ‘overtime’ and ‘maintenance’ time for Ed could be curtailed. This is where my district manager usually changed the subject or had another call to take.
The week we ran The Godfather was, needless to say, a very busy one and I never got a chance to see the movie. Not to worry, Ed arranged a private screening one afternoon for me and my wife. It was really strange to sit there in the balcony front row-center in that big theatre all by ourselves.
It is fact…possibly a shocking fact to some, that in those days the Fox Redondo was a bit of a doper’s haven. (Some will claim, a lot of a doper’s haven; vehemently denied by management, of course). One of Ed’s chief complaints was that on some nights marijuana smoke emanating from the patrons in the upper balcony was sucked into the projectionist booth by the ventillation fans in the booth, providing Ed with a mild buzz. Ed was always good-natured about the problem, which was a vexing one for me to solve. As you know, Denny, due to the high amount of carbon monoxide produced by carbon-arc projectors, the exhaust fans in the booth must be opperating at all
times and air ‘in’ (and smoke) was through the open projection window…and under the door. We never solved the problem completely and Ed the good soul he was joked about it more than complained.
What wouldn’t I give to have a photo of long-faced, bespectacled, ashes-all-over-his-cardigan Ed Blahay. Thanks for reviving those great memories for me, Denny. But then, the Fox Redondo seems to have that effect on most who came under its spell. To this day, I thank my lucky star or guardian angel for having been part of its history and legacy. Ole Frandsen, former and last manager
I’m late on this one. As I scrolled through these messages I found some familiar names from more than 30 years ago, Mr. (Harry) K, Ed Haselwood, Jewel but I never saw the name of Ed Blahay. To those unfamiliar, Ed was one of the last projectionists at the Fox Redondo before it closed down. Ed was also a relief projectionist at the Strand then later at the Fox PV Twin until that theatre closed in 1978. In the Fall of 1973 as the Fox was playing “A Touch of Class” and “Breezy”, I was sent to the Fox PV by business agent George Farley to see if I was projectionist material. I was 21 years old then and working at a Pup N Taco for $1.45 an hour. Ed had me thread up a Century model ‘G’ which I had never seen before in my life. Up until then I had threaded up 16mm projectors in high school but never anything like this. Ed left me alone and went back to his easy chair he had in the booth. As I was threading the film I remembered then that the film path was basically the same in most projectors. When Ed checked what I did he told me that he must have had about ten guys thread that machine but I was the only one who got it right except that my loops were a little small but it will run. Since then we became good friends and he often talked about the Fox Redondo which I had seen from the outside on my bike and skateboard trips from Wilmington in the early 70’s but never been inside. Today I saw the inside for the first time in pictures. Ed helped me get a Los Angeles city projectionist license in 1974 (yes we had to be licensed to run a booth in Los Angeles) as he was on the executive board of Local 150 and had friends such as Hal Goldstein who administered the license written and practical tests. Hmmmmm! Just days after the Fox Redondo closed, workers were removing the projection booth equipment and were throwing out boxes filled with old dater and intermission strips, and cross plugs for many Fox theatres such as the Loyola, La Mar, Westlake and Westcoast. There was even a few old movie trailers for “Straw Dogs”, “Tropic of Cancer” and “The Man”. Ed rescued a few those boxes out of the trash and kept them in the Fox PV booth until that theatre closed. The next day I was helping Ed move his things out of the booth and he came across those boxes which he gave to me. To see and hear those strips with the cinemotion effects and marine marching band style music brings back tears and a lot of memories. Ed also gave me 35mm merchants ads and a ladies show trailer from the early 60’s that ran at the Fox PV.
More color:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015700.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015697.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015685.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015686.jpg
Ditto! SOMEWHERE there are pictures of the lobby!
Wow, I haven’t seen those guys in color since I was 12! Thanks, ken mc.
From the LA Public Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015691.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015692.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015699.jpg
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015698.jpg
THANKS, for all the great photos! WOW. The street pic conjures memories of THE DAILY BREEZE, NEPTUNE DAYS & “DANCING WATERS”, HAMPTON PLAYERS, THE PENNY ARCADE, THE SURPRISE STORE & LEE’S BAZAAR. And of course, riding my bike down the hill to THE FOX to see THE BIRDS. Up the street to the right, on the left side, I wowed the world with my magic tapping feet via MELVIN KAISER’S DANCE ACADEMY (1963!) Imagine how charming this area would be had it been preserved. San Pedro has learned by Redondo’s mistakes. The WARNER GRAND is the centerpiece of downtown 6TH STREET. Check it out. http://warnergrand.org/ Regards, Terrance
No theater in this picture, unfortunately, but the older Redondo Beach denizens should recognize the area (courtesy of the LA Library):
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics31/00050120.jpg