Alex Theatre
216 N. Brand Boulevard,
Glendale,
CA
91203
216 N. Brand Boulevard,
Glendale,
CA
91203
35 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 48 comments
This was a West Coast Theater when it opened. The West Coast Theaters were owned and operated by the Gore Bros. Mike and Abe Gore ran the company and also hired their relatives to manage and run other parts of the business. Mike Gore has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for West Coast Theaters. Theaters were named after friends, family, etc. They were the largest theater owners until they sold to Fox.
Korkis, Jim (May 13, 2015). “Disney’s Preview Palace: The Alex Theater” [sic]. Cartoon Research. http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-alex-theater/
Here is a very interesting (and lengthy) video on the history of the Alex Theater.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyEFu4wd-qo
I worked there in the summer of 78 and it was perhaps the job that I had the most fun at. I remember how lonely it was to work the ticket booth, especially on those slow nights when a stinker of a film was showing, and how busy it got when you had a first rate film (we had the rerelease of Star Wars and I remember dealing with the long ticket lines). It also got really hot in there when the sun shined on it. It had a safe in there and always wondered why we never got held up in there, being so isolated.
I remember the manager getting really paranoid whenever she got word that Ted Mann might drop in to see how the theatre was doing (since it was owned by Mann Theatres).
One of the best perks was able to get in to any of the movie theatres in Glendale, Eagle Rock or Hollywood for free!
In early 2012 the State of California ‘took back’ the ability of cities to use Redevelopment to withhold property tax increases from the State.
Cities across the State sued and lost in Court. Now the State is threatening to seize projects and sell off for a one time cash infusion.
Glendale used the RD process to buy, restore and operate the Alex as a performing arts center (music, dance and occasional film screenings by the Alex Film Society).
In a few weeks the Alex’s fate may be known.
Please feel free to visit my FLICKr album of vintage theater photos, ads, and memorabilia. Mostly includes theaters in Pennsylvania and Los Angeles but also a few international cinemas. Thank you.
View link
Alex neon and marquee for a live performance of IRMA LA DOUCE:
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There’s a great video documentary that airs now and then on the local cable access channel GTV6. I can’t get the MS Silverlight plugin to work right now, but it might be found somewhere here. You might have to wait for the next time “Exploring Historic Glendale: Alex Theatre” comes up on the schedule and watch it off the live feed:
View link
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/stream.asp
Hope it can stay open.Great theatre,you guys should be proud of it.
I am Linda Gayle Langley. My father was Claude Alexander Langley, for whom the Alexander (Alex) theater was named in Glendale CA. I would very much like to hear from the person who posted as Johnny Vegas – I believe he is my cousin! Please send any further information about the theater and my father and grandfather that you have. Thank you so much!!
Linda
Article about improvements being made to the Alex, starting with reupholstering the seats:
View link
I’ve got some photos that I still need to edit and post from last year(sigh), showing the Alex together with its floral “Mini-Me,” but JustGlendale posted this video walk-around of the 2009 Rose Parade float version of the Alex parked in front of the actual Alex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQhTYEP0Lkk
The film playing in the 1983 photo was “The Dead Zone”.
Here are some photos taken a few days ago:
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Well neon cost money to maintain. It cost Pacific Theatres $10,000 a year on a contract to mainain the Hollywood Pacific’s neon marquee and radio towers.
What’s going on with the neon on the tower? First some of it was burnt out for the last few months without being repaired, but well over 75% of it was still working. Now, since around February 13th, the whole tower above the “leafy” shape at the bottom has been totally dark. The marquee and the tower base are fine, but it’s as if they gave up on the tower part completely. I hope it’s not a permanent cost-cutting measure. When it was lit, you could see that tower at night for quite a distance.
Just read an interesting blog posting about how the Alex (and before that the Alexander) hosting many Disney sneak previews and test screenings. View link
Four photographs of the Alex from October 2008 at my Flickr page:
View link
The Alex is where the live “finals” episodes of several seasons of the NBC show “Last Comic Standing” were filmed.
The Alexander Theater was built and owned by C. L. Langley. His company was West Coast Theaters, Inc. which he owned until 1929 when he sold the company to Fox. William Fox simply added his name to the front of West Coast.
C.L. Langley full name was Claude Leroy(which he changed to Leon). He didn’t like his name much so he went by his initials. His only son was Claude Alexander, for whom this theater was named.
C.L. died in 1943. Claude Alexander died in a car accident in 1963 in Phoenix, AZ.
This place was awesome. I flew out there in Sept of 2005, for a 25th Anniversary screening of Xanadu.
I had no idea it would be in such a classic theatre. Fitting to say the least. The old ticket booth is now just kind of a prop. To the left is a window that now operates as the point of sale.
Beyond the first set of glass doors behind the booth, is an open air courtyard. Complete with some small palms as I remember. The view of the neon spire & it’s glow was breathtaking, even for this dude. They’d set up a small wine stand in the courtyard prior to opening the main doors.
Inside was equally as classic. You almost couldn’t tell what was original or restored. This event was hosted by Ralph or something Hueck. Movie geek from TV’s “Beat The Geeks”.
They had a memoribilia display, costume contest, memories from one of the original film’s dancers, and live dancers re-enact a sequence in front of the film.
The Alex Theatre was an absolute perfect fit for this kind of show. I heard from a friend in LA that they now do similar sing-a-long type shows there.
I too have seen the Alex in the background of various TV shows. Surprisingly, the surrounding area was peppered with vacant store fronts back then. It had an eerie, film backlot kind of a feel to it. There would be like 3 empty stores, then a major chain steakhouse or something. It was like a college town during the off time.
This theatre was in an episode of Criminal Minds last night.
I always got the names Alex and Aero confused!
I was watching a movie once that was supposed to be set in Cleveland. It was El Segundo. I even spotted a few palm trees, which are kind of rare in Cleveland.
Last night, on the CBS crime program “Criminal Minds,” the Alex was featured in one segment. The show was supposed to be taking place in Chula Vista, yet the teen girls in it had gone to this movie theater, which was shown in a couple of shots.
Pretty ambitious to travel 135 miles to Glendale just to see a movie and meet some boys.