I always loved that style of letters on the this RKO theater. I first saw them when I was 10 while waiting outside a bank for my grandmother to complete her business. (Reflections in a Golden Eye was playing…I finally saw it years later, and oh, boy, would that have changed my life if I’d seen it at that tender age!!) It was love at first sight for those block letters. I think the Kenmore used them all the way to its closing, but I’m not sure.
Yes! I love those letters. I first saw them on the RKO Kenmore in Brooklyn when I was 10 while waiting outside a bank for my grandmother to complete her business. (Reflections in a Golden Eye was playing…I finally saw it years later, and oh, boy, would that have changed my life if I’d seen it at that tender age!!) It was love at first sight for those block letters. I think the Kenmore used them all the way to its closing, but I’m not sure.
Regarding the post of June 24, 2012, showing the old marquee and the new marquee, I never liked the new “modern silhouette letters” — they seem so bland and take the creativity out of showmanship.
Fred Willard was arrested for lewd conduct last night in Hollywood when police allegedly caught him with his pants down in an adult movie theater … TMZ has learned.
According to law enforcement sources, LAPD undercover vice officers went into the Tiki Theater in Hollywood and found the 78-year-old “Anchorman” star watching last night’s feature … with his penis exposed and in his hand — aka, pulling a Pee-wee Herman.
We’re told Willard was arrested around 8:45PM and booked for lewd conduct.
It was a quick release — we’re told he was out of police custody a short while later.
As for which movie Fred was watching — there are 3 flicks in rotation at the theater … “Follow Me 2,” a XXX parody of “The Client List,” and “Step Dad No. 2.”
Willard is best known for his memorable roles in “Best in Show”, “For Your Consideration”, “American Wedding” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
According to IMDB, Fred is “rumored” to be in pre-production for a movie entitled … “The Yank.”
Tinseltoes, thanks for going through the effort of extracting the most interesting and pertinent articles.
But it’s a double-edged sword, since almost every article is interesting and I have spent many, many (wasted?) hours perusing the back issues that you have selected. So, thanks so much and thanks for nothing!
I never heard of that movie High Time, but it has a good pedigree — directed by Blake Edwards, written by Charles Brackett and based on a story by Garson Kanin. The premise that Bing goes back to college seems to have a lot of potential. And it did introduce that lovely standard The Second Time Around.
Mr. Crowther in the NY Times starts his review with his tongue-in-cheek: “It has been a long time since Bing Crosby was seen in a college comedy, sporting the customary beanie and crooning romantic melodies. But things haven’t changed much in the colleges favored by Bing in all those years, to judge by the one he is attending in his latest picture, "High Time.”
Mike, in New York and elsewhwere, the seating capacity of each auditorium is posted on a sign outside the screening room. Not exactly a closely-guarded secret.
Did they come into Radio City in the middle of the show as they did at other movie theaters (“this is where we came in”) in the pre-Psycho days? It must have been mild chaos with all the comings and goings.
It seems as though “Champaign’s Finest Theater” is not just the name of the video posted above, but was actually a slogan the Rialto used in its advertising.
hdtv, please don’t go. I’ve enjoyed your insights and photos over the years. I’d hate to have any one person force you off this board. (What IS playing at the AMC Rockaway, anyway?)
For Whom the Bell Tolls was the next picture Ingrid Bergman made after Casablanca; she had cut her hair for the Hemingway movie, and was unable to do any retakes on Casablanca, specifically scenes featuring the 1931 song As Time Goes By, which producer Hal Wallis had wanted to replace with an original tune; but because Bergman was unavailable he had to stick with As Time Goes By, which of course became an enormous hit and an iconic symbol of a great motion picture and since 1998 used as the Warner Bros. fanfare.
That was one of the most interesting articles I have ever read on this site. Thanks so much for posting it. (I sure miss the old days even though I wasn’t even born then.)
They are demolishing this building down to the ground, it seems — it’s horrifying yet fascinating. I hope someone (hint, hint) can get some photos posted here of this debasement while it’s happening. A truly shocking sight.
Say what you will about him, but Cineplex Odeon founder and theater-builder Garth Drabinsky was an old-school showman and kept his houses (for the most part) in tip-top shape.
I always loved that style of letters on the this RKO theater. I first saw them when I was 10 while waiting outside a bank for my grandmother to complete her business. (Reflections in a Golden Eye was playing…I finally saw it years later, and oh, boy, would that have changed my life if I’d seen it at that tender age!!) It was love at first sight for those block letters. I think the Kenmore used them all the way to its closing, but I’m not sure.
Yes! I love those letters. I first saw them on the RKO Kenmore in Brooklyn when I was 10 while waiting outside a bank for my grandmother to complete her business. (Reflections in a Golden Eye was playing…I finally saw it years later, and oh, boy, would that have changed my life if I’d seen it at that tender age!!) It was love at first sight for those block letters. I think the Kenmore used them all the way to its closing, but I’m not sure.
Regarding the post of June 24, 2012, showing the old marquee and the new marquee, I never liked the new “modern silhouette letters” — they seem so bland and take the creativity out of showmanship.
Fred Willard was arrested for lewd conduct last night in Hollywood when police allegedly caught him with his pants down in an adult movie theater … TMZ has learned.
According to law enforcement sources, LAPD undercover vice officers went into the Tiki Theater in Hollywood and found the 78-year-old “Anchorman” star watching last night’s feature … with his penis exposed and in his hand — aka, pulling a Pee-wee Herman.
We’re told Willard was arrested around 8:45PM and booked for lewd conduct.
It was a quick release — we’re told he was out of police custody a short while later.
As for which movie Fred was watching — there are 3 flicks in rotation at the theater … “Follow Me 2,” a XXX parody of “The Client List,” and “Step Dad No. 2.”
Willard is best known for his memorable roles in “Best in Show”, “For Your Consideration”, “American Wedding” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
According to IMDB, Fred is “rumored” to be in pre-production for a movie entitled … “The Yank.”
It’s a comedy.
See offsite link on www.tmz.com
Tinseltoes, thanks for going through the effort of extracting the most interesting and pertinent articles.
But it’s a double-edged sword, since almost every article is interesting and I have spent many, many (wasted?) hours perusing the back issues that you have selected. So, thanks so much and thanks for nothing!
I never heard of that movie High Time, but it has a good pedigree — directed by Blake Edwards, written by Charles Brackett and based on a story by Garson Kanin. The premise that Bing goes back to college seems to have a lot of potential. And it did introduce that lovely standard The Second Time Around.
Mr. Crowther in the NY Times starts his review with his tongue-in-cheek: “It has been a long time since Bing Crosby was seen in a college comedy, sporting the customary beanie and crooning romantic melodies. But things haven’t changed much in the colleges favored by Bing in all those years, to judge by the one he is attending in his latest picture, "High Time.”
How long did that 70 x 32 foot screen last at the Music Hall?
What are the sizes of some current screens in New York, such as the Ziegfeld, Empire, Lincoln Square?
Someone is thinking with his little head instead of his big head.
Mike, in New York and elsewhwere, the seating capacity of each auditorium is posted on a sign outside the screening room. Not exactly a closely-guarded secret.
Maybe they never played a B movie, but they sure played a lot of forgettable films.
That’s nearly five sold-out shows (at 1500 seats) per day for 21 weeks. I wonder…
Did they come into Radio City in the middle of the show as they did at other movie theaters (“this is where we came in”) in the pre-Psycho days? It must have been mild chaos with all the comings and goings.
And how many theatrical impressarios can dance on the head of a pin? Someone must know and I demand the answer!
It seems as though “Champaign’s Finest Theater” is not just the name of the video posted above, but was actually a slogan the Rialto used in its advertising.
“The show is fine at 9th and Pine!”
hdtv, please don’t go. I’ve enjoyed your insights and photos over the years. I’d hate to have any one person force you off this board. (What IS playing at the AMC Rockaway, anyway?)
For Whom the Bell Tolls was the next picture Ingrid Bergman made after Casablanca; she had cut her hair for the Hemingway movie, and was unable to do any retakes on Casablanca, specifically scenes featuring the 1931 song As Time Goes By, which producer Hal Wallis had wanted to replace with an original tune; but because Bergman was unavailable he had to stick with As Time Goes By, which of course became an enormous hit and an iconic symbol of a great motion picture and since 1998 used as the Warner Bros. fanfare.
Thank God Ingrid cut her hair!
If only the Music Hall’s screen was that large!
That site seems to require a log-in, TT.
Isn’t that the old Rialto?
That was one of the most interesting articles I have ever read on this site. Thanks so much for posting it. (I sure miss the old days even though I wasn’t even born then.)
Here’s a direct link to hdtv’s terrific site discovery.
They are demolishing this building down to the ground, it seems — it’s horrifying yet fascinating. I hope someone (hint, hint) can get some photos posted here of this debasement while it’s happening. A truly shocking sight.
You re-new a link by “subscribing” at the bottom of this page, not by merely posting a comment. Good luck.
Say what you will about him, but Cineplex Odeon founder and theater-builder Garth Drabinsky was an old-school showman and kept his houses (for the most part) in tip-top shape.