But you were talking about vaudeville performers who put up with demanding schedules; – two a day for Keith, three a day for Loew, Pantages four a day, plus the supper show. Even those who did not reach the level of headliner could make good money. In 1919, when the average factory worker earned less than $1,300, a small time Keith circuit performer playing a forty-two week season at $75 per week earned $3,150 a year.
Women, uneducated immigrants, the poor â€" anyone with determination and a talent to entertain could earn a solid, respectable living. Few other fields could claim to offer the disadvantaged such accessible rewards in the early 20th Century.
More than 25,000 people performed in vaudeville over it’s 50-plus years of existence, working their way through the three levels defined by the trade newspaper Variety â€"
“Small time” â€" small town theatres and cheaper theaters in larger towns. Performers made as little as $15 a week in the early years, closer to $75 over time. These often crude theatres were the training ground for new performers, or the place for old-timers on the skids to eke out a few final seasons.
“Medium time” â€" good theaters in a wide range of cities, offering salaries of up to a few hundred dollars a week. Performers seen here were either on the way up or on the way down.
“Big Time” â€" the finest theaters in the best cities, using a two performance-a-day format. Most big time acts earned hundreds per week, and headliners could command $1,000 a week — or far more.
……. http://www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm
$25/night was a lot of money in the mid 40s, and a lot more a decade earlier. Headliners of the old days, 1900 ?, made $4,000/week. before Bob Hope, George Burns,etal.
And as for the link; Beginning in Boston in 1883, Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward F. Albee used the fortune they made staging unauthorized productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas to started build a chain of ornate theatres across the northeastern United States. Stealing Pastor’s format, they instituted a policy of continuous multiple daily performances, which they called “vaudeville."
Fascinating stuff here: http://www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm
Al,There were actually eight defendants. From the SC 1948 Ruling: The suit was instituted by the United States under 4 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A. 4, to prevent and restrain violations of it. The defendants fall into three groups: (1) Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew’s, Incorporated, Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, which produce motion pictures, and their respective subsidiaries or affiliates which distribute and exhibit films. These are known as the five major defendants or exhibitor- defendants. (2) Columbia Pictures Corporation and Universal Corporation, which produce motion pictures, and their subsidiaries which distribute films. (3) United Artists Corporation, which is engaged only in the distribution of motion pictures. The five majors, through their subsidiaries or affiliates, own or control theatres; the other defendants do not.
I should note that I generally put low confidence in Wikipedia by itself. Because of Warren’s comment, I found several sites that contain the actual decision, eg: View link
(http://supreme.justia.com/us/334/131/case.html),
The decision clearly states that, The five majors, through their subsidiaries or affiliates, own or control theatres; the other defendants do not.
I suspect that Warren is confusing the 1948 decision which I cited with the 1962 Supreme Court Ruling against Loew’s. View link which involved Loew’s TV exhibition of feature movies.
I do not think VCRs played a role in closing movie theaters. Rather, they reduced movie attendance in the last 15 to 20 years long after movie theaters as we knew them were gone.
VCRs initially offered a way of copying older movies from TV in the 80s and 90s. Commercially recorded VCRs weren’t widely availble until the late 90s.
In checking movie demographics, I came across a surprising tidbit. According to Wikipedia,
<<Several movie studios achieved vertical integration by acquiring and constructing theatre chains. The so-called “Big Five” theatre chains of the 1920s and 1930s were all owned by studios: Paramount, Warner, Loews (owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Fox, and RKO. All were broken up as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case.>>
I have always figured that TV was the main reason for the demise of movie theaters as we knew them. The advent of our changing society as manifest by the rise of the drive-in movie were nails in the coffin. I have to revise my thinking to include this anti-trust decision as a probable concurrent factor.
Thanks for the informative input Warren. Did the article in fact include a more detailed description other than that it was a combination of the three styles? Maybe that’s why I referred to it as an attractive, but not opulent, venue in my earlier post. What an understatement. On reflection, “plain vanilla” it definitely was not.
I couldn’t turn up anything on William Rau. I was curious because of the apparent distinction between styles as in “architecture”, and styles as in “interior decoration”. Any comments as used in The LI Press' article as cited by Warren above?
That the Keith’s Richmond Hill has been something other than a theater longer than it was a theater is a sobering thought. Very depressing. It was an attractive, albeit not opulent, venue in a good location, with little competition. I would guess that it ceased being a theater in the early 60s at the earliest. A victim of TV.
Any demogrqaphics regarding the number of theater closings by year?
Perhaps more interesting, the number of theaters opened by year?
Disney to hold press conference at 10:00 a.m. today. Word on the street is that Disney will apologize for the Seven Dwarfs singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho” in the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Disney plans to remove all items, currently for sale, associated with this movie. This includes books, dolls, and movies.
Later in the week the Seven Dwarfs will appear on the Al Sharpton radio show to apologize and undergo a 7 hour grilling.
Je$$e Jack$on has not been contacted for comment on this. His office stated that he and his personal secretary were attending a meeting in the Bahamas. However, people at PUSH hinted that a large protest is being scheduled at Disney World.
The article included a couple of informative remarks about the Keith’s as follows:
{{Richmond Hill, not to be outdone by the nearby Valencia in Jamaica, preserves its very own classic movie palace of yore… and this one has a marquee that has been returned to its look in its halcyon days, with red neon-lit nameplates and a gold border! The theatre opened as the Keith’s Richmond Hill about 1928 at 117-09 Hillside Avenue. The old marquee, which had been hidden under aluminum siding for some years, was restored in 2001 during production for a feature film, The Guru, featuring Marisa Tomei.}}
I was about to issue three silver stars to some of you for displaying much self control in abstaining from posting any off-topic posts on the Ridgewood page. It was such a pleasure to see you playing nicely for 23 days.
But then a few of you just couldn’t help yourselves and broke the fast. ok, lets try again, but please feel free to post all your way off-topic stuff here on the Parthenon page. As well as any rants against me.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Ever vigilant.
Tsk, tsk, you other guys were doing real good too, 23 days of abstinence. And I gsve you permission to post your way off-topic stuff on the Parthenon page. Too bad. PKoch, you disappointed me because I was especially surprised to see you join in.
Please respond to the Parthenon page.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Ever vigilant.
I think you are wrong Bway. I think the assessed value of a property is based upon two major considerations; location and zoning. Within zoning there are particular values associated with building size, construction details, and lot size. I don’t know what causes the inconsistency, but suspect it may be due to improvements made to the Ridgewood, relative to no changes for the Madison.
The higher value must be bothersome to the Ridgewood’s present owners, as well as prospective buyers such as Allie the film guy. Then again, maybe not.
The Donald
Ever vigilant to the needs of the oppressed.
Permission granted to use the Parthenon page to exchange way-off topic stuff, such as availabity of $2 bargain priced DVDs or reviews of Grade Z Sci films.
Glad to see that you kids are plying nice and that there recently, with only one exceprion. keep up the good work on the Ridgewood and Madison pages.
Knock yourself out on the Parthenon page,
I have no objection to reasonable discussions regarding recollections of the old neighborhood or chums.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Vigilante to eradicate insurgents through better cross-correlation programs.
But you were talking about vaudeville performers who put up with demanding schedules; – two a day for Keith, three a day for Loew, Pantages four a day, plus the supper show. Even those who did not reach the level of headliner could make good money. In 1919, when the average factory worker earned less than $1,300, a small time Keith circuit performer playing a forty-two week season at $75 per week earned $3,150 a year.
Women, uneducated immigrants, the poor â€" anyone with determination and a talent to entertain could earn a solid, respectable living. Few other fields could claim to offer the disadvantaged such accessible rewards in the early 20th Century.
More than 25,000 people performed in vaudeville over it’s 50-plus years of existence, working their way through the three levels defined by the trade newspaper Variety â€"
“Small time” â€" small town theatres and cheaper theaters in larger towns. Performers made as little as $15 a week in the early years, closer to $75 over time. These often crude theatres were the training ground for new performers, or the place for old-timers on the skids to eke out a few final seasons.
“Medium time” â€" good theaters in a wide range of cities, offering salaries of up to a few hundred dollars a week. Performers seen here were either on the way up or on the way down.
“Big Time” â€" the finest theaters in the best cities, using a two performance-a-day format. Most big time acts earned hundreds per week, and headliners could command $1,000 a week — or far more.
……. http://www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm
$25/night was a lot of money in the mid 40s, and a lot more a decade earlier. Headliners of the old days, 1900 ?, made $4,000/week. before Bob Hope, George Burns,etal.
And as for the link; Beginning in Boston in 1883, Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward F. Albee used the fortune they made staging unauthorized productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas to started build a chain of ornate theatres across the northeastern United States. Stealing Pastor’s format, they instituted a policy of continuous multiple daily performances, which they called “vaudeville."
Fascinating stuff here:
http://www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm
before five digit zip codes, my address was;
Glendale 27, NY
I lived in QUEENS. So did everyone else who lived in Glendale.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino, Did you mean the RKO Madison’s page on the CT’s site where it was posted on Aug 27, 2004 at 12:52pm? ;–)
jes anudder anal guy,
Rollo
Lostmemory claimed on the RKO Madison site that the Glenwood had a Wurlitzer organ which was installed in 1921. Caa anyone verify this?
I can’t recall ever seeing or hearing it.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Now, here’s a historic theater:
View link
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Does anyone know what interest, if any, Utopia Studios Ltd or Joseph Gentile played in the restoration or ownership of the Paradise?
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Enter only the url, WITHOUT THE COMMA, in one of two ways,
Mischief???? Not I.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Al,There were actually eight defendants. From the SC 1948 Ruling: The suit was instituted by the United States under 4 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A. 4, to prevent and restrain violations of it. The defendants fall into three groups: (1) Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew’s, Incorporated, Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, which produce motion pictures, and their respective subsidiaries or affiliates which distribute and exhibit films. These are known as the five major defendants or exhibitor- defendants. (2) Columbia Pictures Corporation and Universal Corporation, which produce motion pictures, and their subsidiaries which distribute films. (3) United Artists Corporation, which is engaged only in the distribution of motion pictures. The five majors, through their subsidiaries or affiliates, own or control theatres; the other defendants do not.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
I should note that I generally put low confidence in Wikipedia by itself. Because of Warren’s comment, I found several sites that contain the actual decision, eg:
View link
(http://supreme.justia.com/us/334/131/case.html),
The decision clearly states that, The five majors, through their subsidiaries or affiliates, own or control theatres; the other defendants do not.
I suspect that Warren is confusing the 1948 decision which I cited with the 1962 Supreme Court Ruling against Loew’s. View link which involved Loew’s TV exhibition of feature movies.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
I do not think VCRs played a role in closing movie theaters. Rather, they reduced movie attendance in the last 15 to 20 years long after movie theaters as we knew them were gone.
VCRs initially offered a way of copying older movies from TV in the 80s and 90s. Commercially recorded VCRs weren’t widely availble until the late 90s.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
In checking movie demographics, I came across a surprising tidbit. According to Wikipedia,
<<Several movie studios achieved vertical integration by acquiring and constructing theatre chains. The so-called “Big Five” theatre chains of the 1920s and 1930s were all owned by studios: Paramount, Warner, Loews (owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Fox, and RKO. All were broken up as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case.>>
I have always figured that TV was the main reason for the demise of movie theaters as we knew them. The advent of our changing society as manifest by the rise of the drive-in movie were nails in the coffin. I have to revise my thinking to include this anti-trust decision as a probable concurrent factor.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Thanks for the informative input Warren. Did the article in fact include a more detailed description other than that it was a combination of the three styles? Maybe that’s why I referred to it as an attractive, but not opulent, venue in my earlier post. What an understatement. On reflection, “plain vanilla” it definitely was not.
I couldn’t turn up anything on William Rau. I was curious because of the apparent distinction between styles as in “architecture”, and styles as in “interior decoration”. Any comments as used in The LI Press' article as cited by Warren above?
Btw, your 4/24/07 post makes sense.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
That the Keith’s Richmond Hill has been something other than a theater longer than it was a theater is a sobering thought. Very depressing. It was an attractive, albeit not opulent, venue in a good location, with little competition. I would guess that it ceased being a theater in the early 60s at the earliest. A victim of TV.
Any demogrqaphics regarding the number of theater closings by year?
Perhaps more interesting, the number of theaters opened by year?
Exactly what was your error? Never mind, considering the mish-mosh of information, any further attempt to clarify it is not warranted.
says Kojak,
Disney to hold press conference at 10:00 a.m. today. Word on the street is that Disney will apologize for the Seven Dwarfs singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho” in the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Disney plans to remove all items, currently for sale, associated with this movie. This includes books, dolls, and movies.
Later in the week the Seven Dwarfs will appear on the Al Sharpton radio show to apologize and undergo a 7 hour grilling.
Je$$e Jack$on has not been contacted for comment on this. His office stated that he and his personal secretary were attending a meeting in the Bahamas. However, people at PUSH hinted that a large protest is being scheduled at Disney World.
Snow White could not be reached for comment.
The article included a couple of informative remarks about the Keith’s as follows:
{{Richmond Hill, not to be outdone by the nearby Valencia in Jamaica, preserves its very own classic movie palace of yore… and this one has a marquee that has been returned to its look in its halcyon days, with red neon-lit nameplates and a gold border! The theatre opened as the Keith’s Richmond Hill about 1928 at 117-09 Hillside Avenue. The old marquee, which had been hidden under aluminum siding for some years, was restored in 2001 during production for a feature film, The Guru, featuring Marisa Tomei.}}
Thanks for the lead, Warren
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
I was about to issue three silver stars to some of you for displaying much self control in abstaining from posting any off-topic posts on the Ridgewood page. It was such a pleasure to see you playing nicely for 23 days.
But then a few of you just couldn’t help yourselves and broke the fast. ok, lets try again, but please feel free to post all your way off-topic stuff here on the Parthenon page. As well as any rants against me.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Ever vigilant.
Tsk, tsk, you other guys were doing real good too, 23 days of abstinence. And I gsve you permission to post your way off-topic stuff on the Parthenon page. Too bad. PKoch, you disappointed me because I was especially surprised to see you join in.
Please respond to the Parthenon page.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Ever vigilant.
Michael,
What is the dollar amount associated with that financial goal?
Any closer to issuing a status report of your RFE (Request For Evaluation)?
Antony
In the above, I should have said the “increased” value of the Ridgewood….. .. for clarity.
The appraised value of the Ridgewood is about 2/3 of that of the Madison according to values presented by Warren and Bway.
Kojak, for the Donald
In the interest of all that’s good
I think you are wrong Bway. I think the assessed value of a property is based upon two major considerations; location and zoning. Within zoning there are particular values associated with building size, construction details, and lot size. I don’t know what causes the inconsistency, but suspect it may be due to improvements made to the Ridgewood, relative to no changes for the Madison.
The higher value must be bothersome to the Ridgewood’s present owners, as well as prospective buyers such as Allie the film guy. Then again, maybe not.
The Donald
Ever vigilant to the needs of the oppressed.
Permission granted to use the Parthenon page to exchange way-off topic stuff, such as availabity of $2 bargain priced DVDs or reviews of Grade Z Sci films.
Glad to see that you kids are plying nice and that there recently, with only one exceprion. keep up the good work on the Ridgewood and Madison pages.
Knock yourself out on the Parthenon page,
I have no objection to reasonable discussions regarding recollections of the old neighborhood or chums.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Vigilante to eradicate insurgents through better cross-correlation programs.
Michael, are you in a position to give us a progress report yet?
Is the present owner supporting your efforts?
Allie, any new developments on your end?
Antony
LM….and then there were none!
Oops,life should be so easy. When “you” are down two, all we can say is …..“and then there were five”.
Street fighters never were very good at arithmetic.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
‘Tonino Kojak Civility Temperance Roma
Ever vigilant to the needs of the oppressed.