De-Luxe Theatre

Will definately pass on that!

Having lived most of my life in Queens, I never went to the Deluxe until the late 80s. It was a porn theater by then, and that suited me fine. My first time there, I was amazed at all the action going on. In the orchestra seats, the balcony, the wall behind the balcony and in the restrooms. There were two restrooms. One on the left that had a sign saying "ladies" ( a hold over, as the clientel was all male) and one on the right side, saying mens. You could actually use both. I always prefered the "mens" room. When you entered, there were two urinals, a sink, and then the two stalls. I prefered the one against the wall. I would sometime spend a couple of hours in there, and I always had an "open" door policy. What delicious fun. I used to change into short shorts and flip-flops when I attended, even in winter. They had lockers to stow away any bags you might have. Until the city started cracking down on XXX theaters, the staff knew not to bother the patrons, and would usually make sounds to let you know they were coming. Im not bragging, but I once had an “encounter” with the owner, up in the balcony, near the projection room. His name is Sal. he also presently owns the theater at Kings Highway. Between the city crackdown and the owner lettingthe place totally run down, its days were numbered by the late 90s. I guess I discovered it and enjoyed it when it was at its peak. I loved the place so much, I would go there 3 and 4 times weekly. No matter how small the attendance, there was always someone to "play" with. Id love to hear from any ex-patrons that would like to hear further, very detailed adventures I had there, or who want to share their own. maybe we met? Remember, short-shorts and flip-flops. Sometimes, ankle bracelets and toe nail polish. Im a true believer in the old saying,"I never met a man I didnt like"! If you wish to contact me, do it at I`m 59, but still going strong!

Yes it was but if the efforts had been sucessful I doudt if the Deluxe would have went back to showing regular films. It just would have closed down about 15 years earlier then it did.

I would bet the stores on 86st probably forced the Benson to stop that practice.

I remember the Deluxe as being in better shape than the Benson also. It was cleaner and even seemed more modern inside. While I never went there once it became a XXX house I kind of wish I would have went inside before it closed. It outlasted the Benson and the Oriental but unfortnatly as a porno theatre.

Thanks for the info Theaterat. It’s nice to know that at least it was kept as one theater. I rarely ever went to the Fortway after they spilt it into 3 and then 5 theaters, though I wish I had attended a screening there this year before it closed. Even though both theaters are now closed at least we still have our fond memories of the “good old days” to cherish.

What a nostalgic site this is! I’m so glad I found it!
I remember the Deluxe, and going there a few times as a child. My family lived in Bay Ridge so my dad would have to drive us there. I have vague memories of seeing Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, and another time seeing a movie featuring Topo Gigio. And once my dad drove me and my mom and younger brother there to see one of those Man From U.N.C.L.E. movies, in fact I think he stayed to watch it with us.
Even back then I remember it being a small theater. Although I never had a desire to go when it was in its porno period, I do know it was cut up into I think 4 small theaters, so I was always curious to see how tiny they were!

Fred B It could be that the Deluxe probably had a soft core film that week. Sometimes these soft porn features would play at legitimate houses, but in reality they were really only R rated films where there was no graphic sex .only a hint of it. Remember when Midnight Cowboy came out it had an X rating. At this time an X rating did not necessarilly mean a filw was porn. More like the dreaded NC17 rating of today.Also The Last Tango In Paris from 1973 had an X rating. At about this time the triple x rating was used to rate hard core porn.

I think Theaterat and YankeeMike might be mistaken about the dates. The Deluxe was showing porn movies before I left Brooklyn and went upstate in September 1973. I remember passing by and being shocked to see it. Is it possible that they were showing both porn movies and legitimate movies on different days before becoming all porn?

My last visit to the Deluxe was in Feb.1974 although I do not remember what film I saw. It was a Friday night and they had a pretty large crowd. Theaterat is right, the Deluxe was always a lot cleaner then the Benson. I remember films always sounding and looking good there also. It’s a shame it became a “porno” house the last 20 years it was open. Glad to hear that the last legitimate film to play there was “Gone With The Wind”.

The shoe repair store was included in the new structure. It was part of the building.

Didn’t they also use the old shoe repair shop next door to the theatre to build part of the new structure? It really is hard to recognize this as once being a movie theatre now. The old Texaco station next door has been gone for a long time as well. The Deluxe always seemed so small in comparison to the other Bensonhurst theatres like the Oriental, Marboro, Walker etc.