Under the posting for AcademiX Cinema, it is stated that this closed in 1972. If indeed it started showing “adult movies” in 1967, then these were likely what one calls “sexploitation” (this would be more like Russ Meyer films or the stuff that Something Weird Video puts out) or “loops” (“Loops” started playing at some adult movie houses as early as 1967 in the San Francisco & New York areas, they were more explicit and pretty much disappeared as films like “Deep Throat” came out.)
What I wonder is why this theater was shuttered? Did they turn to showing XXX product & got raided? (Being that this is a Bible Belt state, that seems likely.)
William’s post was rather interesting with regards to theft. Restaurants also have a major problem with regards to this. Some of this I have observed from being an assistant manager at a fast food place (many years ago). Cashiers not ringing up some of the sales, and the food used for those orders was then categorized as “waste”. (This was a suspicion when the “waste” report was rather high.) Somebody checking in inventory off the truck and claiming that “it wasn’t all there” (this happened one time when the shift manager, who was supposed to check in the inventory with one employee, did not check in the inventory. That shift manager was “passed out” in the dining room from being under the influence. That same shift manager was later fired for taking money from the safe, probably to feed his drug habit.) Passing out “free food” to “your buddies” was also happening. (Again, showing up as “waste”) I even recall the store manager firing an entire graveyard crew over excessive problems with theft, working while on drugs &/or alcohol, and some “drug sales” at the drive-thru.
I do remember this series quite well. I watched it on KQED and KCSM back around 1982-1986. It ran in a 90 minute time slot and was quite enjoyable. Hopefully when it is shown this time the movies & the series won’t be “hacked up” (Whatching Zorro’s Fighting Legion condensed into 5 chapters was somewhat dreadful.) Also, any idea how soon this will appear on PBS &/or DVD?
In reading this article, it sounds like the owner did not know how to manage people properly or else had a poor management staff. Having operated other businesses myself, it’s amazing how an owner can blame others for their lack of business knowledge when business (or profit) is lacking.
I applaud the manager & the crew of the above mentioned theater. If the youths don’t want to watch the movie, then they should go elsewhere. I find it irritating for those who have to even use a cell phone in a theater.
Question—Did Al Stanford also own/operate the following theaters in San Luis Obispo county at one time: Bay (Morro Bay), Fair Oaks(Arroyo Grande), and a 2-screener in Atascadero (name escapes me at the moment)?
A book on Mexican Movies in the United States showed that this played movies in Spanish (although I saw one picture from the early 1950’s and the marquee was showing English-language films). Operator was Petersen Theaters. This one did burn down.
Speaking of “unusual” double features—The most unusual one I saw played at a (now closed) theater in Fremont, CA in 1974. The double feature was “Huckleberry Finn” (a musical version that was produced by Readers Digest magazine) and “Death Wish”.
Some of the now-closed grindhouses in downtown Los Angeles which ran 4-feature bills had many unusual pairings as well.
I did read the Battle of the Peeps article, which is excellent. I do want to make one notable comment. According to Pussycat Theaters co-founder David Friedman, there were approximately 750 Pussycat Theaters in the US at one point. Vince Miranda only owned 47 of these theaters, which were in California. (According to an article called “Empire of the Pussycat”, Miranda failed to register a copyright for the Pussycat Theaters name outside of California. Theaters outside of California were not controlled by Miranda nor was he able to get a share of the revenues.)
That last post was wonderful. Interesting to find out that Walnut operated theaters other than their famous Pussycats. Reminds me a bit of the days of the theaters on San Francisco’s Market Street (circa 1970-1989).
Personally, with regards to what is a “treasure”, the study of XXX theaters in the 1970’s and 1980’s is quite fascinating from a number of historical points, namely:
Neighborhood decay (and in some cases, neighborhood revival after the XXX theater went out of business).
Changes in zoning laws (I personally have found that this turned out to be the most effective way of putting “adult entertainment” businesses either out of business or heavily in check.)
Countless battles & raids for “obscenity”
This site I have found to be an excellent information source in doing my research. One can never have enough information.
One company on the web has 4 CDs of intermission announcements (plus music that played in-between the announcements). Bought recently and they sound great. Seemed like this D/I had a playground and the concession stand was run by a “Mrs Douglas”.
It looks like it did show “adults only” films in the early-mid 1960’s. I saw an SF Chronicle ad for this theater in a scene from the 1964 film “The Erotic Mr Rose” and it showed the theater playing “Nudes on Credit” (an earlier film done by the same director as Mr Rose). This may have been brief, as it did not show “adults only” films in some 1965 ads that I have.
Shortly before its demise, the theater had been on the market for sale. There is a good story in Dave Friedman’s book “A Youth in Babylon” where he talks about one of the exploitation distributors/producers using this theater to show a film. SS Millard (called one of the “forty thieves”, along with Kroger Babb and Dan Sonney) went into a real estate office (on a Friday) wanting to take a look at the theater. The agent there gave him the keys. Millard went out to the theater and found there was electricity hooked up and wound up running a 2 day program of one of his films. (Complete with posters, lobby cards, etc!) On Monday morning, he dropped off the keys in the mailslot before the office opened. Millard, of course, did not pay for use of the theater or the utilities, and of course pocketed all the proceeds.
Was this an older movie theater that went XXX or was this a “storefront” theater?
Under the posting for AcademiX Cinema, it is stated that this closed in 1972. If indeed it started showing “adult movies” in 1967, then these were likely what one calls “sexploitation” (this would be more like Russ Meyer films or the stuff that Something Weird Video puts out) or “loops” (“Loops” started playing at some adult movie houses as early as 1967 in the San Francisco & New York areas, they were more explicit and pretty much disappeared as films like “Deep Throat” came out.)
What I wonder is why this theater was shuttered? Did they turn to showing XXX product & got raided? (Being that this is a Bible Belt state, that seems likely.)
William’s post was rather interesting with regards to theft. Restaurants also have a major problem with regards to this. Some of this I have observed from being an assistant manager at a fast food place (many years ago). Cashiers not ringing up some of the sales, and the food used for those orders was then categorized as “waste”. (This was a suspicion when the “waste” report was rather high.) Somebody checking in inventory off the truck and claiming that “it wasn’t all there” (this happened one time when the shift manager, who was supposed to check in the inventory with one employee, did not check in the inventory. That shift manager was “passed out” in the dining room from being under the influence. That same shift manager was later fired for taking money from the safe, probably to feed his drug habit.) Passing out “free food” to “your buddies” was also happening. (Again, showing up as “waste”) I even recall the store manager firing an entire graveyard crew over excessive problems with theft, working while on drugs &/or alcohol, and some “drug sales” at the drive-thru.
I do remember this series quite well. I watched it on KQED and KCSM back around 1982-1986. It ran in a 90 minute time slot and was quite enjoyable. Hopefully when it is shown this time the movies & the series won’t be “hacked up” (Whatching Zorro’s Fighting Legion condensed into 5 chapters was somewhat dreadful.) Also, any idea how soon this will appear on PBS &/or DVD?
In reading this article, it sounds like the owner did not know how to manage people properly or else had a poor management staff. Having operated other businesses myself, it’s amazing how an owner can blame others for their lack of business knowledge when business (or profit) is lacking.
Maybe this theater owner should try booking some quality independent films instead. See how the audience & attendance works out.
Some phones make beeping noises when text messages are sent.
I applaud the manager & the crew of the above mentioned theater. If the youths don’t want to watch the movie, then they should go elsewhere. I find it irritating for those who have to even use a cell phone in a theater.
The church is currently working on the building.
A Petco now sits here.
A Petco now sits on this site.
This theater was once the jewel of Santa Maria. It was demolished for an extension of the Santa Maria Town Center Mall.
Question—Did Al Stanford also own/operate the following theaters in San Luis Obispo county at one time: Bay (Morro Bay), Fair Oaks(Arroyo Grande), and a 2-screener in Atascadero (name escapes me at the moment)?
A book on Mexican Movies in the United States showed that this played movies in Spanish (although I saw one picture from the early 1950’s and the marquee was showing English-language films). Operator was Petersen Theaters. This one did burn down.
A recent book on Mexican Movies in the United States mentions this theater in an appendix—It showed that it seated 150.
Speaking of “unusual” double features—The most unusual one I saw played at a (now closed) theater in Fremont, CA in 1974. The double feature was “Huckleberry Finn” (a musical version that was produced by Readers Digest magazine) and “Death Wish”.
Some of the now-closed grindhouses in downtown Los Angeles which ran 4-feature bills had many unusual pairings as well.
In the 1970’s (starting around 1975), the Mitchell Brothers (of Behind the Green Door fame) operated this as a porn theater.
I did read the Battle of the Peeps article, which is excellent. I do want to make one notable comment. According to Pussycat Theaters co-founder David Friedman, there were approximately 750 Pussycat Theaters in the US at one point. Vince Miranda only owned 47 of these theaters, which were in California. (According to an article called “Empire of the Pussycat”, Miranda failed to register a copyright for the Pussycat Theaters name outside of California. Theaters outside of California were not controlled by Miranda nor was he able to get a share of the revenues.)
That last post was wonderful. Interesting to find out that Walnut operated theaters other than their famous Pussycats. Reminds me a bit of the days of the theaters on San Francisco’s Market Street (circa 1970-1989).
Personally, with regards to what is a “treasure”, the study of XXX theaters in the 1970’s and 1980’s is quite fascinating from a number of historical points, namely:
This site I have found to be an excellent information source in doing my research. One can never have enough information.
One company on the web has 4 CDs of intermission announcements (plus music that played in-between the announcements). Bought recently and they sound great. Seemed like this D/I had a playground and the concession stand was run by a “Mrs Douglas”.
United Artists operated this drive-in until 1975, when it switched to XXX films.
Drove by this past Saturday & demolition has already begun.
It looks like it did show “adults only” films in the early-mid 1960’s. I saw an SF Chronicle ad for this theater in a scene from the 1964 film “The Erotic Mr Rose” and it showed the theater playing “Nudes on Credit” (an earlier film done by the same director as Mr Rose). This may have been brief, as it did not show “adults only” films in some 1965 ads that I have.
Shortly before its demise, the theater had been on the market for sale. There is a good story in Dave Friedman’s book “A Youth in Babylon” where he talks about one of the exploitation distributors/producers using this theater to show a film. SS Millard (called one of the “forty thieves”, along with Kroger Babb and Dan Sonney) went into a real estate office (on a Friday) wanting to take a look at the theater. The agent there gave him the keys. Millard went out to the theater and found there was electricity hooked up and wound up running a 2 day program of one of his films. (Complete with posters, lobby cards, etc!) On Monday morning, he dropped off the keys in the mailslot before the office opened. Millard, of course, did not pay for use of the theater or the utilities, and of course pocketed all the proceeds.