One of these days I’ll take a drive out to Rolling Hills (I live i Orange County… about 45 minutes away) and look for my old movie theatre. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the location of where the theatre once stood, even after 20+ years, which is approximately how long its been since I worked there. When I do I’ll report back the address of the building that is there now, assuming someone else doesn’t beat me to it first.
As to your second question, I have no idea.
It just so happens I am currently working with the young nephew (I think that’s the relationship) of the person who was the manager (I will not mention his name in this forum) at the time of the murders. However, bringing up the whole story to this young man and asking him to look into it is something I am not going to do. (I am curious, though.)
I doubt it, simply because of its size… or lack thereof. The Holly was a VERY small theatre. During the two full years that I ran the theatre, (mid 1980s) I saw many movies at every movie theatre on Hollywood Blvd. The Holly Theatre was undoubtedly the smallest theatre of them all, both in terms of screen size and seating capacity. I can’t imagine the Holly being capable of hosting the Academy Awards, even back in 1949. (But this is just an educated guess… I don’t know one way or the other.)
My comments were taken from an old SRO newsletter. As it was written, I surmised it was the ONLY theatre in the Southbay area, not just SRO. However, I cannot verify the accuracy of that piece of information and I suppose I should not be surprised if it is not completely accurate. I have little doubt your information is correct. Thanks for the clarification.
When I worked at the Paramount Theatre, I never understood why we didn’t open the balcony. It was a beautiful balcony, which few theatres could boast of, and the only time we EVER opened it was on Friday and Saturday evenings when we expected the lower section to fill up.
Payroll, or course, was the reason. If we OPEN the balcony each day then we have to CLEAN the balcony… which costs money. By keeping the balcony closed we save money.
Hogwash. We should have allowed patrons to view the movie from the balcony if the wished for each and every performance. So WHAT if we spend a few dollars more cleaning it each night! Big deal. Instead, what do we do? We keep it closed and thus rob countless people of a wonderful movie experience by not allowing them to watch the movie from there. Were we not in the ENTERTAINMENT business?
If we HAD opened it, we probably would have sold a few more tickets each night, which right there would have paid for the additional time our janitor needed to clean it. How many Hollywood theatres at that time had such balconys? Very few, I know that.
SRO was a WONDERFUL company to work for and throughout its organization were MANY bright and hard-working individuals. But like many other companies, we often went overboard trying to save pennies.
My hat is off to Disney for their glorius restoration.
Thank you Ross. That information is correct. In fact, I will be the manager working both of those evenings. I’ve been a manager at the swap meet for the past 5 ½ years and I’m usually the one who runs our summer drive-in event. (Most likely because of my experience working as a movie theatre manager for SRO back in the early ‘80s.)
I think our most entertaining drive-in night was back in 1999, when we presented “Grease” starring John Travolta and Oliva Newton-John. Many of our patrons arrived in classic cars and during intermission we had an Elvis impersonator entertain our small crowd!
Alas, the Santa Fe Springs Drive-in capacity is not anywhere near what it used to be. I’m sorry to say that we have, at best, room for maybe 25 cars. This is because hundreds of permanent buildings and storage containers are now located inside the grounds. (Along with nearly as many tarps and canopies!) These structures are used by our weekend swap meet vendors to store their merchandise.
If you come out either evening, ask for me. I’d be happy to chat with you for a moment or two!
An old, 1981 SRO newsletter of mine reports that “Caligua” opened at the Holly Theatre in April of 1980 and closed on June 25, 1981 after running for 62 consecutive weeks. With its daily matinees and $7.50 per person admission price (inexpensive by today’s standards but very pricey then!) the Holly Theatre grossed approximately $1 million showing “Caligula.”
I did not manage this theatre until 1983, so I was not a part of “Caligula.”
The Rolling Hills Theatre was one of SRO’s original California units when it was built in 1962 on the beautiful Palos Verdes peninsula.
At that time, it was designed as a 1,100-seat single screen theatre and was the only theatre in the Southbay area. Opening day ceremonies featured a Gala Grand Opening Celebration with Tab Hunter as honored guest.
In 1974, the single screen theatre became the Rolling Hills Twin. Many years later, in the early 1980s, I arrived there as an assistant manager and worked there for approximately six months, before I was transferred to Hollywood to help manage SRO’s Paramount Theatre. (Now called the El Capitan.)
The following paragraphs were taken from an old SRO company newsletter, dated in the fall of 1979. Mark G. Lindermann wrote the article:
“Patrons of SRO’s Paramount Theatre in Holywood recently witnessed a massive facelift taking place in the classic house. District Manager Mike Scheff worked long hours with architects in order to come up with renovations which would compliment the Paramount’s classic lines while at the same time modernizing the theatre’s appearance and improving its efficiency.
When SRO first took over the Paramount in the fall of 1976, their first actions were to renovate the sound system of the house, installing the most up-to-date facilites. Once the sound system and projection booth had been overhauled, SRO went to work on the cosmetic appearances in the lobby.
A new candy stand was constructed last summer, in earth toned tile which reflects the color of the architecture of the theatre’s late 1920’s consctruction. The entire lobby and stairwell of the Paramount’s first floor are carpet weave which closely approximates the weave of the theatre’s original carpeting. The ceramic tile of the candy stand blends nicely with the new decorative tile on the lower ceilings: gold shot through with deeper toned gold veining.
While the lobby of the Paramount is already quite spacious, an illusion of ever greater depth is gained while at the same time tying together the themes of the concession stand, carpet, and ceiling by mirroring the lobby and outer auditorium walls. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors marbled with gold are used here, cut and installed at angles to catch and toss about the light, creating a most unique and fascinating effect.
Along with the lobby, all of the Paramount’s lower auditorium seating, almost 1,000 seats in all, have been recushioned and recovered in a rich and plush deep red mohair, once again adding to the flavor of the house’s heritage."
I have very many fond memories of this theatre. I worked here as an assistant manager in 1982 or 1983. It was known as the Paramount Theatre then, operated by SRO.
I can recall many sellouts. Even before the recent 1990s renovation, it was an abolute beautiful house, and was considered one of SRO’s flagship theatres.
A couple of films that I vividly remember showing are Death Wish III (parts of this movie were filmed directly across the street!) and Prince of the City.
Movie stars attending the theatre was a common occurance. For it was here that I met Chuck Norris and got his autograph.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Paramount was a live play theatre. As an assistant manager, I had access to all of the wonderful rooms behind the movie screen. These rooms, 50 years ago, were the dressing rooms, bathrooms, etc. from those early vaudeville days. We used some of them for storage but most weren’t used at all. I remember there were several floors and all were dirty, filthy, broken down and downright scary to be in at night. (I suppose 30+ years of neglect can do that.) But at the same time, it was wonderful to go back there, get lost, and explore that section of the theatre. Even all of the neglect and disrepair could not erase the history and nostalgia that I knew existed within the walls.
I was born in 1961 and lived in the tiny town of East Tawas from 1968 thru 1976. I have many fond memories watching Saturday matinees at this theatre, when I was a kid. “The Castaway Cowboy” (1974) starring James Garner, “The Shakiest Gun in the West” (1968) starring Don Knotts, and Jaws (1976) are three movies that immediately come to mind. The last movie I saw here was “Love At First Bite” in 1979, when I came back to Tawas for a visit.
Over 55 years ago, in 1948, 18 acres of land was purchased and construction began on what was to be known as the “La Mirada Drive-In Theatre.” At the time, the land consisted of a dairy and an orange orchard. The area was unincorporated and known as “Dairy Valley.” This was prior to the existence of the city of Santa Fe Springs and thus the name “La Mirada” was chosen since that was the nearest city to this location.
In 1950, two years later, the large, single-screen theatre first opened for business. It was one of the largest drive-in theatres in the country, with the capacity to hold approximately 1,000 cars.
One unique aspect of the theatre design was that a large area in front of the grounds, between the screen tower and the front of the street, was reserved with the idea of building walk-in theatres, restaurants, or other future projects. There was even some speculation to build a “heli-port” and set up a helicopter transportation service to transport executives from La Mirada/Downey to downtown Los Angeles. For whatever reason, this idea never quite materialized.
This was all prior to the construction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) which now runs directly south of the property.
15 years later, in 1965, the “La Mirada Swap Meet” opened for the first time… and has been open continously ever since. The dirt field in front of the property became an ideal parking area for the thousands of visitors who would eventually attend the swap meet. Attendance of more than 600 daily vendors and more than 1,500,000 customers annually has become common throughout the years.
In 1990, with the advent of multi-plex theatres and the general decline of drive-in movie theatre attendance, coupled with the popularity of the swap meet, the drive-in was closed (with the exception of special events) and stadium lighting installed. Doing so enabled the drive-in to open up the first Los Angeles area outdoor/night-time swap meet “under the lights!” Currently the swap meet is open five days a week… during the day Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and during the evenings on Friday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
In the early ‘90s the name was changed to “Santa Fe Springs Drive-In Theatre and Swap Meet” to more accurately reflect the actual location. The drive-in and swap meet are owned and operated by Newport Diversified, Inc. Since 1999, the drive-in has re-opened for two nights each year, during the summer.
I read all of the above comments with much interest. I was a manager of the Holly Theater for two full years, in 1983 through 1984. Our company (SRO) ran this movie theatre, as well as the Paramount Theatre (now known as the El Capitan) located further down the street. (SRO also ran a dozen or so other theatres in Southern California.)
Earlier this evening I was inside what used to be the Holly Theatre. As of this date, it’s now an L. Ron Hubbard store. I was hoping to reminisce and see SOME signs of my old movie theatre, but as such it is unrecognizable. The upstairs projection booth is gone, (the entire 2nd floor was gone!) the small, manager’s office in the basement was gone… walls and doors that I remember were removed… If it weren’t for the address outside, I would not have recognized the place!
Stephen Gates was my projectionist for the entire time I was there and I can confirm he was indeed a character!
I think my longest run was the film “Private Lessons.” I recall showing that pic for what seemed like forever.
One of these days I’ll take a drive out to Rolling Hills (I live i Orange County… about 45 minutes away) and look for my old movie theatre. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the location of where the theatre once stood, even after 20+ years, which is approximately how long its been since I worked there. When I do I’ll report back the address of the building that is there now, assuming someone else doesn’t beat me to it first.
As to your second question, I have no idea.
It just so happens I am currently working with the young nephew (I think that’s the relationship) of the person who was the manager (I will not mention his name in this forum) at the time of the murders. However, bringing up the whole story to this young man and asking him to look into it is something I am not going to do. (I am curious, though.)
I doubt it, simply because of its size… or lack thereof. The Holly was a VERY small theatre. During the two full years that I ran the theatre, (mid 1980s) I saw many movies at every movie theatre on Hollywood Blvd. The Holly Theatre was undoubtedly the smallest theatre of them all, both in terms of screen size and seating capacity. I can’t imagine the Holly being capable of hosting the Academy Awards, even back in 1949. (But this is just an educated guess… I don’t know one way or the other.)
Hi Bobby,
My comments were taken from an old SRO newsletter. As it was written, I surmised it was the ONLY theatre in the Southbay area, not just SRO. However, I cannot verify the accuracy of that piece of information and I suppose I should not be surprised if it is not completely accurate. I have little doubt your information is correct. Thanks for the clarification.
One more comment, if I may:
When I worked at the Paramount Theatre, I never understood why we didn’t open the balcony. It was a beautiful balcony, which few theatres could boast of, and the only time we EVER opened it was on Friday and Saturday evenings when we expected the lower section to fill up.
Payroll, or course, was the reason. If we OPEN the balcony each day then we have to CLEAN the balcony… which costs money. By keeping the balcony closed we save money.
Hogwash. We should have allowed patrons to view the movie from the balcony if the wished for each and every performance. So WHAT if we spend a few dollars more cleaning it each night! Big deal. Instead, what do we do? We keep it closed and thus rob countless people of a wonderful movie experience by not allowing them to watch the movie from there. Were we not in the ENTERTAINMENT business?
If we HAD opened it, we probably would have sold a few more tickets each night, which right there would have paid for the additional time our janitor needed to clean it. How many Hollywood theatres at that time had such balconys? Very few, I know that.
SRO was a WONDERFUL company to work for and throughout its organization were MANY bright and hard-working individuals. But like many other companies, we often went overboard trying to save pennies.
My hat is off to Disney for their glorius restoration.
Thank you Ross. That information is correct. In fact, I will be the manager working both of those evenings. I’ve been a manager at the swap meet for the past 5 ½ years and I’m usually the one who runs our summer drive-in event. (Most likely because of my experience working as a movie theatre manager for SRO back in the early ‘80s.)
I think our most entertaining drive-in night was back in 1999, when we presented “Grease” starring John Travolta and Oliva Newton-John. Many of our patrons arrived in classic cars and during intermission we had an Elvis impersonator entertain our small crowd!
Alas, the Santa Fe Springs Drive-in capacity is not anywhere near what it used to be. I’m sorry to say that we have, at best, room for maybe 25 cars. This is because hundreds of permanent buildings and storage containers are now located inside the grounds. (Along with nearly as many tarps and canopies!) These structures are used by our weekend swap meet vendors to store their merchandise.
If you come out either evening, ask for me. I’d be happy to chat with you for a moment or two!
An old, 1981 SRO newsletter of mine reports that “Caligua” opened at the Holly Theatre in April of 1980 and closed on June 25, 1981 after running for 62 consecutive weeks. With its daily matinees and $7.50 per person admission price (inexpensive by today’s standards but very pricey then!) the Holly Theatre grossed approximately $1 million showing “Caligula.”
I did not manage this theatre until 1983, so I was not a part of “Caligula.”
The Rolling Hills Theatre was one of SRO’s original California units when it was built in 1962 on the beautiful Palos Verdes peninsula.
At that time, it was designed as a 1,100-seat single screen theatre and was the only theatre in the Southbay area. Opening day ceremonies featured a Gala Grand Opening Celebration with Tab Hunter as honored guest.
In 1974, the single screen theatre became the Rolling Hills Twin. Many years later, in the early 1980s, I arrived there as an assistant manager and worked there for approximately six months, before I was transferred to Hollywood to help manage SRO’s Paramount Theatre. (Now called the El Capitan.)
The following paragraphs were taken from an old SRO company newsletter, dated in the fall of 1979. Mark G. Lindermann wrote the article:
“Patrons of SRO’s Paramount Theatre in Holywood recently witnessed a massive facelift taking place in the classic house. District Manager Mike Scheff worked long hours with architects in order to come up with renovations which would compliment the Paramount’s classic lines while at the same time modernizing the theatre’s appearance and improving its efficiency.
When SRO first took over the Paramount in the fall of 1976, their first actions were to renovate the sound system of the house, installing the most up-to-date facilites. Once the sound system and projection booth had been overhauled, SRO went to work on the cosmetic appearances in the lobby.
A new candy stand was constructed last summer, in earth toned tile which reflects the color of the architecture of the theatre’s late 1920’s consctruction. The entire lobby and stairwell of the Paramount’s first floor are carpet weave which closely approximates the weave of the theatre’s original carpeting. The ceramic tile of the candy stand blends nicely with the new decorative tile on the lower ceilings: gold shot through with deeper toned gold veining.
While the lobby of the Paramount is already quite spacious, an illusion of ever greater depth is gained while at the same time tying together the themes of the concession stand, carpet, and ceiling by mirroring the lobby and outer auditorium walls. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors marbled with gold are used here, cut and installed at angles to catch and toss about the light, creating a most unique and fascinating effect.
Along with the lobby, all of the Paramount’s lower auditorium seating, almost 1,000 seats in all, have been recushioned and recovered in a rich and plush deep red mohair, once again adding to the flavor of the house’s heritage."
I have very many fond memories of this theatre. I worked here as an assistant manager in 1982 or 1983. It was known as the Paramount Theatre then, operated by SRO.
I can recall many sellouts. Even before the recent 1990s renovation, it was an abolute beautiful house, and was considered one of SRO’s flagship theatres.
A couple of films that I vividly remember showing are Death Wish III (parts of this movie were filmed directly across the street!) and Prince of the City.
Movie stars attending the theatre was a common occurance. For it was here that I met Chuck Norris and got his autograph.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Paramount was a live play theatre. As an assistant manager, I had access to all of the wonderful rooms behind the movie screen. These rooms, 50 years ago, were the dressing rooms, bathrooms, etc. from those early vaudeville days. We used some of them for storage but most weren’t used at all. I remember there were several floors and all were dirty, filthy, broken down and downright scary to be in at night. (I suppose 30+ years of neglect can do that.) But at the same time, it was wonderful to go back there, get lost, and explore that section of the theatre. Even all of the neglect and disrepair could not erase the history and nostalgia that I knew existed within the walls.
I was born in 1961 and lived in the tiny town of East Tawas from 1968 thru 1976. I have many fond memories watching Saturday matinees at this theatre, when I was a kid. “The Castaway Cowboy” (1974) starring James Garner, “The Shakiest Gun in the West” (1968) starring Don Knotts, and Jaws (1976) are three movies that immediately come to mind. The last movie I saw here was “Love At First Bite” in 1979, when I came back to Tawas for a visit.
I’m glad to see the theatre is still open.
Over 55 years ago, in 1948, 18 acres of land was purchased and construction began on what was to be known as the “La Mirada Drive-In Theatre.” At the time, the land consisted of a dairy and an orange orchard. The area was unincorporated and known as “Dairy Valley.” This was prior to the existence of the city of Santa Fe Springs and thus the name “La Mirada” was chosen since that was the nearest city to this location.
In 1950, two years later, the large, single-screen theatre first opened for business. It was one of the largest drive-in theatres in the country, with the capacity to hold approximately 1,000 cars.
One unique aspect of the theatre design was that a large area in front of the grounds, between the screen tower and the front of the street, was reserved with the idea of building walk-in theatres, restaurants, or other future projects. There was even some speculation to build a “heli-port” and set up a helicopter transportation service to transport executives from La Mirada/Downey to downtown Los Angeles. For whatever reason, this idea never quite materialized.
This was all prior to the construction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) which now runs directly south of the property.
15 years later, in 1965, the “La Mirada Swap Meet” opened for the first time… and has been open continously ever since. The dirt field in front of the property became an ideal parking area for the thousands of visitors who would eventually attend the swap meet. Attendance of more than 600 daily vendors and more than 1,500,000 customers annually has become common throughout the years.
In 1990, with the advent of multi-plex theatres and the general decline of drive-in movie theatre attendance, coupled with the popularity of the swap meet, the drive-in was closed (with the exception of special events) and stadium lighting installed. Doing so enabled the drive-in to open up the first Los Angeles area outdoor/night-time swap meet “under the lights!” Currently the swap meet is open five days a week… during the day Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and during the evenings on Friday from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
In the early ‘90s the name was changed to “Santa Fe Springs Drive-In Theatre and Swap Meet” to more accurately reflect the actual location. The drive-in and swap meet are owned and operated by Newport Diversified, Inc. Since 1999, the drive-in has re-opened for two nights each year, during the summer.
I read all of the above comments with much interest. I was a manager of the Holly Theater for two full years, in 1983 through 1984. Our company (SRO) ran this movie theatre, as well as the Paramount Theatre (now known as the El Capitan) located further down the street. (SRO also ran a dozen or so other theatres in Southern California.)
Earlier this evening I was inside what used to be the Holly Theatre. As of this date, it’s now an L. Ron Hubbard store. I was hoping to reminisce and see SOME signs of my old movie theatre, but as such it is unrecognizable. The upstairs projection booth is gone, (the entire 2nd floor was gone!) the small, manager’s office in the basement was gone… walls and doors that I remember were removed… If it weren’t for the address outside, I would not have recognized the place!
Stephen Gates was my projectionist for the entire time I was there and I can confirm he was indeed a character!
I think my longest run was the film “Private Lessons.” I recall showing that pic for what seemed like forever.