Roxy Theatre
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
153 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
69 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 1,333 comments found
Fifty-nine years ago today, 20th-Fox’s B&W epic, “Titanic,” opened its NYC premiere engament at the Roxy Theatre, giving Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck larger-sized billing than co-stars Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton and Thelma Ritter. Although it might have seemed in dubious taste to support “Titanic” with an ice-skating revue on stage, the Roxy did with “Gay Paree,” which featured four scenes entitled “April in Paris,” “L'Apache,” “Parlez-Moi D'Amour,” and “Oui, Oui, Marie.” To attract Memorial Day hoiiday crowds, children’s tickets were 50 cents at all times.
Here’s a January 1938 photo of a waiting line for the Sonja Henie musical, “Happy Landing,” and stage show. The Roxy was reported to be attracting some of the turnaway crowds from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” at Radio City Music Hall: lunaimaging
It’s sad how urban renewal and the city can destroy the past.
My grandfather Frank White played the lead organ in the early years.
Sorry I missed the Roxy Theatre, being born in 1961. Guess there is absolutely no chance it could ever be rebuilt? Let’s see: $150 million for the building alone (given inflation since 1927), plus the cost of demolition of the crappy office building that replaced it, plus the cost of the land and existing crappy building. I suppose not. “You don’t appreciate what you’ve got till its gone…” Great Roxy Theatre, you are dearly missed. Can we at least have a plaque on TGI Fridays? Perhaps on 50th Street in an inconspicuous place? Just a thought.
I must disagree. “Closed” is outlined in red. For the Roxy, “Demolished” should be red, and “Closed” colorless. It’s the red that immediately grabs the viewer’s attention. The red “Closed” creates an impression that the theatre is still standing. A red “Demolished” would leave no doubt.
Every theater’s status is either “Open” or “Closed” (green for open, red for closed). Then next to that is a description: “1 screen”, etc. So the Roxy’s status is correct. It says “Closed, Demolished”.
I agree that having three status categories: Closed, Open, or Demolished would be more helpful and accurate. But that’s not how the database is set up.
Like so many other listings at CT, the STATUS needs to be changed from “Closed” to “Demolished.” Isn’t there someone at the website responsible for making such important corrections?
moviebear1 Just figured out how to post a photo of my model! I have more, but this website tells me they’re too big to post! I’ll keep trying (I’m computer-challenged … wish me luck) Thanks for your request! Bill
You might have mentioned that the book is written by Ross Melnick, one of the powers behind the throne at Cinema Treasures: amazon
A new book about SL “Roxy” Rothafel is about to be published:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Showman-Rothafel-Entertainment-1908-1935/dp/0231159048/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp
Members of the Rothafel family were interviewed by the Author
being on the west coast I’d love to se some pictures of your model. Any chance you would be willing to share some?
AlAlvarez, I beg to differ. The war and post-war years 1941 to 1950 were very successful years for the Roxy, with the grosses and attendance often on a par, sometimes surpassing, the Music Hall. A major factor in the disparity of grosses is that the Roxy maintained a children’s price, ranging over those years from.25 to .50 while there was only one price for all at the Hall. When it comes to business, the Paramount out-did all the main-stem houses and it had half the seating capacity. The Roxy had a great run with big name performers and a resident company for more than a decade.
A February 21, 1960 NY Times article on the Roxy closing makes this interesting observation:
“The poor old Roxy was never too successful, sandwiched as it is between the Scylla of the older capitol and the Charybdis of the newer Music Hall. Its various programs of pictures with stage shows (and without stage shows) have had to compete with programs that have usually been a little better at one or the other of those near-by theatres.”
Thanks, Ed, for your nice compliments about my Roxy model! I have not been back to look at it for years, but have been told that it is no longer enclosed in glass. If you do visit again, please give me an update! Meanwhile, I have to get back to work on Model Number Five!
Tinseltoes: Sorry, I just realized that I’d already commented, a year ago, regarding our mutual interest. Hoping to share more with you!
Bill
BillSavoy! What a pleasure to learn that you are the artist responsible for that remarkable scale model of the Roxy at the Museum of the Moving Image! And even more pleasurable to be able to directly express my thanks and admiration to you for providing such a lovingly detailed representation of this spectacular old movie palace! I must have spent a good twenty minutes pouring over every inch of your model when I last visited the museum about 7 or 8 years ago. In fact, I sang its praises in a post on this page (I dare you to find it among the more than 1300 comments already posted here) from back in March of 2005. My one criticism – and I hope this has since been corrected – is that the lighting around the display case produced annoying and obscuring glares on the glass. One has to lean in close to block these out and truly enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Thank you so much for that work. I am now inspired to take another trip into Astoria to check it out again!
Hooray for the ROXY! Happy 85th anniversary! Never to be forgotten!
Tinseltoes:
My name is Bill Savoy and I am fascinated with (and a little bit jealous of) your knowledge of the Roxy (until now, I thought I was the only one so obsessed). I was a friend of the late Ben Hall’s: he befriended me at age 16 and shared his vast collection of Roxy memorabilia with me. During the last 46 years I have added to this archives (a vast collection of programs from opening to closing, photos from excavation to demolition, over 100 photos of staff and performers, etc., etc., and last, but not least, the original blueprints from 1925 (later to be slightly revised … which, once-and-for-all clear-up the seating capacity mystery!). I have built four scale models of the place (including one commisioned by The Museum Of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York, where it is currently on display) and am now starting my fifth … (sooner or later, I’ll get it right!). I worked at Radio City Music Hall from 1969 until 1983, where I met many surviving Roxy alumni (Leonidoff, Markert, Kilduff, Parmentier, etc., etc., ) and had full access to the building and archives!
I live and work (as a scenic artist) in New York City and would love to communicate with you further on our shared obsession. If you are also interested please contact me at .
I have to sign off now because I see, by the program, that the prologue “DESTINY” is starting … to be followed by THE LOVE OF SUNYA!
Happy Roxy day! Hope to hear from you! Bill Savoy
Tonight (March 11th) will mark the 85th anniversary of the grand opening of the Roxy Theatre. Let us all observe a moment of silence for what is arguably the greatest and most influential of all movie palaces. Sadly, the Roxy operated for only 33 years, and has been missing from the New York scene for 52 (more than half a century). Long gone, but like its namesake founder, never to be forgotten!
Seventy-five years ago today, 20th-Fox’s B&W romantic comedy “Love Is News,” with rising star Tyrone Power billed before Loretta Young and Don Ameche, opened its NYC premiere engagement at the Roxy Theatre. On stage, Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Crawford, the so-called “Poets of the Organ,” topped the variety revue, which also included the Radio Ramblers, Lucille Page, and the resident Gae Foster Girls with the Roxy Orchestra (conducted by Eddie Paul). With “Show Value of the Nation” as its motto, the Roxy was charging an adult admission of 25 cents at all times for all seats, and 15 cents for children.
The Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center has MANY Roxy programmes, including bound volumes from the theatre’s early years. They can also be found in the Library’s clippings files for the Roxy Theatre, as well as in the clippings files for movies that played at the Roxy. And frequently in clippings files for performers who appeared on the Roxy’s stage. Card catalogues are on the Library’s second floor, and the reading room for all materials is on the third floor.
Myron, The Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts would be a great repository for the Roxy Programs…as I would (love to have them)…or at least borrow them and then bring them personally to the library.
Love to reminisce about the Roxy, my all-time favorite theatre. My sister always points-out that one of the ice skaters actually fell during the show after the screening of “The King & I” but she got-up and continued. The audience saw blood. I saved the Roxy programs somewhere in my collection (they were printed in green). If I locate these and those for the RCMH, what could I do with them? I’d hate to dispose of these.
In the 1930s and 40s, the Roxyettes (sometimes billed as the Gae Foster Girls) were considered superior to RCMH’s Rockettes because they had a larger repertoire and weren’t limited to just high-kicking precision dancing.
Hey Housechecker, Yes, indeed, before the Roxyettes (later known as “Blades and Belles”)skated on ice they could be seen not only on roller skates, but balancing and doing formations atop huge balls (an audience favorite). Yes, indeed, Merman sold tickets as a publicity stunt (fact checked from Variety)just for the opening hour.