Ritz Theatre

I believe this small house, near Larry Edmunds' world famous bookstore, is where "Deep Throat" played for 10 years.

I won a bid as projectionst on this in 1984 at that time they ran x rated as part of the Pussycat chain.

This was the second booth job I won and the only automated that I ran.

Till went to work at the Wardman Pussycat in up town Whitter,CA. in 1986.

I had a good friend who worked the projection across the street at, Volge.

I had a lot of fun when I worked this projection booth.

One day I took the day off sick to go to the 1984 Olympic Games with good friend Dennis Prise.

Who be came chief projectionist at the CINERAMA DOME for ten years.

I also took two panatar scope lens out of this projection booth!

From James Childs
Address 6341 5th Ave.N.E. Apt.#502
Seattle,WA.98115

Ph.#(206)527-7886

The New View Theatre opened in 1940 and showed exclusively newsreels. It was designed by Harry Wright of reinforced concrete with a terrazzo lobby. It was a Pussycat Theatre till around 1991.

The New View Theatre is located at 6656 Hollywood Blvd.

My father owned the Pussycat chain. I am trying to find a old Pussycat marquee. You know..the white oval with the silouette of a Ms. Pussycat. It is rumored that is a silouette of my mom. Please< if you have any info about any of these old marquees ...let me know.

Thanks alot!
Tim David
510 East Durant
Aspen, Co 81611
970.309.3991
tbdavid@msn.com

I have great story about this location..I thought I would share it with ya'all.

In the early eighties the basement was rented out to a couple guys that wanted to turn it into a punk club. They did. I was with my Mom when she showed them the proporty to the guys. It was a old radio/ recording studio. It had grafette on every wall and it had the stench of mold. It was dark, dank and really a scary place...

Anyway, My Dad (Vince Miranda) loved the fact that this building was
the first high rise in Hollywood. He thought it was the coolest
building. It had a really old and beautiful elevator. I remember
riding it down to that spooky basement.

One day My Dad came home pissed as Hell. It turns out that that incredible elevator was destroyed by the punk partiers by trying to get a live cow into the basement via the antique elevator. Needless to say my Dad was forced to replace the entire thing.

Tim David
tbdavid@msn.com

Deep Throat/Devil in Miss Jones played here for over 8 years continuously! The film to replace it was the John Holmes "documentary" called Exhausted (1981), a film which largely served as the inspiration for the 1997 film Boogie Nights.

Brief footage of this theater(as the New View) pops up on the DVD of Meatrack/Sticks and Stones by SWV/Image. One of the bonus features is footage from a 1970 Hollywood Gay Pride Parade and you can see the theater's marquee.

As the Ritz this house played a triple bill of Russ Meyer classics.

The New View can be seen very briefly toward the end of the film "The Zodiac Killer" (1971), along with quick shots of the Vogue, Hollywood and Pacific 1-2-3.

Nice color photo fo teh Ritz Theatre.
http://www.you-are-here.com/hollywood/6656.html

Does anyone know the telephone # for the church on site of the old Hollywood Cat? I would like to speak to the Padre about obtaining the old Pussycat marque.

Tim David
970.309.3991
tbdavid@msn.com

From the Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photo Collection:

http://www.hollywoodphotographs.com/detail.asp?im=%2D1&cat=43&offset=128&ID=4202

The New View was showing "Bonnie and Clyde in January 1968:
http://tinyurl.com/ykhrs3

Here is a photo of the church/former Ritz theater.

I remember passing the Ritz when I was on Hollywood Blvd a couple weeks ago. The only difference between the photo Lost Memory posted, and currently (I didn't take a photo) is that the "I" has since fallen off in "Ritz"....

Here's an aerial view of the Ritz. If you scroll slightly to the right a block, you can also see the Eqyptian Theater, with it's courtyard:

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=pph5xh544v7p&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=3596902

The Masque was located underneath this theater.

Here is a 1951 photo from UCLA:
http://tinyurl.com/23e7oa

Interesting article on PUSSYCAT THEATRES
http://www.sdreader.com/php/cover.php?mode=article&showpg=1&id=20070621

Here is a 1968 ad from the Van Nuys News:
http://tinyurl.com/3dlqt2

Here is a 1970 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yvcfx6

Was that the sequel to "Putz"? :)

Russ Meyer film at the New View in August 1970. I think the demand for Spiro Agnew watches has dropped, however:
http://tinyurl.com/ywequa

Here is a 1994 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2a3gce

I was only in the New View once - in 1959, I'd guess, to see North By Northwest, which I followed all over the city as it went from the big theaters to the small. The New View was the end of the line for North By Northwest - I remember it was pouring rain when I came out in the late afternoon. It was, even back then, dank and cheesy-looking.

Wasn't the Ritz the last name before it was a Pussycat? I looked for Ritz initially and then had to search under previous names. Perhaps this should be changed. Anyway, here is a photo I took yesterday. The sun washed out the circular sign at the top, but I could see where the church scrubbed off the Pussycat logo:
http://tinyurl.com/2bnnws

If you follow the last name policy of this site, wouldn't this theater be listed as the Pussycat Theater?

You would think so, except none of the Pussycats are titled that way. I guess the thought was that twenty Pussycats would be too hard to sort through.

I know what you mean but the policy should be consistent. Do a search for "Warner" on this site and you will find at least eighteen theaters with the same name.

Can't explain. Maybe it's just a Pussycat thing.

I guess "News-View" makes sense for a newsreel theater. Perhaps the S fell off somewhere along the way. The photo is dated 1944:
http://tinyurl.com/27kbx7

Design for Death was released in 1947 (1948 in NYC).

The last three operating names for this theatre was NewView, Pussycat and then The Ritz.

Here are some March 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/2y6fng
http://tinyurl.com/yuxym9

It looks like they divided the lobby in half, and rented the left half out to a hot dog stand?

Yes, Bway, that's what has happened. Scooby's is a very good hot dog stand, in my opinion. I don't know if they still do it, but around last year they had bands setting up in front of the Ritz's doors and playing late in the evening.

The sign says "Miracles of yesterday, today".

The well-worn oval "Pussycat" sign on the Ritz:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/RitzApr11200802.jpg

If we call the phone number on the sign, will they turn it back on?

anyone who worked at pussycat on hollywood bl. between 1986-1990, please contact me-marilyn b.i was the manager then and im trying to locate all my friends i worked with at that time like betsy, troy farr, brian, barron, weetzie varlamos. thanx and i hope to hear from anyone who worked there.


trimistat@myway.com

Lots of fun memories of going to see the $3 triple bills here, from 1990 to 1992. I moved to L.A. too late to take in the World Theater, further down the block.

I'm the Ritz offered a similar experience: sticky floors, squeaky seats and people yelling stuff at the screen. Priceless.

The last time I was in here was in 1994, as an extra in the video of "Work for Food" by Dramarama, which was shot here. Several shots of the audience are seen, as they are literally "blown away" by Dramarama's music. They set up a huge fan inside the theater to get the "blowing" effect. You might find that video on the internet on several video sharing sites. Good times.

The photo posted by Ken Mc on March 20, 2008, shows that theater also has a sign reading "Tele-View Newsreel Theater." It's pretty tiny, so it's easy to miss. I guess that's another name.

Here's a link to the Dramarama video. You can see both the interior and exterior of the theater pretty well, including the marquee and box office.

http://shrinkster.com/xhu

A 1989 view of the Ritz Theater in Hollywood here and here and enlarged views here and here.

New book-length Pussycat Theatre history from the San Diego Reader:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/07/pussycat-theater-history-when-cathouses-ruled-ca-n/

Here is a November 1972 ad from the LA Times. I called the number, but no one answered.
http://tinyurl.com/4phe2b

Keep calling. I want to know what the real title is. LOL

I think it might be "Deep Throat". The date souns about right.

Here are some October 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/49wqku
http://tinyurl.com/4f2j6b
http://tinyurl.com/3kmyud

We all had to work there at some time.

Funny no one has pointed out that the theatres name was originally the NEWS-VIEW and when they discontinued showing newsreels they droped the S from the name. I know this for a fact as I have a photo with it as the News-View.

Here is a photo of the former Ritz Theatre which I took last week.

Sorry, here is the correct photo.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/theseos/SDC10448.jpg

Photo taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/cn8gs7

Here's a google street view of the theater:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=6656+Hollywood+Boulevard,+Hollywood,+CA+90028+United+States&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.101571,-118.335285&spn=0.008671,0.01914&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=34.101564,-118.335401&panoid=QTSCBURhde3nwwgL9G03fw&cbp=12,142.78,,0,-8.42

Photos taken last week (May '09):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakeight/3574390401/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakeight/3575176384/

Here is a January 1974 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ko2zwp

Here is another 2009 photo.

I remember The New View back in the 60s when I lived in Hollywood They showed mainly Brit Films mostly Carry On movies, You paid at box office went through a turnstile no candy counter in lobby just a row of vending machines it was shabby and run down no Drapes covered the screen they showed a Kilidescpe during intermission

Here is a 1983 photo of the Pussycat:
http://tinyurl.com/qbu62o