Radio City Music Hall

hi y'all Denpiano here, in case you’re interested, I had a stroke 3 years ago, thats why I have not written here&i haven’t been back to the music hall since then, my left side is still quite weak, I’ve been improving really slowly, please say a prayer for me if you remember hope you all are well

Hilarious, Al. Thanks to Warren and to you for the information and a good laugh.

How many of you remember seeing this trailer for the first and only picture projected in VistaVision at Radio City Music Hall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOciH4oujls

Judging from the size and stature of the audience, the screening probably took place in one of the two screening rooms. Preview A was the larger room used by Radio City for screenings for the cast and crew of the stage shows during their dinner breaks. Preview B the smaller of the rooms (used by RKO as their screening room) was the more comfortable of the rooms with comfy Art Deco chair instead of the fixed theatre seating of the big room. The rooms were across the hall from the small rehearsal hall, and Ben Olevsky who was Head Projectionist at the time remembers the Rockefellers hosting parties having catering and bars set up in the rehearsal hall so guests could adjourn for screenings in the Preview rooms.

Years later we screened clips from Ginger Rogers' films for Ginger
Rogers, who was about to star in one of our Summer Spectaculars in
the small room. It felt like a throwback to the ‘30’s to be screening that material for that person in that Art Deco room.

On January 31 Cheech and Chong come to the Hall…
http://tinyurl.com/8xwurn

Roxy….I’d be curious as to the Sneak Preview of the “Laugh Riot of 1956” (in Cinemascope), I’m thinking The Girl Can’t Help It with Mansfield.

Greetings Again:

Time tables of the shows were made up in the projection booth and at the stage managers station, as I and other assistant managers from the front of the house would have to make a quick pick up tour around the theater at the start of the last feature and get them to the senior manager at the front of the house so he could put his end of day report together once he got the box office figures.

Greetings:

Keeping shows on time was very serious as a few minutes over a certain number of hours at the end of the day would cost the Hall a good deal of overtime funds for a large number of staff (Union) still working at that hour. Periodically if necessary, organ intermissions would be shortened during the evening at 6PM 7PM 9PM and going into the last feature to keep the show on time. As one of the former assistant managers at the front of the house we were informed by the senior manager when he planned to do this, so we could give our staffs and patrons proper time information during the evening hours.

Copied from the Embassy 1-2-3 page, with a question for REndres if he’s here:

In the movie clock for Radio City Music Hall on that 11/20 ad, “The Sandpiper” was listed as going on at 3:57 … 9:53 … right to the minute. I wonder if the Music Hall really got their shows off on time like that – they probably took great pride in it. I guess REndres would be able to answer that.

None of the other theaters in the movie clock had such exact time listings.

View link

Just think a Christmas show that opens on Dec 21st!

That list of his is a shambles and so unfortunately is the rest of that book.
A great opportunity lost.
Considering your vast knowledge of the place Warren didn’t even a cursory look make your jaw drop?
Too bad the Hall doesn’t seem to want it’s history documented.
All that great info rotting away in archives.
What a coffe table book it would make!

ziggy: Thanks for the Christmas wishes.
The newsreel footage that was lost was of the opening of the “RKO Roxy”. The Chief Operating Officer of the Hall had a business relationship with Technicolor, and recommended I take the footage to them. I walked into the head of the lab’s office with the film in a can, and he pulled the blinds on his office window closed, put out his cigar, and opened the can. He took one look and said, “Get it out of here!” I asked if anything could be done, and he repeated, “Get it out of here!” I picked the can up and put it under my arm to leave, and he said, “No. Put it under the other arm. That way if if blows up on the way back, it’ll only take out a lung and not your heart.” Needless to say, I took the can back to the Hall held out at arm’s length!