RKO Fordham Theatre

If you catch "The Wanderers," you'll see the old RKO Fordham near the beginning of the movie.

I remember the Fordham and the Paradise well. But what was the name of the smaller more modern theater down the road by the elevated subway (Woodlawn line)? My dad took me there for a surprise visit on my birthday to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Of course I ruined the day by stealing some of my baby brother's candy and he let out with such wailing we were ejected from the theater. I never saw the ending until it was show on TV years later and I barely cared because I was in junior high!

Probably the Valentine, at 237 E. Fordham Road. It was a Skouras house, later UATC.

Thanks, Warren, that's sounds right... the Valentine. Surfing this site is like undergoing deep memory recovery! See my other comment for The President Theater, Cinema Treasure 6094. That one was way waaay downtown in the South Bronx, quite a different world, but part of my childhood nonetheless.

My 72-year old memnory tells me that the theater at the corner of Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue, along which the Woodlawn Line IRT train ran, was Loew's Grand. The Valentine, on the other hand, was on the east side of the Grand Concourse between the RKO Fordham and the confluence of Fordham Road and Kingsbridge Road, which was on the way down the hill toward Third Avenue.

The Paradise was certainly a wonder and the place to make an impression on the girls. It was expensive, however, costing a quarter or a half-a-buck apiece on Saturday night. That was in '47 or '48. To go there for a show meant to forego either a soda afterward or to have to walk home the three miles or so to my home neighborhood near Mosholu Parkway. I did the latter one time.

A bit south of the Paradise on the same side of the Concourse was an "art film" house named the Ascot. It specialized in foreign films, and the less-celebrated Hollywood releases. My folks dragged me there once to view Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, a WWII weepy love story. Ugh! My friends and I went to the Ascot for more macho fare. The last one I remember seeing there was Viva Zapata. After 1950 or so, I took girls to Greenwich Village where I remember seeing Marx Bros and WC Fields double bills.

Jerry Breslaw, ex-Bronx, now in the Washington DC area.

The theatre can be glimpsed in this 1940s photo:
http://www.mindspring.com/~bronxblotter/old/fordham_old.jpg

This is the site in 2002:
http://kraybill5.home.mindspring.com/52pics/efordham215_2002.jpg

What is the theater to the left of the Fordham in the 1940s photo?

Frankly, I think the neighborhood looks better today than in the old photo.

To catch a glimpse of the old RKO Fordham check out the 1954 film "Marty" in the movie there is a scene right after Marty and Clara have coffee they walk right in front of this theatre under the marquee. The RKO letters are above the poster case and I can make out "Mickey Spillane" and "Ring of Fear" on one of the posters. I was able to match up this theatre with an old photo of the Fordham that I have. Earlier in the film you get to see the front of the RKO Chester on Boston Road as well.

The theatre that was on Fordham Road near the El on Jerome Avenue was the Lido. It was a smaller, more moderized moviehouse. I worked at the RKO Fordham Theatre from 1960 to 1970 as the Chief Usher and as the Assistant Manager / Manager.
It was truly a grand theatre.

My memory is of the men selling the Sunday Daily News, Daily Mirror
outside the moviehouse at night

Here are two images of the RKO Fordham, which, for many years, was the chief rival to Loew's Paradise in that section of the Bronx:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2693_IMG.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/127-2701_IMG.jpg

In 1981 when this was a four screen theater, the seat count was 510-516-479-475 for a total of 1980 seats.

The intro "aka" above the name should list Keith's Fordham and RKO Fordham. Due to its location in the Bronx's leading shopping district, it was always considered the top Keith's and RKO theatre in that borough.

A Robert-Morton organ Opus 2303 Size 3/13 was installed in the Fordham Theater in 1926.

Before the Robert-Morton organ, a Moller organ Opus 2946 Size 3/17 was installed in the Fordham Theater in 1921 at a cost of $8000.00.

Here is a vintage photo of the Rko Fordham.

Lostmemory, the vertical sign and marquee in this 1938 photo seem to be different from those in the first photo that I posted on 7/18/05, which was taken seventeen years later (1955).

Now we know that the marquee was replaced sometime between 1938 and 1955. We need some photos from the 1940's to try and narrow it down. Speaking of Bronx Theaters, I found a photo of the Loew's 167th Street which I will post now.

The movie houses that I remember on fordham Rd. were the Grand,the Lido, the RKO Fordham, and the Valentine,which was a Skouras circuit theater.

To promote his new film "The Ladies Man," Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.

I went to the Fordham in 1953 or 54 to see Shari Lewis on stage with her puppet "Lambchop." My one and only time, so RKO did use the stage upon occasion, as well as the screen for movies. Those were the days!

This bizarre triple bill in January, 1944 included a Walt Disney featurette in Technicolor about Nazi Germany. Has it ever been revived?
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/rko12544.jpg

Get a load of this grueling personal appearance schedule: 17 theaters in 3 days. Can you imagine one of today's movie stars doing something like this to plug their picture?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/bettedavis.jpg

Bill--

What was the date?

November 7, 1962.

Response to:
My memory is of the men selling the Sunday Daily News, Daily Mirror
outside the moviehouse at night
posted by ex-Bronx-boy on Apr 29, 2005 at 3:04am

I remember it. I was the Assistant Manager of the RKO Fordham. I can't remember his name, but there was also a younger guy who helped him also. They were both great people.

Response to:
Get a load of this grueling personal appearance schedule: 17 theaters in 3 days. Can you imagine one of today's movie stars doing something like this to plug their picture?

I was the Assistant Manager of the RKO Fordham when they made their special appearance there for the movie "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". Boy do I have stories about that stage appearance!
Also Judy Garland went on tour as well as Lucille Ball. Those were the days my friend!!!

RKO11: I'm sure we'd all love to hear your "Baby Jane" stories!

The Jerry Lewis 7/61 tour was even more grueling! Check out this ad:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u235/BobFurmanek/Jerry-1.jpg

Then again, Jerry was only 36 at the time. How old was Bette Davis on the Baby Jane tour?

Bette was 54. Here's a picture of her grave at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in LA, within sight of her old studio, Warner Bros. Here you'll see not only how old she was, but an epitaph that may help explain something like the "Baby Jane" theater tour:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/billhuelbig/DSCF0047-1.jpg

Wow, Bob. Jerry must've been exhausted. Sometimes they only gave him 30 minutes between theaters. If New York City traffic then was anything like it is now, that schedule must've been worthless by the middle of the day - unless Paramount gave him a helicopter or something :)

If you think that was tiring, check this out:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u235/BobFurmanek/BattyinNY.jpg

Adam West and Burt Ward (in costume) appeared at 34 theaters in 3 days - in late August, no less! I hope their tour bus had air conditioning!

Oops, that was 34 theaters in 4 days. Still, a pretty crazy schedule!

I never saw the Disney short about Nazi Germany (1944) but somehow I know the words to "Der Feurer's Face" by heart.

I remember the RKO Fordham and its rival Loew's Paradise as being solidly successful theatres until street crime engulfed the Bronx. Remember the Guardian Angels was started nearby when Curtis Swela and others couldn't tolerate unchecked crime in broad daylight. The two theatres weren't the only things that died in Fordham because of crime and drugs.

My older brother and I saw RKO'S THE THING (from outer space) circa 1951. Sitting in the balcony's front row my brother jumped 3 feet in the air during the famous shock scene, but did not drop off the balcony. He's alive and well in Maryland.

I never saw the Disney short about Nazi Germany (1944) but somehow I know the words to "Der Feurer's Face" by heart.

I remember the RKO Fordham and its rival Loew's Paradise as being solidly successful theatres until street crime engulfed the Bronx. Remember the Guardian Angels was started nearby when Curtis Swela and others couldn't tolerate unchecked crime in broad daylight. The two theatres weren't the only things that died in Fordham because of crime and drugs.

My older brother and I saw RKO'S THE THING (from outer space) circa 1951. Sitting in the balcony's front row my brother jumped 3 feet in the air during the famous shock scene, but did not drop off the balcony. He's alive and well in Maryland.

Don't ask me why, but I've always associated the tune "Der Fuehrer's Face" as having been performed by Spike Jones and his City Slickers. It was the type of thing they would have done.

Response to: I'm sure we'd all love to hear your "Baby Jane" stories!
It was so fantastic preparing for celebrities to visit. We had barricades set up outside and ropes inside the theatre. It was jammed outside as well as inside. When the bus pulled up in front of the theatre, it was pandemonium. I only had the ushers to hold the crowds back outside and inside the theatre. I had a couple of security there too. We had to escort them from the bus, thru the lobby, down the side aisle to backstage.
When Bette and Joan came the crowds went wild. They were so loving to each other coming off the bus and thru the lobby and to the backstage. But backstage they argued, screamed at each other... a battle!!! Then they came out on the stage infront of the screen. Unbelievable... holding hands, so loving and kind to each other. No one ever knew.... But they were fantastic, and what legends!

I will never forget the time we had a special appearance of the Dave Clark 5 group. Unbelievable...what crowds in and outside. When they came out on the stage, everyone screaming, girls throwing bras, shirts etc. down to the stage. We had to have so much security lined up in front of the stage.

Judy Garland was fantastic! So frail, but what a person. Not as much crowds, but so dynamic on and off the stage. What a real legend!
Those were the days, my friend......
We were all so energized.

I want to see if someone remembers....
RKO Theatres had a screen trailer that was shown before each feature. It was a bouncing ball for RKO... Anyone remember it?

FORDHAM ELEVEN CHEERED BY 3,000; Fans Overflow Bronx Theatre to Welcome the Rams Home From Cotton Bowl

NY Times January 7, 1941

Although it was not Bank Nite and not a dish was given away, 3,000 men, women and children crowded into a theatre with a seating capacity of 2,352 last night at the R.K.O. Fordham, where the Fordham football squad was welcomed home from its game with Texas A. and M. in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas, Texas, on New Year's Day.


Unfortunately, Fordham lost 13 to 12.

For RKO11..
Your telling of the "Baby Jane" tours, I believe is incorrect. Bette Davis did NYC & the "northeast," while Joan appeared in Atlanta & a few "southern theaters." I've never seen anything showing them together on tour. I saw Bette at the RKO 58th St., and didn't win the doll.

bobmarshall

For bobmarshall

They did in fact come to the RKO Fordham together. I remember it specifically as I did assist them getting off the bus and escort them backstage.
RKO 11

Sorry you didn't win the doll at the 58th. st. lol....

RKO 11, Being a Joan Crawford fan first, if she was appearing in NYC, even with Bette and in the Bronx, I would have been there. I recall writing her about not appearing here -- I have her reply somewhere & will quote her when I locate it. Meanwhiloe, from Bob Thomas' JOAN CRAWFORD (page 228) "Bette agreed to tour New York City theaters, and while Joan declined. she attended a press party at '21'." Are there any photos or reviews/write ups from it? Thanks,
bobmarshall

In July, 1959, RKO Theatres, by then a subsidiary of Glen Alden Corporation, sold the Fordham and four other large theatres to a real estate syndicate called Theatre Realty Company Partnership, according to reports in The New York Times and Variety. No purchase prices were disclosed, but as part of the deal, RKO leased back management of the theatres for a term of 20 years, with options to renew. In addition to the Fordham, the theatres sold were the Madison and Keith's Flushing in Queens, the Albee in Brooklyn, and Proctor's 86th Street in Manhattan.

The marquee of the RKO Fordham, circa 1956, is visible in the background of this photo.

I worked at the Fordham for two years while I was in college. Best job ever! It was single screen then. But it was the early 1970's and we had some pretty crappy films. While the gorgeous Paradise had "The Godfather" and the Valentine had "The French Connection" we showed (honest to God) "A Town Called Bastard" with Lee Van Cleef. I did get to roam around the catwalks and the old dressing rooms. WOW! So much memorabilia just collecting dust. There was a large three sided marquee, the center part jutted out onto busy Fordham Road. It took a good two hours to change. RKO would send a graph paper telling us exactly what it should read. One time we were showing "Child's Play" (not the Chucky movie). Two hours of ladders, wooden planks and, as I recall, it was raining. The manager checked all three sides after all the work was done, gave the ok and all the equipment was put away. That's when I pointed out that the film starred Robert Preston and not Preston Foster. Someone got two hours of OT to do the marquee over again. Good times!

Thanks, Unkystan - great story! If you have any more, we'd look forward to hearing them.

To rko11: Would you have known Mr. Richard/Dick Clark who was the theater manager? Mr. Clark was my grandfather.

I do not know the exact dates he was the manager at Fordham. He was also the theater manager at several other RKO theaters in the Westchester Co./Bronx area. I would have to check with my mother to know which ones for certain.

But I have about 50 - 60 original promotional photos of all the events listed in these postings. I have many pictures of him with the stars making appearances. There are several of my mother with the Dave Clark 5, Joey Heatherington and some other young stars. Jerry Lewis, Bette Davis, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe... the list goes on!! Most are in front of the theater or from across the street showing all the fanfare. Some really amazing pics!

RKO11 ... I too remember both Davis and Crawford appearing together on stage during the "Baby Jane" run. I'm only about 95 percent sure of that, becasue I was 9 years old. I usually went to the movies on Saturday kiddie matinees, but that night my father took me first to where he was voting (November ... Election Day!), then to the RKO Coliseum in Washington Heights. I also remember that it was a double bill with "Count of Monte Cristo," which they interrupted when the stars appeared. No Baby Jane doll for me either.

The link I posted on 9/26/07 no longer works; use this one instead:

Bus in front of the RKO Forham, circa 1956

The RKO Fordham can also be seen in this photo.

I'm a geezer, age 75, now exiled to the Midwest, who remembers the RKO Fordham, the Valentine, and the Concourse theaters. I wasted much of my youth at them all. But, even after examining their photos and map sites in this terrific CinemaTreasures Website, I can't recollect their relative locations, in respect to one another, along Fordham Road. I'm sure only that the Valentine Theatre was east of the Concourse Theatre, on the north side of Fordham Road between the Concourse and Valentine Avenue. Could anybody clarify a codger's dim memories? [I also frittered away time in the Lido, the Paradise, and Loew's Grand, but I remember where they were!]

On Friday January 26, 1962, the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly-Joe DeRita) embarked on a three day promotional tour for their latest feature film, THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES. They were accompanied by "The Herculean Giant" (almost 8 foot tall Dave Ballard) and popular DJ Clay Cole, who was one of the stars of the co-feature, TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK.

On Friday January 26, they appeared at the RKO Fordham at 8:20 PM.

Here is the Fordham in 1968.