In high school I was an usher at the local theater, (the Larkfield /theaters/13570/)) and our smoking section was in the loge (balcony.) So I used to come up quietly behind smokers in the orchestra section and tap them on the shoulder saying “Smoking’s in the balcony only.” More than one patron was very startled by my sudden appearance. I can only imagine that during Psycho they might have jumped out of their skins, but this movie was a couple of decades before my time.
That’s a great 4-star review. The reviewer Wanda Hale hits all the right notes without giving away an ounce of the plot. How exciting to have gone into this movie not knowing too much about it – what chills and thrill await within.
“Theatre was first twinned upstairs/downstairs. Then the downstairs was split left/right. The last 4 houses were in the basement” per post from 12/26/02.
Article in today’s Newsday: The site was sold to Lowe’s hardware and the theaters will close and be torn down in a year or so; no replacement is planned by National Amusements, which is using the proceeds to reduce some of their debt.
Doris Eaton Travis, the Last of the Ziegfeld Girls, Dead at 106
Doris Eaton Travis, the former Ziegfeld Follies dancer who inspired 21st century audiences with her pluck, good will “ and fancy footwork ” at 12 of 13 annual Easter Bonnet Competition performances for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, died May 11 at the age of 106, according to Tom Viola, executive director of BC/EFA.
She was 106 and was thought to be “the last of the Ziegfeld Girls” “ the bejeweled ensemble of women who graced the stage of the New Amsterdam Theatre (and elsewhere) in producer Flo Ziegfeld’s revues in the first quarter of the 20th century.
She wowed a 1998 audience when she appeared with four other graying Ziegfeld veterans in the first Easter Bonnet fundraiser at the restored New Amsterdam on West 42nd Street, where she had performed 80 years earlier.
Ms. Travis' most recent East Bonnet appearance was April 26-27 at the Minskoff Theatre. The crowd, once again, went wild.
“She was truly our good luck charm,” Viola told Playbill.com. “In 1998, at 94, she was in incredible shape ” in amazing shape. We brought her back every year, and she would dance in the opening number. She taught Sutton Foster how to dance ‘The Black Bottom,’ she danced with the ‘Cagelles’ from the previous revival, we celebrated her 100th birthday on stage, she appeared with the cast of Billy Elliot"
Ms. Travis had lived recently with her nephew Joe Eaton and his wife outside of Chicago. She previously lived in Norman, OK, where she ran a horse ranch with her husband for 40 years.
Viola told Playbill.com that she took ill Sunday and was taken to the hospital to be rehydrated and was released, but was brought back to the hospital on May 11. She was reportedly talkative in the car, then chatting with the nurses about being a Ziegfeld girl and having just returned from the Bonnet Competition in New York City.
She slipped away quietly, without incident, at the hospital. Viola said, “I’ll bet the sound of the extraordinary ovation she received on stage at the Minskoff just two weeks ago today was ringing in her ears.”
Ms. Travis took her first step on Broadway in the 1917 play Mother Carey’s Chickens, and took her last bow April 27, during the opening number of the 2010 Easter Bonnet show. She rode onstage in a giant Easter basket, giving the initial impression that she could no longer walk. But Ms. Travis brought the audience to its feet when she rose to her own feet and took center stage. Steadied by two shirtless young male dancers, she executed a kick or two and thanked the audience for the love they had shown her over the 12 years of her appearances at the Bonnet event. She then headed into the wings under her own power.
My friend Donna who lives in nearby Deltona told me she saw Cosi Fan Tutti here recently. Of course I only wanted to know about the theater (I already know about Mozart…), and here it is! I love finding restored gems like this one.
The a nice (but quick) shot of the vertical blade and dilapidated marquee near the beginning of the new movie “La Mission,” now in limited release in theaters.
Excerpt from NY Times' review of The Blob (11/7/58)
“Speaking of shocks, be wary of the Mayfair floor as you go in. During the first scene, as the insistent screen goo began eating a screaming farmer alive, this spectator uneasily hoisted a foot, took one look at a giant blob of chewing gum clinging to the shoe and almost lit out for Cape Canaveral. One thing you can count on with "The Blob” â€" goo galore."
A magical night at the Ziegfeld, and a great motion picture.
The place was packed (though not sold out,) Robert Osborne and Elaine Stritch were fascinating and took a few audience questions, which resulted in a lot of laughs.
And “All About Eve” was perfect — nominated for 14 Oscars and winner of six, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Costumes, Sound and George Sanders for Supporting Actor. The other Oscar-nominated performances were by Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, and crowd favorite Thelma Ritter.
The picture hasn’t aged a day in 60 years (aged in wood?) and its views on show business and the theater are still perceptive and relevant.
And no post on this page would be complete without a comment on the curtain — and the masking. The masking was perfectly placed; Academy ratio never looked bigger or bolder. And the two curtains closing at the end added another elegant touch to an already classy evening.
Nice profile of this theater (and of the Roxy /theaters/6618/)) on tonight’s NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
Nice proile of this theater (and the Rockford /theaters/8314/)) on tonight’s NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.
Sinatra and Abbott & Costello on the same bill. Now that’s entertainment, folks.
In high school I was an usher at the local theater, (the Larkfield /theaters/13570/)) and our smoking section was in the loge (balcony.) So I used to come up quietly behind smokers in the orchestra section and tap them on the shoulder saying “Smoking’s in the balcony only.” More than one patron was very startled by my sudden appearance. I can only imagine that during Psycho they might have jumped out of their skins, but this movie was a couple of decades before my time.
That’s a great 4-star review. The reviewer Wanda Hale hits all the right notes without giving away an ounce of the plot. How exciting to have gone into this movie not knowing too much about it – what chills and thrill await within.
“Theatre was first twinned upstairs/downstairs. Then the downstairs was split left/right. The last 4 houses were in the basement” per post from 12/26/02.
Maybe the art houses of the time thought that “curtain at 8:40” made their presentations seem more like a theatrical event than just another movie.
This is where I get to say that the 1.85:1 image is bigger than the 2.39:1.
Article in today’s Newsday: The site was sold to Lowe’s hardware and the theaters will close and be torn down in a year or so; no replacement is planned by National Amusements, which is using the proceeds to reduce some of their debt.
From playbill.com
Doris Eaton Travis, the Last of the Ziegfeld Girls, Dead at 106
Doris Eaton Travis, the former Ziegfeld Follies dancer who inspired 21st century audiences with her pluck, good will “ and fancy footwork ” at 12 of 13 annual Easter Bonnet Competition performances for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, died May 11 at the age of 106, according to Tom Viola, executive director of BC/EFA.
She was 106 and was thought to be “the last of the Ziegfeld Girls” “ the bejeweled ensemble of women who graced the stage of the New Amsterdam Theatre (and elsewhere) in producer Flo Ziegfeld’s revues in the first quarter of the 20th century.
She wowed a 1998 audience when she appeared with four other graying Ziegfeld veterans in the first Easter Bonnet fundraiser at the restored New Amsterdam on West 42nd Street, where she had performed 80 years earlier.
Ms. Travis' most recent East Bonnet appearance was April 26-27 at the Minskoff Theatre. The crowd, once again, went wild.
“She was truly our good luck charm,” Viola told Playbill.com. “In 1998, at 94, she was in incredible shape ” in amazing shape. We brought her back every year, and she would dance in the opening number. She taught Sutton Foster how to dance ‘The Black Bottom,’ she danced with the ‘Cagelles’ from the previous revival, we celebrated her 100th birthday on stage, she appeared with the cast of Billy Elliot"
Ms. Travis had lived recently with her nephew Joe Eaton and his wife outside of Chicago. She previously lived in Norman, OK, where she ran a horse ranch with her husband for 40 years.
Viola told Playbill.com that she took ill Sunday and was taken to the hospital to be rehydrated and was released, but was brought back to the hospital on May 11. She was reportedly talkative in the car, then chatting with the nurses about being a Ziegfeld girl and having just returned from the Bonnet Competition in New York City.
She slipped away quietly, without incident, at the hospital. Viola said, “I’ll bet the sound of the extraordinary ovation she received on stage at the Minskoff just two weeks ago today was ringing in her ears.”
Ms. Travis took her first step on Broadway in the 1917 play Mother Carey’s Chickens, and took her last bow April 27, during the opening number of the 2010 Easter Bonnet show. She rode onstage in a giant Easter basket, giving the initial impression that she could no longer walk. But Ms. Travis brought the audience to its feet when she rose to her own feet and took center stage. Steadied by two shirtless young male dancers, she executed a kick or two and thanked the audience for the love they had shown her over the 12 years of her appearances at the Bonnet event. She then headed into the wings under her own power.
I would love to see the Mark Hellinger (born the Hollywood movie theater in 1930)return to showing movies. That’d be a blast.
I don’t know, Luis, but some houses don’t seem to attract hits — the Belasco, the Cort, the Lyceum, the Nederlander…
I wonder if a true IMAX (not a mini-Imax) would fit in here?
And not one picture palace has been spared.
I don’t think they’re actually imbedded, more like a visual link. MBD, care to elaborate?
My friend Donna who lives in nearby Deltona told me she saw Cosi Fan Tutti here recently. Of course I only wanted to know about the theater (I already know about Mozart…), and here it is! I love finding restored gems like this one.
There was a quick shot of the marquee and vertical blade in tonight’s Project Runway.
I’d love to see a picture of the auditorium or lobby.
The a nice (but quick) shot of the vertical blade and dilapidated marquee near the beginning of the new movie “La Mission,” now in limited release in theaters.
I wonder when the first new R-rated T & A schlockfest is coming. I’d love to see something like The Stewardesses remade in better technology.
Excerpt from NY Times' review of The Blob (11/7/58)
“Speaking of shocks, be wary of the Mayfair floor as you go in. During the first scene, as the insistent screen goo began eating a screaming farmer alive, this spectator uneasily hoisted a foot, took one look at a giant blob of chewing gum clinging to the shoe and almost lit out for Cape Canaveral. One thing you can count on with "The Blob” â€" goo galore."
I’d still like to know how to display the pictures (I don'think they’re actually embedded) and I’ll take my chances.
A magical night at the Ziegfeld, and a great motion picture.
The place was packed (though not sold out,) Robert Osborne and Elaine Stritch were fascinating and took a few audience questions, which resulted in a lot of laughs.
And “All About Eve” was perfect — nominated for 14 Oscars and winner of six, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Costumes, Sound and George Sanders for Supporting Actor. The other Oscar-nominated performances were by Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, and crowd favorite Thelma Ritter.
The picture hasn’t aged a day in 60 years (aged in wood?) and its views on show business and the theater are still perceptive and relevant.
And no post on this page would be complete without a comment on the curtain — and the masking. The masking was perfectly placed; Academy ratio never looked bigger or bolder. And the two curtains closing at the end added another elegant touch to an already classy evening.
Hi MBD — could you explain again how you get a photo to show up right in the posting? (You may email me if you don’t care to post to the group.)
That was some interesting photostream posted above — here’s the link: View link
Maybe they should book a fetish film festival next to take advantage of the area’s un-natural resources.