RKO Madison Theatre
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
21 people
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The last time I was ever in the RKO Madison was to see “Tentacles” and “Squirm"
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Here is the double bill discussed above of Patton & Mash at the UA Ridgewood. Does that mean Patton played the Madison the first go around?
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Here is a great ad for “Return of the Fly” and “Son of Robin Hood” playing the RKO circuit.
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I never knew the Murray the K shows played the Madison, thanks for the info.
I saw many movies at the Madison but the best were the Murray the K Rock N Roll Shows. We saw Joey Dee & the Starliters, Chubby Checker, Chuck Berry, the Duvals, Little Stevie Wonder (when he first started performing) Brenda Lee and many other groups and singles. It was great growing up in the Ridgewood/Glendale neighborhood, wonderful memories.
I never saw the movie “Patton”, but I remember seeing Patton in 1945 on Pathe News in the Oasis Theater. He had just crossed the Rhine and I noticed over his right shoulder a woman rowing a small boat in the distance and she resembled Mae West. Now you have me wondering. I remember the name printed on the boat. “Eddie My Love”.
Thanks, LennyL., for confirming my memory of having seen it at the Ridgewood.
“Patton” and “M.A.S.H.” played on the same bill at many NYC theaters in 1970 and 1971. Ironic, as they were two completely different views of Americans at war.
Patton did play at the Ridgewood when it was first released.
I’m surprised they would play them at both theaters at all, even if not at the same time. It would seem to make more sense to play entirely different movies. Even if it weren’t at the same time, whichever theater played it first would have had most in the neighborhood that wanted to see it come already, so by the time it got to the second theater, it wouldn’t be all that patronized.
I don’t think “Patton” was shown at both the Ridgewood and the Madison at the same time. Perhaps my memory is off a bit.
They would have played “Patton” at both the Ridgewood and the RKO Madison? I knew they were in competition with each other, but it seems foolish to me that they would play the same movie at both theaters.
Do you now know “Patton” by heart as a result ?
I think I saw “Patton” in the Ridgewood Theatre in Sept. 1970.
“And when you put your fingers in that mess of goo that was your buddy’s face … the thing is not to die for your country. It’s to make the other poor sonuvabitch die for HIS country !”
I remember running away when I was a kid and it was so cold out that I snuck in the Madison and stayed for 1/½ days watching Patton over and over and over again. There were so many places to hide. I was scared to death during the night, but it was warm. I eventually went home of course.
Danny G
Albeit in a somewhat different form as a five-plex.
So many interesting stories associated with this theatre including a recipe for meatballs and cheesecake. LOL It is sad that the Rko Madison closed but at the time of its closing the neighborhood was deteriorating and attendance had dropped off. Be thankful that the Ridgewood managed to survive and will give future movie goers the same good memories that we had when we attended movies there.
UA had the final say concerning the fate of the Madison theatre. The smaller Ridgewood theatre was more economical to operate. Do you think each theatre was a seperate entity? Both theatres were under the ultimate control of Metropolitan Playhouses Inc. and in turn MPI was contolled by UA.
Sorry, Bway. Just cough and make sure it’s still hanging OK.
Speaking of “hanging”, lostmemory, maybe Crazy Eddie has given up both Mae West and Jean Harlow for Clara Bow, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford and Patsy Ruth Miller, all of the silent screen. He may prefer the maturity of a (much) older woman !
“Necrophilia, here I come, right back where it started from !”
Peter, please, lauging this hard can do damage!
Don’t forget whatsizname up in what’s left of the balcony of the RKO Madison with what’s left of the corpse of Mae West !
Bway, I think you’re right that the main reason the Ridgewood has survived was its gradual multiplexing from June 1980 to the present.
Perhaps this most recent Ridgewood Theater discussion here on the RKO Madison’s page should be shifted to the Ridgewood Theater page.
I meant the RKO Madison in my first sentence above, not the “RKO Ridgewood” as I typed by accident.
Tom Scott. Yes it is speculation that the Madison and the Ridgewood could not have survived together, and yes it is speculation that the RKO Ridgewood Theatre could not have survived, or that the only thing that could have saved the RKO Madison was multiplexing.
However, this is not entirely not based on facts. History shows us that most of the neighborhood theaters in the city could not survive as single screen theaters once the 1980’s came around, and especially two so close together, only a block or two apart, and while the neighborhood never fell completely like Bushwick, the area right around the RKO Madison and the Ridgewood to a lesser extent was in decline in the 1970’s.
I stand by my statement that the Ridgewood Theater and the Madison could not survive together into the 1980’s, and especially as single screen theaters. And if both had been multiplexed, even then only one would have prevailed (or both might be gone as neither would probably have been lucrative pulling for the same customers if both were multiplexed). It was either the Madison or the Ridgewood, it couldn’t be both, and whichever survived had to be multiplexed, and in this case the Ridgewood prevailed.
Yup. I do remmeber you telling me that. And I wonder if the “Ridgewood Theater Corp” that owned/owns the surrounding stores next to the RKO Madison is in fact the same company that owned the Ridgewood Theater in the 70’s. (or is it just some company that bought the RKO Madison that was called “Ridgewood (as in the town of) Theater Corp”.
However, if “The Ridgewood Theater Corp” did have something to do with the Ridgewood Theater itself, I then also speculate that it might be possible that owners of the Ridgewood Theater (in the 70’s which is different than the owners today) may have actually bought the RKO Madison theater site (and it’s surrounding stores) when it came up for sale, so that some other theater company could not come in and be competition to them. It seems that the RKO Madison was quickly made unusable as a theater. Now I am not saying that the Ridgewood Theater owners of the 70’s (which are not the current owners of the Ridgewood Theater by the way) bought the Madison Theater and then mysterously the “fire” at the Madison happened, but a building just doesn’t go on fire by itself; something had to cause it (although of course it could have been electrical too, or vandals as the theater was vacant at the time).
Who knows what really happened, but it is quite interesting that the stores that front on Myrtle Ave, that used to be part of the RKO Madison Theater site, are owned by the “Ridgewood Theater Corp”. But again, that could be a corporation, “[The Town of] Ridgewood Theater Corp”, and may have been a corporation that was formed when the RKO Madison Theater was bought, and not have had anything to do with the Ridgewood Theater itself.
It’s quite interesting though. If you ever find anything else out about it, please let me know. I always enjoy the interesting info you come up with.
More jibberish nonsense. The three of you carry on as buffoons. I see no factual statements being made only conjecture and speculation. Use your time more wisely to find factual theatre data that will benefit everyone. Childish gossip runs amok here.
It also depends on when the 2nd and 3rd floor was rented. I don’t think they were still used by the 60’s or 70’s, and up to that point, the movie theater business wasn’t in trouble.
Also don’t forget that some other theaters had extra income also. IINM, the RKO Madison theater owned a few of the storefronts on Myrtle Ave that they rented out. I know they rented the stores on either side of the entrance, but they may have owned some of the other stores along front of the theater building, like where the Carvel used to be nearby, and some of the others.
While upper floor rentals of the Ridgewood may have helped in the early years, I don’t think they were still rented by the 60’s or 70’s. at really saved the Ridgewood was the fact that it was cut up into multiple auditoriums. It could never have survived if it remained intact. The RKO Madison was the better of the two theaters, but that one also would have had to be cut up if it was to remain a movie theater, and both the Ridgewood AND the Madison could not have survived together past 1980, even if both were cut up. I would have hated to see the Madison cut up, but what actually happened is probably worse. There is no way though that the Madison would have made it through the 1980’s intact. We are lucky to even have the Ridgewood, even if it is cut up. The real thing that probably makes it still lucrative to remain open is the fact that there is no nearby theater to the Ridgewood, and that has been the case for 20 years. With Atlas terminal building a multiplex in Glendale, I hope the Ridgewood will be able to hold on after that opens.