Valleyview Cinemas
777 Hamburg Turnpike,
Wayne,
NJ
07470
777 Hamburg Turnpike,
Wayne,
NJ
07470
1 person
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Grand opening ad: Jerry Lewis in person on March 30th, 1971
Once Cinemark opens its doors, there will be three theaters in Wayne, just like the last time this theater was around.
Yup, He died 45 years after his theatres did.
I got sad news for you Al. The man whose name graced many theaters has died at the age of 91.
Jerry Lewis Cinemas were almost a good idea, and the theatre design was ahead of it’s time for running a small theatre with minimal staff.
The problems were fourfold.
First, the franchisees were required to purchase their equipment, supplies (including concessions), and book their films via Network Cinemas, which tended to charge more than other suppliers and bookers. They were at a competitive disadvantage before they opened the doors. No wonder these franchises were marketed to people outside the industry. Anyone who owned an independent theatre realized that they could do everything Network Cinemas was doing cheaper themselves.
Second, they had no product. When you go into a McDonald’s, whether it be in New Jersey or New Mexico, you know what is on the menu. Same with Midas Mufflers. They have a product that the parent company can promote regionally if not nation wide. Network Cinemas owned no distribution rights to any movies. Each franchisees had to “bid” how much they would pay to play any given movie individually, as was the practice at the time. That meant that Network Cinemas could not promote anything as being exclusive to their theatres.
Third, Network Cinemas had a policy of only booking “family” films, just as the industry started shifting to “R” rated for many big releases.
Finally, while Jerry Lewis still had some great films in him through the 1970’s and 1980’s, his name was no longer the boxoffice magic that would make people flock to the cinema.
Yes CJ1949 is correct. My father was a projectionist at the Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema in Carteret. Opened on 6/7/1972. That first year was fantastic but as soon as 1973 started, the movie bookings went double feature, prices were reduced and soon payroll wasn’t being met. He stopped getting payroll checks from Network Cinema Corp in March 73 and from then on it was run by an independent. Kind of sad in a way because it was a nice little twin in a great shopping center right off exit 12 of the turnpike.
Very interesting. This theater in its final years didn’t do as well as the Preakness and the loews/sony/amc wayne theater.
Wayne, NJ was the first Lewis theatre anywhere. The first publicity, press conferences, etc., about the start of the company was in Sept. 1969. The problems came to a head in 1973; it took until 1980 for the bankruptcy to go through, apparently. 1970-71 were the better years but the downfall was 1972-73. At that time many of the theatre operators were bolting from the Lewis franchise and either closing or went independent and dropped the Lewis name.
From 1969 to 1980, the National Cinema Corp. franchised “Jerry Lewis Cinemas” as a business opportunity for those interested in theatrical movie exhibition. A harbinger of the cookie-cutter “cineplex” type movie theaters that would become popular in the 1970s, a Jerry Lewis Cinema was billed in franchising ads as a “mini-theatre” with a seating capacity of between 200 and 350. Though billed as “luxurious and plush”, the actual theaters were not luxurious, but not bare-bones either. Jerry Lewis Cinemas stated that the theater could be operated by as little as a staff of two due to automation and the fact that the franchisor would provide support in booking films and help in other areas of film exhibition.
National Franchise Corp. successfully wooed Lewis to provide his name and star-power to the franchising operation. As well as bearing his name, each Jerry Lewis Cinema bore a sign with a cartoon logo of Lewis in profile. The theaters were pitched to investors that were not movie exhibition veterans, pitching owning a movie theater as a “mom and pop” operation.
There initially were 158 territories that were franchised, with a buy-in fee of $10,000 or $15,000, depending on the territory, for what was called an “individual exhibitor”. For $50,000, the Jerry Lewis Cinemas offered an opportunity known as an “area director” in which investors not only were given their own cinema, but controlled franchising opportunities in a territory.
The success of the chain was hampered by the chain’s policy of only booking second-run, family-friendly films. Eventually, the policy was changed, and the Jerry Lewis Cinemas were allowed to run other, more competitive fare, but after a decade, the chain failed. Both Lewis and National Cinema Corp. declared bankruptcy in 1980.
I think the Valleyview Cinema is now Extreme Kidz Parties.
i used to live right behind it in the apartments but left in 2002…what is it Now?
Nice ad AlAvarez.
It doesn’t look at all like Lewis Twin Theatre.More like a laundry store.
Jerry Lewis made a personal appearance here on opening week, March 30, 1970 to help launch the site.
View link
This is how it looked at the end.
The May 18, 1970, issue of Boxoffice ran an article about the Jerry Lewis Cinema. They gave the opening date as March 25, 1970. The company that built the Jerry Lewis theaters, Network Cinemas Corporation, had been formed in September, 1969, so they had managed to get their first theater open in about six months. The interiors of the theater were designed by Robin Wagner, but Boxoffice didn’t give the name of the architect.
can someone post a photo of the theater…all of a sudden I can’t find one and the links here don’t work…I’d appreciate it
This theater is closed?? NOW I’m depressed. I was at the first show ever when it was the Jerry Lewis…I saw “Marooned” there…then in the 70’s it turned porno for many years..then a fire…then I remember being overjoyed reading that it was going to be re-opened as a regular movie house..only twinned…I remember walking inside during the construction and going down memory lane…I thought the Valleyview as a twin was a great throwback to the small intimate theaters from the 70’s. The projection was crisp and the sound good. I saw many movies there from 1996…took my Mother there alot as she took me there when I was a kid. I saw the re-released “Exorcist” in 2000, I saw it there in 74 too when it was a single screen…I think I know why it’s out of business..
IT WAS RUN WRONG..
I never could understand why they didn’t have more shows… They would only have 1 evening show on weeknights and weekend shows didn’t start till late afternoon…the surroundings consisted of many apartment complexes and William Paterson College for Godsake!!! Most residents where elderly who go to movies…they had the perfect location for a neighborhood house..I even wrote to the powers that be to incorporate a classic film show , the same way the Lafayette does…I mean, with the apartments and the college, they would have done fine….but they just continued to have late shows only and only 1….If they had an afternoon show and even a late afternoon, 4-5pm, they would have gotten the after school crowd and more….there was no effort….that’s why these theaters are dying…now another one from the past is gone for a freakin restaurant….and there’s no reason….I applied for a manager job before it opened…I wish I got it…
a bummmer
This theater closed recently – it’s being converted to a Panera Bread restaurant.
Photo from the old Galaxy website:
View link
The p/w is my library card number (a NJ perk). Here is the article:
The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Dec 8, 1999 pL3
ADULT-THEATER OWNER SENTENCED IN INSURANCE SCAM; GETS 4 YEARS FOR SUBMITTING INFLATED CLAIMS ON WAYNE FIRE. (NEWS) Dan Kraut.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1999 Bergen Record Corp.
By DAN KRAUT, Staff Writer
The owner of a defunct adult theater in Wayne was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for trying to scam two insurance companies after his business burned down.
The sentencing came five months after Jack Chesner admitted submitting claims to two insurers in 1994 in which he said the Ramapo Theater was worth more than $100,000, even though he knew it to be worth less.
Chesner’s scheme unraveled when investigators found the insurance policies were not purchased until hours after the fire at the Ramapo Plaza Mall at Valley Road and Hamburg Turnpike, authorities said. He tried to cover his tracks by submitting premium checks dated before the fire.
Chesner, a retail and entertainment consultant who lives in Union, was indicted in January on charges that could have led to a maximum of 10 years in prison. Under a deal reached in the summer, however, authorities agreed he would be sentenced to between three and five years in exchange for a guilty plea, said Edward M. Neafsey, state insurance fraud prosecutor.
Because Chesner never collected any money in connection with the scheme, he was charged with attempted theft by deception.
Chesner, who was 67 when he pleaded guilty this summer, asked for a reduced sentence Tuesday because of poor health. Superior Court Judge John Triarsi, who presided over the case in Elizabeth, rejected the request, Neafsey said. The judge also imposed a $2,000 fine.
The fire was never fully explained. Officials initially suspected that a natural-gas leak at the Plaza set the stage for an explosion and subsequent blaze. But the structure was demolished before the investigation was completed, Neafsey said, leaving questions unanswered. Prosecutors do not suspect arson.
Chesner has also pleaded guilty in federal court to filing false tax returns and to obstructing an Internal Revenue Service investigation. He is scheduled to be sentenced for those crimes in February and remains free on bail until then, Neafsey said.
Chesner will begin his prison time after federal sentencing and will ultimately serve the longer of the two sentences.
Attempts to reach Chesner or his lawyer Tuesday evening were unsuccessful.
Chesner made news in 1994 during an unsuccessful bid to open an adult shop in Rochelle Park.
Article CJ70523741
TC….how do you get on that site…there’s a password login??
The Little Cinema stated in 1970 as one theater then they made another down the hall. Both small but descent theaters.
Interesting fact Peter. Check out this article, which talks about a Ramapo Theater at this location that burned down in 1994 and was then part of an insurance scam:
View link
RobertR:
The Little Cinema was actually located inside the Willowbrook Mall. I believe the Valleyview/Jerry Lewis was known as the “Ramapo Plaza Adult Cinema” during its x-rated run.
This theatre has been part of the Galaxy Theatre Corp. since January 2001.