Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema

The Jerry Lewis theatre circuit announced three locations in the mid-cities area between Fort Worth and Dallas in 1971. The Hurst location launched in 1972 and was the only one to have opened as a Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema. The Grand Prairie location was about to have its November 1, 1973 opening as the second Lewis Twin but the circuit dissolved and that theatre would open as the Safari Twin Cinema in 1974. This third cinema was built as a twin-screen and newspaper accounts had it also ready to launch in 1973. But this location did not appear to have opened as a Jerry Lewis Cinema. And there’s little information about whether it opened or not.

Like a number of the Jerry Lewis Cinemas built in 1973, it was likely that some key operational element did not arrive rendering the cinema useless. Further, franchisees of the cinemas generally were newcomers to the movie business making it challenging to overcome the problems that Jerry Lewis Cinema and its parent company, Network Cinema Corp. were having.

Multiple lawsuits were the end of Jerry Lewis Cinemas in 1973. Many locations in the dying days of the circuit reported getting shorted on projection gear, drapes, seating or receiving incorrect items leading to missed grand opening dates. The representative for the Fort Worth area for Jerry Lewis Cinemas listed an address at the Green Oaks Inn motel - not a great sign of faith.

The North Richland Hills Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema did appear to be complete according to a business that occupied the space afterwards. And it’s possible that the theater did operate without advertising. But the theatre was either lightly used or never used and had to be retrofitted for other retail purposes. It was the Rufe Snow Antique Mall in its last function and was razed.

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