Fine Arts Theatre
8556 Wilshire Boulevard,
Beverly Hills,
CA
90211
8556 Wilshire Boulevard,
Beverly Hills,
CA
90211
25 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 79 comments
My neighbor and good friend, JOSEPH MUSIL -classic theater architect extraordinaire, is responsible for the present-day design of the Fine Arts Theatre auditorium and stage.
I’m not too sure as to the facade but I’m sure Joe will confirm by telephone: 714-667-6959…… Such talent can be seen in other theaters: Majestic Crest, Alex, El Capitan and more!
Alices Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie set an attendance record for the theatre during its 6 week run(under the seating configuration at the time). The morning cleanup crew was always amazed at the amount of marijuana they found in the auditorium. We sold an enormous amount of snack items, The Orange Winzit stand across Wilshire and Delores did great business.
The seating capacity when I was there was 653. We used to stack the pre-cooked bags of popcorn from the popcorn facility in Culver City upstairs in the employee lounge. Sometimes that popcorn was on the shelf if we has a bad movie for 8-12 weeks
Charlie Hawthorne was a prince of a man. He shared the duties with another man in the late 60’s and 70’s whose name I cannot recall. He was very forgiving when I messed up his payroll hours!
I was the asst mgr under Jim Peters, who later transferred to the Village in Westwood for Love Story. I endured the stink bombs there during the Herald Examiner strikes and the bomb like The Charge of the Light Brigade with Trevar Howard and Ringo Starr. I also had the joy of Belle De Jour , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang( the childrens Premiere) and Monterey Pop.
Here’s a short article from the LA Times from the 80’s about this theater changing hands:
(March 25, 1984)
Laemmle Theaters has purchased the landmark Fine Arts theater, 8556 Wilshire Blvd., for $1.1 million and plans to take over its operation after mann Theaters' present lease expires at the end of 1985. Mann Theaters has operated the Fine Arts since 1973 but had turned down the opportunity to buy it, according to David Lachoff, of Grubb & Ellis Commerical Brokerage Group, who handled the transaction. That paved the way for Laemmle’s purchase, he said. The
Laemmle company operates nearly a dozen theaters in the Los Angeles area.
Here’s one more about the name change:
(Dec. 14, 1948)
REGINA WILL BE RENAMED
Southern California’s newest de luxe showcase, the Fine Arts Theater, in which first-run films from studios throughout the world will be presented, will open Dec. 28, it was announced yesterday by Fox West Coast Theaters. Plans are being drafted to launch the first attraction with a typical gala Hollywood premiere. The film is J. Arthur Rank’s dramatic musical, “The Red Shoes,” photographed in Technicolor. Located on Wilshire Blvd. near La Cienega and now known as the Regina, the house is in the process of being remodeled and redecorated. It will have a seating capacity of 700.
This must be right around when the name changed:
(Dec. 28, 1948)
Tonight at 8 o'clock the pageantry that is a special part of the Hollywood premiere will be on display at the Fine Arts Theater, Wilshire Blvd. near La Cienega, for the benefit showing of J. Arthur Rank’s Technicolor ballet film, “The Red Shoes.” A turnout of stars is expected, among them Susan Hayward, Joan Crawford, Linda Darnell, Edward G. Robinson, Virginia Mayo, Eleanor Powell, Shirley Temple, Glenn Ford, Clifton Webb, Ava Gardener, Cornel Wilde, Jean Hersholt, Pat Knight, Ann Blythe and June Haver. The Fine Arts was formerly the Regina Theater.
This is kind of funny:
(Nov. 10, 1939)
HEDDA HOPPER’S HOLLYWOOD
Peter Lorre driving by Regina Theater noticed they were playing “M”, the film which won him international fame. So dropped in to see himself again. First he sat through Boris Karloff in the “Black Room.” Then shuddered while Bela Lugosi did “White Zombie.” When “M” finally flashed on Lorre had fallen asleep. Actor or no actor, he couldn’t absorb that much horror. Could you???
Distributed by Jones Syndicate, 1939.
The theater group I belong to (HTC-Historic Theater Commitee) is going to have a meeting at this theater on Feb. 28. I’ll see if they will let me take a few interior photos. Here is a short item from the LA Times. I guess they showed different types of films from the start at this theater.
(July 26, 1937)
Angelenos interested in Mexican affairs may view two official Mexican sound films depicting the progress and development of the southern republic under the leadership of President Cardenas at the Regina Theater, Wilshire Boulevard and Stanley avenue, Wednesday evening, beginning at 8 p.m., according to Renato Cantu Lara, Mexican Consul in Los Angeles.
Spent many happy days and evenings at the Fine Arts, all throughout the late 50s and early 60s. Saw The Miracle Worker there, David and Lisa, Never on Sunday, That Man From Rio, and many, many others. A terrific little jernt, and glad to see it’s open again.
They’re screening films now, with some amount of renovations going on inside. So, it’s open again.
Another exterior photo from the LA Library:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics01/00020227.jpg
From the LA Library:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014409.jpg
Most of “what’s happening” is now on the top of the page.
The Theatre will be reopen to the public around the end of November, begininng of December.
Check back here & @ http://www.ClassicMovieTheatres.com for further updates.
Any news on what is happening to the theatre?
I was the manager of the theatre when it was closed.
Some of the info at the top is incorrect.
The theatre opened April 21, 1937 as a movie theatre, it was never a stage theatre.
It currently seats 430, it seated 800 before the remodel in 1993.
At the time of close it had a Century JJ projector off a Chirstie Autowind3 plattter. A second Century A projector didn’t work.
Any other questions? I have most of the answers.
A Variety article from July 2005 said that Cecchi Gori in Rome was being forced to sell properties there to pay creditors. I wonder if this has anything to do with the Fine Arts.
Bill Kallay – no it had 35mm Simplex X-L projectors, RCA 9030 sound heads, and originally had Ashcraft arclamps before LP Xenon lamphouses and a Christie platter was installed in the Laemmle years – though they kept two projectors so you had the option of running reel-to-reel same as at the Music Hall. When the company sold the property to Checchi-Gori in 1994 I stayed at the Music Hall until 1996 (the Music Hall/ Fine Arts had been “shared” jobs since 1987) I never was in the remodel, so I don’t know what they did.
Hi Filmbreak,
Do you recall if the Fine Arts had 70mm projection capability? Thanks.
I saw the enormously controversial Japanese slicing-of-the-penis film, In the Realm of the Senses, here in July of 1977. The “amour fou” tale was directed by Nagisa Oshima. Earlier, I believe its showing at the New York Film Festival had to be cancelled because the print was confiscated by U.S. Customs.
Laemmle owned the property and ran the theatre until 1994 when it was sold. I was the projectionist here and at the Music Hall – shared jobs – from 1986-1994. The old guy who was aced-out when the sharing policy was put into effect was Chalie Hawthorn (1905-1995), a real nice guy who really didn’t mind at age 82 to have to give it up. He worked a lot of theatres including the Carthay Circle, Fairfax, and RKO Hillstreet in their heydays and had some great stories to tell.
Yes, I am pretty sure that it was a Laemmle before the AMC days.
Wasn’t this a Laemmle theatre in the 1980s?
Prior to its Landmark Theatres days, the Cecchi Gori was operated by AMC; does anyone know how it became part of that chain? In the present time, at least, that seems like an obvious odd fit…