Gay Theatre

The Usual is no more. In the last year the club has been renamed Spy.

The Gay showed arthouse fare until the late 1960's, when it had switched to adult fare. Shaw Theaters ran it until about 1970, when Pussycat took over. (It was called the Pussycat II, the Pussycat I was the Camera One theater, which Pussycat operated in 1970-1971 after acquiring it from Shaw.) The city of San Jose had its share of battles with Pussycat (which included a July 1973 raid during a showing of Deep Throat as well as a late 1980's lawsuit initiated by Pussycat over San Jose's downtown revitialization). Pussycat gave up in 1989.

It's been renamed again. It is now Pete Escovedo's Latin Jazz Club. Other than the signage, the building appears the same on the outside.

I saw 'Deep Throat' at the Pussycat in 1973. We had a field trip from the San Jose' State drama department: 'Bring your own trench coat and slouch hat.' We also brought black strips of paper to obscure our eyes in photographs in case of a raid (a la 'Confidential' and other old Hollywood scandal rags).

Wasn't the Pussycat chain owned by Rosemary Clooney's husband? (I forgot his name)

This theater was raided in July 1973 for showing Deep Throat after a judge's order in which the theater was ordered not to show it for reasons of obscenity.

To my knowledge, neither Dan Sonney, Dave Friedman(original Pussycat founders) nor Vince Miranda(who owned the chain most of its life) were related by blood or marriage to Rosemary Clooney.

Cool, that's an urban legend shot put to rest - I'd heard that one for years.....

Vince Miranda was my God father.He was NOT married to Rosemary Clooney!! However, he was very good friends with Rosemarie (The Dick Van Dyke Show).She was a great family friend. It was printed in some gossip rags like Rona Barrett's that they were dating. That too is untrue.Although...they both went on the Mike Douglas show and stated otherwise.
He was a great guy , and I miss him very much.I have been putting together a collection of pussycat memorbilia...if any of you out there have any photos, letters , or even storys..Please let mr know.


Tim David
tbdavid@msn.com

Yet another incarnation for the Gay Theatre: It is now called Angels. There is pink neon on the marquee for the first time since the Pussycat days, as well as a pair of stylized angel wings made of thousands of silvery sequin-like disks, which move and shimmer in the breeze. Not a bad design at all, though the original marquee look is sorely missed.

Here is a photo of Angels (the former Pussycat/Gay Theatre) taken in October 2006.

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

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/

1970 Photo

This is from a few years ago. The related website has also gone kaput, so I think it's curtains for the nightclub.
http://tinyurl.com/ycwsl9q

Big for lease sign on the marquee, no mistaking though that it was a theatre.

The Gay Theatre was opened a year earlier than the intro currently says. Boxoffice of May 1, 1948, said that Bert Kennerson's new Gay Theatre at San Jose would be ready to open about June 1. Boxoffice of July 10 said the house had opened, that the $55,000 house seated 600, and that its opening had brought the total number of theaters operating in San Jose to twelve.