Paramount Theatre
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
38 people
favorited this theater
Showing 126 - 150 of 508 comments
Fantastic leads. I am going to have to check both my parents stories again. I feel like a detective trying to get to the bottom of a big mystery. They saw one of the two, but maybe it wasn’t at the Paramount.
Maybe I am not their son. This is getting me all nervous.
This is fun. Thanks for all of your help. I will keep digging.
I can’t find any record of Frank Sinatra performing live at the Paramount in 1947 but he did appear at the Capitol in November of that year with “petite comedienne” LORRAINE ROGNAN and SKITCH HENDERSON & his piano & orchestra.
How about SAMMY KAYE and his orchestra with IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN starring Sinatra at the Capitol in early March?
THE INK SPOTS and ELLA FITZGERALD took over the Paramount in February of 1947 with EASY COME, EASY GO on the screen.
Sonnyboy, does your local library have The New York Times on microfilm? If so, I’d just go look through the dates you think it was, go to the entertainment section and look for an ad.
Gee, Ed. That does help. But now I have a dilemma. Do I fess up that you were good enough to provide me with an important piece of info or do I go on letting my parents believe there is a chance they are both right? What if this bit of disagreement busts up their marriage after 60 years, 4 kids and 8 grandkids. Yikes.
Seriously, thanks for responding and helping me get at the truth.
Now I can focus my research on one or the other but not both at the Paramount.
I have to admit, I believe my mother’s version with Frank Sinatra, even if it was the swoon you mentioned and his last year before the Mob (how exciting) helped him re-start his career. Whether he got help or not, Frank was a fantastic performer.
Hey sonnyboy – HAPPY NEW YEAR! Frank Sinatra was basically “discovered” by Harry James and sang in his orchestra in 1939 before famously (or infamously – depending on the story you read) defecting to the Tommy Dorsey Band within a year. I don’t think you’d have found Old Blue Eyes singing with James in 1947, so the performance your grandparents saw at the Paramount was either one or the other! I suppose either artist might have topped the bill in ‘47 – although Sinatra’s career started to swoon a bit that year and wouldn’t fully recover until after his successful dramatic turn in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY in 1953. Hope that helps just a smidge!
Help, please, to answer a 60 year old question:
My parents just celebrated their 60th Anniversary and were asked what was their first date. They both agreed on the train ride from Long Island to the “big” city and they both agreed on their terrific dinner at Romeo’s which consisted of spaghetti and a meatball for only 39 cents (my mother remembered it was more… 45 cents)! They also remembered going to the Paramount and seeing a fantastic show. Here is where I need your help. My mother remembers seeing Frank Sinatra. My father remembers seeing Harry James. They both remember it vividly. The simple, everyone is right answer, would be of course, Frank singing for Harry’s band. Could be. I would love to verify what happened.
The show would have been around February of 1947… 9 months before they were married.
Thanks to any and all who could answer the question or lead me to a place where I can do further research.
View link)
Lost Memory: Your post of July 21, 2007 are spectacular and makes me wonder why this elegant theatre wasn’t saved especially with it’s rich Sinatra history.
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID110.htm
There is a photo with a timeline of the Paramount on this site.
On the Fox Home Video DVD of “The Best of Everything” is a brief Fox Movietone Newsreel segment on the premiere of this movie at the Paramount Theatre on October 9, 1959. I’ve heard that Fox is preparing a special edition of “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which premiered at the Paramount on December 16, 1959. I hope they have a newsreel of that event.
Alany926, You should try The Theatre Historical Society of America for photos on the Paramount Theatre in Times Square. They at one time published an annual featuring the Paramount Times Square Theatre (1976)#3. They would be the best in finding photos of the theatre.
Hi Everyone!
Hopefully someone can help me or steer me in the right direction. I’m doing a piece on the Paramount Theater Times Square, NY and I’m trying to collect all available pictures..
If anyone can help me I’d appreciate it greatly,
Thank You
I worked at Paramount Pictures headquarters from late 1964 through early 1965 and remember once being taken by a veteran employee down a series of stairs from our offices to a door that opened upon a top-down view of the shuttered theater. It was a spectacular vista, one befitting a master shot for “Phantom Of The Opera.” From that vantage point, even a youngster like myself understood immediately what theatrical grandeur was all about.
Can anyone provide a list of films playing at the Paramount in the last half of 1962? Many thanks in advance.
Excellent pix, Warren. Many thanks. A reminder that, I guess, all of Manhattan is basically rock.
Cheers.
Ernie Nagy
Excellent pix, Warren. Many thanks. A reminder that, I guess, all of Manhattan is basically rock.
Cheers.
Ernie Nagy
Great photo, KenRoe. Many thanks.
Ernie Nagy
A vintage postcard view of the Paramount Theatre Building in 1927:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/442535627/
Another VistaVision film that played at The Paramount was
“The Court Jester” in early 1956. Does anyone know if it was in 8
perf Horizontal?
Betty Hutton was a pretty big star, although her rather manic style of acting always seemed a little over the top to me. In any event, I join those who mourn her passing. I think, somehow, she did not lead the happiest of lives.
I found it a bit odd that none of the obits I read mentioned that she was the sister of Marion Hutton, Glenn Miller’s chick vocalist during the glory years of that band (a frequent denizen of the Paramount, of course).
Ernie Nagy
I hadn’t heard about Betty until the day after it was announced. My cousin told me, and we watched “The Greatest Show on Earth” (a Music Hall attraction) that night to honor her.
Perhaps some of you have not heard the sad news of Betty Hutton’s passing. Having been out of town all of last week I had not heard the news until this weekend.
I understand from my friend Warren that TCM did a tribute to Betty, I am sorry that I missed that.
Since many of her movies, including her first, “The Fleet’s In, opened at the Paramount, I decided to post something here to be sure all of her fans heard the news. Betty left the business to early, I am sure she could have continued to entertain for many more years, but she was happy with her decision to quit entertaining and that’s all that matters.
1943 with the Ink Spots on stage
View link
Bway~
PS…thanks for the photo kudos on the rest ofthe stuff. If you like burlesque, FDNY stuff, subway stuff, Coney Island, and general NYC street stuff…lemme know Ill give you links.
balloonhedz asked if anyone remembers the Century circuit, and I just had to respond. Forgive me for taking up space on the pages devoted to the magnificent and so very missed Paramount, but I wanted to write about one of the best theatre circuits I ever had the privilege of working for. During the late 50s and through much of the 60s I refused to settle down in one particular theatre, opting instead to work the Roadshows and vacation relief in theatres mostly on Long Island. I worked just about every Century theatre simply because they where the best, maintenance was a priority back then and the theatres were always kept in tip top condition. I developed a reputation with one of the District managers who often asked the union to “send Vito†because he knew I took great pride in my work.
They were the only theatre circuit operating at the time which a strict delux policy which meant the curtain had to be closed at the end of the trailers/shorts and reopened at the start of the feature, the stage lights were also brought up full and lowered again. During intermission music absolutely had to be played (except in Roadshows) and you were never allowed to “cut a record†(yeah, records, remember them?) We had to wait until a song ended before starting the show, we were not even allowed to fade the music out, the song had to be completed. Generally it was best if a new song was to begin and you only had a minute or so left for the intermission, you simply stopped the music at that point. Masking could never been seen moving it was to be opened or brought in during the Delux stage so that the curtain would hide the moving masking.
On holidays we would always start the day with a showing of the National Anthem, which was a film clip of a waving flag with the Anthem playing, God help you if you forgot to do that.
Thanks for allowing me to post just a few of the great memories of working for the magnificent Century theatre circuit.