My first real job as a full-time projectionist. After breaking-in and learning the business at various theaters in Springfield, IL, the business agent from Springfield got a message from the business agent in Kankakee that he had an opening. Wow, I had moved North and loved it. I almost married Sue Boguszewski from that town.
It was run into the ground as a $1 house. Cineplex Odeon took it over, remodeled and gave it new life as a first showing house. Then, Loews acquired it after Cineplex; It went back to being a $1 house. Films there were about six months old. My girlfriend used to work there between 98 and 00 during this time.
You would be amazed at how many celebrities would patronize this theater while Loews had it as a $1 house. I assume celebrities felt comfortable there since film fans usually attend first showing houses. Many industry people would spend a buck to see a flick.
On a pretty regular basis, studios would rent the theater for a day. I had worked as the projectionist during these studio screenings and audience response screenings.
Today, it is owned by Lammle Theaters, an arts movies theater chain.
Thanks “GraMann” for the wonderful photos. Now, I am homesick. I absolutely love the Chinese. Your photos really bring back fond memories. Did you ever get a photo of Ted Mann and his wife’s wax figures in the lobby?
As mentioned above on this page, I did relief work as a projectionist there, off and on, for 20 years.
Performances there used to be absolute perfection. The union business agent, Ralph Kemp (Local 150, IATSE), before sending me to break-in, told me this. “This is the most famous theater in the world. If you screw up something there, you will read about it in Variety and Hollywood Reporter the next day.
If they ever employed full-time projectionists again, I would leave New York in a heartbeat and return. Did you know Kenny Krenz, Bob Purlmutter or Mike Schliger, the regular operators?
By the way, the menu at this place is great. You can get pizza, spicy curly fries, spicy-hot buffalo wings, chicken sandwiches, chili, REAL nachos (you know, the ones with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, sour cream, etc.) smoothies, expresso and a ton of stuff you cannot get at other theaters.
PeterC, this Loews theater is in Garden City. I have worked relief here as a projectionist. It is indeed a busy place and has top-notch equipment, although we (projectionists) have limited time in the booth. What does that mean? A year ago, we were booted out of full-time and reduced to part-time presence in this booth and the Roosevelt Field theater, nearby. The greatest equipment in the world is no good if it is operated by a novice.
As far as Westbury goes, the UA Westbury is one of the top grossers for Regal cinemas, and it employs full-time projectionists.
This is a top-notch theater and huge money-maker. Ocassionally, I do shifts here as a projectionist. I can assure you this place has some of the best equipment on the Island. The auditoriums have wide sheets (screens) and great sound. Because of the tremendous business this place does, at any moment, management can request that I inter-lock prints. Inter-lock is where one film is ran along the wall or ceiling through rollers from one theater projector to another theater projector. When a feature is doing big business, I have inter-locked as many as four theaters with one print of the feature, but at this theater, all twelve could be.
Mention my name and get FREE Admission…sorry…kidding. :)
I hated going into booth five and six. It is bad enough that you have to walk into the theater and then back up through the center of the patrons to the rear. Next, you get to show the patrons your gymnastic abilities. Also, when you pop out, you scare the hell out of people that had no idea there was a concealed door lerking from above. What a riot! HA!!
To my knowledge, it never opened into the mall. The current building is larger than its original. When shoeboxed, one and two were downstairs, and three and four were upstairs. Later the building was expanded on its Southern side to include five and six downstairs, and seven and eight upstairs. There are four projection rooms. To get to the projection room for one and two, you must must walk behind the screen in auditorium three. Projection room three and four is in auditorium four. Projection room five and six is accessed from the lobby. Projection room seven and eight is accessed by either climbing a ladder or spiral staircase from projection room five and six. Have I confused you yet? :)
Regal Theaters did in fact take over Edwards and United Artists theater circuits. A projectionist I had brought into the union in Kankakee, Il, back in 1975, went onto to become a theater service technician for RCA in Southern California. His name is Roger Evetts, and he did the projection room installation at this theater.
The projection room here, as with the Sunrise in Valley Stream, is extremely long and narrow. It is like being in a submarine. If at one end or the other, you cannot see the other end of the booth. It is that far away. Only one projectionist is on duty at a time. To get from one end to the other at both places, a projectionist has to use a two-wheel foot scooter to thread projectors, start shows, raise and lower volume, check focus, etc. It is insane…
Back in 87, before going to work for Universal, I used to be the relief projectionist. It was a shared job between the Esquire and the Colorado ( /theaters/2531/ ) just down the street. It was an attempt to save money and actually a fun job. Sorry to see these two theaters are history.
Back in 87, before going to work for Universal, I used to be the relief projectionist. It was a shared job between the Colorado and the Esquire ( /theaters/1146/ ) just down the street. It was an attempt to save money and actually a fun job. Sorry to see these two theaters are history.
My father, Meredith Rhule, Sr., was the Sangamon County Sheriff there in the late 40s, early 50s. I remember Frank Sinatra portraying him as a WWII hero in a movie that played at the Orpheum. In those days, he couldn’t receive credits in the flick due to “conflicts of interests” with regards to political figures.
Back in the early 80s, I can recall William Shatner being one of our regulars. Bill used to party often back then. On a few occasions, we would arranged for his transportation home. Leslie Ann Warren once presented a part of herself by accident to me. I then went upstairs to do a changeover and mixed-up the reels out of sequence. Like a jerk, I denied doing it, even though the screenplay writer was in the auditorium. OOPS! :)
I had to run a small clip for Micheal Landon there while he was shooting a scene from Highway To Heaven. He was a great guy. He autographed his glossy and gave it to my mother. She had it framed and displayed in her living room. :)
This was the talk of the town in 87 when I was a projectionist there. Since it was located on the Universal Studio lot (a venture between Universal and Cineplex Odeon), perfection in presentation was an absolute priority. There used to be six projectionists on duty at any one time, some from the theater union (150), others from the studio union (165). There were so many of us on duty because this was the only studio with a theater on-site. We would have to move prints from theater to theater, up and down stairs, as needed due to business. Today, they employ two projectionist. It is completely understaffed for the massive working environment. Eventually, in 88, I moved on to the Cineplex Odeon Marina Marketplace. There, with my partner Bob Seeling, we put on a great show in what was the best run projection booth in the city, the first computerized booth in the nation. Between regular showings and studio premieres, it was making tons of money. Finally, Loews bought the Marina Marketplace in 91 and threw us out. Oh well, guess that is another story aside from Universal. Sorry people…
The original projection room was upstairs. Then, in the late 40s, it was moved downstairs. When I worked there in the 70s to 90s, to enter it, I had to walk into the left entrance of the main auditorium, the same as the public. The projection room was to the immediate right, covered by a doorsize, burgundy drape. The area upstairs that once had been the projection room was converted into a small, two-row balcony (I think it had 14 seats), but it was never open to the public during regular movie presentations. Instead, it was where celebrities were allowed to sit, having entered the side of the building from a concealed, non-public door. Today, the projection room is back upstairs to its original location, and only a couple “out-of-view” seats remain.
My first real job as a full-time projectionist. After breaking-in and learning the business at various theaters in Springfield, IL, the business agent from Springfield got a message from the business agent in Kankakee that he had an opening. Wow, I had moved North and loved it. I almost married Sue Boguszewski from that town.
It was run into the ground as a $1 house. Cineplex Odeon took it over, remodeled and gave it new life as a first showing house. Then, Loews acquired it after Cineplex; It went back to being a $1 house. Films there were about six months old. My girlfriend used to work there between 98 and 00 during this time.
You would be amazed at how many celebrities would patronize this theater while Loews had it as a $1 house. I assume celebrities felt comfortable there since film fans usually attend first showing houses. Many industry people would spend a buck to see a flick.
On a pretty regular basis, studios would rent the theater for a day. I had worked as the projectionist during these studio screenings and audience response screenings.
Today, it is owned by Lammle Theaters, an arts movies theater chain.
I enjoyed projecting movies here. The drive-in was easily spoted from the freeway. You couldn’t miss it while driving by.
Thanks “GraMann” for the wonderful photos. Now, I am homesick. I absolutely love the Chinese. Your photos really bring back fond memories. Did you ever get a photo of Ted Mann and his wife’s wax figures in the lobby?
As mentioned above on this page, I did relief work as a projectionist there, off and on, for 20 years.
Performances there used to be absolute perfection. The union business agent, Ralph Kemp (Local 150, IATSE), before sending me to break-in, told me this. “This is the most famous theater in the world. If you screw up something there, you will read about it in Variety and Hollywood Reporter the next day.
If they ever employed full-time projectionists again, I would leave New York in a heartbeat and return. Did you know Kenny Krenz, Bob Purlmutter or Mike Schliger, the regular operators?
By the way, the menu at this place is great. You can get pizza, spicy curly fries, spicy-hot buffalo wings, chicken sandwiches, chili, REAL nachos (you know, the ones with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, sour cream, etc.) smoothies, expresso and a ton of stuff you cannot get at other theaters.
PeterC, this Loews theater is in Garden City. I have worked relief here as a projectionist. It is indeed a busy place and has top-notch equipment, although we (projectionists) have limited time in the booth. What does that mean? A year ago, we were booted out of full-time and reduced to part-time presence in this booth and the Roosevelt Field theater, nearby. The greatest equipment in the world is no good if it is operated by a novice.
As far as Westbury goes, the UA Westbury is one of the top grossers for Regal cinemas, and it employs full-time projectionists.
This is a top-notch theater and huge money-maker. Ocassionally, I do shifts here as a projectionist. I can assure you this place has some of the best equipment on the Island. The auditoriums have wide sheets (screens) and great sound. Because of the tremendous business this place does, at any moment, management can request that I inter-lock prints. Inter-lock is where one film is ran along the wall or ceiling through rollers from one theater projector to another theater projector. When a feature is doing big business, I have inter-locked as many as four theaters with one print of the feature, but at this theater, all twelve could be.
Mention my name and get FREE Admission…sorry…kidding. :)
I hated going into booth five and six. It is bad enough that you have to walk into the theater and then back up through the center of the patrons to the rear. Next, you get to show the patrons your gymnastic abilities. Also, when you pop out, you scare the hell out of people that had no idea there was a concealed door lerking from above. What a riot! HA!!
It is a clean design and similar to the UA Farmingdale and UA Westbury, the other Regal Mega-plexes on the island.
To my knowledge, it never opened into the mall. The current building is larger than its original. When shoeboxed, one and two were downstairs, and three and four were upstairs. Later the building was expanded on its Southern side to include five and six downstairs, and seven and eight upstairs. There are four projection rooms. To get to the projection room for one and two, you must must walk behind the screen in auditorium three. Projection room three and four is in auditorium four. Projection room five and six is accessed from the lobby. Projection room seven and eight is accessed by either climbing a ladder or spiral staircase from projection room five and six. Have I confused you yet? :)
Regal Theaters did in fact take over Edwards and United Artists theater circuits. A projectionist I had brought into the union in Kankakee, Il, back in 1975, went onto to become a theater service technician for RCA in Southern California. His name is Roger Evetts, and he did the projection room installation at this theater.
The projection room here, as with the Sunrise in Valley Stream, is extremely long and narrow. It is like being in a submarine. If at one end or the other, you cannot see the other end of the booth. It is that far away. Only one projectionist is on duty at a time. To get from one end to the other at both places, a projectionist has to use a two-wheel foot scooter to thread projectors, start shows, raise and lower volume, check focus, etc. It is insane…
Back in 87, before going to work for Universal, I used to be the relief projectionist. It was a shared job between the Esquire and the Colorado ( /theaters/2531/ ) just down the street. It was an attempt to save money and actually a fun job. Sorry to see these two theaters are history.
Back in 87, before going to work for Universal, I used to be the relief projectionist. It was a shared job between the Colorado and the Esquire ( /theaters/1146/ ) just down the street. It was an attempt to save money and actually a fun job. Sorry to see these two theaters are history.
My father, Meredith Rhule, Sr., was the Sangamon County Sheriff there in the late 40s, early 50s. I remember Frank Sinatra portraying him as a WWII hero in a movie that played at the Orpheum. In those days, he couldn’t receive credits in the flick due to “conflicts of interests” with regards to political figures.
Back in the early 80s, I can recall William Shatner being one of our regulars. Bill used to party often back then. On a few occasions, we would arranged for his transportation home. Leslie Ann Warren once presented a part of herself by accident to me. I then went upstairs to do a changeover and mixed-up the reels out of sequence. Like a jerk, I denied doing it, even though the screenplay writer was in the auditorium. OOPS! :)
This was a great place to work. Another really cool place was the Cinema 70 Drive-In. It was the only 70mm drive-in in OKC!
I had to run a small clip for Micheal Landon there while he was shooting a scene from Highway To Heaven. He was a great guy. He autographed his glossy and gave it to my mother. She had it framed and displayed in her living room. :)
Here Here Ed, I Agree!
This was the talk of the town in 87 when I was a projectionist there. Since it was located on the Universal Studio lot (a venture between Universal and Cineplex Odeon), perfection in presentation was an absolute priority. There used to be six projectionists on duty at any one time, some from the theater union (150), others from the studio union (165). There were so many of us on duty because this was the only studio with a theater on-site. We would have to move prints from theater to theater, up and down stairs, as needed due to business. Today, they employ two projectionist. It is completely understaffed for the massive working environment. Eventually, in 88, I moved on to the Cineplex Odeon Marina Marketplace. There, with my partner Bob Seeling, we put on a great show in what was the best run projection booth in the city, the first computerized booth in the nation. Between regular showings and studio premieres, it was making tons of money. Finally, Loews bought the Marina Marketplace in 91 and threw us out. Oh well, guess that is another story aside from Universal. Sorry people…
The original projection room was upstairs. Then, in the late 40s, it was moved downstairs. When I worked there in the 70s to 90s, to enter it, I had to walk into the left entrance of the main auditorium, the same as the public. The projection room was to the immediate right, covered by a doorsize, burgundy drape. The area upstairs that once had been the projection room was converted into a small, two-row balcony (I think it had 14 seats), but it was never open to the public during regular movie presentations. Instead, it was where celebrities were allowed to sit, having entered the side of the building from a concealed, non-public door. Today, the projection room is back upstairs to its original location, and only a couple “out-of-view” seats remain.
William:
Drop me a line. Want to ask you about doing screening in the city. Perhaps you can give me some tips. Thanks!
there WERE
“W L S, Gets It Said For Chicago.” Hmmm, that reminds me. Not to change the subject, whatever happened to Larry Lujack at WCFL in the Marina?
You’re right, the Vineland is still going. :)