World Theatre
6021 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6021 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
14 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 94 comments
shatter, For more info on the Hawaiian Garden theatre go to the X 1 & 2.
http://cinematresures.org/theater/8436/
shatter, the Hawaiian Gardens Theatre was the old X-Theatre twin. The former Hawaii Theatre is on the east side of the Florentine Gardens club and the former Hawaiian Garden aka: X-Theatre twin is on the west side of the Florentine Gardens and the former World Theatre is west of the Hawaiian Gardens/X-Theatre twin. I remember those shows that Eric Caiden did there.
Was the “Hawaii theater” William mentions the same as the “Hawaiian Gardens” theater also near the Florentine gardens, used in the early 90s by Eric Caiden and Johnny Legend of Hollywood Book and Poster fame? I used to go to the Hawaiian gardens for their weird triple bills and recall Johnny telling me that this had been an adult theater at one time.
Another on the same side of the street going east was the old Hawaii Theatre at 5941 Hollywood Blvd., which was converted into the Salvation Army’s Hollywood location. (next to the Florentine Gardens)
hollywood90038 if you look at ken mc’s post from Nov. 28th. 2005 6:17pm and enlarge the picture you will see shot from the west side of the building looking east at the World and a small building and then the X-Theatre.
Yes, that is the former X-Theatre twin. The World (aka. Marcal) the building to the west of the X- Theatre. The World no longer has a marquee on it.
Isn’t that pic of the X?
I, too, worked at the World for a few weeks in 1967, if I remember correctly. I worked the snack bar. I also ushered at the Pantages, when they were showing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I adored the World back then – went there all the time and saw great triple bills.
From the Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photograph Collection:
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The World was closed when I moved to LA in September 1984. I read about the theater in a book called “The Best of LA”, published by the LA Weekly, which had the quote referenced by Ken Roe. I was disappointed to find that I had missed out on the World experience.
Oh GOD!……..seriously demented Americana…and you all wonder why the rest of the planet thinks you are all seriously dangerous. And George has his finger on the button to the bomb. God Help us all.
I worked at the World Theatre during 1982-1983, at different times as doorman, usher, snackbar worker or cashier. The manager at the time was Diana and the Assistant Managers I worked with were Renee and Lafayette. It was a crazy place, especially wild on Friday and Saturday nights. They had off-duty LAPD officers working on those nights to “keep the peace”. On several occasions they had to Mace someone in the restroom, and the fumes would spread into the lobby affecting unlucky customers passing by.
I often replaced my official nametag with the names of musical performers or celebrities like David Bowie, Bruce Lee or Bob Marley. Customers at the door would often do a double take when they read my tag.
We would even get the occasional actor that would bring some friends along to see them in their latest film. Alan Hale Jr., “Skipper” from the “Gilligan’s Island” came fairly regularily to Saturday morning matinees. I once let Pat Boone come in after we had closed so that he could buy a tub of popcorn.
I even married one of the snack bar girls!
Yes, I too worked at the World Theatre from 1980 – 1982. Many a fond memory of breaking up fights, managers stealing from the profits, young relationships with fellow employees…
My friends and I used to create super 8 martial arts movies and show them on the big screen after hours…with the managers. Great times. Dean was great. He loved our films. I remember Diana as well (they weren’t the corrupt managers, by the way). Ah, yes…the World!
I saw many a triple feature in this dirty semi-unsafe place. I lived in LA in 81, my friend MELVY was a cashier here, her mother CONNIE was the manager of the VOGUE. I got a job at the HOLLY with a good word from MELVY and SHELLY WILSON (Holly employee who was running Claigulia at this time) Miss them, HI, GIRLS, Ive never forgotten you !!! love always Brad,
I was a usher at the World Theatre and the Pacific in the early eighties.
Diana was the manager at the World and so was Dean. I still have my name
tag. When the World Theatre closed I found out who owned it and called him
and asked if I could have letters off the the Big World sign. I have the
Letters WORLD in my back yard. I even took my super eight camera and
shot movies of some of the emplyees.. It was a great time….
I used to fill up my flashlight cone with coke and drink it…..
No the World did not have a balcony.
The World Theatre played a lot of triple features and the many of the theatres along Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles like the State.
Did the World Theatre or some other L.A. area movie theatre show a triple feature of the movies called “Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave”, “Goodbye Bruce Lee, His Last Game of Death”, and some other Bruce Lee rip-off movie at around 1981 or 1982? I think that I remember seeing the L.A. Times ad for this, but I can’t remember the year that this was shown.
Did the World have a balcony? When the theatre was a twin, what was the split?
I went and investigated the former World/Marcal Theatre this week. The original facade has been removed (or covered over) and is now cinder-blocked and plain. There was a side exit doorway open so I went a peeked inside what was the former auditorium. There is nothing remaining inside of original decorative detail from its theatre days. It has been gutted back to its exterior walls and roof beams and the floor has been leveled.
It is currently used as a disco/nightclub.
It’s got to be the World. I went there on Halloween and the layout upstairs was like that of an old theatre. The entrance system has changed a bit – the auditorium is huge and the stage could well have been the old World stage.
The address I found for Q-Topia is 6021 Hollywood Boulevard. I suppose the club might be using the address of a former storefront in the theater building, adjacent to the foyer, even if the patrons' entrance is in the old location. I can’t remember what the place looked like when it was a theater, though, so I don’t know if there were any storefronts in the building, or even if the building east of the theater was big enough to be a club. It does seem likely that the World is now the location of Q-Topia, though.
I could be wrong, but isn’t what was the World Theatre now a performance space called Q-Topia? I went to a rave-like event there, and the layout of the place looked like it could have been a big theatre at one time.
Yes. The card with the reference to the wedding apparently had a misspelling of the name. It is Chotiner, rather than Chotner. All the other cards with references to the Chotiner family at the site are spelled correctly.
M.C. Chotiner of Chotiner’s Ravenna?
/theaters/1036/
Sue:
A search on “Calhoun” and “Alice” (one name in each of the first two search boxes) at the L.A. Public Library’s California Index fetches 11 scanned index cards (I’m presuming that the actual items these cards reference are available at the library itself, probably the central library downtown) with references to her. According to one, she is indeed silent film star Alice Beatrice Calhoun (1904-1966), and another card refers to an article in the Hollywood Citizen of January 5th, 1927, announcing her marriage to M.C. Chotner, who I know was himself the owner of several theatres in the Los Angeles area. Many of them are listed here at Cinema Treasures, but I can’t remember their names offhand.